France v Spain - Tuesday - 20:00 BST

[shen]

Just now, Pliskin said:

Group of individuals Vs a team. 

France didn't look like individuals in previous matches though. To me, they were tactically beaten and maybe suffered from overconfidence or arrogance. From a Deschamps team that's been in the last four in five of the last six major tournaments, that's particularly galling.

[st albans fox]

11 minutes ago, RowlattsFox said:

I think it's a little harsh to go in on Digne for the second goal. Got to follow the run, and 2 players let him go. 

But yamal didn’t make a run - he just pulled wide to make the space and digne needed to fill that rather than get so close to the winger. 

[FoxesWalk]

Deschamps sacrificed his risk averse nature to play those 4 forwards and only took water carrier CDM types. They were always going to have a hard time against midfields technically better than theirs, and there are quite a few of those teams in the tournament. Spain are the first ones they’ve played (that have turned up), and they fell at the first hurdle of being challenged by a team unafraid of them. 

[Reynaldo]

I mean, Spain looked good, but I don’t see anything there that England can’t beat if they get to the final and are on it. 
 

 

[Dan]

Spain were superb. They're a proper well-oiled machine of a team.

[Jattdogg]

Think fifa would prefer England vs France for third and a Spain vs Argentina in the final purely for ratings on both games.

[ramboacdc]

France didnt look at the races at all. Cant be surely that Spain turned it up a notch and Dechamp didnt know what to do. Something felt off.

[gerblod]

You're all forgetting the penalty - which I thought was soft. After that French heads dropped quicker than they did when the aristocracy met Madame Guillotine. They were doing ok up to that point. Just piss poor passing and ineffective runs after that. Rabiot was a huge loss. Spain smothered them out of the game. England won't fold like that, but it'll be down to Kane and Bellingham to take the few chances that turn up. Saka should start automatically. We need to starve Messi of opportunities. He's the difference in a lacklustre Argentine side. Hard to believe, but we've snuck in almost imperceptibly again. 

[Muzzy_no7]

Apologies if this has already been said but it reminded me of Real Madrid vs Barca when Barca taught Real a proper lesson.

 

A team of individuals led by an average tactician vs a well oiled machine on and off the ball with a proper coach at the helm.

[Sly]

5 hours ago, Jattdogg said:

Think fifa would prefer England vs France for third and a Spain vs Argentina in the final purely for ratings on both games.

Does anyone watch 3rd Vs 4th? I’ve always felt it was a pointless game. 

[Nalis]

3 hours ago, Sly said:

Does anyone watch 3rd Vs 4th? I’ve always felt it was a pointless game. 

I have no recollection of the 3rd place play off in 2022 at all

[purpleronnie]

Strange performance by france.  It was like the france of old where none of the players seem to want to play for each other.  Bizarre given their previous performances.  I wonder if the pressure of being big favourites got to them or maybe something happened in the camp?.

 

Or it could just have been a great performance by spain.

 

Either way I'm quite happy to see France knocked out.

[STEVIE B]

10 hours ago, Reynaldo said:

I mean, Spain looked good, but I don’t see anything there that England can’t beat if they get to the final and are on it. 
 

 

....if they let is have the ball, you may be right. 

[STEVIE B]

9 hours ago, ramboacdc said:

France didnt look at the races at all. Cant be surely that Spain turned it up a notch and Dechamp didnt know what to do. Something felt off.

I think Spain have just gone under the radar. They've just got on with their work quietly.

They haven't got a prolific, headline making striker like Mbappe, or Messi (they have Yamal, but he's done nothing & the press have left him alone), who get all of the plaudits & ego boosts.

Spain are just so good at what they do, playing as a team. They are together.

[FoxesWalk]

10 hours ago, Reynaldo said:

I mean, Spain looked good, but I don’t see anything there that England can’t beat if they get to the final and are on it. 
 

 

I’m a huge England optimist, but I don’t think we can beat this Spain side. They will keep us at arms length and win 1 or 2 nil. If we make it to the final, and I do think we will win vs Argentina surprisingly comfortably. 

[mancunianfox]

Belgium and Portugal both gave Spain more of a game, French looked absolutely when out of posession. I think this was just a nightmare matchup for France and they would have faired much better against both England or Argentina. Glad France are out as they still worry me more as a potential England matchup even after getting completely nullified by the Spanish. 

[AKCJ]

Spain were great and France were really off it.

 

But I maintain that we'd beat Spain but lose to France.

[Finnegan]

15 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

Spain were great and France were really off it.

 

But I maintain that we'd beat Spain but lose to France.

 

In a one-off match with no pressure, everyone fit and with no fatigue then I think you'd pose a really big problem for Spain. 

 

But you're going to be playing in a stadium with no roof, no aircon, in a town where it's 37 degrees today. Looks like rain is forecast for the weekend but you're still looking at temperatures around 30.

 

You've had a long tournament with some tiring games, we have no idea if you'll go to extra time tonight but even if you don't, Norway was incredibly exhausting if nothing else. 

 

Kane isn't the best presser at the best of times and looked really fatigued in your last match and he's undroppable so he'll definitely be starting. 

