England v USA

[parmoboy]

He wasn’t fit thats been clear from
The off

His foot must have still been bothering him after the Iran game for them to send him for a scan, and for him to have to train on his own.

Should have done the decent thing for the sake of the team and been honest that he was still struggling, but he's obviously wanting to play and win the golden boot. I don't like saying that either because I do like Kane.

 

[Jedi boro]

Read the comments on social media, a lot of people throwing in the towel and saying that this is proof that the is basically tournament over for us, on the back of a result that all but guarantees that we qualify for the knockouts.

Should we have played better? Absolutely.
Did Southgate make some questionable substitutes? Sure.

But we're in a better position now than we were before kick-off.

The reason for despondency is that we all know that Gareth will revert to type if and when we get through.

We have the players to attack sides use them

Grealish and foden not starting I’d poor bit to not use foden at all is just madness.

Il say again would Spain start without pedri and gavi ???

 

[goalscrounger]

Just watched in a brewery 20 miles north of Chicago. The US fans were definitely in the ascendancy throughout that game. At the end of the day though, we have 4 points and should go through fine, they have only 2 points and are actually very nervous.

 

[Zoophonic]

Just watched in a brewery 20 miles north of Chicago. The US fans were definitely in the ascendancy throughout that game. At the end of the day though, we have 4 points and should go through fine, they have only 2 points and are actually very nervous.

Aye and they are every right to feel that way. Iran could beat them again.

 

[Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret]

It's not about being an attacking team, it's about making changes that turn the tide of a game. Attacking doesn't always mean scoring goals, it also means keeping the ball away from your own goal.

Such changes versus Croatia and Italy might have turned the game enough to prevent the inevitable goals we conceded in those games.

Wouldn't necessarily argue against that. I think a lot of managers are like that. And I don't think they've adapted well to the five subs. But we are top and will only go out if we lose 4 nil v Wales. Making bold changes today could just as easily have backfired.

 

[TeaCider]

The reason for despondency is that we all know that Gareth will revert to type if and when we get through.

We have the players to attack sides use them

Grealish and foden not starting I’d poor bit to not use foden at all is just madness.

Il say again would Spain start without pedri and gavi ???

The team that started tonight absolutely obliterated Iran on Monday.
Why would you change it?

Foden started in the last England match before this World Cup, a match which got us relegated from the Nations League, and we were losing 1-0 to Germany before he was subbed off, Mount came on and scored, despite us drawing 3-3 in the last minute, we were better when he went off.

He started against Italy, where we lost 1-0.

He came on against Hungary, and we then conceded 3 goals.

 

[Chris_Boro]

Wouldn't necessarily argue against that. I think a lot of managers are like that. And I don't think they've adapted well to the five subs. But we are top and will only go out if we lose 4 nil v Wales. Making bold changes today could just as easily have backfired.

Not sure I'd classify bringing Foden on for Mount as a bold change, even if it was only to bring on some more energy.

 

[Corcaigh_the_Cat]

Southgate too slow. No change there.

 

[Sheriff_John_Bunnell_ret]

Not sure I'd classify bringing Foden on for Mount as a bold change, even if it was only to bring on some more energy.

Nor would I. You said the problem with Southgate was not making changes to change the game. I don't think bringing foden on would have changed the game.

 

[Ipad1977]

2 players have done well. Harry McGuire and Harry kane have both defended well.

Tbf I thought Pickford had an alright game. So did Grealish for the time he was on the pitch.

 

[Fattyfoggon]

Southgate too slow. No change there.

who would you have instead of Southgate and who has done better as an England manager since Ramsey ? ( Edit quite liked Hoddle tbf)

 

[Chris_Boro]

Nor would I. You said the problem with Southgate was not making changes to change the game. I don't think bringing foden on would have changed the game.

Foden would've instantly changed the mindset of the US players the moment he walked on the pitch.

They had Mount in their pocket and would've had to double up on him, potentially leaving space. We will never know what might have been and that is the frustration.

 

[Chutney]

Priceless.

Honestly, you lot

 

[goalscrounger]

Aye and they are every right to feel that way. Iran could beat them again.

