I’m probably just misunderstanding your transcription, but what do you want him to call it?
Ivory Coast
Perhaps its just me, but it seemed like after Welbeck was substituted out, England lost a lot of good attacking play. Or maybe it was just the humidity (though from the sounds of it, it seemed like the temp in a regular summer’s evening in Atlanta - though teams did complain about the weather in 1994 as well, I guess). But none of the subs really did anything worth a damn.
I’m really enjoying the games so far (although I’ve only managed to watch parts of three live). Lots of great goals, and always great to see a minnow outperforming expectations.
Part of me hopes Honduras can continue CONCACAF’s winning streak over France tomorrow!
I think England did some things well and the new kids seemed dangerous, but I think Italy just about deserved it. A draw wouldn’t have been a stolen point or anything like that, but if you just look at the facts: besides the goals Italy hit the woodwork twice and had an effort cleared of the line. In the second half England really only had the Rooney chance (which wasn’t as easy as everyone is making it out to be) and a few shots from distance.
In the second half it seemed everyone was struggling with the heat, difficult to chase the game in such circumstances. That so many England players got cramps, might be a concern.
ps England was far better than in 2012 btw, back then Italy truly dominated.
Thought England did well last night - against an accomplished Italian side. Can be optimistic for the next two games.
To beat a top side, though, they need something more in the middle of the park. A Gerrard / Henderson midfield prob seemed like a good idea given the attacking nature of the front 4, but it was hard to see their contribution beyond keeping busy. They neither create or disrupt in any real notable way.
My bad. I am used to French people saying it in a very fast, slurred way, but what I wrote is actually the correct deliberate pronunciation. Carry on.
It is called a love/hate relationship, but apparently your tiny mind has difficulty understanding the concept.
So not only can I write that and mean it, I can also watch almost all of the games so far and post in at least three different Football related threads in this forum over the past day or so (the “who do you root for” and “fix football” threads being the other two.
Some interesting points:
Italian Politician under fire for calling England “pretentious pricks”:
Paul Scholes is frustrated at Rooney playing out of position:
And in other news, a clear penalty was not given to England at 2-1. But FIFA thinks that’s “all part of the game” so best not worry.
What was the clear penalty? I wasn’t able to watch the game, just the recaps and none showed this incident (that I remember).
There was no clear penalty. It was a well officiated match.
Dupe
Yes. Paletta came charging in and without going for the ball took Gerrard out. Right now this is the best video I can find of it:
The Guardian that, anyone that follows their footie coverage will probably agree, pretty much hates the England football team seemed to think it was clear:
And this is the Daily Mail, so maybe it should be taken with a pinch of salt, but they do seem to be reporting what was said on German TV:
Right now this is the best video I can find of it:
Crazy how empty the stadium is for Switzerland Ecuador. Of the seats we see, they have to be no more than 20% full.
And I nipped to the shop at halftime to buy catfood and come back to find I have missed an equaliser.
Bad cat!
Excellent decision there by the referee to play the Swiss advantage rather than stop the game. And well done Mr Swiss Guy for getting right back up and attacking.
Wow! How cool is that? Like 10 seconds left in extra time and Suisse gets the win.
Great ending to that match. I’m glad Switzerland got the 3 points; they would have been 2-1 up anyway if it weren’t for a dodgy decision.
Excellent win for Switzerland!