Soccer Topics: No goalies in the USA

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sluggo
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In reply to sycasey • 2:44p, 7/15/26
sycasey said:
Cal88 said:
Game of inches, Spence injures his foot while tackling Messi on the second goal and stays in place in the box wincing leaving Messi plenty of room and time to cross, otherwise it might not have gone through.

It might also have been a foul that VAR could have overturned...


VAR calling a foul on Messi? Now you're really dreaming.

Var can only call a red card. The CR could have called a foul after the goal then had VAR look at it as VAR is triggered by goals.

The CR was bad, so many missed calls, and I think he should have taken charge with many fouls earlier.

In the end, I think the right team won.
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Anarchistbear
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In reply to oski003 • 2:47p, 7/15/26
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



They wanted an England vs France game which is going to happen.
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Cal88
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In reply to oski003 • 2:47p, 7/15/26
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...

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concordtom
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In reply to sluggo • 2:57p, 7/15/26
sluggo said:
At halftime:
1. Zzzz. The game is not bad, but after yesterday, you realize there are levels. Spain will not lose on Sunday.
2. I don't like South American soccer. Too rough. The ref is not helping.
3. I like starting Simeone, who I know from Atletico Madrid where he plays for his father. But he is being swallowed up by England's bigger defenders. That is what happens sometimes to Balogun.
4. The modern game consists of fast, athletic wingers. Gordon is neither, though he would be a good midfielder. England has better players on the bench, I hope they use them.
5. I think England should start sending in high balls. And bring 6'7'' Dan Burn into the game. Breaking down Argentina does not look like it is in the cards.
6. I know Messi has to play in bursts at 39, but his footwork is still so good, and his speed is not even bad. Could he play in 2030? Why not?


Ha,
I think you were wrong on every point except for the last one.

I commiserate with you!!
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Cal88
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2:58p, 7/15/26
Spanish GKeeper legend Iker Casillas chimes in:



Translated from Spanish
England score the goal and then sit back. Cowardly approach. They haven't left their own box and have allowed Argentina to come forward more. The logical outcome happens.
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concordtom
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2:59p, 7/15/26
Here's how I described it immediately after to my sister (who didn't watch):


God ******* dammit!

England had a 1-0 lead with 30 minutes to go and their coach went into a complete defensive posture that allow Argentina to have chance after chance after chance.

They tied with 7 minutes to go and then took the lead in injury/extra time.

England lost 2-1.

What a bunch of ******* losers!!!!
I can't believe it.

Great game, as games go. But to lose that way - they deserved it. Dumb dumb dumb!!!


Also:

Messi had assists on the two late Argentina goal.
He deserves some credit, I reluctantly admit.
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concordtom
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In reply to Cal88 • 3:01p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
Spanish GKeeper legend Iker Casillas chimes in:


Translated from Spanish
England score the goal and then sit back. Cowardly approach. They haven't left their own box and have allowed Argentina to come forward more. The logical outcome happens.


Totally. I was yelling at Tuchel in my mind from 80' onward.
I couldn't believe Stu and John didn't say anything about him, that the cameras didn't show him standing there, as I presume, like a deer in the headlights!!
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sluggo
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In reply to concordtom • 3:08p, 7/15/26
concordtom said:
sluggo said:
At halftime:
1. Zzzz. The game is not bad, but after yesterday, you realize there are levels. Spain will not lose on Sunday.
2. I don't like South American soccer. Too rough. The ref is not helping.
3. I like starting Simeone, who I know from Atletico Madrid where he plays for his father. But he is being swallowed up by England's bigger defenders. That is what happens sometimes to Balogun.
4. The modern game consists of fast, athletic wingers. Gordon is neither, though he would be a good midfielder. England has better players on the bench, I hope they use them.
5. I think England should start sending in high balls. And bring 6'7'' Dan Burn into the game. Breaking down Argentina does not look like it is in the cards.
6. I know Messi has to play in bursts at 39, but his footwork is still so good, and his speed is not even bad. Could he play in 2030? Why not?


