Keys to the match: Do not show Yarmalenko onto his left foot. That’s all you have to do.

Nervous 85 minutes left 🙂

Right, Kane,Sterling, Sancho off, Henderson, James and Mings on. Hold what you have. No problem defending for 85 minutes, right? I mean, it’s England.

Jaysus. Are they on a rotation for who is going to put an opponent through on Pickford?

I fear this is going to turn into a repeat of the Iceland fiasco.

Ukraine switched to 4 at the back, England haven’t adjusted, they can’t cope with the 5 in the midfield.

Good shout chromolyolly!

And I’ve got Stones and Macguire to both score headers at 125-1

Tense 44 mins to follow in more ways than one

(maybe not)

Ukranian keeper is having a shocker, that’s the second ball that’s been fired right at him and he’s let it through.

Wonder if Jose rates Luke Shaw yet?!

oh bollocks, I thought it was Stones!!

Hendooo!

That’s nice to see.

Shaw is giving as good as he gets with Moanrinho though, which won’t help.

Sometimes the hardest ones to stop are the ones close in to the body.

Sancho came back to the right, his willingness to sit 10 yards deeper than Sterling just neutralised the progress they were making on their left. That and the early goal changed the game back again. It was switching Sterling and Sancho in the first that let Ukraine back into it. Why they didn’t switch back when Ukraine were pushing on, I don’t know.

oh bollocks, I thought it was Stones!!

Still time…..

If you want another goal I’ll go for a piss or put the dishwasher on….

Seem to have a knack for missing goals when I get off my arse.

As long as Caher doesn’t leave. Anyone nip by and Nail him down?

So, Denmark. Always been a bit of a bogey team for England. Beat England home and away in the nations cup. With the Erickson thing, and how they have rebounded and gone on, they’ll be feeling pretty confident. Plus nothing like 60,000 at Wembley to completely unsettle England

Wonder if Jose rates Luke Shaw yet?!

Or Grum 😁

Missed the middle bit but got the gist of it. Good header from Maguire, Easter Island must be very proud.*
*Heard the somewhere and it tickled me

Wasn’t it Jamie Vardy that started the big head/easter island thing?

It was indeed Jamie Vardy who christened him Slabhead

Can’t believe he hasn’t come out with a line of headwear. Great brand name. Slabhead by Macguire – straight outta Easter Island™

Not sure who the target market would be for giant headwear.

I’ll officially eat my words about Luke Shaw. He’s been great.

Ukraine looked tired but still, excellent stuff. Pleased for Hendo breaking his duck also.

England are very strong – have many adequate players in reserve, haven’t had a difficult match yet, and have yet to concede a goal to any opponent.

I think they will beat Denmark, and i think they might beat Spain if that’s how the ball bounces, but they won’t beat Italy.

I think our bench players are more than adequate, the subs yesterday were about tournament management to get at risk players subbed and others rested, but we have some real impact subs available to us. Next game, we’re playing a  Denmark team that has nothing like the depth and has now 6 tougher games in many of their legs. I think the longer the game goes on the more dangerous we become. I think Grealish will have a role in the game to come, and that’s what Southgate was saying to him last night – players for situations.

The thing I fear is going behind and having to chase games. We’ve been very patient (75 mins vs Germany for example) but I’m still not sure what we do against the massed ranks defending a lead. Maybe in Sterling and Grealish and Sancho we have players who can create chances by running at defences, we haven’t really needed to yet.

And indeed, no-ones scored against us yet, and if you don’t concede you are very difficult to beat.

I think Spain or Italy would very much prefer to face Denmark than us – we may not have the star quality of some of the Italians who could win games and score goals with moments of brilliance (even that’s debatable) but we are by some way the best team (structure, teamwork, ethos, etc.) left in it.

I’m still unsure about Rice, he doesn’t look like an improvement over Henderson

rice hasnt been great but my gosh check out philips.. looking lost all over the pitch. Walks around like hes disinterested in the game

As defensive mids they can only to an extent do what is presented to them. The analysis yesterday before the game showed how well set up England are and consequently how the opposition is being forced to play in areas that are less likely to hurt us.

