I Hate That I Have to Care About the Nations League

First things first, it feels weird that football is being played in a non-tournament summer. These players need time off. It’s not long that the club season is off each year, so for there to be international matches with some degree of value being played is odd to me. There’s 3 months of club season and then a World Cup coming. Let them have June and early July off, as is tradition. Their bodies need it to keep performing at the highest level. It won’t happen though. Not as long as UEFA and the respective football federations want to keep making money. It’s all about the money!

I’m also pissed off because England suffered their worst defeat on English soil in almost a century today, losing to Hungary 4-0 at Molineux in Wolverhampton. I watched the most tepid draw I’ve seen in years versus Italy at the weekend, and I expected more of the same today. That did not happen though. England looked toothless in attack for most of the match, and the defense went to shit when center back John Stones was (controversially) sent off after a second yellow card late on. Just a very bad outing overall.

What’s going to be even worse than the loss though is the reaction from the press and social media. It’s a long summer with few fixtures, and one of England’s worse losses under manager Gareth Southgate will give them plenty to chew on. In all four of England’s Nations League games this month, he has been criticized for a conservative style of play that has so far only netted two points and 0 (zero) goals from open play.

I dare say that the seat under Southgate may be starting to heat up. Had England just gone out and played to another dull draw, this match probably would have been forgotten about as soon as the final whistle blew. But a 4-0 loss at home to a frankly inferior team attracts attention. A 4-0 loss at home makes people ask questions. What’s wrong with England? Are they crap again? Is Southgate the right man for the job? The questions mount easily.

Now it’s going to be an endless debate over the summer about whether Southgate should manage England at the World Cup in November. It’s true these results are not encouraging, primarily because Southgate does not want to seem to adapt his game plans to whoever England is playing. He hasn’t learned his lesson, as he plays the same way each time. Sometimes it works, but it frequently does not work against talented opposition.

The other side of the debate is that Southgate is (perhaps sadly) the most successful England manager in 50+ years. He took us to the semifinals of the World Cup in 2018, the semifinals of the Nations League in early 2020, and the final of the European Championships in 2021. Despite his style of play, he wins matches at tournaments. No other England manager, aside from the legend Sir Alf Ramsey himself, can really say that. Factor in as well that he has been experimenting with the team selection in the last few matches and they simply haven’t worked. There’s also the fatigue factor for the players, as mentioned above.

Yes, a 4-0 loss at home is bad. Very bad. But I think once the reactive takes and opinions calm down a bit, cooler heads will prevail. Southgate needs to deliver a win to make everyone feel better and get some confidence back in the team. There are at least two more matches to do that in September, and they are against quality opposition in Germany and Italy. I think the FA will also schedule a friendly fixture or two against smaller nations so that England can use them as tune-up games. I would not feel confident about England’s chances if the World Cup were starting this week like it usually would, but given that we are still 5 months away, there is time to fix things. I think Southgate should be given the opportunity to do so.

But I ask – no, I implore – him to try being a bit more adventurous with his tactics. We have glorified friendlies coming up along with some actual friendlies most likely – so push the edge of the envelope a little! The matches mean next to nothing, so take a few risks and let the lads play a little bit. The Three Lions have an array of depth in attack, and we need to use it!

England Uninspiring in Defeat – Congratulations to Wales

With the club season now fully over and done with, all attention turns to the national sides and the various tournaments, qualifiers, and friendlies that will be played during the month of June. Just when you thought you were getting a break from footie, here comes more matches! To be honest there probably are too many matches each year. The numerous fixtures are draining on the players and it’s difficult for casual fans to keep up with what sort of fixture is being played.

The Nations League has started for England and many other European countries. This “league” was created to replace friendly fixtures and to give them a little more competitive impetus. It remains to be seen just how important these fixtures are. Some of the players take them seriously, but many superstars have little interest in playing glorified friendlies after a long season. Manchester City and Belgium star midfielder Kevin de Bruyne is one player who has recently voiced his dissatisfaction with the set-up. Really though, like everything with UEFA/FIFA, it’s about money. It’s all about increasing match revenue and TV ratings, which in turn creates more money for UEFA and the FA of a given country.

England’s first match was yesterday against Hungary. The match was played in Budapest, but it was supposed to be played in an empty stadium as a penalty on the Hungarian FA for allowing racist chants from supporters the last time England played there during World Cup qualification. Hungary’s FA has however found a loophole in that punishment, as they filled the stadium with roughly 20,000 or so children 14 and under with one adult per every 10 kids. It seems they can sell youth tickets to a match, even when they are not supposed to be making any money at all off ticket sales. UEFA doesn’t really seem to have a problem with this either, which proves that their anti-racism campaign is an utter joke and that they don’t really care about addressing the problem of racism in football. If the options are either 1) making money or 2) actually doing something to effectively punish an FA for racism, UEFA is going with option 1 every time.

The match itself was downright boring, with England losing 1-0 after a fairly dubious penalty decision which striker Dominik Szoboszlai converted from the spot. England’s style of boring football under manager Gareth Southgate reared it’s dull head again, and many have criticized Southgate for not really going for it. He needs to decide on a back-3 vs. a back-4 for England. Given that we like to build from the back, the make-up of the defensive back line is key for building attacks. Both formulas can be successful, but he needs to make up his mind and figure out what personnel are best-suited for the formation in question. Being overly-defensive cost us against Italy in 2021, and also against Croatia in 2018. I realize this was effectively a friendly after a long and grueling season in which England were missing some regular starters, but this result and the manner it was achieved does not make me feel excited about the prospect of the World Cup in November. The match on Tuesday against Germany will be more indicative of where England is as a squad. Any match against Ze Germans is never a friendly.

***

The positive action from today was Wales defeating Ukraine 1-0 and qualifying for their first World Cup in 64 years! The winning goal was the result of a free-kick from superstar winger/forward Gareth Bale, which took a deflection off the head of Ukraine winger/forward Andriy Yarmolenko before going in. The Welsh join England, USA, and Iran in Group B at World Cup 2022!

