Euro 2020 Thread (11th June-11th July)

[Duty281]

First topic message reminder :

Starts in under a week. Might be a fun summer of football to lift the gloom of the previous 12 months.

Groups:

Full Schedule:

Outright Odds:

Portugal to defend their title? France to go one better? Germany return to prominence? Belgium finally get it right? England bring football home? Or will Scotland shock the world?

[Riggs]

Italians doing well but wait until they face a bigger reputation.

[Luke]

Belgium playing like they met for the first time in the changing room just before kick off.

[Luke]

Belgium bring on De Bruyne at half time, and look a completely different side.

[Duty281]

Two spectacular goals to win that after a diabolical first half for Belgium. It was a fantastic atmosphere in Copenhagen, and a shame to see more disappointment for the Danes. That early goal was such a brilliant feel-good moment.

Belgium through to the last 16, but I don't think any of the big nations will be fearing them, at least not yet. Currently on a collision course with Italy in the QFs in what could be the ultimate game of attack v defence.

Danes need to beat Russia to avoid complete misery in the tournament. A Danish win and Belgium beating Finland will leave a traffic jam of three teams tied on three points.

[Riggs]

Too many players falling over too easily and ott dramatics.

Memphis missing a golden opporttunity. More dramatics to come, I'm sure.

[Guest]

I don’t particularly rate Netherlands, but they’re in the weak section of the draw, and that could possibly see them go quite far in this tournament, possibly the SF.

[Duty281]

Sets it up nicely for Ukraine/Austria in the last game of the group. Winner goes through, loser may or may not go through.

England v Scotland tomorrow. Should be a comfortable win for England, but I'm somewhat wary that the tournament hasn't had a proper upset yet*. Not imagining too many changes to England's side, though I hope Southgate dispenses with the idea of Trippier at LB. Kane could do with a goal or two to ignite his tournament.

*Finland did upset Denmark, but that was heavily influenced by the awful incident to Eriksen. Poland losing to Slovakia may have been a small upset, but that had a red card.

Croatia v the Czechs should be more interesting. Are Croatia actually as bad as they looked v England? Are the Czechs half-decent, or did Scotland just make them seem that way?

[Samo]

England are a good side, but they arent unbeatable. And on their day Scotland can more than hold their own against anyone. Scotland need to get the setup right today. I wouldnt completely rule out Scotland getting a result.

Croatia/Czech is a big game for Scotland aswell. If Croatia win it puts a lot of pressure on Scotland and the Czechs to try and clinch one of the best third place spots. I think Scotland will be looking for a Czech win in that one, sneak a result tonight and then beat Croatia.

Stranger things have happened.

[BamBam]

Reece James and Luke Shaw rumoured to be starting full backs tonight

[Duty281]

Reece James and Luke Shaw rumoured to be starting full backs tonight

Hallelujah!

[Soul Requiem]

Reece James and Luke Shaw rumoured to be starting full backs tonight

Shaw should have started against Croatia. Right back I would have been happy with Trippier but James is a definite upgrade on Walker who has never been that great for England.

[Riggs]

Maybe we'll see Scotland bring a shock to the tournament.

Maybe Scotland will beat England, who knows? I wish them the best, they fought hard to qualify.

[Duty281]

Solid 1-0 win for the Swedes near-enough guarantees them a place in the last 16.

Seems as though England bringing in James and Shaw will be the only changes. Scotland supposed to be bringing in Gilmour and Adams, which I think will be good changes for them to make. I was very surprised Gilmour didn't start v the Czechs.

[Riggs]

A mostly boring Sweden vs Slovakia, until the last 15 mins when things began to hotten up.

I knew it would be a tight game and Sweden didnt disappoint.

[Samo]

Terrible decision to award that penalty.

[Duty281]

It's a soft one, but a penalty's the right call...unsure if VAR needed to intervene, it's an 'umpire's call' I'd say. If that gets given as a foul outside the box, no one blinks. I don't really like the idea of penalties for that reason.

Either way, another poor game thus far from Croatia. Need a response in the second half, otherwise they'll be chasing a win v Scotland and requiring a bit of luck with the other 3rd placed teams.

[Samo]

Good result for Scotland if it stays this way. Nick a point tonight then beat a Croatia side with nothing to play for. Could be enough.

