# UEFA EURO 2016 - Final Tournament



## ViD

*EURO 2016 - FRANCE*

June 10 - July 10 2016​
*Qualified Teams:*



*Team*
|
*Qualified As*
|
*Previous Appearances*



Albania|Group I runner-up|0 (debut)



Austria|Group G winner|1 (2008)



Belgium|Group B winner|4 (1972, 1980, 1984, 2000)



Croatia|Group H runner-up|4 (1996, 2004, 2008, 2012)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cb/Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_Czech_Republic.svg.png Czech Republic|Group A winner|8 (1960, 1976, 1980, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)
[IMG]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/23px-Flag_of_England.svg.png
England|Group E winner|8 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2012)



France|Hosts|8 (1960, 1984, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Germany|Group D winner|11 (1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Hungary|Play-off winner|2 (1964, 1972)



Iceland|Group A runner-up|0 (debut)



Italy|Group H winner|8 (1968, 1980, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Northern Ireland|Group F Winner|0 (debut)



Poland|Group D runner-up|2 (2008, 2012)



Portugal|Group I winner|6 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Republic of Ireland|Play-off winner|2 (1988, 2012)



Romania|Group F runner-up|4 (1984, 1996, 2000, 2008)



Russia|Group G runner-up|10 (1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1988, 1992, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Slovakia|Group C runner-up|0 (debut)



Spain|Group C winner|9 (1964, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Sweden|Play-off winner|5 (1992, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012)



Switzerland|Group E runner-up|3 (1996, 2004, 2008)



Turkey|Best third-placed team|3 (1996, 2000, 2008)



Ukraine|Play-off winner|1 (2012)



Wales|Group B runner-up|0 (debut)


Draw Seedings:

*• Pot 1:* France(hosts), Spain (holders), Germany, England, Portugal, Belgium

*• Pot 2: *Italy, Russia, Switzerland, Austria, Croatia, Ukraine

*• Pot 3: *Czech Republic, Sweden, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary

*• Pot 4:* Turkey, Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Wales, Albania, Northern Ireland

The draw will be conducted on December 12 in Paris.


----------



## ViD

*EURO 2016 KITS​*
*Austria:*






*Belgium*






*Czech Republic:*






*Germany:*






*Italy:*






*Northern Ireland*






*Romania:*






*Russia:*






*Slovakia:*






*Spain:*






*Switzerland:*






*Wales:*






*Sweden:*






*Ukraine:*


----------



## Panteras

I'm just glad Zlatan will be in one final major international tournament.

Yikes Ukraine...it's like a yellow kilt 

I like Slovakia's


----------



## Caramel

So many red jerseys


----------



## HajdukSplit

Nike says they will release their kits for the March friendly matches


----------



## ProPAIN

Belgium has to have the worst combo of home and away jerseys. Total amateur job by adidas.


----------



## Power Man

I kinda dig the Italy away


----------



## Savi

ProPAIN said:


> Belgium has to have the worst combo of home and away jerseys. Total amateur job by adidas.




Our jerseys always suck  they just kept the tradition alive


----------



## Panteras

Northern Ireland showcases why we have to keep football players and tattoo parlors away from eachother


----------



## chasespace

#TeamIceland

And best 3 jerseys, IMO, out of the ones shown:
1 - Belgium
2 - Switzerland
3 - Northern Ireland


----------



## Chloraflora

Draw simulator here:

http://ultra.zone/UEFA-EURO-2016-Group-Stage-Draws

I grouped England with Italy, Poland, and Iceland... No thanks haha.


----------



## Fro

I got England, Italy, Czech, Turkey... !!!!!!

second time Belgium, Italy, Slovokia, Wales

and the 3rd

France, Italy, Sweden, Wales!!!!!!!!!! NOOOOOOOOOO


----------



## Power Man

I have Germany as favorites but I think France can win it tbh

HCA will be a factor imo; well it's not always a factor, but the FNT has great support at home.

- 84 : won Euro at home; ok bad example, they had an exceptional team and Platini scored 9 goals 

- 98 : won the WC; yes it was a very deep team, but before the tournament they were far from being favorites


I would also keep an eye on Spain, Italy and Belgium


England? 
lol no


----------



## Chloraflora

I don't think anyone is suggesting we're going to win haha. Get out of the group, perhaps make the quarter finals... That's the limit of my expectations.


----------



## Evilo

We're not winning this. We'll get out of the group, and lose after one or two knockout games.
DD is just not selecting creative players. He gave Ben Arfa 45 minutes after the terrorists attacks to write him off.
He starts Evra over Digne and Kurzawa (Serie A fans must be laughing to see Evra starting over Digne).
We'll be treated with the likes of Valbuena and Sissoko.
We might not even have Benzema.

No way this DD lead team amounts to anything.


----------



## Power Man

Evilo said:


> We're not winning this. We'll get out of the group, and lose after one or two knockout games.
> DD is just not selecting creative players. He gave Ben Arfa 45 minutes after the terrorists attacks to write him off.
> He starts Evra over Digne and Kurzawa (Serie A fans must be laughing to see Evra starting over Digne).
> We'll be treated with the likes of Valbuena and Sissoko.
> We might not even have Benzema.
> 
> No way this DD lead team amounts to anything.




I know


but 


You have to believe man !


----------



## Power Man

Zlatan 

http://news.maxifoot.fr/info-228196_151118/football.php


----------



## bluesfan94

When is the draw?


----------



## YNWA14

The draw I got:

Group A: France, Croatia, *Czech*, R. Ireland
Group B: Belgium, Switzerland, Slovakia, Albania
Group C: Portugal, *Russia*, Romania, Wales
Group D: Germany, Italy, Hungary, *Turkey*
Group E: England, Ukraine, *Sweden*, Iceland
Group F: Spain, Austria, Poland, N. Ireland


----------



## Savi

Evilo said:


> We're not winning this.




Yeah that's what you keep telling us, even though you guys have more talent than just about anybody outside of Germany..and maybe Spain.. you're also playing at home which would give anyone an enormous boost and you've just beaten the world champions. I remember in 2006 nobody thought France were going to do anything and look how that went. I mean frankly you're starting to sound like McSorley who's always saying he wants Algeria to lose 

Seriously, you guys will be allright.


----------



## Evilo

I don't dispute the individual talent (at least the pool).
But frankly, we play like ****.

In 2006 we had alltime greats and some leaders (Thuram, Barthez, Zidane).

Our leader is probably Evra


----------



## Power Man

Savi said:


> . I mean frankly you're starting to sound like McSorley who's always saying he wants Algeria to lose




I never want Algeria to lose 

But I can get seriously pissed when we lose while not using our strengths or not trying, that's not acceptable - I can accept losing when we give it all


----------



## JunglePete

Evilo said:


> We're not winning this. We'll get out of the group, and lose after one or two knockout games.
> DD is just not selecting creative players. He gave Ben Arfa 45 minutes after the terrorists attacks to write him off.
> He starts Evra over Digne and Kurzawa (Serie A fans must be laughing to see Evra starting over Digne).
> We'll be treated with the likes of Valbuena and Sissoko.
> We might not even have Benzema.
> 
> No way this DD lead team amounts to anything.




What's that gotta do with terrorists ? Hatem Ben Arfa is tearing up apart Ligue 1. I also don't expect Benzema to play one more IG.


----------



## DyerMaker66*

I grouped England with Sweden, Switzerland, and Albania. I'm not too happy about that.


----------



## Chloraflora

DyerMaker66 said:


> I grouped England with Sweden, Switzerland, and Albania. I'm not too happy about that.




As an England fan? I'd snap your hands off for that draw.


----------



## bluesfan94

JunglePete said:


> What's that gotta do with terrorists ? Hatem Ben Arfa is tearing up apart Ligue 1. I also don't expect Benzema to play one more IG.




He's saying that Ben Arfa's chance came after the attacks that pretty clearly rattled some players


----------



## NHL Dude 120

I got Germany,Russia,Hungary and Turkey. Tough group to be honest.


----------



## Evilo

JunglePete said:


> What's that gotta do with terrorists ?




Nobody was in the mood for playing. But DD chose that moment to give 45 single minutes to Ben Arfa and then write him off because he didn't score 2 goals.
Bet on it.


----------



## Power Man

Wow


Are you kidding me ? 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/police-called-roma-midfielder-mistaken-6861744


----------



## Hesher

England, Switzerland, Slovakia, N.Ireland in my simulated draw. I could live with that.


----------



## AstrophysicalJet

Actually not that pissed Denmark misses this.. really hope they go back to 16 teams, this looks uninspiring...

And will give em a chance to climatize to a new coach.

I think Germany takes this... really cant see who else.. maybe France.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Apparently Russia is interested in capping Roman Neustadter of Schalke 04. One of his parents is Russian and he is fluent in the language. He has played for Germany in the past but all friendly matches


----------



## HajdukSplit

A lot of people are starting to mention it but coincidence or not teams that land in Group A have the easiest path to the semifinals on paper 






- Group A is the most ideal group to land in, the winners of Group A will face a 3rd place team in the R16 and a group runner-up in the quarters. Meaning they won't face a group winner until the semifinals. Even if you finish 2nd in Group A you play a runner-up in the R16 and won't meet a group winner until the quarters

- Group D is also ideal but only for the group winners who also won't meet a group winner until the semifinals. Only difference with A is the runners-up of D face a group winner in R16

- B and C are both ideal as well; the winners of those group play a third place team while runners-up play fellow runners-up. However both will meet a group winner in the quarters

- None of the top two teams coming out of Groups E/F will face a third place team in the R16. E is deemed tougher than F because at least the runner-up of F will face another runner-up while the runner-up of E faces a group winner

Will this matter much? Who knows, I still think outside the top 2-3 teams most of these teams can beat each other on any given day. However I would have liked UEFA to make things a bit more equal and it seems fishy Group A, with the hosts, have an easier route even if you finish 2nd


----------



## Chloraflora

Platini fixed it, obviously.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Karim Benzema suspended by the French National Team. 

Wonder whether he'll be allowed to play in the euro.


----------



## Savant

Captain Saku said:


> Karim Benzema suspended by the French National Team.
> 
> Wonder whether he'll be allowed to play in the euro.




Suspended "indefinitely". 

Basically I'd assume he is out until France needs him.


----------



## Power Man

Savant said:


> Suspended "indefinitely".
> 
> Basically I'd assume he is out until France needs him.




If a decision isn't taken by the Judge before Euro, he will miss the tournament

Fair enough, they need a Benzema who is 100% focused on Euro, nobody wants his situation to disturb the group.


Is it too late for Benzema to represent Algeria?


----------



## Savant

McSorleyStick said:


> If a decision isn't taken by the Judge before Euro, he will miss the tournament
> 
> Fair enough, they need a Benzema who is 100% focused on Euro, nobody wants his situation to disturb the group.
> 
> 
> Is it too late for Benzema to represent Algeria?




I don't know about that. France could have easily said he is suspended for Euros or put a specific time on it. Instead they chose to be vague and say "indefinitely" which intentionally leaves grey area.


----------



## Power Man

Savant said:


> I don't know about that. France could have easily said he is suspended for Euros or put a specific time on it. Instead they chose to be vague and say "indefinitely" which intentionally leaves grey area.




Maybe our local correspondant *Evilo* can chime in


----------



## Evilo

No, he's suspended until his role has been proven or denied. Seems quite fair to me.
No time period given, but you can be sure it'll cleared in the next few months. Probably march or april.


----------



## Power Man

DD better calls up Lacazette and Martial if he misses Euro


----------



## ProPAIN

McSorleyStick said:


> DD better calls up Lacazette and Martial if he misses Euro




I think that was expected regardless of Benzema being selected or not.


----------



## Evilo

ProPAIN said:


> I think that was expected regardless of Benzema being selected or not.



Giroud/Gignac...


----------



## Power Man

ProPAIN said:


> I think that was expected regardless of Benzema being selected or not.




So 4 strikers?


----------



## ProPAIN

McSorleyStick said:


> So 4 strikers?




That's not out of the realm of possibility.

Giroud and those two were probably being called up. Who starts is another question. Griezmann probably starts out wide anyways.

I know Belgium might go with 4 strikers.


----------



## HajdukSplit

I still don't get why UEFA made the draw on a Saturday evening, it will go head to head with matches from the Premier League (Manchester United), La Liga, Bundesliga (Leverkusen vs. Gladbach), Serie A etc..

I guess better for the viewers in the US, I remember the draw used to be on like a Friday at 6am lol


----------



## Power Man

HajdukSplit said:


> I still don't get why UEFA made the draw on a Saturday evening, it will go head to head with matches from the Premier League (Manchester United), La Liga, Bundesliga (Leverkusen vs. Gladbach), Serie A etc..
> 
> I guess better for the viewers in the US, I remember the draw used to be on like a Friday at 6am lol



Not going to watch 2 hours of music and jokes before the actual draw starts


----------



## KingLB

Not sure if any of you know. But from what I see, its basically impossible for a non-european to get tickets until the last phase?


----------



## Ceremony

The draw is now at the interesting bit.


----------



## King 88

Bale destroying england


----------



## Prntscrn

Komarov77 said:


> Bale destroying england




Exciting game


----------



## Evilo

England/Wales


----------



## HajdukSplit

Iceland open their Euro campaign against Portugal

now things get interesting with Pot 3


----------



## Evilo

Too bad I wanted Zlatan to kick DD's ass


----------



## HajdukSplit

France with an easy group so far, they open the tournament with Romania


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Spain-Turkey is promising


----------



## Ceremony

Deschamps looks like a mid-level villain from a Taken film


----------



## Ceremony

Northern Ireland going to get absolutely ragdolled

Hilarious


----------



## King 88

Pretty nice looking group for Sweden.


----------



## Evilo

HajdukSplit said:


> France with an easy group so far, they open the tournament with Romania



Nothing's going to be easy for this team I tell ya.


----------



## HajdukSplit

A and F groups of life, Group D and F somewhat challenging


----------



## Evilo

We lost to Albania a few months ago BTW.


----------



## Evilo

Belgium with a tricky group so far.


----------



## King 88

Italy Spain Turkey would be so awesome.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Swiss vs. Albania 

France won't sweat that group, its open for 2nd/3rd


----------



## joe89

Iceland have a nice group from pot 4 so far.. Portugal probably agrees.


----------



## King 88

Group A seems to be weakest but interesting for second place battle.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Euro 2012 co-hosts same group, with Germany

England will be largely content with their group


----------



## HajdukSplit

Group D is somewhat tough


----------



## takk

*Group D*eath


----------



## Evilo

I thought Belgium had a tricky group, now it's a tough group.


----------



## Evilo

Komarov77 said:


> Group A seems to be weakest but interesting for second place battle.



I'd say Group F sucks a whole lot more.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Group D and E seem the toughest, groups A/B/F seem the weakest


----------



## Prntscrn

Love the look of group B 
Sweden unlucky with Italy..

Group A:
1. France
2. Romania
3. Albanien
4. Switzerland

Group B:
1. England
2. Russia
3. Wales
4. Slovakia

Group C:
1. Germany
2. Ukraine
3. Poland
4. Northern Ireland

Group D:
1. Spain
2. Czech Republic
3. Turkey
4. Croatia

Group E:
1. Belgium
2. Italy
3. Ireland
4. Sweden

Group F:
1. Portugal
2. Iceland
3. Austria
4. Hungary


----------



## ecemleafs

brutal draw for the irish.


----------



## jcbio11

Slovakia got England, Russia and Wales. Could be better, could be worse. Going to be a great tourney anyways.


----------



## Savi

Evilo said:


> I thought Belgium had a tricky group, now it's a tough group.




It's a tough group, but also a fun group. Pretty close to my ideal draw I think

These are games you're looking forward to. I don't think you're looking forward to playing Romania and Albania, right?


----------



## joe89

Savi said:


> It's a tough group, but also a fun group. Pretty close to my ideal draw I think
> 
> These are games you're looking forward to. I don't think you're looking forward to playing Romania and Albania, right?




Yeah I agree it's a fun group. 

I just didn't want the automatic loss game vs Germany or Spain, the rest I'm fine with. If you advance from a group like this you have the chance of an easier knockout draw, which I find far more desirable than an "easy" group draw when 16 of 24 teams advance.


----------



## HajdukSplit

If all Pot 1 teams win their group this is how the quarters will set up

Spain vs. Poland/Ukraine
England vs. Portugal/Italy
Belgium vs. Germany
France vs. *one of Russia/Austria/Wales/Iceland/Slovakia

France really have no excuses not the make the semis, though in the R16 they will face Poland/Ukraine, not sure a walkover. However France will likely meet Germany in the semis, or even Belgium

Spain have an easy route to the semis if they win their group


----------



## Shrimper

We should qualify from that group. Beat Wales and Slovakia, draw with Russia.


----------



## Live in the Now

I don't think there's any single group where I'm sure of the top two teams. I like that.


----------



## Evilo

Savi said:


> It's a tough group, but also a fun group. Pretty close to my ideal draw I think
> 
> These are games you're looking forward to. I don't think you're looking forward to playing Romania and Albania, right?




Totally, I wanted Sweden and Zlatan.


----------



## cgf

Live in the Now said:


> I don't think there's any single group where I'm sure of the top two teams. I like that.




Groups A and F look pretty straight forward. Hungary, Romania, Albania, and Iceland are a cut below and will have to bunker and hope for wastefulness from France, Austria, Portugal and Switzerland; 1 of these 4 may **** the bed, but it would be a genuine upset. And though they'll make it tough on themselves because that's how they roll, Italy should lock up the spot behind Belgium in group E...though that'll be a fun group none the less.

B, C, and D look like they'll be a blast though.


----------



## Savi

Actually, we should let Italy finish top and take second place.. I'd rather have England waiting in the quarters than Germany..


----------



## Live in the Now

cgf said:


> Groups A and F look pretty straight forward. Hungary, Romania, Albania, and Iceland are a cut below and will have to bunker and hope for wastefulness from France, Austria, Portugal and Switzerland; 1 of these 4 may **** the bed, but it would be a genuine upset. And though they'll make it tough on themselves because that's how they roll, Italy should lock up the spot behind Belgium in group E...though that'll be a fun group none the less.
> 
> B, C, and D look like they'll be a blast though.




Iceland is a cut below but they have a knack for getting the results. They're also just as inexperienced in these situations as Austria, which has the potential of leading to an odd result. 

Romania will be very difficult to break down, I think. They only conceded two goals in qualifying, granted that wasn't an extremely talented group, but that's quite an achievement.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Hatem Ben Arfa have been exellent for Nice....any chance he makes team France?


----------



## Evilo

TheFatOne said:


> Hatem Ben Arfa have been exellent for Nice....any chance he makes team France?



He should, but with DD as french coach I doubt it.


----------



## Power Man

DD hates creativity


----------



## Hesher

jcbio11 said:


> Slovakia got England, Russia and Wales. Could be better, could be worse. Going to be a great tourney anyways.




I'm quite happy with that group, it could have been a lot worse.


----------



## cgf

Savi said:


> Actually, we should let Italy finish top and take second place.. I'd rather have England waiting in the quarters than Germany..




No way the italians qualify from the group by anything more than the skin of their teeth. While I expect Wilmots to psyche y'all up to roll through the group stages despite his poor tactics. I hear what you're saying but that's already Italy's gameplan; and they've been doing that for generations.



Live in the Now said:


> Iceland is a cut below but they have a knack for getting the results. They're also just as inexperienced in these situations as Austria, which has the potential of leading to an odd result.
> 
> Romania will be very difficult to break down, I think. They only conceded two goals in qualifying, granted that wasn't an extremely talented group, but that's quite an achievement.




Those groups will certainly be ripe for some upsets with bunkering sides facing some inexperienced or out of form sides who'll have to dominate possession and crack the buses they face. But those would be real upsets where an inferior side steals a result playing like Greece; whereas in the other groups there will be much more evenly matched teams going at each other like with England/Russia/Bales/Hamsik, Poland/Ukraine, Croatia/Turkey/CzechRep or Groupstage-n-rebuilding-Italy/Sweden/Ireland.

Romania greeked their way through a weak group and start the euros with the hosts. If France don't **** the bed I see that ending up the kind of drubbing that rattles Romania's defense so that even a misfiring Swiss squad should put them away cleanly in match two so that who progresses is settled before the third set of matches.

Iceland is the team who I can see stealing the results they need if Portugal doesn't turn up for the opener...like they didn't for a large chunk of this qualifying campaign...and Austria has a crap opener of their own against Albania, that leaves their confidence low. But Iceland's even more inexperienced than Austria and are already playing with house money, so there may not be as much desperation to advance as there should be from Austria...who will face some genuine pressure to advance given their group, their qualifying campaign, and their bright future.



Hesher said:


> I'm quite happy with that group, it could have been a lot worse.




You're probably the underdogs in each match, but each game is one you should have a geniune shot at earning a result in. Might be the most balanced group given Russia's tendency to get cocky/complacent and take their foot off of the gas once they're satisfied with themselves enough; England's ongoing lack of coherent direction/plan; and the fighting Bales' utter dependence on him to carry them.


----------



## Fro

why is italy ALWAYS in the toughest group??? like clockwork


----------



## Moncherry

cgf said:


> Iceland is the team who I can see stealing the results they need if Portugal doesn't turn up for the opener...like they didn't for a large chunk of this qualifying campaign...and Austria has a crap opener of their own against Albania, that leaves their confidence low. But Iceland's even more inexperienced than Austria and are already playing with house money, so there may not be as much desperation to advance as there should be from Austria...who will face some genuine pressure to advance given their group, their qualifying campaign, and their bright future.




Portugal won 7 of 8 in qualifying. This was the first time in years that they actually didn't struggle to qualify. If you're referring to only winning games by 1 goal, well, that's not really important considering Santos is a results first manager, and no one really cruised to easy victories consistently except maybe England. Also, Albania aren't in the group, it's Hungary.


----------



## cgf

Fro said:


> why is italy ALWAYS in the toughest group??? like clockwork




Because even at their best Italy only plays as good as they have to; so ****ing around in qualifying/friendlies leaves them with a misleading low coefficient. Basically the opposite of why England typically has very manageable groups in qualifying and tournaments. They are the New York Giants / LA Kings of international football.



Moncherry said:


> Portugal won 7 of 8 in qualifying. This was the first time in years that they actually didn't struggle to qualify. If you're referring to only winning games by 1 goal, well, that's not really important considering Santos is a results first manager, and no one really cruised to easy victories consistently except maybe England. Also, Albania aren't in the group, it's Hungary.




Wow; I didn't keep a close eye on your campaign outside of the of matches I ended up watching...which as you say were very close results (the 2 v denmark, one of the serbia matches, and the 3-2 with Armenia)...remembered the opening loss to albania being an early shock result; and that must've mixed with how ugly your qualifying campaign was for the WC in that group with Russia and Israel, at least before you turned that around. So I guess I just figured you were barely scrapping by again; but yeah, that's a stellar record, and it looks like Iceland's chances are even grimmer than I thought. If they lose the opener in a close game, then I think that it's very likely that they'll be pretty content by the time they face Austria, especially if they look good against Hungery after that honorably loss in the opener to ensure that they'll be greated as conquering heroes when they go home regardless of that final match with Austria to join Portugal in the knockouts.

And I really shouldn't have made that error about Albania/Hungery seeing how I had typed up a comment mentioning the drama of Xhaka versus Xhaka + the larger stories about all of the albanian-eligible talents that have been groomed in the swiss system who will be on both sides of that match...before deleting that paragraph since I don't really expect the action to be all that engaging despite all of those storylines that will give it cheap off the pitch drama/intrigue, with instead the swiss grinding out a very sloppy and physical win in a relatively ugly display of football.


----------



## Moncherry

4 points and a decent goal difference is a realistic target for Iceland, which should see them through. If they lose to Portugal it likely won't be a blowout given how they play under Santos. It's also worth noting how coming second in Group F gives you a more favourable opponent for the next round as runner-ups in Group B and F play each other, meanwhile winning the group likely gets you a match with Italy or Belgium.


----------



## Power Man

Shrimper said:


> We should qualify from that group. Beat Wales and Slovakia, draw with Russia.



I don't think it's gonna be that easy for England tbh


----------



## Your old Jofa helmet

Ukraine is on par with Poland,probably even better if manage to contain Levandovski. We played them quite recently and won. Should have no problems with N. Ireland. Like our chances so far...


----------



## cgf

Moncherry said:


> 4 points and a decent goal difference is a realistic target for Iceland, which should see them through. If they lose to Portugal it likely won't be a blowout given how they play under Santos. It's also worth noting how coming second in Group F gives you a more favourable opponent for the next round as runner-ups in Group B and F play each other, meanwhile winning the group likely gets you a match with Italy or Belgium.




I'm not even sure 3 points is all that likely since Hungery will park the bus against them to and Iceland won't have the same kind of skill advantage with which to break them down that Portugal and Austria will enjoy when they play against the Hungarian bus. So Iceland are likely going to have to fight tooth and nail to grind out a win in that one. 

And Austria really impressed me this qualifying cycle, so I have them as sizable favorites for that final match day if a draw against Iceland isn't enough for them to qualify. They've got a nifty team on the rise brewing around Alaba; who continues to become one of my absolutely favorite players. I can even see them drawing against Portugal; particularly if they hit the ground running and get their smooth possession game clicking against the Hungarian bunker in the opener.



ukrleaf said:


> Ukraine is on par with Poland,probably even better if manage to contain Levandovski. We played them quite recently and won. Should have no problems with N. Ireland. Like our chances so far...




On par with, sure; but containing an inform Lewandowski is a tough task even for the top sides, and I can't see that match as anything but a pure toss up where Lewy's class makes me lean towards the poles being the slightest of favorites. Can see it coming down to which of you slips up against that N. Ireland bus...assuming our squad gets its head out of its ass before the tourney and doesn't keep sleepwalking until its time to play the big teams.



McSorleyStick said:


> I don't think it's gonna be that easy for England tbh




TBH I can see them getting those results, though each would be very close matches, and I wouldn't be surprised one bit if England drew or lost to any of the three other teams in the group; as even the mighty-Hamsik's can be difficult and a threat to a tournament-form-England.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Let's not forget that four 3rd placed teams make the 2nd round as well..so really one win may actually be enough to qualify.


----------



## eyetest is useless

Evilo said:


> Nothing's going to be easy for this team I tell ya.




France may well open as favourites for this tournament...


----------



## Evilo

If people think France is the favourite of the tournament, they haven't paid attention.

France has played piss-poor football for a long time now, they clearly don't get along, and their coach hates creative players.
Add that Benzema might not be here, that Fekir's health will be a question mark, that Lacazette is half the player he was last year, that Evra still starts, etc, etc, etc...

Basically, the only positives are that they have a somewhat easy group and more important, they're at home, where they have won Euro 84 and WC 98.


----------



## eyetest is useless

The markets are usually a decent predictor...






You could make some dough laying them


----------



## jcbio11

Fro said:


> why is italy ALWAYS in the toughest group??? like clockwork




Think about it. It's a tough group because they're in it. I am not worried for Italy, they'll pull through. I don't see them blowing it like the 2010 World Cup group stage (Paraguy and Slovakia went through, Italy eliminated).


----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> Let's not forget that four 3rd placed teams make the 2nd round as well..so really one win may actually be enough to qualify.




I actually have been completely forgetting about that.


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

Netherlands gunna win


----------



## GreyWind*

Netherlands didn't qualify?


----------



## Tylers Dad

jcbio11 said:


> Think about it. It's a tough group because they're in it. I am not worried for Italy, they'll pull through. I don't see them blowing it like the 2010 World Cup group stage (Paraguy and Slovakia went through, Italy eliminated).



They may pull through groups but that's a stretch, they're not as good as people think they are.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Tylers Dad said:


> They may pull through groups but that's a stretch, they're not as good as people think they are.




I think if Conte relies on the young guys Italy may do well. 

I would like them to play 4-3-3 with Insigne-Pelle-Berardi up front (I doubt he'd do that though, he'll probably have Candreva there). In midfield he has a bunch of young guys he can rely on, but Verratti for creativity and De Rossi for experience should be the 2 main pieces. Other options include Bertolacci, Marchisio, Sturaro, Florenzi. On defense, Darmian, Bonucci, Chiellini should be solid. Left Back is a question mark though. I just hope he doesn't play with 3 guys on defense. 

Other young guys I'm hoping he calls up as well: Perin, De Sciglio (he's been bad for a couple of years now), Zaza, Gabbiadini, Immobile, Vazquez, Baselli, maybe Sansone and Shaarawi but the latter seems to be busting.

I just hope he drops the old guys who won't bring much to the team, as much as I like Pirlo but he has no business being in the squadra azzura anymore, same with Montolivo, Barzagli.


----------



## Tylers Dad

Captain Saku said:


> I think if Conte relies on the young guys Italy may do well.
> 
> I would like them to play 4-3-3 with Insigne-Pelle-Berardi up front (I doubt he'd do that though, he'll probably have Candreva there). In midfield he has a bunch of young guys he can rely on, but Verratti for creativity and De Rossi for experience should be the 2 main pieces. Other options include Bertolacci, Marchisio, Sturaro, Florenzi. On defense, Darmian, Bonucci, Chiellini should be solid. Left Back is a question mark though. I just hope he doesn't play with 3 guys on defense.
> 
> Other young guys I'm hoping he calls up as well: Perin, De Sciglio (he's been bad for a couple of years now), Zaza, Gabbiadini, Immobile, Vazquez, Baselli, maybe Sansone and Shaarawi but the latter seems to be busting.
> 
> I just hope he drops the old guys who won't bring much to the team, as much as I like Pirlo but he has no business being in the squadra azzura anymore, same with Montolivo, Barzagli.



4-3-3 should be decent. I would field Insigne/Sharaawy, Pelle, Florenzi; Verratti, De Rossi, Marchisio; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Bonucci, Darmian; Perin/Sirigu.

But Candreva is going to be put in for sure as is Parolo, Buffon.


----------



## Tylers Dad

Either way if Conte relies on the younger guys they still won't win much, but I say field them now for the Euro and play them together and let them come back for World Cup in 2018 a bit older and with the Euro experience under their belts.


----------



## ViD

Would like to see Russia vs Ukraine in play offs. Can't imagine the intensity.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Joachim Low has already named his Euro provisional squad, seems as only these 31 players will be considered and nobody who catches hot form in the second half of the season, unless I read wrong

*Goalkeepers:* Bernd Leno, Manuel Neuer, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Kevin Trapp, Ron-Rober Zieler

*Defenders:* Jerome Boateng, Emre Can, Erik Durm, Matthias Ginter, Jonas Hector, Benedikt Howedes, Mats Hummels, Shkodran Mustafi, Antonio Rudiger, Sebastian Rudy

*Midfielders: * Karim Bellarabi, Julian Draxler, Ilkay Gundogan, Sami Khedira, Christoph Kramer, Toni Kroos, Thomas Muller, Mesut Ozil, Lukas Podolski, Marco Reus, Andre Schurrle, Bastian Schweinsteiger

*Forwards:* Mario Gomez, Mario Gotze, Max Kruse, Kevin Volland


----------



## Bures Elbow

I'm really excited about Portugals young midfield

Andre Gomes and Joao Mario have both been exceptional this season, and Bernardo Silva seems to have recovered from starting the season injured and missing out on pre-season with his last few performances more similar to the highs of last year.

Add in William Carvalho, Moutinho, and Tiago, and its really solid.

Coentrao has been superb as well, getting over the injuries and split 50/50 starts at Real Madrid. Rapheal Gurreiro as his sub is thrilling, another really talented young player.

Cedric has been very good at Southampton at RB, and coupled with Vieirinha from Wolfsburg we have a solid RB tandem.

Pepe/Fonte/Carvalho(who when used sparingly and when well rested is still very good) znd the young paulo oliveira from Sporting make a good CB core.

The problem is upfront as per usual. Ronaldo is reaping the consequences of not rehabilitating that left knee properly in the world cup year..a shadow of his former self so far this season


----------



## Evilo

I like Guerreiro better at LB.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Tylers Dad said:


> 4-3-3 should be decent. I would field Insigne/Sharaawy, Pelle, Florenzi; Verratti, De Rossi, Marchisio; De Sciglio, Chiellini, Bonucci, Darmian; Perin/Sirigu.
> 
> But Candreva is going to be put in for sure as is Parolo, Buffon.




Motta should be a lock. He is fantastic in PSG and have great chemistry with Veratti.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

I would be terrified to play against a midfield of Motta, Verratti, and De Rossi... No amount of shin pads would be protection enough


----------



## Tylers Dad

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> I would be terrified to play against a midfield of Motta, Verratti, and De Rossi... No amount of shin pads would be protection enough



Imagine Nesta/Maldini behind those three. That defense would be insane.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Captain Saku said:


> I think if Conte relies on the young guys Italy may do well.
> 
> I would like them to play 4-3-3 with Insigne-Pelle-Berardi up front (I doubt he'd do that though, he'll probably have Candreva there). In midfield he has a bunch of young guys he can rely on, but Verratti for creativity and De Rossi for experience should be the 2 main pieces. Other options include Bertolacci, Marchisio, Sturaro, Florenzi. On defense, Darmian, Bonucci, Chiellini should be solid. Left Back is a question mark though. I just hope he doesn't play with 3 guys on defense.
> 
> Other young guys I'm hoping he calls up as well: Perin, De Sciglio (he's been bad for a couple of years now), Zaza, Gabbiadini, Immobile, Vazquez, Baselli, maybe Sansone and Shaarawi but the latter seems to be busting.
> 
> I just hope he drops the old guys who won't bring much to the team, as much as I like Pirlo but he has no business being in the squadra azzura anymore, same with Montolivo, Barzagli.





Giovinco is a must for this Italy squad.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> I would be terrified to play against a midfield of Motta, Verratti, and De Rossi... No amount of shin pads would be protection enough




De Rossi is not so good anymore.

Buffon
Barzagli - Bonucci - Chiellini - Darmian
Soriano - Veratti - Motta
Insigne - Eder - Giovinco


----------



## Live in the Now

I'd play Marchisio over Motta.


----------



## Evilo

Not me. This season's Motta is playing the best football of his career.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

TheFatOne said:


> De Rossi is not so good anymore.
> 
> Buffon
> Barzagli - Bonucci - Chiellini - Darmian
> Soriano - Veratti - Motta
> Insigne - Eder - Giovinco




I was referring to that midfield in terms of exclusively the collective greasiness of the three of them


----------



## Moncherry

If that's an accurate depiction of what Italy's line-up will look like this summer, then that is painfully average by their standards.


----------



## Munchkin10

TheFatOne said:


> De Rossi is not so good anymore.
> 
> Buffon
> Barzagli - Bonucci - Chiellini - Darmian
> Soriano - Veratti - Motta
> Insigne - Eder - Giovinco




Personally I would put gio in the middle and put Candreva where gio is now. Pull eder to the subs.


----------



## Panteras

is Buffon going to be the Jagr of football? I feel like he's been playing all my life


----------



## Tylers Dad

Panteras said:


> is Buffon going to be the Jagr of football? I feel like he's been playing all my life



I really hope not. I want Sirigu or Perrin to take his place.


----------



## SenorDingDong

Panteras said:


> is Buffon going to be the Jagr of football? I feel like he's been playing all my life


----------



## HajdukSplit

Buffon says he will retire after 2018 World Cup, however looking at their group (Spain is in their qualifying group) they might struggle to make that, they will likely need a playoff


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Tylers Dad said:


> I really hope not. I want Sirigu or Perrin to take his place.




Speaking as someone who is very fond of Sirigu (haven't seen Perrin nearly as much), Buffon is still better than him. Love me some Gigi.


----------



## Eye of Ra

England?

Hart
Baines - Stones - Jagielka - Walker
Barkley - Wilshere - Alli - Walcott/Sterling/Lallana
Vardy-Kane


----------



## JunglePete

TheFatOne said:


> England?
> 
> Hart
> Baines - Stones - Jagielka - Walker
> Barkley - Wilshere - Alli - Walcott/Sterling/Lallana
> Vardy-Kane




Didn't pay that much attention for England in years but I didn't know that Jagielka was still a starter...


----------



## Live in the Now

If Sturridge is fit he'd start.


----------



## Halladay

Think Clyne will be on the right with Baines on the left. Shaw has been hurt. I would probably put Smalling in the middle with maybe Stones or Jones.


----------



## YNWA14

TheFatOne said:


> England?
> 
> Hart
> Baines - Stones - Jagielka - Walker
> Barkley - Wilshere - Alli - Walcott/Sterling/Lallana
> Vardy-Kane




If they're doing the typical 4-4-2 then:

Hart
Clyne - Smalling - Cahill - Baines
Sterling - Henderson - Alli - Barkley
Sturridge - Kane​
*Edited at Ceremony's request


----------



## Ceremony

Please stop putting Scott Dann in English starting line-ups.


----------



## ProPAIN

Well Evilo must be thrilled. Didi is scouting players already capped at senior level for another country now 

http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Bleus-didier-deschamps-pense-a-kalidou-koulibaly-international-senegalais/636554


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Deschamps is a dumbass. Laporte needs to be on the French team for 2016.


----------



## Evilo

Didn't have the force to post it here. So ashamed of the leaders we have... 

All the while Laporte is sitting at home wondering if he should accept Spain's offer.


----------



## Evilo

Oh and also Ngolo KantÃ© will soon choose to play for another country if DD continues to ignore him.

That he's blind enough to ignore him when he's with Caen, I disaprove it (amateur job really) but could understand it.
Now that he's the oil's machine of the EPL leader, he still doesn't get a look.

For god's sake NAME ME ! 
I said a long time ago now that Ngolo KantÃ© was a great player.
Instead we're bound to have MOUSSA SISSOKO !!!! And starting most likely ! 

Not that I was the only one BTW :
http://www.goal.com/fr/news/1729/fr.../caen-kanté-sera-meilleur-que-claude-makelele


----------



## Power Man

ProPAIN said:


> Well Evilo must be thrilled. Didi is scouting players already capped at senior level for another country now
> 
> http://www.lequipe.fr/Football/Actualites/Bleus-didier-deschamps-pense-a-kalidou-koulibaly-international-senegalais/636554




WTF I thought that wasn't real


----------



## Live in the Now

On my phone so I can't link but Kante is being called up by France


----------



## Jeffrey

Kante the new makelele


----------



## Corto

Jeffrey said:


> Kante the new makelele




He's pretty freaking good. Yeah, Mahrez and Vardy get the spotlight, but Kante, Drinkwater and Albrighton have been carrying the load for Leicester in the midfield.

And apparently, Deschamps explained that he's snubbing Payet simply because he's down the pecking order, he doesn't perform for France and there are better players than him.

And I'm like... Okay, at least West Ham gets a rested, angry Payet.
He lacks a bit of pace, but he's been absolutely fantastic.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Deschamps is a moron. Payet has been top 5 in the EPL this season


----------



## Evilo

It's true that Payet hasn't performed that well for France.
But it's not like many have at creative positions.
Let's remember how DD gave Ben Arfa 45 minutes to score a hattrick without losing a ball.
Just an excuse to leave him out next time.


----------



## ProPAIN

Corto said:


> And apparently, Deschamps explained that he's snubbing Payet simply because he's down the pecking order, he doesn't perform for France and there are better players than him.




Which is BS, since Moussa Sissokho hasn't done **** this season and is highly likely to be selected.


----------



## East Coast Bias

The amount of talent that could be in the French team for the Euros is absolutely ridiculous. I don't even realize most of these guys are French until I see it here. It's amazing.


----------



## Pouchkine

France has lots of good players at the moment, just not many great ones...


----------



## Evilo

Lloris is among the top GKs. Mandanda is borderline top 10 and Areola might be the best GK prospect in the world.
Varane is among the top CBs. Laporte, Zouma, Sakho and Koscielny provide depth (among others).
Kurzawa and Digne are some of the most exciting young LB.
Pogba, Matuidi are definately great. KantÃ©, Cabaye, Kondgobia, Diarra, Guilavogui, Gonalons are nice depth.
Fekir, Griezmann, Ntep, Payet, Valbuena, Ben Arfa, Menez, Nasri are creative AMs.
Benzema, Giroud, Lacazette are the top strikers available.
The only position where they have nobody of value is RB.

All in all, saying they don't have great players is simply false. Truth is that DD can't make them play together with efficiency. Talent wise, they have nobody to fear. He also doesn't select the best ones (see Evra, Patrice, LB starting position).


----------



## YNWA14

I agree. Talent wise France is up there with Belgium, Germany and Argentina on paper. It really is too bad on the field that they can't live up to their talent -- though I would argue the same of Belgium despite their top ranking (I just don't think they look that great on the pitch despite the talent on their team, they should play much nicer football).

Still...

Lloris
Corchia? - Varane - Sakho - Kurzawa
Matuidi - Kante - Pogba
Griezmann - Fekir
Benzema​
That team could give fits to anyone, IMO, and it has lots of depth as Evilo mentioned above.


----------



## bluesfan94

Pretending like Sakho is better than Koscielny will get you and Evilo nowhere.


----------



## YNWA14

bluesfan94 said:


> Pretending like Sakho is better than Koscielny will get you and Evilo nowhere.




If you'll notice I've been quite vocal in my criticism of Sakho, but Koscielny is no better and Sakho gets picked in the NT ahead of him. I think Kos could play there interchangeably and there probably wouldn't be a big difference.

That said Kos isn't that great.


----------



## Evilo

bluesfan94 said:


> Pretending like Sakho is better than Koscielny will get you and Evilo nowhere.




Why? Because he's outplayed Koscielny with the NT?
Where does that get you then?

Facts are hard to cope with ?


----------



## Power Man

Who cares Varane is better


----------



## Pouchkine

I'll say they have no Thuram Zidane Henry, yeah they have some very good ones but those guys still have yet to prove themselves with the national team and prove they are real leaders.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Evilo said:


> Lloris is among the top GKs. Mandanda is borderline top 10 and Areola might be the best GK prospect in the world.
> Varane is among the top CBs. Laporte, Zouma, Sakho and Koscielny provide depth (among others).
> Kurzawa and Digne are some of the most exciting young LB.
> Pogba, Matuidi are definately great. KantÃ©, Cabaye, Kondgobia, Diarra, Guilavogui, Gonalons are nice depth.
> Fekir, Griezmann, Ntep, Payet, Valbuena, Ben Arfa, Menez, Nasri are creative AMs.
> Benzema, Giroud, Lacazette are the top strikers available.
> The only position where they have nobody of value is RB.
> 
> All in all, saying they don't have great players is simply false. Truth is that DD can't make them play together with efficiency. Talent wise, they have nobody to fear. He also doesn't select the best ones (see Evra, Patrice, LB starting position).




Mangala? Martial? Coman? TrÃ©moulinas? Rabiot? N'Koudou? Amavi? Lemar? Tolisso? Grenier? Umtiti? Ribery?


----------



## Evilo

Yes, depth, depth, depth.


----------



## Peen

Not a big Menez fan

Are any of the LB's capable RB's?


----------



## Power Man

Michel Hidalgo would be good coach for the current FNT imo


----------



## Evilo

McPeen said:


> Not a big Menez fan
> 
> Are any of the LB's capable RB's?




No, all are pure LBs.


----------



## Savi

Evilo said:


> The only position where they have nobody of value is RB.




How's the depth chart looking at RB atm? Any up and coming guys?


----------



## Evilo

Jallet, Debuchy, Sagna are considered viable options for DD. Debuchy seems like the longer shot and Sagna the starter (glups!).
We have one single good RB among the L1 established and that's Sebastien Corchia. He's to me the best we have and a solid talent. But he's totally not the type of player DD loves (meaning he's not particularly strong-bodied, can be beaten physically and is better offensively then defensively).
He's never been called up and I don't expect him to be before Euro. Not because he shouldn't but DD won't call him until he shines on a big team.


----------



## Cassano

Evilo said:


> Jallet, Debuchy, Sagna are considered viable options for DD. Debuchy seems like the longer shot and Sagna the starter (glups!).
> We have one single good RB among the L1 established and that's Sebastien Corchia. He's to me the best we have and a solid talent. But he's totally not the type of player DD loves (meaning he's not particularly strong-bodied, can be beaten physically and is better offensively then defensively).
> He's never been called up and I don't expect him to be before Euro. Not because he shouldn't but DD won't call him until he shines on a big team.




Imo Sagna should not be grouped in with these players. 

He's been superb this season.


----------



## Evilo

Could have guessed it...


----------



## HajdukSplit

Some rumors that Rooney may miss Euro with a knee operation, however the English are now getting giddy with Rashford anyway


----------



## maclean

Rooney's like Messi anyhow, always disappoints for the national team


----------



## cgf

I remember when Everton's 18yo starlet Wayne Rooney was going to save English football. Good times.


----------



## HajdukSplit

cgf said:


> I remember when Everton's 18yo starlet Wayne Rooney was going to save English football. Good times.