Commiserations to Ukraine of course. This was a team that the whole world – aside from Wales – was cheering for. They’ve had a really rough go of it recently as a country, and their football team doing well was one of the few positives they could hang their hats on. Indeed, had there not been an active war in their country, these qualification matches would have been sorted out earlier this year. Their victory over a frankly hapless Scotland side earlier this week gave them so much hope for qualification, only to fall short against Bale, keeper Wayne Hennessey, and the Welsh defense. All of the Ukrainian players are still heroes though, and as an England supporter I am happy to not have to deal with them come November. Ukraine will be back, though. Andriy Shevchenko is a talented manager, and they have the footballing heritage to rise again.

Take nothing away from Wales though, as they were underdogs with something to prove in their own right. This was Bale’s last chance at a World Cup, and his free-kick is the reason that Wales are in it. Due to their lack of depth in talent, the Welsh usually go as Bale goes. If he plays well, they have a strong chance to win. If he doesn’t play well or is marked out of the game, Wales usually struggle. He is the most decorated British player in the history of Real Madrid, and he knows this will be his final chance to make his mark on the most prestigious tournament in the world.

Excited for a British derby in Qatar!

England Draw With Hungary, Match Marred by Fan Violence

England took on Hungary today at Wembley Stadium in London, in what was the 8th match out of 10 in World Cup 2022 qualification. England had already beaten Hungary 4-0 away in Budapest earlier this year, but they’re a more talented side than they appear at first and have gotten some famous results earlier this season.

The match ended 1-1, with both goals coming in the first half. Hungary took a surprising lead from the penalty spot via forward Rolland Sallai, who sent England keeper Jordan Pickford the wrong way as he slotted home. The actual penalty was earned by right back Loïc Négo, who collided with a high boot from England left back Luke Shaw just inside the box. The contact on Négo’s head was minimal, but the problem was Shaw having his boot that high up in the first place. It’s a long-established rule in football that your foot can’t be up high near the head and neck of other players, and Shaw has to know better there. He is asking for trouble with his foot that high up, and he wouldn’t have even needed to fly in like that if he was quicker to the ball. But he was lackadaisical in getting over to the bouncing loose ball, and Négo put him under pressure to make a clearance. Unfortunately, he did not clear the ball effectively.

England did get an equalizer 13 minutes later, having put their foot fully down on the gas pedal after the Hungary goal. The tying goal was courtesy of three Manchester City players – Jack Grealish, Phil Foden, and John Stones. Grealish was probably England’s best attacking player the whole match, and he won a foul in the right channel after some of his trademark nifty dribbling. Foden stood over the dead ball and delivered a very dangerous diagonal cross into the box. It was met at the far post by Stones, who simply stuck his foot out and the ball bounced off him and into the net. Wembley erupted in celebration, and it was great to see England scoring from a set piece.

The Three Lions had the better of the chances and the majority of the possession for the rest of the half and indeed the rest of the game, but they could not put the ball past Hungarian keeper Péter Gulácsi. He made several fine saves on Raheem Sterling, but overall the credit must go to Hungary manager Marco Rossi for his tactical set-up. They were in a 5-3-2 and set up very compact, making it hard to break them down. They also pressed England at precisely the right times, and England admittedly lacked ideas in terms of creating chances. I applaud Gareth Southgate for realizing that his initial tactical set-up was wrong and actually making substitutions, but today the problem was that he made the wrong substitution. Bringing on Bukayo Saka for Grealish was mystifying when both Sterling and Harry Kane were far more ineffective. Saka needed to come on, but not for Grealish. He was the only one really running at the Hungary back line, so to take him off almost did them a favor. It was just an overall disappointing performance on the pitch, but credit to the Hungarians for playing well and forcing England to stumble slightly on their path to World Cup 2022.

England are still atop Group I, but their lead has narrowed to 3 points after Poland’s victory over Albania. England have a massive game against Albania in a month, and the last one is against minnows San Marino. Win either of those, England are virtually in. Ideally they would take 3 points in both games, and they will indeed need to be better than they were today against a highly-motivated Albanian team.

******

Unfortunately, the first 10-15 minutes of this match were marred by clashes between the London Metropolitan Police and some of the Hungarian supporters inside the stadium. I normally am not one to defend the police, but there is a section of the Hungarian supporters that are absolute knobheads. They held up a banner protesting the England players kneeling before the opening whistle, and were jeering loudly when one of England’s Black players touched the ball. Absolute racist bastards and the images of them throwing punches at the police were disgusting to watch. It seems the police eventually got the situation under control and at least one arrest was made, but I couldn’t believe just how brazen the actions were of those few dozen supporters. I know for a fact that not all Hungarians are racist hooligans, but that loud minority of them is very loud indeed.

Which begs the question: where is UEFA on this? Why has the Hungarian FA even been allotted tickets for their supporters at this match? There is supposed to be a ban on fan attendance at their home matches for this exact sort of behavior the last time England played Hungary, so why are they allowed in our stadium? It’s this sort of thing that makes the whole “Say No to Racism” campaign feel hollow and frankly fake. When actual racist incidents happen, UEFA does nothing about them and leaves it up to the local authorities to sort out the shitheads. Hey UEFA, fucking punish this kind of conduct! Lifetime bans for fans who engage in racist conduct. Points deductions from teams if fans engage in racist conduct. I understand that England is not free from sin in this department, so these rules would apply to our fans as well. The fans also must self-police more effectively and call out racist conduct when they see it! I’m fed up with this behavior and it needs to stop.

