The way England is playing so far is hot garbage. Unless you improve significantly, DR Congo will go through.
Our defence looks vulnerable every time the ball is in our half. A s**t show so far.
Chelscum defender on the right to blame. England won the World Cup with a Fulham player wearing the no 2 shirt. Nuff said.
Really not looking good at the moment.
Bellingham's early yellow card isn't going to help either.
Very poor from England. Pickford was dreadful for the goal.
Why are we surprised by this
It's been the same since I've been watching us since 1982
Lack quality to do anything meaningful
We've come close a few times but never really convinced we could win a tournament
Hoping a turnaround like against Cameroon is in the cards
Roll on August
Penalty? Unbelievable.
If Kane hadn't dived, he might have got the penalty. The ref would have gone to the VAR screen.
DR Congo have got Jan Tomaszewski in goal
The water break helped you, you looked much better after that. Still, DR Congo had the best chance after the break with Wissa hitting the woodwork.
Rashford has been dreadful, and I'm not saying that just because he missed that great chance, he was dreadful before and after that. Madueke the bright spark so far, imo.
The penalty could have been given, but Kane really did try to sell it way too much. If he let the natural contact take him, he dived.
Cloughie would be calling our guy the clown this time.
Depressing so far. Usually our defence is OK but it just seems amateur in this tournament.
Good BBC analysis by Joe Hart on Pickford's positioning and balance for the goal.
Cipenga looks a class act though.
Same crap different manager
Quote from: H4usuallysitting on July 01, 2026, 05:57:21 PMDR Congo have got Jan Tomaszewski in goal
What would Brian Clough make of him?
Quote from: Eton White on July 01, 2026, 06:05:09 PMGood BBC analysis by Joe Hart on Pickford's positioning and balance for the goal.
Cipenga looks a class act though.
Cipenga is destroying your defence today. He's been absolutely superb!
Their keepers having a good day. The TV commentators are piling on the misery a bit gratuitously. England have actually had plenty of shots, decent ones. There are defensive problems for sure, but we only have to be better than the opposition and they aren't especially good.
Rashford has been the worst player on the pitch, by a country mile.
So much I could say but basically yet again other teams want it more than our "superstars"!
Rice and Bellingham looked exhausted after just 15 minutes they both looked like they had been in a sauna.
The whole team looks very tired now after 60 minutes.
It's all up to the subs now
Good subs
I wouldn't have subbed off Madueke, he was one of the few players who were actually dangerous for England, imo.
Not surprised about Rashford going off though.
Quote from: SerbianLad on July 01, 2026, 06:25:15 PMI wouldn't have subbed off Madueke, he was one of the few players who were actually dangerous for England, imo.
Not surprised about Rashford going off though.
I think Saka's got a better final ball than Madueke. Madueke's beaten his man countless times, but has wasted a lot of the good positions he's got himself into.
Get another forward on or this game simply slips away!
It will soon be time for Ivan.
Quote from: Grassy Noel on July 01, 2026, 06:34:29 PMIt will soon be time for Ivan.
I was thinking that too.
At last.
Quote from: Eton White on July 01, 2026, 06:28:12 PMQuote from: SerbianLad on July 01, 2026, 06:25:15 PMI wouldn't have subbed off Madueke, he was one of the few players who were actually dangerous for England, imo.
Not surprised about Rashford going off though.
I think Saka's got a better final ball than Madueke. Madueke's beaten his man countless times, but has wasted a lot of the good positions he's got himself into.
I would have kept Gordon on the bench
Edit:nevermind 😁
Harry Kane! Who else?
I've watched a few games in this WC and I can't believe how slow, awkward and poor on the ball our two centre backs have been compared to every other team I've seen.
I can see this being another Netherlands/Germany going out on penalties game.
What a fffing goal!!!!!
What. A. Goal.
I like the Sure deodorant sponsored substitution boards.
Clever advertising with the assistant referee holding the board up over his head!
Phew... but we're not getting past Mexico on that performance.
Subs did well to erase that ghastly first half.
Never in doubt from the moment the ref blew the final whistle.