Ha,
I think you were wrong on every point except for the last one.

I commiserate with you!!

We could debate some of them, but I certainly did not predict was happened in the second half. It was like a whole other game.
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concordtom
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In reply to sluggo • 3:10p, 7/15/26
sluggo said:
sycasey said:
Cal88 said:
Game of inches, Spence injures his foot while tackling Messi on the second goal and stays in place in the box wincing leaving Messi plenty of room and time to cross, otherwise it might not have gone through.

It might also have been a foul that VAR could have overturned...


VAR calling a foul on Messi? Now you're really dreaming.

Var can only call a red card. The CR could have called a foul after the goal then had VAR look at it as VAR is triggered by goals.

The CR was bad, so many missed calls, and I think he should have taken charge with many fouls earlier.

In the end, I think the right team won.


I thought the Ref did a good job!
A very good job!

But I totally agree about who won. I'm only surprised that it didn't happen sooner.

Tuchel totally blew this game!!!
Goat level loss, cave.
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concordtom
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In reply to sluggo • 3:16p, 7/15/26
sluggo said:
concordtom said:
sluggo said:
At halftime:
1. Zzzz. The game is not bad, but after yesterday, you realize there are levels. Spain will not lose on Sunday.
2. I don't like South American soccer. Too rough. The ref is not helping.
3. I like starting Simeone, who I know from Atletico Madrid where he plays for his father. But he is being swallowed up by England's bigger defenders. That is what happens sometimes to Balogun.
4. The modern game consists of fast, athletic wingers. Gordon is neither, though he would be a good midfielder. England has better players on the bench, I hope they use them.
5. I think England should start sending in high balls. And bring 6'7'' Dan Burn into the game. Breaking down Argentina does not look like it is in the cards.
6. I know Messi has to play in bursts at 39, but his footwork is still so good, and his speed is not even bad. Could he play in 2030? Why not?


Ha,
I think you were wrong on every point except for the last one.

I commiserate with you!!

We could debate some of them, but I certainly did not predict was happened in the second half. It was like a whole other game.


It's fine to be wrong. I commend you for putting it all out there. And I hope newbies like Big C began to fall in love with the game. Hopefully he's "getting it".
As contests go, it was an awesome game - including the first half.
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BearlySane88
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In reply to Cal88 • 3:17p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...



This is clickbait nonsense. There was proper explanation.

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concordtom
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3:25p, 7/15/26
Rebecca just said:

From the time Gordon scored to the second Argentina goal, England had only 12% possession.

Tuchel is an idiot.
It was a German subterfuge!
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concordtom
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In reply to Anarchistbear • 3:36p, 7/15/26
Anarchistbear said:
To my untrained eye England turtled in the box in their prevent defense but Argentina really has way more skilled players than Mexico did. Coaching error


Tuchel getting killed postgame!!!
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concordtom
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In reply to sluggo • 3:38p, 7/15/26
sluggo said:
Cal88 said:
sluggo said:
Cal88 said:
Tuchel should use his subs here, 4 left.

You can bunker Mexico but bunkering Argentina is foolish.


Agreed.

Spain-Arg a better bill and game in any case.

The way Messi is playing, well, I think Spain doubles him and neutralizes him. But who knows.


Spain dispatched Ronaldo.
Spain will dispatch Messi.

If not, Messi is God.
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concordtom
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In reply to Cal88 • 3:39p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
sluggo said:
Cal88 said:
Tuchel should use his subs here, 4 left.

You can bunker Mexico but bunkering Argentina is foolish.


Agreed.

Spain-Arg a better bill and game in any case.

Would have liked a France-Arg for 3rd place but France-England is also a classic for that glorified friendly 3rd place game.

Does Mbappe bother playing?
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concordtom
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In reply to Cal88 • 3:42p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:


Tuchel should use his subs here, 4 left.


At least Pete Carroll made a play call to win it!!
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Cal88
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In reply to BearlySane88 • 3:56p, 7/15/26
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...



This is clickbait nonsense. There was proper explanation.



