World Cup 2026 - Official Thread

Alfie posting some fairly bitter stuff about the referee on twitterx. Disallowed goal for the push was clearly warranted and if their winger had passed to his unmarked son in the first half, it probably wouldn’t have got that far.

Main point is I can't stand listening to Matterface and Dixon. Can ITV really not do any better than that for that for the biggest game in years? If I'm listening to commentary can we have someone describing what is happening and what players are doing what with the ball rather than not doing that at all but instead chucking in cliche after cliche and tedious anecdote, with a dreary co-commentator chipping in just to suck any remaining life out of the nation.

As for the game, Tuchel gets more dislikable every time I hear and see him, but while we can criticise him for leaving our most talented creative players at home, England's main problem is our defensive players are very average and, in several cases, not fit and with it. Norway were way better over the 90 minutes and we were lucky.

We have a chance of course, but we will need to be even luckier to beat Argentina and we would need to play some kind of anti-football to have any chance at all against France and Spain (maybe that is the masterclass and why we have got people like Dan Burn and Chalobah in the squad).

Can't say I like Tuchel but I did like that he didn't try and cover up a poor performance.
I can't understand why Mainoo hasn't had any time. If he doesn't rate him, why bring him? We've been lumbered with a significantly under performing Rice. If only we could have brought Wharton along as well, his ability to move the ball quickly and incisively would at least have given Anderson a hand.

I would have bought Wharton, definitely Gibbs-White (so much ahead of Eze), Trent, possibly some of Maguire, Shaw and Hall, and probably at least one of Foden or Cole (very poor seasons but the kind of players you could bring on and do something to change a game, or you could pull out of the hate and start in a big game to surprise, so worthwhile).

I would not have bought Stones, Chalobah, Mainoo, Livramento, Henderson, Trafford, Eze, Madueke or Burn (but I will give him Dan Burn even though he is a very average player as there's something in being able to bring him on to stomp around and defend the box for the last 10 minutes, he is a little bit to Tuchel what Morato was to Nuno in our 24/25 season).

None of this would have been likely to make us better than Spain or France though, so it's not that relevant.

While I don't like Tuchel at all, he is a better manager than Southgate and I have a vague hopium that he may have the ability to win us a final or a semi-final that we really shouldn't be good enough to win. A bit like when his 2021 Chelsea side against City in the champions league and FA Cup, and Real Madrid.

Not a chance he's playing if Rice is even 80% fit. Correctly so.

I was chaotically drunk yesterday. Made some poor choices.

I doubt Rice is even 80 percent fit and his dead balls have been largely mediocre. Thank you for your support.

Proud of you.

I'm playing golf this morning. Had to make my mate drive because I'm not safe to be behind the wheel of a golf cart, much less a car.

I was leading a one man chorus of "there'll be no fucking rowing in New York" on the patio, and yelling at Argentina fans that they could "keep that cunt Ardiles". Not that any of them had a clue who he is.

a job in the foreign office awaits...

I've never met mid-life Russ in person, or the previous iteration for that, but I think he should have have his own YouTube channel.

tenor.com/jQGysjmBhDD.gif

I think this was true for …errr…certain things

Yes, I used to love the end of season goal montage videos.
That is what you were referring to, right?