England vs France - The Buildup

[Ackter]

You're good on the counter though.

[JD nawrat]

7 minutes ago, Ackter said:

Your defence is slow and shambolic. Mbappe alone will eat you alive if you make as many defensive mistakes as you have been.

Nothing to do with the quality of your opponents, you're a mess in defence and non-existent in midfield.

Mbappé up against the one guy who's best equipped to silence him though - and in fact has done on multiple occasions. Even John Stones has dealt fairly well with Mbappé in the past. But Walker on his day will keep Mbappé quiet for 90 mins. If Walker is fit enough for it, i don't think Mbappé will be the difference maker.

[Rob1981]

Yeah, such a mess in defence our last three opponents have mustered two shots on target between them in 270 minutes.

[Ackter]

7 minutes ago, JD nawrat said:

Mbappé up against the one guy who's best equipped to silence him though - and in fact has done on multiple occasions. Even John Stones has dealt fairly well with Mbappé in the past. But Walker on his day will keep Mbappé quiet for 90 mins. If Walker is fit enough for it, i don't think Mbappé will be the difference maker.

Walker didn't look great last match, needs a rest.

1 minute ago, Rob1981 said:

Yeah, such a mess in defence our last three opponents have mustered two shots on target between them in 270 minutes.

Yes.

[Darius1998]

I think it will end up being decided by how England's midfield (especially Rice) deals with Griezmann.

[Constantine]

12 minutes ago, Rob1981 said:

Yeah, such a mess in defence our last three opponents have mustered two shots on target between them in 270 minutes.

FFS, you've played Cymru, Senegal without almost half starting eleven (and their one world class player) and USA with Pulisic. You've faced attacking force that's barely lower half PL level. Mbappe, Griezmann and Dembele will rip you apart

[skybluedave]

Timothy Weah was very pacey

[Darius1998]

Deschamps loves playing with a handbrake on just as much as Southgate, unless they get an early goal, I don't think France will even try to rip England apart.

[pearcey_90]

5 minutes ago, Constantine said:

FFS, you've played Cymru, Senegal without almost half starting eleven (and their one world class player) and USA with Pulisic. You've faced attacking force that's barely lower half PL level. Mbappe, Griezmann and Dembele will rip you apart

And France have faced the power attacks of Tunisia/Australia/Denmark and Poland. Yet still haven’t kept a clean sheet all tournament.

[Pukey]

5 minutes ago, Constantine said:

FFS, you've played Cymru, Senegal without almost half starting eleven (and their one world class player) and USA with Pulisic. You've faced attacking force that's barely lower half PL level. Mbappe, Griezmann and Dembele will rip you apart

The same France that were pretty comprehensively outplayed by Poland in the first half yeah?

I think France are winning this, but acting like they're going to win 4-0 is wishful thinking rather than based on any actual logic.

[Ackter]

I said they'd win easily if you played bad and they played well.

Dont have to get offended on behalf of the all mighty England

[Pukey]

1 minute ago, Ackter said:

I said they'd win easily if you played bad and they played well.

Dont have to get offended on behalf of the all mighty England

Not offended in the slightest, just think it's incredibly lazy and incorrect to go "lol Mbappe good Maguire bad, France win 4-0"

[Ackter]

He won't be facing Maguire, its Dembele that'll be on his side.

[Constantine]

Just now, Ackter said:

He won't be facing Maguire, its Dembele that'll be on his side.

Maguire won't be facing Dembele, he'll be pulled way out of position by Giroud

[Lucas]

Just now, Ackter said:

He won't be facing Maguire, its Dembele that'll be on his side.

That's being very generous to Maguire's positioning sense.

Jokes aside though, on paper the teams are fairly even. Game is won and lost in midfield though and that's what is a worry for me with the choices England have.

[Pukey]

2 minutes ago, Ackter said:

He won't be facing Maguire, its Dembele that'll be on his side.

Didn't say he would

[Citizen Sandman]

6 hours ago, MIR17 said:

France is still England’s #1 rival nation in general and the punchline to all our jokes

Is it?

[foolsgold]

Reckon outside of the home nations, it's got to be up there hasn't it? Alongside Germany and Argentina?

Was watching it in Melbourne yesterday and even at stupid o'clock in the morning there were a bunch of anti-French songs being sung constantly . 6am start on a Sunday for us, almost verging on all-nighter territory but will be sensible and go for the 5.30am alarm 

[skybluedave]

Not even sure England/Argentina is a thing still? Its not really is it. It was just something from specific period in time. Bit like when we hated Portugal in the 2000s

And we've not played Argentina or France in anything meaningful in years so not much heat there. Germany feels like the eternal rival. Helps we've kept running into over the years. And yes, I'm aware we aren't Germanys number 1, but thats case with most football rivalries.

