Serbia vs England K.O. 8pm

[rubbershoes]

They looked better than England.

Second half, yes

 

[Voley]

Tense 2nd half. Looked like a different team to the 1st. 3 points though ... phew.

 

[mx wcfc]

Fuck, that was nervy.

Yep, the last 10 mins had "last minute equaliser" written all over it.

 

[hash tag]

Kane looked better in the second half which is more than be said for the team. Coincidence

 

[strung out]

They looked better than England.

England's defence doesn't look like it'll keep out more organised teams. And there's not a lot of defensive depth in the squad.

I’m sure people said worse about Argentina after they got beaten by Saudi Arabia in their first game at the World Cup.

England went in front and did what they needed to win, restricting Serbia to long range efforts for the whole second half. It’s coming home.

 

[May Kasahara]

I'm not sure I can watch a whole tournament of us constantly passing backwards.

 

[Dr. Furface]

That 2nd half was perfect for Grealish to come on and hold the ball up and frustrate the Serbs but… oh he’s not there. Instead we get Connor fcking Gallagher! Bowen did well though.

 

[JimW]

Alarm didn't work so woke up for last four minutes. Never in doubt

 

[Monte]

And a clean sheet.

...and no injuries, which is a miracle they way Serbia were playing.

 

[Maggot]

In the first half I'm sure there were 2 Bellinghams on the pitch, he was everywhere.

 

[mx wcfc]

...and no injuries, which is a miracle they way Serbia were playing.

Ref was pretty good, but early on the fouls were flying in on Bellingham, and he should have given a couple of yellows.

 

[souljacker]

Poor performance but it's 3 points and we definitely know for sure that Trent should never play for England ever again.

 

[BigMoaner]

A touch underwhelming.

We won’t know till we know.

 

[planetgeli]

Mainoo and Bellingham waaaaay ahead of their years in their interviews.

 

[Kaka Tim]

England not quite gelling - defence actually looks pretty solid - but its midfield that looks shaky. Compare with last euros when rice and kalvin phillips were bossing it. Maybe lack of left sided left back is unbalancing things as well. Also - Serbia were really good - fiesty, energetic and some real skill - Wouldnt be suprised for them qualify for next round.
Saka and Bellingham were great. Worry is that Southgate is too cautious and with this team you feel it might be better to let them off the leash.

 

[tommers]

I mean Vlahovic, Kostic, Jovic, tadic are all really good players.

 

[Monte]

Ref was pretty good, but early on the fouls were flying in on Bellingham, and he should have given a couple of yellows.

19 fouls and 3 yellows compared to just 8 fouls and no cards for England.

 

[Lotte]

Live dangerously, Gareth! Live dangerously!

 

[Cerberus]

England not quite gelling - defence actually looks pretty solid - but its midfield that looks shaky. Compare with last euros when rice and kalvin phillips were bossing it. Maybe lack of left sided left back is unbalancing things as well. Also - Serbia were really good - fiesty, energetic and some real skill - Wouldnt be suprised for them qualify for next round.
Saka and Bellingham were great. Worry is that Southgate is too cautious and with this team you feel it might be better to let them off the leash.

Agreed. Thought Guehi was excellent too. The left side is a worry, not confident that Luke Shaw will make it. Other than that, ‘if’ there is a plan to grow into the tournament, tweak tactics to suit opponents etc, then I’m happy with an under the radar performance in the first game, with a few things to work on.

And yes, Serbia have some very good players who turned up in the 2nd half

 

[Puddy_Tat]

hmm

i ought to go and do the washing up, which might be more inspiring than that was...

 

[ska invita]

It's coming home

 

[hitmouse]

Had to miss the last few minutes cos I needed to leave early to get my bus home because it'd be an hour till the next one if I missed it. Someone pointed out "well, you could've left after the first thirteen minutes and you'd not have missed too much."

 

[Elpenor]

Good practice for a nervy knockout match that

 

[Rebelda]

Bellingham needs to come off earlier than that at this stage, the lad's knackered. If he'd cleared a ball off the goal line i reckon he would have played every position on the pitch. Foden wasn't on form at all. Rice was top class. Better teams will punish us on the left.

 

[zedr]

Thought the first 30 minutes were really exciting. Lots of lovely passing and movement, keeping Serbia stretched. After that I'm not sure what happened. Either we didnt have the legs, or Serbia found their speed and managed to press us out of the game. Probably a bit of both. Still think we deserved the win, but Serbia were well organized and once they'd got into their game plan they looked likely to get one or two goals.

 

[hash tag]

I am sure Denmark on Thursday will be more challenging.

 

[donkyboy]

No Foden in the Denmark game, please.

 

[two sheds]

Foden that gets some time on the ball and hopefully a couple of shots in the Denmark game, please.

 

[Voley]

Yeah I was surprised how quiet Foden was. We'll need him involved more / linking up with Bellingham against better opposition I think.

 

[Kaka Tim]

I am sure Denmark on Thursday will be more challenging.

Not sure - what are they like these days?- England stuffed in the world cup 18 months ago.