[Football] England V Iran

[Kinky Gerbil]

Seems Saka is starting, which is great

Mount and Maguire inline to start as well, which is less great

 

[Is it PotG?]

I hope Maguire starts, we need form players.

 

[Lenny Rider]

Let’s hope we get the 1982 vs France start? Early lead settle the nerves and then be able to concentrate on the football.

The back drop re the Qatari regime is like harking back to Berlin in 1936

 

[junior]

I reckon...

Pick ford
Shaw
Maguire
Stones
Tripper

Bellingham
Rice
Mount

Foden (my choice)/Stirling
Kane
Saka

 

[Poojah]

Shades of 1998, when I twagged school to watch England beat Tunisia 2-0 in Marseille. Will I be twagging work for a couple of hours today? I am yet to decide.

I don’t think today will be as straightforward for England as it looks on paper, nor the group more broadly.

When the draw was made I thought our group looked favourable, however on closer inspection we have comfortably the toughest group of any of the pot 1 sides, in terms of the current average ranking of the opposition (18.3). This is despite Netherlands being a pot 2 side in Group A (23.3) along with Germany Germany in Group E (22.0).

We should of course be favourites to win any given game in this group, but we shouldn’t be fooled by the historically unfashionable names we’ll come up against. This will be attritional.

 

[Justice]

I will looking forward to the traditional chair luzzing by Englands finest.

 

[Me and my Monkey]

I hope Maguire starts, we need form players.

Seems your wish will come true.

 

[GT49er]

Wot, no matchday thread? Feels a bit strange - but there again it's only a corrupt WC not the Albion (although we do seem to have matchday threads for correut financial statements and the like!)

 

[Randy McNob]

Maddison ahead of Mount

 

[Simster]

I've never cared less about an England tournament than this one.

Play Maguire for all I care. It's only Qatar 22.

 

[Insel affe]

I predict a half empty stadium

 

[Guinness Boy]

Maddison ahead of Mount

Maddison is still injured and hasn't trained yet.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I really hope Maguire starts and has a good game.

There seems to be this weird self-harm mentality where some people want one of our own players to perform badly.

 

[Simster]

I really hope Maguire starts and has a good game.

There seems to be this weird self-harm mentality where some people want one of our own players to perform badly.

I don't think you've read the room properly there. It's more that people don't give much of a toss, in stark contrast to every single other WC in history.

I don't anyway.

 

[Guinness Boy]

I don't think you've read the room properly there. It's more that people don't give much of a toss, in stark contrast to every single other WC in history.

I don't anyway.

I suspect you're right, and I suspect the room will change if we get to the Quarter Finals.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

I don't think you've read the room properly there. It's more that people don't give much of a toss, in stark contrast to every single other WC in history.

I don't anyway.

What room? I'm talking about various places in general, not NSC

But thanks for telling me you don't care.

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

Iran supporters expected to BOOOO their own anthem (regime not team). Expect England supporters to be blamed for that.

 

[The Wizard]

I don't think you've read the room properly there. It's more that people don't give much of a toss, in stark contrast to every single other WC in history.

I don't anyway.

But the good thing is you’ve come to the game thread to confirm to us that you aren’t interested.

It’s England, in a major tournament, I just don’t believe the people who say they don’t care truly don’t care. It’s not the same I admit, but I still care.

 

[rebel51]

Hope they lose and get that palace bafoon southgate out. Couldn't give a shite about England's national team anymore. Sorry for spelling of bafoon if wrong.

 

[Marty___Mcfly]