I remember the overwhelming hype he got when he scored two goals against the worst Croatia team to play at a major tournament since independence; a central midfield pairing of Rosso-Bjelica and a coach who played 6 defenders in a must win game  Also the Swiss at that tournament were much poorer than they are now and he scored twice against them


----------



## Ceremony

Rooney missing the tournament would be the best thing that could happen to England

I can just picture a fit Vardy, Kane and Sturridge being moved around at the expense of a fat guy long past any capability for meaningful, positive influence who scores a penalty in the groups and celebrates like he's saved Earth from being destroyed by aliens

Worrying times, if true.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivica Olic retires from international football, doubt he would have gotten into the Croatia squad anyway with him not even being in the squad for HSV lately.


----------



## Ivan13

HajdukSplit said:


> Ivica Olic retires from international football, doubt he would have gotten into the Croatia squad anyway with him not even being in the squad for HSV lately.




Great guy.

As for the EURO, our goalkeeper, midfield and forwards look good, but our D is oh boy. I also fully expect Čačić to leave Vrsaljko on the bench in favor of Srna.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivan13 said:


> Great guy.
> 
> As for the EURO, our goalkeeper, midfield and forwards look good, but our D is oh boy. I also fully expect Čačić to leave Vrsaljko on the bench in favor of Srna.




I wouldn't be shocked if he forces Vrsaljko at LB like Kovac did at the World Cup vs. Brazil. Doesn't seem like Strinic will get called up and with Pivaric injured, he will put either him or Vida at LB (Vida has played LB for Kiev this season). Don't think even the likes of Milic/Leovac will get called up. Or I guess there's always Pranjic...

But you are right, Croatia's defense is beyond pathetic. And I saw an interview with Badelj saying that Croatia needs to start playing as a unit/team, totally agree, too many times its trying to get by on individual skill. Doubt Cacic can bring the best out of this team though


----------



## Plato

As somebody who watches him on a weekly basis, I feel troubled for Croatia is Pranjic is in at LB for the tourney...


----------



## Ivan13

HajdukSplit said:


> I wouldn't be shocked if he forces Vrsaljko at LB like Kovac did at the World Cup vs. Brazil. Doesn't seem like Strinic will get called up and with Pivaric injured, he will put either him or Vida at LB (Vida has played LB for Kiev this season). Don't think even the likes of Milic/Leovac will get called up. Or I guess there's always Pranjic...
> 
> But you are right, Croatia's defense is beyond pathetic. And I saw an interview with Badelj saying that Croatia needs to start playing as a unit/team, totally agree, too many times its trying to get by on individual skill. Doubt Cacic can bring the best out of this team though




Defense should look like this IMHO:

Vida - Lovren - Ćorluka - Vrsaljko



Plato said:


> As somebody who watches him on a weekly basis, I feel troubled for Croatia is Pranjic is in at LB for the tourney...




I doubt he'll be selected.


----------



## Power Man

Looking forward to that Kovacic-Modric- Rakitic MF tbh...


----------



## YNWA14

http://alltime11.uefa.com/en

I chose a 4-4-2 formation only because they had Rijkaard listed as a defender, but it's actually a 3-5-2.

Buffon
Maldini - Beckenbauer - Facchetti
Rijkaard ----- Pirlo
Gullit ----- Platini ----- Iniesta
van Basten ----- Henry​
Some of the options are interesting, but just fun none-the-less.


----------



## Power Man

Curtinho said:


> http://alltime11.uefa.com/en
> 
> I chose a 4-4-2 formation only because they had Rijkaard listed as a defender, but it's actually a 3-5-2.
> 
> Buffon
> Maldini - Beckenbauer - Facchetti
> Rijkaard ----- Pirlo
> Gullit ----- Platini ----- Iniesta
> *van Basten* ----- Henry​
> Some of the options are interesting, but just fun none-the-less.




Marco Van Basten 


Is this list based on past Euro performances?


----------



## YNWA14

My team was just based on the players themselves, not necessarily how they performed at the Euros.

Not really sure how they derived their list. I didn't look into it.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Anyone got an idea what their squads might look like at the Euros?


----------



## Evilo

Lloris
8 defensemen
1 midfielder
1 striker


----------



## Power Man

Looks like Kante got a call up from DD


----------



## Luigi Habs

McSorleyStick said:


> Looks like Kante got a call up from DD




Pogba, Kante and Matuidi should be the main pieces in midfield. Anything different than that would be DD going full stupid mode.


----------



## Evilo

Not quite, a pre-selection. 50 players or so get one of these.


----------



## Power Man

Evilo said:


> Not quite,* a pre-selection*. 50 players or so get one of these.




yup my bad


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivan13 said:


> Great guy.
> 
> As for the EURO, our goalkeeper, midfield and forwards look good, but our D is oh boy. I also fully expect Čačić to leave Vrsaljko on the bench in favor of Srna.




And the squad for the March friendlies doesn't have a single left back on the squad. Of course Schildenfeld returns despite playing only 3-4 matches this season, with all respect to him. I seriously hope the reason why the likes of Jedvaj/Pasalic weren't called up was because of the U21 fixtures which are more important, because Schifo and Antolic.... My hope is Antolic is another Milovic/Caktas, give him a cap so he can get sold to some random team in Russia, if he makes Euros then I will be pissed, despite the fact he won't feature anyway

Not that I mind because I don't rate him, but slightly surprised not to see Cop called up, he's playing regularly at Malaga and is even scoring a bit. He did get a stupid red card in qualifying but I doubt that's the reason. Also no Kramaric for now but I guess they want him to stay with Hoffenheim

My guess is the squad Cacic called up for these friendlies will be the one for Euro + Jedvaj, Kramaric and probably another Dinamo player sarcasm. Antolic hopefully drops out for Pasalic/Radosevic/Mocinic. If you're gonna call up a Dinamo midfielder at least let it be Rog


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

France going from one of the all-time great kits to this...






England's aren't much better.


----------



## Evilo

Ngolo KantÃ© finally called up.

EDIT : 
- No Kurzawa (  )
- Mathieu instead of Laporte  
- Sissoko called up once again 
- Cabaye called up again 
- Gignac called up 
- Payet back


----------



## Evilo

As I predicted, no Ben Arfa. DD gave him a few piss poor minutes just to be sure he wasn't blamed for not trying.

*******.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Drinkwater called up by England in a squad with relatively few surprises, not that I follow England closely but it amazes me how Welbeck is still in the squad, my guess he drops out if Rooney is fit, though if Sturridge gets injured again he might be in the squad for Euros 

btw, looking at some of the names the fans on twitter are being upset about not being called up (Noble, Cresswell, Antonio, Lennon, Rashford) shows how little depth they have


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

I'm not currently checking my twitter, but I'd figure people are pissed off about those ones (especially Antonio, Lennon, and Rashford) simply by virtue of current form. I also have seen a lot of people on Twitter incredibly scared of Rashford being in the Euro squad.


----------



## Venkman

Welbeck deserves to be in, he's got a good record for England, 14 goals in 33 games. Walcott shouldn't. Good to see Rose and Drinkwater given a chance.

Rashford's in the u20 squad. No point taking him to the Euros.


----------



## Power Man

Evilo said:


> As I predicted, no Ben Arfa. DD gave him a few piss poor minutes just to be sure he wasn't blamed for not trying.
> 
> *******.




In my very humble opinion, I think Michel Hidalgo or Ayme Jacquet would be great for this generation


----------



## les Habs

Evilo said:


> Ngolo KantÃ© finally called up.
> 
> EDIT :
> - No Kurzawa (  )
> *- Mathieu instead of Laporte*
> - Sissoko called up once again
> - Cabaye called up again
> - Gignac called up
> - Payet back




I'm personally not a big Mathieu fan at all, but perhaps a tactical decision considering Mathieu's pace and versatility. I can see it going either way based on current form. Kurzawa is a shock though.

Laporte really hasn't been so good as to warrant some of the praise he gets. He looks good considering his age, but he's not consistent enough if you ask me. Of course playing at Atleti can leave him exposed at times.


----------



## HajdukSplit

So Nike are starting to release their kits (France, England, Portugal, Turkey, Croatia and Poland). At first it seemed they were going to use the same template for all nations but they actually put _*some*_ effort in for Turkey and Croatia and deviated from it a bit

Really like France's home kit, their away kit however looks like a cheap replica jersey









England's kits...yikes! Home kit looks cheap and a weird combination of all white with red socks. The away kits are similar to the USA kits at the last World Cup. They just don't scream 'England' to me, the away kit looks like something Russia would wear


----------



## DyerMaker66*

Memphis The Pie said:


> England's aren't much better.




I dig it. I have a red one that looks exactly like it.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Round out the Nike kits, Portugal's are pretty generic while the away kit has not yet officially been released but its expected to be all turquoise 






Croatia's home kit stays largely the same, only this time the checkers are smaller and more slanted in an inspiration of the 1998 kits, only weird thing is the checkered socks. For the first time in a while the away kits are actually decent.










Turkey's kit get a mixed reaction on twitter, I personally like them, especially the home kit but many people note its a Spiderman shirt  At least its something unique and not the basic Nike template










Poland's kits are pretty generic and always have been since they changed to Nike


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> I'm personally not a big Mathieu fan at all, but perhaps a tactical decision considering Mathieu's pace and versatility. I can see it going either way based on current form. Kurzawa is a shock though.
> 
> Laporte really hasn't been so good as to warrant some of the praise he gets. He looks good considering his age, but he's not consistent enough if you ask me. Of course playing at Atleti can leave him exposed at times.




Considering, the possibility of losing him to Spain is quite real, Evilo's right to be upset. I know you're not a big fan of the kid but in his age group who's better? You can argue Marquinhos but even that it's a toss up at this point. Although, one could say Rugani is probably in the best place to develop.


----------



## les Habs

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> Considering, the possibility of losing him to Spain is quite real, Evilo's right to be upset. I know you're not a big fan of the kid but in his age group who's better? You can argue Marquinhos but even that it's a toss up at this point. Although, one could say Rugani is probably in the best place to develop.




I wasn't commenting on him based on a possibility of him playing for Spain.

Varane is better, though he too has some proving to do. Either way I said he looks good for his age. Not sure what the problem is or how that begs the question as to who is better in his age group.


----------



## Ivan13

Our kits looks good to me.


----------



## Power Man

omg wtf have they done with France kits

It should be the classic BBR pattern


The Croatia kits are pretty cool


----------



## Chloraflora

Sigh at those kits. The previous French one was excellent, now... Ugh. And England? For crying out loud - white/navy/white, please and thank you.


----------



## Ceremony

Going to be one of the ugliest tournaments in living memory. Croatia's away shirt looks like a cleaning cloth.


----------



## Jeffrey

The most awful kits I have ever seen. This euro is not starting very well.


----------



## Bures Elbow

What the **** have my eyes just seen?!

Awful jerseys.

Portugals are so bad, and the away uniform is all Turquoise....

How hard is it to have a Maroon jerseym yellow names/numbers/trim, green shorts, green/red socks?

God damn


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

All of this kits are awful except for Croatia's, which is amazing (as per usual, I love the checkered design for them).


----------



## Halladay

I like Turkey's home and Croatia's away.


----------



## Maverick41

LÃ¶w has nominated 27 players for the friendlies against England and Italy:

*Goalkeepers:*
Manuel Neuer (Bayern MÃ¼nchen) 
Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen)
Marc-AndrÃ© ter Stegen (FC Barcelona)
Kevin Trapp (Paris St. Germain)

*Defenders:*
Emre Can (FC Liverpool)
Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund)
Jonas Hector (1. FC KÃ¶ln)
Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
Shkodran Mustafi (FC Valencia)
Sebastian Rudy (1899 Hoffenheim)
Antonio RÃ¼diger (AS Rom)
Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)

*Midfielders:*
Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen)
Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg)
Mario GÃ¶tze (Bayern MÃ¼nchen)
Sami Khedira (Juventus Turin)
Christoph Kramer (Bayer Leverkusen)
Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
Max Kruse (VfL Wolfsburg)
Mesut Ã–zil (FC Arsenal)
Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray Istanbul)
Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United)

*Attackers:*
Mario Gomez (Besiktas Istanbul)
Thomas MÃ¼ller (Bayern MÃ¼nchen)
AndrÃ© SchÃ¼rrle (VfL Wolfsburg)
Kevin Volland (1899 Hoffenheim)

There is a good chance that the roster for the EUROS consists of 23 of these players.
Although youngsters like Leroy SanÃ©, Joshua Kimmich, Julian Weigl and Mitchell Weiser might also get some consideration.


----------



## Jeffrey

Maverick41 said:


> LÃ¶w has nominated 27 players for the friendlies against England and Italy:
> 
> *Goalkeepers:*
> Manuel Neuer (Bayern MÃ¼nchen)
> Bernd Leno (Bayer Leverkusen)
> Marc-AndrÃ© ter Stegen (FC Barcelona)
> Kevin Trapp (Paris St. Germain)
> 
> *Defenders:*
> Emre Can (FC Liverpool)
> Matthias Ginter (Borussia Dortmund)
> Jonas Hector (1. FC KÃ¶ln)
> Mats Hummels (Borussia Dortmund)
> Shkodran Mustafi (FC Valencia)
> Sebastian Rudy (1899 Hoffenheim)
> Antonio RÃ¼diger (AS Rom)
> Jonathan Tah (Bayer Leverkusen)
> 
> *Midfielders:*
> Karim Bellarabi (Bayer Leverkusen)
> Julian Draxler (VfL Wolfsburg)
> Mario GÃ¶tze (Bayern MÃ¼nchen)
> Sami Khedira (Juventus Turin)
> Christoph Kramer (Bayer Leverkusen)
> Toni Kroos (Real Madrid)
> Max Kruse (VfL Wolfsburg)
> Mesut Ã–zil (FC Arsenal)
> Lukas Podolski (Galatasaray Istanbul)
> Marco Reus (Borussia Dortmund)
> Bastian Schweinsteiger (Manchester United)
> 
> *Attackers:*
> Mario Gomez (Besiktas Istanbul)
> Thomas MÃ¼ller (Bayern MÃ¼nchen)
> AndrÃ© SchÃ¼rrle (VfL Wolfsburg)
> Kevin Volland (1899 Hoffenheim)
> 
> There is a good chance that the roster for the EUROS consists of 23 of these players.
> Although youngsters like Leroy SanÃ©, Joshua Kimmich, Julian Weigl and Mitchell Weiser might also get some consideration.



I'm surprised to not see Emre Can to the list he has been Liverpool motor for the past few months.

Edit: My bad he is listed as a defender.


----------



## Ivan13

Jeffrey said:


> I'm surprised to not see Emre Can to the list he has been Liverpool motor for the past few months.




He's on it.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Can is there, listed as a defender. 

Of course Podolski is there


----------



## Power Man

Del Bosque's selection :

*Porteros*: Casillas (LOL), De Gea, Rico.

*Defensas:* Juanfran, Mario Gaspar, PiquÃ©, Bartra, Ramos(lol), Nacho, J. Alba, Azpilicueta.

*Centrocampistas:* Busquets, San JosÃ©, Sergi Roberto, Cesc, Koke, Thiago, Isco (lol), Silva, Mata

*Atacantes:* AlcÃ¡cer, Morata, Aduriz , Nolito, Pedro.


----------



## Just Win

Jeffrey said:


> I'm surprised to not see Emre Can to the list he has been Liverpool motor for the past few months.




He is on the list as 1st defender listed. I understand you not finding him since you looked under midfield and there is no Can. LÃ¶w loves playing midfielders as fullback and ignores actual fullbacks like Durm, Schmelzer or Weiser.

And Sebastian Rudy has to be LÃ¶w's illegitimate son. There is no other logical explanation why Rudy still gets nominated every time.


----------



## Savi

McSorleyStick said:


> Del Bosque's selection :
> 
> *Porteros*: Casillas (LOL), De Gea, Rico.
> 
> *Defensas:* Juanfran, Mario Gaspar, PiquÃ©, Bartra, Ramos(lol), Nacho, J. Alba, Azpilicueta.
> 
> *Centrocampistas:* Busquets, San JosÃ©, Sergi Roberto, Cesc, Koke, Thiago, Isco (lol), Silva, Mata
> 
> *Atacantes:* AlcÃ¡cer, Morata, Aduriz , Nolito, Pedro.




Pretty cool to see Sergi Roberto in there. I'd say thats well deserved considering what kind of season he's having. On the other hand, not sure why Bartra still gets called up. He barely gets any minutes at BarÃ§a.


This the Belgium squad selected for the game against Portugal. Lots of injuries so no Kompany, Hazard, De Bruyne, Vertonghen.. I'm guessing Wilmots will try out some new stuff, maybe make some tactical changes to his usual system. There's no Charly Musonda by the way, many people thought he would get a call up after his incredible start at Betis.

T. Courtois (Chelsea), S. Mignolet (Liverpool), J. Gillet (KV Mechelen)

G. Gillet (Nantes), D. Boyata (Celtic), J. Denayer (Galatasaray), T. Alderweireld (Tottenham), N. Lombaerts (Zenit), T. Vermaelen (Barcelona), B. Engels (Club Brugge), J. Lukaku (Oostende)

A. Witsel (Zenit), R. Nainggolan (Roma), M. Dembele (Tottenham), M. Fellaini (Man Utd), N. Chadli (Tottenham), D. Mertens (Napoli), T. Hazard (BMG)

D. Origi (Liverpool), C. Benteke (Liverpool), Y. Carrasco (Atletico), M. Batshuayi (Marseille), R. Lukaku (Everton)


----------



## Maverick41

Just Win said:


> He is on the list as 1st defender listed. I understand you not finding him since you looked under midfield and there is no Can. LÃ¶w loves playing midfielders as fullback and ignores actual fullbacks like Durm, Schmelzer or Weiser.
> 
> And Sebastian Rudy has to be LÃ¶w's illegitimate son. There is no other logical explanation why Rudy still gets nominated every time.




I merely posted LÃ¶w's selection and refrained from commenting on it, because to say that I don't like LÃ¶w is an understatement and I probably would have gone on a long and possibly offensive rant.

But it looks like others are pointing out some of the potential flaws of this selection so I don't have to get all worked up. Thanks for that.


----------



## Power Man




----------



## Bures Elbow

Portugal squad to play vs Bulgaria and Belgium.

Missing Moutinho and Coentrao due to not being 100% fit...both will be on the Euro squad in place of Adrien and Eliseu(hopefully)

Guarda-redes: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (DÃ­namo Zagreb) e Rui PatrÃ­cio (Sporting)

Defesas: Bruno Alves (FenerbahÃ§e), CÃ©dric e JosÃ© Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Pepe (Real Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient), Ricardo Carvalho (MÃ³naco) e Vieirinha (Wolfsburgo)

MÃ©dios: Adrien Silva, JoÃ£o MÃ¡rio e William Carvalho (Sporting), AndrÃ© Gomes (ValÃªncia), Bernardo Silva (MÃ³naco), Danilo Pereira (FC Porto) e Renato Sanches (Benfica)

AvanÃ§ados: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Danny (Zenit), Ã‰der (Lille), Nani (FenerbahÃ§e), Rafa (SC Braga) e Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas) 

Adrien/Eliseu out, Moutinho and Coentrao in, with Quaresma not going.

Thats our squad IMHO


----------



## les Habs

McSorleyStick said:


> Del Bosque's selection :
> 
> *Porteros*: Casillas (LOL), De Gea, Rico.
> 
> *Defensas:* Juanfran, Mario Gaspar, PiquÃ©, Bartra, Ramos(lol), Nacho, J. Alba, Azpilicueta.
> 
> *Centrocampistas:* Busquets, San JosÃ©, Sergi Roberto, Cesc, Koke, Thiago, Isco (lol), Silva, Mata
> 
> *Atacantes:* AlcÃ¡cer, Morata, Aduriz , Nolito, Pedro.




Am I pulling an Emre Can and missing Iniesta? Did he retire from the NT? Am I spacing on that one? I'm not mourning his absence by any means, but if he didn't he should be del Bosque's second choice.

Not much firepower there. It'll be interesting to see how del Bosque lines them up and who starts in midfield and up front.



Savi said:


> Pretty cool to see Sergi Roberto in there. I'd say thats well deserved considering what kind of season he's having. On the other hand, not sure why Bartra still gets called up. He barely gets any minutes at BarÃ§a.




Happy for Sergi Roberto and it's deserved. Not thrilled to see him there as a club supporter though, but he probably won't get that many minutes and the club isn't doing an international tour this year.

I agree in terms of Bartra's minutes, but who are the better Spanish CBs out there? Pique and Ramos. So he should get the call and he's been capped for Spain's youth teams for years.


----------



## Ivan13

Bures Elbow said:


> Portugal squad to play vs Bulgaria and Belgium.
> 
> Missing Moutinho and Coentrao due to not being 100% fit...both will be on the Euro squad in place of Adrien and Eliseu(hopefully)
> 
> Guarda-redes: Anthony Lopes (Lyon), Eduardo (DÃ­namo Zagreb) e Rui PatrÃ­cio (Sporting)
> 
> Defesas: Bruno Alves (FenerbahÃ§e), CÃ©dric e JosÃ© Fonte (Southampton), Eliseu (Benfica), Pepe (Real Madrid), Raphael Guerreiro (Lorient), Ricardo Carvalho (MÃ³naco) e Vieirinha (Wolfsburgo)
> 
> MÃ©dios: Adrien Silva, JoÃ£o MÃ¡rio e William Carvalho (Sporting), AndrÃ© Gomes (ValÃªncia), Bernardo Silva (MÃ³naco), Danilo Pereira (FC Porto) e Renato Sanches (Benfica)
> 
> AvanÃ§ados: Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid), Danny (Zenit), Ã‰der (Lille), Nani (FenerbahÃ§e), Rafa (SC Braga) e Ricardo Quaresma (Besiktas)
> 
> Adrien/Eliseu out, Moutinho and Coentrao in, with Quaresma not going.
> 
> Thats our squad IMHO




I find it hard to believe that Portugal hasn't got three better keepers than Eduardo. He's been terrible this season.


----------



## Jeffrey

Anthony Lopes is amazing for Lyon.


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> I wasn't commenting on him based on a possibility of him playing for Spain.
> 
> Varane is better, though he too has some proving to do. Either way I said he looks good for his age. Not sure what the problem is or how that begs the question as to who is better in his age group.




I assume that's why Evilo wants him to get called up, whoever maybe better based on form. 

It wasn't really directed at that specific post but I was just wondering why you seem down on him. Varane is a beast but I think Laporte can be just as good.


----------



## les Habs

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> I assume that's why Evilo wants him to get called up, whoever maybe better based on form.
> 
> It wasn't really directed at that specific post but I was just wondering why you seem down on him. Varane is a beast but I think Laporte can be just as good.




I wasn't thinking about that and while I remember him commenting on it I really haven't followed the story so it's not top of mind. 

I'm not down on him. In fact within his age group he looks to be a top CB for the future. How good he actually is though might be another question. By that I mean look at today's best CBs and in my opinion there aren't that many that are top drawer. Still I think he'll be one of the best of his generation, but it's a matter of how good that generation is. Also, as I was saying, I just don't think he's proven himself that much. He's played in a number of matches for sure and looked good for his age, but his actual performances as a whole don't seem to add up to his stature say on this forum for example or his price tag. I feel the same way about Varane who I just drafted less than a year ago and who I still think looks to be the best CB of his generation. Still since some of Varane's great appearances about two years ago he's not necessarily been as good. Anyway, at the end of the day if you told me that BarÃ§a were going to sell Vermaelen and Adriano (the latter because Lucho doesn't play him) and bring in Laporte I'd generally welcome the change. I might still think we could do better and would still make a point about Bartra getting minutes, but overall I'd make such a move.


----------



## Evilo

Jeffrey said:


> Anthony Lopes is amazing for Lyon.



Yup, Lopes is Fra... erh Portugal's future in nets.


----------



## Pouchkine

Some incredibly stupid comments by Van Basten today regarding two players who decided to play for Morocco. Don't he understand it's part of the "game" today? Players can choose their national teams almost like their clubs teams. The rule or lack of one is what's stupid. We see this all the time be it with France Germany Brazil Holland Switzerland England...these days when the players with "double nationality" are good enough and sure to make the team they choose the "big" country...when they are not sure or they are not happy about not being selected young enough they then remember how much they love their roots and their ancestry...Most of them of course not all, and I know there is exceptions and I applaud them. Here in Canada we had to deal with Jonathan De Guzman...

So what's really stupid in all of this is 1.Van Basten 2.The rules 3.Some players...


----------



## Pouchkine

And thinking about this anyone remember how Van Basten acted toward Salomon Kalou in around 2005 when he was National Team coach? The guy was a great player but as a coach not so much...


----------



## Duchene2MacKinnon

les Habs said:


> Am I pulling an Emre Can and missing *Iniesta*? Did he retire from the NT? Am I spacing on that one? I'm not mourning his absence by any means, but if he didn't he should be del Bosque's second choice.
> 
> Not much firepower there. It'll be interesting to see how del Bosque lines them up and who starts in midfield and up front.
> 
> 
> 
> Happy for Sergi Roberto and it's deserved. Not thrilled to see him there as a club supporter though, but he probably won't get that many minutes and the club isn't doing an international tour this year.
> 
> I agree in terms of Bartra's minutes, but who are the better Spanish CBs out there? Pique and Ramos. So he should get the call and he's been capped for Spain's youth teams for years.




He's not called up for tomorrow's game either, I'll assume thats why he wasn't called up for Spain. I'm certain he didn't retire. 

Ingio and Ruiz probably deserve a spot over Bartra.


----------



## cgf

I really like those croatian kits and Turkey's away ones.



Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Can is there, listed as a defender.
> 
> Of course Podolski is there




Podolski, Rudy, Schweini, Gomez, Bellarabi; but no Kimmich, Arnold, Dahoud, Weigl or Schmelzer. *sigh* 

...Jogi gunna Jogi...


----------



## les Habs

Duchene2MacKinnon said:


> He's not called up for tomorrow's game either, I'll assume thats why he wasn't called up for Spain. I'm certain he didn't retire.
> 
> Ingio and Ruiz probably deserve a spot over Bartra.




Didn't see that. That makes sense. Either way I'd rather not see him suit up for Spain.

If you mean in terms of minutes played this season I'd agree. Still I rate Bartra as a better CB.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Italy's squad for friendly matches against Spain and Germany

*Goalkeepers:* Buffon (Juventus), Perin (Genoa), Sirigu (PSG)
*Defenders:* Acerbi (Sassuolo), Antonelli (Milan), Astori (Fiorentina), Barzagli (Juventus), Bonucci (Juventus), Darmian (Manchester United), De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Ranocchia (Sampdoria)
*Midfielders:* Bonaventura (Milan), Candreva (Lazio), Florenzi (Roma), Giaccherini (Bologna), Montolivo (Milan), Thiago Motta (PSG), Jorginho (Napoli), Parolo (Lazio), Soriano (Sampdoria), Verratii (PSG)
*Forwards:* Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Eder (Inter Milan), El Shaarawy (Roma), Immobile (Torino), Insigne (Napoli), Pelle (Southampton), Zaza (Juventus)

No Chiellini and Marchisio due to injury, first call-up for Brazilian born midfielder Jorginho and Fiorentina attacking winger Bernardeschi. The defense doesn't seem all that convincing to me outside the Juve players


----------



## HajdukSplit

international friendlies all this week starting from Wednesday and ending on Tuesday, here are all the games involving the 24 Euro teams

Wednesday March 23
*Croatia* vs. Israel
*Romania* vs. Lithuania
*Poland* vs. Serbia

Thursday March 24
*Turkey* vs. *Sweden*
Denmark vs. *Iceland*
*Ukraine* vs. Cyprus
*Czech Republic* vs. Scotland
*Italy* vs. *Spain*
*Wales* vs. *Northern Ireland*

Friday March 25
*Slovakia* vs. Latvia
*Rep. of Ireland* vs. *Switzerland*
Netherlands vs. *France*
*Portugal* vs. Bulgaria

Saturday March 26
*Russia* vs. Lithuania
*Austria* vs. *Albania*
*Poland* vs. Finland
*Hungary* vs. *Croatia*
*Germany* vs. *England*

Sunday March 27
*Romania* vs. *Spain*

Monday March 28
*Ukraine* vs. *Wales*
*Northern Ireland* vs. Slovenia

Tuesday March 29
Greece vs. *Iceland*
Luxembourg vs. *Albania*
*Austria* vs. *Turkey*
*Sweden* vs. *Czech Republic*
*Switzerland* vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina
*Belgium* vs. *Portugal *
*Germany* vs. *Italy* 
*Rep. of Ireland* vs. *Slovakia*
*England* vs. Netherlands
*France* vs. *Russia*


----------



## East Coast Bias

HajdukSplit said:


> international friendlies all this week starting from Wednesday and ending on Tuesday, here are all the games involving the 24 Euro teams
> 
> Wednesday March 23
> *Croatia* vs. Israel
> *Romania* vs. Lithuania
> *Poland* vs. Serbia
> 
> Thursday March 24
> *Turkey* vs. *Sweden*
> Denmark vs. *Iceland*
> *Ukraine* vs. Cyprus
> *Czech Republic* vs. Scotland
> *Italy* vs. *Spain*
> *Wales* vs. *Northern Ireland*
> 
> Friday March 25
> *Slovakia* vs. Latvia
> *Rep. of Ireland* vs. *Switzerland*
> Netherlands vs. *France*
> *Portugal* vs. Bulgaria
> 
> Saturday March 26
> *Russia* vs. Lithuania
> *Austria* vs. *Albania*
> *Poland* vs. Finland
> *Hungary* vs. *Croatia*
> *Germany* vs. *England*
> 
> Sunday March 27
> *Romania* vs. *Spain*
> 
> Monday March 28
> *Ukraine* vs. *Wales*
> *Northern Ireland* vs. Slovenia
> 
> Tuesday March 29
> Greece vs. *Iceland*
> Luxembourg vs. *Albania*
> *Austria* vs. *Turkey*
> *Sweden* vs. *Czech Republic*
> *Switzerland* vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina
> *Belgium* vs. *Portugal *
> *Germany* vs. *Italy*
> *Rep. of Ireland* vs. *Slovakia*
> *England* vs. Netherlands
> *France* vs. *Russia*




Wait till those Swiss fans realize all the bars in Dublin are closed on Friday (Good Friday).


----------



## Savi

The Belgium v Portugal friendly has been cancelled.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Croatia will play 3-5-2 today with Perisic as the left wingback apparently...ummm ok, I guess it's ok to experiment in a friendly against Israel but that better not be the plan for Euro


----------



## Savi

Savi said:


> The Belgium v Portugal friendly has been cancelled.




update: game won't be cancelled, but will be played in Portugal (Leiria) instead


----------



## Ivan13

HajdukSplit said:


> Croatia will play 3-5-2 today with Perisic as the left wingback apparently...ummm ok, I guess it's ok to experiment in a friendly against Israel but that better not be the plan for Euro




Čačić is doing his worst Ćiro impersonation.


----------



## HajdukSplit

All three Euro participants won their friendly matches today, quite surprising they decided to play today with a lot of league matches taking place on Sunday then the players having to fly to their home countries, doubt they even trained much

Croatia beat Israel 2:0 thanks to two goals from the Inter duo Perisic and Brozovic, Croatia experimented with formations and didn't play the best stuff, not sure a 3-5-2 will work against stronger teams as even Israel were causing some problems

Romania beat Lithuania and Poland defeated Serbia by the score of 1:0. Poland weren't too impressive against Serbia who had the same problems as usual, they are good in possession but can't finish. Poland were surprisingly very defensive


----------



## HajdukSplit

Italy-Spain is such a snoozefest, Italy working hard but they are sloppy in possession while Spain are typical slow possession based barely getting forward


----------



## Savi

I'm having trouble staying awake as well


----------



## HajdukSplit

Italy playing well this second half, especially with the inclusion of Insigne. I will fault Buffon for Spain's equalizer, should have done better

In the earlier matches, Turkey defeat Sweden 2:1 with two goals from Tosun, Iceland lost 2:1 away to Denmark, Ukraine beat Cyprus 1:0


----------



## Savi

Spain did nothing for 70 minutes, then Italy scored, suddenly Spain went forward and immediatly tied it up, and then just continued doing nothing for the remaining 20 minutes


----------



## HajdukSplit

Solid performance by Italy but as Savi said Spain were very boring today, like they didn't want to be there. Although Aduriz scored it was more due to poor goalkeeping. I still don't think Spain know who their #9 will be at the Euros, if in fact they do use one, Aduriz and Morata didn't help their case today while Costa has been useless for Spain since the World Cup

Elsewhere in the later kickoffs: Wales needed a late penalty kick to earn a 1:1 draw at home to N. Ireland in a match played in the typical British rain. Wales were without Bale. The Czechs lose at home to Scotland who scored early through Anya and apparently defended well, limiting the Czechs to half chances


----------



## HajdukSplit

Portugal lose at home to Bulgaria, its only a friendly but Portugal has too many of these kind of results, Ronaldo did miss a penalty though. Ireland defeat the Swiss 1:0 in Dublin, France beat Netherlands 3:2 in Amsterdam while Slovakia continue their poor form for the end of qualifications with a scoreless draw at home to Latvia


----------



## spintheblackcircle

England Hotspur


----------



## HajdukSplit

Poland go two for two in their March friendlies, today a comprehensive 5:0 win over Finland. Two goals each from Grosicki and Wszolek, none from Lewandowski in the two matches but he came off the bench today

Russia defeat Lithuania 3:0, Austria beat Albania 2:1 thanks to two early goals while Hungary and Croatia play their traditional draw in Budapest, goalscorers were Mandzukic and Dzsudzsak


----------



## HajdukSplit

What the hell are England and Germany wearing? England wearing kits suitable for Russia or the Czechs while Germany's kit are even worse


----------



## ecemleafs

HajdukSplit said:


> What the hell are England and Germany wearing? England wearing kits suitable for Russia or the Czechs while Germany's kit are even worse



i like germanys kit


----------



## Deficient Mode

ecemleafs said:


> i like germanys kit




Same. They're just not very German.

Nice shot from Kroos. Horrendous keeping though.


----------



## Theon

Lallana has been awful.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Germany's back four 

Gomez


----------



## spintheblackcircle

England's Harry Kane!

Wow, that was ALL Kane.


----------



## Deficient Mode

TFW LÃ¶w prefers SchÃ¼rrle to Brandt and Draxler.

Apparently his 50th cap too.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

It's a Vardy Party! Level at 2, what a goal

....I like this side.


----------



## Halladay

Superstar Vardy.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Can't say England don't deserve that. Generally strong performance from them today.

And on comes Poldi lol


----------



## Cassano

Poldi to save the day.


----------



## Savi

Why is Podolski still on this team?


----------



## Cassano

Savi said:


> Why is Podolski still on this team?




Experience, leadership and the left foot.

He's had a good year with Galatasaray as well.


----------



## Hesher

Vardy


----------



## Deficient Mode

Savi said:


> Why is Podolski still on this team?






mint said:


> Experience, leadership and the left foot.
> 
> He's had a good year with Galatasaray as well.




Because LÃ¶w has numerous pet players who get far more playing time than their actual quality merits. See also: RÃ¼diger, Rudy, Hector, SchÃ¼rrle, and Ginter. 

He also has quality players at his disposal whom he frequently and wrongly scapegoats when his own mediocrity is to blame. See: Hummels and Schmelzer


----------



## Halladay

What a miss. That was a sitter.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Oh, Alli........


----------



## Halladay

Please tell me Can wont be Germany's right back at the Euro's. That wont end well.


----------



## Deficient Mode

856 said:


> Please tell me Can wont be Germany's right back at the Euro's. That wont end well.




I'm hoping for Kimmich and Weiser. LÃ¶w is very slow to integrate new players though, and it's unlikely anyone who debuted in the Bundesliga this year - no matter how good - will make the Euro squad.


----------



## Halladay

nice goal.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

The Dier Wolf!!!!!!


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Germany 2 Spurs 2


----------



## Shrimper

Yessss dier

Fantastic performance.


----------



## Deficient Mode

LMAO LÃ¶w never ceases to entertain


----------



## Shrimper

Don't care it is a friendly, brilliant result


----------



## Hesher

Looking at Dier's goal, why aren't goalkeepers putting people on the posts anymore?


----------



## Deficient Mode

Hesher said:


> Looking at Dier's goal, why aren't goalkeepers putting people on the posts anymore?




meh.


----------



## Theon

Rooney should be no where near this team. Keep it as is.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Will Rooney even make the team?


----------



## Maverick41

Deficient Mode said:


> I'm hoping for Kimmich and Weiser. LÃ¶w is very slow to integrate new players though, and it's unlikely anyone who debuted in the Bundesliga this year - no matter how good - will make the Euro squad.




Yeah, I have a hard time believing LÃ¶w would nominate, much less play, Weiser.

I mean why would LÃ¶w want a FB playing FB, if he can have a CB or a CM playing that position? That would make no sense at all.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Maverick41 said:


> Yeah, I have a hard time believing LÃ¶w would nominate, much less play, Weiser.
> 
> I mean why would LÃ¶w want a FB playing FB, if he can have a CB or a CM playing that position? That would make no sense at all.




I have no problem with him playing a player trained as a CM if it's Kimmich. Can on the other hand...

Of course I overlooked that Tah has been given national team consideration in his first good year in the Bundesliga, whereas Kimmich, Dahoud, and Weigl haven't... 

Weigl has probably been the best of those three players this season, but would have helped this team today less than the other two. Dahoud>>>>>Khedira and Kimmich>>>>>>>Can or Khedira.


----------



## Adonis Creed

put Lalana or Wellbz on the bench and start Vardy or Barkley...

they provide much more.

Good stuff by Henderson tonight...he missed some chances but he created a ton.

Alii is a special player...so calm and technical


----------



## Venkman

We better play like that in the summer. Great turn by Kane for his goal. Alli was great too. 

Even Hodgson should be able to see that Rooney shouldn't start.


----------



## Bure80

Im not so high on Kimmich as defender. He is not much tested at Munich. Dont like MÃ¼ller as winger too. I hope Weiser will get a chance.

My prefered team would be:

--------------------------Neuer

Weiser-------Boateng----------Hummels--------Schmelzer

------------------Kroos-----------GÃ¼ndogan

-----------GÃ¶tze----------Ã–zil----------------Reus

---------------------------MÃ¼ller


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bure80 said:


> Im not so high on Kimmich as defender. He is not much tested at Munich. Dont like MÃ¼ller as winger too. I hope Weiser will get a chance.
> 
> My prefered team would be:
> 
> --------------------------Neuer
> 
> Weiser-------Boateng----------Hummels--------Schmelzer
> 
> ------------------Kroos-----------GÃ¼ndogan
> 
> -----------GÃ¶tze----------Ã–zil----------------Reus
> 
> ---------------------------MÃ¼ller




Kimmich is awesome as a defender. Great timing and anticipation with his defensive actions. A lot of energy and good in pressing. I don't see many drawbacks to playing him as a full back.

The first team selection isn't as big of a problem as the subs and the tactics. LÃ¶w will probably arrive at a similar team apart from the full backs. I expect and hope for a midfield of Kramer, Kroos, and GÃ¼ndogan, and a flexible front three of Ã–zil, MÃ¼ller, and one of GÃ¶tze and Reus.

If some of these players can't get back in form, this team isn't looking very good for the Euros. LÃ¶w is bad at straying from the norm and continuing to win without his first choice players.


----------



## Cassano

Bure80 said:


> Im not so high on Kimmich as defender. He is not much tested at Munich. Dont like MÃ¼ller as winger too. I hope Weiser will get a chance.
> 
> My prefered team would be:
> 
> --------------------------Neuer
> 
> Weiser-------Boateng----------Hummels--------Schmelzer
> 
> ------------------Kroos-----------GÃ¼ndogan
> 
> -----------GÃ¶tze----------Ã–zil----------------Reus
> 
> ---------------------------MÃ¼ller




You know guys like Schweinsteiger and Khedira will be getting starts.


----------



## YNWA14

Liverpool <3 Hendo and Clyne bringing in the assists, but highlight of the game is that Vardy goal. Oh my lord what a goal. He's just having a party.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## cgf

Shame Jogi will never realize we should be playing:

Reus/Kruse --- Mueller
Ozil
Gundogan - Dahoud*
Kroos/Weigl/Kimmich
Schmelzer/Arnold - Hummels - Boateng - Weiser/Kimmich
Neuer

*Kramer/Khedira/Can​


Savi said:


> Why is Podolski still on this team?




Because Jogi is still incompetent.


----------



## Bure80

Deficient Mode said:


> Kimmich is awesome as a defender. Great timing and anticipation with his defensive actions. A lot of energy and good in pressing. I don't see many drawbacks to playing him as a full back.
> 
> The first team selection isn't as big of a problem as the subs and the tactics. LÃ¶w will probably arrive at a similar team apart from the full backs. I expect and hope for a midfield of Kramer, Kroos, and GÃ¼ndogan, and a flexible front three of Ã–zil, MÃ¼ller, and one of GÃ¶tze and Reus.
> 
> If some of these players can't get back in form, this team isn't looking very good for the Euros. LÃ¶w is bad at straying from the norm and continuing to win without his first choice players.




Kimmich is to small for a defender. He is something like 5'8 or 5'9.
He can play defender for Munich with a posession like 90%.
Germany will be in trouble with him especially with corners or crosses. With the other part i agree.

@Mint 
Sadly i think so too. LÃ¶w have some players he loves even they are not at 100% like Schweinsteiger.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Germany are dominating possession in most games as well...


----------



## Bure80

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> Germany are dominating possession in most games as well...




Sure but not in the important games. I think we will never see Kimmich as defender for Germany. There is no need to bring him with Hummels and Boateng being the starters. His place will be defensive midfield.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Bure80 said:


> Sure but not in the important games. I think we will never see Kimmich as defender for Germany. There is no need to bring him with Hummels and Boateng being the starters. His place will be defensive midfield.




We're talking about using him as a full back, not as a central defender. Although if Boateng somehow weren't fit for the tournament, I wouldn't mind if Sven or Kimmich were played next to Hummels instead of RÃ¼diger, Ginter, or whichever other second rate pet Jogi would field.


----------



## Cassano

Harry Kane is Germany's answer to Muller, but even then he's a far more clinical finisher than Muller was at the same age.


----------



## Live in the Now

mint said:


> Harry Kane is Germany's answer to Muller, but even then he's a far more clinical finisher than Muller was at the same age.




You just made it pretty obvious that you didn't watch the 2010 World Cup.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Even if Kane were a better finisher than MÃ¼ller (not an easy thing to compare), there's a lot more to MÃ¼ller than a lanky player who can finish, and he's better than Kane and everyone else in the world in some of these areas (mostly his movement without the ball to open space for teammates, as well as for himself). I don't like the comparison anyway when MÃ¼ller spends most of his time between an attacking midfielder/right striker instead of as a center forward.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

mint said:


> Harry Kane is Germany's answer to Muller, but even then he's a far more clinical finisher than Muller was at the same age.




Thomas Muller won the World Cup Golden Boot at the same age that Kane was warming bench on loan at Norwich... When Muller was 22 (Kane's current age) he scored in the UCL final... this statement is ridiculous. 

In response to DM, I think the Muller-Kane comparison is a fairly apt one in regards to playing style. Kane's game is based around positional sense in the same way that Muller's is. Muller does play quite a bit out wide, but he plays CF enough for Germany that I think the comparison is very reasonable. Muller is clearly far better. I'm a big Harry Kane fan, but he's no Thomas Muller.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Thomas Muller won the World Cup Golden Boot at the same age that Kane was warming bench on loan at Norwich... When Muller was 22 (Kane's current age) he scored in the UCL final... this statement is ridiculous.
> 
> In response to DM, I think the Muller-Kane comparison is a fairly apt one in regards to playing style. Kane's game is based around positional sense in the same way that Muller's is. Muller does play quite a bit out wide, but he plays CF enough for Germany that I think the comparison is very reasonable. Muller is clearly far better. I'm a big Harry Kane fan, but he's no Thomas Muller.




I think MÃ¼ller is more well-rounded, and a better passer and creator than Kane. Most great strikers have great positional sense. On a more specific levels, MÃ¼ller's movements and technique are different (and more unorthodox) than Kane's. I just think the comparison obscures some aspects of MÃ¼ller's game. No player is overwhelmingly similar to MÃ¼ller, even if he shares a few things in common with some other players.

It's ok to call Kane the English Thomas MÃ¼ller in a specific area; I just disapprove when someone says "but he can finish even better" (which to me sounds like Kane can do all that MÃ¼ller can and then some).


----------



## Bure80

Deficient Mode said:


> We're talking about using him as a full back, not as a central defender. Although if Boateng somehow weren't fit for the tournament, I wouldn't mind if Sven or Kimmich were played next to Hummels instead of RÃ¼diger, Ginter, or whichever other second rate pet Jogi would field.




Ok, so we are talking about apples and bananas.
I thought you talk about central defender because he played this at Munich the last time. Full back he can play, even if the competition is high. Anyway to find a good full back is one of the last problems Germany have.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Wales fall against Ukraine in Kiev but their performance wasn't too bad considering it wasn't their strongest side. Though without Bale they don't have any legit threat for goals. 

