Quote:
Originally Posted by Itse
Absolutely. But you don't get that 2002 game if you never have 3rd place games.
(...also, thinking that England could/should have done better is typical English delusion. They had some good players, but they really lucked with their playoff opponents. They were clearly the weaker team against Croatia. They could get good in a few years, but this was never going to be their year.
Belgium on the other hand was likely the 2nd best team in the tournament, and honestly wasn't that far from beating France.)
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You know that, I know that, everyone without an English bias knows that.
That being said, I was never convinced by Southgate as a manager, but I have to give him a lot of credit.
For once England realized that as the plucky underdogs to you dont go toe-to-toe with the big boys.
The fans may have thought this English team was a Heavyweight, but Southgate didnt and he had a lot of luck of the draw and excellent tournament management, tactically he got a lot out of his group.
They got penalties, they extracted a lot out of free kicks, their open play was effectively useless but they maximized their set piece opportunities. How many times have we seen teams do that in tournaments?
Its what allowed them to get as deep as they did.