Italy v England at the San Siro

I personally really like international football and always support the national team. The next two games are perfect for England before going to the World Cup.
 
True but it’s also a rematch of the euro final and with Italy not making Qatar this year this is Italy World Cup. They’ll be going all out to show what Qatar is missing.
Like they did in their last match against Germany you mean? This is as dead a game as you will get. I hold little interest in it except to keep an eye out for injuries for FPL.
 
My only interest / wish is that any Boro players come back with a clean bill of health.

Yes, I want England to win, but losing don't affect me ......

Boro on the other hand, if they don't win 😡 😢
Know what you mean Pear Drops, if there was a choice of England winning the world Cup or Boro just reaching a major final it would be the Boro every time!
 
I get bang into it when its on and love the major tournaments but a world cup win with England would be on a par with 2nd round carabao cup scraped 2-1 home win against Leyton Orient. International Football is incomparable to club football.
 
I'm out watching the Wedding Present tonight so will miss the match but looking forward to Germany (Monday?)

I actually quite like the competition. League A throws up some pretty tasty fixtures nearly every night.

Depending where it's held I might actually look at heading to the finals (I assume next Summer?) Previous competitions have seen one of the finalists host, although it might be difficult to get tickets unless you're registered with a competing nation (I think).
 
Just been reading a few reports saying Maguire is going to start.

Think I'll watch a series instead.
Maguire should be starting IMO. I’d like Southgate to take it back to the Euros, settle it down, get the structure down again ahead of the World Cup. Maguire has never let England down. Much like Pickford, another who gets hammered for… well, little or nothing. I like that we have a manager who trust his players.
 
Maguire should be starting IMO. I’d like Southgate to take it back to the Euros, settle it down, get the structure down again ahead of the World Cup. Maguire has never let England down. Much like Pickford, another who gets hammered for… well, little or nothing. I like that we have a manager who trust his players.
Couldn't disagree more.

Maguire is a car crash. It's not a coincidence Man Utd's fortunes have changed the exact moment ETH hooked him from the starting lineup.

Even in England's last game, Maguire came off the bench and made a howler within minutes. He is genuinely a poor defender and isn't deserving of his place when we have some decent CB's who are performing very well.
 
Maguire should be starting IMO. I’d like Southgate to take it back to the Euros, settle it down, get the structure down again ahead of the World Cup. Maguire has never let England down. Much like Pickford, another who gets hammered for… well, little or nothing. I like that we have a manager who trust his players.
I agree, the trust is great. But it’s very hard starting someone in such an important role who’s not playing at club level.

I’d also like to see the Euros team but the only essential evolution is starting Bellingham every game, he’s a ridiculous talent.
 
Couldn't disagree more.

Maguire is a car crash. It's not a coincidence Man Utd's fortunes have changed the exact moment ETH hooked him from the starting lineup.

Even in England's last game, Maguire came off the bench and made a howler within minutes. He is genuinely a poor defender and isn't deserving of his place when we have some decent CB's who are performing very well.
But it’s about the team structure and what the manager needs from his players. I think people treat an England call-up as a rite of passage for good form, but to me the manager needs specific things to make his plans come to fruition. If you don’t fit into that then you won’t play much international football. Can someone like Tomori or Guehi play in a three? Are they comfortable bringing the ball out?

You can point to any Manchester United player of that past 5, 6 years and say they’ve been terrible. The most expensive ones get the most stick. Blaming him for that club’s problems is absolute nonsense IMO. You can also say their form/results improved when he changed the shape and stopped playing out from the back, setting them up as a counter-attacking side instead and putting Ronaldo on the bench. Even Solskjaer could manage that.

Maguire was absolutely fine up until last season though I accept his club form has dropped off considerably since the Euros final. But a lot of that England team seems to have had problems throughout last season. A lot have re-emerged. You can’t keep chopping and changing it. Maguire, Stones and Walker at the back is fine IMO. James and Chilwell(if fit). It’s proved itself to be a good/reliable platform.
 
Can someone like Tomori or Guehi play in a three? Are they comfortable bringing the ball out?
Is Maguire? Because Maguire on the ball is a rabbit caught in the headlights. As proven for a number of years now

I too admire the fact Southgate has his way, and refuses to bow down to the pressure from the press/media/fans to call up X Y Z, and to play other systems etc...as well as sticking with Pickford in goal (who IMO is still our best keeper).

However, sticking with Maguire will only end in one way...and that is not with us being successful.

He is shocking, absolutely shocking in fact.

The longer Southgate persists with Maguire, the quicker his P45 will be written, of that I have no doubt.
 
Is Maguire? Because Maguire on the ball is a rabbit caught in the headlights. As proven for a number of years now

I too admire the fact Southgate has his way, and refuses to bow down to the pressure from the press/media/fans to call up X Y Z, and to play other systems etc...as well as sticking with Pickford in goal (who IMO is still our best keeper).

However, sticking with Maguire will only end in one way...and that is not with us being successful.

He is shocking, absolutely shocking in fact.

The longer Southgate persists with Maguire, the quicker his P45 will be written, of that I have no doubt.
So shocking he was a key part of a team that reached a World Cup semi-final and a European Championships final. We barely conceded a goal at the last tournament. I just don’t buy into this stuff about how bad he is. It didn’t exist before he went to Manchester United. People loved old slabhead back in 2018. And then he goes to the graveyard of Old Trafford and that starts to change…
 
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Maguire and Stones were excellent playing together at the last two tournaments.

I'd go with Maguire and Stones if we're going with a back four, and then have Maguire, Stones and Walker in a back three if we switch to wing-backs when we play the stronger teams.
 
So shocking he was a key part of a team that reached a World Cup semi-final and a European Championships final. We barely conceded a goal at the last tournament. I just buy into this stuff about how bad he is. It didn’t exist before he went to Manchester United. People loved old slabhead back in 2018. And then he goes to the graveyard of Old Trafford and that starts to change…
And since then he's been genuinely one of the worst performing defenders in the PL and even his most recent England performances have been poor.

Just because you played in a team that did well a year or 2 ago, shouldn't mean your place in the team is cemented.
 
And since then he's been genuinely one of the worst performing defenders in the PL and even his most recent England performances have been poor.

Just because you played in a team that did well a year or 2 ago, shouldn't mean your place in the team is cemented.
I don’t buy that he’s been one of the worst-performing defenders TBH.
 
I don’t buy that he’s been one of the worst-performing defenders TBH.
Put it this way, he's certainly not been the 2nd or 3rd best England CB in the last 12 months or so...both for club and/or country

Especially looking at this list...

Stones
Walker (as a RCB)
Dier
Guehi
Tomori
White

No chance does he deserve a place in the England team ahead of all of those above.
 
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