The Euro 2020 Thread

Quite intrigued by Belgium's pressing game.
Look at Lukaku starting it every time,first just back off then with a flick of a switch they start it
 
Good game, really enjoying the Italians, bar the return to the old gamesmanship in the last 10 minutes. I think they deserved to win it in the end although Belgium always looked like they just might get a goal back. Would love to see England play like Italy with a real purpose about their forward play. We have the players.

Chiellini and Bonucci what a pair of old warriors. Spinazzola could be a big loss though if he's out for the tournament which looked like it might be the case.
 
I think Italy are the team to beat, superb strike from Insigne. I just wish they would cut out the play acting. Spain dodged a bullet today, but i feel there will be no escaping in the semi. Italy will have too much for them.
 
Well that's semifinals for us I guess. Was kind of a nervous, tight game, but glad those two gems gave us the pass.
Insigne was incredible, a magnificent goal and some other great inventions. Defense was on point in containing Lukaku.

Probably Belgium paid half service De Bruyne and Hazard's absence, the only true dangers came from Doku on the left (I didn't even literally knew him before this game.. I read he's only 19, looks incredibly promising).

Now against Spain.. hard to make predictions. I can't frame them, they look good in a match and kinda average in another, but they certainly have the class to hurt us. Will be a nice 50/50 thrill.
 
Yes, Doku can be one of the few positives to come from tonight from a Belgian perspective, he got me out of my seat when he was on the ball. Thrilling game, but Italy vs Denmark will be my dream final.

Sommer was fantastic in the earlier game, for the 4th EURO running Italy play Spain.
 
Italy confirmed tonight as the team to beat. What a game! I'm not too fussed about the dark arts because I know if it came to it that I'd want Aberdeen/Scotland to do the same!

The penalties in the Switzerland - Spain game... Remarkable how many penalties are hit at waist height. Goalkeeper's dream. Or ballooning them over the bar. Also, not an own goal by any definition I've ever known.
 
Flipper the Priest said:
I'm not too fussed about the dark arts because I know if it came to it that I'd want Aberdeen/Scotland to do the same!
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Everybody hates it until they do it themselves,me in a Derby Vs one the shit teams I despise, no problem!

Really bad(tense) shootout between Spain and Switzerland.
Go back to Switzerland v France ,one missed pen,the rest really sharp ones.

I agree,Italy is the ones to beat now,but that's been the case for me all along,maybe not Vs Austria for the first 90 though.
 
shumway said:
Afaik he was given a ticket by Swiss Air, after he was interviewed in swis
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Well, it kinda reminds me of 'El Tano' Pasman who got famous for a video in which he watches River's relegation on TV and then got interviewed by different TVs and such.

rockstrongo said:
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I approve.
Also, talking about Bud Spencer... Barella against the Belgian defense on the first goal was like...
AggressiveFreshAmericanbulldog-size_restricted.gif
 
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rockstrongo said:
Really bad(tense) shootout between Spain and Switzerland.
Go back to Switzerland v France ,one missed pen,the rest really sharp ones.
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Switzerland players on PK versus Spain
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Switzerland players on PK versus France
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Mixed feelings about Belgium v Italy last night. On the one hand, it was clearly the best quality game of the tournament so far.

On the other hand, seeing Italy's beautiful, direct, aggressive attacking play made me shit myself at the thought of England even POTENTIALLY having to play them. Bit of a wake-up call. They're in a whole other league. Parking the bus against them would be more like Jordan Pickford rolling out a red carpet for them to show off those lovely kits and tap the ball into the net at the end of it.

Also, the diving and time-wasting. Fucking hell. This is where VAR should step up, for me. Why can't there be a dedicated "exaggeration analyst" who just, immediately, shoots a word to the ref saying "Donnarumma brushed the ball with his fingers, and went down like he'd just been KO'd in Street Fighter, book him for time wasting".
 
Flipper the Priest said:
The penalties in the Switzerland - Spain game... Remarkable how many penalties are hit at waist height. Goalkeeper's dream. Or ballooning them over the bar. Also, not an own goal by any definition I've ever known
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The Swiss all seemed to go for a wait for the keeper to move approach this time and as he was moving back and forth did a really bad job of reading it! Maybe because they knew he'd seen all their penalties the other day they tried to do something different? Not sure but they were night and day to the first penalty shoot out.

I think someone at UEFA had Over 9.5 on Tournament Own Goals :D
 
Chris Davies said:
Also, the diving and time-wasting. Fucking hell. This is where VAR should step up, for me. Why can't there be a dedicated "exaggeration analyst" who just, immediately, shoots a word to the ref saying "Donnarumma brushed the ball with his fingers, and went down like he'd just been KO'd in Street Fighter, book him for time wasting".
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In Icehockey a player gets a penalty for diving when he is fouled and falls too histrionically...

I don't get it. You have so many camera angles, millions see it in TV, everyone KNOWS how the players behave. Why can't you just penalise them afterwards? Take a player out for one game if he behaves like Immobile yesterday. If the same player does something like that again, take him out for 2 games. And so on. Diving, pretending to be hurt, etc have to cause penalties that hurt both players and teams. This cheating behaviour is so deep in players minds, it will never end untill it will have serious consequences.
 
