knockout round

Round of 16

Saturday, June 25
Switzerland vs. Poland -- Saint-Etienne
Wales vs. Northern Ireland -- Paris 
Croatia vs. Portugal -- Lens

Sunday, June 26
France vs. Ireland -- Lyon
Germany vs. Slovakia -- Lille
Hungary vs. Belgium -- Toulouse

Monday, June 27
Italy vs. Spain -- Saint-Denis
England vs. Iceland -- Nice

Great to see all three UK teams and Ireland advance to the next round.

Some interesting match ups in this round.

The UK derby Wales v Northern Ireland. Will Bale continue to shine, or will Northern Ireland upset the odds again?

Ireland v France in the Henry handball revenge game. Would love to see Ireland stick it to France and gain their revenge, but that is a big ask.

Battle of the heavyweights in Spain v Italy. Will De Gea's sloppy performance agaisnt Croatia come back to haunt Spain? Italy are well rested and Spain are a little stunned from their last game and could be vunerable.

Croatia v Portugal should be a very good game. Croatia is playing as well as anyone and look like they could go to the final. Though if Ronaldo has another game like he did today, Portugal could upset Croatia.

Finally England v tiny Iceland. Have to figure everybody but the English are pulling for Iceland to continue the fairy tale. I think the fairy tale ends here and England lives to fight another day.

Some interesting ties have come out of this idea of a third placed team making it to the knockout stages. from a pure football perspective its bullshit, but from an entertainment perspective its a knockout!

I think Wales have the guile and the set-piece ability to overcome a resilient but unadventurous NI.

I think France have way to much for Eire, as much as I'll be pulling for them.

Spain are in trouble with Italy being such a good defensive unit and pretty devastating on the counter.

Croatia will rip Portugal a new one, with their midfield control and chance conversion.

England will overcome Iceland, I suspect with some ease as I'm thinking they are due an early goal, which will force the Icelanders to open up a little.

Brilliant goal by Shaqiri, but Arsenal's new signing Xhaka's miss costs the Swiss.

Not great games today. Penalties needed in the Poland, Switzerland game, even though I felt Poland were dominant early they seemed to sit back.
Great finish by Shaqiri, a goal that deserved to win a game.

Wales and NI was so fucking dull. Both of those teams are actually shit. Own goal after a very good Bale cross, pretty much his only contribution.

Portugal late ET winner knocked out one of the tournaments golden teams. Croatia had their chances but they pretty much all came to the same guy, and he missed them all. Nice late counter by Portugal. The goal was hardly deserved but then Croatia didn't do enough to live up to billing in my opinion.

Hopefully the France Eire game will be better tomorrow.

Ireland up one nil against Les Blues as we approach half time. Deserved too, imo. France are starting to come a little unhinged, fouling and picking up yellow cards.

Surprised so far. Ireland defending well, most French shots right at the Irish keeper. The French score a lot of late goals, so this is not over yet. But Rami and Kante on yellows and out of the next game.

Better football today, France with a maasive second half, Germany dominating Slovakia and Belguim looking like they could score a bunch if they could finish a little better. Hungary dosen't look that bad when they attack, but are getting cut open at the back and over run in the midfield.

Creme coming to the top, hard to see anyone stopping Belguim from making the final and the teams that play tommorow will have to be at their best to stop one of France and Germany from joining them.

Itay out playing Spain, they are better than I expected. Taking it too Spain and de Gea is keeping Spain in it.

Just watched Italy outplay out think & outscore Spain. We have to wait longer for our talented manager.

Sterling Sturridge and Kane up front for England. Should be interesting against the well drilled Icelandic defence.

Wow Hazard last night! I am sure you was all thrilled with his return to form.

Ok, off to my new fav watering hole..... Shit beer nonsense football knowledge & some dodgy looking inbreeds.

A bit like Deliverance by the sea!!

TickTok wrote:

Just watched Italy outplay out think & outscore Spain. We have to wait longer for our talented manager.

Sterling Sturridge and Kane up front for England. Should be interesting against the well drilled Icelandic defence.

Wow Hazard last night! I am sure you was all thrilled with his return to form.

Ok, off to my new fav watering hole..... Shit beer nonsense football knowledge & some dodgy looking inbreeds.

A bit like Deliverance by the sea!!  

That performance by Hazard was the best of the tournament. Never doubted his talent, great player when he is given a free reign and wasn't being kicked off the pitch. But he seemed to lose the heart for the English game and the style of football Chelsea played last season. Hope he regains his form in the Premier, he is a pleasure to watch when he is at his best.