What you don't realize because you're new to WC soccer is that this is the first time FIFA has manipulated the brackets in that manner, it is an unprecedented practice. It is all the more egregious because in the past with the smaller brackets you were much more likely to end up with unbalanced brackets than with the 32-team knockouts.

The FIFA rankings margins are very thin and not significant, Argentina is not a better team than France. That's why this type of manipulation was never done before.
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sluggo
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In reply to concordtom • 4:17p, 7/15/26
concordtom said:
sluggo said:
Cal88 said:
sluggo said:
Cal88 said:
Tuchel should use his subs here, 4 left.

You can bunker Mexico but bunkering Argentina is foolish.


Agreed.

Spain-Arg a better bill and game in any case.

The way Messi is playing, well, I think Spain doubles him and neutralizes him. But who knows.


Spain dispatched Ronaldo.
Spain will dispatch Messi.

If not, Messi is God.

If he can pull this off, I would second that he is not human. I mean they could get lucky and win, soccer is a low scoring game, what I mean is if he dominates the game like he did today AND they win.
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BearlySane88
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In reply to Cal88 • 4:30p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...



This is clickbait nonsense. There was proper explanation.



What you don't realize because you're new to WC soccer is that this is the first time FIFA has manipulated the brackets in that manner, it is an unprecedented practice. It is all the more egregious because in the past with the smaller brackets you were much more likely to end up with unbalanced brackets than with the 32-team knockouts.

The FIFA rankings margins are very thin and not significant, Argentina is not a better team than France. That's why this type of manipulation was never done before.


I'm not new to WC soccer, been watching all my life so no need to try and belittle anyone. If your argument is that it's a stupid decision, okay fine but the tweet you posted said that it was done for an unknown reason without being explained and that is blatantly false.
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sluggo
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4:39p, 7/15/26
If Poch leaves, which I hope he doesn't, here is a list of candidates to replace him. I just hope it is not an American MLS lifer nobody, we should have moved past that. Only Matarazzo should be considered among Americans with his European experience. Pep would make sense. We play most closely to a German style so a German coach would make sense. Yes, Klinnsman was German, but he was just a cheerleader, he was not a real German coach. The average coaching level there is highest IMO.

By German style I mean an aggressive press using ALL players (no Harry Kane walking), constant hustle, athleticism on the wings, size on the back line, and scoring on crosses and through quick counter attacks as well as breaking down the defense in the middle of the field. A German style fits our talent and our mentality and makes our fans happy, I think.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49344382/who-new-usmnt-coach-11-candidates-pochettino-world-cup-2026
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Cal88
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In reply to BearlySane88 • 4:56p, 7/15/26
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...



This is clickbait nonsense. There was proper explanation.



What you don't realize because you're new to WC soccer is that this is the first time FIFA has manipulated the brackets in that manner, it is an unprecedented practice. It is all the more egregious because in the past with the smaller brackets you were much more likely to end up with unbalanced brackets than with the 32-team knockouts.

The FIFA rankings margins are very thin and not significant, Argentina is not a better team than France. That's why this type of manipulation was never done before.


I'm not new to WC soccer, been watching all my life so no need to try and belittle anyone. If your argument is that it's a stupid decision, okay fine but the tweet you posted said that it was done for an unknown reason without being explained and that is blatantly false.


You're right about the explanation here, but if you were watching WCs more closely you would have known that this practice of protecting the #2 team at drawing time is unprecedented and against the long established standards of the World Cup and Euro.

A lot of soccer fans are pi***d at the abuses to the rules and spirit of the game that were done as a result of the corrupt FIFA tenure of Infantino, and Europe/UEFA is leading the charge for change:



Translated from Spanish
UEFA DISTANCES ITSELF

The federations of Italy, Germany, Portugal, Norway, and Ireland are already setting their sights on Euro 2028 and ensuring that the tournament will be an example of transparency and respect for the essence of football.

What's more, they are analyzing the formation of a common bloc to promote a candidate who will compete against Gianni Infantino for the FIFA presidency, amid growing criticisms and suspicions about the organization's management.