[XuluBak]

3 hours ago, Pukey said:

The same France that were pretty comprehensively outplayed by Poland in the first half yeah?

Eh? Szczesny is the only reason it wasn't over at halftime. 

[XuluBak]

3 hours ago, Darius1998 said:

Deschamps loves playing with a handbrake on just as much as Southgate, unless they get an early goal, I don't think France will even try to rip England apart.

Sadly. Could be an epic match, with only one loser. Much more likely to be a 1-0 or 0-0, with only one winner. Neutrals everywhere will be hoping for an early goal. 

[Bootador]

35 minutes ago, foolsgold said:

Reckon outside of the home nations, it's got to be up there hasn't it? 

 

[XuluBak]

3 hours ago, JD nawrat said:

Mbappé up against the one guy who's best equipped to silence him though - and in fact has done on multiple occasions. Even John Stones has dealt fairly well with Mbappé in the past. But Walker on his day will keep Mbappé quiet for 90 mins. If Walker is fit enough for it, i don't think Mbappé will be the difference maker.

Walker looked pretty far off it against Senegal. If that's Mane instead Sarr, I think the scoreline would've looked different, if not the end result. 

[Pukey]

39 minutes ago, XuluBak said:

Eh? Szczesny is the only reason it wasn't over at halftime. 

What?  I've even just watched the highlights again to make sure I'm not losing my mind but from that all he did was save a decent effort from about 25 yards and Mbappe from a narrow angle. In fairness, France did have the Giroud opportunity that they should have scored from, but Poland's pressing was really causing them issues and they should have scored when Lloris made the save. Perhaps "comprehensively outplayed" is an exaggeration but Poland were causing them loads of problems and they looked exactly as under threat as we did, if not more so. 

[_mxrky]

Ismaila sarr burnt past Walker. Can’t see Walker stopping mbappe. You don’t stop mbappe. England simply have to outscore France. Build up phase was poor against Senegal too.

[Bliss Seeker]

Ackter having a right mare in this thread. 

[scott MUFC]

slightly confused as to why the arguement for france winning is Maguire...

England have kept 3 clean sheets... France 0

and Lloris isnt exactly superb most days either

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by scott MUFC

[Ackter]

26 minutes ago, scott MUFC said:

slightly confused as to why the arguement for france winning is Maguire...

 

It isn't.

[Ackter]

I'll never understand this overload the wings nonsense either.

Maguire and Bellingham  both hug the sideline along with Shaw and AML, while DRC andnHenderson do the same on the right. Just leaves Rice and Kane in the middle, with kane having to drop super deep.

So many balls given away by the defence because there was noone in the middle to pass to, so many gaps as the defence shifted back and forth from the wings etc.

[Divinity]

Think England have the edge in midfield on this one but France better in attack.

Both sides have been very good at their best and very average at their worst, so hopefully both bring their best game and it could be a banger.

[Toffle]

I'm french, and think England have a slight advantage in this game (55/45). Our defense is a concern (Koundé is definitely not a good RB, Upamecano and Varane haven't played a lot of games together..) and we didn't face such explosive forwards for a long time. Not sure how we're gonna react to this. Also, Rabiot can either play a great game or be totally absent (you usually know which scenario it's gonna be after a few minutes in the game).

Our team seems very focused and united, hard to beat but very doable. Mbappé can win it all by himself though.

Speaking of rivalries, I'm not sure we still consider England as a big one. It's a big game, but Belgium, Spain and Italy are all considered bigger rivals in France imo. There's a lot of respect and humbleness in the medias.

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by Toffle

[Pafnus]

İ will bet on england.. the full time will be draw and with penalties england will win.

[m_fenton]

Don't really consider it a rivalry - hatred of the French is more of a boomer thing isn't it? Have never really understood it, and there's not been anything on the pitch to keep a rivalry going either.

Germany is obvious, Argentina still has the "relatively" recent Beckham 98 game, Portugal has winking Ronaldo that I'd consider higher. And Scotland, if they'd ever bother to bloody qualify for the WC.

[Coulthard's Jaw]

It's a Big Game. When was the last time we played one of the big boys in the knockout stages of a World Cup? Germany in 2010?

