[Football] 20 years ago today - England 3 - 0 Denmark

[Yes Chef]

I recall the Argentina game being decent, but drink had been taken

 

[LU7 RED]

We could have beaten Brazil in 2002 - One up going towards half time...then Beckham & Scholes both bottle tackles in midfield, the ball gets to Rivaldo...1-1.

Then a ridiculous free kick. Threw that game away.

 

[Eeyore]

Back when we were any good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NY3LU8HCWA

There was me thinking England had gone even further in recent times...

 

[Bold Seagull]

We could have beaten Brazil in 2002 - One up going towards half time...then Beckham & Scholes both bottle tackles in midfield, the ball gets to Rivaldo...1-1.

Then a ridiculous free kick. Threw that game away.

Can't really remember, highlights seem to show Scholes trying to control / keep the ball and being tackled rather than bottling a tackle. Then Ashley Cole getting dragged completely out of position, getting done like a kipper, leaving a load of space for Rivaldo. Not sure where Becks came into it.

 

[Stat Brother]

Can't really remember, highlights seem to show Scholes trying to control / keep the ball and being tackled rather than bottling a tackle. Then Ashley Cole getting dragged completely out of position, getting done like a kipper, leaving a load of space for Rivaldo. Not sure where Becks came into it.

Oh there you go again with your facts.
Anything can be proven with facts, but this is grudges we're talking about.
You omitted to mention the FACT that Ryan really should have saved that.

 

[nicko31]

Remember being on holiday in Croatia and being in blind panic trying to find a bar to watch. Second half was smoking a cigar

 

[Iggle Piggle]

I recently read Gary Neville's autobiography, and he speaks at length about his time under Sven with England. Essentially all the players liked him, but he cited a distinct lack of intensity in training with England, compared with Man Utd. They were not a well drilled squad, Sven was also welded his 4-4-2 and shoe-horning all the "best" players into his starting XI regardless of where they played for their club. Which meant there wasn't really any competition for places, because everyone knew that at least 8-9 places were absolutely nailed on, so the players became complacent under him. Nobody had to fight for their place.

Gerrard/Lampard always HAD to play CM, so Scholes was played on the left wing - which he hated, and hence retired from International football at 29. When Neville got injured and there was no obvious replacement, he played Beckham at right wingback. Square pegs in round holes all over the pitch.

I think we DID have the players to win or go very close to winning that tournament. But we had a manager who indulged his favourites and never really built a team out of them.

If Rooney had stayed fit, we'd have gone close or won 2004. Greece won it for FFS. When Rooney hobbled off, Darius Vassell came on whilst a 33 year old Alan Shearer commentated on it in the studio having banged in 22 goals for Newcastle that season. We didn't hold on and did our usual party piece at pens. That squad won everything in the game and we even had a fit Ledley King.

Contrast that with 2012. Appreciate I'm cherry picking but Leighton Baines and John Ruddy were in the squad.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Not sure where Becks came into it.

1 minute in here.

 

[keaton]

Contrast that with 2012. Appreciate I'm cherry picking but Leighton Baines and John Ruddy were in the squad.

Imagine picking the best available English left backs.Madness

 

[Iggle Piggle]

Fun fact. That Denmark game was the only game we won in an open play knock out match in a Euros or World Cup until 2018.

We really were awful for about 10 years.

 

[ManOfSussex]

Fun fact. That Denmark game was the only game we won in an open play knock out match in a Euros or World Cup until 2018.

We really were awful for about 10 years.

In 52 years between the 1966 World Cup and the 2018 World Cup the only other teams we ever beat in knock out games beside Denmark in both tournaments are Paraguay, Belgium AET, Cameroon AET, Spain AET & penalties and Ecuador.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]

I went to that tournament! I had an England ‘Team’ ticket which meant 7 tickets through to the final- so I got all the England games and then followed Brazil to the final.

Pretty fun World Cup. The England squad was still full of characters- we had a decent chance. That Denmark game was fun because there is so much jeopardy at the start of the game but we won it so quickly we could all relax for once.

The Brazil game was a classic but it’s real hard to take losing a game like that when we had a decent chance of going all the way.

 

[Iggle Piggle]

In 52 years between the 1966 World Cup and the 2018 World Cup the only other teams we ever beat in knock out games beside Denmark in both tournaments are Paraguay, Belgium AET, Cameroon AET, Spain AET & penalties and Ecuador.

Ah my memory deceives me, we did scrape past Ecuador in 2006. That record is truly shocking.

 

[Bold Seagull]

1 minute in here.

Can see it a bit more clearly. Problem though really is the entire team being in Brazil's half pressing and working, and the back 4 and 20 yards back from the halfway line.

 

[nicko31]

In 52 years between the 1966 World Cup and the 2018 World Cup the only other teams we ever beat in knock out games beside Denmark in both tournaments are Paraguay, Belgium AET, Cameroon AET, Spain AET & penalties and Ecuador.

The record still stands that England winning knock games on foreign soil is very rare and against anyone decent almost unheard of. Spain was at Wembley and Belgium in 1990 were nothing like they are today

Italy was our chance last year, I think our window to win anything may have passed

 

[LU7 RED]

Can't really remember, highlights seem to show Scholes trying to control / keep the ball and being tackled rather than bottling a tackle. Then Ashley Cole getting dragged completely out of position, getting done like a kipper, leaving a load of space for Rivaldo. Not sure where Becks came into it.

Christ I'll have to watch it again (can't watch it on here). Becks annoyed me all those years for that. I'll just have to make do with his Qatar 2022 links for now...

 

[Nobby Cybergoat]

The record still stands that England winning knock games on foreign soil is very rare and against anyone decent almost unheard of. Spain was at Wembley and Belgium in 1990 were nothing like they are today

Italy was our chance last year, I think our window to win anything may have passed

I don't agree.

We've had a chance to win every tournament we've entered for a generation or maybe more. We've always had a competitive squad, competitive in the sense that you'd objectively say it's one of the 10 strongest in the competition. In some tournaments we've had one of the strongest 2 or 3 squads. We've never gone into a tournament with a team like Scotland or Tunisia where the players have hardly had top level experience and they mostly play in weak leagues.

We've just miserably underperformed when it comes down to the business end and just buggered up the big games.