UEFA also intends to maintain its traditional regulations: heat breaks will only be applied in truly exceptional situations, prioritizing the continuity of the game and setting aside cooling breaks and interruptions for commercial purposes.

With Euro 2028 taking place in the United Kingdom and Ireland (London, Manchester, Glasgow, Dublin, among other venues), it is highly unlikely that high temperatures will force matches to be stopped.
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BearlySane88
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In reply to Cal88 • 5:07p, 7/15/26
Fully aware that it's unprecedented, not sure why you're talking to me like I've never watched the World Cup before even after I've corrected you once.

You're going off on tangents that have nothing to do with what I was saying. You posted a tweet saying that it was done with no explanation and that was not true at all.
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concordtom
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In reply to Cal88 • 5:18p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...



This is clickbait nonsense. There was proper explanation.



What you don't realize because you're new to WC soccer is that this is the first time FIFA has manipulated the brackets in that manner, it is an unprecedented practice. It is all the more egregious because in the past with the smaller brackets you were much more likely to end up with unbalanced brackets than with the 32-team knockouts.

The FIFA rankings margins are very thin and not significant, Argentina is not a better team than France. That's why this type of manipulation was never done before.


But, do you like that they sent seeds 1/2/3/4 to the four corners?

I think it turned out to be pretty exciting.
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concordtom
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In reply to sluggo • 5:21p, 7/15/26
sluggo said:
If Poch leaves, which I hope he doesn't, here is a list of candidates to replace him. I just hope it is not an American MLS lifer nobody, we should have moved past that. Only Matarazzo should be considered among Americans with his European experience. Pep would make sense. We play most closely to a German style so a German coach would make sense. Yes, Klinnsman was German, but he was just a cheerleader, he was not a real German coach. The average coaching level there is highest IMO.

By German style I mean an aggressive press using ALL players (no Harry Kane walking), constant hustle, athleticism on the wings,

size on the back line,

 and scoring on crosses and through quick counter attacks as well as breaking down the defense in the middle of the field. A German style fits our talent and our mentality and makes our fans happy, I think.

https://www.espn.com/soccer/story/_/id/49344382/who-new-usmnt-coach-11-candidates-pochettino-world-cup-2026


I dunno, I kinda like that cucuracha guy!!!

5'9" Marc Cucurella

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Big C
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In reply to concordtom • 5:27p, 7/15/26
concordtom said:
Rebecca just said:

From the time Gordon scored to the second Argentina goal, England had only 12% possession.

Tuchel is an idiot.
It was a German subterfuge!

As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.
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concordtom
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In reply to Cal88 • 5:31p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
BearlySane88 said:
Cal88 said:
oski003 said:
Three things are certain:

1) Death;
2) Taxes; and
3) A BI complaint on officiating in favor of Argentina.



How bad has the FIFA bias towards Argentina been? It has been so bad that it got this French guy to root for England! !

That bias started from the draw 2 years ago...



This is clickbait nonsense. There was proper explanation.



What you don't realize because you're new to WC soccer is that this is the first time FIFA has manipulated the brackets in that manner, it is an unprecedented practice. It is all the more egregious because in the past with the smaller brackets you were much more likely to end up with unbalanced brackets than with the 32-team knockouts.

The FIFA rankings margins are very thin and not significant, Argentina is not a better team than France. That's why this type of manipulation was never done before.


I'm not new to WC soccer, been watching all my life so no need to try and belittle anyone. If your argument is that it's a stupid decision, okay fine but the tweet you posted said that it was done for an unknown reason without being explained and that is blatantly false.


You're right about the explanation here, but if you were watching WCs more closely you would have known that this practice of protecting the #2 team at drawing time is unprecedented and against the long established standards of the World Cup and Euro.

A lot of soccer fans are pi***d at the abuses to the rules and spirit of the game that were done as a result of the corrupt FIFA tenure of Infantino, and Europe/UEFA is leading the charge for change:


Good, get Infantino out! And the cooling breaks!!!

But I'm okay if they want to make this policy for bracket creation going forward (if they did it once, they'd better be consistent!).

