Pretty standard. I'm in neither camp - I expected a tough match today, and that's what we got. Wales I'm sure will be well up for it as well when we meet them; again, it will be more important not to lose than it is to win. We're not in Qatar to showboat, we're there to progress one stage and one game at a time. That's what Southgate is about.
The only positive you can draw is that we had a similarly dreadful 0-0 draw in the group stage last year against Scotland where people were saying all the same things we're saying tonight. A week or so later we beat Germany in the knockouts and another week later we were in the final almost winning the tournament. It was a dreadful performance and things don't look good, but it doesn't mean we can be written off just yet. People said the same thing after USA 94 and it didn't really happen. America is very insular because it's so big and they have so much influence on global culture, and many Americans see themselves as the 'world'. Traditional American sports are just so ingrained into the psyche, as football is in the UK, that it's very difficult for even a sport as big as football to truly take off. There's no way an outsider sport would come into the UK and take on football, just the same as football struggles to take on the traditional sports in America. It's also seen as a girls sport too which doesn't help it in the men's game. This kinda sums up how the Americans view 'soccer'
Tbh I'll always get far more engaged with international football than domestic. The whole nation is behind them and it happens less often than the domestic season. I've always loved it. It's always great fun, great socialising, brings the nation together, a great party in the sunshi.... wait a minute, it's ****ing December in a country that should never be hosting it...
Knowing how things are now and people's lack of humour, if this got shown now, you'd have no end of people crying about the racism.
Hyperbole aside, it's still valid though. The expectation from some quarters that it should almost be a walkover, despite having never beaten them when it matters, is misguided
You play each other twice in a two legged tie in the space of a fortnight. So it's not much in the world of averages. You'd have to hope that if England and the US played against each other 10 games straight (kinda like cricket) that England would come out top.
Eh? Maybe so, but that's not the tournament we're playing. The World Cup isn't designed to necessarily crown the best team in the world - it's a festival of entertainment where a team can have one great day and end up on top.
Basically I'm saying the results in the world cup are not much in the world of averages. 3 games against the US.. not great Try 20. If international football was a league over a 38 game season, I imagine England would be pretty high up.
That's the right attitude, Riverside Wales 4 England 0 Iran 2 USA 0 Wales, Iran through We played also 3 matches against the USA at World Cups. Contrary to you guys we've won all 3 and the Yanks didn't even score 72 years ps: I bloody know that this backfires at me on Sunday
Even if England lose to Wales (embarrassing way to go through, mind) they'd still qualify? We lose to Wales. Puts us on 4 points and Wales on 4 with a most likely worse goal difference. US ends up on 2,3 or 5. Iran on 3,4 or 6
Exactly though. It's not out of the realm of possibly that Wales beat England, but by 4 goals? Nah lol... I'd put my house on it.
That's why I edited a in it. But I see that you also edited the post I quoted and you answered your question by yourself, so my post is redundant, as so often
The only time I edit posts is to correct typos made by my fat fingers.. usually while I'm pissed. But the context pretty much remains the same.
The fact that two of Europes brightest talents for the past five years, Trent and Foden, two players that have spent those years winning trophies galore and playing in huge CL finals against the best teams and players on the planet cant even get off the bench whilst we serve that pile of turgid shite sums English international football up. The pair have more trophy winning/big game and comp experience than the rest of the England team combined (obviously apart from the other Liverpool/City players). And Madison, what exactly was the point in taking him? What is it in this comp? GD first? or scores against each other?