[Duty281]

Sets it up nicely for Ukraine/Austria in the last game of the group. Winner goes through, loser may or may not go through.

The draw odds-on with some bookmakers (mostly evens). A draw will almost certainly take both through and there's rumour of shenanigans afoot. A possible flaw with the format, most certainly.

[Riggs]

I am happy to hear that Christian has been discharged from hospital and is going home to his family.

[Duty281]

Good point for the Czechs, they should be through regardless of what happens in their last game. Teams as expected for the next one:

England - Pickford; James, Stones, Mings, Shaw; Rice; Phillips, Mount; Foden, Kane, Sterling. (Saka and White the two not on the bench)

Scotland - Marshall; McTominay, Hanley, Tierney; Gilmour; O’Donnell, McGregor, McGinn, Robertson; Dykes, Adams.

Really positive selections from both managers. Hope Southgate maintains that positivity through the rest of the tournament - I feel this is near-enough the strongest side he can name at this point. Gilmour and Adams will add a different dimension to Scotland in possession, and it's good for them that they've got Tierney back in defence.

Feel this should be a comfortable England win, 2 or 3 nil. Would be a big upset if Scotland were to take three points.

[Samo]

Strong Scotland side. Not too happy about O’Donnell starting, unless Clarke has reminded him he’s a football player since Monday.

[Riggs]

I wish Scotland the very best, maybe they'll surprise everyone by winning.

[alfie]

Looking forward to a lively match. Sure the Scots will go hard from the off and I think this might produce a pretty open affair with a fair few chances at either end.
The earlier game rather faded out after the equalizer : I thought I saw two teams happy enough with a point. Imagine Croatia in particular are now hoping for a England tonight ...

[Guest]

Scotland are relatively comfortable, so far. As for England, Kane anonymous, and the Rice and Phillips combo is just poor, and offers very little.

[Samo]

Very even half, not a whole lot to seperate the teams. Cant help but feel that Stones will rue missing that chance.

[alfie]

Scots might be the happier with that half. Apart from that flurry around eleven minutes England haven't really threatened , for all their possession : England needed a nice intervention from Pickford to stay level...

Southgate will need to stir them up a bit in the break.

[Duty281]

Very poor half from England, very laboured.

Ultra-slow tempo, no intricate play, Kane with a heavy touch. Seeing flashes of good interplay and movement between the Sterling-Mount-Foden trio, but it's not consistent and is getting snuffed out easily.

James has been very disappointing. Unlike Shaw, he's not trying 1-2s with the midfield, he's not making runs in behind the defence...possibly to guard against a Scottish counter down the left?

We're also seeing the start of the defensive frailty that will likely cost England at this tournament. Croatia offered nothing in attack, but Scotland have , and England haven't answered the challenge at all well. Mings-Stones are not a partnership, they're two individuals operating on their own island, a bit like Terry and King/Carragher/Upson from 2010, plus they're getting next to zero defensive help from Rice and Phillips.

Changes have to be made. I'd especially like Grealish to come on for Mount if the deadlock remains, perhaps Sancho for Sterling at some point (not Rashford), and will be interesting to see if Southgate has the bottle to replace Kane with DCL if Kane's still off-the-pace after 70 minutes or so.

Best bit of the half was the referee sorting out McGinn early. Right from the start McGinn was kicking opponents and in the referee's ear after every incident - one yellow card dealt with that. Good officiating.

[Riggs]

Both teams have missed chances.

0-0 at half-time is indicative of lacking that finishing touch.

England won't get far if they can't score. Scotland also need to get their shooting boots on.

[JDizzle]

What a fabulous player Billy Gilmour is though. His first start for Scotland playing England at Wembley in a major tournament and he's been brilliant.

[Guest]

Absolutely dire stuff from England

[Samo]

Dont know why he took Foden off and not Kane.

[Guest]

Full credit to Scotland

Rice and Phillips continuing to stink out the midfield. England going nowhere fast, if they persist with these two.

Shaw & James poor too.

[Soul Requiem]

Declan Rice is such a nothing player, offers absolutely nothing.

[Samo]

Scotland the better team for great portions of the match. Gilmour, Hanley, Tierney and McGinn were all immense. I’d’ve taken a draw before kick off so Im happy with the result. Keeps things interesting going into the final games.