But yeah, wouldn't consider it a massive rivalry, tbh we simply have never played them often enough over the years.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Coulthard's Jaw

[Smallen]

Both insanely good teams on paper, really. I actually think we’re better despite Mbappé.

We can get at them in wide areas. Koundé is not a full back and Theo leaves a lot of space behind to counter into.

Luke Shaw has low key been the best full back in the tournament (again!) so I’m not worried about him vs Dembele. Walker is hopefully getting back up to speed too.

Edited December 6, 2022 by Smallen

[Coulthard's Jaw]

 

[oche balboa]

Take Mbappe out the team and France are not even top 8 

[Constantine]

Now you're just being silly...

[WillHoward42]

19 hours ago, Ackter said:

Your defence is slow and shambolic. Mbappe alone will eat you alive if you make as many defensive mistakes as you have been.

Nothing to do with the quality of your opponents, you're a mess in defence and non-existent in midfield.

I don’t think France’s midfield or defence is much better than Englands.

This should be a very even game. I’d rather it be high scoring than a drab 1-0 win.

Obviously Mbappe is a game changer, but he’s due a quiet/subdued game… right?

[Ackter]

England's midfield is great on paper, but its awful on the wings.

[skybluedave]

I'd take Tchouameni and Rabiot over Rice and Henderson as a pairing. But not a huge amount in it. Griezman has done well in 10 role after initially not expecting him too and Bellingham been great too

[caragreg]

Griezmann is in a new role, very interesting between the defensive midfielders and the 2 wingers Mbappé and Dembélé

Our weak point is clearly on the right side, Koundé is bad and we lost mentally Pavard ! Foden and Grealish will feast on this side

We miss much Kanté in the middle.
Pogba and Benzema would have spoiled the atmosphere and the French team is better off without them.

Of course, MBappe is our star and the final result will largely depend on his performance

[Rob1981]

It’s the old cliche. Players win matches, teams win tournaments. With Mbappe they are slight favourites whoever they play, but I can’t see him dragging them through four knockout matches one after the other. At some point they come unstuck.  

[Pukey]

49 minutes ago, caragreg said:

Griezmann is in a new role, very interesting between the defensive midfielders and the 2 wingers Mbappé and Dembélé

Our weak point is clearly on the right side, Koundé is bad and we lost mentally Pavard ! Foden and Grealish will feast on this side

We miss much Kanté in the middle.
Pogba and Benzema would have spoiled the atmosphere and the French team is better off without them.

Of course, MBappe is our star and the final result will largely depend on his performance

I've not watched Kounde a lot but he does seem rather terrible, capable of being as bad as any of our defence. 

[Coulthard's Jaw]

18 hours ago, Rob1981 said:

It’s the old cliche. Players win matches, teams win tournaments. With Mbappe they are slight favourites whoever they play, but I can’t see him dragging them through four knockout matches one after the other. At some point they come unstuck.  

Yeah, I think he will have one quiet game at some point in the knockouts. The question is, can whoever that is against take advantage?

[kopsy101]

19 hours ago, WillHoward42 said:

I don’t think France’s midfield or defence is much better than Englands.

This should be a very even game. I’d rather it be high scoring than a drab 1-0 win.

Obviously Mbappe is a game changer, but he’s due a quiet/subdued game… right?

Apart from right back, their defence is much better. England just happen to have 4 of the worlds best right backs 

I think Mbappe will have that subdued game due to Southgates tactics...I also think he's probably used up a lot of xG karma in the last game, so like you said, he's due a couple of misses!

[Coulthard's Jaw]

 

[TM]

must have missed the Euro 2020 SF against Denmark which was on ITV

[WillHoward42]

4 hours ago, kopsy101 said:

Apart from right back, their defence is much better. England just happen to have 4 of the worlds best right backs 

I think Mbappe will have that subdued game due to Southgates tactics...I also think he's probably used up a lot of xG karma in the last game, so like you said, he's due a couple of misses!

I think man for man, France outmatch England got lost positions.

But France have looked no better than England at the back this World Cup. Both look shaky. (In fact all the top teams have tbf, all look great going forward… but everyone is conceding and allowing shots against)

[kopsy101]

43 minutes ago, WillHoward42 said:

I think man for man, France outmatch England got lost positions.

But France have looked no better than England at the back this World Cup. Both look shaky. (In fact all the top teams have tbf, all look great going forward… but everyone is conceding and allowing shots against)

That's true, only as strong as your weakest and France have a real weakness at RB with Kounde.