ExiledAjax

The shackles are in absolute pieces

I dunno...seems fairly one sided.

Top as it stands

Luke Shaw just got in the way of absolutely everyone.

Anyone else think the pitch looks a bit rough? Pretty clearly visible lines in the turf and some patches starting to kick up.

So different to the USA game already. Wales happy to sit back in their half and let us have the ball where the US pressed us right up on our own penalty box. This is going to be a siege by England.

If we had a UK team then we'd not have the love in over two "countries" playing each other.

5Live reporting from AG! Say there are a couple of thousand in the sports bar?

Using the squad. Sensible given the knockout games are in only 3 or 4 days time.

If we come second it's the Dutch and then probably Brazil before we get to the final. IMO top the group, beat Senegal. See what happens against France.

And you'll be pleased to learn that they don't keep clean sheets, so another 0-0 should be unlikely!

That's all fair. I guess I'd just say to focus on the 6-2 v Iran or the 6-1 v Panama rather than the 0-0s. I understand that as fans we focus on the most recent result, but there are bright spots of joy to be found in these tournaments, even if they are scattered amongst the drab beige of the 0-0. For my two pence - I'll be surprised if England v Wales is 0-0.

Just show him the HPC.

Gakpo the big transfer in January?

I think it is fair to say "England have too many 0-0s at tournaments, I don't find it entertaining". That's a reasonable criticism, and is in my opinion probably fair. Certainly in my lifetime I can think of a handful of truly entertaining England World Cup games, and they don't all end in a win. There's Netherlands in Euro 96, Germany Euro 2020(1), Panama in 2018, and maybe Argentina 98 (which we drew then lost). I wonder, if we drew every knockout game 0-0 and progressed on penalties each time, to win the final 0-0 and then again on penalties...would people complain? I suspect the answer is yes, it would certainly be commented on, we'd probably see reports and discussion similar to the Rugby win in 2003 which England won through relatively boring/attritional mauls and the kicking prowess of Wilkinson. It's a win, and England's name is on the trophy, but were those performances entertaining? Probably not if we are honest.

Ok, so our 0-0 rate is 18.5%, these other countries are as I post above. So yes we have had proportionally more 0-0s than all of these. I guess my question then is why does the rate of 0-0s constitute embarrassment? a 0-0 gives you exactly the same result as a 5-5 - you get 1 point and neutral goal difference in a group game, and you get extra time plus possible penalties in a knockout game. Is it just entertainment value you're concerned with? Personally, I think the general number of games played and the number of trophies won is the bigger embarrassment. Looking at your figures we are far closer to Netherlands, Belgium and Portugal than to France, Germany or Spain in that regard, and I know that most of us and those at the FA would think England are more in the category of those last three countries than the first three.

OK, I'll see what I can do.

Last 16 game will be either Saturday 3pm if we finish 2nd, or Sunday at 7pm if we top the group.

Don't worry Tone, I am aware that there are fit Persian and Arabian women out there. Just a little attempt at a joke is all.

Oh Robbo, allow a man a small joke about the nature of a nation's traditional clothing/admission policy on females at sporting events.

Saudi Arabia v Iran would be a tough gig for the totty cameraman.

It does seem a little pointless when Sweden haven't qualified.

Portugal win makes a Ghana advance more likely perhaps?

Ugh

Is it? We've played 78 games in major tournaments in that time. 15 0-0 out of 78 doesn't feel embarrassing. How do other "top" nations compare?