England national team

[Villan For Life]

I’m a Villa fan first and foremost but I’m also an England football fan too, I’d love to see them win a tournament. It comes from my dad, he got me in to the Villa and was also a massive England fan and I’ve carried that on.

[Dave]

Who has been blaming Konsa? I've seen plenty of places say that England's defence as a collective looked quite ropey at times, which it did.

My usual outlet said that Konsa was England's best defender. Which he was.

[Somniloquism]

Whether they will love it if England defend so poorly against better opposition is another matter.

The thought of world-class strikers being faced with the sort of slipshod defence we saw in Dallas, especially in the first half, will be a very sobering takeaway for Tuchel, who will know it was simply not good enough.

The selection of Ezri Konsa ahead of Manchester City defender Marc Guehi was contentious. It is a debate that will continue as the Aston Villa player did not make a compelling case for his continued inclusion.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwylqvgne7lo

No criticism of Stones at all, just Konsa didn't justify his selection even though he has almost been ever present for a while.

[paul_e]

Who has been blaming Konsa? I've seen plenty of places say that England's defence as a collective looked quite ropey at times, which it did.

My usual outlet said that Konsa was England's best defender. Which he was.

A lot of fan polls, etc seem to be marking him as the weak link, I assume because it couldn't possibly be down to the Man City or Chelsea players.

Personally I thought Stones looked like someone who has barely played this season and in front of them Rice and Anderson both played well but suspect in their positioning in the first half which made us a bit too easy to get through. 2nd half they were both much more disciplined and we improved immensely as a result.

[ChicagoLion]

Touchel picked up on the real isssue when he asked them at half time why they were reverting to a 7 at the back, the problems forthedefence was no protection in front of them and on a number of occasions particularly in the first half, no pressure on the ball 25 to 35 yards from goal.

[Simon Page]

England usually have one excellent performance per tournament and it's always greeted with "this is our year" hyperbole by commentators, reporters and pundits. If those three toned it down, I'd feel more engaged. No problem with the squad, just the arse that goes on around their efforts. Enjoy it but calm it down a bit, just as the players and staff do. So far it's one match played, half a match excellent, against second tier opposition.

Comin' 'ome innit.

[VILLA MOLE]

Touchel picked up on the real isssue when he asked them at half time why they were reverting to a 7 at the back, the problems forthedefence was no protection in front of them and on a number of occasions particularly in the first half, no pressure on the ball 25 to 35 yards from goal.

Yes we gave them fr too much space in that first half

[mrfuse]

Touchel picked up on the real isssue when he asked them at half time why they were reverting to a 7 at the back, the problems forthedefence was no protection in front of them and on a number of occasions particularly in the first half, no pressure on the ball 25 to 35 yards from goal.

I agree, it's been a problem with England for a long time, particularly under Southgate. We often go ahead in games and then drop far too deep instead of staying on the front foot.

The second goal Croatia scored was a good example of that. It started with Kane being too deep, and then he failed to press the man on the ball, which allowed the move to develop.

I also thought Bellingham was well below his usual level in the first half. He looked off the pace and wasn't having much influence on the game. To his credit, though, he improved significantly in the second half, along with the rest of the team.

[Smirker]

I love the international tournaments and get just as invested as with Villa.

I can understand wanting Villa to win the league more than anything England do, but not being bothered at all, doesn't make sense to me.

England 

[sid1964]

Love watching England in the tournaments - just hope we eventually win one!!

Kane is the best England centre forward I have seen - better than, my mate Shearer and lineker etc…

[Somniloquism]

Gordon might not have played well, but I liked his attitude in the interview.

England's Anthony Gordon, speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live about making his World Cup debut: "It has been a crazy couple of weeks and that just topped it off. First World Cup game, something I have dreamed about as a kid.

"Special, but it is not about me. Self-centredness is a disease and I don't want to be a part of that.

"It is about the team. Rashy [Marcus Rashford] came on and made an impact, Bukayo [Saka] and Morgan [Rogers]. It is a collective."

On the game: "A difficult first half - their goal came from nowhere and stunned us a little bit. We came out really strong in the second half and got what we wanted. They were really good and that can't be underestimated when you look at the game."

[TopDeck113]

Even after the "years of hurt", the flattering to deceive, the objectionable players picked on reputation rather than merit, the whole media circus surrounding the participation in every major tournament, etc.  I still want England to perform, win games and, who knows, maybe one day win a trophy.  What I can't stand is the support. The jingoistic intolerance that has always had a racist undertone and the post-1990 requirement - now exacerbated by social media - for everyone in the public eye to wrap themselves in the flag and make uninformed pronouncements about it "coming home".

[Brend'Watkins]

I like watching England games as a study of the national team. I always want them to succeed and as a study you can sense the fear of failure amongst most of the team. Last night’s game, 2nd half showed what a team with quality players can achieve, they were very good in that period. I haven’t come across the Konsa bashing, he was okay but he’s better when partnered by Guehi. If they are looking at a weakness in defence I’d point the finger at Pickford. He’s not a bad keeper but he’s not a footballer. With the ball at his feet he’s something of a liability and that unsteadies the defence. James wasn’t much cop either.

[Stu]

Whether they will love it if England defend so poorly against better opposition is another matter.

The thought of world-class strikers being faced with the sort of slipshod defence we saw in Dallas, especially in the first half, will be a very sobering takeaway for Tuchel, who will know it was simply not good enough.

The selection of Ezri Konsa ahead of Manchester City defender Marc Guehi was contentious. It is a debate that will continue as the Aston Villa player did not make a compelling case for his continued inclusion.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/articles/cwylqvgne7lo

No criticism of Stones at all, just Konsa didn't justify his selection even though he has almost been ever present for a while.

I suspect Tuchel is his own man, at least for now, when it comes to selection. Pretty shoddy to single out any defender but England looked a bit better when Stones was subbed for Guehi.

[john e]

The defense is England’s big weakness
I don’t think there’s one player including the goalkeeper who is top international class in the England team at the moment
Maybe Stone’s in his prime, but he’s not in his prime anymore

I know I’m coming over as a little ray of sunshine but put Simply I don’t think we will win the World Cup with that defense