UEFA Nations League 2022-23

Nearly a carbon copy of the last goal for Scotland's 3rd goal.

That was a shocker from the Austrian keeper. Dived out of the way of a shot straight down the middle. He was having a good game up to that point. Nice run from Mbappe, but no way should that have gone in.

Maguire looks like a lad just plucked from Sunday league and thrown into the international football he is totallly uncoordinated

Great goal by Raspadori to give Italy the lead.

Rice covers a huge amount of ground, always trying to make himself available for a pass. He then typically passes backwards after slowing the game down and taking too many touches or if he's feeling ambitious then maybe a sideways pass.

Compare that to a top midfielder of his generation, say Modric, who covers half the ground due to how effective his quick forward passing is.

That England team is absolutely awful to watch

Southgate should of been gone ages ago

In fairness most midfielders would come up with the short end of the stick in comparison with Modric.

Rice is more like a poor man's Roy Keane. And then there is Dier. Stealing a living is that fella.

The audacity

And because they have a manager who has doubled down on his ultra cautious defenclsive tactics. They've plenty of technical gifted players and should be capable of putting a fair few past most teams, including a relatively poor Italian team by their standards of past. England have always had great technical players, but have perhaps not used them properly or at all in favour of someone a bit more crash bang....

I don't out it down to ability, I put it down to tactical naivety mostly. Sacrificing players like scholes for years to shoehorn Gerrard and lampard into the same first 11. Any other nation would see sense to have one on the bench for when the other tires.

Southgate for all his talk of rewarding form, has too often rewarded familiarity and form has long gone out the window for several players. Maguire is too high profile to be dropped it seems as it becomes a story.

Is another issue other countries have just got on with. Brazil dropping romario, Italy baggio, Spain ditching Raul, Germany ditching players all the time. They need to forget about sentiment once and for all and have a bit more adaptability and approaches to playing.

Southgate is utterly clueless at the top level. Even in the last 3 years, the game has jumped a level, and he can't keep up tactically.

I think I know what his thought process is, and it's actually logical to a point.

As we all know, transitions might be the most important phases in football matches. How you control them can dictate your control on the match. Good coaches have learned and developed techniques and tactical setups in order to either slow counters or retain possession high up the pitch (by fouling early, or coaching players to anticipate where cleared balls will go, or coordinated presses).

Southgate hasn't a clue how to coach the above, and therefore knows that he needs extra protection going backwards. Hence the back 5 and two holding mids, more often than not. This obviously means you make it impossible for your team in attack because players are nearly always isolated, which slows the attack down, opposition get in shape, and any danger dissipates. But because of his own limitations, Southgate has to do what he does, and hope for luck and set pieces. And that's largely worked for 2 tournaments.

But football has actually continued to evolve. More international teams are better. He can't keep up, and he's píssing away a very talented group of players.

You are right in a lot of what you are saying about England but I think you are a little off the mark when it comes to your thoughts on Italy.

They have been generally dung for about a decade, and winning the last euros was a crazy result out of sorts with their play. Failure to make 2 major tournaments? And if they had played anyone other than England in that euro final, I wouldn't have fancied them.

Spain losing at home to Switzerland is a surprise.

Mitrovic got a hat-trick for the Serbs against Sweden. He's on fire this season.

I was working that night, in England, and I had the match on a tiny b&w TV.

Steve, the forklift guy, stuck his head round the door and said "What's the score?"

I said "1-0" and just as he went to leave, I added (gleefully!), " . . . . to San Marino"

To mis-quote Graham Taylor, Did I like that!

Sad to see how injuries have really did a number on Hazard, a shadow of the player he once was

Awful from Maguire there. Germany deservedly lead.

Of all people for that to happen to, it’s too perfect that it was Harry Maguire

Bit of a shocker that a ref didn't give that as a penalty in the first instance. An absolute howler by Maguire, really sums up his season so far

Yeah he was looking straight at it.

No way should VAR of had to influence him to give that.

Wembley is very quiet.

Dreadful from Werner there.

Musiala is insane.

You can see so many signs in the England players that they don't believe in what they're doing.

Three times James has shrugged his shoulders while looking for support.

Every time someone tries to press they're looking over their shoulder to see if anyone is going with them. No belief.

Harry's fault again, thinking he's a footballrr

2 assists for Maguire.....

James and Saka were neat there.

Players in the box, including the full back. Fancy that. Players in the box from all positions reap same reward.