Chris Davies said:
Mixed feelings about Belgium v Italy last night. On the one hand, it was clearly the best quality game of the tournament so far.

On the other hand, seeing Italy's beautiful, direct, aggressive attacking play made me shit myself at the thought of England even POTENTIALLY having to play them. Bit of a wake-up call. They're in a whole other league. Parking the bus against them would be more like Jordan Pickford rolling out a red carpet for them to show off those lovely kits and tap the ball into the net at the end of it.

Also, the diving and time-wasting. Fucking hell. This is where VAR should step up, for me. Why can't there be a dedicated "exaggeration analyst" who just, immediately, shoots a word to the ref saying "Donnarumma brushed the ball with his fingers, and went down like he'd just been KO'd in Street Fighter, book him for time wasting".
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shumway said:
I don't get it. You have so many camera angles, millions see it in TV, everyone KNOWS how the players behave. Why can't you just penalise them afterwards? Take a player out for one game if he behaves like Immobile yesterday. If the same player does something like that again, take him out for 2 games. And so on. Diving, pretending to be hurt, etc have to cause penalties that hurt both players and teams. This cheating behaviour is so deep in players minds, it will never end untill it will have serious consequences.
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Even the wording of these things is almost done to appease. Simulation for diving. No. It's cheating, plain and simple. Call it that. Two match ban for cheating, then as @shumway says, increase it each time it happens again with the same player. Game management, no time wasting.

Donnarumma wasn't even fouled as well. He jumped into a crowd of players and cos he didn't get hold of it, went down. It's like an automatic reaction for most refs, keeper down, free kick for defending team. Half the time it's the keeper that initiates contact.

This is where retrospective bans are so simple. Review the evidence and ban them. It would be stamped out in a matter of weeks.

All that said, I do also appreciate that if England are a goal up late on today I won't be moaning too much at time wasting :LOL: But I'd still rather it was eradicated from the game as best it can be.
 
Chris Davies said:
Mixed feelings about Belgium v Italy last night. On the one hand, it was clearly the best quality game of the tournament so far.

On the other hand, seeing Italy's beautiful, direct, aggressive attacking play made me shit myself at the thought of England even POTENTIALLY having to play them. Bit of a wake-up call. They're in a whole other league. Parking the bus against them would be more like Jordan Pickford rolling out a red carpet for them to show off those lovely kits and tap the ball into the net at the end of it.

Also, the diving and time-wasting. Fucking hell. This is where VAR should step up, for me. Why can't there be a dedicated "exaggeration analyst" who just, immediately, shoots a word to the ref saying "Donnarumma brushed the ball with his fingers, and went down like he'd just been KO'd in Street Fighter, book him for time wasting".
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Well I think as an England fan, we're in the Croatia spot 3 years ago... It's more about the journey, the goal of getting further than we have any right to than actually winning this tournament. When we were in that semi final in Russia, I thought even if we win, than what? We'll be like children on the pitch compared to France and this year I think it'll be the same thing, Italy are resembling Spain 2012 and probably can't do no wrong at this point.

Regarding the second point, I know, I want to love Italy but that bullshit just about absolves them of any dignity by this point.

How can you have Immobile and Donnarumma laying on the floor feigning crippling agony for no contact while their own team mate Spinazzola stayed on his feet accepting his injury and that his dream was over, calling for his own removal and only went to ground when Cristiante insisted so to relieve him of his pain? What an insult.
 
Regarding the acting...totally agree. However sometimes i feel the camera can lie, for instance one Italian player went down holding his face. On the replay the contact seemed minimal (cue me, starting to bellow at the screen) Then the poor bloke got to his feet and looked like he had a Black eye coming. :EMB:
But the other guy who magically got up when Italy scored the first, should have a yellow card for his trouble.

@endo Good luck tonight mate. I am glad USYK :LOVE: isn't playing, we would deffo get knocked the f**k out! :D
 
Buzzy said:
Regarding the acting...totally agree. However sometimes i feel the camera can lie, for instance one Italian player went down holding his face. On the replay the contact seemed minimal (cue me, starting to bellow at the screen) Then the poor bloke got to his feet and looked like he had a Black eye coming. :EMB:
But the other guy who magically got up when Italy scored the first, should have a yellow card for his trouble.

@endo Good luck tonight mate. I am glad USYK :LOVE: isn't playing, we would deffo get knocked the f**k out! :D
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Thanks mate, may the best team win! Cheers!!!

PotatoCouch said:
From an Endo to another, I give your team my blessing to play dirty.
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no bro, is not our style.
USYK does not play tonight.
 
Loving this more realistic views.
If southgate has the same tactics tonight his luck will run out.
I'm wondering what will happen if England concede a goal and Southgate is forced to get creative.
He has the bench for it but I feel he'll just wait to long turning to stone in that philosopher pose of him.

I would like England to win a tournament but not in this way.
A full Wembley getting a orgasm after beating Germany in the most ugly way since... well ever.
Greece had a vallid point playing like this.
I hope for a semi final between England and Denmark and then some David Goliath type stuff...
 
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