Although, the problem with this is that everyone could start to game the rankings the way college basketball teams refuse to schedule games against certain opponents in order to mess with the bracketology.

Hmmmm
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Cal88
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In reply to Big C • 5:44p, 7/15/26
Big C said:
concordtom said:
Rebecca just said:

From the time Gordon scored to the second Argentina goal, England had only 12% possession.

Tuchel is an idiot.
It was a German subterfuge!

As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.


Tuchel subbed in two defenders for starts after they scored. The personnel he chose for the last quarter kind of established the parking the bus strategy.

Tuchel's substitution timeline and tactics tell the story of the collapse:
  • Initial Change: In the 72nd minute, Tuchel took off goalscorer Anthony Gordon and brought on defender Ezri Konsa, shifting the team to a back-five. [1]
  • Double Defender Substitution: In the 82nd minute, Tuchel introduced two more defendersDan Burn and Nico O'Reillyreplacing midfielder Declan Rice and full-back Reece James. [1]
  • The Aftermath: By the 82nd minute, England had six defenders on the pitch. This tactical shift invited heavy pressure. Just three minutes later, Enzo Fernndez equalised for Argentina, and Lautaro Martnez scored a stoppage-time winner to send Argentina to the final. [1, 2, 3, 4]
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concordtom
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In reply to Big C • 5:45p, 7/15/26
Big C said:
concordtom said:
Rebecca just said:

From the time Gordon scored to the second Argentina goal, England had only 12% possession.

Tuchel is an idiot.
It was a German subterfuge!

As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.


Let the Armchair QB'ing begin!

It's true that bunker can work. But for that long??

The idea is that you eliminate chances and conserve energy. It totally backfired.
If you want to become inspired by the strategy… Australia was pretty good in their match against Turkey. Counterattack goals! Turkey was trying so hard about their offensive effort at one end that they got punched while not looking. Twice!!

But, for England….their execution of it allowed too many chances. Two posts, a couple Pickford saves on target. You can't give those looks up.
That's coaching beforehand, for 1.

I was thinking that they needed to sub Kane out, and otherwise get fresh legs in there. I thought this in the 60's, 70's, and I think by 80 everyone was screaming it!!!

I wouldn't have put all 10 field players into the defensive zone. They only invited more Argentinians closer. Put a threat running up top. Fresh legs, speed. Counterattack.


Be more aggressive and make a higher line. Use your subs.
Argentina was going to expend every ounce of energy chasing to equalize. They would take every risk. The only way (seems to me) to withstand that is to meet the moment, and that requires subs who have the energy to do so.

John Strong did say around '70 that it would be interesting to see how Tuchel would use his subs. He didn't!

So stupid!!!

New legs injected into the game are eager. It would have helped England get out of the funk that was developing.

To wit, new legs scored for Argentina!
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Cal88
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In reply to BearlySane88 • 5:46p, 7/15/26
BearlySane88 said:
Fully aware that it's unprecedented, not sure why you're talking to me like I've never watched the World Cup before even after I've corrected you once.


I seriously doubt it. We'll have to agree to disagree here.
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sycasey
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In reply to Big C • 5:48p, 7/15/26
Big C said:
concordtom said:
Rebecca just said:

From the time Gordon scored to the second Argentina goal, England had only 12% possession.

Tuchel is an idiot.
It was a German subterfuge!

As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.

I assume it would involve keeping midfielders on who could maintain possession and attack when there is an opening. I think I saw a stat showing that England possessed the ball only 17% of the time after they scored their goal. That's a lot of pressure to absorb, especially from a team with guys like Messi on it!

Seems similar to American football in that you take a touchdown lead and then stop passing the ball when there are still 10 minutes left to play in the 4th quarter, just run run run and punt. You're giving the opponent too many opportunities to score twice and beat you. Unfortunately Cal fans who lived through Wilcox should be all too familiar with that.
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BearlySane88
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In reply to Cal88 • 5:49p, 7/15/26
Cal88 said:
BearlySane88 said:
Fully aware that it's unprecedented, not sure why you're talking to me like I've never watched the World Cup before even after I've corrected you once.


