Paid Members PunkStep Posted May 20, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted May 20, 2021 Bloody hell, this is only 3 weeks away. It's the longest we've ever had to wait for a major tournament yet somehow it has crept upon us without realising. Probably because we've had a seemingly endless amount of empty-stadium football shoved down our throats for almost 12 months now. Anyway, to me this looks like one of the most open tournaments in a long, long time. Germany and Spain are no longer world beaters, Belgium and France are still major forces, the Dutch are back, Italy have some decent players coming through, England are the bookies favourites (!) and Scotland are coming along for a laugh. I don't think there is an obvious dark horse this summer. Had they qualified then I'd go with Norway, so I'll pick Sweden instead. Zlatan has returned to the team, Forsberg pulls the strings and they have two excellent young players in Kulusevski and Isak. However I think Portugal will retain. They were actually really shit when they won it 5 years ago, but this squad is bloody good. Since then they've added Cancelo, Dias, Mendes, Neves, Bruno, Bernardo, Felix, Jota and Andre Silva to their squad. Not bad, eh? They're strong in every single position on the pitch (even Jose Fonte is having a renaissance) with quite a few options on the bench too. I do wonder whether they would be better without Ronaldo though, as controversial as that sounds. They have a wealth of talent and I hope they get the chance to shine too. Golden boot- former Spurs striker Harry Kane probably has a good chance of winning it. I think England overall should do well. There is some real exciting attacking talent in the squad, and they'll pretty much be at home for most of the tournament if they win their group and progress. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 9 minutes ago, PunkStep said: Zlatan has returned to the team, He's done his knee, he's out. What a shame. France for me Clive. A squad full of talent, and Moussa Sissoko, and even Benzema has been welcomed back with 'open' arms. England will do well. They just have go all out and play Kane, Sancho, Foden, Sterling, Grealish, Mount. As those DM options are desperate. And I obviously hope Gaz Baz scores 50 goals and has a ball. Euros and Copa America at the same time. What a great month it will be. Theres one day where theres 8 games to watch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators PowerButchi Posted May 20, 2021 Moderators Share Posted May 20, 2021 Belgium to bottle it and it not to be as good as finest football tournament of all time as agreed by all intelligent fans of the game Euro 16. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted May 21, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 1 hour ago, SuperBacon said: He's done his knee, he's out. Ah man, that's a right shitter. The same France side plus Benzema, in the form of his life, is pretty frightening. It's mad that Laporte still can't get a call-up (and Zouma can?!), he's looking at switching his allegiance to Spain now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members I Bent My Wookie Posted May 21, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 Honestly on full Scotland support for this one. It's a rare chance my Dad's remotely interested in an international tournament with him being Irish and Scottish so even if we get bashed every game, it'll still be nice to sit in the pub with him and chat about football. Chalk me up as another for the "Sweden to do well" brigade. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Bifkin Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 What are you all on??? Sweden will be lucky to get out of their group!!! Just had another look at Group F. Hungary, Portugal, France and Germany. That is a pure *football cliche klaxon* GROUP OF DEATH isn't it? Â Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members I Bent My Wookie Posted May 21, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 34 minutes ago, SuperBacon said: What are you all on??? Sweden will be lucky to get out of their group!!! Just had another look at Group F. Hungary, Portugal, France and Germany. That is a pure *football cliche klaxon* GROUP OF DEATH isn't it? Â Spain, Slovakia, Poland and the strong chance they'll have one of the third place spots as well? I'm hoping the multiple punctuation was to indicate sarcasm or you've had a shocker there Bacon. That Group F is a disaster for one of the three that will go through, won't be a single easy knockout match from there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members SpiritOfTheForest Posted May 21, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 Absolutely buzzing for it - last time we qualified for a tournament I was 7 years old and I'm 30 now. All kicks off just as work wraps up for the summer so looking forward to watching more football in a short space of time than was previously thought to be humanly possible. Only wish I could be home for it to really soak in the national atmosphere, but hey, worse things happen at sea. I'm sure I read that this year some of the best 3rd placed teams go through to the next round so if we can beat the Czechs in the first game, maybe 3 points will be enough to