Beat the Belgians

Pogleswoody · Jun 28, 2018

Gareth, a quiet word in your shell-like:

Do not practice losing. We do not need to practice losing a World Cup game. We have always been very good at it.

Don't worry about who we play when. Play Brazil (or whoever) asap, if you wait they'll just get better.

Win one, win another, then win the next one. Eat, sleep, win, repeat (until they hand you a trophy!)

Discuss.

andyr1963 · Jun 28, 2018

Yep, good enough for me.
Two down, five to go, just beat the team in front of you. :thumbs:

Not for one moment do I really think we will win it, (on performances so far, i would quite like Croatia to win it) but I would love the atmosphere / party if we did get anywhere near it. Semi final would be fantastic. :scarf:

Lousy Pint · Jun 28, 2018

Quite right Pogles. Winning is a good habit as we all know. Bit more of a test today though obviously. I feel we have looked a bit static at the back, I'd like a bit more fluidity. Anyway, delighted we are still in it for a few more days at least and who knows how far we can go. Looking forward to Senegal v Colombia 'safnoon, two of the more exciting teams I feel. COYW!!!

Lundan Cabbie · Jun 28, 2018

We should win tonight. Only England would win a game that might be beneficial to lose. :greensmile:

Lundan Cabbie · Jun 28, 2018

andyr1963":1uiqbx68 said:
Yep, good enough for me.
Two down, five to go, just beat the team in front of you. :thumbs:

Not for one moment do I really think we will win it, (on performances so far, i would quite like Croatia to win it) but I would love the atmosphere / party if we did get anywhere near it. Semi final would be fantastic. :scarf:

Can’t agree with that last line. Been there in 1990 and it definitely wasn’t fantastic when losing in the semis.

Semis would be a good effort though.

Balham Green · Jun 28, 2018

Lundan Cabbie":30wmbsav said:
andyr1963":30wmbsav said:

Yep, good enough for me.
Two down, five to go, just beat the team in front of you. :thumbs:

Not for one moment do I really think we will win it, (on performances so far, i would quite like Croatia to win it) but I would love the atmosphere / party if we did get anywhere near it. Semi final would be fantastic. :scarf:

Click to expand...

Can’t agree with that last line. Been there in 1990 and it definitely wasn’t fantastic when losing in the semis.

Semis would be a good effort though.

Not fantastic losing in any round. I suppose the issue is the expectations build from the likes of Knibsworth who thinks beating Panama means we have a world class team.

esmer · Jun 28, 2018

It would give us a far better chance of winning the competition if we come second. I'm all for a spot of pragmatism.

Bermudian Green · Jun 28, 2018

esmer":1bimj4oc said:
It would give us a far better chance of winning the competition if we come second. I'm all for a spot of pragmatism.

It would, but not by much. Spain are still in our half if we win the group.

My view is if we can beat Belgium, we should be able to beat anyone. I say go for it. If we draw and take a few single yellows on the way, then so be it, but I feel we need to continue to put on a display and grow further as a team. If we lose, then we're not so good as (some) think, in which case yes, coming second might give us the chance of getting to the quarters.......

Lundan Cabbie · Jun 28, 2018

esmer":2izbz92o said:
It would give us a far better chance of winning the competition if we come second. I'm all for a spot of pragmatism.

I think we have a better chance of coming home with our heads held high if we win the group....... losing to Japan aside :shock:

Ham Green · Jun 28, 2018

Eight changes to the side, no Kane.

Gareth's thinking long-term, I would posit.

Beat Colombia and it's the winner of Sweden-Switzerland in the quarters. Beat Japan and it's Brazil or Mexico.

We all breathed a sigh of relief two years ago when we got Iceland instead of Portugal, so I don't think it makes a difference either way and I'd rather we just went for the psychological boost of beating Belgium.

PL2 3DQ · Jun 28, 2018

England reserves v Belgium reserves. Too many changes and a possible loss of momentum, I reckon.
Kane must be devastated.

Balham Green · Jun 28, 2018

Bermudian Green":386ixd53 said:
esmer":386ixd53 said:

It would give us a far better chance of winning the competition if we come second. I'm all for a spot of pragmatism.

Click to expand...

It would, but not by much. Spain are still in our half if we win the group.

My view is if we can beat Belgium, we should be able to beat anyone. I say go for it. If we draw and take a few single yellows on the way, then so be it, but I feel we need to continue to put on a display and grow further as a team. If we lose, then we're not so good as (some) think, in which case yes, coming second might give us the chance of getting to the quarters.......

Beating Belgium reserves won't count for much though. So this could be interesting. Both teams trying to lose

Pogleswoody · Jun 28, 2018

Balham_Green":136xi1gq said:
Bermudian Green":136xi1gq said:

esmer":136xi1gq said:

It would give us a far better chance of winning the competition if we come second. I'm all for a spot of pragmatism.

Click to expand...

It would, but not by much. Spain are still in our half if we win the group.

My view is if we can beat Belgium, we should be able to beat anyone. I say go for it. If we draw and take a few single yellows on the way, then so be it, but I feel we need to continue to put on a display and grow further as a team. If we lose, then we're not so good as (some) think, in which case yes, coming second might give us the chance of getting to the quarters.......

Click to expand...

Beating Belgium reserves won't count for much though. So this could be interesting. Both teams trying to lose

What are the own goal odds?

Cobi Budge · Jun 28, 2018

First half showed just how overrated Eric Dier is, Henderson is the far, far better player.

Ottawa Green · Jun 28, 2018

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Beat the Belgians

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