Group B: England, Iran, USA, Wales

[ozleicester]

5 hours ago, Super_horns said:

Got to feel for these  Wales fans!

Driven so far but might see their dreams and hope dashed by the Saudis .

https://nation.cymru/sport/wales-fans-car-to-qatar-attempt-faces-breakdown-due-to-saudi-arabia-laws/

Surely you research this before making a 3 week drive?... my surprise is that any of the oil countries have charging stations tbh

[Lcfc098]

16 hours ago, Jordan said:

I will be delighted if the USA can manage to scrape together 4 points somehow and come out of this group. I’m really just hoping we battle hard and learn a lot, though.

 

I don’t think us American fans can look at Wales man for man and say convincingly that we are the better team, and it’s impossible for us as fans to know just how prepared the team and coaching staff is to face Iran. 

We also play a slow and deliberate style that might be smart if we were playing in scorching desert heat, but probably won’t lead to a lot of offense at night against teams that can play at a faster pace. I don’t think a week is enough time for our team to learn how to move the ball past lines of fast pressing.

 

We are obviously building towards 2026 and the huge opportunity waiting for us then, which I completely understand.

 

Our squad is so young. If it weren’t for Tim Ream (who probably won’t start), Sean Johnson (who probably won’t play at all), and Ricardo Pepi’s surprise exclusion, it would be even younger still.
 

I think our young midfield is pretty good (Musuh-Adams-McKennie tend to always play well together, de la Torre plays a feistier game with the USA, and Aaronson playing more of a CM role with Leeds lately as opposed to the winger role he usually gets with the national team gives us yet another option). But I can also see Berhalter going conservative and giving Acosta and Roldan ample playing time (especially vs England if we play for the draw).

 

Pulisic gets the hype but if Gio Reyna is indeed fit, he could easily steal that spotlight. But a problem we have that many other teams at our level have is that nobody is quite good enough to grab that “number 9” position and make it their own.

 

Jesus Ferreira (who is still 21 and has a long way to go) is the front runner to start and probably the best option anyway. Haji Wright is a real wild card as he’s played the least with us, and Josh Sargent is finally playing well … now that he’s dropped down to the Championship and has been moved mostly to the wing. I’m surprised Berhalter called both up instead of Pepi, especially if Sargent is below Morris in the pecking order for wide forwards/second strikers (and that’s with Pulisic, Aaronson, Reyna, and Weah as winger options in a one-striker formation), but Berhalter has his reasons and I’ve got to accept them.

That midfield is actually pretty decent. Have heard really good things about Musah from Valencia. Looking at the squads on paper, it looked to me as though you have a better squad than Wales, not sure about your manager however.

[ClaphamFox]

England haven't won any of their last six matches - that's the worst run of form of any England team heading into a World Cup.We finally played some decent football after Germany went 2-0 up at Wembley in September, but that was only when we were forced to abandon plan A and go for it. It will be interesting to see whether we go into this tournament with more attacking intent or revert to Southgate's more cautious approach...

 

[Finnegan]

22 hours ago, Jordan said:

I will be delighted if the USA can manage to scrape together 4 points somehow and come out of this group. I’m really just hoping we battle hard and learn a lot, though.

 

I don’t think us American fans can look at Wales man for man and say convincingly that we are the better team, and it’s impossible for us as fans to know just how prepared the team and coaching staff is to face Iran. 

We also play a slow and deliberate style

 

I've got to be honest, until I read that last part (bold) I was fairly confident you'd be second in the group and probably beat us. We're not great.

 

But given your lack of top class creativity, you actually might struggle to break us down if you sit and try and Brendan Rodgers us to death with tippy, tappy sideways passing. Looking at your squad I assumed you'd play a fairly energetic, up-tempo style.

 

We're kinda park the bus merchants, not gonna lie, we're fairly good at digging in and frustrating. I can see us going out with 3 draws if England have won the group already by the time we play them, although actually England rotating the squad might benefit them if it means they bring in more creative players with a point to prove in the last match.

 

You certainly SHOULD be second in the group, however. I wouldn't expect us to beat you.

 

Edited 16 November 2022 by Finnegan

[Detroit Blues]

32 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I've got to be honest, until I read that last part (bold) I was fairly confident you'd be second in the group and probably beat us. We're not great.

 

But given your lack of top class creativity, you actually might struggle to break us down if you sit and try and Brendan Rodgers us to death with tippy, tappy sideways passing. Looking at your squad I assumed you'd play a fairly energetic, up-tempo style.