England Demolish Andorra, One Step Closer to WC 2022

England travelled to Andorra la Vella, Andorra yesterday for the first match of two in this international break. England were heavy favorites going in, and frankly it would have taken divine intervention for Andorra to get anything out of this. Going off the previous result, it’s abundantly clear that England’s players are bigger, stronger, and faster than the Andorrans. It’s really that simple, in this situation. Andorra would have to defend like their lives depended on it to get anything out of this match. It was interesting to see Andorra’s new national stadium, Estadio Nacional. To give you some perspective on how tiny Andorra is, the capacity for their national stadium is only about 3,000. Even more stunning is the fact that the population of Andorra is about 77,000 when the capacity of Wembley in London is 90,000. You could fit the entire population of Andorra inside Wembley Stadium if you needed to, with room to spare.

Things got off to a slow start for England but they were dominant in possession at least from the get-go. A lot of the normal first-choice players were not in the side. Frankly, you don’t need a Harry Kane or Raheem Sterling to win a match like this. Well, you shouldn’t at least. England had deployed forward/winger Phil Foden in holding midfield, a decision from manager Gareth Southgate I initially questioned as that is not his natural position. However, it was the correct decision as Foden was under instruction to use his range of passing to play balls in behind the Andorra defense on the left side. He consistently found free runners in the box and it was the key to the breakthrough goal on 18 minutes. Foden found Jadon Sancho in space in the box, having made a cleverly-timed run into the box. Sancho had his back to goal when he received it, but it played it to Chelsea left-back Ben Chilwell who casually slotted home for his first England goal. The goal was initially ruled out for offside, but after a VAR review it was determined that Sancho was level when he made his initial run into the box.

Despite scoring, Andorra failed to address the issue of Foden playing long diagonal passes into the box. I am not sure what they could have done to address it, but they simply could not handle Foden’s passing. Utterly devastating to them. England’s second goal on 40 minutes was also set-up by Foden, who played a straighter pass this time to Arsenal winger/forward Bukayo Saka in the box. The first touch was excellent from Saka and he blasted the ball into the roof of the net past Andorra keeper Josep Gomes with his second touch. Despite still being in the first half, this match was already close to over. It was only a question of how many England would win by. Andorra offered nothing to test deputy England keeper Sam Johnstone.

While the half ended without any further goals, the yellow cards piling up for England were somewhat concerning. I questioned the legitimacy of some of them, but there was no need for England to fly into tackles recklessly. I like being competitive and I like playing with desire no matter the opponent, but those two traits can’t get in the way of common sense. I normally slag off the referee when they don’t do well, but I think the all-female referee crew led by Kateryna Monzul did fairly well in the match. I only mention her gender because she was the first woman ever to referee an England match. Well done to her and her crew, one or two decisions notwithstanding.

England’s dominance continued in the second half with goal no. 3 coming on 58 minutes. Tammy Abraham was tasked with leading the forward line in this match, and it could be said he was somewhat wasteful in the first half, having scuffed a good chance off the post. But he made no mistake with this chance. Sancho found himself on the ball in the left channel, with only one man marking him. The marker gave him too much space, so he hit a cross into the box aimed generally at Abraham. Abraham made a nifty little run that left his marker in the dust, after which he got just enough of a touch on the ball to guide it into the net. Abraham has found a resurgence of form under Jose Mourinho at Roma, and it was nice to see him get on the scoresheet today. He probably will not be unseating Kane as the starting forward any time soon, but strength in depth is key for any side.

The Andorrans became more feisty after that, and really they were lucky to escape the match with all 11 players still on the pitch. England got their fourth due to this lack of discipline. Substitute forward Jack Grealish was brought down in the box, and Monzul decisively awarded a penalty. No question about it, despite a brief VAR review. Kane was not on the pitch, so Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse stepped up to take it. His initial shot was too close to Gomes and he produced a fine save, but Ward-Prowse was quickest to the rebound and he blasted it home from close range.

Andorra’s misery was further compounded about 10 minutes later. Johnstone collected a wary cross into his own area, after which he spotted Grealish streaking toward the opposite goal near the half-way line. Johnstone then produced an NFL quarterback-like throw directly into the path of Grealish, who carried the ball through the Andorra half. His dribbling prowess was on full display as he rode challenges all the way. He eventually got close enough and slotted the ball into the goal low and away to the keeper’s right. Andorra should have done better to get a tackle in, but you could see the fatigue in their legs and Grealish is simply just too good on the ball.

There were several points in this match where I almost felt sorry for Andorra. The gulf in class is just absolutely massive and it’s borderline unfair to them. I still think that how qualification is handled regarding these smaller countries needs to be re-evaluated by UEFA. If you want one of these smaller countries to have a shot at qualifying, they need to play in their own group. Feeding minnows like Andorra and San Marino to the likes of England and Poland is tantamount to lambs at the abattoir.

You could make a case for Sancho or Grealish being Man of the Match, but realistically it was Phil Foden. He was unstoppable in midfield all day and will give Southgate food for thought in future matches. England finished the match 5-0, and are now 4 points clear of second-place Albania in Group I. England have scored more goals in this WC qualifying campaign than the previous one, and we still have 3 matches left to play. All attention now turns to Hungary on Tuesday at Wembley. I expect more of the usual starters to play, as three points against the Hungarians all-but-qualifies England for 2022. If we win, then at worst we would have a four point lead with only 6 available points remaining.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

Not Good Enough

That’s really all that needs to be said. A 1-1 draw with Everton at Old Trafford, where United were outplayed for most of the match, is simply not good enough. Our style of football is non-existent and we rely on good moments of play to win games instead of creating chances through a coherent game plan. This team is simply far too talented to be struggling to create scoring chances. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer needs to have a sit down with his staff over the upcoming international break and figure out how he wants us to play. We seem to have no idea how to break down teams in the low block when we have the ball, and then we look fragile at the back when teams break at us on the counter-attack. If you want to frustrate Manchester United, just give us the ball and we’ll frustrate ourselves. If OGS doesn’t figure out how to get this team scoring goals and winning matches, he won’t last past January.