Re your new pub, I could take anything but shit beer, and regards the patrons, I bet they voted the right way in the referendum?

Really all you can do is laugh.  
Knocked out by a nation of 300,000 people. For those in CAnada that is the population of London Ontario. For those in the UK that's the population of Coventry.

The Owl has quit, just two years too late.  

Now watch France beat Iceland 5-0 on Saturday!

Iceland played very well, well organized and tough to break down. I don't think their keeper had to make a save the second half. Hart on the other hand made a couple of nice saves in the second half and Iceland missed a couple other chances.

All in all, England didn't create much, lots of possession, plenty of shots towards the goal, but no abilty to finish. Throw in a keeper mistake and poor markingvon the long throw and England are out.

No more than they deserved, and to be honest better to go out now against Iceland then in the next round against France.

It was laughable and my skin is so thick when it comes to England its like water off a ducks ass. I even expected it and feel like a fool that I didnt benefit by it by wagering against us.

Not going to list all the poor performances or pass comment on Roy. Rather congratulate Iceland of being the better side n fully deserving of the result.

Yes, I will have to find a new Pub to drink in. Amazed by the difference in opinion from North London. The slagging off of Tottenhams players not being good enough for CL football let alone International football was evident from most of the bumpkins. I dont think I am going to like watching football in pubs. Got round the crap beer by drinking bottled, but will start looking into if there are any clubs which are better. Would prefer somewhere where one wouldnt have to drive too. Been told a Golf club is good, but they are not keen on having football on each night. May have to subscribe to Sky which is a huge pisser.

I voted in London Red, in a area which voted remain. I voted to leave.

The area I have moved too, East Anglia is almost blanket Leave.

Should be some small local breweries in the area Tick, they are taking off big time here and in the USA. I figured East Anglica voted leave, UKIP does well down there i believe.. Didn't vote myself, since I didn't think it right not living there, but would have voted to leave if I had voted.

https://mobile.twitter.com/dannyswfc/status/747524044946345985/video/1



When you see yourself on the big screen and you need to pretend you know what you are doing.

Redcanuck wrote:

Should be some small local breweries in the area Tick, they are taking off big time here and in the USA.  I figured East Anglica voted leave, UKIP does well down there i believe..  Didn't vote myself, since I didn't think it right not living there, but would have voted to leave if I had voted.

Alas the local brewery to where I live who own my local, I do not like their beer. Smells ok, almost tastes ok going down, just leaves a horrible aftertaste. The land lord agrees that some people find the aftertaste bad.

Yeah there are other brewery's in the area, its just they are miles away and the transport system out here in the sticks is almost nonexistent. It's not like the Smoke where you have tube n buses, plus hundreds of choices to drink. I will just have to get used to the slower life. Taking the wife to the Golf Course restaurant at the weekend, one will check the bar out then.

The vote last week is probably the biggest thing Politically to happen during the many years I have had the opportunity to vote. Sure is a huge fall out and huge scare mongering going on. I believe we will be fine, but the Tory's MUST get the right bloke in charge to negotiate the terms of leaving. That decision is probably as important as our vote to leave.

I aint sure about Boris

Well this is even better than I honestly expected. I really was thinking England would get to the next round and take France kind of close just to lose on Pens or something like this which would give everyone false hope and just keep the ball of shit rolling enough to get ever so slightly larger going into the Fall qualifiers. But now...oh boy!!!! Very good things on the horizon I hope because they can't do much worse here.

There were two players worth any sort of talk in the England team yesterday. Both play for United. One played eight minutes of football and the other had to defend a team that had no interest in really trying to score. Amazing standard set here.

I'm just so baffled as to how this stuff occurs. The standard of football is so much lower than what these players deal with week in week out in England and in European Club contests, it's absolutely staggering at how bad the team is.

England are quickly the new Mid 90's early 00's Spain team...talent front to back, but nothing to show for it. Except Joe Hart...easily the most overrated GK in the world.

Just wondering who you regard as the talent we have front to back Busby?

It's typical English media to glorify four minutes of play from Rashford. I mean four fucking minutes with nothing to lose, this is the sample size to say he was a big success.
Not saying the lad is shit or anything but until his four minutes, Walker was apparently the best English player in the tournament.

This is a disease that has long infected English media. The best players are the ones who didn't play or weren't selected. Best scenario is f you can sneak on in a no lose situation and not shit the bed, you are the next Pele.

