World Cup 2026

[Saint Fan CaM]

14 minutes ago, Turkish said:

If you had one criticism of Haaland is that he sometimes looks a bit clumsy and his first touch sometimes lets him down. The difficultly with him is if you defend high he's got the pace and power to breeze past most defenders, certainly all of ours and if you defend deep he's got the strength and movement to be a real threat in the box, i guess the only way is to play the percentage game of where he is less of a threat and set up to counter that. I'd be inclined to set deeper, block crosses and hit on the break which is our strengths really, if we set up like we did for the group stages he'll have a field day in behind the back 4.

I agree - at times he looked almost lazy, but in a moment exploded into action. Wonder if Dan Burn could do a specific, strict man-marking job on him? He’s certainly got the stature.

[trousers]

Trump now saying that the referee who sent off the American fella was "suspect" and had a "shady history" 😂

Edited 1 hour ago by trousers

[Saint86]

7 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

given the circumstances, was this a better result than anything under Southgate?

I mean, Southgate was incredibly lucky with the draws during his tenure.

Southgate didn't win a single game he wasn't favourite for, and even then we laboured past most of them.

That win last night beats any other world cup win going back to at least the 1980s. That's basically put of memory for anyone under 40... I challenge the boo boys who weren't impressed to name many better ones that someone under 40 is going to recall... That's half a lifetime.

[Lymington Saint]

Cant think of a better wc finals win since 66. The only game that comes close is the wc semi in 90. We lost on pens but played unbelievably well that day

[Turkish]

1 minute ago, Saint86 said:

Southgate didn't win a single game he wasn't favourite for, and even then we laboured past most of them.

That win last night beats any other world cup win going back to at least the 1980s. That's basically put of memory for anyone under 40... I challenge the boo boys who weren't impressed to name many better ones that someone under 40 is going to recall... That's half a lifetime.

I really dont get the criticism of Southgate end of day he got us to two finals, our first ever final on foreign soil and a semi final. Yes you could argue we should have won at least one of them but the facts are he's the best manager we'd had in 50 odd years. Okay it was exciting, it was painful at times but he did a lot better than supposedly better managers with much better squads. 

[Saint86]

3 minutes ago, Turkish said:

I really dont get the criticism of Southgate end of day he got us to two finals, our first ever final on foreign soil and a semi final. Yes you could argue we should have won at least one of them but the facts are he's the best manager we'd had in 50 odd years. Okay it was exciting, it was painful at times but he did a lot better than supposedly better managers with much better squads. 

We wasted 4 major tournaments under him, and 3 of the easiest runs to a final you could ever dream of.... Let alone that Italy loss to an aged side that haven't qualified for a major tournament since. Give tuchel that final and England waltz to a second major trophy 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️. Now we have a diminished squad with an aging kane (likely on his last tournament), and I still have more confidence that we'll do the business because tuchel is actually a tactically astute manager.

Being shit but better than previous failure isn't good, it's still just failing.

We knighted a guy who made a career out of losing at wembley on penalties 😂

Edited 2 hours ago by Saint86

[trousers]

Jeez... Just seen a slow mo video of the Henderson accident.... Looks like he snapped his forearm in half... 😮

[Turkish]

4 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

We wasted 4 major tournaments under him, and 3 of the easiest runs to a final you could ever dream of.... Let alone that Italy loss to an aged side that haven't qualified for a major tournament since. Give tuchel that final and England waltz to a second major trophy 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️. Now we have a diminished squad with an aging kane (likely on his last tournament), and I still have more confidence that we'll do the business because tuchel is actually a tactically astute manager.

Being shit but better than previous failure isn't good, it's still just failing.

We knighted a guy who made a career out of losing at wembley on penalties 😂

2 finals, a semi final and a quarter final are wasted and being shit are they? You do know teams who reach the later stages of tournaments do so because they're pretty good, right? 

Edited 2 hours ago by Turkish

[Whitey Grandad]

11 minutes ago, trousers said:

Jeez... Just seen a slow mo video of the Henderson accident.... Looks like he snapped his forearm in half... 😮

I've always thought he was an accident waiting to happen.

[sadoldgit]

33 minutes ago, Saint86 said:

We wasted 4 major tournaments under him, and 3 of the easiest runs to a final you could ever dream of.... Let alone that Italy loss to an aged side that haven't qualified for a major tournament since. Give tuchel that final and England waltz to a second major trophy 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️. Now we have a diminished squad with an aging kane (likely on his last tournament), and I still have more confidence that we'll do the business because tuchel is actually a tactically astute manager.

Being shit but better than previous failure isn't good, it's still just failing.

We knighted a guy who made a career out of losing at wembley on penalties 😂

Southgate was risk averse. Instead of “who dares wins” his motto was “who plays safe might not lose.” Yep, fair play to him for getting that far in competitions, but it is all about winning and I don’t know of another country who would give a top honour to a serial runner up. Can you image how Trump would have treated him?

[Lighthouse]

37 minutes ago, Turkish said:

2 finals, a semi final and a quarter final are wasted and being shit are they? You do know teams who reach the later stages of tournaments do so because they're pretty good, right? 

A team starting Jannick Vestergaard in a semi final is not ‘pretty good’.

[Gloucester Saint]

The only positive that can come out of the Balogun saga is that Infantino’s position is looking increasingly untenable. 

