Kalvin Phillips should be nowhere near the squad let alone starting XI...him playing over JWP is just absolute madness, he offers this team absolutely nothing! The only thing I'm thinking with White's inclusion is that he has realised that Mings is a total liability and can't be trusted. I'd definitely play White or Coady over that hot headed idiot.
With the general weakness of international squads this time round was an opportunity for us to actually win something if we favoured picking an effective team over individuals. Southgate is threatening our chances with his insistence on taking Maguire and Henderson who are both going to be regaining their fitness in the ****ing tournament. Players who actually have a chance to create or score a goal in tight situations - JWP, Lingaard, Ings - left out in favour of injured big names and the likes of Phillips and 3 bloody right backs. Sent from my Pixel 3 using Tapatalk
Maguire & Henderson are both worth risking with the extra 3 spots when the alternative is shit like Mings & Phillips starting against a good team in the knockouts if we get there.
You take the risk with Maguire when he's quite comfortably the best centre half in the country. Southgate knows it, if there is a chance you take it. Taking a Ings who may or may not get on won't move the needle much. Henderson I agree as he literally hasn't played in 4 months but by all accounts he is really important with his experience etc The White decision however does suggest to me Maguire won't feature, but I'm going to be slightly amused watching the absolute shambles at the back and see the usual types who slate Maguire get a rude awakening. JWP got the short end of the stick, he's the one you feel for. And the lads who should have been in but got injured ( TAA/ Greenwood)
fair play if true. No English people have a drug addiction or bad diet I guess. And PS irn bru is brilliant.
Clearly Maguire isn't going to be fit for Croatia but their must be hope for the latter group games and then last 16, last 8 should we get there for example. Croatia is going to be 3 CB's - Mings is a red card/mistake waiting to happen. Walker - Stones - Coady/White it will have to be. Draw written all over it.
They said on 5live there is a hope Maguire will be fit for the knock out stages so definitely felt they need to get cover in hence White being called up.
For several tournaments we took injured players into squads, never remember it paying off yet. For me Maguire shouldn't be selected. If he is only fit for KO's for example, what happens to the fit players that get us there?
full strength squad though too. risky as hell considering you risk injuring some first teamers. That said, who am I to judge how germany prepare. Their pedigree shits on ours.
I suppose it's to get some confidence in the team Apart from KDB at Belgium any other nations have injuries except us?
I don't understand when Southgate watches Villa what he sees in Mings over Konsa . Crackin' centre half.
Dunno why we're talking about the defence when we all know Southgate will waste all our exciting attacking talent by sticking woefully out of form Sterling and Rashford on the wings to run in behind when they should be England's 5th and 6th choice wingers right about now.
7-1 at the end. Had to laugh when Latvia scored with their only chance of the match, though. Was the same against Denmark. 1 chance 1 goal. Not even against Latvia (somewhere between #140-#150 in the Fifa ranking) we can get a clean sheet, although tbh it was a dream shot by the Latvian player. Neuer wasn't amused that in his 100th match for Germany (first German goalie who reached the 100 caps) he couldn't get a clean sheet. exactly, that was the reason. A sparring partner who should give us no problems (although I heard they played 3-3 against the Turks ) and where some "problem cases" like Sané could get some confidence back. And it worked, 7 goals by 7 different players (although Havertz goal is valued now as an own goal by the Latvian goalkeeper). But my confidence isn't growing much, though, after this match against a minnow. But it's good to have Thomas Müller and Mats Hummels back. We can only hope that France isn't in best form in the 1st match in one week (but I doubt it). Although I don't expect much for this Euro I'm still hoping that I'm wrong and we'll play somehow a good tournament. Hope dies last. And even if it doesn't happen, I'm already fixed about the first match under new Bundestrainer Hansi Flick in September. I have great confidence that he'll lead us in the right direction again
Find it bizarre that with 3 days before the start of a major tournament the likes of France , Poland , Hungary , Spain , the Czech Republic are involved in friendly matches with the risk of injuring players especially after the season where most players have been playing twice a week when video sessions working out at detail all the opposition's strengths & weaknesses could be worked on more & give them a slight break .
Quite - surely Germany won't bomb out in 2 consecutive tournaments. With France and Portugal in their group will mean they probably don't have to play the 2 favorites in the knock out stages till the final? And on a good day can beat anyone else...
Can't deny that But the last 3 years under Löw were torture and that's why most German Fans don't trust him anymore to get us at least in the semi-finals again (which he did in every tournament from 2008 to 2016). We had the World Cup 2018, the relegation in the Nations League (although later we got away with it when UEFA expanded the League and we could stay). We had the dismal 0-6 against Spain last year and then the loss against North Macedonia in the World Cup qualifiers. But, of course, deep inside we have the hope that they act a bit like the U21 team a few days before in the U21 tournament and that the team spirit is there again and maybe they still want to give Löw somehow a good last hooray in his last matches for Germany (if it will be 6 or 7 matches at the end, then he'll reach the 200 matches mark as Bundestrainer) We have a great midfield with the likes of Goretzka (although actually still injured and won't play against France), Kimmich, Gündogan, Havertz and even Kroos can do it on a good day. There's enough weapons to choose for Löw and the attack, too, with the likes of Gnabry, Sané, now Thomas Müller again. Our main problems is still the defence. Although we have 5-times World Goalie of the year, Neuer, we are always prone here for bloopers. England did the same, though, and played on Sunday against Romania. as you could see yesterday when we beat Latvia Nah, seriously, you're right, though. And maybe it's good not to be some kind of favourites before a tournament and they can play without any burden. As said before, although most of us fans are sceptical this time, that doesn't mean that we won't keep our fingers crossed for a good tournament and that our scepticism was wrong.
Must be an advantage playing all your group games on home soil Dirk - especially against Portugal and France.