[Riggs]

Scotland defending well enough to earn a draw, good for them.

England, well, they didn't deserve to win. No real threat.

Well done Scotland, for not losing.

[GSC]

Tactics, lineups etc aside really looked like only one team was really up for winning this game. Nobody on the England side looked like they approached this game with a lot of intensity.

[Duty281]

Absolute rubbish from England and Southgate. Playing for a draw at home to one of the lowest-ranked teams in the competition is pathetic. So many options on the bench not utilised. Don't see the point of playing James if you don't want the right full-back advancing up the pitch - play Trippier instead.

Though I supported the decision to take Kane off, putting Rashford in his place was bizarre. What chance did Rashford have of influencing the game in that compact Scottish defence? DCL was the obvious option. Also think taking Kane off was pre-meditated, possibly a fitness issue, as he was replaced in the first game, and he offered no complaint today.

I really can't fathom the lack of attack and urgency. England pressed Croatia (a technically superior side to Scotland) well, but were reluctant to do it in this game. England had no desire in the second half to try and up the tempo. It was a really pathetic performance against limited opposition. If England do come up against the likes of France/Portugal in this tournament, the drawbridge will probably be coming up from minute one. Southgate is, as we feared he would be, too negative, despite showing some early attacking willingness in Nations League games.

Also thought Sterling should have won a penalty, the Dutch got one yesterday for a similar incident, but that would have masked a terrible day. Awful stuff. Reminded me of the draw against Algeria 11 years ago (exactly 11 years ago today in fact).

[Cyril]

That draw pretty much puts Scotland out, but disappointing that England got dragged down to their level. A lot of work for England for the post group stages.

[alfie]

Well that ended up a bit of a damp squid , didn't it ? Credit to Scotland for giving as good as they got ; but disappointing to see England's much vaunted host of attacking options fail to land a blow.
Steady build up was fine : but it was all so slow and the finish never really looked like coming...

Four points but they'll need to beat Czech due to goal difference if they want to top the group. And Scotland similarly will need three points against Croatia to have any chance of progressing.

Ah well . Hope for more action (and better weather) for the last round. And for Harry Kane to shake off his current apparent lethargy.

[Duty281]

That draw pretty much puts Scotland out, but disappointing that England got dragged down to their level. A lot of work for England for the post group stages.

Well...a win now v Croatia will almost certainly put them through as, at least, one of the best third-placed sides. Should be a great atmosphere for that one.

[Duty281]

Well that ended up a bit of a damp squid , didn't it ? Credit to Scotland for giving as good as they got ; but disappointing to see England's much vaunted host of attacking options fail to land a blow.
Steady build up was fine : but it was all so slow and the finish never really looked like coming...

Four points but they'll need to beat Czech due to goal difference if they want to top the group.  And Scotland similarly will need three points against Croatia to have any chance of progressing.

Ah well .  Hope for more action (and better weather) for the last round.  And for Harry Kane to shake off his current apparent lethargy.

Second in the group would give an easier last-16 tie, but a potentially harder QF and SF, than if England won the group.

But if England maintain that performance it could be another Euros where England don't make it past the first knockout round.

[Samo]

Any of the four teams could still qualify. Scotland beating Croatia puts us on 4. We could still nick second on goal difference if either England or the Czech Republic hammer the other. Same applies for Croatia. The group is still wide open.

[Duty281]

Scotland could nick second if the Czechs beat England, but if England beat the Czechs it comes down to H2H first, so Scotland can't finish above the Czechs. Same thing with Croatia who can't finish above England.

Does set it up perfectly for Scotland/Croatia. Winner almost certainly goes through, because a third-placed team getting 4 points will surely be enough. A draw will almost certainly knock both teams out, because 2 points won't be enough.

[Samo]

England and Czech Republic could just play to a draw and both qualify.

[Duty281]

Czechs would be delighted with a draw because they'll finish atop the group. Lord knows what Southgate wants. He might play 5 at the back for the next one.

[Duty281]

Anyway, some good games tomorrow, hopefully! Today was rather drab in all three games.

Portugal-Germany the headline act, Spain-Poland both trying to kickstart their tournament after both having a disappointing start, and France play Hungary (could be a mismatch).

