CB Fry

Being that the absolute best Sako could have done was get us into a situation that we would have had to take another penalty, whoever was down as number 6 (Sterling, surely?) should have stepped in. Oh well, it's done now, but I am amazed that the thing Southgate really, really screwed up was the penalties. Of all the things.

Good luck at the Wankdorf, Alex.

What does this even mean?

My scapegoat is Cafe Guisseppe just down the road from me. I've just come back from posting a fresh turd through his letterbox. It's the least he deserves.

Didn't Michael Owen score of the most memorable goals in England history that night? It's not quite comparable to Sako's contribution tonight.

Not sure about that.

Southgate has got us to a level which no other manager has achieved in my (and lots of peoples) lifetime. He's done an excellent job. Italy were the better team across the entire tournament, and the better team tonight.

Southgate did what Venables did not do 25 years ago (he needed to bring on Fowler and Sir Les Ferdinand for those pens) but tonight proved that maybe that idea is a shit one after all. But the pens were shit man. Absolutely terrible.

Dreadful selection of penalty takers. And dreadful penalties.

Team nice and dull. Keep it boring for an hour and then fucking blammo bring on the quick and skilful ones. Absolutely cannot fail.

Can't entirely see where your suggestion of moving Covid patients to cruise ships is in those links.

Whatever - the point is Japan has restricted those available to administer vaccine in a way we haven't.

Interesting explanation, thanks - but in 1) an Olympic year where they are hosting and 2) in an unprecedented in living memory pandemic it still feels like a fuck up. This time last year many were quick to point out "why can't we be like them" at other countries supposedly doing well. Well, if Japan hasn't got the nous to say "tell you what, let's get nurses to dish out jabs rather than only Doctors" then sorry its a fuck up. The article says at that point they'd only used 15% of the vaccine they had on hand, thats a fuck up. Lastly, before anyone else points it out, their case numbers and death number are tiny. It's bizarre that 18 months on they still cannot conceive a stadium with spectators in it on the back of a couple of thousand cases a day and double digit deaths (16 yesterday). I feel sorry for the Athletes performing in empty stadiums and the general reduction in spectacle and atmosphere for those of us watching. The Olympics is not everything of course, but obviously vaccination and freedom its own reward. Real shame.

I reckon it is a pretty safe bet that the TV co-commentator for England's first major final for 55 years will not be Ally McCoist.

Hearing the news today I find it difficult to believe Japan have fucked up over the Olympics. 15% national rate of vaccination, what have they been playing at, FFS. This time last year everyone was looking east to see how to cope with pandemics. Now they seem miles behind. Still seems very odd that they couldn't get to a position where local people could attend the events. They had a genuine target to aim for, not least to inspire their country. We can do ourselves down too much sometimes but we'd have got that show on the road.

Quite: the issue is a team becomes "not a top team" purely because we have beaten them, therefore they can't possibly be top. We had some fortune in the knockouts but Italy had a piece of piss group stage, easier than we did.

It looks like the tweet of a monumental twat.

We are three weeks away from Danny Ings sat in a press conference saying "yes, well the manager and the chairman are very clear that the club expects to be in the Champions League regularly in the future so I know I am joining a great club with huge ambition to play at the highest level". Just after his grinning photoshoot holding up an Everton/Spurs/Villa shirt.

Sterling?

Fairly irrelevant- KWP turned out to be an excellent signing (but was already known to us). If anything mentioning the other two screws your own argument - neither of those have hit the ground running or held down a place. If we replace Ings with "raw potential, not quite ready for the first team, let them adapt" on the scale of those two, then we're in trouble next season.

Perfect 👌

Quite. Nice job.

You can also add the free kick that Denmark got for basically nothing that they scored from in the first half.

It's a England team from another planet. Absolutely superb.

It's a shame Sam Matterface is such a twat.