Good to see Anthony Martial back on the score sheet and Jadon Sancho had his best appearance for the Red Devils yet, but other than those two items the positives are few and far between. United are only two points off the top of the Premier League still, but the fixtures get much more difficult after the break.

England resume their World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign in Andorra next Saturday, followed by a home fixture at Wembley against Hungary on Tuesday. Two victories in these matches will all but seal qualification for the Three Lions. Let’s hope England are more inspiring than United right now.

England Maintain Their 100% World Cup Qualifying Record With a Comfortable Win Over Andorra

England were back at Wembley today for the first time since the great tragedy of Euro 2020(1) where they took on minnows Andorra in a qualifier for World Cup 2022. England were heavy favorites going into this match and it was apparent from the outset why that was the case. It was not a question of whether England would win, but rather how much they would win by. For those who don’t know, Andorra is a tiny country in the Pyrenees mountains that straddles the border of France and Spain. As a team they are made up largely of semi-professionals and players who frequent the lower leagues in Spain. Indeed, Andorra as a country is so small and so mountainous that it doesn’t even have an international airport. If you want to fly to Andorra from anywhere else, you have to fly into Barcelona and then take a car/bus trip two hours to the north through the mountains.

Manager Gareth Southgate made wholesale changes from the team that started against Hungary, probably due to the facts that Andorra aren’t very good and because England have a much sterner test away to Poland on Wednesday. It seems that England have largely figured out who their best XI is plus two or three substitutions, so this was a match for the fringe players to make a case for inclusion on the plane to Qatar. Some notable players to watch today were Leeds striker Patrick Bamford and Liverpool right back/midfielder Trent Alexander-Arnold. Bamford was on his debut and looking to make an impact, while Alexander-Arnold came into this match with something to prove. He is a dominant force at Liverpool with his range of passing, but he has not quite matched that level of play in an England shirt. Manchester United midfielder Jesse Lingard was also given a start. He has not played much, if at all, for United this season but he does tend to perform well in an England shirt and he was in a rich vein of form at West Ham towards the end of last season.

The gulf in class between the two sides was immediate from the outset, as the match kicked off in a festive atmosphere at a packed Wembley. None of the fans were really worried about the result, they just wanted to see some good football, sing some songs, and have a pint or two in the nice weather. Usually, a less-talented side can cause the opposition problems through tactical discipline and defending, but England’s players were just too big and too fast for the Andorrans. For example, Tyrone Mings got a start in defense today and while he is very good he is still definitely the 3rd-choice center-back right now. But even our 3rd-choice center-back was bigger, stronger, and more tactically adept than the best Andorrans. When England were on the ball they couldn’t win it off us, and when Andorra was on the ball it was often won back with ease. Not just with Mings either, but every England player.

The match was cagey for the first 15 minutes or so, with England having all the possession and playing more passes. Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham looked very lively, and was probably the best player of the half in a white shirt. He is only 18 but he already looks and plays like a man in his late 20s. Despite the resistance though, the deadlock was broken just 18 minutes in via Lingard. The ball was won in midfield by Mings and after a bit of a scramble the ball was played out to Arsenal winger (and birthday boy!) Bukayo Saka on the left side of the penalty area. He put in a cross that was only partially cleared by the Andorran defense, and the ball fell directly to the feet of Lingard who scuffed it past Andorran keeper Josep Gomes with his left foot. It wasn’t the cleanest or prettiest of hits, but Lingard did just enough to get it over the line. His celebration was joyous and a tribute to Cristiano Ronaldo, his friend and recently-returned teammate at United.

Despite that early-ish goal, it must be said that Andorra did a fairly solid job of damage control after that. England were still the dominant side, but no more goals were scored in the first half. England just seemed a tad too fancy at times and Andorra were able to clear away attack after attack. They didn’t create really anything themselves as England and West Bromwich Albion keeper Sam Johnstone did not face a shot on target. It was hard to tell just how good he is at the international level when a stern-looking traffic cone could have done his job today.

The early part of the second half was a carbon copy of the first half. England had all of the ball and they were playing all of the passes, but Andorra were very stubborn in their resistance. Again they did not really look like scoring themselves, but they were determined to not let England get another one. Right back Reece James came very close to finding a second after his long-range shot hit the crossbar, but aside from that chance England were again struggling to get clear shots on target. Southgate decided to ring the changes shortly after James’s effort, bringing on Harry Kane, Mason Mount, and Jack Grealish.

Southgate was rewarded for the changes on 72 minutes when Grealish and Mount combined well in the area, with the latter being brought down from behind in the box. It was about as stonewall of a penalty as you’ll see in this era of VAR. The Andorran defender was the wrong side of Mount and Mount probably would have scored had he not been brought down via contact on the back of his leg. Mount has been very good these past few matches for England and looks to be a shoe-in for 2022. Kane, England’s designated penalty taker, stepped up and beat Gomes to the keeper’s right with a low and powerful shot into the side of the net. Gomes guessed correctly and jumped the right way, but he could not keep Kane out. Kane now has 40 goals in 63 caps for England, and has scored in every World Cup qualifier for England going back to 2017. At age 28, you have to feel that England’s all-time scoring record is well within his grasp. He only needs 14 more goals to break the mark of 53 currently held by Wayne Rooney, and he has at least two major tournaments left in his career. At this point, it would be more surprising if Kane didn’t break Rooney’s record.

The points were secured, but in similar fashion to the match against Hungary in mid-week, England kept their foot firmly planted on the gas pedal. Lingard got his second goal and England’s third just six minutes later, as it became apparent the Andorrans were tiring and the proverbial floodgates opened. Some good build-up play from Grealish saw him find Saka in the middle of the park, and Saka was allowed to run diagonally forward and to his left. He spotted Lingard mostly by himself in the left channel, so he played the ball along the ground into his feet. Lingard took a touch back to the inside to create a space, and his marker was much too far off of him. He toe-poked a shot with his right towards the goal, and the movement created with that technique took the ball away from Gomes. It bounced in front of him once and went over his arm for 3-0.