We're lucky to have Kane,without him we'd struggle most of the time.
Big improvement needed against Mexico,or we'll be coming home.
I said earlier that teams like DR Congo want it more than our pampered PL players and I stand by that.
Our lot may think they are giving everything but IMO they struggle to get the best out of themselves until it's almost too late.
Today we deserved it in the end but (with respect to DRC) we made it harder than it should have been and will probably never learn from games like this!
With these hydration breaks, the matches have 4 quarters pretty much. I thought DR Congo was better in the first quarter, teams were pretty much equal in the second and England was better in the 3rd and 4th quarter. So overall, a deserved win.
That being said, were it not for Kane's individual brilliance, you might not have gone through even with you being better than them. DR Congo were better than Paraguay were against Germany, so something similar could have happened were it not for Kane.
You'll need to play much better than that, imo, if you want to beat Mexico. I have to say, I'll be cheering for Mexico, as they usually are one of the teams I want to do well. I love how passionate about football they are and I always want them to do well.
Quote from: Eton White on July 01, 2026, 06:05:09 PMGood BBC analysis by Joe Hart on Pickford's positioning and balance for the goal.
Cipenga looks a class act though.
I reckon we should check him out , replacement for Wilson.
Ben Nevis is 1,345 metres (4,413 feet) above sea level.
The Azteca Stadium is 2,240 meters (7,350 feet) above sea level
Quote from: cmg on July 01, 2026, 07:03:01 PMNever in doubt from the moment the ref blew the final whistle.
😆😆😆😆😆 very clever
No Kane
No Party
Quote from: Steeeeeeeeeed on July 01, 2026, 07:24:01 PMBen Nevis is 1,345 metres (4,413 feet) above sea level.
The Azteca Stadium is 2,240 meters (7,350 feet) above sea level
Watch the Jock's when they get Mexico up Ben Nevis when they get to run the WC. Too low. Too pointy.
I actually reckon we'll go pretty deep. People have written the side off but when they click, they look pretty good going forward.
I'd be tempted to go with the idea of Rice at RB against Mexico. Spence shouldn't even be in the squad let alone playing.
Quote from: bobbo on July 01, 2026, 07:22:17 PMQuote from: Eton White on July 01, 2026, 06:05:09 PMGood BBC analysis by Joe Hart on Pickford's positioning and balance for the goal.
Cipenga looks a class act though.
I reckon we should check him out , replacement for Wilson.
Its an old but true saying: never buy a player based off of a good world cup
How will our defense deal with Raul?
The problem England have to overcome is the altitude, the atmosphere and a team that are don't lose very often at the Azteca. I can see them winning this one.
Quote from: bog on July 01, 2026, 08:57:19 PMHow will our defense deal with Raul?
We'll be fine. We could have a problem if Mexico get a penalty!
Are you referring to the bloke with the stutter who shall now be nameless?
The atmosphere will be outrageous I reckon. It's a strange one because it will be loud and rocking, yet, there is no atmosphere at that altitude!
Better get Russ Abbott on a flight to Mexico ASAP.
Saved by Kane! Spence is an atrocious defender. Decentish going forward but a part of Spurs struggling backline. Trent was a shoe in replacement but he went with his Chelsea old boy CB/DM Chalobah?? Will our old pal Raul send us packing?! England need to improve defensively by at least another 50% to have any chance imo, or I think Tuchel and England will be gone.
We somehow need to tighten up at the back, to say the least.
The knives will be out for Tuchel and the players if we go out now,especially about Tuchel's squad selection, though they're already being sharpened after it was only Kane's heroics stopped us going out yesterday.
Let's hope the team will suddenly turn it on v Mexico. Maybe the players will respond when they aren't expected to get an easy win.
WE need to sort out the defence though!