advance. Although really I'm just delighted to be taking part and can't wait to revel in the experience of seeing my country play on a big stage for the first time since I was a wee man. As second sides go, I'd like to see Spain do well and after living out there I feel I can justifiably claim them as a respectably good second team to have a soft spot for. Even though I technically live in Italy now, it's Sardinia so I have no sense of attachment to the Azzurri so not too fussed what they do. I'd also like to see Finland surprise some people as it's always nice to see the underdog take some scalps. I believe it's their first tournament ever too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members air_raid Posted May 21, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 15 hours ago, PowerButchi said: Belgium to bottle it and it not to be as good as finest football tournament of all time as agreed by all intelligent fans of the game Euro 16. It really was fucking great. Maybe I’m biased because I saw three games live and countless others in the pubs of Marseille, Lyon and St Etienne while I was there, but it was brilliant. I’ll never forget filing out of Portugal v Hungary and hearing a hush fall as news seeped through that Iceland had scored and the Portuguese mistakenly thinking they were out, or being part of a huge cluster of people gathered round a telly in the front of a backstreet bar for Spain v Croatia with an untold number of nationalities united in their support for Croatia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 15 minutes ago, Shy Dad said: Spain, Slovakia, Poland and the strong chance they'll have one of the third place spots as well? I'm hoping the multiple punctuation was to indicate sarcasm or you've had a shocker there Bacon Forgot all about this utter, utter bollocks. So yeah, they'll probably get out of the group. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SuperBacon Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I would like to see Saka, Greenwood, Smith-Rowe and Bellingham included somehow. Maybe Ollie Watkins as well, but waistcoat wanker won't as he is a boring missionary shagger. Saying it again, those DM choices are desperate. If Henderson isn't fit then that is a LOT of pressure on Declan Rice, who is an excellent player but would need someone more defensively minded next to him. Oh god, he's going to take Winks isn't he? I don't really care if England do well or not, but if he doesn't start Phil Foden, he should never manage ever again. Play a 3-2-5. Go full Ardiles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr_Danger Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Southgate doesn’t rate Trent, doesn’t know how to use Trent and doesn’t deserve Trent. He should take Wan-Bissaka instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members garynysmon Posted May 21, 2021 Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) I know I'll be fucking furious during the group stages after once upon a time having a follow your team ticket and flights to Azerbaijan and Italy all in bag for the original staging of the tournament. One or two mad bastards I know are still flying to Baku but realistically I couldn't face all the hassle involved with international travel to an amber country (let alone one bordering fucking Iran which was boring the last time I went), so holding out hope that we make it as far as at least one Wembley game. Honestly, England fans are jammy bastards for having what is essentially a home tournament for them. Euro 2016 in France this ain't I travelled to Euro 2016 with the expectation of singing the anthem at a major tournament and hoping that I'd see us score a goal, yet we reached the semis. But can't see lightning striking twice (hope I'm wrong!). Edited May 21, 2021 by garynysmon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members PunkStep Posted May 21, 2021 Author Paid Members Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) 2 hours ago, scratchdj said: What are we thinking for the England Squad? This was my predicted squad from February. I think Abraham might miss out now, possibly to Ings. This was also before UEFA increased the squad size to 26. I had Mings, James, Maddison, Winks and Greenwood as potential standbys. Pickford Pope Henderson Maguire Stones Walker Dier Keane TAA Saka Chilwell Trippier Rice Henderson Grealish Mount Foden Sancho Sterling Rashford Kane Calvert-Lewin Abraham 2 hours ago, SuperBacon said: I would like to see Saka, Greenwood, Smith-Rowe and Bellingham Wholeheartedly agree! ESR definitely won't make the cut, but in fairness I think even James Maddison will miss out. All of a sudden, we have an abundance of attack-minded midfielders. Bellingham and Greenwood have an outside chance, but I think Saka will definitely make the squad. If he plays 3 at the back, which he has favoured (although didn't for the last round of games), then he prefers Saka at LWB. I think he'll take him regardless because he has quite a few caps under his belt now and has performed very well for England. Edit: oh, since I did that list it's fair to say Shaw has made the cut now Edited May 21, 2021 by PunkStep Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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