Northern Ireland defeat Slovenia 1:0 and continue their decent run, unbeaten since March 2015, so a whole year, in fairness they haven't faced the greatest competition but a tough team to beat


----------



## YNWA14

Finally a good team selection minus Blind over van Dijk (but not surprising given that his father is the coach). With Robben, Strootman and Janmaat out this might actually be the best team they can field. Really hoping Janssen, Memphis and Promes hook up well together...in theory they should, their skillsets are fairly complementary and Afellay has been very good from midfield.

Win or lose I just want to see Netherlands playing some positive football.


----------



## Evilo

First NT start for KantÃ© who retrieves the ball to Pogba, and then finishes the work with his first goal.

On his birthday.

DD should just call me as his assistant to advise him on who to pick up


----------



## YNWA14

No peno....


----------



## Evilo

France playing very well right now. That Kante/Pogba/Diarra midfield is highly impressive. One touch football, NICE.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Mario GÃ¶tze makes it 2:0 with a header, no less.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Not watching it but whats going on in Dublin, 2:2 between Ireland and Slovakia, Ireland with two penalties in two minutes then before halftime an own goal


----------



## HajdukSplit

Calhanoglu free kick goal vs. Austria


----------



## spintheblackcircle

great pass from Walker to Vardy.

Keep going, young men.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

The main difference between Mueller and Kane is that Mueller is an intelligent person which translates into an intelligent player with a considerable amount of cunning, Kane probably struggles to spell his own name.


----------



## Bon Esprit

Wow GÃ¶tze. That was pure skill.


----------



## Bon Esprit

4:0 Ã–zil. Italy don't seem very motivated tonight.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Italy is terrible.


----------



## Savi

Belgium lose 2-1 in Portugal. I know we had a lot of injuries but still a terrible game. Wilmots continues to prove why he's a bad coach. 

Pretty cool moment though with Jordan Lukaku assisting on big brother Romelu's goal.


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

Goetze had a very good match. Where's Pep when you need him to claim Mario still isn't fit?


----------



## SeawaterOnIce

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Italy is terrible.




Agree. It's been a steady decline since 2008. 2012 was an anomaly when Balotelli, Pirlo and Buffon beasted. 

I had a lot of people disagreed with me in 2013, but Italy is entering a dark era and there is little hope in sight. The last crop of decent players (age 23-26) are mediocre at the international stage and the country is producing little to no hopefuls that are under 21. Factor in racism and dropping popularity of Serie A and you have turned a lot of people away from Italian football. 

I often went to that country to play football in the summer during the 90's. I was one of the few younger players that would be on the pitch. It was apparent in 2014 that youth became _westernized _ and adapted to the lazy gamer sort of lifestyle. The pitch I used to play on is now a field of sand and shrub overgrowth. You don't see kids playing football. Basketball is more popular nowadays.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Euro 2016 champions England lose at home to Netherlands  

France beat Russia 4:2, didn't watch but read France played real well and Russia barely created anything until they scored twice out of nowhere

Not a Euro team but Scotland win twice against the Czechs and Denmark in their typical get results when it doesn't matter phase


----------



## Venkman

Boring game. Dutch 2nd goal was a foul. 1-1 would've been a fair score.

Thought we were better with 2 up front and the diamond midfield.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Full March friendly results

Group A
*FRANCE* (scored 7 goals in two wins over the Dutch and Russia but conceded 4)
*ROMANIA* (solid 0:0 draw with Spain where they did create some chances)
*ALBANIA* (lost 2:1 in Austria but recovered to beat 10-man Luxembourg 2:0)
*SWITZERLAND* (suffered two losses; away at Ireland and home to Bosnia)

Group B
*ENGLAND* (thrilling come from behind victory against Germany but then follow that with a loss to the Dutch at home)
*RUSSIA* (easily beat Lithuania but lost 4:2 in Paris to France)
*WALES* (without Bale they earned a draw with NIR and lost in Kiev to Ukraine)
*SLOVAKIA* (their struggling form continues, scoreless draw with Latvia and a 2:2 draw with Ireland, only three wins in their last eight)

Group C
*GERMANY* (shock loss to England after leading by two goals but convincingly beat Italy 4:1)
*UKRAINE* (pair of 1:0 home wins against Cyprus and Wales at home)
*POLAND* (two wins over Serbia and Finland and two clean sheets) 
*NORTHERN IRELAND* (draw with Wales followed by a win against Slovenia)

Group D
*SPAIN* (pair of away draws at Italy and Romania, not the best performances by them)
*CZECH REPUBLIC* (lost at home to Scotland but managed a draw in Sweden)
*TURKEY* (pair of impressive wins against fellow Euro participants Sweden and Austria)
*CROATIA* (won at home against Israel but held to a draw against Hungary)

Group E
*BELGIUM* (a weakened side lost 2:1 away in Portugal)
*ITALY* (solid 1:1 draw with Spain after showing some nice football at times followed by a thrashing to Germany)
*REP OF IRELAND* (two home games, beat the Swiss but drew at home to Slovakia)
*SWEDEN* (lost to Turkey then drew with the Czechs)

Group F
*PORTUGAL* (shock loss at home to Bulgaria but recovered to beat Belgium)
*ICELAND* (mixed bag; 2:1 loss at Denmark but came from behind to beat Greece in Athens 3:2)
*AUSTRIA* (beat Albania at home but lost to Turkey)
*HUNGARY* (solid performance against Croatia in their lone March friendly, 1:1 draw)


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

SeawaterOnIce said:


> Agree. It's been a steady decline since 2008. 2012 was an anomaly when Balotelli, Pirlo and Buffon beasted.
> 
> I had a lot of people disagreed with me in 2013, but Italy is entering a dark era and there is little hope in sight. The last crop of decent players (age 23-26) are mediocre at the international stage and the country is producing little to no hopefuls that are under 21. Factor in racism and dropping popularity of Serie A and you have turned a lot of people away from Italian football.
> 
> I often went to that country to play football in the summer during the 90's. I was one of the few younger players that would be on the pitch. It was apparent in 2014 that youth became _westernized _ and adapted to the lazy gamer sort of lifestyle. The pitch I used to play on is now a field of sand and shrub overgrowth. You don't see kids playing football. Basketball is more popular nowadays.




If Donnarumma is a super keeper, better than anyone of this era, they should stay around as good as they are right now because they always have a good defense and adding the best keeper in the world to that should at least give them a good defense. They really struggle for attacking midfielders and strikers though.


----------



## Bures Elbow

From a Portugal perspective the match against Bulgaria was just comically the personification of everything involving Portugeuse soccer in terms of not scoring with numerous chances then choking at a crucial point.

We should have easily won the match: Within the first 15 minutes we missed 2 1 V 1 opportunities with the keeper(to be fair he made an amazing save on Nani) and Ronaldo missed a sitter to top it all off. 

Then Bulgaria went within 20 yards of our goal for basically the only time in the match and scored due to Vieirinha and Pepe have a mental lapse where they went full ******. The Bulgarian keeper had a superb performance, stopping a Ronaldo pk, a freekick labeled top corner, and a few headers.

Then the second half was just old school Portugal not being able to score when reaching the 18 (Eder is a pylon).

As for the game against Belgium, I'm not sure how much can be taken away from it:

1-Belgium were missing Kompany/De Bruyne/Hazard/Carrasco/Vertongthen
2- Portugal missing Moutinho/Coentrao/Bernardo Silva resting on the bench at the start/Tiago

Santos started Adrien, Joao Mario and Andre Gomes to see if they could prove themselves to get a spot in the 23, leaving Rafa, Bernardo Silva etc on the bench as they already have spots assured.

Adrien was a bit average, but Joao Mario was absolutely immense and dominated midfield. Andre Gomes had his best performance wearing the national team jersey as well.

The defense was solid, and will improve with Coentrao in for Gurreiro (who was excellent and 10X better than Eliseu), and Carvalho in for Fonte.

Danilo will keep William Carvalho benched.

Bernardo Silva was class when he came on.

Quaresma and Eder missed absolute sitters in the second half, continuing the trend Nani set in the first. The fact Eder is a soccer player gives all of us here a hope...he's better off as a third centreback. He's what Lukaku would be, if Lukaku wasnt a soccer player. A running joke at this point.

All in all some positives from the younger players like Joao Mario, Raphael Gurreiro, Bernardo Silva, and Andre Gomes.

Now Lets just hope Fernando Santos isnt a idiot and starts this at the Euros with the correct players filling out the general squad:

------------------------------Patricio------------------------------------
------------Pepe-------------------R. Carvalho-----------------------------
Cedric--------------------------------------------------------------Coentrao
-----------------------------Danilo---------------------------------------------
-----------Moutinho---------------Joao Mario/Tiago/Andre Gomes---------
---------------------------B. Silva--------------------------------------------
---------------------Ronaldo-----Nani------------------------------------

Subs:
Rafa
William Carvalho
Vieirinha
Jose Fonte
2 of Andre Gomes/Tiago/Joao Mario
Raphael Gurreiro
and idiots like Danny/Quaresma

Renato Sanches is simply not ready and overawed..the hype train is getting pretty unbearable at this point surrounding him


----------



## Power Man

Pogba Kante Matuidi Lass


That French MF is pretty good imo


----------



## Moncherry

Bures Elbow said:


> The defense was solid, and will improve with Coentrao in for Gurreiro (who was excellent and 10X better than Eliseu), and Carvalho in for Fonte.




That's not really an improvement, the defence they had out today was the strongest possible. Fonte is Portugal's best CB and Guerreiro has had a better season than Coentrao, although if he gets fit either one would be fine. 

Otherwise I agree with your XI except I would definitely start Joao Mario and go with Lopes in goal. Maybe start Rafa over Nani as well.


----------



## LightningStrikes

Easy win for Germany


----------



## YNWA14

Beating up the poor ol' English again. That cry for a foul on the 3rd goal is pretty weak. Janssen was just stronger in his positioning and wanted it more. Unsurprisingly no complaint from the English contingent about the lack of a penalty call on Veltman earlier in the game.


----------



## Bures Elbow




----------



## Bures Elbow

Moncherry said:


> That's not really an improvement, the defence they had out today was the strongest possible. Fonte is Portugal's best CB and Guerreiro has had a better season than Coentrao, although if he gets fit either one would be fine.
> 
> Otherwise I agree with your XI except I would definitely start Joao Mario and go with Lopes in goal. Maybe start Rafa over Nani as well.




I think in terms of experience Ricardo Carvalho is still ahead of Fonte, he's been fantastic for Monaco and really turned around our backline when brought back in...but I agree that Fonte is a great option as well and hopefully the two switch every game since Carvalho is too old to play 2 games a week, and Fonte is easily superior to Bruno Alves.

Raphael Gurreiro puts Eliseu in his back pocket and is hopefully Coentraos sub (Coentrao is back training next week)..Coentraos experience and assurance defensively will make him start I think.

I just pray Eder doesnt make the team...he's a comedic tragedy at this point


----------



## Cassano

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> Italy is terrible.




Weak midfield. They're gonna get annihilated in their group imo.


----------



## Luigi Habs

SeawaterOnIce said:


> Agree. It's been a steady decline since 2008. 2012 was an anomaly when Balotelli, Pirlo and Buffon beasted.
> 
> I had a lot of people disagreed with me in 2013, but Italy is entering a dark era and there is little hope in sight. The last crop of decent players (age 23-26) are mediocre at the international stage and the country is producing little to no hopefuls that are under 21. Factor in racism and dropping popularity of Serie A and you have turned a lot of people away from Italian football.
> 
> I often went to that country to play football in the summer during the 90's. I was one of the few younger players that would be on the pitch. It was apparent in 2014 that youth became _westernized _ and adapted to the lazy gamer sort of lifestyle. The pitch I used to play on is now a field of sand and shrub overgrowth. You don't see kids playing football. Basketball is more popular nowadays.




It's not as bad as youodescribing it. Italy still has some good young players. Donnaruma, Rugani, Verratti, Romagnoli, Berardi are all pretty good young players. Of course Italy is not like before, the country has been hit hard by the economic crisis and a poor infrastructure. Corruption is the biggest obstacle Italian football needs to overcome.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Nice match from Germany. Far better ball circulation from deep than vs. England. RÃ¼diger for some reason that had little to do with Italy's defense was more involved in buildup than Hummels. Kind of a weird alignment of Germany's back three. LÃ¶w seemed to show a little influence from Tuchel with Hummels' positioning in buildup as well as the 5-4-1 with Hummels stepping up to fill the six space against the ball. 

GÃ¶tze had a couple of great flicks with his back to goal. Crazy good nearly blind pass from MÃ¼ller on GÃ¶tze's goal. Somehow he knew exactly where Mario would be. 



mint said:


> Weak midfield. They're gonna get annihilated in their group imo.




Of all things to single out...  Motta-Verratti-Marchisio looks great on paper.



Captain Saku said:


> It's not as bad as youodescribing it. Italy still has some good young players. Donnaruma, Rugani, Verratti, Romagnoli, Berardi are all pretty good young players. Of course Italy is not like before, the country has been hit hard by the economic crisis and a poor infrastructure. Corruption is the biggest obstacle Italian football needs to overcome.




Why wasn't Rugani called up?


----------



## Hesher

I wouldn't call our form struggling. We did beat Switzerland and Iceland comfortably in November and we did play decent football in these two March games. Latvia pretty much parked the bus and yesterday we didn't use our best eleven (and the first penalty was a joke).


----------



## Eye of Ra

mint said:


> Weak midfield. They're gonna get annihilated in their group imo.




How can Motta - Veratti be weak?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Italy if healthy can put out a decent XI but they have little depth and can't afford injuries. Unfortunately for them they got a tough draw and not only that, Group E, which they are in, has the toughest road to the semifinals even if you win the group. 

Dejan Lovren might be kicked off the Croatian national team for discipline problems. Even though he is inconsistent, Croatia can't afford to be throwing guys like this out the team if its not really necessary. Apparently he refused to warmup while being on the bench


----------



## Epictetus

23 player squad as voted by L'Equipe readers. Feel there's a lot of talent left out there. Benz (Disregard if he's not eligible), Schneiderlin, Zouma, Kondogbia, Rabiot off the top of my head.


----------



## Live in the Now

Schneiderlin has not had a good season at all, but I'd rather have him than Sissoko. Gignac and Giroud seems redundant.


----------



## Evilo

Epictetus said:


> 23 player squad as voted by L'Equipe readers. Feel there's a lot of talent left out there. Benz (Disregard if he's not eligible), Schneiderlin, Zouma, Kondogbia, Rabiot off the top of my head.




Benz is a question mark as of now.

Schneiderlin is IMO vastly overrated but is a better option than Sissoko obviously.
Zouma is out for the season, he's not eligible.
Kondogbia has had a tough season but seems to get better. He, too, is a better option than Sissoko.
As for Rabiot I'd clearly take him over Sissoko and Cabaye as well. He's a but nonchalent, but the talent level is quite high.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Lloris
Kurzawa - Varane - Laporte - Digne
Matuidi - Kante - Pogba
Griezmann - Benzema - Lacazette

Extra: 

Mandanda
Areola

Sakho
Koscielny
Mathieu
Evra

Coquelin
Arfa
Payet

Giroud
Martial
Coman


----------



## Evilo

We have a dozen midfielders better than Coquelin.
Laporte is injured.
Kurzawa is a LB, not RB.
Mathieu should be out.


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

There’s a bizarre situation in U17 Euro 2016 Qualifying today - *Greece face Iceland with a score draw being a better result than a win for both sides*


> Yes, you read that right. If either team is winning in the last minute, it will actually be preferable for them to score an own goal (or as many own goals as would be necessary for a draw).
> How is this possible?
> This is going to be a long and complicated explanation but the short version is that UEFA’s rules are seemingly illogical.
> Results so far
> France 1-0 Greece
> Austria 0-0 Iceland
> France 1-0 Iceland
> Greece 0-0 Austria
> Current Standings
> Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Status
> 1st	France	2	2	0	0	2	0	2	6	Qualified
> 2nd	Austria	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	TBD
> =3rd	Greece	2	0	1	1	0	1	-1	1	TBD
> =3rd	Iceland	2	0	1	1	0	1	-1	1	TBD
> Remaining Fixtures
> Today, 15:00 CET: Austria vs France
> Today, 15:00 CET: Iceland vs Greece
> What happens if Austria beat France?
> Austria will qualify for the finals and everything else I’m going to write here will become irrelevant.
> Ranking of 2nd-Placed Teams
> Only the 7 highest ranked 2nd-placed teams qualify for the finals, here are the current standings:
> Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Status
> 1st	England	2	1	1	0	4	2	2	4	Qualified
> 2nd	Netherlands	2	1	0	1	2	1	1	3	Qualified
> 3rd	Bosnia	2	1	0	1	2	2	0	3	Qualified
> 4th	Sweden	2	1	0	1	1	2	-1	3	Qualified
> 5th	Scotland	2	1	0	1	2	4	-2	3	Qualified
> 6th	Spain	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2	Qualified
> 7th	Austria	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	TBD
> 8th	Poland	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1	TBD
> The key rule to note here is that results against the teams that finished 4th in their group don’t count (I have no idea why) - only results against the teams that finished 1st and 3rd do. This effectively means that if either Greece or Iceland win today they won’t earn any points (or goal difference), since the team they beat will finish 4th in their group.
> Each group contained an equal number of teams so there seems to be no reason why results against the 4th-placed teams need to be excluded, unlike (senior) Euro 2016 qualifying where Group I contained one less team than the other eight groups and therefore results against the 6th-placed teams were excluded.
> This is how the relevant final rankings would look if either Greece or Iceland win and Austria fail to win:
> Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Status
> 7th	Poland	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1	Qualified
> 8th	Greece/Iceland	2	0	1	1	0	1	-1	1	Eliminated
> Greece/Iceland would be eliminated on goals scored
> What happens if Austria draw with France?
> Greece & Iceland will still both be eliminated even though a win will be enough for one of them to overtake Austria and finish 2nd (since that team would finish bottom of the ranking of 2nd-placed teams, as shown above).
> What happens if Austria lose to France?
> A 0-0 draw between Greece & Iceland will still see both eliminated even if one of them ultimately finishes 2nd in the group, due to Poland’s superior goals scored in the ranking of the 2nd-placed teams.
> A score draw between Greece & Iceland will, however, give one of those two sides a chance of finishing 2nd in the group and overtaking Poland. First of all, Austria will finish bottom of the group due to the head-to-head results between the three sides in contention for 2nd place:
> Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
> =2nd	Greece	2	0	2	0	≥1	≥1	0	2
> =2nd	Iceland	2	0	2	0	≥1	≥1	0	2
> 4th	Austria	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	2
> If this scenario occurs, Greece & Iceland will be completely inseparable and a penalty shoot-out will be used to decide which team finishes 2nd in the group.
> If Greece vs Iceland finishes 1-1, the winner of the subsequent penalty shoot-out will then have an identical record to Poland in the ranking of 2nd-placed teams:
> Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts
> =7th	Greece/Iceland	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1
> =7th	Poland	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1
> This means that 7th place in the ranking of the 2nd-placed teams will be determined by disciplinary record in the relevant matches (a yellow card = 1 point, a red card = 3 points and the team with the fewest total points qualifies). If the teams in question are still inseparable, lots will then be drawn to separate them and determine which team takes the final spot at U17 Euro 2016.
> If Greece vs Iceland finishes 2-2, 3-3, 4-4, 5-5 etc, the winner of the penalty shoot-out will qualify ahead of Poland on goals scored:
> Pos	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	GD	Pts	Status
> 7th	Greece/Iceland	2	0	1	1	≥2	≥3	-1	1	Qualified
> 8th	Poland	2	0	1	1	1	2	-1	1	Eliminated
> In Summary
> If - and only if - France beat Austria, either Greece or Iceland could qualify for U17 Euro 2016.
> Assuming France do win, it would be in the best interests of both Greece & Iceland to play out a 2-2 draw against each other instead of trying to win, so that they can then face each other in a penalty shoot-out for the final spot at U17 Euro 2016.
> The rule which has caused this situation is completely ridiculous (as far as I can tell), but the situation itself is fascinating and also pretty funny. Greece & Iceland have to work together for 80 minutes (they have shorter matches at this level) to give themselves a chance of competing against each other for qualification in a penalty shoot-out. It’s like a two-man breakaway in the Tour de France where the two leaders are from different teams.
> Edit: Latest Scores
> Austria 0-0 France
> Iceland 0-0 Greece


----------



## maclean

> The key rule to note here is that results against the teams that finished 4th in their group donâ€™t count (I have no idea why)




Probably because there's a group with one less team, that's generally the reason for rules like this


----------



## Kimi

maclean said:


> Probably because there's a group with one less team, that's generally the reason for rules like this



There isn't.


----------



## JunglePete

lol Gignac with% than Giroud


no surprise there, he became an instant legend at Tigres.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Looks like Jordan Henderson will miss Euro after an injury against Dortmund, he might recover by mid-May but it won't be enough time to get fit in all likelihood


----------



## cgf

HajdukSplit said:


> Looks like Jordan Henderson will miss Euro after an injury against Dortmund, he might recover by mid-May but it won't be enough time to get fit in all likelihood




Dele Alli's better anyway.


----------



## Luigi Habs

My selection for France

*Goalies*
Lloris
Mandanda
Areola

*Defenders*
Sagna
Koscielny
Sakho
Varane
Evra
Kurzawa
Jallet
Laporte (if not eligible then Mathieu) 

*Midfielders*
Pogba
Matuidi
Diarra
Kante
Rabiot
Cabaye (I would actually take Kondogbia over him but I think you need a veteran here)

*Attackers*
Benzema
Giroud
Lacazette
Griezmann
Martial
Coman


----------



## Jeffrey

My France NT

Forwards:
Griezmann 
Lacazette 
Dembele
Martial
Coman
Giroud

Midfield:
Pogba
Matuidi 
Kante
Diarra
Tolisso 
Schneiderlein

Defense:
Kurzawa 
Digne
Sagna 
Koscielny 
Sakho 
Varane 
Zouma
Jallet 

GK
Areola 
Lloris 
Mandada


----------



## Evilo

This is likely what we'll have except that Rabiot, Laporte won't be there (Mangala and Sissoko will).
And Evra will be....

And Dembele, Ben Arfa or Fekir likely won't be because we'll bring 8 defensemen even though some can play multiple positions (dumbass DD!).


----------



## Luigi Habs

Uhh I forgot Payet. 

Would take him over Coman.


----------



## Evilo

Both Payet and Coman will be on it. Lacazette might not make it.


----------



## Luigi Habs

So Lacazette went from getting sold for 60 millions to potentially not making the NT. 

Good business for Lyon.


----------



## Evilo

He's actually playing well right now and I'd select him.

But that's how I see DD deciding. He'll bring 8 defensemen and not select Lacazette, Ben Arfa nor Dembele.


----------



## Savi

Rabiot won't be there? That's a shame.


----------



## Evilo

Totally a shame. Especially since Sissoko will.


----------



## Ivan13

Lovren is not a part of the NT anymore.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivan13 said:


> Lovren is not a part of the NT anymore.




Going back to Cacic's Dinamo days he is not the first player to complain about Cacic's coaching style. I have a feeling Lovren isn't the only one who doesn't respect Cacic but he is the only one to speak out as well as Olic in November. While Lovren is inconsistent, Croatia doesn't have depth to throw away players like him, especially because an injury to injury-prone Corluka means one of the young HNL defenders is a step closer to playing games they aren't ready for


----------



## Ivan13

Cacic is a tool, but Lovren can't go around and say things like "I'm in the starting XI or I'm not going to show up". Both look like tools right now.


----------



## maclean

Ivan13 said:


> Lovren is not a part of the NT anymore.




he's already in the panini sticker book, he HAS to play! wait, maybe the problem is someone told him he's already in the sticker book


----------



## Eye of Ra

Isaksson
Lustig - Granqvist - LindelÃ¶f - Wendt
Durmaz - Ekdahl - KÃ¤llstrÃ¶m - Forsberg
Guidetti - Zlatan

Sweden could suprise and steal the bronze. Not a bad team....


----------



## Evilo

Benzema officially not with France for the Euro.


----------



## Pouchkine

Not a huge lost he's always been underwhelming for France. Probably good for the team chemistry also.


----------



## Evilo

It is a huge loss on the field and technically. That said I agree with the decision. 6 years after Knysna, FFF had to make things clear for french fans. And french fans didn't want Benzema included (though unfortunately not always for the good reasons).


----------



## Power Man

Cruyff said:


> Not a huge lost he's always been underwhelming for France. Probably good for the team chemistry also.




Underwhelming?


----------



## Pouchkine

He's been useless for France time and time again. Lack of effort or lack of Ronaldo or both but he's never been good for France.


----------



## Cassano

Did you not watch the world cup?


----------



## Evilo

Never mind. And tbh, Benzema is the reason Ronaldo gets so much space. And that is thanks to lots of efforts.


----------



## Pouchkine

I agree on the Ronaldo-Benzema Madrid stuff. But for France overall Benzema has been pretty average and let's not fool ourselves, if they thought he was really important for them they would have found a way to take him...


----------



## Cucumber

Evilo said:


> It is a huge loss on the field and technically. That said I agree with the decision. 6 years after Knysna, FFF had to make things clear for french fans. And french fans didn't want Benzema included (though unfortunately not always for the good reasons).




What's your best 11 in your opinion?


----------



## Pouchkine

If Griezmann wasn't playing so well at the moment you can bet they would have taken Benzema!


----------



## Evilo

K DEN said:


> What's your best 11 in your opinion?




My 11 will differ from Deschamps'.

----------Lloris----------
Corchia-Varane-Zouma-Kurzawa
----------KantÃ©---------
-----Pogba----Matuidi-----
Payet---------------Ben Arfa
-----------Griezmann------

On the bench : Mandanda, Digne, Sakho, Laporte, Diarra, Rabiot, Martial, Lacazette, Fekir, Dembele.

Something like that...


----------



## Power Man

If HBA doesn't win L1 player of the year I'll be livid


----------



## Pouchkine

Seriously does HBA still has a chance to make the squad?


----------



## Cucumber

Is Ben Afra even that good or is some joke?

16goals 4assists in 29games on 4th place nice. 

On paper I would do 442 narrow diamond 
Lloris
Sagna-Koscienly-Varane-Kurzawa 
----------------------- Maltudi ---------------------------
Pogba------------------- Kante
--------------------------Payet----------------------------------
Martial ---------- Grieizmann

can't get the format right lol.


----------



## Power Man

K DEN said:


> Is Ben Afra even that good or is some joke?




He is tbh


----------



## Cucumber

Wow he is 29. How time passes, feels like he just joined Newcastle yesterday.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Evilo said:


> My 11 will differ from Deschamps'.
> 
> ----------Lloris----------
> Corchia-Varane-Zouma-Kurzawa
> ----------KantÃ©---------
> -----Pogba----Matuidi-----
> Payet---------------Ben Arfa
> -----------Griezmann------
> 
> On the bench : Mandanda, Digne, Sakho, Laporte, Diarra, Rabiot, Martial, Lacazette, Fekir, Dembele.
> 
> Something like that...




Why would you want to isolate Griezmann all alone up front? I think Griezmann would be best utilized in a deeper position or on the wing. I don't see him as a pure striker.


----------



## Evilo

I think he would work well there, especially since HBA often goes to center.

And Griez often play up front with Atleti.


----------



## ProPAIN

I'd put Griezmann wide left forward, Martial wide right and Lacazette in the middle right now. Or go with a diamond formation with Payet as the number 10 and Griez and Lacazette up front.

That trio of Matuidi-KantÃ©-Pogba...my god that's beautiful.

Unfornately Zouma won't make it but Varane and Sakho would be my starters.


----------



## Bures Elbow

Coentrao is going to miss the Euros through injury, ****kkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

This means Eliseu is starting, hopefully Raphael Gurreiro take this chance to claim that starting spot as his own, he was superb vs Belguim.

Huge blow.

Eliseu is so poor.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Evilo said:


> My 11 will differ from Deschamps'.
> 
> ----------Lloris----------
> Corchia-Varane-Zouma-Kurzawa
> ----------KantÃ©---------
> -----Pogba----Matuidi-----
> Payet---------------Ben Arfa
> -----------Griezmann------
> 
> On the bench : Mandanda, Digne, Sakho, Laporte, Diarra, Rabiot, Martial, Lacazette, Fekir, Dembele.
> 
> Something like that...




Are players like Corchia, Kurzawa, Digne really better than Evra, Sagna and Clichy? If Evra, Sagna and Clichy played in Ligue 1 they would dominate completely.

And is not Zouma injured and Laporte is not eligible?

Dembele in Fulham or in Ligue 1?


----------



## Evilo

Haha, Evra doesn't dominate anything. Sagna and Clichy either. They bring nothing offensively, either of them. And they're really not very good defensively.
Kurzawa, Digne and Corchia are players who are good both sides of the pitch.

To think they would dominate is laughable.
KantÃ© was a nice player in L1. Payet was a good player. Did they dominate in L1? Yet they made the EPL their *****.

Think before you post really.


----------



## Eye of Ra

So, Ligue 1 is better than Premier League, ok.


----------



## Evilo

TheFatOne said:


> So, Ligue 1 is better than Premier League, ok.




I thought I told you to think before you post.

That said, if Clichy and Sagna dominate the EPL, then by all means, indeed !


----------



## Tylers Dad

I know it's a long shot but I would consider Koulibaly. It probably won't happen but I'm sure he's been thought about at least.


----------



## East Coast Bias

TheFatOne said:


> Are players like Corchia, Kurzawa, Digne really better than Evra, Sagna and Clichy? If Evra, Sagna and Clichy played in Ligue 1 they would dominate completely.
> 
> And is not Zouma injured and Laporte is not eligible?
> 
> Dembele in Fulham or in Ligue 1?




I love Evra, but he's well past it and has been for years. Clichy can't start on a team that has a horrible defense (because he is really bad). Sagna is meh, and 33 yrs old. 

If you're going to die on the "Ligue 1 sucks" hill, you might as well take those 3 to battle with ya.


----------



## Evilo

Tylers Dad said:


> I know it's a long shot but I would consider Koulibaly. It probably won't happen but I'm sure he's been thought about at least.



For France?
He's playing for Senegal.


----------



## Cucumber

East Coast Bias said:


> I love Evra, but he's well past it and has been for years. Clichy can't start on a team that has a horrible defense (because he is really bad). Sagna is meh, and 33 yrs old.
> 
> If you're going to die on the "Ligue 1 sucks" hill, you might as well take those 3 to battle with ya.





Kurzawa/Tremoulinas could work as the full backs.

I could see France going 3412/343.


----------



## Bures Elbow

Evilo, what are your thoughts on Raphael Gurreiro?

I'm hoping he starts LB with Coentrao out now, but I havent seen him that much for Lorient.


----------



## Evilo

Excellent talent. And a good mind too.
I like him at LB better than at AML.


----------



## Tylers Dad

Evilo said:


> For France?
> He's playing for Senegal.




You're right I just looked it up. I didn't know about this. I've been watching FUT draft videos lately and every time he pops up his nationality is still French.

That'll teach me to use a video game as a credible source


----------



## Evilo

Tylers Dad said:


> You're right I just looked it up. I didn't know about this. I've been watching FUT draft videos lately and every time he pops up his nationality is still French.
> 
> That'll teach me to use a video game as a credible source



Don't worry Deschamps doesn't know it either. He made his staff scout him for months even though he wasn't eligible


----------



## Tylers Dad

Evilo said:


> Don't worry Deschamps doesn't know it either. He made his staff scout him for months even though he wasn't eligible




Perhaps he uses FIFA ratings to make his squad?


----------



## Power Man

Ruroh

@GFFN: Breaking | Didier Deschamps suspected of concealing abuse of corporate assets when he was Marseille manager - police sources. (JDD)


----------



## Power Man

Emre Can


----------



## Evilo

Tremoulinas now also injured and out of Euro. He was a rather long shot (probably 4th ono the depth chart) but in case of an injury to Kurzawa (please no) or Evra (please... well...), it could be problematic.


----------



## Luigi Habs

More important names dropping out from Euros, Verratti for Italy and Gundogan for Germany.


----------



## Evilo

Verratti? Not as of now.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Evilo said:


> Verratti? Not as of now.




Not officially yet but I read its less than 50/50


----------



## Luigi Habs

Evilo said:


> Verratti? Not as of now.




http://www.football-italia.net/83931/agent-verratti-out-euro-2016


----------



## Evilo

Yep, sorry read that this evening. I read an article this morning that stated that Verratti hoped to avoid a surgery. Guess he couldn't...


----------



## Pouchkine

Wow the Italian team will have a strange starting 11.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Any chance Italy had is now shot, Verratti is pretty much their team at this point.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Kompany out for Belgium as well


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Captain Saku said:


> Kompany out for Belgium as well




Means that Vertonghen and Alderweireld can keep up their top notch domestic pairing.


----------



## ProPAIN

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Means that Vertonghen and Alderweireld can keep up their top notch domestic pairing.




Vertonghen will probably play LB which means one of Denayer or Lombaerts will play CB. Of course Wilmots will play his buddy Lombaerts.

Maybe even both with Alderweireld playing RB.


----------



## Savi

A year ago we could have easily given Alderweireld the CB spot, knowing we had both Vanden Borre and Meunier as viable RB options. Now VDB has gone crazy and is completely out of the picture, while Meunier is having his worst season in years. 

Having said that, Alderweireld has to be one of the CB's. Meunier and Denayer as RB options. I think Bjorn Engels will get a look as well in the pre-tournament friendlies. I wonder what will happen with Vermaelen. He looked really bad at times this season for BarÃ§a. And I'm not ruling out Lukaku for the LB position.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Stars dropping like flies.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

I'm in London during the group stage, very excited to find a spot somewhere and watch England v Wales


----------



## HajdukSplit

Next week we should be getting the provisional squads, in fact today Iceland was the first team to name their final 23 while Wales named a provisional squad

ICELAND
Lars Lagerback announced he will step down and retire from coaching after Euro while Gudjohnsen makes the squad after finding a club in time (Molde) after being released from the Chinese league

*Goalkeepers:* Hannes HalldÃ³rsson (Bodo/Glimt), Ogmundur Kristinsson (Hammarby), Ingvar Jonsson (Sandefjord)
*Defenders:* Ari Skulason (OB), Hordur Magnusson (Cesena), Hjortur Hermannsson (PSV Eindhoven), Ragnar Sigurdsson (Krasnodar), Kari Arnason (Malmo), Sverrir Ingi Ingason (Lokeren), Birkir SÃ¦varsson (Hammarby), Haukur Heidar Hauksson (AIK)
*Midfielders:* Emil Hallfredsson (Udinese), Gylfi Sigurdsson (Swansea City), Aron Gunnarsson (Cardiff City), Theodor Elmar Bjarnason (Arhus), Arnor Ingvi Traustason (Norrkoping), Birkir Bjarnason (FC Basel), Johann Gudmundsson (Charlton Athletic), Runar Mar Sigurjonsson (Sundsvall)
*Forwards:* Kolbeinn Sigthorsson (Nantes), Alfred Finnbogason (Augsburg), Jon Dadi Bodvarsson (Kaiserslautern), Eidur Gudjohnsen (Molde)

WALES
Chris Coleman named a 29-man squad, with Gareth Bale not being selected for now as he will not join the team's training camp in Portugal. The only newcomer to the squad is Wes Burns who is in good form for Fleetwood in League One

*Goalkeepers:* Wayne Hennessey (Crystal Palace), Danny Ward (Liverpool), Owain Fon Williams (Inverness)
*Defenders:* Ben Davies (Tottenham Hotspur), Neil Taylor (Swansea City), Chris Gunter (Reading), Ashley Williams (Swansea City), James Chester (West Brom), Ashley Richards (Fulham), Paul Dummett (Newcastle United ), Adam Henley (Blackburn Rovers), Adam Matthews (Sunderland), James Collins (West Ham)
*Midfielders:* Aaron Ramsey (Arsenal), Joe Ledley (Crystal Palace), David Vaughan (Nottingham Forest), Joe Allen (Liverpool), David Cotterill (Birmingham City), Jonathan Williams (Crystal Palace), George Williams (Fulham), Andy King (Leicester City), Emyr Huws (Wigan Athletic), Dave Edwards (Wolves)
*Forwards:* Hal Robson-Kanu (Reading), Sam Vokes (Burnley), Tom Bradshaw (Walsall), Tom Lawrence (Leicester City), Simon Church (Nottingham Forest), Wes Burns (Walsall)
*Bale to join the squad by the June friendly against Sweden


----------



## ghostnights

Excited to see how Wales fairs in the competition , really excited for the Wales England match


----------



## ProPAIN

Savi said:


> A year ago we could have easily given Alderweireld the CB spot, knowing we had both Vanden Borre and Meunier as viable RB options. Now VDB has gone crazy and is completely out of the picture, while Meunier is having his worst season in years.
> 
> Having said that, Alderweireld has to be one of the CB's. Meunier and Denayer as RB options. I think Bjorn Engels will get a look as well in the pre-tournament friendlies. I wonder what will happen with Vermaelen. He looked really bad at times this season for BarÃ§a. And I'm not ruling out Lukaku for the LB position.




Only issue I have is that Jordan isn't playing against top quality competition week in - week out. He's definitely worth a look though.

I've never been a fan of Alderweireld at RB, but I think Wilmots will go with a back four of Alderweireld-Denayer-Lombaerts-Vertonghen. 

Not having Kompany really ****s it all up. Witsel and Nainggolan are going to have to be rock solid defensively.

I think Denayer has always played well when he was given a chance. I just don't see a player like Lombaerts being part of a solid back line. I'd give Vermaelen a shot if he is fit. Man, what a difference a peak fitness and form Kompany and Vermaelen would make.

Is van Buyten busy during the summer? I'd rather give him a call 

The only other question is who is the third AM with Hazard and De Bruyne? My preference is Carrasco. Mertens and Fellaini are probably next in line depending on the profile of the player we need. Fellaini always seems to show up when playing for the NT.

Lukaku will probably be starting, hopefully he doesn' t choke it away and we'll have to rely on Benteke, Batshuayi or Depoitre. Even worse Origi with one working ankle.


----------



## Ceremony

That Wales squad is such a one man team. Adam Matthews has played nine games since March.


----------



## maclean

Ceremony said:


> That Wales squad is such a one man team. Adam Matthews has played nine games since March.




Allen and Ramsey are fairly big names too


----------



## Pouchkine

Big names maybe but average and overrated absolutely.


----------



## Power Man

Crofl Allen and Ramsey


----------



## DoyleG

England selections to be annouced on Monday, as Hodgson wants to ***** fitness levels.


----------



## Cucumber

Don't forget Ashley Williams. He is like a welsh version of Shawcross but makes their starting 11.


----------



## StatesideSensFan

It was always smart to move the unveiling to Monday, but it does give Woy a chance to verify his favorites have the chance to make his squad


----------



## maclean

McSorleyStick said:


> Crofl Allen and Ramsey




Gimme a break, think what you want of them in a Premier League context, there's maybe three or four European national teams that wouldn't be ******* their pants for them. For a pot 4 team like Wales with a population of 3 million those are dream players. Believe me, our team in the Czech Republic has maybe one and a half players of that capacity. But whatever, right, because only players that start regularly in Top 5 clubs are worth wasting breath on, and even then only the ones that are currently in top form


----------



## Pouchkine

Speaking of which what is going on in your country? When will we see a new generation of world class Czech players or at least one? Is there someone coming up? If you want a good example of the decline of quality in football in general and especially with this stupid 24 teams Euro just remember that at Euro 2000 there were groups like this France-Holland-Czech-Denmark the Czechs of Nedved...Germany-Portugal-England-Romania of Hagi Figo Romania Portugal qualified!


----------



## Hockeyfrilla

Sweden

*Goalkeepers:* Andreas Isaksson (Kasimpasa), Robin Olsen (FC KÃ¶penhamn), Patrik Carlgren (AIK)
*Defenders:* Ludwig Augustinsson (FC KÃ¶penhamn), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnoda), Pontus Jansson (Torino), Erik Johansson (FC KÃ¶penhamn), Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Victor Nilsson-LindelÃ¶f (Benfica), Martin Olsson (Norwich)
*Midfielders:* Jimmy Durmaz (Olympiakos), Albin Ekdal (Hamburg), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), Oscar Hiljemark (Palermo), Kim KÃ¤llstrÃ¶m (Grasshoppers), Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland), Pontus Wernbloom (CSKA Moskva), Erkan Zengin (no club), Oscar Lewicki (MalmÃ¶ FF)
*Forwards:* Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Marcus Berg (Panathinaikos), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo), Emir Kujovic (IFK NorrkÃ¶ping)


----------



## maclean

Cruyff said:


> Speaking of which what is going on in your country? When will we see a new generation of world class Czech players or at least one? Is there someone coming up? If you want a good example of the decline of quality in football in general and especially with this stupid 24 teams Euro just remember that at Euro 2000 there were groups like this France-Holland-Czech-Denmark the Czechs of Nedved...Germany-Portugal-England-Romania of Hagi Figo Romania Portugal qualified!




Any promising young Czech players generally end up going to Germany fairly young and rotting on the bench there. That said, the U21 Euros were here last year and the team looked pretty decent. One of the better players, Skalak, ended up going to Brighton soon after, so if they manage to get promoted he could be playing PL football next year.. theoretically anyhow. 

As for the decline in quality overall, isn't the opposite the case? What were formerly hopeless teams have improved to the extent that they can compete with the big powers.


----------



## Luigi Habs

maclean said:


> Any promising young Czech players generally end up going to Germany fairly young and rotting on the bench there. That said, the U21 Euros were here last year and the team looked pretty decent. One of the better players, Skalak, ended up going to Brighton soon after, so if they manage to get promoted he could be playing PL football next year.. theoretically anyhow.
> 
> As for the decline in quality overall, isn't the opposite the case? What were formerly hopeless teams have improved to the extent that they can compete with the big powers.




Yes some nations have improved a lot, but you can't deny that the Czechs haven't produce top quality players such as Nedved, Berger, Poborsky, Barros, Smicer since a while.


----------



## cgf

maclean said:


> Gimme a break, think what you want of them in a Premier League context, there's maybe three or four European national teams that wouldn't be ******* their pants for them. For a pot 4 team like Wales with a population of 3 million those are dream players. Believe me, our team in the Czech Republic has maybe one and a half players of that capacity. But whatever, right, because only players that start regularly in Top 5 clubs are worth wasting breath on, and even then only the ones that are currently in top form




Neither would even play for Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, Croatia, Portugal, or Italy; without some serious help from injuries to other players.

And only Ramsay would be a reasonable bet to get into the Austrian midfield...if they shifted responsibilities around to make space for him to join Alaba & Junuzovic; which I'm not sure would be a good idea. That midfield is set up nicely for Alaba to thrive as its heart & brain as is. Plus they've already got Schopf chomping at the bit for them to tweak their midfield to incorporate him.


----------



## HajdukSplit

cgf said:


> Neither would even play for Germany, Spain, Belgium, France, *Croatia*, Portugal, or Italy; without some serious help from injuries to other players.




Considering rumors that Domagoj Antolic is making the ****ing squad Ramsey would easily make it, but as a sub, Croatia's big problem is depth which is normal for small countries, but they don't help themselves with 'political' selections for the fringe squad players. There are rumors that Alen Halilovic will not make the squad and he pretty much plays every game in La Liga for Gijon, what's pathetic is being selected ahead of him are frankly average players on Dinamo Zagreb just so they can be sold for higher prices. The only Dinamo midfielder I won't mind is Coric, even Rog would b ok, don't know what the hell Antolic has done to be selected


----------



## cgf

I was talking about actually making the lineup. Even with political fringe players to beat out for a spot in the squad, he's not cracking the starting 11 for you without injuries & an incompetent coach lending him a hand.


----------



## maclean

Captain Saku said:


> Yes some nations have improved a lot, but you can't deny that the Czechs haven't produce top quality players such as Nedved, Berger, Poborsky, Barros, Smicer since a while.