 

I'm not saying I think you'll definitely lose but it's going to be a phenomenally difficult game against a Spain side that aren't easily flustered and will be playing in heat that suits their control. 

 

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

4 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

In a one-off match with no pressure, everyone fit and with no fatigue then I think you'd pose a really big problem for Spain. 

 

But you're going to be playing in a stadium with no roof, no aircon, in a town where it's 37 degrees today. Looks like rain is forecast for the weekend but you're still looking at temperatures around 30.

 

You've had a long tournament with some tiring games, we have no idea if you'll go to extra time tonight but even if you don't, Norway was incredibly exhausting if nothing else. 

 

Kane isn't the best presser at the best of times and looked really fatigued in your last match and he's undroppable so he'll definitely be starting. 

 

I'm not saying I think you'll definitely lose but it's going to be a phenomenally difficult game against a Spain side that aren't easily flustered and will be playing in heat that suits their control. 

 

 

I get its New York (New Jersey, I don't care), but it's astonishing they've chosen to have the showpiece in a stadium that isn't air conditioned tbh. Bloody ugly ground n all.

[AKCJ]

11 minutes ago, Finnegan said:

 

In a one-off match with no pressure, everyone fit and with no fatigue then I think you'd pose a really big problem for Spain. 

 

But you're going to be playing in a stadium with no roof, no aircon, in a town where it's 37 degrees today. Looks like rain is forecast for the weekend but you're still looking at temperatures around 30.

 

You've had a long tournament with some tiring games, we have no idea if you'll go to extra time tonight but even if you don't, Norway was incredibly exhausting if nothing else. 

 

Kane isn't the best presser at the best of times and looked really fatigued in your last match and he's undroppable so he'll definitely be starting. 

 

I'm not saying I think you'll definitely lose but it's going to be a phenomenally difficult game against a Spain side that aren't easily flustered and will be playing in heat that suits their control. 

 

I just don't see it. This makes out that it's like a relegation threatened team going to the Etihad or Anfield.

 

I think it's set up perfectly to catch these off guard on the break. Spain's fullbacks played the near perfect game last night and I think they'd have to do the same to stop Gordon and Saka because if they get in behind with Kane on the ball and Bellingham running into the box they are done for.

 

England have looked shaky against the sides that want to sit in and defend but when we've given the ball to the opposition and looked to break (bar the first 30 minutes or so against Norway where we looked out of sorts, partly because of Rice's illness) we've looked really solid.

 

So yeah, I'm not sitting here thinking it'll be easy by any imagination. I just think that we'll pose Spain a lot of problems and I think Spain would much, much rather Argentina won tonight.

 

 

Edit; I think the weather is a non-factor really. It's the same for both sides. Spain have a lot of players that play in England and Spanish football is specifically played in the evening during warmer months to avoid the heat. Both sides will struggle with that.

Edited yesterday at 08:34 by AKCJ

[AKCJ]

3 minutes ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

I get its New York (New Jersey, I don't care), but it's astonishing they've chosen to have the showpiece in a stadium that isn't air conditioned tbh. Bloody ugly ground n all.

The final should have been held in the Atlanta stadium. Absolute work of art that place is.

 

But it was always going to be shown where the money is.

[Finnegan]

2 minutes ago, Miquel The Work Geordie said:

 

I get its New York (New Jersey, I don't care), but it's astonishing they've chosen to have the showpiece in a stadium that isn't air conditioned tbh. Bloody ugly ground n all.

 

Yep, it's genuinely insane. 

 

[Finnegan]

1 minute ago, AKCJ said:

This makes out that it's like a relegation threatened team going to the Etihad or Anfield.

 

I don't think that's what I'm suggesting at all. 

 

I don't disagree that you've got a great set up on paper to counter Spain. 

 

I think England vs Spain in sterile test conditions, in a completely one off game in isolation, I'd probably agree with you that you might win it more than you'd lose. Did you say 6/10? Probably fair. 

 

I'm just saying that the fact it's the end of a long, difficult tournament, the biggest summer tournament in history, that's been played in some intense heat and you've already shown signs of looking a bit leggy? 

 

It'll favour the team that are very, very good at playing control football. 

 

It was always going to be the big question mark for England. You're set up to beat teams like Spain, you'll thrive when you can press and counter, you'll do better against teams that want the ball than against teams that park the bus and let you have it. But the flip side is you were always going to have to play those teams at the end of the tournament and there was a risk of burning out. 

 

We'll see. You might be absolutely still full of energy. I'm definitely not writing you off. But I also definitely think Spain will be favourites whoever wins tonight, I certainly wouldn't have you as beating them 6 times out of 10 right now specifically in this context. 

 

@Izzy

[AKCJ]

Just now, Finnegan said:

 

I don't think that's what I'm suggesting at all. 

I mean you said it was a "phenomenally difficult game"  

 

 

[FoxesWalk]

10 minutes ago, AKCJ said:

The final should have been held in the Atlanta stadium. Absolute work of art that place is.

 

But it was always going to be shown where the money is.

The pitch in New Jersey is genuinely non league standard as well, awful patchy grass