England dominated possession some more and got their fourth and final goal on 85 minutes, this time with Saka scoring and Lingard being the provider. England won a corner and Alexander-Arnold adeptly played the corner quickly while Andorra were still setting up. Due to them being asleep at the wheel, Alexander-Arnold was easily able to find Lingard in the right channel near the edge of the box. Lingard chipped a ball in over the top towards the England forwards in the box, and the ball was met at the back post by Saka’s head and steered into the goal. He wheeled away in celebration and the England fans roared their approval. Not only was it a birthday goal for the 20 year-old, it was an opportunity for England fans to show their support after the nightmare Saka endured back in July. It was his missed penalty that handed Italy the trophy, so it was good to see him back on the score sheet at Wembley and to hear the fans singing his name. No one has forgotten the missed penalty, but it also seems that many fans have moved on from that intensely negative moment. He’s an excellent player and deserves all the support he can get. He had one bad moment that whole tournament and his career should not be defined by that one bad moment.

All in all, a positive result that sees England maintain their five point lead at the top of Group I. 5 games played, 15 points secured, and a goal differential of +16. There really isn’t much to complain about with any of that. Of course England fans are still England fans and some are complaining about how it took the addition of Kane/Grealish/Mount to finish off such lowly opposition, but those fans really need to calm down. Andorra had 11 men behind the ball for most of this match and it can be difficult to break through teams like that due to the sheer amount of bodies in the way. Also, I think England would have gotten a few more goals even without bringing on the big guns. The Andorrans were physically spent by the 70th minute and we probably would have gotten more goals without the changes.

I think the biggest positives to take away from this match were the individual efforts of Bellingham, Lingard, and Alexander-Arnold. It’s true that the opposition wasn’t good today, but it’s beyond doubt that Bellingham is going to be a superstar. He needs to keep developing his game and progressing at the club level, and all signs indicate he is going to continue doing that. Alexander-Arnold will also give Southgate some food for thought. He is a natural right back but due to England’s current over-abundance of right backs there may not be a spot for him there due to his occasional lapses in defense. If Alexander-Arnold finds himself on the plane to Qatar, it will likely be as a right-sided midfielder. His passing might be simply too good to not bring him along.

Lingard is probably the most enigmatic English player I’ve seen in years, though. Sometimes he plays like he did today – quick, alert, and instinctual. He enjoys playing at Wembley and has scored some big goals in big games. At other times though he looks utterly lost on the pitch and it appears as if he’s never played the game before. He also likely won’t get much playing time at United this season, as he sits behind Bruno Fernandes in that attacking midfield position. However, there is no denying his contributions today. Even if he does not make the final squad, he is an important rotational player for this qualifying campaign. It’s unclear what Southgate will do regarding his future, but his Man of the Match performance today will not be forgotten.

In the bigger picture, there is also some lively debate about whether teams like Andorra (such as San Marino, Luxembourg, Gibraltar, Malta, Monaco, Liechtenstein) should even be playing the bigger teams like England in World Cup qualifiers. My personal stance is that there is a flaw in the way the qualification tables are set-up. I’d like to see a system where these smaller nations all play each other in the same group, and then the winner of that group gets to qualify. For example, right now Andorra and San Marino have a snowball’s chance in hell of qualifying because they have to go through England, Poland, Hungary, and Albania to do so. However, if the six smallest teams in UEFA only had to play each other in a group, all of a sudden the prospect of qualifying looks much easier. This format change would also ensure that only the best of the small teams makes the tournament. They would still be heavy underdogs, but they would at least have a shot at shocking the world and making a run. Even if the “small nations” group idea doesn’t work, I’d like to see some sort of merit-based process for getting these teams a fairer shake at qualification. National sides are constantly on the rise and fall. For example, Belgium were a laughing stock just 15 years ago but now they are a European powerhouse. The current format is not working, and I think football in these smaller nations could suffer as a result of it, if they aren’t already.

But, England can only play the team put in front of them, and they played them off the pitch today. A whopping 88% possession, 20 shots, 6 shots on goal, and a clean sheet. It does not get much more dominant than that at the professional level. England can now turn their full attention to Robert Lewandowski and Poland, where they will travel to on Wednesday evening. Three points from that match would put a canyon-sized chasm between them and second place in the group. They would be 8 points clear of second with only four qualification matches left after that. Poland away will be a much tougher test, but even if Lewandowski scores I don’t think the Polish will be able to stop England from scoring.

Three Lions on the Shirts!

England Display a Dominant Second Half Performance In Victory Over Hungary

Today, England travelled to the elegant Puskás Arena in Budapest, Hungary to play their first match since the loss against Italy in the final of the European Championships. The Three Lions came into the match top of the World Cup qualifying group having won all three of their matches so far, but Hungary were a mere two points behind them in Group I.

Although a victory for England was expected, Hungary are not a team of pushovers like they have been in the past. They are well-organized and tactically sound defensively, and that can create problems for any opposition. This same Hungary team pushed France and Germany to their limits at Euro 2020(1), and they were buoyed by the addition of their most naturally talented player – attacking midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai. Don’t ask me to pronounce his name, as the trickiness of the pronunciation is mirrored by the trickiness of his feet. England would need to make sure he is marked at all times because he has the dribbling and shooting technique to trouble even the best defenses.

England took the pitch in front of a packed house in Hungary, and the atmosphere pre-kick off was mostly upbeat. England were on the ball for most of the first half though, and were clearly the better side in terms of possession, passes, and chances created. The problem was struggling to get clear shots on goal. The Hungarians deployed a 5-3-2 formation that made them incredibly difficult to break down. The other side of that though is that they had no presence in midfield and couldn’t get the ball into Szoboszlai or any of their attacking players. I don’t think England keeper Jordan Pickford even touched the ball in the first half, aside from goal kick clearances. A very stale encounter in that first half plus a very hostile atmosphere had me thinking that England may need to be satisfied with a draw today.