If it sounded like I was denying that then I definitely wasn't. Smaller countries have improved, the Czech Republic has definitely dropped, though I will say it has still managed to get good results despite having so few players in international top flights. It used to be the whole national team was made up of players playing abroad, but over the last few years national league players have had to step in. They are benefitting a lot now from coach Pavel Vrba, who overachieved with Viktoria Plzen before as well, so it will be interesting (/frightening) to see what happens once he moves on.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## HajdukSplit

Austria name a 24-man provisional squad, no real surprises other than Salzburg midfielder Valentino Lazaro who earns his first call-up in nearly two years. I guess one of the midfielders will be cut

*Goalkeepers:* Robert Almer (Austria Vienna), Heinz Lindner (Eintracht Frankfurt), Ramazan Ozcan (Ingolstadt)
*Defenders:* Aleksandar Dragovic (Dynamo Kiev), Christian Fuchs (Leicester City), Gyorgy Garics (Darmstadt), Martin Hinteregger (Borussia Monchengladbach), Florian Klein (Stuttgart), Sebastian Prodl (Watford), Markus Suttner (Ingolstadt), Kevin Wimmer (Tottenham)
*Midfielders:* David Alaba (Bayern Munich), Marko Arnautovic (Stoke City), Julian Baumgartlinger (Mainz), Martin Harnik (Stuttgart), Stefan Ilsanker (RB Leipzig), Jakob Jantscher (Luzern), Zlatko Junuzovic (Werder Bremen), Valentino Lazaro (Red Bull Salzburg), Marcel Sabitzer (RB Leipzig), Alessandro Schopf (Schalke)
*Forwards:* Lukas Hinterseer (Ingolstadt), Rubin Okotie (1860 Munich), Marc Janko (FC Basel)


Martin O'Neill names a 35-man provisional squad for their friendly matches against Netherlands and Belarus, the final 23 should come from here, no real big names left out. League 2 midfielder Callum O'Dowda is the surprise call-up having scored 10 goals for Oxford

*Goalkeepers:* Shay Given (Stoke City), Darren Randolph (West Ham United), David Forde (Millwall), Kieren Westwood (Sheffield Wednesday)
*Defenders:* Seamus Coleman (Everton), Cyrus Christie (Derby County), Paul McShane (Reading), Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa), Richard Keogh (Derby County), John O'Shea (Sunderland), Alex Pearce (Bristol City), Shane Duffy (Blackburn Rovers), Marc Wilson (Stoke City), Stephen Ward (Burnley)
*Midfielders:* Aiden McGeady (Sheffield Wednesday), James McClean (West Brom), Glenn Whelan (Stoke City), James McCarthy (Everton), Jeff Hendrick (Derby County), David Meyler (Hull City), Stephen Quinn (Reading), Darron Gibson (Everton), Harry Arter (Bournemouth), Wes Hoolahan (Norwich City), Eunan O'Kane (Bournemouth), Anthony Pilkington (Cardiff City), Robbie Brady (Norwich City), Jonathan Hayes (Aberdeen), Callum O'Dowda (Oxford United)
*Forwards:* Robbie Keane (Los Angeles Galaxy), Shane Long (Southampton), Kevin Doyle (Colorado Rapids), Jonathan Walters (Stoke City), Daryl Murphy (Ipswich Town), David McGoldrick (Ipswich Town)


----------



## ProPAIN

Can't complain with that selection as long as the starting lineups make sense when the tournament comes around.

I would've given Sels the third goalkeeper spot, but that's just nitpicking. Would've liked Thorgan there too but don't think they can justify dropping anyone instead of him.


----------



## HajdukSplit

And Romania have named their provisional squad too, not too many stand out names and a diverse group of players in terms of where they played but a solid qualification campaign and a couple good results against Italy and Spain in pre-tournament friendlies, strong defensively but will struggle to score

*Goalkeepers:* Ciprian Tatarusanu (Fiorentina), Costel Pantilimon (Watford), Silviu Lung (Astra Giurgiu)
*Defenders:* Cristian Sapunaru (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Alexandru Matel (Dinamo Zagreb), Vlad Chiriches (Napoli), Valerica Gaman (Astra Giurgiu), Cosmin Moti (Ludogorets Razgrad), Dragos Grigore (Al-Sailiya), Razvan Rat (Rayo Vallecano), Steliano Filip (Dinamo Bucharest), Alin Tosca (Steaua Bucharest)
*Midfielders:* Mihai Pintilii (Steaua Bucharest), Ovidiu Hoban (Hapoel Beer Sheva), Adrian Ropotan (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Andrei Prepelita (Ludogorets Razgrad), Adrian Popa (Steaua Bucharest), Gabriel Torje (Osmanlispor), Alexandra Chipciu (Steaua Bucharest), Alexandru Maxim (Stuttgart), Nicolae Stanciu (Steaua Bucharest), Lucian Sanmartean (Al-Ittihad)
*Forwards:* Claudiu Keseru (Ludogorets Razgrad), Bogdan Stancu (Genclerbirligi), Florin And one (Cordoba), Denis Alibec (Astra Giurgiu), Ioan Hora (Pandurii Targu Jiu), Andrei Ivan (CSU Craiova)


----------



## Savi

Thank god Batshuayi made the team. And there's no Ciman or Gillet.


----------



## HajdukSplit

France I believe will name their squad today too...

Meanwhile add Poland to the list of teams who have announced a provisional squad (28-man); Two surprise omissions are Mila and Szukala, regulars in qualifying (Szukala played all but one game) while Benfica B defender Dawidowicz makes the squad for now

*Goalkeepers:* Artur Boruc (Bournemouth), Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Wojciech Szczesny (Roma), Przemyslaw Tyton (Stuttgart)
*Defenders:* Thiago Cionek (Palermo), Pawel Dawidowicz (Benfica B), Kamil Glik (Torino), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Michal Pazdan (Legia Warsaw), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Mciej Rybus (Terek Grozny), Bartosz Salamon (Cagliari), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Lechia Gdansk)
*Midfielders:* Jakub Błaszczykowski (Fiorentina), Kamil Grosicki (Stade Rennes), Tomasz Jodłowiec (Legia Warsaw), Bartosz Kapustka (Cracovia), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla), Karol Linetty (Lech Poznan), Krzysztof Mączynski (Wisla Krakow), Sławomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Filip Starzynski (Zagłębie Lubin), Paweł Wszolek (Hellas Verona), Piotr Zielinski (Empoli)
*Forwards:* Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Arkadiusz Milik (Ajax), Artur Sobiech (Hannover 96), Mariusz Stępinski (Ruch Chorzow)


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

France just named their squad, very few surprises.

*Goalkeepers*: Hugo Lloris (Tottenham Hotspurs), Steve Mandanda (Olympique de Marseille), BenoÃ®t Costil (Rennes)

*Defenders*: Raphael Varane (Real Madrid), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Eliaquim Mangala (Manchester City), JÃ©rÃ©my Mathieu (FC Barcelona), Patrice Evra (Juventus), Bacary Sagna (Manchester City), Christophe Jallet (Olympique Lyonnais), Lucas Digne (AS Roma)

*Midfielders*: Paul Pogba (Juventus), Blaise Matuidi (Paris St-Germain), Lassana Diarra (Olympique de Marseille), N’Golo KantÃ© (Leicester City), Yohan Cabaye (Crystal Palace), Moussa Sissoko (Newcastle United)

*Forwards*: Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid), Dimitri Payet (West Ham United), Anthony Martial (Manchester United), Kingsley Coman (Bayern Munich), Olivier Giroud (Arsenal), AndrÃ©-Pierre Gignac (Tigres UANL)

*Reserves*: Alphonse Areola (Villareal CF), Hatem Ben Arfa (OGC Nice), Kevin Gameiro (Sevilla), Alexandre Lacazette (Olympique Lyonnais), Adrien Rabiot (Paris St-Germain), Morgan Schneiderlin (Manchester United), Djibril SidibÃ© (Lille OSC), Samuel Umtiti (Olympique Lyonnais)


----------



## Evilo

OK, DD named France's squad :

GK : Lloris, Mandanda, Costil
D : Evra, Digne, Mangala, Koscielny, Mathieu, Varane, Jallet, Sagna
M : Pogba, KantÃ©, Diarra, Matuidi, Cabaye, Sissoko
F : Griezmann, Martial, Giroud, Gignac, Payet, Coman

Reserves : Areola, Ben Arfa, Schneiderlin, Rabiot, Gameiro, Lacazette, SidibÃ©, Umtiti

I'm just trying not to cry here.
This is FAR FAR from our best players.
Ben Arfa, Gameiro and Lacazette aren't on it, Gignac and Giroud are.
Rabiot isn't on it, Sissoko is.
Umtiti, Corchia and Kurzawa aren't (the latters aren't even reserves) while Evra, Sagna/Jallet, Mathieu/Mangala are.

WHY IN HELL do you not bring a young brilliant goalkeeper to sit on the bench as your 3rd guy instead of an older without a NT future goalie in Costil?
I know it might sound absurd to whine about the 3rd goalie, but it just makes zero sense.

Plain ridiculous all around.


----------



## Evilo

So if Koscielny or Varane are hurt at some point, we'll have to start Mangala or Mathieu...


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Evilo said:


> OK, DD named France's squad :
> 
> GK : Lloris, Mandanda, Costil
> D : Evra, Digne, Mangala, Koscielny, Mathieu, Varane, Jallet, Sagna
> M : Pogba, KantÃ©, Diarra, Matuidi, Cabaye, Sissoko
> F : Griezmann, Martial, Giroud, Gignac, Payet, Coman
> 
> Reserves : Areola, Ben Arfa, Schneiderlin, Rabiot, Gameiro, Lacazette, SidibÃ©, Umtiti
> 
> I'm just trying not to cry here.
> This is FAR FAR from our best players.
> Ben Arfa, Gameiro and Lacazette aren't on it, Gignac and Giroud are.
> Rabiot isn't on it, Sissoko is.
> Umtiti, Corchia and Kurzawa aren't (the latters aren't even reserves) while Evra, Sagna/Jallet, Mathieu/Mangala are.
> 
> WHY IN HELL do you not bring a young brilliant goalkeeper to sit on the bench as your 3rd guy instead of an older without a NT future goalie in Costil?
> I know it might sound absurd to whine about the 3rd goalie, but it just makes zero sense.
> 
> Plain ridiculous all around.




Very surprised that Kurzawa isn't even a reserve, but are you really surprised? Costil was gonna be the third keeper all along, he's a good guy for the room. Areola will train with the team and learn about life with the group, which is a start. I'm mad Mathieu is on the team, but it's such a DD move. Giroud has nothing to do on this team but he's the only player who can score on headers. Sissoko should've been far away from the team, but he's DD's boy.

I agree with most of your choices, but the choices DD made are nowhere near surprising.


----------



## Evilo

Those are all typical DD moves. No surprise indeed.

It's just awful that after 6 years of Domenech and stupid choices, after 2 years of a tame rebuild with Blanc, we're treated of 6 years of Deschamps, who loves nothing more than defense and no-creativity.


----------



## cgf

Maybe someone abducts him and he is returned clever enough to at least line those guys up in something along the lines of:

Martial/Coman -- Griezmann
Payet
Pogba - Matuidi
Kante​
...if not clever enough to take some of those reserves instead of some of the players ahead of them...


----------



## Evilo

Though to be fair, I did't expect Kurzawa to not even be in the reserves. Evra has no business being on the team, but DD loves him since the Monaco days.
Digne over Kurzawa is highly debatable since Kurzawa is clearly the best LB we have and I'd even say one of the best in the business, but SidibÃ© (who I like BTW)? SERIOUSLY? I know the reason (SidibÃ© can cover LB and RB), but the pill is hard to swallow : our best LB isn't even on DD's depth chart.


----------



## Evilo

cgf said:


> Maybe someone abducts him and he is returned clever enough to at least line those guys up in something along the lines of:
> 
> Martial/Coman -- Griezmann
> Payet
> Pogba - Matuidi
> Kante​




Expect : 
Martial-Giroud-Griezmann
----Matuidi--Pogba----
------Diarra------


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Evilo said:


> Those are all typical DD moves. No surprise indeed.
> 
> It's just awful that after 6 years of Domenech and stupid choices, after 2 years of a tame rebuild with Blanc, we're treated of 6 years of Deschamps, who loves nothing more than defense and no-creativity.




Agreed. DD said it on TF1 tho, actually it's one of the first things he said, "je n'ai pas choisi les 23 meilleurs joueurs" - "I didn't pick the best 23 players". He picked who he thought would be the best group. I don't agree with his choices, especially Gignac over Ben Arfa and Mathieu over Umtiti, but meh, wait and see. Can't wait to see Sissoko run in straight lines the fastest he can only to lose the ball.


----------



## Evilo

Better pray we don't have many injuries during the tournament. The depth players suck.


----------



## cgf

Evilo said:


> Expect :
> Martial-Giroud-Griezmann
> ----Matuidi--Pogba----
> ------Diarra------




You are such an optimist. I expect DD to roll with something like:
Giroud
Griez/Payet - Pogba - Sissoko----
-Diarra - Cabaye
---Evra - Mathieu - Koscielny - Sagna​


----------



## Evilo

Nah 

DD saying he chose Digne over Kurzawa because one is starting for Serie A's 3rd team


----------



## letsgocaps

Still a pretty decent team I'd say. I am a bit disappointed for Ben Arfa though.


----------



## Evilo

We could have SUCH a better team...


----------



## Evilo

Question : Varane is not starting...

DD : not worried...

Well, why are you worried about Kurzawa?????


----------



## Evilo

Weak ass defense is my biggest worry. Diarra-Pogba-Matuidi/KantÃ© is a seriously good midfield.
Griezmann/Payet/Martial should score some goals.

But Sagna-Varane-Koscielny-Evra??? OUCH.


----------



## Evilo

-------------Areola--------------
Corchia-Zouma-Sakho-Kurzawa
---------Gonalons---------
---Kondogbia--Rabiot---
Fekir------------Ben Arfa
--------Benzema------
Subs : Lacazette, Ruffier, Laporte, Umtiti, Gameiro, Tremoulinas, DembÃ©lÃ©, etc...

How far would this team go?


----------



## East Coast Bias

*what is your twitter handle, Evilo???*

https://twitter.com/GFFN/status/


----------



## Evilo

That's not true, I have Twiter openned right now.


----------



## Franck

Hockeyfrilla said:


> Sweden
> 
> *Goalkeepers:* Andreas Isaksson (Kasimpasa), Robin Olsen (FC KÃ¶penhamn), Patrik Carlgren (AIK)
> *Defenders:* Ludwig Augustinsson (FC KÃ¶penhamn), Andreas Granqvist (Krasnoda), Pontus Jansson (Torino), Erik Johansson (FC KÃ¶penhamn), Mikael Lustig (Celtic), Victor Nilsson-LindelÃ¶f (Benfica), Martin Olsson (Norwich)
> *Midfielders:* Jimmy Durmaz (Olympiakos), Albin Ekdal (Hamburg), Emil Forsberg (RB Leipzig), Oscar Hiljemark (Palermo), Kim KÃ¤llstrÃ¶m (Grasshoppers), Sebastian Larsson (Sunderland), Pontus Wernbloom (CSKA Moskva), Erkan Zengin (no club), Oscar Lewicki (MalmÃ¶ FF)
> *Forwards:* Zlatan Ibrahimovic (PSG), Marcus Berg (Panathinaikos), John Guidetti (Celta Vigo), Emir Kujovic (IFK NorrkÃ¶ping)




Jansson beating out Jonas Olsson for the centre back spot created by Milosevic's injury is basically the closest thing to a surprise in the whole squad.

Actually feeling quietly confident about this squad, with the emergence of LindelÃ¶f and Forsberg I think it is actually the best one we've sent to a tournament since 2004. Given how great the odds are I'm actually tempted to put some money on us winning the tournament.


----------



## Franck

Evilo said:


> -------------Areola--------------
> Corchia-Zouma-Sakho-Kurzawa
> ---------Gonalons---------
> ---Kondogbia--Rabiot---
> Fekir------------Ben Arfa
> --------Benzema------
> Subs : Lacazette, Ruffier, Laporte, Umtiti, Gameiro, Tremoulinas, DembÃ©lÃ©, etc...
> 
> How far would this team go?




If it got the same favourable seeding as the main squad has it could win the tournament.


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Evilo said:


> -------------Areola--------------
> Corchia-Zouma-Sakho-Kurzawa
> ---------Gonalons---------
> ---Kondogbia--Rabiot---
> Fekir------------Ben Arfa
> --------Benzema------
> Subs : Lacazette, Ruffier, Laporte, Umtiti, Gameiro, Tremoulinas, DembÃ©lÃ©, etc...
> 
> How far would this team go?




On potential alone, they'd make it to the final. They would have absolutely no experience however, you need players who've been there before. Having just Benzema and Sakho is really thin in that regard.


----------



## Evilo

Meh, Gonalons has a long time european experience, Rabiot has played tough CL games, Ben Arfa isn't exactly young, etc, etc...


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

True, but none of them have much international experience. It's a different setting, living with a group for a month, representing your country, especially on home soil. I dunno, they need "les cadres" imo. But yeah, talent-wise, it's hard to do better.


----------



## Evilo

When a "cadre" is Evra, a true leader of "strike", then by all means, we don't need them.


----------



## Franck

France, if they win their (easy) group, can't face another group winner until the semi-final. I don't think the lack of international experience would hurt Evilo's team of rejects very much, their superior talent would lead them to victory over all likely opponents in the round of 16 and the quarter final.

There's a possibility of facing Italy or Belgium in the Ro16 if they **** up and finish third in our group, that's really the only potential challenge.


----------



## Power Man

CROFL Deschamps


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Evilo said:


> When a "cadre" is Evra, a true leader of "strike", then by all means, we don't need them.




Clearly, my idea of a cadre and DD is different. Evra would be nowhere near my 23. Your team could almost compete in a U23 tournament was more my point. Like I said, talent-wise, there's nothing to not like however. 

And Franck, imo, you need the experience more so against 'lesser' teams than against the big ones. All the best teams have players who play together in the best leagues, they know each other, their tendencies, their styles, etc. However, when you start playing against lesser-known, usually more physical teams who can easily get a rise out of the younger, inexperienced players, you want some leaders to calm them down. You can't win on talent alone.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Holy crap that French team is a disaster... I am so sorry Evilo


----------



## Deficient Mode

Austria is the only team I'm sort of excited to see in this tournament. The rest just seem disappointing.


----------



## joe89

Franck said:


> Jansson beating out Jonas Olsson for the centre back spot created by Milosevic's injury is basically the closest thing to a surprise in the whole squad.
> 
> Actually feeling quietly confident about this squad, with the emergence of LindelÃ¶f and Forsberg I think it is actually the best one we've sent to a tournament since 2004. Given how great the odds are I'm actually tempted to put some money on us winning the tournament.




Well the way we played in the playoffs with this group is what gives some hope pretty much, before that we had nothing going. Offensively we have some in-form players which is always good, LindelÃ¶f is a big boost for the defense since last. Balancing out the midfield will be the task. Arguably we should start the same way as in the qualifiers, Forsberg-KÃ¤llstrÃ¶m-Lewicki-Seb. Ekdal over Lewicki if he's fit. Ibra & Berg should start against Ireland, 4-5-1 with Hiljemark or Durmaz is an option for the other games.


----------



## Eye of Ra

joe89 said:


> Well the way we played in the playoffs with this group is what gives some hope pretty much, before that we had nothing going. Offensively we have some in-form players which is always good, LindelÃ¶f is a big boost for the defense since last. Balancing out the midfield will be the task. Arguably we should start the same way as in the qualifiers, Forsberg-KÃ¤llstrÃ¶m-Lewicki-Seb. Ekdal over Lewicki if he's fit. Ibra & Berg should start against Ireland, 4-5-1 with Hiljemark or Durmaz is an option for the other games.




Ekdal over KÃ¤llstrÃ¶m.

Lewicki complete deleted Christian Eriksson (Danmark) and Stefan Johansson (Celtic)....and he was great in u-21. We need his defence skills.

Seb Larsson as a starter? He is really bad.

Isaksson
Lustig - LindelÃ¶f - Granqvist - Agustinsson
Durmaz - Ekdal - Lewicki - Forsberg
Zlatan - Berg/Guidetti/Kujovic


----------



## Eye of Ra

Zengin instead of Sam Larsson is really weird.


----------



## Luigi Habs

France squad isn't really a surprise. The only player I was surprised to see is Gignac. With the history of troubles in dressing room France NT had I'm not surprised DD went with players he trusts. Still some of the names in there don't make sense, for me at least I don't see how you can call Sissoko over Kondogbia, Rabiot or even Schneiderlin, or Jallet over Corchia, or Costil over Areola, or Mangala over Zouma, or Gignac over any of the available attacking players in form. Evra call I have nothing against, I don't think it would be safe to go with 2 young guys.


----------



## Evilo

Zouma's injured. Laporte too. Umtiti was the one robbed of a place.


----------



## Cucumber

Even Rami is a better option then Mangala. He can't handle pressure.

I really want France to win the euros but now I reckon it will be Spain or Germany with the odd chance of Belgium.


----------



## Bures Elbow

Bernardo Silva might miss the Euro through injury as well, he got hurt in his last training session before the end of the season.

Huge blow if it ends up being serious.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Some rumors that Eduardo might return to the Croatian NT, I doubt it but you never know, Eduardo does have a decent relationship with Cacic who was one of his first coaches when he arrived in Croatia as a teenager but he left the NT on relatively bad terms and is in a dispute with Mamic the defacto king of CRO football. The provisional squad will be named tomorrow, only notable absence of note will be Lovren

Roy Hodgson will name his England squad tomorrow too, looks like Wilshere will make it despite playing like 2-3 games


----------



## Ivan13

He says this: 



And then does this:



Dumb beyond belief.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

ENGLAND'S 26-MAN PROVISIONAL SQUAD FOR EURO 2016
Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)

Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham)

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Ross Barkley (Everton), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Andros Townsend (Newcastle), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...nal-26-man-squad-Euro-2016.html#ixzz48oiwIQMZ


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivan13 said:


>





At the end of the day there were no real surprises in the squad, in fact outside of Livakovic most of the media got it correct in the last few days. We knew Cacic was not going to select Lovren no matter what his form was. Unfortunately because of that the defense is much weaker, Schildenfeld is now guaranteed to make the squad while its kind of good to see Caleta-Car in but he will likely get cut unless Jedvaj gets injured again

What's 'funny' is pretty much every Croatian starter on Dinamo got called up, you could have added Pivaric too if he didn't get injured  Pjaca deserves to go, I can understand Coric and even Rog to a lesser extent (its too bad Pasalic got injured). Have no clue what Antolic is doing there other than the fact Dinamo need to sell a virtually unsellable player and with respect to Schildenfeld it should be Lovren

Cacic decides to call up Strinic after all, despite saying in his entire tenure so far he will only pick players playing regularly at their clubs. Strinic has only made 5 Serie A appearances this season but I guess he got lucky as one of those happened to be when Cacic was in Italy monitoring players  But in reality he had to bring a left back, even if its Strinic. Thankfully the Ibanez stuff was mostly Zidak writing **** again, looks like he was never a serious candidate

Two cuts are clear (Vargic/Livakovic, Caleta-Car), the other two will be between Antolic/Coric/Rog/Cop, in fact I wouldn't be shocked if Halilovic gets cut to make room for an extra Dinamo player, seems like Cacic isn't really high on him. Its not secret with Croatia, only 15-16 candidates will be getting actual playing time, the rest is political call-ups who might get minutes *yawn*


----------



## Luigi Habs

spintheblackcircle said:


> ENGLAND'S 26-MAN PROVISIONAL SQUAD FOR EURO 2016
> Goalkeepers: Fraser Forster (Southampton), Joe Hart (Manchester City), Tom Heaton (Burnley)
> 
> Defenders: Ryan Bertrand (Southampton), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Nathaniel Clyne (Liverpool), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Chris Smalling (Manchester United), John Stones (Everton), Kyle Walker (Tottenham)
> 
> Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham), Ross Barkley (Everton), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Danny Drinkwater (Leicester City), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), James Milner (Liverpool), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Andros Townsend (Newcastle), Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
> 
> Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
> 
> 
> Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/fo...nal-26-man-squad-Euro-2016.html#ixzz48oiwIQMZ




Too many players picked are out of form. Lol @ Wilshere selection. Surprised at Rashford selection as well. 

Rooney, Barkley, Sterling, Henderson, Delph are all out of form. Will be interesting to see how the starting 11 will be shaped. 

I think it should be something like this: Hart, Cahill, Smalling, Clyne, Dier, Drinkwater, Milner, Alli, Vardy, Kane


----------



## Ivan13

HajdukSplit said:


> At the end of the day there were no real surprises in the squad, in fact outside of Livakovic most of the media got it correct in the last few days. We knew Cacic was not going to select Lovren no matter what his form was. Unfortunately because of that the defense is much weaker, Schildenfeld is now guaranteed to make the squad while its kind of good to see Caleta-Car in but he will likely get cut unless Jedvaj gets injured again
> 
> What's 'funny' is pretty much every Croatian starter on Dinamo got called up, you could have added Pivaric too if he didn't get injured  Pjaca deserves to go, I can understand Coric and even Rog to a lesser extent (its too bad Pasalic got injured). Have no clue what Antolic is doing there other than the fact Dinamo need to sell a virtually unsellable player and with respect to Schildenfeld it should be Lovren
> 
> Cacic decides to call up Strinic after all, despite saying in his entire tenure so far he will only pick players playing regularly at their clubs. Strinic has only made 5 Serie A appearances this season but I guess he got lucky as one of those happened to be when Cacic was in Italy monitoring players  But in reality he had to bring a left back, even if its Strinic. Thankfully the Ibanez stuff was mostly Zidak writing **** again, looks like he was never a serious candidate
> 
> Two cuts are clear (Vargic/Livakovic, Caleta-Car), the other two will be between Antolic/Coric/Rog/Cop, in fact I wouldn't be shocked if Halilovic gets cut to make room for an extra Dinamo player, seems like Cacic isn't really high on him. Its not secret with Croatia, only 15-16 candidates will be getting actual playing time, the rest is political call-ups who might get minutes *yawn*




I'm getting tired of this song and dance. I fear this generation will never reach their potential thanks to Mamić and his cronies. Antolić is beyond useless and should have no place on the team. If he makes the team ahead of Halilović then I don't know what to say. Our defense looks sad, espacially knowing that Srna will get the nod over Vrsaljko who's twice the player at the moment.

As for Å½idak, can't stand the guy. Met him once and he was an obnoxious blowhard. Thinks he has all the knowledge of the world in his little finger, when in fact he is a man out of touch, who was passed over by Father time a long while ago and became more of a caricature in the mold of Don Cherry, rather than a respectable journalist.


----------



## HajdukSplit

I know its twitter...but I'm amazed at how many people are upset Wes Morgan didn't make the England squad, hell even Redknapp called for him inclusion 

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/wes-morgan-twitter-england-squad-7980930


----------



## hatterson

Captain Saku said:


> Too many players picked are out of form. Lol @ Wilshere selection. Surprised at Rashford selection as well.
> 
> Rooney, Barkley, Sterling, Henderson, Delph are all out of form. Will be interesting to see how the starting 11 will be shaped.
> 
> I think it should be something like this: Hart, Cahill, Smalling, Clyne, Dier, Drinkwater, Milner, Alli, Vardy, Kane




Rooney is only out of form if you line him up as a striker. If you stick him in an attacking midfield role he can make some incredible passes.

As far as the selection, I agree Rashford is a surprise. He's got good pace and has shown flashes of great play this year, but I'd never have expected him to make the national team. You'd have to assume he's going to be dropped from the final 23 list.


----------



## Savant

HajdukSplit said:


> I know its twitter...but I'm amazed at how many people are upset Wes Morgan didn't make the England squad, hell even Redknapp called for him inclusion
> 
> http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/row-zed/wes-morgan-twitter-england-squad-7980930




Switched nationality to Jamaica


----------



## HajdukSplit

Savant said:


> Switched nationality to Jamaica




Yeah that's the point  People are too lazy to look it up and wasting time complaining about it, but even the 'great' Harry Redknapp too


----------



## East Coast Bias

City fans lose their minds that Rashford was picked for the England squad over (Nigeria's) Iheanacho. 



http://www.joe.co.uk/sport/furious-...england-call-ahead-of-kelechi-iheanacho/59807


----------



## Power Man

Wheelchair? 






What?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Slovakia provisional squad...

*Goalkeepers:* Matus Kozacik (Viktoria Plzen), Jan Mucha (Slovan Bratislava), Jan Novota (Rapid Wien)
*Defenders:* Peter Pekarik (Hertha Berlin), Milan Skiniar (Sampdoria), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Norbert Gyomber (Roma), Jan Durica (Lokomotiv Moscow), Kornel Salata (Slovan Bratislava), Tomas Hubocan (Dynamo Moscow), Duscan Svento (FC Koln), Lukas Tesak (Kairat Almaty)
*Midfielders:* Viktor Pecovsky (Zilina), Matus Bero (Trencin), Juraj Kucka (Milan), Patrik Hrosovsky (Viktoria Plzen), Jan Gregus (Jablonec), Robert Mak (PAOK), Erik Sabo (PAOK), Santislav Sestak (Ferencvaros), Marek Hamsik (Napoli), Ondrej Duda (Legia Warsaw), Vladimir Weiss (Al-Gharafa), Miroslav Stoch (Bursaspor)
*Forwards:* Adam Nemec (Willem II), Michal Duris (Viktoria Plzen), Adam Zrelak (Slovan Bratislava)

_*STANDBY:* Martin Dubravka (Esbjerg); Branislav Ninaj (Lokeren), Patrik Mraz (Piast Gliwice), Lukas Stetina (Dukla Prague); Robert Pich (Slask Wroclaw), Jaroslav Mihalik (Slavia Prague), Albert Rusnak (Groningen), Stanislav Lobotka (Nordsjaelland); Marek Bakos (Viktoria Plzen), Robert Vittek (Slovan Bratislava)_


----------



## East Coast Bias

No Giovinco for Italy. Wow. Borini made it. Jesus.

*Goalkeepers*: Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Antonio Mirante (Bologna), Marco Sportiello (Atalanta);
*Defenders*: Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Armando Izzo (Genoa), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham), Lorenzo Tonelli (Empoli);
*Midfielders*: Marco Benassi (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Napoli), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Davide Zappacosta (Torino);
*Forwards*: Fabio Borini (Sunderland), Citadin Martins Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa), Graziano PellÃ¨ (Southampton).


NOT the final list. Just camp invites. Sorry for the confusion


----------



## cgf

Since my cousin's longterm bf (who she better have the good sense to marry) is a slovak and Nemec was with us for an extended period of time, I root for them to have a respectable showing; but this is probably the least I've known a Slovakian team since before Hamsik broke out. Will he have any help this go around?


----------



## Luigi Habs

East Coast Bias said:


> No Giovinco for Italy. Wow. Borini made it. Jesus.
> 
> *Goalkeepers*: Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Antonio Mirante (Bologna), Marco Sportiello (Atalanta);
> *Defenders*: Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Armando Izzo (Genoa), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham), Lorenzo Tonelli (Empoli);
> *Midfielders*: Marco Benassi (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Napoli), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Davide Zappacosta (Torino);
> *Forwards*: Fabio Borini (Sunderland), Citadin Martins Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa), Graziano PellÃ¨ (Southampton).




Uhhhh where are Buffon and Chiellini? Izzo/Acerbi/Tonelli over Barzagli/Rugani?  @ Borini and Eder, Eder has like one goal in 20 games. Zaza, Giovinco and El Shaarawy would have been better picks.

Are you sure this is final list? This can't be serious.

EDIT: After digging a bit more, this is NOT the final squad. Final squad will be announced on May 23. Those players have been invited to pre-tournament training camp that's all.


----------



## Live in the Now

That's just the pre-tournament squad I believe. Bonucci is only in the squad early because he's suspended for the cup final against Milan this weekend.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Yeah this is nowhere near the official squad, they will name their provisional squad next week. This is some short camp to view some players not often selected I guess

http://www.football-italia.net/84424/seven-new-faces-italy-squad

_The CT will name his 30-man preliminary squad for Euro 2016 on May 23, but has taken the opportunity to assess some players at Coverciano this week._


----------



## Theon

TheFatOne said:


> Zengin instead of Sam Larsson is really weird.




Zengin is a nothing player. He's been totally useless in the times I've seen him play. Other than being buddies with Zlatan, I really can't understand his selection.

I'd personally play Wendt over Olsson given his performances with Gladbach, but I guess Hamren doesn't like him that much. He'd still be a useful player to have on the squad, as is Larsson.


----------



## cgf

Wendt doesn't start for you? I'm surprised, he's rounded out his defensive game and is a nice attacking presence on the left. Especially with the size you have in the middle to cross to.


----------



## Theon

Captain Saku said:


> Too many players picked are out of form. Lol @ Wilshere selection. Surprised at Rashford selection as well.
> 
> Rooney, Barkley, Sterling, Henderson, Delph are all out of form. Will be interesting to see how the starting 11 will be shaped.
> 
> I think it should be something like this: Hart, Cahill, Smalling, Clyne, Dier, Drinkwater, Milner, Alli, Vardy, Kane




Might be mistaken but that is just a squad for the Euro friendlies, not the actual 23 man squad.

I'd expect Rashford, Delph and Stones to be cut.


----------



## hatterson

Theon said:


> Might be mistaken but that is just a squad for the Euro friendlies, not the actual 23 man squad.
> 
> I'd expect Rashford, Delph and Stones to be cut.




I'd expect Stones to stay and probably even start. Smalling, Cahill and Stones are the only true CBs.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Costa, Torres, Mata, Cazorla, Javi Martinez, and Paco Alcacer all left out of Spain's squad.


----------



## Savi

Paco and Javi M should have made it imho. Costa sucks, Torres is too old, Mata has been meh and Cazorla offers nothing that's not already there. I even would have left Pedro and Cesc off the team.


----------



## cgf

f***in Jogi


----------



## Luigi Habs

So who's going to play striker for Spain? Morata? I like him but I think Costa would still have been a better option. Lol @ him for choosing Spain over Brazil though. 

And guys like Bartra and Vazquez are there only because they play for Barcelona and RM. There are much better options out there.


----------



## Luigi Habs

cgf said:


> f***in Jogi




Schweinsteiger  Podolski  Gomez


----------



## cgf

Captain Saku said:


> Schweinsteiger  Podolski  Gomez




...and Rudy...and Bellarabi...and Howedes...and Rudiger...and Hector...


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

I'm not sure why you're surprised. He was never going to make big changes from the squads he had in qualifying and recent friendlies. That's how he rolls.

The really big changes will come when he leaves and can't pick his successor. Who knows when that will be but an underwhelming Euro could hasten it.


----------



## Hockeyfrilla




----------



## cgf

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> I'm not sure why you're surprised. He was never going to make big changes from the squads he had in qualifying and recent friendlies. That's how he rolls.
> 
> The really big changes will come when he leaves and can't pick his successor. Who knows when that will be but an underwhelming Euro could hasten it.




Who said I was surprised?


----------



## Cassano

Captain Saku said:


> Schweinsteiger  Podolski  Gomez




Gomez is very deserving of his spot.

The others though.


----------



## Savant

cgf said:


> ...and Rudy...and Bellarabi...and Howedes...and Rudiger...and Hector...




Who do you take instead though?


----------



## Luigi Habs

cgf said:


> ...and Rudy...and Bellarabi...and Howedes...and Rudiger...and Hector...




I don't see what's surprising about Bellarabi. Rudiger and Hector were expected as well. I don't mind either of them, especially that many are requesting players to be called and played out of position. 

Howedes is a head scratcher. Rudy as well but I expect him to be cut tbh.


----------



## cgf

I don't want any players played out of position. We should take:

GK - Neuer, MAtS & Leno (3)
CB - Boateng, Hummels, Tah & Mustafi/Sven Bender (4)
FB - Weiser, Schmelzer & Gerhardt (3)
"6" - Kroos, Weigl & Kimmich (3)
"8" - Dahoud, Can, Khedira & Kramer/Arnold (4)
"10" - Ozil, Gotze & Draxler (3)
FW - Mueller, Reus, & Kruse* (3)

*since Jogi won't take Kruse, replace with one of Brandt/Volland/Sane/Schurrle



mint said:


> Gomez is very deserving of his spot.
> 
> The others though.




No he isn't. Gomez clogged the final third and stifled our attacks even in his prime. No way does he deserve a spot now, in the twilight of his career.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Roster could still be ok if LÃ¶w cuts the right players. I don't really care too much though. 



cgf said:


> No he isn't. Gomez clogged the final third and stifled our attacks even in his prime. No way does he deserve a spot now, in the twilight of his career.




He had a great year at Besiktas. I hope he makes it.


----------



## Cucumber

So I guess Belgium are the favorites? HM goes to France.


----------



## Deficient Mode

K DEN said:


> So I guess Belgium are the favorites? HM goes to France.




No..


----------



## Cucumber

Its between France, Germany, Belgium, and Spain.

Have this feeling Hazard will light up this tourney. I am not a fan of him but seems like after a quiet year he is picking up stream and no reason for him to stop. 

I think Belgium will win but I guess you guys will have Germany/Spain as favorites.


----------



## Deficient Mode

K DEN said:


> I guess you guys will have Germany/Spain as favorites.




Yes. Easily the two best rosters despite our complaining. None of those teams have particularly competent coaches.


----------



## Evilo

France has a roster just as good as Spain IMO, even with the farce our list is.

But the D looks awfully weak. Up front and in midfield though, you can't do much better, even without Benzema.


----------



## Eye of Ra

Hart
Walker Smalling Cahill Rose
Drinkwater Dier Alli (english version of Matuidi, Kante, Pogba)
Vardy Kane Sturridge


----------



## Luigi Habs

TheFatOne said:


> Hart
> Walker Smalling Cahill Rose
> Drinkwater Dier Alli (english version of Matuidi, Kante, Pogba)
> Vardy Kane Sturridge




I don't think this fwd line will happen. Milner will have a spot on the starting 11, I think in Sturridge place.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> France has a roster just as good as Spain IMO, even with the farce our list is.
> 
> But the D looks awfully weak. Up front and in midfield though, you can't do much better, even without Benzema.




I like Spain's midfield a lot more than France's. I like it more than Germany's too actually. I know they have some question marks up front, and it's unclear if they'll coalesce well, but they're all very good players. I don't rate the French attackers except Benzema as highly as some do.


----------



## Evilo

Frankly, after seeing KantÃ©/Pogba/Matuidi operate together, it's ABSOLUTELY amazing.

Up front, Martial/Griezmann/Payet is extremely dangerous, with two of them in huge form.


----------



## Luigi Habs

England has the potential to mix things up. For some reason I don't see Spain winning. For me it's between Belgium/France and Germany with a clear edge to Germany. Belgium has some serious weakness with their full backs while France got their defensive depth weakened.

Favorites for me go like this

1. Germany
2. Belgium/France
3. England/Spain


----------



## HajdukSplit

Problem with Belgium is their path to the final is brutal even if they win the group...

R16: Croatia (maybe Turkey)
QF: Germany
SF: France

In fact their path would be 'easier' if they finish as runners-up

R16: Portugal
QF: England
SF: Spain

Of course this is if everything goes to plan


----------



## SeawaterOnIce

Captain Saku said:


> Uhhhh where are Buffon and Chiellini? Izzo/Acerbi/Tonelli over Barzagli/Rugani?  @ Borini and Eder, Eder has like one goal in 20 games. Zaza, Giovinco and El Shaarawy would have been better picks.
> 
> Are you sure this is final list? This can't be serious.
> 
> EDIT: After digging a bit more, this is NOT the final squad. Final squad will be announced on May 23. Those players have been invited to pre-tournament training camp that's all.




Christ, looking at our potential roster makes me sick. It was 16 years ago, we had a core consisting of: Cannavaro, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Nesta, Totti, Zambrotta (and Maldini)

How the time flies......

Looking back, we should have amassed more than one trophy, but an unfortunate series of events plus running into the great French teams left us with one WC. 

Nonetheless, I expect Italy to finish last in the group.


----------



## Bures Elbow

Bernardo Silva injured and confirmed to miss the Euros...devastating.

Our best prospect and most creative player, and really turned it on at Monaco the past few months.

Looks like we're going 4-4-2 diamond now with our decent defense and strong midfield, having Ronaldo/Nani in free roles.

Call ups:

GK:
Rui Patricio-Sporting
Anthony Lopes-Lyon
Eduardo-Zagreb(lulz he's only there to pass out water bottles)

RB
Cedric- Southampton
Vierinha- Wolfsburg

LB
Eliseu-Benfica
Raphael Gurreiro- Lorient

CB
Pepe- Real Madrid
Jose Fonte- Southampton
Ricardo Carvalho- Monaco
Bruno Alves- Fener. (For God sakes just die already)

DM:
William Carvalho-Sporting
Danilo- Porto

CM:
Joao Moutinho- Monaco
Adrien- Sporting
Renato Sanches- Bayern Munich

CAM
Joao Mario-Sporting
Andre Gomes- Valencia

Wingers/forwards
Rafa Silva- Braga
Quaresma-Beskitas
Ronaldo-Real Madrid
Nani-Fener.
Eder- Lille(lulz)

Bernardo Silva is a massive loss, such a creative talented player..Rafa had a great season and is going to make a jhump to a big team, but he's not on Bernardo silva's level..

Renato Sanches or Adrien was called in his place to stack the midfield


----------



## Bures Elbow

SeawaterOnIce said:


> Christ, looking at our potential roster makes me sick. It was 16 years ago, we had a core consisting of: Cannavaro, Del Piero, Inzaghi, Nesta, Totti, Zambrotta (and Maldini)
> 
> How the time flies......
> 
> Looking back, we should have amassed more than one trophy, but an unfortunate series of events plus running into the great French teams left us with one WC.
> 
> Nonetheless, I expect Italy to finish last in the group.




Euro 2000 was the best tournament I ever witnessed, every team was insanely talented and had legends.

All 4 semi finalists were just incredibly talented.

Even teams like Romania, Yugoslavia, Czech Rep., Turkey, had really solid players.


----------



## Pouchkine

France 98 and Euro 2000 were incredible.


----------



## Pouchkine

Great Games, Great Players, Great Teams, Great Stadiums, Great Fans, Great Referees...


----------



## Pouchkine

Tons of great goals.


----------



## Luigi Habs

I was 16 at Euro 2000. Best tournament I've ever witnessed and with Euro expanding and possibly the WC I don't think we'll ever witness such a tournament again. Aside from Germany all big teams were insanely good. That Holland team would have taken the trophy at any other competition. But Italy and France had very strong teams that year.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> Frankly, after seeing KantÃ©/Pogba/Matuidi operate together, it's ABSOLUTELY amazing.




I think that they're very good. Iniesta and Busquets are all-time greats at their positions though, and they have a lot of flexibility for a third midfield spot.


----------



## Pouchkine

Holland could have beaten Italy 6-0 in the semis if they had buried their chances early in the game and that was Italy with Zambrotta-Nesta-Cannavaro-Maldini! So many great players in their prime you will never see this again, not even close. Yeah just imagine Germany was one of the worst team of the tournament, that says it all. It's very tough to get excited for a 24 team Euro...especially these days with so many teams playing all out defence and everything.


----------



## Pouchkine

With this format it's very possible that an "outsider" makes it to the 1/2 finals without having to beat a "big" team.


----------



## cgf

Cruyff said:


> Holland could have beaten Italy 6-0 in the semis if they had buried their chances early in the game and that was Italy with Zambrotta-Nesta-Cannavaro-Maldini! So many great players in their prime you will never see this again, not even close. Yeah just imagine Germany was one of the worst team of the tournament, that says it all. It's very tough to get excited for a 24 team Euro...especially these days with so many teams playing all out defence and everything.




That germany team would've lost to a current german B team. So them sucking doesn't say much other than that that was one of the weakest German NTs since professional footballers became a thing.


----------



## Moncherry

Bures Elbow said:


> [Portugal team]




Decent defenders (a bit old though), strong midfield, forwards leave something to be desired.


----------



## cgf

If this next generation of Portuguese internationals can break through before CR7 slows down; that could be a trophy winning team in the next couple of cycles.


----------



## Pouchkine

This Portugal team lacks leadership. Nothing new. And why is that clown Nani still there?


----------



## Pouchkine

When does Russia and Ukraine name their 23?


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

cgf said:


> If this next generation of Portuguese internationals can break through before CR7 slows down; that could be a trophy winning team in the next couple of cycles.




Cristiano Ronaldo is 31 now, difficult to imagine him not slowing down a bit over the next 4 years. 

Re: Euro 2000, I remember that tournament as one of the low points in my time watching football, though it objectively probably was a solid tournament which had some memorable games and moments.


----------



## cgf

Yeah I meant before CR7 slows down drastically, he'll slow down a little but I don't think he'll fall off a cliff in these next few cycles. A 2006 like tourney at some point would make sense; with Christiano in the role of Figo, passing on the baton to the new kids.


----------



## hatterson

Btw, today's United game is a perfect example of why I think England should play Rooney a lot in a midfield role versus a higher up one. His ability to control the game and pick out passes (especially long ones) from midfield with a bit of space is absolutely world class.


----------



## Deficient Mode

I don't have any insight into the machinations of the Portuguese squad or their manager, but can someone explain Cancelo's standing with the team? I don't watch a lot of the players in their squad, but I would find it really hard to justify taking Vierinha over him on what I saw from both this season. Is it just a question of seniority?



hatterson said:


> Btw, today's United game is a perfect example of why I think England should play Rooney a lot in a midfield role versus a higher up one. His ability to control the game and pick out passes (especially long ones) from midfield with a bit of space is absolutely world class.




Fundamentally I agree. The English media has the Rooney narrative all wrong - as usual. A better coach than Roy could probably help him recover whatever he lacks in form or dysfunction at United. But since that won't happen, I can see why most fans seem to want to take a more in-form player like Vardy.


----------



## hatterson

Deficient Mode said:


> Fundamentally I agree. The English media has the Rooney narrative all wrong - as usual. A better coach than Roy could probably help him recover whatever he lacks in form or dysfunction at United. But since that won't happen, I can see why most fans seem to want to take a more in-form player like Vardy.