 

We're kinda park the bus merchants, not gonna lie, we're fairly good at digging in and frustrating. I can see us going out with 3 draws if England have won the group already by the time we play them, although actually England rotating the squad might benefit them if it means they bring in more creative players with a point to prove in the last match.

 

You certainly SHOULD be second in the group, however. I wouldn't expect us to beat you.

 

 

Our 4-3-3 set up uses two centerbacks selected on their recovery speed and aerial ability, not their ability to make line-breaking passes. Our CDM in Tyler Adams is more of a Kante type that is all work rate and defensive ability, and is not a deep lying creative midfielder. So when we are in possession in the final third, the 3 most important people (2 CBs, and #6) are not going to make the passes needed to break down an Iran or a Wales. But, the positive is, they should provide defensive cover needed to stymie counterattacks. Against opponents that sit back, the US is going to be very reliant on using individual ability (like Tielemans smashing it into the top corner from outside the box), set pieces (we have a few players who are excellent in the air), and pressing our opponents into making a mistake close to goal. 

 

I think US-Wales has 1-0 written all over it, and whichever team that gets the first goal will be the one to finish #2 in the group.

 

 

[Finnegan]

16 minutes ago, Detroit Blues said:

 

Our 4-3-3 set up uses two centerbacks selected on their recovery speed and aerial ability, not their ability to make line-breaking passes. Our CDM in Tyler Adams is more of a Kante type that is all work rate and defensive ability, and is not a deep lying creative midfielder. So when we are in possession in the final third, the 3 most important people (2 CBs, and #6) are not going to make the passes needed to break down an Iran or a Wales. But, the positive is, they should provide defensive cover needed to stymie counterattacks. Against opponents that sit back, the US is going to be very reliant on using individual ability (like Tielemans smashing it into the top corner from outside the box), set pieces (we have a few players who are excellent in the air), and pressing our opponents into making a mistake close to goal. 

 

I think US-Wales has 1-0 written all over it, and whichever team that gets the first goal will be the one to finish #2 in the group.

 

 

 

Christ our game is going to be dull.

[Detroit Blues]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

Christ our game is going to be dull.

I can't wait for Iran vs Wales. Both teams just parking the bus, refusing to use the ball in any pro-active manner. At least the USMNT will feebly try to play with it, probably to their detriment

 

[foxes1988]

1 hour ago, Finnegan said:

 

Christ our game is going to be dull.

Can see the build up to this now. The dull as dishwater derby. 

 

Tbh our group is definitely going to be one of the poorest for the neutrals to watch 

Edited 16 November 2022 by foxes1988

[Finnegan]

1 hour ago, Detroit Blues said:

I can't wait for Iran vs Wales. Both teams just parking the bus, refusing to use the ball in any pro-active manner. At least the USMNT will feebly try to play with it, probably to their detriment

 

 

Narh in fairness, against teams we think we can beat we will attack. We're fairly comfortable in possession and play it around alright, I mean a midfield with Ramsey and Allen isn't exactly short of quality in the pass. In the second tier of the Nations League we were fairly dominant. 

 

We also have a decent amount of pace on the counter. 

 

We just know our limits. We've got a very Football League squad and we're obviously not going to go trying to take the game to teams full of quality top flight opposition. 

[Jon the Hat]

Three wins, then fall over against the first decent team we play in the knock outs.

[ozleicester]

17 hours ago, ClaphamFox said:

England haven't won any of their last six matches - that's the worst run of form of any England team heading into a World Cup.We finally played some decent football after Germany went 2-0 up at Wembley in September, but that was only when we were forced to abandon plan A and go for it. It will be interesting to see whether we go into this tournament with more attacking intent or revert to Southgate's more cautious approach...

 

what happened in 2014? ... not sure but a quick google suggests W W W W W W W with 18 goals scored - Didnt get out of group?

[CosbehFox]

5 hours ago, ozleicester said:

what happened in 2014? ... not sure but a quick google suggests W W W W W W W with 18 goals scored - Didnt get out of group?

Was a tough group where England lost to Italy and Uruguay by a single goal. 

That withstanding it was Roy Hodgson, a central defensive pairing of Gary Cahill & Phil Jagielka with Gerrard, Rooney and Lampard all exiting 

[Fear Of The Fox]

Is England the only team of the WC with no friendly match arranged before the official start of the tournament? 

[ClaphamFox]

6 hours ago, ozleicester said:

what happened in 2014? ... not sure but a quick google suggests W W W W W W W with 18 goals scored - Didnt get out of group?