[SWLondon Saint]

2 hours ago, saintant said:

As someone else said, their guy on the left will be a big danger and probably more so than Odegaard.

Again, it's a bit hard to say how much danger as Brazil's defending was complete crap. The first goal by Haaland happened because I think Endrick (?) was on the winger and just let him go by, it was shocking lack of effort, then he had momentum towards the left back, he could easily cut back onto his right foot for the cross which wasn't even challenged at all. The second one is barely an assist, it's just a simple pass to Haaland who's dropped off the back 4 and no-one went with him.

[CSA96]

It gets worse!

 

[dsrdorset]

The most corrupt tournament in history. And Trump so blatant with it. I couldn't actually believe what I was hearing. Belgium need to appeal this urgently or threaten to boycott the match. 

[saintant]

2 hours ago, Chez said:

Nusa or Schjlderup? Nusa has looked good, but I think Schjlderup was the guy creating the chances in the second half against Brazil when he came on from Nusa. I'm guessing Spence will play right back, so he's going to havre to play well.  He will need help. Is Saka going to be fit?

Patrick Berg also stood out for me. He scored early on against Brazil but it was disallowed by VAR for offside.

[saintant]

1 hour ago, Turkish said:

If you had one criticism of Haaland is that he sometimes looks a bit clumsy and his first touch sometimes lets him down. The difficultly with him is if you defend high he's got the pace and power to breeze past most defenders, certainly all of ours and if you defend deep he's got the strength and movement to be a real threat in the box, i guess the only way is to play the percentage game of where he is less of a threat and set up to counter that. I'd be inclined to set deeper, block crosses and hit on the break which is our strengths really, if we set up like we did for the group stages he'll have a field day in behind the back 4.

John Stones plays and trains with him so should have some thoughts on how to best curtail him. Even so he's like a battering ram and as strong as an ox.

[Turkish]

34 minutes ago, Lighthouse said:

A team starting Jannick Vestergaard in a semi final is not ‘pretty good’.

Bet you absolutely hated the saints team That topped the premier league in 2020 with him it, fucking shit they were

[benjii]

1 hour ago, trousers said:

Jeez... Just seen a slow mo video of the Henderson accident.... Looks like he snapped his forearm in half... 😮

You will, at one time or another, pay the price for a suspicious gait.

[Chez]

24 minutes ago, saintant said:

John Stones plays and trains with him so should have some thoughts on how to best curtail him. Even so he's like a battering ram and as strong as an ox.

plus he's so good in the air and bloody fast to boot. Add in some pretty decent finishing and you have some player. He's basically the best target man you could asks for. Frightening. Are there any PL sides that have restricted him?

[Saint_clark]

35 minutes ago, saintant said:

John Stones plays and trains with him so should have some thoughts on how to best curtail him. Even so he's like a battering ram and as strong as an ox.

I was wondering whether we play him and Guehi for that reason, with Konsa at right back (unless James is fit).

[RedArmy]

All this talk of Haaland is getting a bit boring. 
 

I think they’re a little bit more concerned by having to face not only Harry Kane but Jude Bellingham too. 

[Chez]

1 hour ago, Saint86 said:

Southgate didn't win a single game he wasn't favourite for, and even then we laboured past most of them.

That win last night beats any other world cup win going back to at least the 1980s. That's basically put of memory for anyone under 40... I challenge the boo boys who weren't impressed to name many better ones that someone under 40 is going to recall... That's half a lifetime.

Were we favourites for most games because Southgate created a good side? 

Did previous managers have better or worse sides than Southgate because ,1990 apart, they all seem to labour to defeat. 

You are probably right about World Cup wins, although beating the Belgium and Cameroon wins in 1990 were amazing nights too. Beating Argentina in 2002 was joyous, but on the whole we've not really had games like last night.

[CSA96]

FIFA President Gianni Infantino: 

“I have seen the public comments regarding the decision of the independent FIFA Disciplinary Committee related to the suspension of Folarin Balogun, and I would like to reiterate a fundamental principle of FIFA’s governance.

“FIFA’s judicial bodies are independent. They operate autonomously, apply the FIFA Disciplinary Code, and decide cases based on the applicable regulations and the specific facts before them. Their independence is essential to the credibility and integrity of football, and this must always be respected.

“Yes, I regularly discuss matters related to the FIFA World Cup with the President of the United States, and on this matter, I did receive a call from President Donald Trump, just as I receive calls from heads of state, government officials, football stakeholders and business executives from around the world on many different issues. During our conversation, I explained that there was an ongoing legal process involving FIFA’s independent judicial bodies and that the case would be decided in due course by the competent bodies. That is how FIFA’s system works, and it is a principle that I will always uphold.

“I read the decisions of the FIFA Disciplinary Committee when they are issued. Sometimes I am surprised by them. Sometimes I agree with them, and sometimes I disagree.

“What I always do, however, is respect those decisions and the autonomy of the bodies that make them. Whether we personally like a decision or not is irrelevant. Respect for independent institutions and the rule of law is what protects the integrity of our competitions and the credibility of FIFA at all times.”

[Chez]

20 minutes ago, Saint_clark said:

I was wondering whether we play him and Guehi for that reason, with Konsa at right back (unless James is fit).

Konsa doesn't look good at right back to me. Can we call a 'journeyman' like JWP up?

[Window Cleaner]

Been watching the rediffusion, England need to find a way to defend better