Tuchel's First England squad confirmed

[cerbera45]

3-0 against Latvia seems about par for the course

 

[blues exile]

3-0 against Latvia seems about par for the course

Should have been more and it took a superb free kick to break the deadlock. The Latvian football season only started three weeks ago so players barely match fit and they also had a long journey from Andorra after their Friday night game.

 

[londonblue]

Should have been more and it took a superb free kick to break the deadlock. The Latvian football season only started three weeks ago so players barely match fit and they also had a long journey from Andorra after their Friday night game.

Yeah they mentioned that on the commentary, but didn't mention players do that kind of thing regularly and it really isn't an issue.

As for their season only being 3 weeks old, that means they've had 1 month of preseason and 3 weeks of playing. They couldn't be any fitter, and almost certainly aren't carrying the knocks and niggling injuries players at the end of their season will all be carrying.

That said, we should really have beaten them by more. On another night we probably would have, but thems the breaks.

 

[tottenham541]

Think we looked more solid at the back without Dan burn, ok he deserved his call up but he just reminds me of Maguire to much, threat at set pieces but anyone with pace and he turns like a tug boat, stick with the younger players that have more all round abilities in their game

 

[blues exile]

Yeah they mentioned that on the commentary, but didn't mention players do that kind of thing regularly and it really isn't an issue.

As for their season only being 3 weeks old, that means they've had 1 month of preseason and 3 weeks of playing. They couldn't be any fitter, and almost certainly aren't carrying the knocks and niggling injuries players at the end of their season will all be carrying.

That said, we should really have beaten them by more. On another night we probably would have, but thems the breaks.

There's been snow on the ground until a couple of weeks ago so only inside work in the gym possible. The standard of football here is not high, the club sides all have plenty of imports from Africa and South America and the Balkan countries so home grown talent is thin on the ground. Basketball and Ice Hockey are more popular aarguably. They did well to keep England to three but that was probably down to wastefulness on England's part!

 

[Tangled up in Blue]

When asked about the contributions of Rashford and Foden in the wide positions, he suggested that he was hoping for better from them - sorry, can't remember the words verbatim but right from the moment he was asked, his non-verbal response looked a bit 'meh'.

There's no question that Spain's widemen look better than England's.

 

[londonblue]

There's been snow on the ground until a couple of weeks ago so only inside work in the gym possible. The standard of football here is not high, the club sides all have plenty of imports from Africa and South America and the Balkan countries so home grown talent is thin on the ground. Basketball and Ice Hockey are more popular aarguably. They did well to keep England to three but that was probably down to wastefulness on England's part!

Even less chance for them to injure themselves then. They may be a bit lacking in match sharpness though, but (with all due respect to them) that isn't really an issue. They weren't trying to play football, they were just trying to stop us playing which takes a whole lot less skill, but a lot more fitness. It's hard to play without the ball for long periods.

I agree, they did well to keep the score down. I think that was partly down to us being wasteful, but I think we ought to give their keeper some credit too. He made a few very impressive saves. Apparently he did the same in their last match too.

 

[blues exile]

Even less chance for them to injure themselves then. They may be a bit lacking in match sharpness though, but (with all due respect to them) that isn't really an issue. They weren't trying to play football, they were just trying to stop us playing which takes a whole lot less skill, but a lot more fitness. It's hard to play without the ball for long periods.

I agree, they did well to keep the score down. I think that was partly down to us being wasteful, but I think we ought to give their keeper some credit too. He made a few very impressive saves. Apparently he did the same in their last match too.

A goalless draw against Andorra was probably about the height of their ambitions. A fairly recently appointed Italian coach from the lower echelons of football in his home country knows all about defensive tactics. Personally would have liked to see them playing a bit in their opponents half, or at least trying to.

 

[londonblue]

A goalless draw against Andorra was probably about the height of their ambitions. A fairly recently appointed Italian coach from the lower echelons of football in his home country knows all about defensive tactics. Personally would have liked to see them playing a bit in their opponents half, or at least trying to.

Agreed. It would have made the game more interesting. I guess the issue from their point of view is that it would have left a lot more space for us, especially in their final third, where their whole team was camped out for most of the match!

 

[The Original Tribal Chief]

First two games under Tuchel have been enormously dull but it's what you expect. Albania are a half decent side but they didn't even attempt to make a game of it. I anticipate that we will win every game in qualifying and then the real business starts. We would have been better served in prioritizing the nations league so that we would now be playing the other big boys and actually getting some relevant experience for our younger players rather than ****ing around in Group B with the likes of Greece and Finland.

 

[londonblue]

First two games under Tuchel have been enormously dull but it's what you expect. Albania are a half decent side but they didn't even attempt to make a game of it. I anticipate that we will win every game in qualifying and then the real business starts. We would have been better served in prioritizing the nations league so that we would now be playing the other big boys and actually getting some relevant experience for our younger players rather than ****ing around in Group B with the likes of Greece and Finland.

That's basically what the commentators were saying, I.e. we'll win the group then have some warm up matches and then go into the world cup having not played a top team for around 2 years.

 

[PrawNZ]

Highlight of today's boring game...