He's messed around with the back four so much nobody knows what they are doing. The keeper is a complete manic who is not as good as he thinks he is and he picked a sick note right back. All of us could have predicted what would happen there. We may scrape through but we are miles away from the standard that France has set
If only we would lower our expectations a bit, we might actually enjoy progressing through rounds of this World Cup. We seem to assume everyone will just roll over for us rather than make a fight of it. We won because we ultimately had to too much quality for them. We now play a tantalising game v Mexico in the Azteca and we have to relish these moments. It wasn't that long ago that we failed to qualify for tournaments or go out at the group stage.
Quote from: bobbo on July 01, 2026, 07:22:17 PMQuote from: Eton White on July 01, 2026, 06:05:09 PMGood BBC analysis by Joe Hart on Pickford's positioning and balance for the goal.
Cipenga looks a class act though.
I reckon we should check him out , replacement for Wilson.
It's one game, which they would've been highly motivated for, impossible to draw too many conclusions from that. He wasn't even a starter at the beginning of the tournament.
DR Congo were outstanding and deserve so much credit for putting in such an attacking display, completely caught us off guard. Every player and the manager deserve huge acclaim but that doesn't mean I want them to join my club. You'd need to scout their performance across a full season.
I'm wondering if we need Rice to play a bit deeper, he has superb defensive instincts and can protect the defence, he looked so solid at right back. Yes he's a bit limited with his passing and yes we'd issues his energy driving forward, but he could still do so from time to time. He looks absolutely shattered so being a bit more disciplined might do him a favour.
Quote from: Super Mick on July 02, 2026, 01:48:55 AMSaved by Kane! Spence is an atrocious defender. Decentish going forward but a part of Spurs struggling backline. Trent was a shoe in replacement but he went with his Chelsea old boy CB/DM Chalobah?? Will our old pal Raul send us packing?! England need to improve defensively by at least another 50% to have any chance imo, or I think Tuchel and England will be gone.
Wasn't Spence's fault, he was marking two players. Madueke didn't even try jogging back to help out, Konsa had moved over to cover another player, so Spence had to pick up his man.
Very poor performance especially in defence. Spence had a nightmare and didn't look up to it. But I thought the 2 centre backs were really poor too and it's from there that I'd typically expect to see commanding performances/leadership
I was wondering if putting Stones and Declan Rice in the middle of defence would work out of desperation but then I learned that Rice has experience at RB and he looked England's best defender of the tournament for the time he was there.
What an unnecessary and embarrassing position to be in. All those experienced defenders Tuchel left at home. True, none of them are Beckenbauer or Baresi but they look like world-beaters next to the ones he's brought.
We're lucky to be here and have very little chance of beating Mexico with a defence like this one. We'd be humiliated against anyone good despite this laughable talk by players and manager that we'd play better against strong opposition
It was always a concern going into this world cup that we have decent defenders but not outstanding defenders. On England performances over the last couple of years I would say both Guhei & Konsa have been the most consistent. If you look beyond them Stones? Burns? Maguire? all again decent centre backs who are not getting any younger. Then you look at full backs not one outstanding full back all just decent to good if not injured type. That decision to bring Chalobah in for Livremento is still ridiculous. Declan Rice is such a good footballer but you can see his knackered after last season and he is our best all round midfielder. With that I would look to perhaps go three at the back with Rice central as ball playing centre back come sweeper role Konsa and Guehi either side. O'Riley left wing back and Saka right wing back. Andersen & Mainoo both central Rogers & Bellingham sitting behind Kane in a 3-4-2-1.
Let's just put this all into a bit of context.
DR Congo aren't anywhere near as poor as some are making out. They held Portugal, rarely concede more than one goal and have beaten some good sides recently. If it wasn't for their keeper making a couple of outstanding saves (and Pickford not fluffing his lines) we'd have sailed through!
Mexico could be England's Waterloo game I think.
Huge game in Mexico, our defence really is shakey at the moment. The idea to not take more fullbacks - and the right fullbacks is a real concern now.
But...we found a way. Hoping as can be the case sometimes with england we step up a bit more against better teams. Cos at the moment there's alot to be desired. Players will be well up for Mexico you would think, will be an exciting game and a tough one at that. Keeping everything crossed
Once again it was proven;
"It's Harry Kane , or it's on the 'plane..."