Southgate must have watched a different match to me. I've just seen his post-match interview and he said that at times England were too frantic and not patient enough...I must have missed those segments of the game!

[Dolphin Ziggler]

Worrying, but inches away from an early goal and a huge penalty shout waved away that seemed a clear one.

Scotland deserve credit for their dogged performance, but I think protestations that they deserve much more praise are a little much. They had moments, certainly, but came for a draw and grit and got their reward. It was a team of defenders, Adams and Dykes limited as threats but leading the defence.

In the end, I think the occasion played a part. I think England should be very disappointed that they didn’t have the nous to create more (not forgetting Scotland were good at the back), and concerned about their manager.

Individually, I think Pickford and Stones were good, Stones in particular looked mature and intelligent as a centre back. Mings was great when he was good and then moments of being suspect.

Concerned that Southgate is deploying Rice like a robot. Then wonder whether Phillips and Mount both do similar jobs. It needed a change in there.

Sterling too was lucky to stay on. Think Sancho is being criminally treated by the manager. He shouldn’t have to move back to England to make a bigger impression considering his performances in Germany.

It’s not all doom and gloom, Scotland were a bloody nightmare to play against and rose to the big game. Wonder whether England should have allowed themselves to get into the rivalry rather than talking of it as just a game to win. Dunno, that might be drink talking.

[CaledonianCraig]

Well its a 0-0 draw and its a game that if anyone deserved to win it was Scotland. That tells us either England aren't as great as their pundits/media and some fans think they are or Scotland are better than they were given credit for?

Our lads went into this game under immense pressure and with no big tournament experience but rose to the occasion far better. In Southgate's post-match comments we got a clue of what fear he instilled in his players saying if you can't win games make sure you don't lose.

[Duty281]

Well its a 0-0 draw and its a game that if anyone deserved to win it was Scotland. That tells us either England aren't as great as their pundits/media and some fans think they are or Scotland are better than they were given credit for?

Our lads went into this game under immense pressure and with no big tournament experience but rose to the occasion far better. In Southgate's post-match comments we got a clue of what fear he instilled in his players saying if you can't win games make sure you don't lose.

Wouldn't quite go that far. England had the better chances and dominated possession (probably won it on xG), not that I'd be pushed to say that either team deserved it as they were both negative. Scotland were OK, a few good individual performances (Gilmour especially), but certainly not 'fantastic' or any other superlative I've heard attributed.

I think England went into the game under greater pressure as they were expected to win. For Scotland it was effectively a free hit.

I'm not sure many (any?) pundits or England fans think England are particularly great. Overall it tells us that Southgate is miserably negative, happy to settle for a point as he was, and his in-game management was poor.

[CaledonianCraig]

Well its a 0-0 draw and its a game that if anyone deserved to win it was Scotland. That tells us either England aren't as great as their pundits/media and some fans think they are or Scotland are better than they were given credit for?

Our lads went into this game under immense pressure and with no big tournament experience but rose to the occasion far better. In Southgate's post-match comments we got a clue of what fear he instilled in his players saying if you can't win games make sure you don't lose.

Wouldn't quite go that far. England had the better chances and dominated possession (probably won it on xG), not that I'd be pushed to say that either team deserved it as they were both negative. Scotland were OK, a few good individual performances (Gilmour especially), but certainly not 'fantastic' or any other superlative I've heard attributed.  

I think England went into the game under greater pressure as they were expected to win. For Scotland it was effectively a free hit.

I'm not sure many (any?) pundits or England fans think England are particularly great. Overall it tells us that Southgate is miserably negative, happy to settle for a point as he was, and his in-game management was poor.

We'll agree to disagree then. Scotland more shots on goal and more shots on target. England had more possession but chiefly in their own half. Sorry but England under greater pressure? A loss and Scotland were most likely out whereas a loss for England and they'd still have been able to play out a draw with the Czechs in their final game and most definitely still qualify.

Are you kidding. Pundits on the radio prediction a 4-0 win for England. I never saw any England pundit forecast anything other than an England win. As for Southgate yes I get the impression he's instilled that mindset at all costs not to lose and that manifests itself into negativity. But he's also been praised for killing off the prima donna attitude of squads of the past that he took great praise for at the World Cup so its swings and roundabouts really. England will still go through but we shall see how far they go.

[Sponsored content]