Can't see it tbh, they looked decent

 

[Pak_Doo_Ik]

It does definitely seem like England fans get fixated on specific players being the magic fix for our problems.

When they don't solve it, we move on to the next one.

It was Grealish at the Euros.

We should have performed better tonight, and Southgate should have done better with substitutes, but it's far from the end of the world after that result.

The way the game is now it is more about the squad than it has ever been. I had no issues whatsoever with our starting 11, in fact it was good to see an unchanged team. My issue is as the game went on it obvious the selection was not working, whether that was because of fatigue, because we underestimated the Us, because the US were very good I don’t know, but it wasn’t working. Now when you have 5 possible changes there is no excuse to allow a game to drift in the way that we did tonight and that is my biggest criticism, Southgate did nothing to try and make a difference.

As I said earlier the Henderson sub was completely understandable but it was so clear that Sterling, Saka, Kane and Mount were not being productive, that doesn’t mean they should never play for England again, it doesn’t mean they are poor players it just means they were having an off night and it means it is ok to change them, especially when we have quite a few decent attacking players.

Onwards and upwards, yes we’ve pretty much qualified but will continue to struggle until we grasp the nettle when it comes to being proactive to changes and try to change games.

 

[goalscrounger]

Just need to say, I've had 8 beers so my view of US opinion might be slightly skewed!

 

[Hoolio]

4 points good as qualified we move on, we are not going to come close to winning it mind

 

[Ipad1977]

Wouldn't necessarily argue against that. I think a lot of managers are like that. And I don't think they've adapted well to the five subs. But we are top and will only go out if we lose 4 nil v Wales. Making bold changes today could just as easily have backfired.

I thought at the time that this was our "Scotland game" of this world Cup. The one with " we've got our 3 points head start now (this time with the GD sorted too) above all, don't possibly lose" as the mantra.

Southgate is a thoughtful man in that he probably assesses the bigger picture and damage limitation, especially in the group stage. He also knew that the US would probably raise their game against us compared to against Wales. Are we in a stronger position to qualify now than before the game? Yes.

However it still frustrates me, not least because I missed the Iran match due to work as millions of others will have done due to the silly kickoff time, to be "rewarded" by watching this pedestrian non-entity instead.

 

[Loop]

There was too much space between our midfielders, so when they got the ball the only pass that was on was either to a CB or FB. Our passing was very slow and sloppy and we seemed to lack ideas going forward, a little bit safe. It felt much like the Scotland game in the Euros. Wales will be another emotionally charged game, even more so with them needing a win. We need to turn up & start sharp, and set the tone otherwise it could be a difficult night.

 

[TeaCider]

The way the game is now it is more about the squad than it has ever been. I had no issues whatsoever with our starting 11, in fact it was good to see an unchanged team. My issue is as the game went on it obvious the selection was not working, whether that was because of fatigue, because we underestimated the Us, because the US were very good I don’t know, but it wasn’t working. Now when you have 5 possible changes there is no excuse to allow a game to drift in the way that we did tonight and that is my biggest criticism, Southgate did nothing to try and make a difference.

As I said earlier the Henderson sub was completely understandable but it was so clear that Sterling, Saka, Kane and Mount were not being productive, that doesn’t mean they should never play for England again, it doesn’t mean they are poor players it just means they were having an off night and it means it is ok to change them, especially when we have quite a few decent attacking players.

Onwards and upwards, yes we’ve pretty much qualified but will continue to struggle until we grasp the nettle when it comes to being proactive to changes and try to change games.

Nobody was more frustrated by our performance tonight than me, but we made proactive changes literally 4 days ago.

England conceded in the 65th minute against Iran, Southgate immediately made 4 substitutions and we scored less than a minute later through Rashford as a sub.
One of his other subs from that period scored 15 minutes later.

It just seems like many fans have a script written from before the World Cup and have immediately reverted to it as soon as we haven't battered a team.

The USA were by far the better team against Wales, and only dropped points because Bale managed to get fouled when he was doing nothing.

They got a fully deserved 0-0 against us, but I wouldn't say they deserved a win on the basis of that second half.

England should have done better, but very few teams have shone in this World Cup so far.

I don't think it's a coincidence that their coach asked them to play for a draw at the end tonight.