The last quarter or so of the season, since he's been healthy and Rashford has emerged as a legitimate striker, LvG has played him a lot more in that role and he's been great.

But you're right. To many he's still a striker so he's judged based on goals and he hasn't provided near as many of those as he normally does, even though I think he's been a better player recently than I think at any time in the last few years. Perhaps since as far back as his 27 goal season in 11-12.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

hatterson said:


> Btw, today's United game is a perfect example of why I think England should play Rooney a lot in a midfield role versus a higher up one. His ability to control the game and pick out passes (especially long ones) from midfield with a bit of space is absolutely world class.




Let's not act like Rooney in a deep role hasn't been tried. It's been tried many times with results no less ambivalent than those of him upfront.


----------



## Bures Elbow

Deficient Mode said:


> I don't have any insight into the machinations of the Portuguese squad or their manager, but can someone explain Cancelo's standing with the team? I don't watch a lot of the players in their squad, but I would find it really hard to justify taking Vierinha over him on what I saw from both this season. Is it just a question of seniority?
> 
> 
> 
> Fundamentally I agree. The English media has the Rooney narrative all wrong - as usual. A better coach than Roy could probably help him recover whatever he lacks in form or dysfunction at United. But since that won't happen, I can see why most fans seem to want to take a more in-form player like Vardy.




Cancelo will be better, no question. Yet he hasnt had one game with the national team so it was always going to be difficult to make this Euro. He'll be there for the world cup in 2 years time, plus he will be starting RB for the olympic team this summer.


----------



## hatterson

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> Let's not act like Rooney in a deep role hasn't been tried. It's been tried many times with results no less ambivalent than those of him upfront.




It's not just a deeper role, it's a deeper role where his job isn't to get the ball in space and make runs, it's to play a distribution role and focus on spreading the field. I'm not talking about him being a deep striker, I'm talking about him being a midfielder.

He's also got the soccer intelligence to cover defensively temporarily which would allow some of England's back line players to make runs.

That really hasn't been done with any regularity before the last part of this year.

Granted he's not going to play as well as he did today all the time. Today he was the best player on the pitch by a mile, easily one of the best all around games by anyone. However, playing him and judging him as a striker is a mistake at this point in his career. He doesn't have the quickness to make runs at a world class level any more, but he does have the ability to distribute from midfield that very few can match. His 50-60 yard passes are insane and when you have speed like Vardy, could really open up a ton of chances.


----------



## Cucumber

hart
rose smalling cahill clyne
rooney drinkwater
sturridge barley alli
kane


would be my starting 11. 

Knowing hodgson though I think milner instead of drinkwater. Prehaps sterling instead of barkley if hodgsons wants more pace in the squad.


----------



## Power Man

Lucas Vasquez is on Spain's provisional squad

LOL his reaction when he found out :

http://www.realmadrid.com/aficion/v...s-vazquez-de-su-convocatoria-con-la-seleccion


----------



## Michigan

Anything else is way overthinking things.


----------



## Bubbles

East Coast Bias said:


> No Giovinco for Italy. Wow. Borini made it. Jesus.
> 
> *Goalkeepers*: Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Antonio Mirante (Bologna), Marco Sportiello (Atalanta);
> *Defenders*: Francesco Acerbi (Sassuolo), Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Armando Izzo (Genoa), Angelo Obinze Ogbonna (West Ham), Lorenzo Tonelli (Empoli);
> *Midfielders*: Marco Benassi (Torino), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Antonio Candreva (Lazio), Danilo Cataldi (Lazio), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Lorenzo De Silvestri (Sampdoria), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorge Luiz Jorginho (Napoli), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Roberto Soriano (Sampdoria), Davide Zappacosta (Torino);
> *Forwards*: Fabio Borini (Sunderland), Citadin Martins Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Leonardo Pavoletti (Genoa), Graziano PellÃ¨ (Southampton).
> 
> 
> NOT the final list. Just camp invites. Sorry for the confusion




No Donnarumma? Those strikers don't really stand out to me.


----------



## Live in the Now

Kane-Sturridge
Rooney-Alli-Dier-Milner
Rose-Cahill-Smalling-Clyne
Hart


Anything else is way overthinking things. Let Sturridge run his race for 60 minutes, bring on Vardy after that to do the same. Takes Sturridge some time to come into the game so he'd have no effect from the bench. He should also never play 90 minutes, so Vardy will get to play a lot. Milner is their best crosser and he's in great form so they should play him as well. That selection also gives flexibility for late game substitutions. There's one player there who can play almost anywhere on the field, which allows England to choose anyone from their bench to come in if a player gets injured. Rooney can also play a variety of positions.

I do think international teams should play players in combination with their club teammates if at all possible. I know putting Rooney on the left side seems wrong headed, but he assisted Sturridge from there against Italy in 2014. That was almost all he did in any of the games (he did score, but largely ineffective) and that was the only time he played on the left side. It was also the only time they looked like a real team. They also don't have any other left winger/midfielder who could have a similar impact on the game. 

Also, you can't really play Alli and Rooney in the same midfield, or Rooney in any international game midfield. The first goal against Uruguay came when they ran straight past England's midfielders, which would be a regular occurrence if those two were playing there. Rooney also wants to play as a holding midfielder, and given he's not better than Dier, in addition to England not needing to play two holding midfielders against the likes of Wales, Slovakia, and Russia, that should never happen. Anyway, I expect them to play an idiotic formation and lose to Portugal in the QF.


----------



## Alex Jones

Cruyff said:


> This Portugal team lacks leadership. Nothing new. And why is that clown Nani still there?




Nani has played pretty well over the last year or so. It's not like there are a lot of better options for Portugal.


----------



## Alex Jones

cgf said:


> Yeah I meant before CR7 slows down drastically, he'll slow down a little but I don't think he'll fall off a cliff in these next few cycles. A 2006 like tourney at some point would make sense; with Christiano in the role of Figo, passing on the baton to the new kids.




Four years is a long time, but I think he can be world class for at least a couple more playing up top as a poacher.


----------



## hatterson

Live in the Now said:


> Rooney also wants to play as a holding midfielder, and given he's not better than Dier, in addition to England not needing to play two holding midfielders against the likes of Wales, Slovakia, and Russia, that should never happen. Anyway, I expect them to play an idiotic formation and lose to Portugal in the QF.




Yea, I don't like Rooney in the holding midfield role on the international level. He's good enough to play that in PL matches from time to time, but I think he should be at the top of the diamond, not the bottom of it.

I'd do something like this:

Kane-Vardy/Sturridge
Henderson/Drinkwater/whatever-Rooney-Milner
Dier
Walker-Smalling-Cahill-Rose
Hart

A bit of a 4-4-2 diamiond but with the CAM playing back a tad more than normal.

You could also do what you said and swap Rooney for Henderson/Drinkwater and bring in Alli up front


----------



## HajdukSplit

Portugal has such an old squad and its amazing Eduardo is on the team, he makes bad mistakes even in the Croatian league where he faces at most 1-2 shots a game. Though, Portugal seem to have many promising youngsters coming through, their youth teams continually do well, question is whether they will properly develop


----------



## Moncherry

HajdukSplit said:


> Portugal has such an old squad and its amazing Eduardo is on the team, he makes bad mistakes even in the Croatian league where he faces at most 1-2 shots a game. Though, Portugal seem to have many promising youngsters coming through, their youth teams continually do well, question is whether they will properly develop




Yeah Eduardo is only there on his past contributions and because he's a known name, everyone is a distant third behind Patricio and Lopes in goal.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Switzerland name a 28-man provisional squad, the most notable absence is Gokhan Inler but he wasn't playing much at Leicester. Also not in the squad is Timm Klose and Valentin Stocker. Breel Embolo makes the squad for now but he is an injury doubt while Young Boys midfielder Denis Zakaria gets his first call

*Goalkeepers:* Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Marwin Hitz (Augsburg), Yvon Mvogo (Young Boys), Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach)
*Defenders:* Johan Djourou (Hamburg), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach), Michael Lang (FC Basel), Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Fabian Schar (Hoffenheim), Philippe Senderos (Grasshopper Zurich), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Silvan Widmer (Udinese)
*Midfielders:* Valon Behrami (Watford), Blerim Dzemaili (Genoa), Gelson Fernandes (Stade Rennes), Fabian Frei (Mainz), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), Renato Steffen (FC Basel), Granit Xhaka (Borussia Monchengladbach), Denis Zakaria (Young Boys), Luca Zuffi (FC Basel)
*Forwards:* Eren Derdiyok (Kasimpasa), Breel Embolo (FC Basel), Admir Mehmedi (Bayer Leverkusen), Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Shani Tarashaj (Grasshopper Zurich)


Turkey name a 31-man provisional squad because the players based on Fenerbahce and Galatasaray will join the camp late due to the Turkish cup final, in fact their match against England in a few days will be played without those guys. Danish-born striker Emre Mor gets his first call-up while Gokhan Tore is included for now despite being suspended for two matches. Caglar Soyuncu, a player playing in the second tier, is also included but he will be moving to Freiburg after the tournament. Omer Toprak is still an absence as he has been under Fatim Terim for a while

*Goalkeepers:* Ali Sasal Vural (Eskisehirspor), Harun Tekin (Bursaspor), Onur Kivrak (Trabzonspor), Volkan Babacan (Istanbul BB)
*Defenders:* Gokhan Gonul (Fenerbahce), Sener Ozbayrakli (Fenerbahce), Ahmet Calik (Genclerbirligi), Caglar Souncu (Altinordu), Hakan Balta (Galatasaray), Mehmet Topal (Fenerbahce), Semih Kaya (Galatasaray), Serdar Aziz (Bursaspor), Caner Erkin (Fenerbahce), Ismail Koybasi (Besiktas)
*Midfielders:* Gokhan Tore (Besiktas), Volkan Sen (Fenerbahce), Yasin Oztekin (Galatasaray), Hakan Calhanoglu (Bayer Leverkusen), Mahmut Tekdemir (Istabul BB), Nuri Sahin (Borussia Dortmund), Oguzhan Ozyakup (Besiktas), Ozan Tufan (Fenerbahce), Selcuk Inan (Galatasaray), Alper Potuk (Fenerbahce), Arda Turan (Barcelona), Olcay Sahan (Besiktas)
*Forwards:* Burak Yilmaz (Beijing Guoan), Cenk Tosun (Besiktas), Melvut Erdinc (Guingamp), Yunus Malli (Mainz), Emre Mor (Nordsjaelland)


----------



## HajdukSplit

Northern Ireland name their provisional squad, mostly a group of second/third tier English league players and even some SPL guys. Only five Premier League players in the squad. Chris Brunt is a notable absence due to injury. Even with the expansion of Euros and incredible achievement looking at this squad

*Goalkeepers:* Roy Carroll (Notts County), Michael McGovern (Hamilton Academical), Alan Mannus (St. Johnstone) 
*Defenders:* Aaron Hughes (Melbourne City), Chris Baird (Derby County), Gareth McAuley (West Brom), Jonny Evans (West Brom), Craig Cathcart (Watford), Lee Hodson (MK Dons), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town), Daniel Lafferty (Burnley), Luke McCullough (Doncaster Rovers), Paddy McNair (Manchester United), Michael Smith (Peterborough United)
*Midfielders:* Steven Davis (Southampton), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Oliver Norwood (Reading), Shane Ferguson (Millwall), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), Ben Reeves (MK Dons)
*Forwards:* Kyle Lafferty (Birmingham City), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock), Bill McKay (Dundee United), Liam Boyce (Ross County), Will Grigg (Wigan Atletic), Conor Washington (Queens Park Rangers)


----------



## Eye of Ra

Cillessen/Zoet
Blind - Martins Indi - De Vrij - Der Wiel
Wijnaldum - Strootman - Clasie/Klaassen/Bazoer
Sneijder
Depay - Promes/Dost/Hunteelar/Robben

If Netherlands was in, i think this team could go all the way.


----------



## Savi

For Belgium, BjÃ¶rn Engels will miss the tournament as well. He's a 21 year old centre back playing for champions Club Brugge, probably the best young CB prospect we have and already the best defender in the Belgian League. With Kompany's injury, he was 99% certain to make the squad had he not been hurt during the title game against Anderlecht.


----------



## maclean

Czech Republic's preliminary team, five players will eventually be cut to bring it down to 23:

*KEEPERS*
Petr Čech,	Arsenal
TomÃ¡Å¡ Koubek,	Liberec
TomÃ¡Å¡ VaclÃ­k,	Basel

*DEFENCE*
Theodor Gebre Selassie,	Werder Bremen
Roman HubnÃ­k,	Plzeň
Pavel KadeřÃ¡bek,	Hoffenheim
Michal Kadlec,	Fenerbahce Istanbul
David LimberskÃ½,	Plzeň
Daniel Pudil	,	Sheffield Wednesday
TomÃ¡Å¡ Sivok,	Bursaspor
Marek SuchÃ½,	Basel
Ondřej Zahustel,	Sparta

*MIDFIELD*
VladimÃ­r Darida,	Hertha Berlin
Bořek Dočkal,	Sparta
Daniel KolÃ¡ř,	Plzeň
Jan KovařÃ­k,	Plzeň
Ladislav KrejčÃ­,	Sparta
LukÃ¡Å¡ Mareček,	Sparta
David Pavelka,	Kasimpasa
Jaroslav PlaÅ¡il,	Bordeaux
TomÃ¡Å¡ RosickÃ½,	Arsenal
JiřÃ­ SkalÃ¡k,	Brighton
Josef Å ural,	Sparta

*FORWARDS*
David Lafata,	Sparta
TomÃ¡Å¡ Necid,	Bursaspor
Patrik Schick,	Bohemians
Milan Å koda,	Slavia
Matěj Vydra,	Reading


----------



## Pouchkine

Far removed from the Czech team of Nedved...


----------



## Luigi Habs

Savi said:


> For Belgium, BjÃ¶rn Engels will miss the tournament as well. He's a 21 year old centre back playing for champions Club Brugge, probably the best young CB prospect we have and already the best defender in the Belgian League. With Kompany's injury, he was 99% certain to make the squad had he not been hurt during the title game against Anderlecht.




Does it mean Ciman will make it? We need him in Montreal


----------



## HajdukSplit

Cruyff said:


> When does Russia and Ukraine name their 23?




Ukraine named their squad today, during the press conference Yarmolenko and Stepanenko had to publically apologize to each other after one of them threatened to not play for the NT after a fight in a recent Shakhtar-Dynamo match








*Goalkeepers:* Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Boyko (Besiktas), Mykyta Shevchenko (Zorya Luhansk)
*Defenders:* Vyacheslav Shevchuk (Shakhtar Donetsk), Oleksandr Kucher (Shakhtar Donetsk), Artem Fedetsky (Dnipro), Yevhev Khacheridi (Dynamo Kiev), Yaroslav Rakitsky (Shakhtar Donetsk), Mykyta Kamenyuka (Zorya Luhansk)
*Midfielders:* Anatoliy Tymoshchuk (Kairat Almaty), Oleg Gusev (Dynamo Kiev), Ruslan Rotan (Dnipro), Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kiev), Yevhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Denys Garmash (Dynamo Kiev), Sergiy Sydorchuk (Dynamo Kiev), Sergiy Rybalka (Dynamo Kiev), Oleksandr Karavayev (Zorya Luhansk), Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar Donetsk), Ivan Petryak (Zorya Luhansk), Maksym Malyshev (Shakhtar Donetsk), Yevhen Shakhov (Dnipro)
*Forwards:* Roman Zozulya (Dnipro), Artem Kravets (Stuttgart), Pylyp Budkivsky (Zorya Luhansk) 
*STANDBY:* 


Russia will name their squad after the conclusion of their league season on Saturday

Also, Italy and Albania are yet to name their squads, Italy will do it May 23, no clue about Albania, probably still trying to convince some Swiss players to join them


----------



## Pouchkine

Ciman makes too many big mistakes every game, in MLS...


----------



## Pouchkine

Ukraine have a good team but lack a real quality striker.


----------



## Pouchkine

Was Seleznyov dropped because he decided to go play in Russia for Kuban Krasnodar? It was talked about at the time of the move, it's probably the reason he's not there. Not a smart move on his part leaving Dnipro Europa finalist for Kuban. Anyone knows if it's a coach's decision only or coach and players because I read some players didn't want to see him back in the National Team after his move. He would have been their starting guy up front.


----------



## Pouchkine

He actually just signed with Shakhtar again so that's even more puzzling.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Cruyff said:


> *Was Seleznyov dropped because he decided to go play in Russia for Kuban Krasnodar?* It was talked about at the time of the move, it's probably the reason he's not there. Not a smart move on his part leaving Dnipro Europa finalist for Kuban. Anyone knows if it's a coach's decision only or coach and players because I read some players didn't want to see him back in the National Team after his move. He would have been their starting guy up front.




Pretty much I think, as he played in most of the qualifiers and important playoff matches. He will sign for Shakhtar in the summer as Kuban released him, so he isn't in the best of form at the moment which might be another reason. They also didn't call up Butko who is at Amkar Perm now (he was on their Euro 2012 squad). Can't answer the second question though I'm sure there is some pressure on the coach not to name Russian based players

Here's an article about his move to Kuban if you're interested: http://futbolgrad.com/yevhen-seleznyov-controversial-move-to-russia/


----------



## HajdukSplit

And here is another recent article from today, apparently Kuban and Amkar Perm claimed that Seleznyov and Butko were selected but they were not announced today. Fomenko will explain on Monday, it is noted that he has called up Russian-based players as recently as the playoff match vs. Slovenia

http://futbolgrad.com/seleznyov-ukrainian-national-team/

My assumption: Seleznyov wasn't playing his best at Kuban (http://www.transfermarkt.com/evgen-.../59908/saison/2015/wettbewerb/RU1/verein/2439) which made it easier to leave him off. Maybe I am being naÃ¯ve but if he was performing well I think he would be selected, despite the controversy. The other Russian-based players available for selection don't seem to be key parts of the team in fairness to Fomenko (Zinchenko played 1 match in Euro qualifying, Butko hasn't been called in 2-3 years, Pylyavsky was called up for every match in qualifying but didn't play)


----------



## Pouchkine

Only Seleznyov could have helped the team and would have been on the starting 11. They really have no one to lead the line up front. Thanks for the info, will follow this in the coming days.


----------



## cgf

http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features...e-podolski-squad-template#tGBUuEHgcoGPTmjX.99

bahahahaha


----------



## Luigi Habs

cgf said:


> http://www.fourfourtwo.com/features...e-podolski-squad-template#tGBUuEHgcoGPTmjX.99
> 
> bahahahaha




Not real?



> Please note: This fictional news story is not real. But you already knew that, right?


----------



## cgf

Captain Saku said:


> [snip]




shhhhh


----------



## Savi

Captain Saku said:


> Does it mean Ciman will make it? We need him in Montreal




I sincerely hope not


----------



## HajdukSplit

Albania named their 28-man provisional squad today, no real surprise omissions while no new names as well. I guess Salihi is a slight surprise he didn't make the list, top scorer in Albanian league and experienced but he hasn't been called up since October of last year

*Goalkeepers:* Etrit Berisha (Lazio), Alban Hoxha (Partizani Tirana), Orges Shehi (Skenderbeu Korce)
*Defenders:* Lorik Cana (Nantes), Arlind Ajeti (Frosinone), Berat Gjim****i (Atalanta), MÃ«rgim Mavraj (FC Koln), Amir Rrahmani (RNK Split), Elseid Hysaj (Napoli), Ansi Agolli (Qarabağ), Frederic Veseli (Lugano), Naser Aliji (FC Basel)
*Midfielders:* Ledjan Memushaj (Pescara), Ergys KaÃ§e (PAOK), Andi Lila (PAS Giannina), Migjen Basha (Como), Odise Roshi (Rijeka), Burim Kukeli (FC ZÃ¼rich), Ermir Lenjani (Nantes), Herolind Shala (Slovan Liberec), Taulant Xhaka (FC Basel), Armir Abrashi (Freiburg)
*Forwards:* Bekim Balaj (Rijeka), Sokol Ã‡ikalleshi (Medipol Baksasehir), Armando Sadiku (FC Vaduz), Milot Rashica (Vitesse Arnhem), Shkelzen Gashi (Colorado Rapids)

Only two teams left are Russia and Italy to name their squads and they should be named in the next few days


----------



## HajdukSplit

Russia named their squad today after the conclusion of the RPL. Missing out due to injuries are Cheryshev, Zhirkov and Kuzmin. Also no Kerzhakov who hasn't scored since early April in the Swiss league. Brazilian-born goalkeeper Guilherme makes the final cut, he made his debut in March. Roman Neustadter, the Schalke defender, makes the final cut despite not officially having his Russian passport yet. He was born in the former Soviet Union (present-day Ukraine) before moving to Germany as a youngster. He was also capped by Germany but not in official fixtures. Also not Rostov player selected despite finishing 2nd

*Goalkeepers:* Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Guilherme (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Lodygin (Zenit St. Petersburg)
*Defenders:* Aleksei Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Vasili Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Schalke 04), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shishkin (Lokomotiv Moscow), Georgi Shchennikov (CSKA Moscow)
*Midfielders:* Aleksandr Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Oleg Ivanov (Terek Grozny), Pavel Mamaev (Krasnodar), Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (CSKA Moscow)
*Forwards:* Artem Dzyuba (Zenit St. Petersburg), Aleksandr Kokorin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Fedor Smolov (Krasnodar)


----------



## Savi

Looks like a pretty old team at first glance


----------



## Deficient Mode

Good to see NeustÃ¤dter there.


----------



## Pouchkine

Yeah that's quite an old squad but Slutsky didn't have any good youngsters to pick. Some 24-25 years old should start like Dzagoev Dzyuba Smolov Shatov. There's lots of very good players but it's severely lacking in real standouts.


----------



## cgf

HajdukSplit said:


> Russia named their squad today after the conclusion of the RPL. Missing out due to injuries are Cheryshev, Zhirkov and Kuzmin. Also no Kerzhakov who hasn't scored since early April in the Swiss league. Brazilian-born goalkeeper Guilherme makes the final cut, he made his debut in March. Roman Neustadter, the Schalke defender, makes the final cut despite not officially having his Russian passport yet. He was born in the former Soviet Union (present-day Ukraine) before moving to Germany as a youngster. He was also capped by Germany but not in official fixtures. Also not Rostov player selected despite finishing 2nd
> 
> *Goalkeepers:* Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Guilherme (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Lodygin (Zenit St. Petersburg)
> *Defenders:* Aleksei Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Vasili Berezutski (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Dmitri Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Schalke 04), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shishkin (Lokomotiv Moscow), Georgi Shchennikov (CSKA Moscow)
> *Midfielders:* Aleksandr Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Alan Dzagoev (CSKA Moscow), Oleg Ivanov (Terek Grozny), Pavel Mamaev (Krasnodar), Aleksandr Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St. Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (CSKA Moscow)
> *Forwards:* Artem Dzyuba (Zenit St. Petersburg), Aleksandr Kokorin (Zenit St. Petersburg), Fedor Smolov (Krasnodar)




Replacing Capello with Slutsky has been a huge for them, cause holy f*** was the football Don Fabio was churning out dire. Still not expecting much, but at least they were playing better again; so I'm curious. Neu should help their defense a lot. As he's a big upgrade on either Berezutski bro, and much more mobile/skilled-with-the-ball. Kombarov & Shennikov give them pace & skill from their LB, Shatov runs & runs & runs so more until he ends up in a position to be useful...if someday he learned to use this superpower to score goals, he could be a true russian knockoff of Mueller...Dzyuba's good form gives them a big target man to play off of...plus he's one with passing skills & he doesn't just chill around the penalty waiting for balls to get knocked in off of his head. If Dzagoev & Kokorin can deliver their best, that team could put quite a few goals into the net.

Again, not expecting much from them...even before they choke away what chance to advance they have, as is tradition...but it'll be interesting to watch as a preview for 2018. Cheryshev & Kuzmin would've been a lot of help, but injuries are what they are.


----------



## cgf

Cruyff said:


> Yeah that's quite an old squad but Slutsky didn't have any good youngsters to pick. Some 24-25 years old should start like Dzagoev Dzyuba Smolov Shatov. There's lots of very good players but it's severely lacking in real standouts.




The russian clubs don't do enough developing their kids at the pro level. There's actually a reasonable amount of young talent coming out, for a country of Russia's standing in world football...despite some of the horrifying aspects of the russian youth system...but the domestic player rules and massive salaries on offer end up leaving a lot of those talents stuck being forced into bit roles on big clubs while making big bucks; instead of learning in major roles. This is why Dzyuba's development had seemed to stall for so long...until he moved to a smaller club & blew up...and why Kokorin stagnated/peaked a few seasons too early.

There's a couple of teenagers who are stuck in this exact situation atm, who I'd have thought long about bringing along as the 20th-23rd guys on the roster; not just to give them the experience, but to put pressure on their clubs to find those kids the kind of roles they need to be in to fully blossom by 2018 so that they can make an impact for the NT with their talent.


----------



## Pouchkine

I agree completely. Who are some of those young players you are talking about?


----------



## cgf

Cruyff said:


> I agree completely. Who are some of those young players you are talking about?




I lost track of the russian kids at some point last season, so there's better informed people then me. But in the last notes I still have on this laptop, I liked the following kids:

Panyukov -- ATT
Sheydaev -- ATT
Pronichev -- ATT
Zuev --ATT
Davydov -- ATT
Miranchuck -- MID
Akhmetov -- MID
A.Natcho -- MID
Efremov -- MID
Golovin -- MID
Guliev -- MID
Ozdoev -- CM/DM
Barinov -- CM/DM
Mogilevets -- CM/DM
Naibulin -- LB
Skopintsev -- LB
Chernov -- CB
Mitryushkin -- GK

By this point most of them should either already be playing first team football, in some cases even in major roles, or should start playing in first team football next season. So depending on how things have progressed in, I'd be looking at kids on that list. 

Ozdoev & Naibulin had already cracked regular first team jobs at that point, but I don't think that any of the others had yet...

These are kids that I'd either watched with their youth NTs; or the one russian colleague who's football opinions aren't terrible, suggested I look out for.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ciman called up to the Belgium squad, could be as many as 4-5 MLS players in the Euros

Varane is an injury doubt for France, will miss the CL final


----------



## Evilo

Varane out would mean end of our hopes really.

Our D injuries/suspensions : Varane, Sakho, Laporte, Zouma, Tremoulinas


----------



## Shrimper

Our defence is hilarious


----------



## HajdukSplit

England's kits are terrible, just bring back the traditional all white or navy blue shorts at least

England-Turkey is 1:1 at halftime, one of the first pre-Euro friendlies this month, Hungary a few days ago played a scoreless draw with Ivory Coast



Shrimper said:


> Our defence is hilarious




That's why England will have a tough time making a deep run into the tournament, only good news for them is their draw to the quarters is pretty open if they win the group which they should.


----------



## Venkman

4-3-3 with Vardy left and Sterling right, don't like Vardy there. 

Kane's goal was offside. Nice touch by Alli though. 

Poor decision by Hart to come for the ball for Turkey's goal. Nice pass by Ozyakup.


----------



## Venkman

Looks like Vardy upfront with Kane and Sterling in behind.


----------



## Shrimper

Turkey are really dirty


----------



## Venkman

2-1 England but not a great performance. 1-1 really with the offside goal.

Kane also missed a penalty.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Potential blow for Russia as Alan Dzagoev is ruled out of Euro due to a broken foot, he is replaced in the squad by Dmitri Torbinski of Spartak


----------



## Evilo

Rami was recalled in case Varane can't play. Umtiti, Mathieu and Mangala are lefties. So Rami actually stands a chance to be selected.


----------



## HajdukSplit

And last but not least, Italy name a 30-man provisional squad

*Goalkeepers:* Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris St. Germain)

*Defenders:* Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)

*Midfielders:* Marco Benassi (Torino), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorginho (Napoli), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus), Antonio Candreva (Lazio)

*Forwards:* Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano PellÃ¨ (Southampton), Simone Zaza (Juventus), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma)

The big winners from the pre-camp selection are Torino duo Marco Benassi and Davide Zappacosta who are both uncapped with the senior national team. Rugani makes it over Acerbi while Sturaro is a head scratcher but Italy have many injuries at CM. 

Up top Conte sticks with Eder and Zaza despite Zaza not being a regular at Juve and Eder only scoring one goal since January. Immobile is also not in the best form either. Players in better form not selected include Pavoletti who was the top Italian goalscorer in Serie A and even Giovinco but his move to MLS hurt his chances in all likelihood


----------



## East Coast Bias

HajdukSplit said:


> And last but not least, Italy name a 30-man provisional squad
> 
> *Goalkeepers:* Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris St. Germain)
> 
> *Defenders:* Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)
> 
> *Midfielders:* Marco Benassi (Torino), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorginho (Napoli), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus), Antonio Candreva (Lazio)
> 
> *Forwards:* Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano PellÃ¨ (Southampton), Simone Zaza (Juventus), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma)
> 
> The big winners from the pre-camp selection are Torino duo Marco Benassi and Davide Zappacosta who are both uncapped with the senior national team. Rugani makes it over Acerbi while Sturaro is a head scratcher but Italy have many injuries at CM.
> 
> Up top Conte sticks with Eder and Zaza despite Zaza not being a regular at Juve and Eder only scoring one goal since January. Immobile is also not in the best form either. Players in better form not selected include Pavoletti who was the top Italian goalscorer in Serie A and *even Giovinco but his move to MLS hurt his chances in all likelihood*




I would imagine Giovinco not being selected has more to do with his time at Juve when Conte was in charge, rather than him playing in MLS.


----------



## Pouchkine

That's a disaster for Russia.


----------



## Pouchkine

Giovinco can't deliver at the highest level simple as that. He is good against mickey mouse defences in mls though...


----------



## Pouchkine

Let's hope we won't see too many more injuries in training before the start.


----------



## Basement Cat

Shame Gio didn't make it. He looked great in his recent performances for Italy. Obviously he was has been amazing in MLS too.


----------



## Cucumber

Not sure how to feel about Gio

On one hand it is so sad that the World Cup champs from 10years ago are even considering a mls player. 

Otherhand, it's huge progress for the mls to have a player considered for an international team as big as Italy.


----------



## Luigi Habs

This is without a doubt the worst Italy squad I've seen. I'm not sure they'd even make it out from the group stage. 

This might be a wake up call for Italian football just like Euro 2000 was a wake up call for German football.


----------



## yoplait

HajdukSplit said:


> And last but not least, Italy name a 30-man provisional squad
> 
> *Goalkeepers:* Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus), Federico Marchetti (Lazio), Salvatore Sirigu (Paris St. Germain)
> 
> *Defenders:* Davide Astori (Fiorentina), Andrea Barzagli (Juventus), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Angelo Ogbonna (West Ham United), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Matteo Darmian (Manchester United), Mattia De Sciglio (Milan), Davide Zappacosta (Torino)
> 
> *Midfielders:* Marco Benassi (Torino), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Daniele De Rossi (Roma), Alessandro Florenzi (Roma), Emanuele Giaccherini (Bologna), Jorginho (Napoli), Riccardo Montolivo (Milan), Thiago Motta (Paris Saint-Germain), Marco Parolo (Lazio), Stefano Sturaro (Juventus), Antonio Candreva (Lazio)
> 
> *Forwards:* Eder (Inter), Ciro Immobile (Torino), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Graziano PellÃ¨ (Southampton), Simone Zaza (Juventus), Federico Bernardeschi (Fiorentina), Stephan El Shaarawy (Roma)
> 
> The big winners from the pre-camp selection are Torino duo Marco Benassi and Davide Zappacosta who are both uncapped with the senior national team. Rugani makes it over Acerbi while Sturaro is a head scratcher but Italy have many injuries at CM.
> 
> Up top Conte sticks with Eder and Zaza despite Zaza not being a regular at Juve and Eder only scoring one goal since January. Immobile is also not in the best form either. Players in better form not selected include Pavoletti who was the top Italian goalscorer in Serie A and even Giovinco but his move to MLS hurt his chances in all likelihood




Man, the loss of Verratti and Marchisio all but ruined any chance Italy had of making a little run at the Euros. Their CM position is just dreadful without them. Their defense will need to be damn near perfect for them to have any chance to get through the group.


----------



## Shrimper

Varane is officially out.


----------



## Evilo

Yup, Varane out. Pretty much impossible for us now. We had a weak defense with Varane as the only bright spot.
Now, we're left with Koscielny, who doesn't have the international level and a bunch of crap (Evra, Sagna, Rami).


----------



## Evilo

They might start Mangala instead of Rami. Not sure if it's any better...


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

France was my favourite for this tournament until injuries/Deschamps ruined them.


----------



## Cucumber

it's between Spain and Germany on paper.


----------



## Shrimper

K DEN said:


> it's between Spain and Germany on paper.




And England.


----------



## Evilo

Shrimper said:


> And England.



Not
Sure
If 
Serious


----------



## Pouchkine

England has been a non factor for so long.

The number of injuries though is pathetic. And almost all those guys are getting injured in training...


----------



## Shrimper

Evilo said:


> Not
> Sure
> If
> Serious









I'm not.

We'll come 2nd.


----------



## Pouchkine

1996 the last time England had a top 4 finish? And that was at home. For a "big" soccer nation that's really pathetic.


----------



## HajdukSplit

England have a very accessible path to the semifinals if they win their group, they will likely get Turkey/Czech in the R16 (maybe even Croatia if they struggle in the group) and then likelihood Portugal in the quarters. Overall they were helped massively by the draw, however if they fail to win the group then they get France in the quarters


----------



## Moncherry

Portugal will beat England no problem


----------



## Live in the Now

Fabian Schar is out for Switzerland. Look at their central defenders and see the remaining pairing that exists.


----------



## Power Man

Cruyff said:


> 1996 the last time England had a top 4 finish? And that was at home. For a "big" soccer nation that's really pathetic.




Lol at Moller trolling Wembley


----------



## maclean

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> France was my favourite for this tournament until injuries/Deschamps ruined them.




Mine too, I was looking forward to a real return to form this tourney. Still could happen, you never know..


----------



## takk

Is Blaszczykowski's captaincy for Poland confirmed yet? I see on Telegraph and several websites that he's listed as such, maybe they're using older information. If true though decision would be baffling, no offense to Kuba, but Lewandowski paved the way for Poland nice and easy while wearing the band. Truly hoping he will continue to carry it in the tournament.


----------



## Panteras

Moncherry said:


> Portugal will beat England no problem




and in penalties of course lol


----------



## Evilo

Mathieu is out for at least a week... 
Hopefully, he's out longer and DD is forced to recall Umtiti (who's on the reserves).


----------



## East Coast Bias

The top 5 odds to win the Euro are Germany, Spain, France, England, Belgium. Italy is 6th, but I feel like they have better odds to not score and crash out of the group stage than win.

Does anyone realistically see a team outside that 5 winning it? Who is your darkhorse?


----------



## HajdukSplit

East Coast Bias said:


> The top 5 odds to win the Euro are Germany, Spain, France, England, Belgium. Italy is 6th, but I feel like they have better odds to not score and crash out of the group stage than win.
> 
> Does anyone realistically see a team outside that 5 winning it? Who is your darkhorse?




Not really, I don't even consider Belgium/Italy legit contenders looking at their path to the final which is what I look at, not only is Group E pretty tough but their route to the final is brutal, in fact its probably better to finish 2nd in that group! 

If Portugal win their group and Italy finish runners-up, they play each other in the R16 and then face potentially England in the quarters. Italy and Portugal can certainly beat England but I doubt they will have enough to win two more games. The runner-up of Group C (likely Poland or Ukraine) has an open path to the quarters where they will likely face Spain

Had Croatia gotten a better manager, maybe I would be willing to say they win the group above Spain setting up a Croatia vs. POL/UKR quarterfinal, unlikely with Cacic where I see Croatia scraping for every point

Unfortunately with this new format of unbalanced groups I can see some teams actually trying not to win the group, especially in the case of Group E, you can even argue finishing 2nd in Group B is better than winning it


----------



## takk

I expect a last 8 appearance for Poland. As HS put it above, they have a convenient path to quarter finals. If everything goes right, they can put on a display like Croatia did in 98 or maybe Turkish teams of 02 and 08.


----------



## Pouchkine

England 5th favorite? Those betting sites or the betters themselves will never learn. The only real contenders for me are Spain Germany France, then even a team like Belgium actually winning it would be a big surprise. A team could get lucky and have an easy path to the semis and maybe even the final, but to win it not sure. Russia could have been a team like that get lucky with the draw maybe go to 1/2 but now their best player is out. It's really too bad, it's the first Euro with 24 teams and the quality level is at an all time low all around and Holland found a way to be absent as well! We will see lots of boring games with teams playing not too lose and get a little point, my hopes are very low, I hope to be wrong. Seriously teams like Wales Northern Ireland Albania have absolutely no business being at a big tournament like this. Turkey Czech Romania Italy Sweden are sending their worst team in over 20 years...


----------



## Pouchkine

Turkey also made 1/4 in 2000.


----------



## Pouchkine

What about ticket sales,is it going well?


----------



## East Coast Bias

Cruyff said:


> *England 5th favorite? Those betting sites or the betters themselves will never learn.* The only real contenders for me are Spain Germany France, then even a team like Belgium actually winning it would be a big surprise. A team could get lucky and have an easy path to the semis and maybe even the final, but to win it not sure. Russia could have been a team like that get lucky with the draw maybe go to 1/2 but now their best player is out. It's really too bad, it's the first Euro with 24 teams and the quality level is at an all time low all around and Holland found a way to be absent as well! We will see lots of boring games with teams playing not too lose and get a little point, my hopes are very low, I hope to be wrong. Seriously teams like Wales Northern Ireland Albania have absolutely no business being at a big tournament like this. Turkey Czech Romania Italy Sweden are sending their worst team in over 20 years...




Odds are made to entice bets. They're not idiots. It's not "who we think will win"


----------



## HajdukSplit

Romania draw with DR Congo 1:1, from what I saw Romania were better team but their only goal came from a huge mistake at the back by DRC, in the second half Romania took off many of their better players and DRC scored late


----------



## spintheblackcircle

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...t-out-players-racial-grounds?CMP=share_btn_tw

Eric Cantona has controversially suggested the ethnicity of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa may have been a factor in the France manager Didier Deschamps leaving the pair out of his squad for next month’s European Championship.


----------



## WhiskeySeven*

spintheblackcircle said:


> https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...t-out-players-racial-grounds?CMP=share_btn_tw
> 
> Eric Cantona has controversially suggested the ethnicity of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa may have been a factor in the France manager Didier Deschamps leaving the pair out of his squad for next monthâ€™s European Championship.



It might have to do with the fact that Benzema is a ******* criminal and consistently unimpressive in the France kit.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Pre-tournament training camps for the teams, most have started over the weekend, some teams like Italy, Germany and Russia started as late as the 24th

*France:* Clairefontaine (they will be based here the entire tournament)
*Romania:* St. Vincent, Italy (northern Italy on the Alps)
*Albania:* Bad Waltersdorf, Austria
*Switzerland:* Lugano, Switzerland
*England:* St. George's Park (Burton), Etihad Campus (Manchester), Watford
*Russia:* Bad Ragaz, Switzerland
*Wales:* Vale do Lobo, Portugal
*Slovakia:* Windischgarsten, Austria
*Germany:* Ascona, Switzerland
*Ukraine:* Pula, Italy (Sardinia)
*Poland:* Arlamow, Poland
*N. Ireland:* Dublin (surprised they are having a camp in the Rep of Ireland?)
*Spain:* first trainings in Madrid then Schruns, Austria
*Czech Republic:* first trainings in Prague then Kraznach, Austria
*Turkey:* Antalya, Turkey
*Croatia:* Sveti Martin na Muri, Croatia; Rovinj, Croatia
*Belgium:* Lausanne, Switzerland; Genk, Belgium
*Italy:* Coverciano, Italy
*Rep of Ireland:* Dublin, Ireland; Cork, Ireland
*Sweden:* Stockholm
*Portugal:* Lisbon
*Iceland:* Reykjavik...surprisingly their FA site is probably the worst of the qualified teams, its almost like they didn't qualify 
*Austria:* Laax, Switzerland
*Hungary:* Bad Kleinkirchheim (Austria); Telki (Hungary); Leogang (Austria)


----------



## Evilo

spintheblackcircle said:


> https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...t-out-players-racial-grounds?CMP=share_btn_tw
> 
> Eric Cantona has controversially suggested the ethnicity of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa may have been a factor in the France manager Didier Deschamps leaving the pair out of his squad for next monthâ€™s European Championship.




That's beyond stupid.
DD clearly wanted Benzema and was forced not to select him.

DD and Ben Arfa have never gone along and the main reason is DD's allergy to creativity.


----------



## Evilo

Delph out apparently.


----------



## takk

takk said:


> *Is Blaszczykowski's captaincy for Poland confirmed yet?* I see on Telegraph and several websites that he's listed as such, maybe they're using older information.




After delving some more into this subject, I don't think it's gonna be the case.

If Poland is going to make some noise, Kuba will prove himself very valuable despite the lackluster season he had, he can start or Nawalka can use him as an x-factor after 60th-65th minutes, depends on his condition.

Another question is who is going to start at goal. Szczesny kind of strikes as the definite go-to option but Nawalka might have more confidence in Fabianski as he used him against last couple of matches during the qualification stage.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fomenko adds Russian based players Seleznyov and Butko to their provisional camp roster, seems strange a change of heart only a few days later


----------



## Shrimper

Rashford score 2 minutes in.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Rasford scoring on his debut, let the hype machine start for him to be golden boot 

Croatia playing a 4-3-3 against Moldova and totally dominating, its too bad Croatia are playing two weak friendly matches and you don't know the true quality and if this formation will work against even middle-Euro teams

Czechs beat Malta 6:0, six different goalscorers. Slovakia beat Georgia 3:1, two goals for former MLSer Adam Nemec


----------



## Theon

Rashford playing really well.


----------



## Venkman

Looks like a diamond midfield with Sterling and Rashford upfront, Lallana #10. Not playing great again.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ivan did you watch the CRO game, I didn't bother to stream it but apparently another lackluster effort? So far under Cacic the team has looked like crap in all but one match (Russia friendly). Even against Malta they were sweating it out and the Czechs today beat them with ease


----------



## HajdukSplit

*Slovakia* - Georgia *3:1*
*Czech Republic* - Malta *6:0*
*Croatia* - Moldova *1:0*
*England* - Australia *2:1*
*Rep of Ireland* - Netherlands *1:1*
*N. Ireland* - Belarus *3:0*

Convincing wins for Slovakia, Czech Republic and Northern Ireland against weak opposition. Croatia only beat a Moldova 'B' team 1:0 but did hit the post on several occasions. 

Rashford and Rooney with goals for England while they conceded a late own goal (Dier). Overall a solid performance for England though, much better than the Turkey game

Ireland drew with a poor Netherlands who apparently only had one shot on target


----------



## Deficient Mode

HajdukSplit said:


> Ivan did you watch the CRO game, I didn't bother to stream it but apparently another lackluster effort? So far under Cacic the team has looked like crap in all but one match (Russia friendly). Even against Malta they were sweating it out and the Czechs today beat them with ease




Not Ivan but I watched the second half. Croatia had some nice chances but Moldova was in complete disarray. Just a friendly with extra substitutions and no Rakitic/Modric/Kovacic, so probably not worth reading too much into it. I didn't think that Croatia was lacking in effort.


----------



## Venkman

England were better 2nd half in a 4-3-3. Rooney up front. Sterling and Rashford wide. Think we've played better in 4-3-3 than the diamond midfield. Not sure on the starting 11 yet. Don't like Vardy wide but might have to play there.

-----------Dier
------Alli-------Rooney/Wilshere
Vardy---------------Sterling/Rooney
-----------Kane


----------



## Ivan13

HajdukSplit said:


> Ivan did you watch the CRO game, I didn't bother to stream it but apparently another lackluster effort? So far under Cacic the team has looked like crap in all but one match (Russia friendly). Even against Malta they were sweating it out and the Czechs today beat them with ease




Didn't catch it, but from what a buddy of mine told me it wasn't pretty. I fear this will be another chance gone to waste thanks to brilliant coaching.


----------



## Cucumber

Ivan13 said:


> Didn't catch it, but from what a buddy of mine told me it wasn't pretty. I fear this will be another chance gone to waste thanks to brilliant coaching.




I hear John Carver is available if you want the "best manager in the EPL."


----------



## Deficient Mode

Interesting if Sakho also gets called up now that he has been temporarily reinstated.


----------



## maclean

Got tickets to take the son to see the CZE - S.Korea friendly next weekend. Figured I may as well since it's around the corner and tickets were like 4 EUR. Czech Republic tends to struggle at Eden Stadium though, I think they've never ever won there


----------



## Savant

Deficient Mode said:


> Interesting if Sakho also gets called up now that he has been temporarily reinstated.




Can he be called up really? Only if there is another injury I assume? Based on Rami and Umtiti in for Varane and Mathieu already


----------



## Savi

Belgium beat Switzerland 2-1 in Geneva in a highly entertaining game with lots of good chances for both teams

You'd think the hot weather and many subs throughout the game would make it kinda boring but wasn't like that, thankfully

Lukaku and De Bruyne both scored, as did Dzemaili for the Swiss


----------



## Evilo

Apparently he might be called up.
No idea how that would work though.