I seriously doubt it. We'll have to agree to disagree here.


It was talked about before the World Cup draw and as someone who pays attention to soccer, yes I was aware. There are others who watch soccer too, fyi.
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sluggo
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In reply to Big C • 5:50p, 7/15/26
Big C said:
concordtom said:
Rebecca just said:

From the time Gordon scored to the second Argentina goal, England had only 12% possession.

Tuchel is an idiot.
It was a German subterfuge!

As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.

I was going to write something about the question you asked. But now I will just reply to you.

I think you understand. England went into the soccer equivalent of a prevent defense and an all running up the middle offense very early, that is, with like 40 minutes left in the game (given extra time). I just read Argentina had 88% possession (!!!) between England's goal and their game winner. Over 2/3 possession is dominant, 88% is a ridiculous number. More or less England never had the ball so Argentina was getting about one good chance per minute. They put in two but it could easily have been four (assuming strategies did not change, which they would have).

There are two obvious ways of opposing unrelenting pressure: First, hold the ball. Second, apply pressure to the opposing goal. But Tuchel's substitutions went against those two principles. At minute 72 they took out winger Gordon and brought on defender Konsa. Gordon holds the ball well and plays up top, while Konsa is a pure defender. So let's say they went from three attackers (two wingers and striker Kane) to two. Then at 82 minutes they doubled down on the defeatist strategy by taking out midfielder (and great two way player) Rice and replacing him with defender O'Reilly (now they had six defenders) and taking out two way defender James and replacing him with pure defender (unless on headers) Burn. This made it almost impossible to hold the ball and made them goal impotent. (At 96 minutes they brought in two attackers, but it was way, way too late).

What could they have done? First, I think they should have taken out great but ultra-slow Harry Kane and brought in fast Rashford or Madueke. They would not get more possession but at least they would be goal dangerous if long balls were played. Second, when they replaced all field players like Gordon and Rice and James they could have brought in more possession oriented players like Eze and Saka. They needed more possession to run down the clock and to perhaps counter attack.

Meanwhile, Argentina took off three of their four defenders and their defensive oriented center midfielder (plus winger Simeone) and brought in three attackers, one more offensive center back, and one defender who I think was more attack minded. I would have to see the tape but I think they were playing with basically two defenders until they got their goals. Which was possible because England had no countering possibilities.

If I am going down, I want to do down swinging, not like a, umm, (fill in the blank with a word for a passive person, a few come to mind, but I don't want to use them).




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sluggo
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In reply to sycasey • 5:53p, 7/15/26
sycasey said:
Big C said:
As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.

Unfortunately Cal fans who lived through Wilcox should be all too familiar with that.

I was going to talk about Wilcox, but I did not want to alienate anyone, but since you did first, I think England lost in a very Wilcoxian way. Losing is fine but losing passively feels ten times worse.
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sycasey
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In reply to sluggo • 5:55p, 7/15/26
sluggo said:
sycasey said:
Big C said:
As I continue my learning journey, let me ask the following:

Obviously, England was bunkering (turtleing, whatever) and obviously, it didn't work.

What specifically should they have been doing so that Argentina wasn't able to camp on their side of the field taking shots and initiating crosses until two balls finally went into the net?

Seems quite analogous to sticking with a prevent defense and an ultra-conservative offense in American football, in which case I could answer this myself... but help me out with soccer.

Unfortunately Cal fans who lived through Wilcox should be all too familiar with that.

I was going to talk about Wilcox, but I did not want to alienate anyone, but since you did first, I think England lost in a very Wilcoxian way. Losing is fine but losing passively feels ten times worse.

It was basically us taking a lead because of Mendoza's passing and then taking the ball out of his hands for most of the 4th quarter while the opponent grinds us down. So like the Miami game or the Pitt game or . . . sigh.
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concordtom
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5:56p, 7/15/26
If people don't know this story, you won't believe it.
They meet as leaders of their teams Sunday.

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