No - our record running up to the 2014 was pretty average: lost two, drawn two and won two. Remember it includes friendlies as well as competitive games.

 

[CosbehFox]

15 minutes ago, Fear Of The Fox said:

Is England the only team of the WC with no friendly match arranged before the official start of the tournament? 

No-one in England's group has. Quite a few of European countries haven't bothered - especially those starting at front end of the competition 

[Iran]

2 hours ago, CosbehFox said:

No-one in England's group has. Quite a few of European countries haven't bothered - especially those starting at front end of the competition 

Friend, that is not true. We had 2 friendly matches arranged with Nicaragua on the 10th and Tunisia on the 16th before facing England on Monday.

[CosbehFox]

44 minutes ago, Iran said:

Friend, that is not true. We had 2 friendly matches arranged with Nicaragua on the 10th and Tunisia on the 16th before facing England on Monday.

I was going off an article from 90 min. So my bad 

[cruzFOX]

The beauty of tournament football is no one knows 100% what the hell is gonna happen. England in paper should be able to win all 3 games without too much trouble but will they? There’s a strong chance they could struggle. The factors are many like players being unfit, injuries, southgates cautious setup, the climate, unfamiliar surroundings, teams showing no fear and going for the soft underbelly.

im cautiously confident with England.

 

Iran have a fire in their belly not for footballing reasons. The players have a lot on their minds with trouble back home. 
 

Wales are reliant on bale and if he turns up to play you can bet the rest of the team will give 100%
 

Even though I reside in the US I have no clue what to expect from national side. I’ve watched them against Mexico where the temp dial is set to max and they can certainly play. Can they muster that kind of intensity, energy and fight against wales & Iran? Against England they will want to prove themselves.

[ClaphamFox]

28 minutes ago, cruzFOX said:

The beauty of tournament football is no one knows 100% what the hell is gonna happen. England in paper should be able to win all 3 games without too much trouble but will they? There’s a strong chance they could struggle. The factors are many like players being unfit, injuries, southgates cautious setup, the climate, unfamiliar surroundings, teams showing no fear and going for the soft underbelly.

im cautiously confident with England.

 

Iran have a fire in their belly not for footballing reasons. The players have a lot on their minds with trouble back home. 
 

Wales are reliant on bale and if he turns up to play you can bet the rest of the team will give 100%
 

Even though I reside in the US I have no clue what to expect from national side. I’ve watched them against Mexico where the temp dial is set to max and they can certainly play. Can they muster that kind of intensity, energy and fight against wales & Iran? Against England they will want to prove themselves.

When was the last time England won all three group games in a major tournament? 1982? It almost never happens...

[foxes1988]

2 hours ago, cruzFOX said:

The beauty of tournament football is no one knows 100% what the hell is gonna happen. England in paper should be able to win all 3 games without too much trouble but will they? There’s a strong chance they could struggle. The factors are many like players being unfit, injuries, southgates cautious setup, the climate, unfamiliar surroundings, teams showing no fear and going for the soft underbelly.

im cautiously confident with England.

 

Iran have a fire in their belly not for footballing reasons. The players have a lot on their minds with trouble back home. 
 

Wales are reliant on bale and if he turns up to play you can bet the rest of the team will give 100%
 

Even though I reside in the US I have no clue what to expect from national side. I’ve watched them against Mexico where the temp dial is set to max and they can certainly play. Can they muster that kind of intensity, energy and fight against wales & Iran? Against England they will want to prove themselves.

Climate isn't really an issue all the stadiums have air conditioning which the reports are that they work pretty well.  There is only one England game being played at 16:00 local time so i dont think climate can used as an excuse.

[TJQuik]

On 16/11/2022 at 15:49, Finnegan said:

 

Christ our game is going to be dull.

No, we're going to thrash every team 7-0. ENGERLAND

[Finnegan]

1 hour ago, TJQuik said:

No, we're going to thrash every team 7-0. ENGERLAND

 

I mean, I was talking about USA vs Wales pal.

[TJQuik]

11 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I mean, I was talking about USA vs Wales pal.

We'll win 0-0-7 then. Cuz we are engerland and it's ARE YEER

[Wymsey]

18 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

I mean, I was talking about USA vs Wales pal.

Shame that Andy King, with his experience, isn't in the squad.

[TJQuik]

2 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

Shame that Andy King, with his experience, isn't in the squad.

At least we've got Ward in - having 4 other teams to support will help a bit when England are knocked out of this pile of shite