----------



## Live in the Now

Hard to believe UEFA would suspend somebody for something that isn't banned.


----------



## Ceremony

Live in the Now said:


> Fabian Schar is out for Switzerland. Look at their central defenders and see the remaining pairing that exists.




Does Pascal Cygan still get a game?


----------



## Live in the Now

Senderos and Djourou


----------



## Ceremony

Senderos 

That might be worse than I was expecting.


----------



## Savi

Yeah Senderos was pretty bad against Belgium

Especially on the Lukaku goal


----------



## cgf

I'd like to see the swiss roll with 2 of Elvedi / Lang / Lustenberger alongside Schar in a back 3. Would let RiRo & Lichtsteiner/Widmer/Steffen run wild as wing backs. With Xhaka and any of Zakaria/Frei/Behrami/Zuffi/Dzemali/Fernandes marshalling the midfield. Stick 3 of Embolo/Mehmedi/Tarashaj/Shaqiri on top of that & they could have a very nifty team that could play some very slick football.


----------



## Cassano

Ceremony said:


> Senderos
> 
> That might be worse than I was expecting.




Integral part of the legendary Arsenal defense in the 2006 UCL run.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Northern Ireland named their final squad after their friendly victory over Belarus, with five players being cut from the original selection. No surprises as their base of players isn't big anymore, mostly English Football League or SPL players

*Goalkeepers:* Roy Carroll (Notts County), Michael McGovern (Hamilton Academical), Alan Mannus (St. Johnstone) 
*Defenders:* Craig Cathcart (Watford), Johnny Evans (West Bromwich Albion), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Luke McCullough (Doncaster Rovers), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town), Aaron Hughes (Melbourne City), Lee Hodson (MK Dons), Chris Baird (Derby County), Paddy McNair (Manchester United)
*Midfielders:* Steven Davis (Southampton), Oliver Norwood (Reading), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Shane Ferguson (Millwall)
*Forwards:* Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic), Kyle Lafferty (Birmingham City), Conor Washington (Queens Park Rangers), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock)


----------



## gary69

HajdukSplit said:


> Northern Ireland named their final squad after their friendly victory over Belarus, with five players being cut from the original selection. No surprises as their base of players isn't big anymore, mostly English Football League or SPL players
> 
> *Goalkeepers:* Roy Carroll (Notts County), Michael McGovern (Hamilton Academical), Alan Mannus (St. Johnstone)
> *Defenders:* Craig Cathcart (Watford), Johnny Evans (West Bromwich Albion), Gareth McAuley (West Bromwich Albion), Luke McCullough (Doncaster Rovers), Conor McLaughlin (Fleetwood Town), Aaron Hughes (Melbourne City), Lee Hodson (MK Dons), Chris Baird (Derby County), Paddy McNair (Manchester United)
> *Midfielders:* Steven Davis (Southampton), Oliver Norwood (Reading), Corry Evans (Blackburn Rovers), Jamie Ward (Nottingham Forest), Stuart Dallas (Leeds United), Niall McGinn (Aberdeen), Shane Ferguson (Millwall)
> *Forwards:* Will Grigg (Wigan Athletic), Kyle Lafferty (Birmingham City), Conor Washington (Queens Park Rangers), Josh Magennis (Kilmarnock)




Roy Carroll still plays? I would have thought he is in his 40's by now. Check: born 1977, so close.

It's weird that more younger guys aren't ahead of him at this stage.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

That's kinda scary, I remember Roy Carroll as a promising young goalkeeper. Time so unforgiving.


----------



## cgf

lol. Looking great Jogi.


----------



## NHL Dude 120

been watching the Germany vs Slovakia and their inexperience is pretty abundant.


----------



## cgf

NHL Dude 120 said:


> been watching the Germany vs Slovakia and their inexperience is pretty abundant.




The team's just organized horrifically against the ball. 

The Mez has been solid today though. If he could play like this off of the bench I wouldn't mind bringing him along as a plan B.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> lol. Looking great Jogi.




The team as usual isn't performing as well as they could be with that group of players, but it's harsh to blame Jogi for Hamsik's strike and the corner goal. I guess you could blame the mediocre pressing for allowing Slovakia to get such a grip in Germany's half, but I still thought Germany were the clearly better team in the first half. IDK.


----------



## Just Win

Our wingbacks are way too deep/passive and Draxler/Sane/GÃ¶tze are not really helping much either against the ball. Meh.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> The team as usual isn't performing as well as they could be with that group of players, but it's harsh to blame Jogi for Hamsik's strike and the corner goal. *I guess you could blame the mediocre pressing for allowing Slovakia to get such a grip in Germany's half*, but I still thought Germany were the clearly better team in the first half. IDK.




Bingo. We were smooth with the ball & so the better team in that half; but the team's given Slovakia gaping avenues to play through & way too much time on the ball. 

E: We need to either bring weigl on to better space the midfield, or to bring Can on to play CB & push Kimmich into the midfield.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Spahic manages to get sent off in a friendly game too 

Two early goals by Nolito but BiH grew in the game and created some chances and scored off a corner


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Bingo. We were smooth with the ball & so the better team in that half; but the team's given Slovakia gaping avenues to play through & way too much time on the ball.
> 
> E: We need to either bring weigl on to better space the midfield, or to bring Can on to play CB & push Kimmich into the midfield.




I would prefer Weigl as well, but Khedira has been pretty good tonight I think. I just mean that Jogi and Germany haven't been systematically beaten. They were beaten by an extremely difficult low percentage strike and a low percentage flicked on header. Of course they could be far better.


----------



## Just Win

HajdukSplit said:


> *Spahic manages to get sent off in a friendly game too
> *
> Two early goals by Nolito but BiH grew in the game and created some chances and scored off a corner




Good old Emir


----------



## Evilo

Spahic, lol, the butcher.


----------



## Deficient Mode

LMAO sad but somehow fitting for Weigl and Brandt to make their national team debuts on this flooded pitch. Symbolic of how talented players are wasted by LÃ¶w.


----------



## Deficient Mode

ter Stegen


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I would prefer Weigl as well, but Khedira has been pretty good tonight I think. I just mean that Jogi and Germany haven't been systematically beaten. They were beaten by an extremely difficult low percentage strike and a low percentage flicked on header. Of course they could be far better.




While each of the goals was a little flukey, there were systemic issues that where giving slovakia a lot of time & space to gain confidence with the ball. The kind of confidence that helps a team score "lucky" goals. So we should be better, even without so many of our top players.

I liked Sami in this one as well, would've kept him alongside Weigl in front of the back three and replaced one of Gomez/Sane/Draxler/Gotze/Rudy with Weigl.


----------



## NHL Dude 120

Germany have been pretty poor


----------



## HajdukSplit

Spain beat BiH 3:1, pretty decent game for a friendly, both sides were going for it and even with 10-men BiH managed to create some chances, however overall Spain were better and missed some sitters

However its important to note, Spain used some players today who aren't on their Euro squad because that's how thin their roster is right now due to CL finals and Barcelona playing in the Spanish Cup last week. They brought some U21 players for this game and gave debuts to Bellerin, I. Williams, Denis Suarez, Asensio, Fornals, Oyarzabal


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> While each of the goals was a little flukey, there were systemic issues that where giving slovakia a lot of time & space to gain confidence with the ball. The kind of confidence that helps a team score somewhat lucky goals. So we should be better, even without so many of our top players.
> 
> I liked Sami in this one as well, would've kept him alongside Weigl in front of the back three and replaced one of Gomez/Sane/Draxler/Gotze/Rudy with Weigl.




I agree; if this team pressed like Bayern or Dortmund they wouldn't have let Slovakia get into the match at all. As always with Jogi, there's plenty of opportunity to question personnel choices. 

Despite this effort, I'm still not too worried for the tournament. The higher intensity of a real competitive match will compensate somewhat for the structural problems. They were undoubtedly awful in the lead-up to the World Cup as well. The team is just too good not to be in the mix.


----------



## cgf

lol ref rewards all of Mario's whining by denying him a blatant penalty.


----------



## Deficient Mode

HajdukSplit said:


> Spain beat BiH 3:1, pretty decent game for a friendly, both sides were going for it and even with 10-men BiH managed to create some chances, however overall Spain were better and missed some sitters
> 
> However its important to note, Spain used some players today who aren't on their Euro squad because that's how thin their roster is right now due to CL finals and Barcelona playing in the Spanish Cup last week. *They brought some U21 players for this game and gave debuts to Bellerin, I. Williams, Denis Suarez, Asensio, Fornals, Oyarzaba*l




Plus Diego Llorente.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I agree; if this team pressed like Bayern or Dortmund they wouldn't have let Slovakia get into the match at all. As always with Jogi, there's plenty of opportunity to question personnel choices.
> 
> Despite this effort, I'm still not too worried for the tournament. The higher intensity of a real competitive match will compensate somewhat for the structural problems. They were undoubtedly awful in the lead-up to the World Cup as well. The team is just too good not to be in the mix.




I'm not worried either, I've accepted that this team will have to triumph despite its coach...but I'm still going to gripe about the problems with Jogi while fantasizing about what could've been if Jogi had just listened to me & stepped down after the WM so that the DFB could have thrown a fortune at Tuchel to guide the best german NTs of all time on a run to match spain's 3-straight titles.


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> I'm not worried either, I've accepted that this team will have to triumph despite its coach...but I'm still going to gripe about the problems with Jogi while fantasizing about what could've been if Jogi had just listened to me & stepped down after the WM so that the DFB could have thrown a fortune at *Tuchel to guide the best german NTs of all time on a run to match spain's 3-straight titles*.




I'm glad he ignored you. Club football>>>>>>>>>>international football


----------



## Eisen

I haven't seen a pitch like that in Augsburg today in ages.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> I'm glad he ignored you. Club football>>>>>>>>>>international football




He could've coached any club he wanted to, with all of the authority/clout you could ask for, & attracted any talents to follow him to that club; after 4 years of doing the things that he could do with this NT. Plus I care a lot more about the NT than I do any club but Union...which is, of course, the club he would have then chosen for his return from international football, if he was a proper arrogant hipster...


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> *He could've coached any club he wanted to, with all of the authority/clout you could ask for, & attracted any talents to follow him to that club; after 4 years of doing the things that he could do with this NT. *Plus I care a lot more about the NT than I do any club but Union...which is, of course, the club he would have then chosen for his return from international football, if he was a proper arrogant hipster...




Replace "this NT" with "this Borussia Dortmund team" and the sentence is just as accurate if not more. The likes of Barca and Bayern will still be courting Tuchel when he is done in Dortmund.

I mean, I don't particularly like any German club other than Dortmund, but there are several that I enjoy watching more than the national team. I don't really care about patriotism; I just grow to like the German players in the Bundesliga.


----------



## Pouchkine

Nice to see Ukraine scoring some goals.


----------



## cgf

Deficient Mode said:


> Replace "this NT" with "this Borussia Dortmund team" and the sentence is just as accurate if not more. The likes of Barca and Bayern will still be courting Tuchel when he is done in Dortmund.
> 
> I mean, I don't particularly like any German club other than Dortmund, but there are several that I enjoy watching more than the national team. I don't really care about patriotism; I just grow to like the German players in the Bundesliga.




Not really though. At BVB he'd have to beat Bayern, Barca, Real, etc. with less talent, to put together the kind of resume he could with our NT in this cycle & the next one. Everyone will still want him, but what he does at BVB won't grant him the kind of clout Pep arrives with; whereas adding an EM + WM, in the dominating fashion that a Tuchel coached NT could do so, might.

I'm happy he's at BVB, but dominating with the NT for 4 years would've done more for his resume & I'd have enjoyed it more. Not because of patriotism, just because I care more about the NT more than I do any first league club.


----------



## Pouchkine

And of course National Teams means millions times more than club football...


----------



## Deficient Mode

cgf said:


> Not really though. At BVB he'd have to beat Bayern, Barca, Real, etc. with less talent, to put together the kind of resume he could with our NT in this cycle & the next one. Everyone will still want him, but what he does at BVB won't grant him the kind of clout Pep arrives with; whereas adding an EM + WM, in the dominating fashion that a Tuchel coached NT could do so, might.
> 
> I'm happy he's at BVB, but dominating with the NT for 4 years would've done more for his resume & I'd have enjoyed it more. Not because of patriotism, just because I care more about the NT more than I do any first league club.




Meh. Even a great NT manager like Sampaoli, who won an international tournament against a couple of more talented sides, and who got his team to play consistently great football, apparently isn't in demand among the upper echelon of European clubs. It would be different with the exposure and talent of Germany, but I think the most established route to a bigger club runs through a smaller club.



Cruyff said:


> And of course National Teams means millions times more than club football...




In your dreams


----------



## cgf

It would be completely different with the exposure of germany and the talent he'd have at his disposal. He wouldn't have just held a very impressive international resume, he'd have written his name on the history books with panache.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

I regret I watched the game because I should have known it would be crap. Germany have been really inconsistent and poor since the World Cup. There's a lot of faith in Germany's ability to switch it on as a 'Turniermannschaft' but there seem to be too many issues to just ignore them all.

Germany's friendlies ahead of the WC weren't great either but Germany also didn't lose any of them. This reminds me more of the buildup ahead of Euro 2012 where they lost to Switzerland and let's face it, that was kind of a disappointing tournament.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Ukraine beat Romania in goalfest, 4:3...might watch the game later but seeing the highlights, Romania's defense was beyond poor while Pyatov basically gifted Romania all three goals, two of them went right through his hands

Italy dominated Scotland but only had one goal to show for it, pretty much the common them in the Conte era, they play well but they struggle to score. 

Turkey scored a goal in the final minute to beat Montenegro, not an impressive showing from what I read


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

It's actually amazing that this might be one of the worst 2 year cycles in the history of modern German football. I did some calculations and got the following results:

Cycle GP W D L Points Point/Game
*14-16* 18 9 2 *7* 29 *1.61*
12-14 22 14 6 2 48 2.18
10-12 22 14 5 3 47 2.14
08-10 21 14 4 3 46 2.19
06-08 22 16 4 2 52 2.36
04-06 27 15 7 5 52 1.93
02-04 22 11 5 6 38 1.72
00-02 21 13 3 5 42 2.00
98-00 22 11 6 6 39 1.77
96-98 20 14 5 1 43 2.15
94-96 23 16 5 2 53 2.30
92-94 21 13 5 3 42 2.00
90-92 15 10 3 2 33 2.20
88-90 13 7 5 1 26 2.00
86-88 16 7 6 3 28 1.75
84-86 19 10 3 6 33 1.73
82-84 18 11 3 4 36 2.00
80-82 20 14 2 4 44 2.20

To clarify, those results are only friendlies, qualifiers and minor tournaments so the stretch between big tournaments.

It's notable that this stretch has been worse than even the borefests of the mid 80s (where they drew a lot rather than lose) or the disastrous early 00s. A win over Hungary next weekend would still not be enough to leave the last spot in that table by the way.

People can talk about 'oh it's friendlies, oh qualifiers are easy' but that's been true for most of that time period as well. The reality is that Germany have been *historically* bad in the last two years.


----------



## maclean

Deficient Mode said:


> In your dreams




Honestly curious - do you think club football is more important than national football universally or do you just hold it as your own personal preference?


----------



## Michigan

maclean said:


> Honestly curious - do you think club football is more important than national football universally or do you just hold it as your own personal preference?



It depends. To the casual fan who only follows futbol if their country's men or women make the Sweet 16 in the World Cup, then nations are more important.


----------



## Michigan

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> It's actually amazing that this might be one of the worst 2 year cycles in the history of modern German football. ...



I'm surprised you're surprised. Germany is such an elite futbol country that even a mild downturn could be the worst ever. This is Germany, not American Samoa, Anguilla, Montserrat, or San Marino. Here's a bad Bundesliga player for you: Breno. I posted a boring Bundesliga jersey above.


----------



## maclean

Wrigley said:


> It depends. To the casual fan who only follows futbol if their country's men or women make the Sweet 16 in the World Cup, then nations are more important.




Also to the fan of any team that they can't honestly consider better than most national teams, so let's say if you're a hardcore fan of one of the top 10 teams in the world, OK you might consider your club's successes greater, but on the other hand, you're likely to have a lot of players from your team on the national team, so I still think it's only a lesser portion of those fans who consider the NT of minor interest.


----------



## Deficient Mode

maclean said:


> Honestly curious - do you think club football is more important than national football universally or do you just hold it as your own personal preference?




Fans can care more about whichever they prefer. Of course nothing is universal, and as you point out fans of smaller clubs like to have an excuse to cheer for the Bayern players once in a while. It's when posters like Cruyff talk about national team play "meaning" more or say dumb things like "Messi's legacy will be incomplete because he couldn't win with Argentina" that I object. Preference can't be disputed, but by "objective" measures club football is a superior competition and should "mean" more when we're evaluating players. 



Wrigley said:


> Here's a bad Bundesliga player for you: Breno.




Breno was good.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Carvajal ruled out of the Euros due to a hamstring injury suffered during the CL final. Arsenal's Hector Bellerin set to take his place and they have Juanfran in the squad at right back too

Montolivo could miss his second straight tournament due to injury as well, not a huge loss in fairness but tough on him

The final 23-man squads are due tomorrow at midnight (CET) and Slovakia have named their final 23. The cuts were mostly the young players invited to camp but Milan Skriniar makes the team as a backup CB despite only making his debut 3 days ago and making only two appearances for Sampdoria

*Goalkeepers:* Matus Kozacik (Viktoria Plzen), Jan Mucha (Slovan Bratislava), Jan Novota (Rapid Wien)
*Defenders:* Peter PekarÃ­k (Hertha Berlin), Milan Skriniar (Sampdoria), Martin Skrtel (Liverpool), Norbert Gyomber (Roma), Jan Durica (Lokomotiv Moscow), Kornel Salata (Slovan Bratislava), Tomas Hubocan (Dinamo Moscow), Dusan Svento (FC KÃ¶ln)
*Midfielders:* Marek Hamsik (Napoli), Juraj Kucka (AC Milan), Miroslav Stoch (Bursaspor), Vladimir Weiss (Al-Gharafa), Robert Mak (PAOK), Patrik Hrosovsky(Viktoria Plzen), Jan Gregus (Jablonec), Viktor Pecovsky (Å½ilina), Stanislav Sestak (Ferencvaros), Ondrej Duda (Legia Warsaw)
*Forwards:* Michal Duris (Viktoria Plzen), Adam Nemec (Willem II)


----------



## Evilo

NT football is much more important than club football IMO and it's not even close.
In today's football, clubs have been more important to new fans (including many whose NT isn't good enough) who identify themselves to a weekly team.
But in football history it's not even close really.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Deficient Mode said:


> Breno was good.




That section of his post was confusing, but I think that's his point


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> NT football is much more important than club football IMO and it's not even close.
> In today's football, clubs have been more important to new fans (including many whose NT isn't good enough) who identify themselves to a weekly team.
> But in football history it's not even close really.




Football history has changed and continues to change. 



Wee Baby Seamus said:


> That section of his post was confusing, but I think that's his point




Was it? I'm confused.


----------



## Evilo

Deficient Mode said:


> Football history has changed and continues to change.




What doesn't change is the fact a player would rather win a WC than a CL.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Evilo said:


> What doesn't change is the fact a player would rather win a WC than a CL.




Maybe


----------



## Ivan13

Deficient Mode said:


> Maybe




Surely you jest.


----------



## PeteWorrell

Deficient Mode said:


> Maybe



I'm pretty sure that Messi would trade CL wins for a World Cup.He'll be forever behind Maradona in Argentina unless he brings the big price home.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Ivan13 said:


> Surely you jest.




You know what every great player wants? I don't.



PeteWorrell said:


> I'm pretty sure that Messi would trade CL wins for a World Cup.He'll be forever behind Maradona in Argentina unless he brings the big price home.


----------



## Theokritos

If the WC is more important than the CL then I guess it's mostly because you get a shot at the CL every year but you only get a shot at the WC once in four years. Therefore it's more probable for top players to win the CL than the WC, the latter is rarer. Also, if you're a top player from a non-top nation you don't get any realistic shot at the WC at all, while you can switch clubs as you please to increase your chance to win the CL.


----------



## Evilo

Doesn't change the obvious. A player would rather win the WC and as a kid, his ultimate dream is to win the WC.

WC is the biggest competition in the game.


----------



## Savi

Man. Our defence is being decimated by injuries. With Vincent Kompany and Bjorn Engels already out, it's now confirmed Nicolas Lombaerts will miss the EURO as well. Today Dedryck Boyata got injured as well and is doubtful with Thomas Meunier also still questionable. 
Laurent Ciman (Montreal) already got called up, and moments ago CB Christian Kabasele (RC Genk) was added as well.

So what's left is basically Alderweireld/Vertonghen, Vermaelen with a major lack of match fitness, and some fringe guys. No way were doing any damage with that defence.


----------



## mmk786

I am not sure every player would rather win the WC than CL but the vast majority definitely would.


----------



## Luigi Habs

mmk786 said:


> I am not sure every player would rather win the WC than CL but the vast majority definitely would.




Definitely. I don't actually see why a player would prefer CL over WC. WC is the most pregious trophy, probably all sports combined. 

Anyhow, I had actually expected that Lahm would come out of retirement on time for the Euro. I actually don't understand this retiring from intl competition thing. If you keep playing professional it doesn't make sense to retire from intl football if your country needs you. This is why I have a lot of respect for guys like Buffon and Pirlo.


----------



## JimboA

Captain Saku said:


> Definitely. I don't actually see why a player would prefer CL over WC. WC is the most pregious trophy, probably all sports combined.




I agree, but I would understand if a kid from a country like Georgia would prefer CL over WC as he can relate to that (Kakha Kaladze). As a Swede, there isn't a big chance of winning the WC and therefore it feels a bit out of reach. But I agree that WC is way more prestigious.


----------



## Cucumber

Slovakia could be the dark house.


Germany doing a Spain in the world cup wouldn't surprise me.


----------



## Dominator13

I hope Italy gets absolutely slaughtered throughout the tournament. Conte is an old time Euro snob who deserves failure for omitting any MLS player.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Sweden scoreless draw against Slovenia, didn't watch

France currently 1:1 with Cameroon with the Africans having the better of the chances so far


----------



## joe89

HajdukSplit said:


> Sweden scoreless draw against Slovenia, didn't watch
> 
> France currently 1:1 with Cameroon with the Africans having the better of the chances so far




Slovenia best chances in the first, Sweden best chances in the second. No Ibra. Fair result.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Captain Saku said:


> Definitely. I don't actually see why a player would prefer CL over WC. WC is the most pregious trophy, probably all sports combined.
> 
> Anyhow, I had actually expected that Lahm would come out of retirement on time for the Euro. I actually don't understand this retiring from intl competition thing. *If you keep playing professional it doesn't make sense to retire from intl football if your country needs you.* This is why I have a lot of respect for guys like Buffon and Pirlo.




They're paid very well to do one of these things but not the other. It's quite common sense actually. Lahm got his WC so he decided to spare himself the toil and futility of the national team. I 100% respect his decision. I respect him more for retiring from it actually.

Buffon plays a position that requires far less running, so yeah.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Lahm has always been a very calculating, business-like player. Let's face it, even though it is a team sport, many modern footballers view themselves as entrepreneurs.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fantastic cross by Pogba and good side foot finish on the volley by Giroud to give France the lead before halftime. Overall decent game, Cameroon have showed flashes of brilliance and defense is definitely a weak point in the French team


----------



## cgf

Captain Saku said:


> Definitely. I don't actually see why a player would prefer CL over WC. WC is the most pregious trophy, probably all sports combined.
> 
> Anyhow, I had actually expected that Lahm would come out of retirement on time for the Euro. I actually don't understand this retiring from intl competition thing. If you keep playing professional it doesn't make sense to retire from intl football if your country needs you. This is why I have a lot of respect for guys like Buffon and Pirlo.




2 years ago, I thought so to; but time has caught up to Lahm. He's no longer a better option at the 6 than Weigl or Kimmich, and he's not able to provide the running we need from a wing back or the danger in the final third. The time was right for Lahm to pass on the baton, ditto Schweini.

Weiser's the RB I still regret Jogi not picking, and Dahoud the midfielder...and Lahm's not the next option on my snubs list for either spot.



K DEN said:


> Slovakia could be the dark house.




That would be awesome but I just can't see it. They'd need greek type luck to do it, even if their collective is very strong and Hamsik has the class to decide matches.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Swiss squad has been named, three teenagers make the team including Nico Elvedi and Denis Zakaria who made their debut a few days ago. Elvedi makes the squad ahead of the experienced Senderos who made a big mistake against Belgium. The other cuts were domestic based players not expected to make much impact anyway

*Goalkeepers:* Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach), Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Marwin Hitz (Augsburg)
*Defenders:* Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Johan Djourou (Hamburg), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Fabian Schar (Hoffenheim), Michael Lang (FC Basel), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach)
*Midfielders:* Valon Behrami (Watford), Gelson Fernandes (Stade Rennes), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), Blerim Dzemaili (Genoa), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Fabian Frei (Mainz), Shani Tarashaj (Grasshopper Zurich), Denis Zakaria (Young Boys)
*Forwards:* Eren Derdiyok (Kasimpasa), Admir Mehmedi (Bayer Leverkusen), Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Breel Embolo (FC Basel)

Embolo seems fit enough to make the squad while it was reported Schar would miss the tournament but he is included, of course you can still make changes to squad but only if the player is injured


----------



## Ceremony

Savi said:


> Man. Our defence is being decimated by injuries. With Vincent Kompany and Bjorn Engels already out, it's now confirmed Nicolas Lombaerts will miss the EURO as well. Today Dedryck Boyata got injured as well and is doubtful with Thomas Meunier also still questionable.
> Laurent Ciman (Montreal) already got called up, and moments ago CB Christian Kabasele (RC Genk) was added as well.
> 
> So what's left is basically Alderweireld/Vertonghen, Vermaelen with a major lack of match fitness, and some fringe guys. No way were doing any damage with that defence.



Denayer?

PS Boyata is ***** and no great loss.



Pax Macioretty said:


> I hope Italy gets absolutely slaughtered throughout the tournament. Conte is an old time Euro snob who deserves failure for omitting any MLS player.


----------



## ProPAIN

Savi said:


> Man. Our defence is being decimated by injuries. With Vincent Kompany and Bjorn Engels already out, it's now confirmed Nicolas Lombaerts will miss the EURO as well. Today Dedryck Boyata got injured as well and is doubtful with Thomas Meunier also still questionable.
> Laurent Ciman (Montreal) already got called up, and moments ago CB Christian Kabasele (RC Genk) was added as well.
> 
> So what's left is basically Alderweireld/Vertonghen, Vermaelen with a major lack of match fitness, and some fringe guys. No way were doing any damage with that defence.




Denayer is still a decent option to have. As long as we don't go with the mindblowingly stupid move of playing Witsel at RB.

But yeah not having Kompany is a huge blow and losing all that depth doesn't help. Apparently there's a high possibility Belgium meets Croatia in the last 16 and then Germany in the quarters. Ouch.


----------



## cgf

HajdukSplit said:


> Swiss squad has been named, three teenagers make the team including Nico Elvedi and Denis Zakaria who made their debut a few days ago. *Elvedi makes the squad ahead of the experienced Senderos who made a big mistake against Belgium.* The other cuts were domestic based players not expected to make much impact anyway
> 
> *Goalkeepers:* Yann Sommer (Borussia Monchengladbach), Roman Burki (Borussia Dortmund), Marwin Hitz (Augsburg)
> *Defenders:* Stephan Lichtsteiner (Juventus), Johan Djourou (Hamburg), Steve von Bergen (Young Boys), Ricardo Rodriguez (Wolfsburg), Fabian Schar (Hoffenheim), Michael Lang (FC Basel), Francois Moubandje (Toulouse), Nico Elvedi (Borussia Monchengladbach)
> *Midfielders:* Valon Behrami (Watford), Gelson Fernandes (Stade Rennes), Xherdan Shaqiri (Stoke City), Blerim Dzemaili (Genoa), Granit Xhaka (Arsenal), Fabian Frei (Mainz), Shani Tarashaj (Grasshopper Zurich), Denis Zakaria (Young Boys)
> *Forwards:* Eren Derdiyok (Kasimpasa), Admir Mehmedi (Bayer Leverkusen), Haris Seferovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Breel Embolo (FC Basel)
> 
> Embolo seems fit enough to make the squad while it was reported Schar would miss the tournament but he is included, of course you can still make changes to squad but only if the player is injured




Wow, that's an impressively good decision from the swiss. I mean, it shouldn't be...but selection for international football can be very stupid.I'm a little surprised Lustenberger hasn't cracked their lineup, but given whom they have taken; I'm going to continue hoping to see:

Embolo - Mehmedi - Shaqiri
Rodriguez - Xhaka - Zakaria** - Lichsteiner
Elvedi - Schar - Lang*
Sommer

**Tarashaj or Behrami/Dzemaili/Frei/Fernandes
*Zakaria/Djourou...or RiRo if they're really brave​
...in which case Elvedi would swing over to the right side of the back three with RiRo sliding in on the left; Shaqiri would take up RiRo's spot on the left wing; Embolo would move to the right of Mehmedi; and either one of their vet CM/DMs would join Xhaka & whoever to overwhelm the midfield, or Tarashaj would move into the hole right behind Mehmedi-Embolo. Looking something like this:

Mehmedi - Embolo
Shaqiri - Fernandes* - Zakaria* - Lichsteiner
Xhaka
RiRo - Schar - Elvedi
Sommer

*Tarashaj or Behrami/Dzemaili/Frei​


----------



## HajdukSplit

Cameroon looked like they were going to snatch a draw but Payet scored a great goal in the 90th minute to win the game

Poland announced their 23 man squad...

*Goalkeepers:* Lukasz Fabianski (Swansea City), Wojciech Szczesny (Roma), Artur Boruc (Bournemouth)
*Defenders:* Thiago Cionek (Palermo), Kamil Glik (Torino), Artur Jedrzejczyk (Legia Warsaw), Michal Pazdan (Legia Warsaw), Lukasz Piszczek (Borussia Dortmund), Bartosz Salamon (Cagliari), Jakub Wawrzyniak (Lechia Gdansk)
*Midfielders:* Jakub Blaszczykowski (Fiorentina), Kamil Grosicki (Stade Rennes), Tomasz Jodlowiec (Legia Warsaw), Bartosz Kapustka (Cracovia), Grzegorz Krychowiak (Sevilla), Karol Linetty (Lech Poznan), Krysztof Maczynski (Wisla Krakow), Slawomir Peszko (Lechia Gdansk), Filip Starzynski (Zaglebie Lubin), Piotr Zielinski (Empoli)
*Forwards:* Arkadiusz Milik (Ajax), Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich), Mariusz Stepinski (Ruch Chorzow)

The five players cut were Maciej Rybus and Pawel Wszolek who missed out due to injury and Przemyslaw Tyton, Artur Sobiech and Pawel Dawidowicz were coaches decisions

Italy will name their squad tomorrow but if you believe in leaked reports out of Italy the players cut will be: Astori, Benassi, Montolivo, Rugani, Sturaro, Zappacosta and one of Bonaventura/Bernardeschi


----------



## Michigan

Deficient Mode said:


> ... Breno was good.






> In July 2012 he was sentenced to three years and nine months in prison for burning down his Munich villa while reportedly battling depression.



http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/20/sport/football/breno-bayern-munich-football/

He could have been great, but...


----------



## Deficient Mode

Wrigley said:


> http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/20/sport/football/breno-bayern-munich-football/
> 
> He could have been great, but...




Wow I never knew that. Thanks for the lesson. I didn't know that depression negated football talent and that of the thousands of athletes who have played in the Bundesliga, Breno was the paradigm for a bad player.


----------



## Michigan

Deficient Mode said:


> Wow I never knew that. Thanks for the lesson. ...



Your welcome. Anytime my friend. He is a great example of unrealized potential. Have a great Tuesday!


----------



## maclean

K DEN said:


> Slovakia could be the dark house.




They can steal a match against a top side but you need consistency to go far and I don't think they'd be able to pull that off. On the same note, though, the favourites have not been overly convincing recently and this tournament could be much more open than it seems at first glance.


----------



## takk

HajdukSplit said:


> Maciej Rybus




Shoot, this is a tough loss as Rybus could play as an offensive-minded back similar to Piszczek. The other omissions are not that surprising, I preferred Boruc over Tyton as well for motivational purposes as Boruc is a pretty salient figure that can help these guys get going in the locker room.

As Eurosport put it, this is the best Polish team since the days of Boniek and Lato that came up third in 1982 WC. I somehow have more excitement for them than my country's national team.


----------



## Just Win

Brandt, Bellarabi, Rudy and Reus cut from the German NT.


----------



## Evilo

Wow... No Reus? Is there a legit explanation?


----------



## Bon Esprit

Evilo said:


> Wow... No Reus? Is there a legit explanation?




LÃ¶w is a Podolski fan. Bold prediction: If LÃ¶w is still in charge by then Poldi will play until his mid forties.


----------



## Just Win

Evilo said:


> Wow... No Reus? Is there a legit explanation?




Injured apparently or as LÃ¶w put it he only can run in a straight line. Somehow being injured is not a problem for other players. And we obviously need 5 CBs and 6 central midfielders because they are better fullbacks than actual fullbacks like Weiser or Schmelzer.


----------



## maclean

Also read he's too injured to handle it. Pretty ****** birthday present!

Schweini and Hummels on the other hand will apparently be good to go for the tournament


----------



## Luigi Habs

So Reus misses 2 consecutive tournaments due to injuries. Unlucky dude.


----------



## spintheblackcircle




----------



## Luigi Habs

Drinkwater omission is extremely harsh. He deserved to be on that team. Picking Wilshere over him doesn't make sense.

And Rashford is officially the next English prodigy failure.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Rashford on this squad is silly. The lack of Drinkwater is sillier. A lot of people had him in projected starting XIs.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Rashford on this squad is silly. The lack of Drinkwater is sillier. A lot of people had him in projected starting XIs.




Why is Rashford silly? Welbeck's injury opened the door for it. Who should be there over him? (don't tell me Townsend)

Drinkwater should absolutely be there. Looking forward to Wilshere being subbed at 60 mins cause he's not fit, and I always enjoy Henderson trailing an attack, getting an open chance from the top of the box and skying it 20 yards off the net.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

East Coast Bias said:


> Why is Rashford silly? Welbeck's injury opened the door for it. Who should be there over him? (don't tell me Townsend)
> 
> Drinkwater should absolutely be there. Looking forward to Wilshere being subbed at 60 mins cause he's not fit, and I always enjoy Henderson trailing an attack, getting an open chance from the top of the box and skying it 20 yards off the net.




Rashford is silly because they don't need 5 forwards. Kane, Vardy, Rooney, Sturridge is more than enough. Take Drinkwater over Rashford. More than filled up at forward, it's better to have more midfield depth. (Better yet, they should've brought more than 3 CBs but too late for that)


----------



## cgf

Evilo said:


> Wow... No Reus? Is there a legit explanation?




Sure, the explanation is that Jogi's a f***tard. It's not a good explanation, but it is what it is. 

At least we'll finally be rid of him if he successfully prevents the team from winning these Euros.


----------



## East Coast Bias

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Rashford is silly because they don't need 5 forwards. Kane, Vardy, Rooney, Sturridge is more than enough. Take Drinkwater over Rashford. More than filled up at forward, it's better to have more midfield depth. (Better yet, they should've brought more than 3 CBs but too late for that)




Fair. Although Rooney hasn't played forward in a long time (not sure where England have played him lately).

I know is gonna sound crazy, but I would have taken Andy Carroll. He offers something different from all the other forwards. I cant believe I just wrote that.


----------



## Milos Krasic

Russia
Goalkeepers: Igor Akinfeev (CSKA Moscow), Guilherme (Lokomotiv Moscow), Yuri Lodygin (Zenit St. Petersburg). 

Defenders: Alexei Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Vasily Berezutsky (CSKA Moscow), Sergei Ignashevich (CSKA Moscow), Dmitry Kombarov (Spartak Moscow), Roman Neustadter (Schalke), Georgy Shchennikov (CSKA Moscow), Roman Shishkin (Lokomotiv Moscow), Igor Smolnikov (Zenit St Petersburg). 

Midfielders: Igor Denisov (Dynamo Moscow), Denis Glushakov (Spartak Moscow), Alexander Golovin (CSKA Moscow), Oleg Ivanov (Terek Grozny), Pavel Mamaev (Krasnodar), Alexander Samedov (Lokomotiv Moscow), Oleg Shatov (Zenit St Petersburg), Roman Shirokov (CSKA Moscow), Dmitri Torbinski (Krasnodar) 

Forwards: Artyom Dzyuba (Zenit St Petersburg), Alexander Kokorin (Zenit St Petersburg), Fyodor Smolov (Krasnodar)



Ukraine
Goalkeepers: Andriy Pyatov (Shakhtar), Denys Boyko (Besiktas), Mykyta Shevchenko (Zorya). 

Defenders: Evhen Khacheridi (Dynamo Kyiv), Bohdan Butko (Amkar), Artem Fedetskyi (Dnipro), Oleksandr Karavaev (Zorya), Oleksandr Kucher (Shakhtar), Yaroslav Rakytskyi (Shakhtar), Vyacheslav Shevchuk (Shakhtar). 

Midfielders: Serhiy Rybalka (Dynamo Kyiv), Denys Garmash (Dynamo Kiev), Serhiy Sydorchuk (Dynamo Kyiv), Andriy Yarmolenko (Dynamo Kyiv), Evhen Konoplyanka (Sevilla), Ruslan Rotan (Dnipro), Taras Stepanenko (Shakhtar), Viktor Kovalenko (Shakhtar), Anatolyi Tumoschuk (Kairat), Oleksandr Zinchenko (UFA). 

Forwards: Roman Zozylya (Dnipro), Pylyp Budkivskyi (Zorya), Evhen Seleznyov (Shakhtar).


----------



## Deficient Mode

Jogi does it again. I wouldn't have cut any of the four players he did. Poldi, Sane, Shirley in the roster; Reus, Brandt, Bellarabi on the outside. Nice nice. 

Wonder if he'll abandon the three man back line without Rudy and Bellarabi though. They were the only two players who really worked as right wing back.


----------



## Cucumber

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Rashford is silly because they don't need 5 forwards. Kane, Vardy, Rooney, Sturridge is more than enough. Take Drinkwater over Rashford. More than filled up at forward, it's better to have more midfield depth. (Better yet, they should've brought more than 3 CBs but too late for that)




I can see one of Rashford, Vardy and Sturridge being a winger. Also, Rooney is probably penciled in at CM/Cam

I would go for

Hart
Clyne cahill Smalling Rose
Dier
Rooney Alli
Barkley
Vardy Kane

what Hodgson will do

Hart
Clyne Smalling Cahill Stones
Rooney Dier
Sturridge Alli Vardy
Kane


----------



## East Coast Bias

https://twitter.com/SeFutbol/status/


no Isco or Saul in MF.

Pedro is there so apparently recent form didn't figure in.


----------



## Alex Jones

Rooney won't play up top. It's four strikers, and Sturridge is made of glass, Rashford was the right call. 

Huge Wilshire fan, but Drinkwater should have stayed.


----------



## Maverick41

Deficient Mode said:


> Jogi does it again. I wouldn't have cut any of the four players he did. Poldi, Sane, Shirley in the roster; Reus, Brandt, Bellarabi on the outside. Nice nice.
> 
> Wonder if he'll abandon the three man back line without Rudy and Bellarabi though. They were the only two players who really worked as right wing back.




Not that I still follow the national team much these days, but I would guess he will play 4 men back with either Can or Kimmich as RB, who are both much, much, much (I could add a few more) better in central midfield.


----------



## Alex Jones

Would have definitely dropped Bruno for Saul. Maybe Cesc for Isco


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Podolski will be making the German NT ten years from now, I swear.


----------



## VAN-HAB

Romanian Team:

Goalkeepers: Ciprian Tătăruşanu (Fiorentina), Costel Pantilimon (Watford), Silviu Lung (Astra Giurgiu)

Defenders: Cristian Săpunaru (Pandurii Tg. Jiu), Alexandru Măţel (Dinamo Zagreb), Vlad Chiricheş (SSC Napoli), Valerică Găman (Astra Giurgiu), Dragoş Grigore (Al Sailiya), Cosmin Moţi (Ludogorets), Răzvan Raţ (Rayo Vallecano), Steliano Filip (Dinamo Bucureşti)

Midfielders: Mihai Pintilii (FC Steaua Bucureşti), Ovidiu Hoban (Hapoel Be'er Sheva), Andrei Prepeliţă (Ludogorets), Adrian Popa (FC Steaua Bucureşti), Gabriel Torje (Osmanlispor), Alexandru Chipciu (FC Steaua Bucureşti), Nicolae Stanciu (FC Steaua Bucureşti), Lucian SÃ¢nmărtean (Al Ittihad)

Forwards: Claudiu Keşeru (Ludogoreţ), Bogdan Stancu (Genclerbirligi), Florin Andone (Cordoba), Denis Alibec (Astra Giurgiu)

Players to watch imo Stanciu and Andone


----------



## Deficient Mode

Maverick41 said:


> Not that I still follow the national team much these days, but I would guess he will play 4 men back with either Can or Kimmich as RB, who are both much, much, much (I could add a few more) better in central midfield.




Kimmich would probably be great anywhere in midfield or in a back line and I would like him to play as a right back, even if it isn't the position he learned as a teenager. Smart players like Kimmich can adapt to a lot of positions. Sure, Weiser should have been in the squad, but oh well. I'd say about half the roster is wrong.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Lack of Isco and Saul is an issue for me. Take out Pedro and Bruno for those two (and I am a big Pedro supporter). Costa should've been there over someone like Vasquez.


----------



## Luigi Habs

I don't understand many of the players selected for Spain. 

Wtf is Aduriz doing there? I don't care if he's in a good form, he's fkn 35 yrs old, and as much as I hate the guy and despite the ****** season he's had, Diego Costa is still a superior player. Heck even Torres would have been a good call up. Other players like Bartra, Pedro, San Jose (wtf?) have no business being there IMO. Thiago and Bruno are also borderline IMO. But it's just maybe because Spain doesn't have the depth it used to be and many of their players had a poor season. Lucas Vazquez is officially overrated in my book.

IMO, Saul, Gabi, Isco and Javi Martinez should have definitely been selected. Saul omission particularly surprises me, he's a very good player.


----------



## Blender

Can't believe England cut Drinkwater over some of the guys they took...


----------



## HajdukSplit

Croatia squad to be named in ah hour, the cuts seem clear, really one on spot up for grabs and that's between three Dinamo players apparently


----------



## Deficient Mode

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Lack of Isco and Saul is an issue for me. Take out Pedro and Bruno for those two (and I am a big Pedro supporter). Costa should've been there over someone like Vasquez.




Why? Neither Isco nor Saul are interchangeable with Pedro or Bruno. Isco and Saul are central midfielders who can play out wide in a pinch or in a system like Atletico's where the wide forwards are really midfielders. Isco's skill set is redundant when you have Thiago, Koke, and Iniesta. Pedro is a Raumdeuter type who plays a position where there is less competition and who doesn't need the ball to be effective like Isco. Bruno is probably more cover for Busquets.

It's not the exact Spanish squad I would have taken (I would have preferred Gabi over Bruno) but I don't think you can talk about switching Pedro and Bruno for Isco and Saul.


----------



## Ceremony

Wilshere is an impostor and I find the continuing English acceptance of him hilarious


----------



## ghostnights

Are wilshere and Hodgson related?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Conte named the final squad






Cut: Astori, Bonaventura, Jorginho
Injured: Montolivo
Reserves (will travel with team but not eligible to play at Euro): Rugani, Benassi, Zappacosta


----------



## Luigi Habs

Italy squad finalized. 

Lol @ Eder selection

and lol @ Sturaro over Jorginho.

Also no idea what Giaccherini is still doing with the Azzuri. Conte has always been in love with him since his Juve days.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Croatia squad announced also with the news that Corluka suffered an injury in training and further tests will be done tomorrow. The big news is Alen Halilovic was cut, Dinamo youngsters Coric and Rog make the squad and Cop does too despite a poor performance against Moldova






Cut: Livakovic, Caleta-Car, Antolic, Halilovic


----------



## cgf

Memphis The Pie said:


> Podolski will be making the German NT ten years from now, I swear.




He's just gotta hold onto the spot until Jogi can start nominating his kids...I guess we could do worse for a designated cheerleader, like Schweini...


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

I'm rooting for Germany to win. I don't like the squad Jogi put together. How is Brandt left out? How did Schmelzer not make the preliminary squad to begin with? How do Schweini, Podoloski and Schurrle make the team?