Next time England play the media will say his name should be first on the team sheet. There is literally no other country in the world who would spew such utter shite.

Agreed there Milt. But lets be fair to the lad....more take ons (and you'd be a retard to think he didn't look dangerous) in eight minutes than any other player on the pitch - even the magical baby T-Rex, Rahim Sterling didn't reach this number in his 70-odd minutes of play - and before I get accused of being a homer because Rashford is a United lad, it's kind of an important stat as a winger. Messi takes on players, so does Neymar, Ronaldo, Bale...Robben etc etc.

As for the talent TT, do you really need me to spell it out? You should be able to do the math yourself. I think Hart is not that great. Average at best IMO, but it's England tradition to have a Keeper fuck things up, so there you go. But I have no complaints with Cahill and Smalling at the back. I thought both were fine.

All the players have proven their talent in the EPL this past season, so on paper, none of them were out of place. But these tournaments are so bloody short, that there's no time to figure out the best 11. This has been my point in the other thread - it's the mix of 11 that the manager has to know. And he has to make sure the players are aware that they can't have four or five games to get their form.

Harry Kane, as a classic example, started the EPL season really poorly - which is fine. But he got time to sort it out. You can't have that at a major tournament. So he doesn't get to start. Sterling was dour, but he got on the team sheet under the assumption he could work it out. There's no time for this.

I tend to agree that the players think they're better than they actually are, but what they actually are, is a set of lads that should be able to stroll through those three group games and fucking smash Iceland.

You watch...France will beat them 6-0.

True about Rashford, but if he had started his approach might not have been the same, and he wouldn't have the fresh legs approach, which is the signature of a good substitution. Also I imagine even the idiot Hodgson had a word with the lad before he went on and said "just take the ball and take on anyone in front of you, see what happens".
I imagine he told Sterling that, but the lads confidence is shot and he can't even beat himself these days. He most certainly should not have played, at all, any game.

I don't know if anyone saw the stats on Clyne against Slovakia. He did more of everything, runs, crosses, chances created, interceptions, tackles, headers won, everything in one game, than Walker did in two but for some reason Walker kept his place. Henderson had more passes, a better accuracy, more forward passes more passes to attackers, more balls into the box, more distance covered than Alli. But Alli rolls out for the Iceland game.

That kind of dumb selection bites you in the ass, and if you watch Walker on the first Iceland goal you see the player encapsulated in one moment. I would bet the life of my kids, that Clyne does not allow that guy get away from him.

I would have started Clyne over Walker, but the thinking is Walker is better defensively, not that I agree about that.

Rashford also should have been on earlier, but Hodgson picked Sterling Kane and Ali to start, which did not work and by the hour mark he had used two of his three subs. After that the aim became to send the game into extra time and he couldn't afford to use his last sub to early So you end up with Rashford being asked to the unlikely.

Ok, here is what I think about the so called new talent.

I believe, the premiership this season was by far the weakest we have seen in the years of the premiership.

In my opinion the English players tagged with stand out seasons have shone in the weakest season.

None of the players tagged with stand out seasons have any\little highest level CL experience.

For me, that was born out painfully over the 4 fixtures.

Most of those English players tagged with stand out seasons have never come up against 4 packed organized defences, to the like Chelsea come up against over the past ten premiership seasons and dished out to Barcelona during our wins and cheated losses.

The efforts to break down these defences was very poor, they had little idea and for me, each of the said young talented players were found wanting and were easily nullified by players who knew which foot to cover.

I put to you all, name one of the English players tagged with stand out seasons before the tournament who leaves it with his reputation in-tacked or enhanced?

I would agree with Milt, Clyne was very good in the game he played and as I stated before the games, he would have been my starting right back.

Other than that???

I heard that argument about the players not having CL experience etc. I think the easiest way to dispute that argument is to point out that between 2004 and 2011, English teams were perennial finalists, winners or runners up in the CL. How well did those England players do in competitions 2006 through 2012? Just as shite as these guys did.

The next argument that does not bear up to analysis is the "over paid superstars" tag. Whoever wins the thing, will have a team full of overpaid superstars, and pretty much every winner for decades has been filled with overpaid superstars.

The final argument that holds no water is too many foreign players in our league. In the 80's and 90's the best players in the world all flocked to Italy, teams full of Brazilians, Argies, even some Brits, loads of Dutch. The Italian national team somehow managed to perform pretty well.

All these tired old arguments, hold no water.