FIFA World Cup 2022

[sussexpob]

I said a while back, Bellingham is the most exciting English player I've ever seen. Those two goals, he displays every single quality a ln elite midfielder needs.

This kid is very, very special. Going to be a joy to watch him for the next decade, god forbid he stays fit

[yuppie]

Hopefully he is not in a hurry to leave BD.

[Gingerfinch]

I said a while back, Bellingham is the most exciting English player I've ever seen. Those two goals, he displays every single quality a ln elite midfielder needs.

This kid is very, very special. Going to be a joy to watch him for the next decade, god forbid he stays fit

Even more so than Rooney.

[yuppie]

12 goals from England this world cup. is it 11 in open play? No penalties.

Changed a lot

[yuppie]

Seems unfair that France and England are playing in the QF against each other.

Probably the 2 best teams so far, QF to soon for them to meet.

[Gingerfinch]

We looked shaky for a while but Senegal lost their shape once we went one up. Once two up, their heads went and it was done. France will be our first real test and likewise, England will be France's first test.

[bigfluffylemon]

Job done, and pretty comfortably in the end. Dodgy first half hour, but once the goal went in, there was only one team in it.

France are a tough prospect, no doubt, but if England play as well as they can, it is winnable. No side has proven itself unbeatable in this tournament. If I had to bet, I'd reckon on France win after penalties, but that's because England always go out on penalties the first time they come up against a truly quality opposition...

After the excitement and upsets of the group stage, the round of 16 has so far reverted to form, with the top seeds/group winners all progressing fairly comfortably. Let's see if the likes of Japan, Morocco or South Korea can spring some more surprises and keep Africa and Asia alive in this competition. Japan v Croatia has the potential to be the tie of the round.

Does make me worry that the enlarged competition is going to have a lot of very one-sided knockout games. But more teams = more $, so no wonder FIFA wants to expand.

[Durhamfootman]

Mbappe has been all over the spectrum. For 90% of each match, he's been rubbish, then just comes up with moments of brilliance out of nowhere.

For a big chunk of the game I thought Mbappe was a bit off. His killer touches were all a bit heavy and I was a bit disappointed. Then suddenly he scores out of nowhere. The second goal was as good as anything I've seen this tournament.

I still think France look dodgy at the back and Lloris will make a howler at some point

[sussexpob]

I have France 55-45 favourites, but we have every chance of beating them

[Durhamfootman]

For 35 mins in the England game I was getting ready to go ballistic at half time. England were pathetic... full on USA game reprised. Then suddenly... bang bang and it's 2-0 at halftime and the game is pretty much done and dusted.

My frustration with this team and this manager is that when they ponce around for extended periods they get utterly bogged down, because that isn't what they're good at. What they're good at is moving the ball quickly and attacking at pace, yet against teams they think are worthy of respect or games that are do or die they get all nervous and do precisely the things that they aren't good enough at. It annoys the sh1t out of me.

I'm going to give Sir G a bit of credit for once (and I hate doing that), because I think he told them to go more direct once Senegal got a toe hold in the game and started to look a bit threatening. The reason I think that is because suddenly everyone moved further up the pitch and waited for Pickford to launch the ball long. Now they don't normally do that and they hadn't done it once in the first half hour of this match. From then on every time Pickford got the ball he lumped it forward, Kane held it up and fed the players who were suddenly making runs around him. They did it well and that direct approach at pace and with quality was far too good for Senegal.

They were really good goals, really well worked

Given that England are at their best when attacking quickly and at pace, will they go back into their shell against France and play slow, turgid, ponderous football?

yeah, probably. They'll be too frightened of losing the game to play it any other way

[Durhamfootman]

I have France 55-45 favourites, but we have every chance of beating them

I agree England can beat them, but I think their chances are smaller than that.... 65-35, for me

I think we'll score. My worry is that Sir Gareth thinks we'll score as well and so he'll approach the game trying not to concede..... which would be a fatal mistake imo

[Durhamfootman]

for once, though, England have scored plenty of goals from open play and only the one (I think) from a set piece. 4 years ago (or was it last year?) it was more like the other way around

[yuppie]

I actually think England have been the form team of this WC.

Yes wales and Iran were no competition but they swatted them away. They have just knocked out the African champions very easily after a unsteady first 30 mins.

I agree the France game will be tough, and i have it evens only because of France being champions and Mbappe is a player England have nothing comparable to.

But i would think England supporters should be confident. 12 goals in 4 games with all but 1 goal coming from open play. 3 clean sheets.

Its not fitting that this game is at QF stage. England have been good. A youthful team that can cover easily the loss of a player like Sterling. England supporters, just enjoy it.

[Durhamfootman]

Just as well that Kyle Walker is quick, because Mbappe has wheels. He's going to have his work cut out and he's going to need help. England will go 5 at the back, I think.

I agree with SP about Bellingham

I thought Henderson had a pretty good game, which isn't something I ever thought I'd say. It was a very un-Henderson-like performance.

At what point does Maddison play? I assume he's fit again because I'm sure they said all the squad were training. If he doesn't play, then what was the point of taking him? Is he the wild card England need against a team like France?

[bigfluffylemon]

Stats website 538 actually has England as marginal favourites against France - 52/48. https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/20 ... id=rrpromo

Although France's rating took a bit of a hit with the loss to Tunisia, not sure how well their model reflected that it wasn't the strongest France XI. So they might be underestimating France a bit. Still, they currently rate England, Argentina and France all pretty equally, with Spain a bit ahead and then Brazil significant favourites, both due to the strength of their squad and the fact that Brazil's draw is (on paper) pretty kind through to the final - South Korea, then Japan/Croatia, then Argentina/Netherlands. England, Spain, France, and Portugal are all in the same half of the draw (and Morocco and Switzerland, for that matter, neither of whom should be a pushover). As Japan, South Korea, Morocco and many others have shown, though, no result is guaranteed here.

I daresay I will be approaching this game like a lot of England fans - head says England are a good team and could beat France, hard one to call, heart says we'll bottle it, probably on penalties or a howler from a set piece. And of course Mbappe could produce some magic.