This would be my Germany starting lineup using a 4-1-3-2:

---------------------------------Neuer-----------------------------
---Kimmich--------Boateng----------Hummels------------Hector---
-------------------------------Weigl---------------------------------
--------------Goetze---------Kroos------------Oezil---------------
-----------------Muller-----------------Sane-------------------------

I think the back four is self explanatory, besides right-back. I'd prefer Kimmich over Can because I think Kimmich is better equipped to deal with fast wingers, and I think Can could end up looking like a turnstile at right-back. If need be, he'll have to be used there, but I'd prefer Kimmich.

I think the transition to start Weigl needs to happen, although I doubt it happens. Weigl sitting deep with Kroos helping him out, if need be. That can easily morph into some sort of two man central midfield if its a tougher opponent, and Kroos is needed to help our more defensively. Goetze and Oezil get space to operate centrally, which is when they are at their best. Muller's an obvious choice, but for the other spot, I'd prefer Sane over Gomez because I think his speed could bring a different element. If needed, Gomez can be brought on as a big striker when a goal is needed late in the game. This team doesn't have much width, but its tough to figure out a formation that works well.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Obviously I don't know Croatia too well, nor have I seen a lot of Sporting Gijon, but it was my understanding that Halilovic overall had a very solid season? Inconsistent, but overall successful? Surprised to see him cut, but maybe I shouldn't be.


----------



## Ivan13

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Obviously I don't know Croatia too well, nor have I seen a lot of Sporting Gijon, but it was my understanding that Halilovic overall had a very solid season? Inconsistent, but overall successful? Surprised to see him cut, but maybe I shouldn't be.




Coach is a moron, that is all. Cop basically whined his way on the team through the media.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Obviously I don't know Croatia too well, nor have I seen a lot of Sporting Gijon, but it was my understanding that Halilovic overall had a very solid season? Inconsistent, but overall successful? Surprised to see him cut, but maybe I shouldn't be.




He had a solid season, played all but two games for Gijon and mostly started as well outside of a small patch in the season where the coach questioned his work ethic a bit. His stats weren't overly impressive, hasn't had a goal or assist since February. However due to the fact he can play on the wing and that's something Croatia lacks is why its surprising. As usual Croatia is loaded with CMs and the coach will probably force one to play wide in a desperate situation. 

The "political" reasoning is Halilovic was already sold and with Barcelona possibly selling him in the summer, Dinamo won't receive anymore bonus payments for him. More important to get Rog and Coric in there  However, Cacic indicated it was down to Halilovic/Cop for that final spot and Cop won out


----------



## cgf

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I'm rooting for Germany to win. I don't like the squad Jogi put together. How is Brandt left out? How did Schmelzer not make the preliminary squad to begin with? How do Schweini, Podoloski and Schurrle make the team?
> 
> This would be my Germany starting lineup using a 4-1-3-2:
> 
> ---------------------------------Neuer-----------------------------
> ---Kimmich--------Boateng----------Hummels------------Hector---
> -------------------------------Weigl---------------------------------
> --------------Goetze---------Kroos------------Oezil---------------
> -----------------Muller-----------------Sane-------------------------
> 
> I think the back four is self explanatory, besides right-back. I'd prefer Kimmich over Can because I think Kimmich is better equipped to deal with fast wingers, and I think Can could end up looking like a turnstile at right-back. If need be, he'll have to be used there, but I'd prefer Kimmich.
> 
> I think the transition to start Weigl needs to happen, although I doubt it happens. Weigl sitting deep with Kroos helping him out, if need be. That can easily morph into some sort of two man central midfield if its a tougher opponent, and Kroos is needed to help our more defensively. Goetze and Oezil get space to operate centrally, which is when they are at their best. Muller's an obvious choice, but for the other spot, I'd prefer Sane over Gomez because I think his speed could bring a different element. If needed, Gomez can be brought on as a big striker when a goal is needed late in the game. This team doesn't have much width, but its tough to figure out a formation that works well.




Khedira for Gotze, Mesut playing further forward, and Draxler for Sane and that's one of the lineups I'm hoping for...that or Kroos at the 6 for Weigl, with Gotze coming off as well; so that Khedira & Can play the 8s

Draxler - Mueller
Ozil
Toni/Can - Khedira
Weigl/Toni
Hector - Hummels - Boateng - Kimmich
Neuer​


----------



## Pavel Buchnevich

cgf said:


> Khedira for Gotze, Mesut playing further forward, and Draxler for Sane and that's one of the lineups I'm hoping for...that or Kroos at the 6 for Weigl, with Gotze coming off as well; so that Khedira & Can play the 8s




I don't think Germany needs Khedira in the lineup. He's a good player, but I think there are better options to start. I don't know why you want Goetze out of the lineup. He's been really good recently, and he has a knack of playing especially well for Germany. He was very good against Slovakia, was very good towards the end of the season with Bayern, and his last few games for Germany have generally been excellent. Obviously his situation at Bayern isn't great, but that doesn't mean he has to be taken out of the lineup. I don't have a strong opinion on Draxler, Sane or Gomez starting, I'd prefer its Reus, although he's had a bad season with injury and form. Even if he was fit, I don't know how good he would've been.

I think the second lineup is a little too much brute force. You need more skill players on the field. Germany can keep possession against just about anyone. There shouldn't be a big concern about the physicality and defensive side of that midfield until the latter stages. If you have the ball the whole game, you don't have to worry much about defense, its the Barca strategy.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Austria beat Malta 2:1, comical own goal by Alaba to gift Malta a late goal, he basically backpassed into an empty net  Austria's second goal was nice combination play between Junuzovic and Schopf

Here is Alaba's own goal btw: 

Rep of Ireland lose at home to Belarus, this was their go home friendly too


----------



## HajdukSplit

The "ironic" thing about Halilovic was 2-3 years ago the Mamicevi were going to riot if he wasn't called up and he was capped by BiH, he needed to be called-up at 16/17 years old despite maybe not being physically ready...now these same Mamicevi are saying he is too selfish or doesn't work hard enough. Rinse and repeat in a few years with Coric or Brekalo


----------



## Burner Account

Lol how does Giroud barely acknowledge that ridiculous ball by Pogba


----------



## cgf

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I don't think Germany needs Khedira in the lineup. He's a good player, but I think there are better options to start. I don't know why you want Goetze out of the lineup. He's been really good recently, and he has a knack of playing especially well for Germany. He was very good against Slovakia, was very good towards the end of the season with Bayern, and his last few games for Germany have generally been excellent. Obviously his situation at Bayern isn't great, but that doesn't mean he has to be taken out of the lineup. I don't have a strong opinion on Draxler, Sane or Gomez starting, I'd prefer its Reus, although he's had a bad season with injury and form. Even if he was fit, I don't know how good he would've been.
> 
> I think the second lineup is a little too much brute force. You need more skill players on the field. Germany can keep possession against just about anyone. There shouldn't be a big concern about the physicality and defensive side of that midfield until the latter stages. If you have the ball the whole game, you don't have to worry much about defense, its the Barca strategy.




It's not wanting Mario Gotze out of the lineup, it's want other guys in it more because they'd add up to a better team.
-As a forward Draxler has better shooting ability, speed, size, is coming off a better (though also inconsistent) season, he's also played well for the NT & stepped up in european competition. He should get the first crack at the spot next to Mueller now that Reus isn't being brought along.
-If Draxler doesn't perform he can be replaced by Gotze, Schurrle or Sane long before we hit the difficult knockout matches.

-As a midfielder Ozil's better than Gotze at the 10, and they've gotten in each other's way in the past.
-In one of the deeper midfield spots we're gunna need Khedira or Can's legs & strength.
-Another is the 6, where Gotze should not play over Weigl, Kimmich or Kroos.
-And the final one is where I do think Mario could fit...depending on the opponent...as I prefer Kroos to start against opponents that we don't need both Can & Khedira against.

I like Mario, but bringing him off the bench to run at teams in the second half and trick tired legs into dumb fouls; is just where I see him providing the greatest impact for this team. Sane's the only other guy there who could come off the bench and fill this role, and though he's a lot faster than Mario, he's also a lot dumber and used to playing in wider areas with more space.

As for the second lineup, the only way I'd be ok with Kroos playing the 6 for us if he's given two B2Bers in front of him...like Pirlo used to get...plus we could well need both Can & Khedira to run wild against some of the bigger & more physical teams in the tourney, regardless of whether it's Weigl, Kimmich or Kroos sitting behind them.



HajdukSplit said:


> The "ironic" thing about Halilovic was 2-3 years ago the Mamicevi were going to riot if he wasn't called up and he was capped by BiH, he needed to be called-up at 16/17 years old despite maybe not being physically ready...now these same Mamicevi are saying he is too selfish or doesn't work hard enough. Rinse and repeat in a few years with Coric or Brekalo




Hopefully Brekalo getting away so early and going to a place that's...much more low key...than Barcelona helps.


----------



## Theon

Schneiderlin replaces Diarra.


----------



## Alex Jones

Blender said:


> Can't believe England cut Drinkwater over some of the guys they took...




Figured they would take either Drinkwater or Delph for some added defensive muscle in the midfield. Very surprised they were both left out.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Pavel Buchnevich said:


> I'm rooting for Germany to win. I don't like the squad Jogi put together. How is Brandt left out? How did Schmelzer not make the preliminary squad to begin with? How do Schweini, Podoloski and Schurrle make the team?
> 
> This would be my Germany starting lineup using a 4-1-3-2:
> 
> ---------------------------------Neuer-----------------------------
> ---Kimmich--------Boateng----------Hummels------------Hector---
> -------------------------------Weigl---------------------------------
> --------------Goetze---------Kroos------------Oezil---------------
> -----------------Muller-----------------Sane-------------------------
> 
> I think the back four is self explanatory, besides right-back. I'd prefer Kimmich over Can because I think Kimmich is better equipped to deal with fast wingers, and I think Can could end up looking like a turnstile at right-back. If need be, he'll have to be used there, but I'd prefer Kimmich.
> 
> I think the transition to start Weigl needs to happen, although I doubt it happens. Weigl sitting deep with Kroos helping him out, if need be. That can easily morph into some sort of two man central midfield if its a tougher opponent, and Kroos is needed to help our more defensively. Goetze and Oezil get space to operate centrally, which is when they are at their best. Muller's an obvious choice, but for the other spot, I'd prefer Sane over Gomez because I think his speed could bring a different element. If needed, Gomez can be brought on as a big striker when a goal is needed late in the game. This team doesn't have much width, but its tough to figure out a formation that works well.




I'm not a fan of that team. GÃ¶tze is underrated defensively but the midfield looks defensively weak with how much space GÃ¶tze and Ã–zil would have to cover, and I'm not sure Weigl is the best partner for Kroos, as while he's very good at pressing and getting interceptions, he too isn't the fastest player. It could work if you threw in another well-rounded 8 (RIP GÃ¼ndogan, Kramer, Dahoud), but I'm not sure if Khedira or Schweini still deserve to play. Sane doesn't belong as a first choice player, and IDK how I'd feel about him in a two striker system. 



cgf said:


> Khedira for Gotze, Mesut playing further forward, and Draxler for Sane and that's one of the lineups I'm hoping for...that or Kroos at the 6 for Weigl, with Gotze coming off as well; so that Khedira & Can play the 8s
> 
> Draxler - Mueller
> Ozil
> Toni/Can - Khedira
> Weigl/Toni
> Hector - Hummels - Boateng - Kimmich
> Neuer​




Doable I guess. Full backs have a lot of space to cover. Hector is athletic enough to get up and down the pitch but IDK if it's the best use of Kimmich. I hope Can doesn't play in midfield at all, but Jogi's already killing football so why not.

My dream team:

Brandt-Ã–zil-GÃ¶tze-MÃ¼ller
GÃ¼ndogan-Kroos-Kimmich
Hummels-Sven-Boateng
Neuer

3-3-4 where the front four play flexibly, and Kroos is surrounded by two complete and extremely smart Nadelspieler. GÃ¶tze, MÃ¼ller, and Brandt would be a crazy combo that would fit together amazingly, with Ã–zil generally playing slightly deeper.

With the roster Jogi took:

MÃ¼ller-GÃ¶tze-Ã–zil
Kimmich-Kroos-Weigl
Hector-Hummels-Boateng-Can
Neuer


----------



## Cassano

No team on paper looks like the thorough favorites - all squads seem flawed to an extent - unlike Spain and Germany in the last Euro's where their rosters looked formidable.

Italy could finish 2nd in their group and their route would be Portugal -> England to the semis. Who would bet against the Italians in a one match knockout? Despite a weak roster in the Euro's once again, they can make a huge run.


----------



## Shrimper

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Rashford is silly because they don't need 5 forwards. Kane, Vardy, Rooney, Sturridge is more than enough. Take Drinkwater over Rashford. More than filled up at forward, it's better to have more midfield depth. (Better yet, they should've brought more than 3 CBs but too late for that)




Rooney will likely be starting and playing in midfield.

Kane - Vardy
Rooney
Alli-Wilshere
Dier
Rose-Smalling-Cahill-Walker
Hart​
Something like that is my guess. Formatting isn't great.

Strikers are our strength right now, make sense to take 5.

Also, we have four players capable of playing CB.


----------



## cgf

If we had Ilkay, Dahoud or Kramer to call on it would be much simpler to put the team together, those were made up of the guys Jogi actually took...my dream team:

Reus* - Kruse - Muller
Ozil
Dahoud - Gundo
•Weigl•
Boa - Mats - Tah
Neuer

or 

Kruse - Muller
Ozil
Dahoud - Gundo
•Weigl•
Arnold - Mats - Boa - Weiser
Neuer

with Reus*, Draxler*, Brandt*, Gotze, •Kroos•, Kramer, •Kimmich•, & Tah on the bench.​
PS;
RB isn't my favorite use of Kimmich either, I just like him there more than any of the alternatives that Jogi took along.



mint said:


> No team on paper looks like the thorough favorites - all squads seem flawed to an extent - unlike Spain and Germany in the last Euro's where their rosters looked formidable.
> 
> Italy could finish 2nd in their group and their route would be Portugal -> England to the semis. Who would bet against the Italians in a one match knockout? Despite a weak roster in the Euro's once again, they can make a huge run.




I'm not even sold on Italy beating the Swedes out for 2nd in that group. That midfield's a mess & the attack looks toothless.


----------



## Live in the Now

Saying who would bet against Italy in the knockouts like this is 2006...it isn't. There is not a single player in the Italy squad for this tournament that would be in their first 11 in either 2002 or 2006.


----------



## Wee Baby Seamus

Live in the Now said:


> Saying who would bet against Italy in the knockouts like this is 2006...it isn't. There is not a single player in the Italy squad for this tournament that would be in their first 11 in either 2002 or 2006.




Buffon


----------



## Live in the Now

Wee Baby Seamus said:


> Buffon




Yeah, but I mean...this Buffon wouldn't get in over that one.


----------



## Cassano

Live in the Now said:


> Saying who would bet against Italy in the knockouts like this is 2006...it isn't. There is not a single player in the Italy squad for this tournament that would be in their first 11 in either 2002 or 2006.




Yeah but look at their 2012 squad. Their frontline consisted of Balotelli and Cassano. Their backline + keeper combination is arguably the best shutdown defense in the world. 

No engines in the midfield though - I agree.


----------



## Cassano

Live in the Now said:


> Yeah, but I mean...this Buffon wouldn't get in over that one.




Buffon this year set a career high in clean sheets in a season IIRC.


----------



## East Coast Bias

I could see Ireland nicking a 1-0 win in the last group match to send Italy out. A late Shane Long goal ala Germany in qualifying. 

Don't think Ireland will go through, but when it was drawn I didn't think they had a chance. With Italy in the shape they're in, it's possible. (Though they're still likely to finish last in the group)


----------



## Power Man

Very happy for Lucas Vazquez


----------



## Evilo

So Diarra now out.
Let's recap :
Zouma, Laporte, Varane, Mathieu, Tremoulinas, Sakho, Diarra, Benzema, Ben Arfa, Lacazette, Areola, etc... are all out of the EURO for various reasons.

Sigh...

EDIT : Forgot Fekir and Debuchy (though that's not an awful loss). Could have added Corchia and Kurzawa for DD's stupitidy reasons.


----------



## Eye of Ra

so many teams with injured, and its always the good players that are injured.

the recent euro and world championship was the same aswell with many injures.

it was not like this in the good old times, what has happend?


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Shrimper said:


> Kane - Vardy
> Rooney
> Alli-Wilshere
> Dier
> Rose-Smalling-Cahill-Walker
> Hart​



England Hotspur


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

TheFatOne said:


> it was not like this in the good old times, what has happend?




Top club teams play a whole lot more games these days with all the different competitions and preseason tours in the US, Asia etc.. That plus national team matches and you have top players pretty much playing year round.


----------



## Michigan

> England manager Roy Hodgson opted for "reputation rather than form" by dropping Danny Drinkwater from his Euro 2016 squad, says former striker Alan Shearer.



http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36423582



> Danny Drinkwater, Diego Costa, Karim Benzema, Dejan Lovren will not be playing in Euro 2016. Injury has prevented the likes of Belgium's Vincent Kompany, France's Raphael Varane and Germany's Marco Reus from being involved.



http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36423647



> France midfielder Lassana Diarra has been ruled out of Euro 2016 with a knee injury and replaced by Manchester United's Morgan Schneiderlin.



http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/36422929


----------



## Luigi Habs

Benzema accused French Federation of racism and that DD was influenced to leave him out. 

Not sure he'll ever play for France again.


----------



## Blender

"Reputation rather than form" is what is wrong with pretty much every national program in every sport. They tend to stick to guys they know and like over the best players at the time.


----------



## Ivan13

Blender said:


> "Reputation rather than form" is what is wrong with pretty much every national program in every sport. They tend to stick to guys they know and like over the best players at the time.




Funny enough it's the other way in Croatia. Here young players who need to be sold are put on display.


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Captain Saku said:


> Benzema accused French Federation of racism and that DD was influenced to leave him out.
> 
> Not sure he'll ever play for France again.




Pretty strange accusation, France, to me, seems to have a very "ethnically diverse" squad.


----------



## YNWA14

I've got Wales pulling a Greece and winning it all by playing very defensively and hoping Bale, and to a lesser extent Ramsey, can work some magic.


----------



## ghostnights

Curtinho said:


> I've got Wales pulling a Greece and winning it all by playing very defensively and hoping Bale, and to a lesser extent Ramsey, can work some magic.




I pray you are correct . I'm very excited about the welsh squad . My father was born in Swansea and I love the Welsh internationals . I think Allen and Ledley are both strong midfielders as well


----------



## Power Man

Memphis The Pie said:


> Pretty strange accusation, France, to me, seems to have a very "ethnically diverse" squad.




I don't think it was pure racism.

If it was up to him, I think DD would have called him up, but he had pressure from "upstairs"

The french media and politicians kept pounding on Karim, like he killed someone or something.

If his name wasn't Karim, they wouldn't have spent that much energy on that.

Acharnement mÃ©diatique et politique.

Suck it Manuel Valls, Karim just won another CL


----------



## HajdukSplit

Spain hammered Korea 6:1
Czechs played well and scored a last minute winner over Russia, only concern is Cech conceded a soft goal and almost conceded an even softer one late, his form for the Czechs at big tournaments is shaky 

Iceland losing badly to Norway so far, Belgium struggling to break down Finland wile Poland as hosting the Dutch


----------



## Turtleneck Plek

Memphis The Pie said:


> Pretty strange accusation, France, to me, seems to have a very "ethnically diverse" squad.




Well, it is, but until Rami was selected later on, there were no players of Maghreb origins on the team, which hasn't happened in a while. No Benzema, no Ben Arfa, no Nasri, etc. With the current racial tensions in France, people were quick enough to blame their absence on racist tendencies within the FFF leadership, especially in Benzema's case as he's a top-3 striker in the world and has not been formally accused of anything in regards to the Valbuena case. The FFF decided he was not gonna be selected anyway. Not saying I agree, but that's where it seems the whole racism angle stems from.


----------



## cgf

Did the czech defensive organization stick out? 

I really like Darida and miss the days of those Nedved/Rosicky sides; but unfortunately I think the only way they have any success here is if their organization is top notch...as Croatia & Turkey dwarf them in talent, but are very poorly coached (tactically). If they can stifle those two with their collective cohesion, then they might just be able to move on to the knockout-stages...which would be great for football in that country.


----------



## Evilo

Saying it had to to with racism is borderline ********.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Czechs play an attractive style everytime I watch them, but a bit too open which might be costly in the group they have and not exactly defensively strong, they conceded the most goals of any team who qualified for the tournament. I can see them scoring against Spain but they will leak plenty of goals I feel. They are also too reliant on Rosicky who will struggle to be fit I feel, at Euro 2012 he missed like 2-3 games too. However like four years ago it appears they go into these tournaments with little pressure/expectations which usually is better for the players I guess, four years ago they won their group with a weak squad, albeit the group was much weaker than theirs coming up


----------



## HajdukSplit

Finland score out of nothing, they literally went forward less than 5 times this game...poor defending by Vermaelen


----------



## Alex Jones

HajdukSplit said:


> Spain hammered Korea 6:1
> Czechs played well and scored a last minute winner over Russia, only concern is Cech conceded a soft goal and almost conceded an even softer one late, his form for the Czechs at big tournaments is shaky
> 
> Iceland losing badly to Norway so far, Belgium struggling to break down Finland wile Poland as hosting the Dutch




Lol why did Korea play their C team against Spain?? 

I mean seriously...


----------



## Savi

We suck tonight, really lacklustre game, seems like they care more about not getting injured than about winning

Even so, still plenty of chances, Benteke even missed a wide open net


----------



## XO

Benteke is terrible


----------



## YNWA14

Netherlands beat Polland, yupeeee. Janssen continues to score against everyone and everything.


----------



## Moncherry

Yeah I think the Netherlands are really going to go far this summer


----------



## cgf

Moncherry said:


> Yeah I think the Netherlands are really going to go far this summer




True. Don't they play a friendly in china next month?


----------



## maclean

HajdukSplit said:


> Czechs play an attractive style everytime I watch them, but a bit too open which might be costly in the group they have and not exactly defensively strong, they conceded the most goals of any team who qualified for the tournament. I can see them scoring against Spain but they will leak plenty of goals I feel. They are also too reliant on Rosicky who will struggle to be fit I feel, at Euro 2012 he missed like 2-3 games too. However like four years ago it appears they go into these tournaments with little pressure/expectations which usually is better for the players I guess, four years ago they won their group with a weak squad, albeit the group was much weaker than theirs coming up




Considering how little Rosicky's been available I don't think it's fair to say they're reliant on him, but the fact is that when he does play it becomes a completely different team. I saw the first friendly played under the current coach, against Norway, and Rosa played the first half and was absolutely everywhere, I could really see why he earned the nickname "Little Mozart". Then for the second half he was subbed off and suddenly the midfield just ceased to exist.

In terms of organisation, there is hope in that department. Coach Pavel Vrba took an at-the-time completely unknown Plzen team, won the title with them then took them on a few dream runs through the CL and EL. He's also got former coach Bruckner on as an advisor


----------



## Shrimper

Bruno Alves. Disgusting "tackle"


----------



## Live in the Now

There's absolutely no reason for Rooney to be in this team.


----------



## Shrimper

Live in the Now said:


> There's absolutely no reason for Rooney to be in this team.





He's fine as an AMC.


----------



## Venkman

He's been crap tonight. Roy won't drop him though. Vardy and Kane seem to be playing too far apart.


----------



## Live in the Now

Shrimper said:


> He's fine as an AMC.




"Fine" is not as good as what an actual CAM like Alli would do.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Shrimper said:


> Bruno Alves. Disgusting "tackle"


----------



## Ceremony

Shrimper said:


> Bruno Alves. Disgusting "tackle"




Hilarious

A perfect response to mint for claiming it was the preserve of Scottish lower league cloggers too


----------



## Shrimper

Finally! England lead 1-0. Smalling


----------



## Savi

England were terrible


----------



## Michigan




----------



## HajdukSplit

Ukraine need to consider dropping Pyatov, he's made another mistake today and that's a total of 3-4 in these warm-up friendlies


----------



## SirKillalot

So ready for this now!


----------



## Carolinas Identity*

GO ICELAND!!!

I finally have a dog in this thing


----------



## Tryamkin

*Tryamkin's Euro Preview*

*Group A:*

*Albania*

*Player to Watch: CB Lorik Cana-* Team captain and reliable Nantes center-back is the rock of the team. 

*Youngster to Watch: CDM Ergys Kace-* Agile 22 year old defensive midfielder plays for the Greek team PAOK and holds down the fort.

*France*

*Player to Watch: CM Paul Pogba-* In addition to being an absolute beast in almost every category, Pogba is a fun player to watch. Look for him to carry France through the first few rounds

*Youngster to Watch: CB Samuel Umtiti-* Lyon young CB has shown he can handle tough situations and the Euro is will be a great test of that. Given a spot as a backup for the injured Kurt Zouma

*Romania*

*Player to Watch: CB Vlad Chirches-* Former Spurs center-back, now playing for Napoli is the team captain that straightens things out for them.

*Youngster to Watch: LW Florin Andone-* 23 year old winger is the third youngest player on the team from Cordoba FC.


*Switzerland *

*Player to Watch: CM Granit Xhaka-* The new Arsenal midfielder will look to show his best at the Euro's to impress his new team.

*Youngster to Watch: ST Breel-Donald Embolo-* The 19-year old Swiss Basel striker will look to prove to managers that he's ready to play in on of the top flights of football.

*Prediction:
1st: France
2nd: Switzerland
3rd: Romania
4th: Albania*


*Group B:*

*England*

*Player to Watch: ST Harry Kane-* After emerging on to the BPL scene two years ago and making his first big internation tournament, look for Kane to play his style and score some Kane esque goals.

*Youngsters to Watch: CAM Dele Alli / ST Marcus Rashford-* Eric Dier and Ross Barkley get honorable mentions, but these two will both look to prove themselves on the International Stage gaining valuable experience. Rashford may get limited time, but expect Alli to be in a starting / fringe role for most of the tournament.

*Russia*

*Player to Watch: GK Igor Akinfeev-* The veteran goalie will look to backstop his team past the group stage through the absence of creative midfielder Alan Dzagoev

*Youngster to Watch: CM Aleksandr Golovin-* The 20 year old creative midfielder from CSKA Moskow hopes to gain some valuable experience for his young career.

*Slovakia*

*Player to Watch: CAM Marek Hamsik-* The veteran attacking midfielder will look to lead his team through group B

*Youngster to Watch: CAM Ondrej Duda-* Hamsik's understudy, a creative midfielder who is being internationally pursued will have a big test this Euro to prove his worth. Dreams of playing for Liverpool when he's older (gross) 

*Wales*

*Player to Watch: RW / ST Gareth Bale-* Most likely playing striker for the tournament, Bale will be heavily relied upon to try and lift Wales out of the group stage in a tough group.

*Youngster to Watch: ST George Williams-* Young Fulham striker may see limited time but could be a useful substitution late in games.
*
Predictions:
1st: England
2nd: Wales
3rd: Russia (Qualified)
4th: Slovakia
*
*Group C:*

*Germany*

*Player to Watch: CF Thomas Muller-* Look for Muller to have a great Euro being the main striker for Germany this tournament. With Reus not playing because of injury concern, Muller will need to score some timely goals for a long run.

*Youngster to Watch: LW Leroy Sane-* The Schalke winger will get some valuable playing time in the tournament, hoping to make a good impression and show his value.

*Northern Ireland*

*Player to Watch: ST Will Grigg-* 

*Youngster to Watch: CB Paddy McNair-* The Young Man Utd center back has fallen out of favour (LVG) and can use the Euros to show that he can compete for a spot on the bench next year.

*Poland*

*Player to Watch: ST Robert Lewandowski-* Easy one here, Robert looks to lead Poland into the Round of 16 with his partner, the Milik Man.

*Youngster to Watch: CM Piotr Zielinski- *The 22-year old midfielder who may be a Liverpool player at the beginning of next season will look to impress Klopp in the Euros to secure a new team. 

*Ukraine*

*Player to Watch: RW Alexiy Yarmolenko / LW Yevgen Konoplayanka-* The Yarmo / Kono winger duo is Ukraine's "key to success". They need to have a great qualifiying stage to beat out their Polish rivals

*Youngster to Watch: CM Viktor Kovalenko-* Shakhtar midfielder shows promise and looks to prove himself and secure a starting spot in the team
*
Predictions:
1st: Germany
2nd: Poland
3rd: Ukraine (Qualified)
4th: Northern Ireland*


*Group D:*

*Croatia*

*Player to Watch: CM Luka Modric-* Modric will have to carry Croatia out of a very tough group. Look for him to connect with Mandzukic for multiple goals during the group stage.

*Youngster to Watch: CM Mateo Kovacic-* The youngster from Madrid can use the tournament as great experience to show Zidane that he's ready to take the next step soon.

*Spain*

*Player to Watch: CM Andres Iniesta-* Spain's talent heavy midfield will be led by veteran Iniesta. Enjoy watching his magic as it may be one of the last times we see him at a Euro or an International tournament for that matter.

*Youngster to Watch: ST Lucas Vasquez / ST Alvaro Morata-* The striker duo has a lot to prove after making the team over Diego Costa. Some people believe it has to do with likablity and referee treatment.

*Czech Republic*

*Player to Watch: GK Petr Cech:* Another legend that may be playing his last Euro. Will need to carry the Czechs out of the group stage or it'll be Czechmate for them. They better Czech themselves before they wreck themselves...

*Youngster to Watch: LW Ladislav Krejci-* Winger for Sparta Prague shows flashes of brilliance and has a chance to prove it on a weak Czech side up front.

*Turkey
*
*Player to Watch: RM Arda Turan-* Arda has been the Turk's leading man for years. They'll need a huge effort to make it out of this hard group.

*Youngster to Watch: CAM Hakan Calhanoglu-* The 22 year old Leverkusen attacking midfielder is always a threat from set pieces and will play a key role for Turkey. Runner up to 18 year old Emre Mor who looks promising but will probably get limited minutes.

*Predictions:
1st: Spain
2nd: Croatia
3rd: Turkey (Qualified)
4th: Czech Republic**
*
*Group E: (Group of Death)*

*Belgium*

*Player to Watch: ST Romelu Lukaku-* The beast striker may be changing clubs but is focusing on the Euro's first. With Hazard faltering, Lukaku will most likely have to be the main source of goals for a deep Belgium team.

*Youngster to Watch: ST Michy Batshuayi-* Marseille young gun shows lots of promise and looks to be the backup striker because of the recently slumping Liverpool duo, Benteke and Origi.

*Italy*

*Player to Watch: LW Lorenzo Insigne-* With Verrati out, Italy will be depnding on Lorenzo's goalscoring knack after a great season with Napoli.

*Youngster to watch: LW Stephen El Shaawary-* In his first major international tournament, after bouncing around from club to club, El Shaawary will want to show that he still has that talent that made him such a saught after comodity few years ago.

*Ireland*

*Player to Watch: ST Shane Long-* Leading his Irish teammates, Long looks to score a few goals and try to cause an upset in an attempt to grab a group spot in a horribly tough group.

*Youngster to Watch: LB Robbie Brady-* The now 24 year old Brady is the 2nd youngest player on an incredibly "experienced" Ireland team. The Norwich man can play in a variety of wide positions, favourably on the left side.

*Sweden*

*Player to Watch: ST Zlatan Ibrahimovic-* The new Manchester United striker (soon to be) will look to pull Sweden through the group stage in what may be his last Euro of his career.

*Youngster to Watch: CB Victor Lindelof:* 21 year old Benfica center back will use the Euros as a great experience in his first international tournament. May get limited minutes on the Swedish backline.

*Predictions:
1st: Belgium
2nd: Italy
3rd: Sweden (Qualified)
4th: Ireland*

*Group F:*

*Austria*

*Player to Watch: LB / CB David Alaba-* The versitile defensive player is one of Austria's best ever players at the young age of 23. Look for him to control the defensive zone and give everything he can to give Austria a chance for a good group spot.

*Youngster to Watch: CB Kevin Wimmer-* The Spurs young center-back could gain some great experience playing in a starting defensive role alongside player like Christian Fuchs and David Alaba as well as Sebastian Prodl.

*Hungary*

*Player to Watch: ST Adam Szalai-* The Hannover striker in his prime is the main man up front for Hungary. As one of the teams given the least chance, Szalai needs to step up big time.

*Youngster to Watch: RM / CDM Adam Nagy-* The 20 year old versatile midfielder can play defensively and offensively well. Shows good potential and may get some great experience on a Hungary team with a midfield spot there for the taking. His versatility gives him a great chance of getting minutes.

*Iceland*

*Player to Watch: ST Alfred Finnbogason / CAM Gylfi Sigurdsson-* This Icelandic duo is the heart of Iceland's team. They need to be on point to have a chance of making it past the group stage with the team they have.

*Youngster to Watch: CM ArnÃ³r Ingvi Traustason-* 23 year old may not get tons of playing time but is a good option from the bench. Set to join Rapid Wien in the summer.

*Portugal*

*Player to Watch: LW / ST Cristiano Ronaldo-* The best player in the tournament with Messi from Argentina. Could play in striker depending on what formation is played.

*Youngster to Watch: CM Renato Sanches-* The young box to box midfielder set the football world on fire with his fantastic rookie season as a 17 year old with Benfica. After signing with Bayern for a whopping 28M pounds as an 18 year old, Sanches has a lot to live up to. Fantastic pace and not afraid to shoot.

*Predictions:
1st: Portugal
2nd: Austria
3rd: Iceland
4th: Hungary*


*My Winner: Germany

Darkhorse Favorite: Belgium

Dissapointments: France, Italy

Better than Expected: England, Belgium*

*Top Goal Scorer: ST Romelu Lukaku (BEL)
Top Assister: CAM Mesut Ozil (GER)
Most Clean Sheets: GK Manuel Neuer (GER)
Most Red Cards: CB Pepe (POR)
Most Valuable Player: CAM Mesut Ozil (GER)
Player of The Tournament: CM Paul Pogba (FRA)
Most Underrated Player: CDM Gregorz Krychowiak (POL)*

*Young All Stars Team:*

_* Embolo - Batshuayi

Sane - Alli - Draxler 
Sanches - Kovacic 

Alaba - Umtiti - McNair
De Gea*_

My honest opinion / preview. You can disagree or share your opinion and I won't take offence. If you have knowledge about your nation and you want to point something out, go ahead. Thanks ​


----------



## Savi

Embolo plays for Porto now?


----------



## Bon Esprit

Teams that are absolutely unpredictable for me are Russia and Turkey.
AFAIK only a handful of players of team Russia are playing in the big Euro leagues and Turkey is Turkey. Good players, but always close to a meltdown due to their temper.
After the group stage it will be interesting. Austria has some good players, the British teams, too


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Where on earth is Nike's EURO16 commercial?


----------



## cgf

Andone's actually the third youngest Romania in the squad behind Steliano Filip & Nicolae Stanciu...who's the player of theirs I'm most interested in; at least of the guys who are there, since the romanians have some genuinely interesting young talents that aren't yet senior team ready (Florin Tanase, Dorin Rotariu, Ianis Hagi, & Razvan Marin being the ones I've seen a little of & am intrigued by).


----------



## Tryamkin

Savi said:


> Embolo plays for Porto now?




My bad, I always confuse Porto and Basel for some reason 
I basically did this off of memory in my spare time without looking anything up. so there may be a few hiccups.



cgf said:


> Andone's actually the third youngest Romania in the squad behind Steliano Filip & Nicolae Stanciu...who's the player of theirs I'm most interested in; at least of the guys who are there, since the romanians have some genuinely interesting young talents that aren't yet senior team ready (Florin Tanase, Dorin Rotariu, Ianis Hagi, & Razvan Marin being the ones I've seen a little of & am intrigued by).




See above. Andone was the only one I knew out of the squad so I figured I'd use him. Totally forgot about Stanciu.


----------



## cgf

No worries, I figured as much which is why I only commented on the Romanians, who I've been looking into lately...as Stanciu is a fun little player, and Hagi's kid & those other youths could be leading Romania into another fun generation.

If I was being more pedantic, I'd have noted that Alaba gets to play his best position for the NT (as an 8 in the midfield); and I'd have picked Schopf or Sabitzer as their young player to watch over Wimmer...as both are coming off of much stronger club seasons and are in dangerous form.

Or that Emre Mor should be the turkish youngster to be listed. Most people already know that Calhanoglu's one of the best free kick takers in the sport, while Mor on the otherhand is only going to explode into the popular consciousness over the coming couple of years.

It's also really difficult to see Russia not bottoming their group, even if Wales does manage to stay ahead of Slovakia. Don't wanna be too much of a prat, so I'll leave it at that lol


----------



## Tryamkin

cgf said:


> No worries, I figured as much which is why I only commented on the Romanians, who I've been looking into lately...as Stanciu is a fun little player, and Hagi's kid & those other youths could be leading Romania into another fun generation.
> 
> If I was being more pedantic, I'd have noted that Alaba gets to play his best position for the NT (as an 8 in the midfield); and I'd have picked Schopf or Sabitzer as their young player to watch over Wimmer...as both are coming off of much stronger club seasons and are in dangerous form.
> 
> Or that Emre Mor should be the turkish youngster to be listed. Most people already know that Calhanoglu's one of the best free kick takers in the sport, while Mor on the otherhand is only going to explode into the popular consciousness over the coming couple of years.
> 
> It's also really difficult to see Russia not bottoming their group, even if Wales does manage to stay ahead of Slovakia. Don't wanna be too much of a prat, so I'll leave it at that lol




Of course. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, no need to hold back 

I _did_ say that Mor was a runner up but I didn't put him because I think he'll see limited minutes. I do agree that he's a great talent and should do well.

Alaba, I had assumed that would be where he would play. I just listed his position from Bayern as opposed to his favoured position.

Russia, I feel will struggle without Dzagoev and their aging defense may have a few lapses. Only time will tell I guess. 

Schopf is probably the better option, but I chose Wimmer because he's more known to fans and plays in a less contested position and will probably get more playing time. (As you can tell, I based a lot of my youngster picks on projected playing time)


----------



## Carolinas Identity*

I am super happy and excited that Iceland drew Portugal in the first match. If we hypothetically need a win to advance in the third match, I'd way rather go into that game against Austria (no disrespect), than I would the Portuguese.


----------



## Tryamkin

Carolinas Identity said:


> I am super happy and excited that Iceland drew Portugal in the first match. If we hypothetically need a win to advance in the third match, I'd way rather go into that game against Austria (no disrespect), than I would the Portuguese.




Being an Iceland supporter, do you agree with my preview? Gylfi and Alfred are the most prominent names on the list and from friendlies that I recognise. Finnbogason had some good seasons and Gylfi can always contribute. Any players you think will do well?

I could see Iceland possibly making out of the group in 2nd/3rd.


----------



## Carolinas Identity*

Tryamkin said:


> Being an Iceland supporter, do you agree with my preview? Gylfi and Alfred are the most prominent names on the list and from friendlies that I recognise. Finnbogason had some good seasons and Gylfi can always contribute. Any players you think will do well?
> 
> I could see Iceland possibly making out of the group in 2nd/3rd.




I think you pretty much nailed it. Only other things I would add are that I hope we make it out of the group stage just to send EiÃ°ur GuÃ°johnsen off on a high note. He turns 38 in September, so this is probably his last major event.

That and I really like HalldÃ³rsson. Really think he is an underrated keeper.

Only other thing is I'm torn on Aron JÃ³hannsson. On one hand as an American (I'm only 25% Icelandic), I am glad he picked the USMNT, but, he could be really useful in this tournament


----------



## joe89

Tryamkin said:


> Youngster to Watch: CB Victor Lindelof: 21 year old Benfica center back will use the Euros as a great experience in his first international tournament. May get limited minutes on the Swedish backline.




I'd put my money on him starting.


----------



## Tryamkin

joe89 said:


> I'd put my money on him starting.




Interesting. Thanks for your insight. 

Even more so then.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Croatia with a record breaking 10:0 win over San Marino, like it accomplishes anything, the coach actually said before the match he was using the game to further ingrain the defensive unit together 

Hattricks for Mandzukic and Kalinic, first goal for Pjaca too


----------



## joe89

Tryamkin said:


> Interesting. Thanks for your insight.
> 
> Even more so then.




We've basically had a new CB combo every game since the last Euros, it feels like. Defense overall has had few sure bets. Granqvist who was a regular in 2012 won his role back this past qualifier, but he's had many different partners. Right now LindelÃ¶f is clearly the best player of the others and they started together in the last game against Slovenia. Johansson who played with Granqvist in the last playoff game will get a chance tomorrow against Wales though. It's between them, but LindelÃ¶f should be favored to start considering his strong season.


----------



## Moncherry

HajdukSplit said:


> Croatia with a record breaking 10:0 win over San Marino, like it accomplishes anything, *the coach actually said before the match he was using the game to further ingrain the defensive unit together*
> 
> Hattricks for Mandzukic and Kalinic, first goal for Pjaca too




Against San Marino?

Portugal does crap like this too, they play Estonia two days before the tournament starts. It's pointless.


----------



## Deficient Mode

HajdukSplit said:


> Croatia with a record breaking 10:0 win over San Marino, like it accomplishes anything, the coach actually said before the match he was using the game to further ingrain the defensive unit together
> 
> Hattricks for Mandzukic and Kalinic, first goal for Pjaca too




I saw the score and wondered why a team that should be top 10 in UEFA was playing a minnow like San Marino so close to a major international tournament.


----------



## Tryamkin

joe89 said:


> We've basically had a new CB combo every game since the last Euros, it feels like. Defense overall has had few sure bets. Granqvist who was a regular in 2012 won his role back this past qualifier, but he's had many different partners. Right now LindelÃ¶f is clearly the best player of the others and they started together in the last game against Slovenia. Johansson who played with Granqvist in the last playoff game will get a chance tomorrow against Wales though. It's between them, but LindelÃ¶f should be favored to start considering his strong season.




Fair enough. My best guess was Granqvist - Johansson partnership and Lindelof with some minutes here and there, maybe a start.


----------



## Tryamkin

Deficient Mode said:


> I saw the score and wondered why a team that should be top 10 in UEFA was playing a minnow like San Marino so close to a major international tournament.




Yeah, I don't know why they do that. Can they not find a better team to play?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Deficient Mode said:


> I saw the score and wondered why a team that should be top 10 in UEFA was playing a minnow like San Marino so close to a major international tournament.




Confidence boost, but it was really a pointless game, especially when the one before this was Moldova B...Suker also claims not many teams want to play Croatia in friendlies because they are not attractive enough for the big teams but yet I see Germany play Slovakia/Hungary for example. They could have at least played a middle level Euro team like Slovakia/Switzerland/Austria ffs. Anyway we'll see if this "strategy" works out, they basically put all their effort into the trainings and used two friendly matches for confidence builders, but some of the statements from the manager are just comical, like we don't need hard games because they will be hard at Euro


----------



## jekoh

Bon Esprit said:


> Teams that are absolutely unpredictable for me are Russia and Turkey.
> AFAIK only a handful of players of team Russia are playing in the big Euro leagues and Turkey is Turkey. Good players, but always close to a meltdown due to their temper.



When exactly was Turkey "close to a meltdown" in the finals before? 
If anything they have somewhat talentess squads that tend to overachieve in the finals due to being more composed when it matters than most other teams.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Fantastic free kick goal by Korea against the Czechs, into the top corner, harsh to say Cech should have done better but he nearly made the save so some will question him I guess


----------



## Shrimper

I keep changing my predictions but there is a possibility for England, in my predictions at least, to get Romania and Austria in the knock-outs.


----------



## Ceremony

HajdukSplit said:


> Confidence boost, but it was really a pointless game, especially when the one before this was Moldova B...Suker also claims not many teams want to play Croatia in friendlies because they are not attractive enough for the big teams but yet I see Germany play Slovakia/Hungary for example. They could have at least played a middle level Euro team like Slovakia/Switzerland/Austria ffs. Anyway we'll see if this "strategy" works out, they basically put all their effort into the trainings and used two friendly matches for confidence builders, but some of the statements from the manager are just comical, like we don't need hard games because they will be hard at Euro




If scudding a bunch of no-marks the week before the tournament is good enough for the hosts it's good enough for Croatia.


----------



## Bon Esprit

jekoh said:


> When exactly was Turkey "close to a meltdown" in the finals before?
> If anything they have somewhat talentess squads that tend to overachieve in the finals due to being more composed when it matters than most other teams.




Sorry, I used the wrong word. The turkish had issues with their discipline on and off the pitch. For ex. the Switzerland and the TÃ¶re/Toprak incidents.
I'm not here to bash the Turkish team.


----------



## mmk786

Turks havent really had anymore disciplinary issues than most others.


----------



## joe89

Sweden-Wales 3-0. Wales barely touched the ball before Bale came in and the match was basically over by then. And Ibra had left the pitch, too. Guidetti scored his first national team goal, Forsberg was the man of the match. Isaksson left the game with back pain..


----------



## Hockeyfrilla

A dominant win vs Wales!


----------



## cgf

mmk786 said:


> Turks havent really had anymore disciplinary issues than most others.




That doesn't stop Tore from being crazier than the average bear.


----------



## Carolinas Identity*

Portugal could use the tuneup 

Go Estonia!!!