But England upped the tempo a little bit in the second half and Hungary struggled to keep up. Harry Kane just missed a gilt-edged chance on 50 minutes after being through on goal. It was a good save from keeper Péter Gulácsi but you feel that given Kane’s quality he should have scored. But no worries though, as Hungary were undone just 5 minutes later. West Ham midfielder Declan Rice did well to win the ball in midfield, and he played a quick pass out to Manchester City midfielder Jack Grealish on the left wing. Grealish brought the ball to edge of the area, after he which he played in fellow midfielder Mason Mount on an overlapping run towards the end line. Mount used his quickness to get to the ball and drag a cross back along the ground, directly into the path of the unmarked Raheem Sterling. Sterling had to be quick, but it was a relatively simple finish into the bottom corner with Gulácsi unable to get to it. Good team goal from England and it was 1-0. The celebrations for Sterling were marred by some poor behavior from Hungary fans in the stands, who decided it would be a good idea to throw full bottles and cups at Sterling from the stands. More on Hungary’s fans below.

The second goal came via the talismanic Kane about 8 minutes later. Sterling found himself under a bouncing ball on the right wing, and he hit it first time low and along the ground towards Kane in the middle of the box. The ball took a bounce off the foot of a Hungarian defender, which caused the ball to pop up in the air a bit. Kane was able to get his head to it with enough power to put it through the arms of Gulácsi for 2-0. Always good to see Kane on the score sheet and he atoned for his earlier miss with that header. Now that all 3 points were in the bag, you could see England relaxing a little and just seeing the game out.

That didn’t happen though, as center back and Manchester United captain Harry Maguire was next in the queue to score England’s third just 6 minutes later. The floodgates had well and truly opened, as Kane was unlucky not to get his second just before Maguire’s goal. Fellow Red Devil Luke Shaw delivered in a peach of a cross from a corner, and Maguire did well to position himself under it. He headed the ball down and towards the opposite corner, but it didn’t appear to have a ton of pace behind it. Gulácsi couldn’t get down in time to save it though, and it rolled in after taking a deflection off his arm. Good teams can score in a variety of ways, and England showed they are capable of that by finally executing a set piece. Our defenders are so big that we should be scoring more often from those.

The fourth and final nail in the coffin came on 87 minutes, and this time it was Rice both finishing the chance and somewhat creating it. Kane had just missed another chance to score, and Pickford had actually made his first real – if routine – save of the game just after that. But Grealish was involved once again as well, and this time he got an assist. Rice played the ball to Grealish on the right side of the box. Grealish then cut in from the right side using his dribbling and looked to be trying to create space for a shot. He was blocked off though by defenders so he wisely played a backwards diagonal pass back to Rice, who was positioned for a shot on the edge of the box. He passed the ball with the inside of his foot towards the goal, and it was straight at Gulácsi. He really should have done better with the save, as he seemed to drop it and the ball went under him before it went over the line. Still, poor keeping or not, you have to have the temerity to take on that strike and Rice should be credited for going for goal.

So yes, 4-0 away in a hostile atmosphere in a competitive match is about all you can ask for. England were patient in the first half, and that patience was rewarded with dominance in the second. Hungary may feel that poor keeping did them in today, but England’s first goal had nothing to do with Gulácsi. Once the first one went in, you felt the result was never in doubt. Hungary were just lacking the quality going forward today. It’s an over-simplification to blame the keeper in this case, despite his notable errors.

The behavior of too many of the fans in Budapest was very disappointing, not only due to the bottle-throwing after Sterling’s goal but they also booed when England players took the knee before kickoff to protest racism in football. Hungary’s players were very professional in this match and credit to them for showing their fans that is possible to lose with dignity and grace. But that fanbase has a reputation for poor sportsmanship and FIFA must take action to regulate this sort of thing if they are serious about stamping out hooliganism and fan violence in this sport. UEFA has already sanctioned the Hungarian Football Association and had this been a Euro qualifier the match would have been played in an empty stadium. But it seems that FIFA and UEFA don’t carry the same punishments for whatever reason. I am sick of this pigheaded behavior from supporters and it needs to stop. England fans are no exception to that, either. There are too many England fans who behave this way too, they just weren’t on TV today. It is always difficult for me to call out this behavior from other countries when England’s house isn’t fully in order.

But in terms of the match, this was a very good performance from the lads and exactly what England needed to exorcise a few of the demons lingering after the loss to Italy back in July. Coming out against decent opposition, away from home, and putting 4 past them in a span of 32 minutes is just what the doctor ordered. England were already in the driver’s seat in this group, but now World Cup qualification seems much closer despite the fact that there’s only been four of ten games played in this campaign. Hungary are probably the second-best team in the group (aside from maybe Poland) so England can take confidence from the way they handled themselves today. Composed and clinical after a potentially-frustrating first half. Man of the Match for me is Declan Rice, but a case could be made for Sterling, Grealish, or Kalvin Phillips.

England take on minnows Andorra at Wembley on Sunday. An emphatic win is expected against such a small nation. England are now 5 points clear on top of Group I.

Three Lions On the Shirts!

