England national team

[Smithy]

Drop a winger and put another body in the middle. 
Simple.

I'd go 4-3-3 to match up against their formation. 

                   Pickford
Spence  Konsa  Guehi  O'Reilly
       Rice  Anderson  Bellingham
       Saka  Kane  Gordon

Yep, we're going to have to play at a lower tempo, and that means keeping the ball better, and another body in the middle will help with that

[Brend'Watkins]

According to Sky, Mexico have only ever lost twice at the Azteca stadium. It’s going to be a massive ask for England to progress given they will not have been able to acclimatise to the higher altitude.

[VILLA MOLE]

According to Sky, Mexico have only ever lost twice at the Azteca stadium. It’s going to be a massive ask for England to progress given they will not have been able to acclimatise to the higher altitude.

The altitude is the combined height of Ben Nevis and Snowdon eeeek !!

[Dave]

According to Sky, Mexico have only ever lost twice at the Azteca stadium

Yup, a long line of draws and victories against Panama, El Salvador, Jamaica, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago, Guatemala, Suriname et al.

With the defeats coming against Costa Rica and Honduras.

[brontebilly]

The problem with England is that they're just not very well drilled at doing this (partially because they come from clubs playing different ways and don't have enough time to fully learn the new system). That manifests as 2 or 3 players in pretty much every attack not really knowing where they're supposed to be. Add to that the 'main character syndrome' that a lot of them suffer with and you get the disjointed mess we've seen of players regularly being caught out of position defensively and not knowing what role they're supposed to take in attack.

Yup, that's basically it. The players are fine. It's not that Yoann Wissa and Axel Tuanzebe are better players than England have and we just need to start playing the English versions of them.

If I dunno, Alexander-Arnold and Wharton were playing instead of Spence and Anderson England wouldn't magically be cruising through games.

It's kinda chicken and egg though isn't it, is it the structure or the players or both. TAA is the most egregious example but Wharton can also pass the ball quickly between the lines against packed defences. I get that the structure is a mess, that spoofer Anthony Barry did the same granted with a very poor Irish team, but the player selection was a farce, squad full of tourists and players they could actually use left at home. Spence couldn't make the Spurs team by the end of the season, not sure Konsa played once for us at right back last season, Rice is Englands best midfielder - that's on Tuchel. Two backup midfielders brought to carry the sunscreen. Players do matter.

Take France, first half v Senegal they were a mess like England, getting ran all over and front 4 utterly confused. Trying to fit egos like Mbappe and Dembele into the team is bigger than any challenge Tuchel has. Deschamps at half time switched Olise inside and they have been transformed since. Now they have purpose in their play, glaring weakness at left back aside.

With a reasonably quick back four, England might aswell play a high line, otherwise why leave Maguire at home. But the midfield two have to be disciplined in front of them. Not one of Rice or Anderson charging forward to compensate for Kane and Bellingham not pressing and leave a massive space behind them. That's selling the centre backs out. Further up there's a half hearted press going on but the balance looks way off. Hoping for moments like we were in Gerrards time.

[brontebilly]

Drop a winger and put another body in the middle. 
Simple.

I'd go 4-3-3 to match up against their formation. 

                   Pickford
Spence  Konsa  Guehi  O'Reilly
       Rice  Anderson  Bellingham
       Saka  Kane  Gordon

Hope Gordon has a good rest beforehand as he will be doing a lot of running back to cover the two behind him! 433 can work obviously, Liverpool under Klopp comes to mind, but when we tried under Deano with his 2 x 8s, often both of them attacked together leaving huge spaces. Id move Bellingham into Gordon's spot and drop Mainoo in. Not sure he's disciplined enough, Henderson maybe for 60mins.

[usav]

According to Sky, Mexico have only ever lost twice at the Azteca stadium. It’s going to be a massive ask for England to progress given they will not have been able to acclimatise to the higher altitude.

The altitude is the combined height of Ben Nevis and Snowdon eeeek !!

It's 2400m, which is about the same as a ski resort - Val Thorens being an example.  They will be fine.

[martin o`who??]

According to Sky, Mexico have only ever lost twice at the Azteca stadium. It’s going to be a massive ask for England to progress given they will not have been able to acclimatise to the higher altitude.

The altitude is the combined height of Ben Nevis and Snowdon eeeek !!

Which begs the question why the fuck do FIFA keep giving them Wotld cups? - this is their third.

[Sexual Ealing]

Why shouldn't they? It's a world cup. Much of the world is at altitude. They can't hold it at the Bescott every time.

[VILLA MOLE]

I always wonder why Australia have not had a chance to host yet

[Sexual Ealing]

Come on now.

[VILLA MOLE]

Come on now.

why not ya great galar ?   

[Stu]

Why shouldn't they? It's a world cup. Much of the world is at altitude. They can't hold it at the Bescott every time.

Very high altitude at the Albion, famously.

[SamTheMouse]

Mexico have had it THREE times, yet a great footballing nation like Qatar has only hosted it once. It's a disgrace, I tell ya.

[cdbearsfan]

According to Sky, Mexico have only ever lost twice at the Azteca stadium. It’s going to be a massive ask for England to progress given they will not have been able to acclimatise to the higher altitude.

The altitude is the combined height of Ben Nevis and Snowdon eeeek !!

Which begs the question why the fuck do FIFA keep giving them Wotld cups? - this is their third.

They gave them their second because Colombia withdrew at the last second (if only Donald Trump's dad... etc). They gave them their third because it was North America's turn to host (no continent other than Oceania has waited longer) and the US realised that a mainly-US bid with a few games in Canada and Mexico would be more popular than a standalone bid.

If this makes you angry, well, it will almost certainly be back in North America (probably including Mexico) in 2038 as, again, Oceania is the only other continent that is eligible to host and it isn't really feasible for New Zealand to host a 48-team World Cup, even if they rope in powerhouses like Nauru and Palau to assist.