I've been to Tallinn before. Beautiful city


----------



## Shrimper

I've got a round of 16 in my predictions of;

*Switzerland* v Poland
*Spain* v Portugal
*England* v Romania
*Austria* v Italy
*Germany* v Russia
*Belgium* v Czech Rep
*France* v Sweden
*Wales* v Iceland

Switzerland v *Spain*
*England* v Austria
*Germany* v Belgium
*France* v Wales

*Spain* v England
Germany v *France*

Spain v *France*

Call me optimistic..


----------



## HajdukSplit

Another costly injury for Russia as Igor Denisov suffered a hamstring injury in their 1:1 draw with Serbia. The official replacement has not yet been named but its likely going to be Zenit midfielder Artur Yusupov


----------



## MrFunnyWobbl

Shrimper said:


> I've got a round of 16 in my predictions of;
> 
> *Switzerland* v Poland
> *Spain* v Portugal
> *England* v Romania
> *Austria* v Italy
> *Germany* v Russia
> *Belgium* v Czech Rep
> *France* v Sweden
> *Wales* v Iceland
> 
> Switzerland v *Spain*
> *England* v Austria
> *Germany* v Belgium
> *France* v Wales
> 
> *Spain* v England
> Germany v *France*
> 
> Spain v *France*
> 
> Call me optimistic..




Hello there optimistic


----------



## Tryamkin

HajdukSplit said:


> Another costly injury for Russia as Igor Denisov suffered a hamstring injury in their 1:1 draw with Serbia. The official replacement has not yet been named but its likely going to be Zenit midfielder Artur Yusupov




Dang, Russia's been hit hard with the injuries. Dzagoev was the worst but Denisov is a starter too is he not?


----------



## HajdukSplit

Tryamkin said:


> Dang, Russia's been hit hard with the injuries. Dzagoev was the worst but Denisov is a starter too is he not?




Yes their starting DMC and vice-captain, my guess Shirkov takes his spot in the lineup, or even Neustadter


----------



## Tryamkin

HajdukSplit said:


> Yes their starting DMC and vice-captain, my guess Shirkov takes his spot in the lineup, or even Neustadter




Yeah, I would assume Shirikov


----------



## cgf

Given who's left on the team I'd try something like:

Smolov - Dzyuba - Kokorin
Shatov - Mamaev*
Shirokov*
Shennikov^ - Berezutski - Neustadter - Smolnikov

*Glushakov/Golovin/Ivanov
^Kombarov​


----------



## maclean

HajdukSplit said:


> Fantastic free kick goal by Korea against the Czechs, into the top corner, harsh to say Cech should have done better but he nearly made the save so some will question him I guess




Koreans were definitely strong in the first half, their speed exposed one of the Czechs' main weaknesses in not really having that explosive burst at their disposal. Overall the Czechs created quite a lot of chances and were unlucky not to score more, even after going down to ten men on what seemed to me to be two weak yellow card calls, though being at the game I didn't have the benefit of replays and may not have caught exactly what happened. 

All in all it's probably better for the team to be coming off a loss than to have cruised through all their friendlies, plus the team has never won at Eden Stadium so I didn't have too high expectations


----------



## Michigan

*Breaking News*



> *Ukraine's SBU security agency has said that a Frenchman detained last month with a large cache of arms was planning mass attacks on Euro 2016.*



http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-36460569


----------



## Pouchkine

Really too bad for Russia, now let's hope they give some playing time to younger players to prepare for 2018. With the format as it is they still can make a nice run this year though.


----------



## Eye of Ra

People say 24 teams is too much.

But if nations like Bosnia, Serbia, Scotland, Netherlands, Grecce, Denmark was in instead of nations like Romania, Wales, North Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine the tournament would have 24 good teams. There is potential. Hopefully next tournament the best 24 teams make it.


----------



## Eisen

TheFatOne said:


> People say 24 teams is too much.
> 
> But if nations like Bosnia, Serbia, Scotland, Netherlands, Grecce, Denmark was in instead of nations like Romania, Wales, North Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine the tournament would have 24 good teams. There is potential. Hopefully next tournament the best 24 teams make it.




I can't remember the last time there weren't any surprises, especially at the bottom of the list. I'm also not so sure that there is a huge drop-off between the teams you mention. Also, is the premise really true? At least in Germany in haven't read anything about 24 teams being too many.


----------



## takk

TheFatOne said:


> People say 24 teams is too much.
> 
> But if nations like Bosnia, Serbia, Scotland, Netherlands, Grecce, Denmark was in instead of nations like Romania, Wales, North Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine the tournament would have 24 good teams. There is potential. Hopefully next tournament the best 24 teams make it.




If you're going to make an argument like this, you can put your country's national team among the latter group as well. A team like Serbia at this time doesn't have anything over Romania or Wales, they're going through a rough patch lately. There will always be surprises, what a bummer it was for me back in 2003 when Latvia ousted Turkey at qualifying play-offs. Verpakovskis  

It was all downhill for Turkey after that with a brief resurge in 2008.


----------



## takk

cgf said:


> That doesn't stop Tore from being crazier than the average bear.




Thankfully he's omitted. I generally agree with the notion that the Turkish team has more short fused players than most other teams, a notorious example being goalkeeper Volkan's antics against Koller in 2008.


----------



## Eye of Ra

takk said:


> If you're going to make an argument like this, you can put your country's national team among the latter group as well. A team like Serbia at this time doesn't have anything over Romania or Wales, they're going through a rough patch lately. There will always be surprises, what a bummer it was for me back in 2003 when Latvia ousted Turkey at qualifying play-offs. Verpakovskis
> 
> It was all downhill for Turkey after that with a brief resurge in 2008.




on paper serbia is way better than romania and wales. serbia had problems with coaches, fans etc. if serbia fix the negatives they will be the new belgium.


----------



## jniklast

TheFatOne said:


> People say 24 teams is too much.
> 
> But if nations like Bosnia, Serbia, Scotland, Netherlands, Grecce, Denmark was in instead of nations like Romania, Wales, North Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine the tournament would have 24 good teams. There is potential. Hopefully next tournament the best 24 teams make it.




For me the problem is that from those 24 teams 16 advance to the next round. That's just too much.


----------



## Michigan

There's a prediction game there > http://www.bbc.com/sport/football/predictor


----------



## Theokritos

jniklast said:


> For me the problem is that from those 24 teams 16 advance to the next round. That's just too much.




Good point. The should use the system they used in the UEFA Champions League in 97-98 and 98-99: 24 teams, 6 groups, only 8 teams advance.


----------



## Pouchkine

Yeah great idea and that way teams would have to play for the 3 pts, so win-win.


----------



## hatterson

Theokritos said:


> Good point. The should use the system they used in the UEFA Champions League in 97-98 and 98-99: 24 teams, 6 groups, only 8 teams advance.




12 advancing and have the top 4 teams receive a bye would also work. Means top 2 from each group move on, but the top one in each group is still fighting for overall seeding to try and secure the bye.

Double elimination (not just two legs matches) after the round robin would also be interesting, although that significantly increases the number of games played and isn't likely to happen.


----------



## spintheblackcircle

Spain loses to Georgia? Wow.


----------



## Cucumber

spintheblackcircle said:


> Spain loses to Georgia? Wow.




On paper, they look like they could complete with France and Germany for the euro. Although after world cup 2014 and some of their performances lately, it is hard to see Spain winning it. 

It's Germany's euro to lose at this point. France got a week back line which for me will be the difference with Germany.


----------



## Moncherry

There is also the format that the 1982 World Cup used:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1982_FIFA_World_Cup#Format


----------



## SB164

Carolinas Identity said:


> Portugal could use the tuneup
> 
> Go Estonia!!!
> 
> I've been to Tallinn before. Beautiful city




I once had a little romantic ''affair'' with a girl from Tallin. When she returned home, she sent me a package of Estonian snacks and drinks.


----------



## Live in the Now

Rudiger did his ACL and is out.


----------



## Tryamkin

Live in the Now said:


> Rudiger did his ACL and is out.




Oh ****.

Any indication of how long?


----------



## VAN-HAB

spintheblackcircle said:


> Spain loses to Georgia? Wow.




and Georgia was killed by Romania 5-1 just a couple of days ago...go figure


----------



## HajdukSplit

Saw on twitter that if a team plays three 0:0 draws they are 87% likely to make the R16 as one of the four best third place teams. In fact you are in good shape if you have three points and a GD that isn't worse than -2


----------



## Bon Esprit

Live in the Now said:


> Rudiger did his ACL and is out.




Tah (Leverkusen) is supposed to replace RÃ¼diger.


----------



## joe89

takk said:


> If you're going to make an argument like this, you can put your country's national team among the latter group as well. A team like Serbia at this time doesn't have anything over Romania or Wales, they're going through a rough patch lately. There will always be surprises, what a bummer it was for me back in 2003 when Latvia ousted Turkey at qualifying play-offs. Verpakovskis
> 
> It was all downhill for Turkey after that with a brief resurge in 2008.




The countries he singled out was fair, maybe with the exception of Romania. The others never qualified with the 16 team format(except Ukraine for home euros). Sweden qualified the last four times with 16 teams.

Though to me, daily form means more in this tier of teams so I don't think you should say that this and that team deserves to be here. You can have bad or good luck with the playoff draw but that's basically it. Football is big in almost every European country, so to have about half of Europe in the tournament isn't that big of of a deal. I think the format can be discussed though, the group stage should have a bigger impact, totally agree with that.


----------



## Maverick41

Bon Esprit said:


> Tah (Leverkusen) is supposed to replace RÃ¼diger.




To me that means the team got better, but then again, I have always been strongly biased against RÃ¼diger, and have not seen him play since he left Stuttgart.
So it is totally fair to say my assessment is wrong, but even if RÃ¼diger has somehow turned into a great player in Rome, I think Tah would be only a slight downgrade at worst. And since I consider Tah one of the biggest CB talents in the world it might be a good thing for him to get some big tournament experience at his young age.

In a few years he might even challenge the likes of Boateng and Hummels, and I don't really see that kind of potential in any of the other young CBs right now.


----------



## cgf

Even if you aren't down on Rudiger, Tah is just so much better...that said Gul will be just as good, if not even better.


----------



## Power Man

Quaresm beasting vs Estonia


----------



## Franck

I sat up a T***ball league for the forum, if anyone is interested.


----------



## Ceremony

TheFatOne said:


> People say 24 teams is too much.
> 
> But if nations like Bosnia, Serbia, Scotland, Netherlands, Grecce, Denmark was in instead of nations like Romania, Wales, North Ireland, Slovakia, Hungary, Ukraine the tournament would have 24 good teams. There is potential. Hopefully next tournament the best 24 teams make it.




Any argument about there being too many teams in the competition thus diluting the quality would have to be centred around ***** like North Ireland and Hungary slithering in through additional playoff or best runner-up spots rather than anything else. North Ireland won their group. Wales were among the first teams to qualify. Holland, Greece and Denmark stunk out the place, the Dutch more than most relative to expectations. Serbia got 4 points in a group with Albania and Armenia in it.

I had a nice chuckle at your suggestion of what Scotland's company should be though, so thanks for that.


----------



## SB164

Question for the Swedes: is Zlatan by far the most famous athlete in Sweden? Are there any hockey players who even come close in terms of popularity? Karlsson? Lundqvist?


----------



## JimboA

SB164 said:


> Question for the Swedes: is Zlatan by far the most famous athlete in Sweden? Are there any hockey players who even come close in terms of popularity? Karlsson? Lundqvist?




Yes, Zlatan is by far the most famous. Lundqvist is household (Karlsson isn't IMO), but not even Hank is close to Zlatan at all. 

Not a popularity list, but one of the big newspapers made a list of the most prominent Swedish athletes. Three hockey players in the top 30:

http://www.dn.se/sport/150-framsta-svenska-idrottarna-genom-tiderna/


----------



## Tryamkin

SB164 said:


> Question for the Swedes: is Zlatan by far the most famous athlete in Sweden? Are there any hockey players who even come close in terms of popularity? Karlsson? Lundqvist?




I would think so. Football is Europe's most popular sport.


----------



## jniklast

All kids can see of Lundqvist and the other NHL stars is a few highlight clips usually, while they can watch Zlatan in the national team regularly.


----------



## Virtanen18

Theon said:


> Just made the league: 62245HIJ
> 
> Sign up here: http://eurofantasy.uefa.com/en/fantasy16



Euro 2016 fantasy here.


----------



## Ivan13

JimboA said:


> Yes, Zlatan is by far the most famous. Lundqvist is household (Karlsson isn't IMO), but not even Hank is close to Zlatan at all.
> 
> Not a popularity list, but one of the big newspapers made a list of the most prominent Swedish athletes. Three hockey players in the top 30:
> 
> http://www.dn.se/sport/150-framsta-svenska-idrottarna-genom-tiderna/




Wislander only 18th


----------



## Bakayoko Ono

Here's the Nike ad "the Switch"



Way too Ronaldo-centric IMO.


----------



## HajdukSplit

Referee appointments have been made for the first three days of the tournament. Hungarian ref Viktor Kassai will be given the opening match

*FRA-ROU:* Viktor Kassai (HUN)
*ALB-SUI:* Carlos Velasco Carballo (ESP)
*WAL-SVK:* Svein Oddvar Moen (NOR)
*ENG-RUS:* Nicola Rizzoli (ITA)
*POL-NIR:* Ovidiu Hategan (ROU)
*GER-UKR:* Martin Atkinson (ENG)
*TUR-CRO:* Jonas Eriksson (SWE)

Other officials include: Felix Brych (GER), Cuneyt Cakir (TUR), Mark Clattenburg (ENG), William Collum (SCO), Sergei Karasev (RUS), Pavel Kralovec (CZE), Bjorn Kuipers (NED), Szymon Marciniak (POL), Milorad Mazic (SRB), Damir Skomina (SVN), Clement Turpin (FRA)


----------



## JimboA

jniklast said:


> All kids can see of Lundqvist and the other NHL stars is a few highlight clips usually, while they can watch Zlatan in the national team regularly.




Yeah, but it wouldn't matter.


----------



## ProPAIN

Memphis The Pie said:


> Here's the Nike ad "the Switch"
> 
> 
> 
> Way too Ronaldo-centric IMO.





Ronaldo tracking back. Yeah right, totally fake


----------



## Highlander23

Welcome to France everyone !!

Btw, there are strikes all over the place right now (planes, trains, garbage workers...)


----------



## cgf

Highlander23 said:


> Welcome to France everyone !!
> 
> *Btw, there are strikes all over the place right now (planes, trains, garbage workers...)*




This part of your post seems a little redundant


----------



## Carolinas Identity*

Gerum Ã¾etta!!!

Go Ãsland!


----------



## joe89

JimboA said:


> Yes, Zlatan is by far the most famous. Lundqvist is household (Karlsson isn't IMO), but not even Hank is close to Zlatan at all.
> 
> Not a popularity list, but one of the big newspapers made a list of the most prominent Swedish athletes. Three hockey players in the top 30:
> 
> http://www.dn.se/sport/150-framsta-svenska-idrottarna-genom-tiderna/




Sarah SjÃ¶strÃ¶m won the people's athlete of the year twice in a row, so hardly "by far" in sheer popularity. But definitely in famousness. "Ainec".


----------



## JimboA

joe89 said:


> Sarah SjÃ¶strÃ¶m won the people's athlete of the year twice in a row, so hardly "by far" in sheer popularity. But definitely in famousness. "Ainec".




Well, I answered the "famous" part of the question. I never said he was the most popular.


----------



## Deficient Mode




----------



## thehangover

joe89 said:


> Sarah SjÃ¶strÃ¶m won the people's athlete of the year twice in a row, so hardly "by far" in sheer popularity. But definitely in famousness. "Ainec".




The price you are referring to has only been given to an individual in a teamsport once since it was first given out in 1979. That one time was 2007 when Zlatan won it. Two times has it been given to a soccerteam, one time to a handballteam.


----------



## Halladay

it starts tomorrow. cant wait.


----------



## Live in the Now

Gonna make individual threads for each game as well. Makes things easier to keep track of.


----------



## Power Man

Oh by the wayI'm gonna win the Euro fantasy league

Just wanted to let you know


----------



## maclean

Seeing those game day threads up almost made me **** my pants, it is OOOOOONNNN


----------



## SB164

Live in the Now said:


> Gonna make individual threads for each game as well. Makes things easier to keep track of.




You da real MVP


----------



## maclean

am I allowed to laugh at this? england supports already up to no good - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/euro-2016-violent-start-england-8153611


----------



## Carolinas Identity*

Deficient Mode said:


>


----------



## Luigi Habs

Live in the Now said:


> Gonna make individual threads for each game as well. Makes things easier to keep track of.




Maybe better to have one thread for each group, same was done for last WC.


----------



## Power Man

Captain Saku said:


> Maybe better to have one thread for each group, same was done for last WC.




I agree


----------



## Shrimper

maclean said:


> am I allowed to laugh at this? england supports already up to no good - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/euro-2016-violent-start-england-8153611




One of the shop keepers there said the English fans were targeted.

Would be nice if everyone could just get on but always sadly going to be some idiots.


----------



## LOFIN

maclean said:


> am I allowed to laugh at this? england supports already up to no good - http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/euro-2016-violent-start-england-8153611




Yesterday some French youth attacked them and today Russian fans, damn why can't these English fans behave!


----------



## cgf

Poor english fans, always getting beaten up by all these other bullies just because they were innocently starting s***.


----------



## LOFIN

cgf said:


> Poor english fans, always getting beaten up by all these other bullies just because they were innocently starting s***.




The English are no saints, but their reputation is seriously overdramatized. It's not the 80s anymore, and the hooligans from some of the other countries are far worse nowdays than what the English were back in the day.


----------



## cgf

LOFIN said:


> The English are no saints, but their reputation is seriously overdramatized. It's not the 80s anymore, and the hooligans from some of the other countries are far worse nowdays than what the English were back in the day.




No arguments from me here. Lazio fans are even worse than BFC fans...somehow.


----------



## Hockeyfrilla




----------



## LOFIN

cgf said:


> No arguments from me here. Lazio fans are even worse than BFC fans...somehow.




Obviously the further you go south-east the worse you get, but I would even argue that Sweden has a much bigger problem with football hooliganism than England does these days.


----------



## cgf

LOFIN said:


> Obviously the further you go south-east the worse you get, but I would even argue that Sweden has a much bigger problem with football hooliganism than England does these days.




Truth fact. The only major fan-fights we have had recently have been with BFC ultras & swedish hools.


----------



## Luigi Habs

Hockeyfrilla said:


>





Dat defense though.


----------



## Bon Esprit

On paper France is better, but for some reason a draw wouldn't surprise me.

Marius Tresor on German tv btw. Does anybody remember him?


----------



## vsk92

I think a ressounding win for France.


----------



## Eisen

Bon Esprit said:


> On paper France is better, but for some reason a draw wouldn't surprise me.
> 
> Marius Tresor on German tv btw. Does anybody remember him?




Sure do.


----------



## Evilo

Yup.


----------



## Theokritos

The worst things about the tournament so far:

1) David Guetta
2) Hooliganism in Marseille
3) David Guetta


----------



## Evilo

As much as I hate Guetta, dumbasses from England and Russia take the cakes.

As well as the posters here saying england fans are "assaulted".


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Some England fans doubtlessly were assaulted. The problem is that you have 10k+ English fans there and 8k+ of them wouldn't harm a fly but that's not going to deter Russian hooligans or local gangs from attacking English people on sight.


----------



## Evilo

The amount of stupidity you have thrown in your posts lately is outstanding.

English fans are victims once again


----------



## hatterson

Theokritos said:


> The worst things about the tournament so far:
> 
> 1) David Guetta
> 2) Hooliganism in Marseille
> 3) David Guetta




You forgot Wambach on the US broadcasts. That's 100% a top 3 worst thing.


----------



## TheMoreYouKnow

Evilo said:


> The amount of stupidity you have thrown in your posts lately is outstanding.
> 
> English fans are victims once again




English fans can be both victims and aggressors because English fans are a range of people with different agendas and different motivations. 

I guess all French are Maghrebin gang members eager to rob tourists because such people exist in Marseille and they have French passports.


----------



## Shrimper

TheMoreYouKnow said:


> English fans can be both victims and aggressors because English fans are a range of people with different agendas and different motivations.
> 
> I guess all French are Maghrebin gang members eager to rob tourists because such people exist in Marseille and they have French passports.




Best to ignore Evilo, he clearly can't understand than England fans can be victims,

Lots of reports on the ground saying England fans were attacked. A small minority no doubt did something stupid but a lot of this is coming from French Ultras and Russian fans. Yet everyone blames England fans, sickening.


----------



## Theokritos

hatterson said:


> You forgot Wambach on the US broadcasts. That's 100% a top 3 worst thing.




That doesn't affect people outside of the US though. Guetta and the Hooligans suck for everybody.


----------



## Bure80

Always wonder that Russia is not stronger. A country of a high population and a high soccer tradition.


----------



## cgf

Bure80 said:


> Always wonder that Russia is not stronger. A country of a high population and a high soccer tradition.




Domestic player rules and a disgusting youth system...where kids often have to pay to get into the big regional acadmies...will do that. And the huge wages keeping their best players from playing in better leagues, doesn't help.


----------



## Evilo

Shrimper said:


> Best to ignore Evilo, he clearly can't understand than England fans can be victims,
> 
> Lots of reports on the ground saying England fans were attacked. A small minority no doubt did something stupid but a lot of this is coming from French Ultras and Russian fans. Yet everyone blames England fans, sickening.




Sickening is that you can't read my posts properly.


----------



## Bure80

cgf said:


> Domestic player rules and a disgusting youth system...where kids often have to pay to get into the big regional acadmies...will do that. And the huge wages keeping their best players from playing in better leagues, doesn't help.




We had only domestic players till around 2000 too and we was very succesful.
With the population of Russia they could have a strong league in my opinion.
The youth system can be a reason. Dont know enough about that.


----------



## cgf

Bure80 said:


> We had only domestic players till around 2000 too and we was very succesful.
> With the population of Russia they could have a strong league in my opinion.
> The youth system can be a reason. Dont know enough about that.




Domestic player rules are particularly hurtful for a league with massive wages and clubs focused on the big name imports. The big clubs would buy up top young talents, give them fat salaries; and then either park them on the bench, or shove them into minor supporting roles where they couldn't develop further. A lot of talented russian kids saw their development end around 19 in the past decade.

It does seem to have gotten better in the past year or two tho.


----------



## XO

Just waiting for Rashford


----------



## Cin

cgf said:


> Domestic player rules are particularly hurtful for a league with massive wages and clubs focused on the big name imports. The big clubs would buy up top young talents, give them fat salaries; and then either park them on the bench, or shove them into minor supporting roles where they couldn't develop further. A lot of talented russian kids saw their development end around 19 in the past decade.
> 
> It does seem to have gotten better in the past year or two tho.




Makes you wonder just how good they could currently be.


----------



## XO

Rooney looking so good in the midfield, glad he's finally accepted that role


----------



## cgf

Cin said:


> Makes you wonder just how good they could currently be.




That and getting the Dzagoevs, Kokorins, Shatovs to move to top 4 leagues would be huge...and the Capello debacle didn't help either. They could be somewhere around Poland/Belgium caliber if not for these factors.


----------



## Shrimper

Russian fans charged England fans leave the game.


----------



## hockeykicker

What the heck is going on? Jeez I'm out for a few hours and a brawl takes place?


----------



## ViD

cgf said:


> That and getting the Dzagoevs, Kokorins, Shatovs to move to top 4 leagues would be huge...and the Capello debacle didn't help either. They could be somewhere around Poland/Belgium caliber if not for these factors.




Poland ? They are not that great by any means


----------



## Stonehands22

hockeykicker said:


> What the heck is going on? Jeez I'm out for a few hours and a brawl takes place?




Mhm. Some Russian fans charged at England fans who were leaving the stadium shortly after the full-time whistle.


----------



## cgf

ViD said:


> Poland ? They are not that great by any means




Neither is Belgium.



hockeykicker said:


> What the heck is going on? Jeez I'm out for a few hours and a brawl takes place?




Basically:


----------



## Deficient Mode

Now apparently Northern Ireland fans are being targeted by Polish hooligans in Nice. Polish hooligans are arguably even worse than Russian hooligans.


----------



## Live in the Now

deficient mode said:


> now apparently northern ireland fans are being targeted by polish hooligans in nice. Polish hooligans are arguably even worse than russian hooligans.


----------



## Cassano

Payet, Xhaka, Allen, Dier - all EPL players MoTM.


----------



## Deficient Mode

mint said:


> Payet, Xhaka, Allen, Dier - all EPL players MoTM.




Who picked Xhaka ahead of Sommer?


----------



## Live in the Now

Arsenal fans brigaded the poll. 

Love me some Welsh Pirlo though.


----------



## Evilo

Gary Lineker :
"What is wrong with these people? An absolute embarrassment to the country.
You can talk about police provocation, or other fans causing trouble, but it only seems to happen where the English go."

This is my whole point. Russiand, polish or french hooligans are just as stupid, but with the english it's EVERY ****ing time.


----------



## Shrimper

French Youths apparently tried to fight/did fight Northern Irish fans.



Evilo said:


> Gary Lineker :
> "What is wrong with these people? An absolute embarrassment to the country.
> You can talk about police provocation, or other fans causing trouble, but it only seems to happen where the English go."
> 
> This is my whole point. Russiand, polish or french hooligans are just as stupid, but with the english it's EVERY ****ing time.




So, what should English fans do if attacked or set on? Just let it happen?


----------



## Hasek

Evilo said:


> Gary Lineker :
> "What is wrong with these people? An absolute embarrassment to the country.
> You can talk about police provocation, or other fans causing trouble, but it only seems to happen where the English go."
> 
> This is my whole point. Russiand, polish or french hooligans are just as stupid, but with the english it's EVERY ****ing time.




Why you throwing Polish hooligans into the group? Get your facts straight. I do find it amusing how the media is trying to point all the blame at the russians. They show videos of black and brown russians hurling objects... dont think ive seen so many non white russians before.


----------



## Evilo

Shrimper said:


> So, what should English fans do if attacked or set on? Just let it happen?




Because you still believe english fans did nothing but defend themselves?



Hasek said:


> Why you throwing Polish hooligans into the group? Get your facts straight.



Because they fought in Nice. Get your own facts straight, thank you.


----------



## Shrimper

Evilo said:


> Because you still believe english fans did nothing but defend themselves?
> 
> 
> Because they fought in Nice. Get your own facts straight, thank you.




Watch the video of Russian fans charging the English, what did the England fans do wrong there?

There are instances of people being in bars and being attacked out of nowhere, having to defend themselves and those more vulnerable. But sure, lets focus on the English actions.

You seem to have an irrational dislike of the English, it's showing and clouding your judgement.

Some drunk, moronic England fans looking for a fight out there, sure. But lots of stories of innocent people being attacked.


----------



## Evilo

Shrimper said:


> Watch the video of Russian fans charging the English, what did the England fans do wrong there?
> 
> There are instances of people being in bars and being attacked out of nowhere, having to defend themselves and those more vulnerable. But sure, lets focus on the English actions.
> 
> You seem to have an irrational dislike of the English, it's showing and clouding your judgement.
> 
> Some drunk, moronic England fans looking for a fight out there, sure. But lots of stories of innocent people being attacked.




Yes and tons of videos of english starting trouble.
But I'm irrational because you can't acknowledge the 75.000 english fans without a ticket were here (for the most part) to drink and fight.

Lots of english fans were here to go to the game and celebrate which they did in good fashion.
Plenty (and a huge part of them) came here to start ****.

I'm absolutely sorry some english fans were attacked by thugs. 
Are you sorry for all those who were attacked by english fans?
That doesn't seem to be the case.


----------



## Evilo

Anyway, some links on hooliganism in Marseille :
http://www.leparisien.fr/faits-dive...lle-12-06-2016-5876141.php#xtor=AD-1481423553

Arrested are : one austrian, one german, multiple french, russian and english "fans".

One other interesting testimony is of Mickael, who was in charge of separating english and russians fans during the game :
http://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/...avait-juste-nos-bras-et-une-corde-983289.html
Might explain why nobody could stop both groups to go at it at the end of the game until the police and security came.
At the bottom of that article, you'll find a video of both groups going at it during the day.


----------



## Evilo

http://rmcsport.bfmtv.com/football/...re-disciplinaire-contre-la-russie-983299.html

Russian federation under investigation after the incidents inside the stadiums.
They don't interfere in happenings outside of stadiums BTW.


----------



## Hasek

Evilo said:


> Because you still believe english fans did nothing but defend themselves?
> 
> 
> Because they fought in Nice. Get your own facts straight, thank you.




http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/euro-2016/heartwarming-picture-shows-how-classy-northern-ireland-fans-helped-polish-counterparts-following-attack-by-local-hooligans-34792885.html

http://en.as.com/en/2016/06/12/football/1465686502_126068.html

http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/679063/Euro-2016-Northern-Ireland-Poland-Fans-Attacked-Local-Hooligans-Nice-French-Police-France

Quite hypocritical of you especially with that french flag. Please don't add any more donkey manure to this thread. Get your facts straight.


----------



## hockeykicker

UEFA issues warnings to England and Russia saying anymore fan outbursts and they will be disqualified and eliminated from tournament per ESPN


----------



## hockeykicker




----------



## Cassano

Deficient Mode said:


> Who picked Xhaka ahead of Sommer?




I was thinking Schaer, but Xhaka is a good choice too.


----------



## Ceremony

I'm sure the England fans were only reacting to being goaded.


----------



## Evilo

Hasek said:


> http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/euro-2016/heartwarming-picture-shows-how-classy-northern-ireland-fans-helped-polish-counterparts-following-attack-by-local-hooligans-34792885.html
> 
> http://en.as.com/en/2016/06/12/football/1465686502_126068.html
> 
> http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/679063/Euro-2016-Northern-Ireland-Poland-Fans-Attacked-Local-Hooligans-Nice-French-Police-France
> 
> Quite hypocritical of you especially with that french flag. Please don't add any more donkey manure to this thread. Get your facts straight.



Seems my post didn't appear.

Those innocent polish fans are clearly victims.


Get your facts straight indeed


----------



## darko

hockeykicker said:


>






Good.


----------



## hatterson

This ESPN green screen is so bad.

I've seen higher quality green screening on twitch streams.


----------



## Evilo

Around 30 german hooligans have attacked Ukranian fans in Lille this afternoon.


----------



## Nalens Oga

This is some kinda ********, other countries have people that can watch this game in good quality free streams in HD whereas in Canada, you have to be a TSN subscriber for the stream to work. They don't even let you watch the friggin highlights without having the subscription (on top of that, have to disable adblocker).

Screw it, illegitimate streams it is for me. Also, lol at the English overreaction, it was just one game and they played well even with Raheem Sterling mucking up every time he got the ball. Rooney was very impressive in midfield though they didn't have to defend much. Get Sterling out of there and probably wanna put Vardy in for Kane who missed chances.


----------



## Moncherry

Would be nice if we could get some more goals soon


----------



## NHL Dude 120

We need at least 6 goals to get back to 2.5 goals a game. It's Ironic that UEFA expanded to 24 teams andyet we have less goals.


----------



## Franck

Goals is hardly the defining quality of good, exciting football. 

I thought the first four matches were all really good, the games today have been a step down though.


----------



## Nalens Oga

Some weaknesses identified in Germany I think. They need to make some changes to the line-up....get Kroos playing higher up instead of so deep in midfield and put Schweinsteiger where Kroos was. I'd take Gotze out and I wouldn't mind seeing how Gomez looks in place as a true target striker. It was comical seeing some of their crosses into the box targeting Gotze. Something needs to be done about RB as well, Howedes had no real support and maybe Schweinsteiger would help there or just putting Boateng to RB and putting Hummels in the middle.

Loew's pretty rigid so he won't make the changes till they lose or something but the team didn't have the same chemistry with the ball and they were pretty disorganized when Ukraine did attack.


----------



## les Habs

Elever said:


> Some weaknesses identified in Germany I think. They need to make some changes to the line-up....get Kroos playing higher up instead of so deep in midfield and put Schweinsteiger where Kroos was. I'd take Gotze out and I wouldn't mind seeing how Gomez looks in place as a true target striker. It was comical seeing some of their crosses into the box targeting Gotze. Something needs to be done about RB as well, Howedes had no real support and maybe Schweinsteiger would help there or just putting Boateng to RB and putting Hummels in the middle.
> 
> Loew's pretty rigid so he won't make the changes till they lose or something but the team didn't have the same chemistry with the ball and they were pretty disorganized when Ukraine did attack.




I would make some changes myself. Getting Kroos closer to goal isn't a bad idea at all, but I also thought he marshalled the midfield well. If they had a proper DM they could simply go with a traditional 4-3-3 and have Kroos partner Ozil. 

To be fair to Gotze he's being played out of position and he obviously isn't a target man, but even on the ball he didn't impress me much in this one. Gomez came to mind for me as well, but I haven't seen him play in years. Either way I can't see Goetze working too well and even Muller would have been a notably better option. 

Well they could move Mustafi to RB as well when Hummels returns, but he had an excellent match and I'm not sure he offers much more going forward.


----------



## Eisen

I'd actually leave Kroos where he is. He can do everything he can do from there and it emphasises one of his strengths. He can get the ball deep quickly and shoot from the second row. 
GÃ¶tze playing as the lone striker looked odd . And we need to come more from the right side. The game becomes more predictable when everything goes center or left.


----------



## WhiskeySeven*

Mustafi out right and Hummels as CB will be a world of good in and of itself.

Goetze out for Gomez, have him come on as a sub for Ozil or Mueller.

Schweini can feature, maybe, but he's deliriously out of shape so I dunno where he'd fit in - the only unmovables as I see them are Neuer, Hector, Boateng, Mustafi, Kroos, Ozil and Mueller. Leaving the spots of Howedes, Khedira, Draxler and Goetze up for some tinkering.


----------



## Deficient Mode

Elever said:


> Some weaknesses identified in Germany I think. They need to make some changes to the line-up....get Kroos playing higher up instead of so deep in midfield and put Schweinsteiger where Kroos was. I'd take Gotze out and I wouldn't mind seeing how Gomez looks in place as a true target striker. It was comical seeing some of their crosses into the box targeting Gotze. Something needs to be done about RB as well, Howedes had no real support and maybe Schweinsteiger would help there or just putting Boateng to RB and putting Hummels in the middle.
> 
> Loew's pretty rigid so he won't make the changes till they lose or something but the team didn't have the same chemistry with the ball and they were pretty disorganized when Ukraine did attack.




I disagree. Kroos is great and more effective playing deeper. He had a pretty good match. Whether they play in a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3, he'll have a similar role. If Schweinsteiger were still in his form of 2 years ago I'd partner him with Kroos but I don't think he's sharp enough anymore to play the whole match. 

Buildup play today was actually excellent. Things didn't quite click in the final third though. I would be fine having GÃ¶tze as a striker, but it won't always work the way the team was set up today. 

Keep Boateng as a CB and move Mustafi to RB if anything. Preferably go to a 3 man backline with Hummels on the left, Boateng in the middle, and Mustafi on the right.



WhiskeySeven said:


> Mustafi out right and Hummels as CB will be a world of good in and of itself.
> 
> Goetze out for Gomez, have him come on as a sub for Ozil or Mueller.
> 
> Schweini can feature, maybe, but he's deliriously out of shape so I dunno where he'd fit in - the only unmovables as I see them are Neuer, Hector, Boateng, Mustafi, Kroos, Ozil and Mueller. Leaving the spots of Howedes, Khedira, Draxler and Goetze up for some tinkering.




No way is Hector unmovable, even if HÃ¶wedes were the only alternative as a LB. Mustafi isn't either.


----------



## Cochese

When you're having a great time, then diarrhea strikes....


----------



## Hasek

Evilo said:


> Seems my post didn't appear.
> 
> Those innocent polish fans are clearly victims.
> 
> 
> Get your facts straight indeed




Thanks for making my point and posting a vid of locals attacking NI/PL fans. If EN and RU get punished, the FR should be punished also. Here's hoping for an FR-PL or FR-EN or FR-RU match so that the FR hooligans get what they deserve.


----------



## Ivan13

Srna's father has passed away. Darijo has left the camp and returned to Croatia.


----------



## Tryamkin

WhiskeySeven said:


> Mustafi out right and Hummels as CB will be a world of good in and of itself.
> 
> Goetze out for Gomez, have him come on as a sub for Ozil or Mueller.
> 
> Schweini can feature, maybe, but he's deliriously out of shape so I dunno where he'd fit in - the only unmovables as I see them are Neuer, Hector, Boateng, Mustafi, Kroos, Ozil and Mueller. Leaving the spots of Howedes, Khedira, Draxler and Goetze up for some tinkering.




Muller should be playing striker, not RM. Gotze is _NOT_ a natural ST and it was very obvious.

Muller
Gotze - Ozil - Schweini
Khedira - Kroos
Hector - Hummels - Boateng - Mustafi
Neuer​


----------



## Tryamkin

Ivan13 said:


> Srna's father has passed away. Darijo has left the camp and returned to Croatia.




That's sad to hear. 
Fantastic free-kick attempt by Srna, just struck the bar. One of the few highlights of that horribly boring smash-fest.
Modric volley was beautiful, even though I thought Volkan could have done better.


----------



## Ivan13

Tryamkin said:


> That's sad to hear.
> Fantastic free-kick attempt by Srna, just struck the bar. One of the few highlights of that horribly boring smash-fest.
> Modric volley was beautiful, even though I thought Volkan could have done better.




His dad had a tough life and was sick for a while now. 

The match was boring because the Turks were completely outclassed on every level, and because the ref was beyond horrible. We toyed with them from the get-go, if Srna, Brozović and PeriÅ¡ić had more composure the match would've ended 5-0.


----------



## cgf

Elever said:


> Some weaknesses identified in Germany I think. They need to make some changes to the line-up....*get Kroos playing higher up instead of so deep in midfield and put Schweinsteiger where Kroos was*. I'd take Gotze out and *I wouldn't mind seeing how Gomez looks in place as a true target striker*. It was comical seeing some of their crosses into the box targeting Gotze. Something needs to be done about RB as well, Howedes had no real support and *maybe Schweinsteiger would help there or just putting Boateng to RB* and putting Hummels in the middle.
> 
> Loew's pretty rigid so he won't make the changes till they lose or something but the team didn't have the same chemistry with the ball and they were pretty disorganized when Ukraine did attack.




Jogi may be utterly incompetent, but thank goodness he hasn't done any of this. How we should play:

Brandt/Kruse - Muller
Ozil
Dahoud - Toni/Sami
Toni/Weigl
Schmelzer/Arnold - Mats - Boa - Weiser/Kimmich

or

Brandt - Draxler/Kruse - Muller
Ozil
Dahoud - Kroos
Weigl/Kimmich
Tah - Mats - Boa

The best we can hope for from Jogi, given that he's already screwed up in the team selection:

Draxler - Muller - Sane/Gotze
Ozil - Toni/Sami
Toni/Weigl
Hector - Mats - Boa - Kimmich​


Tryamkin said:


> Muller should be playing striker, not RM. Gotze is _NOT_ a natural ST and it was very obvious.
> 
> Muller
> Gotze - Ozil - Schweini
> Khedira - Kroos
> Hector - Hummels - Boateng - Mustafi
> Neuer​




...curious wingers you've picked there...



Evilo said:


> Around 30 german hooligans have attacked Ukranian fans in Lille this afternoon.




I think I'm supposed to post something about how those strapping young german lads were innocent victims reacting to provocation...

...f***ing idiots  This is why we can't have nice things. After all the positivity in recent weeks as everyone's rallied behind "bad neighbor" Boateng, some dips***s have to taint it all just because they saw all of these other hools getting in on the action & so they couldn't help but express their own disgusting natures...le sigh


----------



## Eisen

cgf said:


> Jogi may be utterly incompetent, but thank goodness he hasn't done any of this. How we should play:
> 
> Brandt/Kruse - Muller
> Ozil
> Dahoud - Toni/Sami
> Toni/Weigl
> Schmelzer/Arnold - Mats - Boa - Weiser/Kimmich
> 
> or
> 
> Draxler/Kruse - Muller - Brandt
> Ozil
> Dahoud - Kroos
> Weigl/Kimmich
> Tah - Mats - Boa
> 
> The best we can hope for from Jogi, given that he's already screwed up in the team selection:
> 
> Draxler - Muller - Sane/Gotze
> Ozil - Toni/Sami
> Toni/Weigl
> Hector - Mats - Boa - Kimmich​
> 
> 
> ...curious wingers you've picked there...
> 
> 
> 
> I think I'm supposed to post something about how those strapping young german lads were innocent victims reacting to provocation...
> 
> ...f***ing idiots  This is why we can't have nice things. After all the positivity in recent weeks as everyone's rallied behind "bad neighbor" Boateng, some dips***s have to taint it all just because they saw all of these other hools getting in on the action & so they couldn't help but express their own disgusting natures...le sigh




He's not utterly incompetent. Remember Ribbeck? That was incompetent. Granted, he had really bad players to pick from.

Agreed on the hools, eff those swine.


----------



## cgf

Eisen said:


> He's not utterly incompetent. Remember Ribbeck? That was incompetent. Granted, he had really bad players to pick from.
> 
> Agreed on the hools, eff those swine.




Fair enough.  Vogts & then Ribbeck where truly dark days indeed.


----------



## LightningStrikes

Tryamkin said:


> Muller should be playing striker, not RM. Gotze is _NOT_ a natural ST and it was very obvious.
> 
> Muller
> Gotze - Ozil - *Schweini*
> Khedira - Kroos
> Hector - Hummels - Boateng - Mustafi
> Neuer​




You won't see him until the 60 or 70 minute mark. Not fit enough.


----------



## Eisen

cgf said:


> Fair enough.  Vogts & then Ribbeck where truly dark days indeed.




Indeed. At least we got a championship out of Vogts, but Ribbeck? *shudder*


----------



## Ceremony

Lots of goading by fans at this tournament so far.


----------



## Rocko604

Russian FA encouraging more fighting and violence:



> "I don't see anything wrong with fans fighting," the MP from the nationalist Liberal Democratic party wrote on Twitter. "Quite the opposite, the guys did well. *Keep it up!*






> "In nine out of 10 cases, football fans go to games to fight, and that's normal. T*he lads defended the honour of their country* and did not let English fans desecrate our motherland. We should forgive and understand our fans."




http://www.espnfc.us/russia/story/2...ion-official-nothing-wrong-with-fans-fighting


----------



## Eisen

Rocko604 said:


> Russian FA encouraging more fighting and violence:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.espnfc.us/russia/story/2...ion-official-nothing-wrong-with-fans-fighting




Pathetic.


----------



## Theokritos

Ivan13 said:


> Srna's father has passed away. Darijo has left the camp and returned to Croatia.






Rocko604 said:


> Russian FA encouraging more fighting and violence:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.espnfc.us/russia/story/2...ion-official-nothing-wrong-with-fans-fighting




That's inacceptable. The guy needs to be gone from the executive committee or Russia needs to be gone from the tournament. The UEFA can't accept a federation or a federation functionary sabotaging one of its basic politics.


----------



## Tryamkin

cgf said:


> Jogi may be utterly incompetent, but thank goodness he hasn't done any of this. How we should play:
> 
> Brandt/Kruse - Muller
> Ozil
> Dahoud - Toni/Sami
> Toni/Weigl
> Schmelzer/Arnold - Mats - Boa - Weiser/Kimmich
> 
> or
> 
> Brandt - Draxler/Kruse - Muller
> Ozil
> Dahoud - Kroos
> Weigl/Kimmich
> Tah - Mats - Boa
> 
> The best we can hope for from Jogi, given that he's already screwed up in the team selection:
> 
> Draxler - Muller - Sane/Gotze
> Ozil - Toni/Sami
> Toni/Weigl
> Hector - Mats - Boa - Kimmich​
> 
> 
> ...curious wingers you've picked there...
> 
> 
> 
> I think I'm supposed to post something about how those strapping young german lads were innocent victims reacting to provocation...
> 
> ...f***ing idiots  This is why we can't have nice things. After all the positivity in recent weeks as everyone's rallied behind "bad neighbor" Boateng, some dips***s have to taint it all just because they saw all of these other hools getting in on the action & so they couldn't help but express their own disgusting natures...le sigh




I prefer Germany without wingers. The formation I had was a LAM CAM RAM formation.


----------



## Tryamkin

LightningStrikes said:


> You won't see him until the 60 or 70 minute mark. Not fit enough.




I know 

That's the lineup I want it to be. Sadly, Muller doesn't get time at ST, Gotze plays ST like a ghost, and Howedes plays RB


----------



## Rocko604

Theokritos said:


> That's inacceptable. The guy needs to be gone from the executive committee or Russia needs to be gone from the tournament. *The UEFA can't accept a federation or a federation functionary sabotaging one of its basic politics.*




You are correct, however we all know UEFA won't go anywhere near the 2018 World Cup hosts. 

England? They'll never host a major tournament ever again, so **** em.


----------



## TP

New thread:

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=2089403


----------

