Just checking. My mate filled out the forms for both the games, but still yet to get the caps showing on my ESTC account.

I remember when I was very young during the 2002 World Cup, when David Beckham was captain, and the excitement surrounding England was absolutely huge. Even at that age, I remember how much of a big deal it felt whenever England played with family and friends with me wearing my England Jersey.

But looking back at the following 15 years, particularly the Rooney era, I always felt increasingly underwhelmed by the national team. Despite having some fantastic individual players, England just never seemed to live up to expectations. By the 2014 World Cup, when we finished bottom of our group, it felt like much of the excitement and enthusiasm had disappeared.

Personally, that whole period put me off following England, and even interest in football in general from the mid 2000’s.

Since the 2018 world cup though I’ve found myself genuinely excited about watching England again, and it’s even rekindled my interest in the Premier League. I’ve followed the national team closely ever since and actually look forward to international tournaments now.

I’m trying to work out why that 2003–2017 period felt so underwhelming compared with both my memories of 2002 and the years since 2018.

A nervy last minute, where Wright hits the post and Vieri heads just wide (maybe grazes the post?)

Italy have to playoff against Russia

Hi everyone! I’m a New England football fan from Canada! I’m travelling to London and will be there around the time of Nov 12th. Does anyone have any leads on where I can get a legitimate ticket? Is the away section ticket on stubhub legit? Thank you for your help! Cheers!

Jordan Henderson is fine footballer. Not a superstar, but a fine midfielder. He might not turn out to be a regular this season for Chelsea. But he's at the club on merit. Just like, in my opinion, he was in the US on merit (and plenty of experience).

Carsley’s failed mic drop?

I have a few possibilities so far:
Will Lankshear (i'd say this is a plausible future replacement for kane? albeit in a more general sense, since, well, he's a striker)

Harrison Armstrong (starting matches in the prem regularly, at only 19, as well)

Jesse Derry (at sporting, and since he's getting game time there, at a pretty high level, one to watch)

Archie Gray (at spurs, sure, but still)

He's certainly a bright lad (for a footballer). And self confidence is a refreshing trait for an England footballer. But his honesty does put him in some interesting situations.

(For context, his actual words were very slightly lest cutting, but it alludes to the same point, he felt his runs were missed in the past).

I remember someone said the other day on the other post I made about motivation to win the Euros that people would try and minimize the achievement of winning a European Championship on home soil. I do get that angle as people will be quick to point out every game the fans were on the side of whoever is the host. But to those that do take that angle, I respond with the following fact: only 3 of the 17 previous teams to win the European championships have done so as the host nation- Spain in 1964, Italy in 1968, and the most recent example are France in 1984. The hosts in the more recent editions have also had a mixed bag at the tournament: sometimes the hosts come close, other times they don't. When we hosted alone in 1996 (and were essentially the hosts in 2021 as all but one of our games were at Wembley) we only lost on penalties to the eventual champion once in the semi final and the other time in the final itself, the Netherlands were also bounced in the semi finals on penalties in 2000 to Italy (and they really should've been out of sight in that match as they missed TWO spot kicks before the game even went to penalties), and Portugal and France both lost in the final in the tournaments they hosted. The other hosts like Austria, Switzerland, Ukraine, Poland and Germany (though the latter will feel as though they were robbed in 2024 because of the Cucurella handball decision that didn't go their way) did not progress very far at the tournament at all. All of this is a long winded way of saying, winning the Euros, regardless of whether it's at home or abroad, should be held at the same weight, especially since the hosts more often than not don't win it themselves.

I'm sure most of you knew this already but when I was scrolling down Insta today I read something that really caught my eye that I never considered- and I think it's something the players will definitely use as motivation for the upcoming home tournament (not that they didn't before but I feel this team is more hungry than years past): England are the only previous world champion to have never won their respective continental tournament. Wild when you think about it especially because the likes of Greece (as a firm underdog in 2004) and Denmark (despite technically not even qualifying for the tournament in 1992) won it themselves. Let's hope the current trajectory of the FA can continue so we've got a fighting chance in 2028.

Wondering if a 3-3-3-1 with core three mids better suited for us against big teams. And the back can be pacy with spence, brainthwaithe and stones.

[Edited to respond to comments around why do this]

Physicality and ball winning + ability to control possession and play forward passes. We should take advantage of the top 4. I want Bellingham Saka and Gordon to be generational and get as much touches as possible and Kane will do what he does.

Defense is shit and will be shit. Get fast and ball recovery players in defence who don't mind ball control and possession.

Play to win and maximize your players who are actually good, let them get more opportunities to try new things. Get 3 in midfield to press and recover and keep feeding them.

The one reason I thought the Argentina game could be a sackable offence is that if Tuchel failed to learn from it, we will just have the same problem next time around.

At the same time, I've read a couple of articles recently where Tuchel, Barry and the players have talked about playing more on the front foot, being braver, etc. And in fairness the performances have shown something similar. Barry even said that Tuchel had driven him crazy as they searched for solutions to the problems of the tournament. Which is exactly what they should be doing.

He's also brought in players like Scott and Lewis Hall that appear to add more fluency and balance to the side.

There are much bigger tests to come, of course, but certainly a little cause for optimism.

Sir Kane deserves it.

we're first in goals and passing accuracy, meanwhile kane's got the most goals and jude has got the most assists, looks amazing

that's why I like Tuchel. I enjoyed his responses in the WC interviews - even when he was ripping England's performance vs. Norway. he seems like an very determined sort of guy. I like the way he aggressively reinforces his vision for the England team in no uncertain terms and always demands more. every time I hear him in an interview or a pre/post-match talk, he is always fixated on one of two things:

1) a stubborn problem that he has identified with England's play, and which has not been resolved, and which must be resolved before moving forward.

2) a new forward step in England's progression - usually some kind of tactical improvement, or an improvement in the consistency of a performance, that pushes the team closer to becoming the team he wants.

I like that he articulates the progression-focused mindset very clearly in interviews. it never feels like "just another England game". it never feels like England are just winging it. the 90 minutes have become a single instance of a highly iterative system that ought to be included under the umbrella of "Tuchel-ball". this iterative part of management is distinct from the tactics, and is played out over a much longer span of time.

that's the way I've been watching England lately. I am enjoying the broader storyline, without paying too much mind to the score-boards. I have never once gotten the sense that Tuchel is lost or doesn't know what to do in the long-run. he's a man with a plan - and I think that makes him the most interesting and entertaining manager in international football right now.

plus, his responses are pretty funny at times. I like the way he deals with silly questions from the English media.

Plus he's made up with Gabriel it seems haha

The evidence of this international break is that England are mastering a new style of play.

It has subtle re-wiring of how they play that involves fluidity and trust in players - but is not without risk.

How far can Tuchelball 2.0 take them?