United Get an Ugly Win Away at Molineux

The Red Devils travelled to the West Midlands of England today to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers (Wolves) in the Premier League. Wolves have traditionally given United a lot of problems in the past few seasons. They are big, physical team with just enough flair and pace to get out quickly on the counter-attack. Interestingly. this match was a bit of a Portuguese derby in the sense that Portuguese-speaking players were well represented in both lineups today. Bruno Fernandes, Fred, and substitute Diogo Dalot made up United’s contingent, while Wolves are primarily made up of internationals from Portugal and Brazil. This is somewhat of an oddity for a Premier League team these days but its down to the influence of previous Wolves’ manager Nuno Espirito Santo and current manager Bruno Lage, both of whom hail from the western part of the Iberian Peninsula. To cap it all off, the shadow of the greatest ever Portuguese player loomed large over this match too. Even though he didn’t play and was not in attendance, Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence was still felt at the match. Some United supporters even brought a cardboard cut-out of Ronaldo to ensure he was at least there in spirit if not physically. Ronaldo is currently in Portugal and is expected to join up with the club after the upcoming international break, having signed earlier this week from Juventus.

Despite all the good news surrounding the Ronaldo transfer, this match was rather poor from a United standpoint. They started out in a 4-3-3 formation, which is a departure from the now-standard 4-2-3-1 that manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer usually deploys. Fred was tasked with playing that lynchpin defensive midfield position that is crucial for ball distribution to the forwards. I liked that OGS wanted to go more attack-minded today, but it was a big risk playing Fred in that position. I have to wonder if it was a necessary change made due to the injury to Scott McTominay, who would normally play alongside Fred in defensive midfield. Together they usually do a good job of maintaining possession and starting attacks, but Fred is not a natural defensive midfielder and I question whether or not he has the size and physicality to play there on his own.

Still, United should be winning this match handily on paper. Today was the debut for center back Raphael Varane and winger Jadon Sancho got his first full Premier League start as well. I was watching those two players closely today to see just what kind of players the club had spent all that money on.

For most of this match however and certainly most of the first half, Wolves were the better team. Our tactics were simply wrong from the start. The objective was to sacrifice a little bit of defensive stability for more attacking prowess, but we couldn’t create and were exposed at the back several times. Wolves’s 3-4-3 was proving to be challenging to break down through the middle going forward, and we couldn’t keep possession on the wings. Additionally, as I suspected, Fred simply cannot play as a DM by himself. He was targeted by Wolves every time he was on the ball, and he couldn’t win the ball to save his life. He was being tormented the whole match by the pacey and powerful Wolves winger Adama Traoré in particular. Opposite winger Francisco Trincão was also causing a ton of problems for the United midfield with his dribbling and passing into dangerous areas. Wolves weren’t doing anything super complex – they were just hounding us when off the ball and playing it forward rapidly when they won possession. Ruben Neves was in particularly fine form, and he showed why he was a target for United this summer. He is a very good defensive midfielder and seemed to be everywhere at times. Wolves forced a save from David De Gea just three minutes in via a counter-attack, and then Aaron Wan-Bissaka was forced into a goal-line clearance a few minutes later. Both chances were very good and both were the direct result of mistakes made by Fred. Wolves were tormenting us, truthfully.

Due to Fred being tormented whenever he was on the ball, Paul Pogba was quickly moved down into a more defensive position. This meant that he was less able to ping the ball towards the forward players, and we continued to struggle to create any real chances of note in the first 45. Wolves midfielder João Moutinho had a shot go over the bar, and Bruno later had a goal called back for offside after being clean through on goal. United’s best chance came just before halftime when Mason Greenwood fired wide of the far post from a tight angle on the left side of the box. He was close, but it’s always tough to score from that angle and the half ended 0-0. The score line was somewhat relieving for United fans though, as Wolves were definitely the better team and probably should have been up at least 1-0. They have had trouble with finishing so far this season though and those problems were continuing today. They were doing everything right – pressing, tackling, and passing. It was all good, apart from putting the ball in the net. Of course, that’s the most important part of the whole process. United needed a change of shape or personnel desperately though because Plan A was decidedly not working. United hadn’t held a clean sheet so far this season and I was concerned we were going to let one in.

OGS didn’t make any changes at halftime though and things carried on much the same for the opening part of the second half. United maybe had a little bit more possession, but Wolves were still defensively resolute and very happy to hit us on the counter or to run at the goal having won the ball in a dangerous area. Given that things still weren’t going well, you had to wonder when OGS would make some changes to try and win this match. Despite all the domination from Wolves, they still hadn’t scored and United only needed one good chance to maybe snatch a win. I was happy to see Edinson Cavani come on at 52 minutes for the ineffective Daniel James. A big criticism of OGS last year was his tendency to wait too long to make changes when things weren’t going according to plan. I didn’t know if Cavani would actually help us or not (and ultimately he really didn’t do much), but at least we tried something different instead of banging our heads against the wall repeatedly and hoping that it works.

Wolves weren’t done though, as De Gea was called into action on 66 minutes when they won a corner. Moutinho swung the ball in and gigantic center back Romain Saïss outmuscled his marker Varane to get good contact with his head. The ball was headed downwards with pace, but at straight at Big Brave Spanish Dave who made a reflexive point-blank save off the header. Due to the power on the header though there was a rebound off De Gea straight back to Saïss, who tried to hit it with his right foot into the bottom corner from 2-3 yards out. Despite still being at point blank range, De Gea stuck his left arm out and made another ludicrous save on that shot too. This time though the ball bounced away and United eventually cleared. Everyone in the stadium – Saïss included – had no idea how the ball didn’t go in. A double-save like that is as good as a goal, and you felt afterwards that Wolves would be made to pay for their wastefulness. All credit to De Gea for finding some of his old form to start this season.

Neves had a long range shot saved by De Gea again after that, but the breakthrough finally came on 80 minutes via the teenager Greenwood, and it was not without controversy. The ball was played from the Wolves box out towards Pogba, who took a very heavy touch and lost the ball to Neves. Pogba attempted to tackle Neves but missed the ball and most of Neves in the process. The ball was not fully cleared and though and it fell to Varane who was covering behind Pogba. Varane spotted Greenwood in the right channel and played the ball to him along the ground. Greenwood took a few touches before being met by a Wolves defender, but he cleverly played the ball towards the end line and got a shot off at a tight angle. Wolves keeper Jose Sa should have done much better with his save, as he only got one hand to it as the ball went down and away to his right. He got a piece of it, but the ball bounced almost under him and into the net for 1-0. Neves and all of Molineux were belly-aching for a foul committed by Pogba in the build-up to the goal, but replays showed the Neves basically took a dive after minimal contact on his foot by Pogba. He even looked at referee Mike Dean, who was stood right next to him, before falling down. Theatrics all the way and it was never a foul. Dean even booked a Wolves player for dissent afterwards and it was hysterical.