We will win, or at least we can win, there is always a chance, Mexico may have a bad game, who knows?
Like Fulham under MS, England seem so obsessed with playing inverted wingers.
So, so often when getting a bit of space the inverted wingers cannot get to the line and get a cross in.
Instead they have to check back onto their good foot and put an angled cross into the box.
Not only is the momentum of the attack lost, but these crossed are so much harder for forwards (Kane/ Bellingham ) to get on the end of.
It would make so much sense to swap the two wingers over for periods in the games instead of sticking to such ridged tactics.
Quote from: Jims Dentist on July 02, 2026, 06:37:35 PMLike Fulham under MS, England seem so obsessed with playing inverted wingers.
So, so often when getting a bit of space the inverted wingers cannot get to the line and get a cross in.
Instead they have to check back onto their good foot and put an angled cross into the box.
Not only is the momentum of the attack lost, but these crossed are so much harder for forwards (Kane/ Bellingham ) to get on the end of.
It would make so much sense to swap the two wingers over for periods in the games instead of sticking to such ridged tactics.
Could not agree more.
Quote from: Jims Dentist on July 02, 2026, 06:37:35 PMLike Fulham under MS, England seem so obsessed with playing inverted wingers.
So, so often when getting a bit of space the inverted wingers cannot get to the line and get a cross in.
Instead they have to check back onto their good foot and put an angled cross into the box.
Not only is the momentum of the attack lost, but these crossed are so much harder for forwards (Kane/ Bellingham ) to get on the end of.
It would make so much sense to swap the two wingers over for periods in the games instead of sticking to such ridged tactics.
Yes you make a lot of sense.
Quote from: Jims Dentist on July 02, 2026, 06:37:35 PMLike Fulham under MS, England seem so obsessed with playing inverted wingers.
So, so often when getting a bit of space the inverted wingers cannot get to the line and get a cross in.
Instead they have to check back onto their good foot and put an angled cross into the box.
Not only is the momentum of the attack lost, but these crossed are so much harder for forwards (Kane/ Bellingham ) to get on the end of.
It would make so much sense to swap the two wingers over for periods in the games instead of sticking to such ridged tactics.
100%. Unfortunately a whole generation of wingers has been raised to play inverted, so they look a bit lost when played on their natural side.
Quote from: Jims Dentist on July 02, 2026, 06:37:35 PMLike Fulham under MS, England seem so obsessed with playing inverted wingers.
So, so often when getting a bit of space the inverted wingers cannot get to the line and get a cross in.
Instead they have to check back onto their good foot and put an angled cross into the box.
Not only is the momentum of the attack lost, but these crossed are so much harder for forwards (Kane/ Bellingham ) to get on the end of.
It would make so much sense to swap the two wingers over for periods in the games instead of sticking to such ridged tactics.
I can understand inverted wingers when you have attacking full backs who will overlap once the winger goes inside. We all saw how well it worked here with Robinson. But England don't really have overlapping full backs. So unless there's some intricate bit of coaching that I'm missing, like you I'm not a big fan of them in this set up.
Quote from: Jim© on July 03, 2026, 10:18:36 AMQuote from: Jims Dentist on July 02, 2026, 06:37:35 PMLike Fulham under MS, England seem so obsessed with playing inverted wingers.
So, so often when getting a bit of space the inverted wingers cannot get to the line and get a cross in.
Instead they have to check back onto their good foot and put an angled cross into the box.
Not only is the momentum of the attack lost, but these crossed are so much harder for forwards (Kane/ Bellingham ) to get on the end of.
It would make so much sense to swap the two wingers over for periods in the games instead of sticking to such ridged tactics.
I can understand inverted wingers when you have attacking full backs who will overlap once the winger goes inside. We all saw how well it worked here with Robinson. But England don't really have overlapping full backs. So unless there's some intricate bit of coaching that I'm missing, like you I'm not a big fan of them in this set up.
This is a good point. England's full backs have provided basically no attacking output which makes us quite one-dimensional. I struggle to see why O'Reilly would be a starting full back if his instructions are to hold his position.