England vs Italy (Group D) Saturday 14th June 2014

[JTG]

Glad you're still with us Voley

 

[prunus]

4-3 to England, comeback from 3-1 down. Hailed as the greatest game in World Cup history.

 

[Badgers]

Sterling on for Lallana??

 

[Yelkcub]

Sterling on for Lallana??

Watching itv? That's what they reckon?

 

[Lord Camomile]

Sterling on for Lallana??

I did say Hodgson wouldn't drop Welbeck.

Not here, but I did say it.

 

[Voley]

Glad you're still with us Voley

Second wind now, I think. Should go the distance now.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Not sure it makes sense either. Surely you want Sterling coming on when everyone else is knackered and tear them apart?

I mean bloody hell, I'm a casual football fan with no experience of an organised game of football, and even I know that

 

[Lord Camomile]

Fucking hell, that pitch!

 

[Badgers]

Fucking hell, that pitch!

Sunday league!!

 

[goldenecitrone]

About time to dig this out I think:



Isn't it, you know, marvellous?

Classic. Just hope it doesn't turn out to be this one, instead.

 

[goldenecitrone]

Let's get tonight out of the way first, but how do other Liverpool fans feel about playing against Suarez? Will be a bit weird with so many Liverpool players in the England team.

 

[Lord Camomile]

Sunday league!!

Not even! There's a patch like that in Fordham Park where I play three-sided football, and that's just a public park!

Good fun to be in goal on that bit though

 

[Voley]

Classic. Just hope it doesn't turn out to be this one, instead.

Could be worse:

 

[Badgers]

Let's get tonight out of the way first, but how do other Liverpool fans feel about playing against Suarez? Will be a bit weird with so many Liverpool players in the England team.

Shame they had not sighed Lallana before the cup started too how many starting tonight, is it 4 or 5?

 

[binka]

Shame they had not sighed Lallana before the cup started too how many starting tonight, is it 4 or 5?

national expectations are inversely proportional to the number of liverpool players in the team

 

[editor]

My prediction. England to win 2-1 in a surprisingly convincing manner. Cue wild expectations for the next games in which they slide back to the usual endless disappointments and flukey qualifying results. I may of course be completely wrong, but that's the view from your Berlin correspondant.

 

[Badgers]

Hart
Johnson
Cahill
Jagielka
Baines
Gerrard
Henderson
Welbeck
Sterling
Rooney
Sturridge

 

[Lord Camomile]

So far the majority of matches in this tournament have been good entertainment value. What's the betting this will be the drab 0-0?

 

[Lord Camomile]

The Italian family across the road have put a massive Italy flag on their balcony, so my mum has just had me dig out an old flag of mine from when I used to go in for that sort of thing and iron it

Just off to pin it on our balcony...

 

[Badgers]

So far the majority of matches in this tournament have been good entertainment value. What's the betting this will be the drab 0-0?

So far 6 matches and 21 goals including the Uruguay vs Costa Rica game playing.

So yeah, probably goalless

 

[goldenecitrone]

All these favourites getting beaten. Italy must be favourites for tonight, surely.

 

[binka]

All these favourites getting beaten. Italy must be favourites for tonight, surely.

england are the bookies favourites for tonight but only slightly. italy have won one game since september, that was in the final warm up against fluminense - and they still let in 3 goals in that game.

 

[binka]

come on england! i can't believe i actually think we might win this game

 

[Kaka Tim]

Shit - i am now slipping into hope springing eternal mode - a young, talented england team unburdened - unlike in previous tournaments - by reputation, ego and expectation facing a possibly complacent, older Italy.

Seeing as this seems to be a world cup thats defying expectations - England to win convincingly with some thrilling attacking football - 3-1!

(head says a bore draw - or worse)

 

[Lord Camomile]

Used to be that everything revolved around England for me, I'd have the flags, the face paints, etc.

Nowadays, although I'm well aware of all our fixtures, I kind of get too involved in all the other matches to pay attention. But now I can't avoid it, this match is happening and I'm just going to have to sit through it and deal with the aftermath the best I can

Ohhhh fuck.

 

[Fez909]

england are the bookies favourites for tonight but only slightly. italy have won one game since september, that was in the final warm up against fluminense - and they still let in 3 goals in that game.

The problem with "bookies favourite" is it doesn't reflect reality. The odds are made in a way that guarantee the bookies money, so if England are favourites it might just mean more people are betting on England so they need more to bet on Italy to balance their books/hedge.

Odds =/= true probability

 

[Lord Camomile]

come on england! i can't believe i actually think we might win this game

Shit - i am now slipping into hope springing eternal mode - a young, talented england team unburdened - unlike in previous tournaments - by reputation, ego and expectation facing a possibly complacent, older Italy.

Seeing as this seems to be a world cup thats defying expectations - England to win convincingly with some thrilling attacking football - 3-1!

(head says a bore draw - or worse)

Stop it, both of you

 

[binka]

The problem with "bookies favourite" is it doesn't reflect reality. The odds are made in a way that guarantee the bookies money, so if England are favourites it might just mean more people are betting on England so they need more to bet on Italy to balance their books/hedge.

Odds =/= true probability

yeah i know all that, yesterday 1x2 were all running at around evens. england have come in due to england fans always backing england but also italy have lost buffon. plus actually, italy haven't been that good recently. we are bookies favourites and i actually think we are genuine favourites (slightly) too

 

[Lord Camomile]

Hodgson: we haven't thought about the conditions at all, except for preparing for them.

We're doomed.

 

[Fez909]

I see no reason whatsoever to make us favourites.