The goal was the result of poor keeping to be sure, but take nothing away from Greenwood for the dribble and powerful-yet-precise shot. He is still only 19, but he is scoring goals at the rate of a striker in his prime. He is small, but that makes him slippery due to a lower center of gravity, and it’s hard for a defender to use angles to cut him off due to his quickness. He can generate a lot of power in a very small amount of space, and his shooting accuracy might be the best at the club. The sky is the limit for this young man and he is now our joint-level goal scorer this season. 3 goals in 3 games for Greenwood. What a player! Why England manager Gareth Southgate isn’t calling him up, I have no idea.

United then spent the final 10 minutes plus stoppage time playing keep-away to the best of their abilities. There was no need to risk the 3 points pushing men forward, so we played it amongst ourselves and invited Wolves to try and take it off of us. We won several fouls and took our time on free kicks as well. Wolves maybe had a corner at one point but it came to nothing. The final whistle went and United snatched a victory that our play frankly didn’t merit.

But still, the mark of a champion is the ability to win even when not playing well. There were countless matches in the days of Sir Alex Ferguson were United were absolutely shocking, yet due to tenacity and determination they eventually found a way to win. This match felt very similar to those ones. But this mentality is what you need to win the Premier League – just sheer determination and doggedness. Escaping Molineux with a win will lift the team spirit and have them feeling good going into the international break.

I think De Gea probably gets Man of the Match today for the double-save, but a surprising runner-up for me is Varane. He barely put a foot wrong today, and also managed to grab an assist for himself. His pace is incredible and his instincts are usually right, and he did well to snuff out some half-decent chances for Wolves at several points throughout the game. He did get outmuscled by Saïss on a header during his big chance, but he was bailed out by De Gea. Overall a very good debut. I wish I could say the same for Sancho, though. He was largely anonymous all match and didn’t seem to be too involved overall. I’ll cut him some slack due to it being his first start, but he needs to get on the ball a lot more in future matches. I’m sure he will improve.

Speaking of future matches, United are now off until the 11th of September due to the international break. Most countries are playing World Cup qualifiers, assuming they aren’t cancelled or postponed due to COVID. It is unclear if Ronaldo will play against Newcastle on that day, but that would be the most likely scenario. Give him a debut at Old Trafford, let him come off the bench for an ovation, etc. As for United the club are now level second in the table with West Ham, Chelsea, Liverpool, and Everton. Surprisingly, it is only Tottenham Hotspur who have a 100% record still, and they have a two point lead at the top. Even more surprisingly, Arsenal are at rock-bottom of the table in 20th, having lost all 3 of their matches so far and having scored no goals. What is going on at Arsenal? There is no managerial seat in the Prem hotter than the one under Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta.

But England return to play next, with three World Cup qualifiers scheduled away to Hungary, at home to Andorra, and then away to Poland. It’ll be the first time everyone plays together after the loss in the Euro 2020(1) final, so it’ll be good to see them back. Maybe we can take our frustrations out on Andorra at Wembley. The matches away to Hungary and away to Poland are not guaranteed wins though. England will need to be sharp in order to stay on track for qualification for 2022. They are top of the group currently, so a few more victories will really go a long way to ensuring that England will be there.

Euro 2020(1) Group Stage Roundup

The group stage of the tournament is now over and its time for the real business to begin – the knockout stages. The mini-league format in the first round is entertaining to be sure, but now the mantra is “win or go home.” We start with the Round of 16. The top 2 teams from each group progress, plus the 4 best 3rd place teams to round out the field.

Group A:

Winners – Italy

Runners up – Wales

Third place – Switzerland

Eliminated – Turkey

Group B:

Winners – Belgium

Runners up – Denmark

Eliminated – Finland and Russia

Group C:

Winners – Netherlands

Runners Up – Austria

Third place – Ukraine

Eliminated – North Macedonia

Group D:

Winners – England

Runners up – Croatia

Third place – Czech Republic

Eliminated – Scotland

Group E:

Winners – Sweden

Runners up – Spain

Eliminated – Slovakia and Poland

Group F:

Winners – France

Runners up – Germany

Third place – Portugal

Eliminated – Hungary

Round of 16 Matchups:

Wales vs. Denmark (Sat June 26)

Italy vs. Austria (Sat June. 26)

Netherlands vs. Czech Republic (Sun June 27)

Belgium vs. Portugal (Sun June 27)

France vs. Switzerland (Mon June 28)

Spain vs. Croatia (Mon June 28)

England vs. Germany (Tues June 29)

Sweden vs. Ukraine (Tues June 29)

The final group matches just ended and it was an exhilarating final day. Portugal and Germany almost went out at different stages, and Hungary almost pulled off the shock of the tournament. They were ten minutes away from winning before the Germans equalized and sent them home.

Commiserations to all teams eliminated, and congrats to all teams that have advanced so far. I won’t do a full breakdown of each match right now, but I may do once the round starts. There are some positively mouth-watering fixtures to look forward to, and I hope one of the smaller teams (Wales, Austria, Ukraine) go on a deep run. Makes the tournament more fascinating and entertaining. Somewhat sadly, there haven’t been many major upsets or surprising teams thus far. Maybe Sweden winning their group over Spain constitutes somewhat of a surprise, but that was certainly not unimaginable going in to this tournament.

There has been some great football so far but also some crap football. Let’s hope for more attacking intent and goals going forward!