A bit like saying that Pickford’s made far less saves than most other goalkeepers, what’s he up to!

https://goalkeepersanonymous.com/euro-2020-most-saves/

he doesn’t look like an improvement over Henderson

Isn’t the question whether Henederson is match fit to play 90 minutes? He’s been out for a fair stretch, and he’d been played as an emergency defender anyway prior to going out injured.

So it was being questioned whether he should have been in the squad in the first place.

Denmark will almost certainly have seen the success the Scots had. Make it chaotic, press the defense, drop off, close lanes, drop off. They are the only ones who tried to rush the centre halves and full backs in possession. They didn’t let the midfield settle into a shape I think if Denmark do that, make the game messy, the old England will come out. They will panic, lose composure and start tripping over their own feet.

Phillips had been excellent. Patrolling space, suddenly pressing the ball, closing down lanes. It might look like wandering around but it isn’t.

The Rice vs Henderson question is really style. Henderson really likes to play uptrmpo stuff. Quick, first time, direct balls. He is good at it. It doesn’t necessarily fit with the mid tempo patient game they have been playing. When he came on agaisnt Germany? I think it was, when they were trying to close out the game, his first few passes were direct and attacking, resulted in turnovers. Not what you want when you are trying to slow a game down and grind I out.

it’s certainly a plan, it’s whether after 6 tough games of tournament football (at the end of a season) whether they have the legs to execute. Although they did have a week between Wales and Cz

That chart looks like if (and I do mean a big IF as I think Denmark will be tough opposition) it’s an England Italy final then it’ll be a battle of the goalkeepers as they both have 100% save records.

I think England’s quality that they have on the bench could be the real difference in the game with Denmark. They both have good teams and it could turn into a war of attrition.

t’s certainly a plan, it’s whether after 6 tough games of tournament football (at the end of a season) whether they have the legs to execute.

The beauty of making a game messy and chaotic like that is that it doesn’t necessarily take a lot of energy. Pressing small parts of the field, with 3, switch to a different 3 etc. Break down your 15 minute blocks into 5s. As a manager of mine once said, if you hassle them early, everytime they hear footsteps they tense. Pretty soon they start hearing footsteps whether they are there or not. He wasn’t wrong.

I’m still unsure about Rice, he doesn’t look like an improvement over Henderson

I think he’s been excellent. He has the unerring ability to find space and be in the right place at the right time.

rice hasnt been great but my gosh check out philips.. looking lost all over the pitch. Walks around like hes disinterested in the game

Err, no, I can’t agree with that

As defensive mids they can only to an extent do what is presented to them. The analysis yesterday before the game showed how well set up England are and consequently how the opposition is being forced to play in areas that are less likely to hurt us.

Absolutely

The way Rice and Philips are playing together right now is amazing – the fact you barely see them is testament to what they are doing. Pretty much universally pundits are in agreement that they have become the best defensive midfield partnership England have ever had.

@cromolyolly – are you Carlton Palmer?

I’d kill you but then I’d have to tell you. Wait, that doesn’t sound right.
Anyway, it’s the internet so A) I’d never tell you who I really am and B) We can be whomever we want.

So, no, not Carlton Palmer. Although why you’d pick him of all the options? Could have at least given me Ray Parlour, Beckham, someone like that.
Do any ex footballers actually rude bikes? I’d have thought they’d be busy riding around in their chelsea tractors.

Ben Foster is a keen roadie these days. I think MTB is frowned upon my their insurers.

I saw Brendan Rodgers at Swinley once. He’s not a footballer though, he’s a manager (Reading at the time). And he was walking, not bike riding.

Bit of a shit story, in hindsight……

Phillips is a quick learner but has definitely had highs and lows. He’s covered more ground that any other midfielder in the tournament. Rice drives me mad but is very much a modern midfielder. Closes spaces and keeps possession (normally by a sideways or backwards pass). He definitely responded to the crowd and challenge of playing Germany and was tidy against Ukraine. Both on a yellow card is an issue now but with Henderson getting fitter, either one of them being out for the final (touch wood) wouldn’t be too bad a loss. Considering in the last Euros we had a knackered Rooney thinking he could play quarterback, Erik Dier and Dele Alli as our midfield 3, we’ve come a long way!