The Big Shiny World Cup thread

[Mar]

Not liking the sound of Mason Mount coming on. Midfield three is the best weve got on so far

[BWFC_Insane]

It’s the quality they have in the final third it’s just enough to cover up for their deficiencies. Whereas Englands is just not quite enough to really exploit theirs.

[Worthy4England]

That has to be a penalty

[Mar]

Ffs. Gotta be a pen. Fkin hell ref

[Mar]

Heading out as a result of a missed pen. Goddamnit

[BWFC_Insane]

These big games have to be a mentality issue. France played within themselves. They just have moments where they turn it on. We’ve played well but same old hard luck story going back to 66. What is it that does this? Has to be a problem with our psyche. Our mentality.

[Mar]

These big games have to be a mentality issue. France played within themselves. They just have moments where they turn it on. We’ve played well but same old hard luck story going back to 66. What is it that does this? Has to be a problem with our psyche. Our mentality.

No fluke we are where we are and history repeats.

Dreaded extra time kicking in and we're chasing yet again.

[BWFC_Insane]

Same old story. Better team overall. But we lack their final third quality and so are heading home. France just had a clinical edge. We didn’t. Their final third quality just better than ours.

I thought in most departments we bettered them. But up front and in the wide areas they produced where we just couldn’t.

[Worthy4England]

Thought we were overall better over the 90. Tough luck on fine margins....

[BWFC_Insane]

Fine margins indeed. But we’ve been wrong side of those for generations. Which makes me ask what do we need to do to correct that? Kane doesn’t lack quality or ability to take a penalty. Always seems to happen to us. Teams just find a way to score and we cannot. There has to be something underlying it.

[Mar]

Kept mbappe quiet. Couldn't keep Griezmann quiet and it cost us.

[Hoboh]

Ah well, not that we played badly though.

[TANGODANCER]

Fine margins indeed. But we’ve been wrong side of those for generations. Which makes me ask what do we need to do to correct that? Kane doesn’t lack quality or ability to take a penalty. Always seems to happen to us. Teams just find a way to score and we cannot. There has to be something underlying it.

We're possible the second or third best in the World Cup. I'd say we did well. France were always expected to win it and we very nearly stopped them. Really tough on Harry Kane; he gave everything he had. The ref hardly did us many favours.

[nicholaldo]

I've always thought that, with few excdptions, there's a slight disparity in technical ability between us and the world's best. A heavy touch here, not quite first time control there, etc. and that that can often be the difference on the biggest stage. See Griezmann's delivery in for the winner, for example.

Our mentality tonight was alright for me. We conceded an early goal but didn't let it get to us and then after equalising I thought we really had France in trouble.

I hope tonight's performance might allow us to go into similar matches in future tournaments without fear.

[nicholaldo]

I'm not sure I understand the decision to substitute Saka, though. It just had the feel of making a change because we thought we should do.

[BWFC_Insane]

I've always thought that, with few excdptions, there's a slight disparity in technical ability between us and the world's best. A heavy touch here, not quite first time control there, etc. and that that can often be the difference on the biggest stage. See Griezmann's delivery in for the winner, for example.

Our mentality tonight was alright for me. We conceded an early goal but didn't let it get to us and then after equalising I thought we really had France in trouble.

I hope tonight's performance might allow us to go into similar matches in future tournaments without fear.

I don’t think France were technically better. I think they were more clinical around the box. If you take their final ball it was certainly better on one or two occasions. But for me we were the better side and as Roy Keane said after all you can say is France who didn’t play that well found a way to win. England seem pathologically incapable of dining ways to win in these games. Which is infuriating. Very good at finding ways to lose.

[Hoboh]

We have some good talented players now wanted to build on this. It was the last major for a couple of them and maybe fresh management up top, Southgate can leave with his head held high.

[Prufrock]

I can wear that.

2018 and 2021 I was v critical because I think we we lost games we should've won and didn't play well. Tonight I thought we played well but it's two good teams. You can lose.

If I'm being picky the subs again were mad. We were on top. They scored but, you know, they're world champions, it can happen. I wouldn't have changed anything. I certainly don't know what you think you're getting out of Rashford and Sterling when you're 1-0 down. Would love to know how Southgate thought we were scoring a goal beyond Marcus and Raheem have scored goals for us before. But still. They scored an absolute ping and a bit of quality from Griezman. We get ahead and I think we win it.

No shame there.

[TANGODANCER]

Might as well depart with a flourish and, for once, a graceful proud bow rather than a petulant scowl and a victim hunt. Reality will call it "The day we lost our chance of winning the World Cup" because that's at least as truthful as it would be. We'd gone beyond mere pipe-dreaming and the world saw just how near we were to the prize. That said, even if Harry Kane had slotted his second penalty, we still would have had ninety minutes and a possible penalty shoot out to battle against the current World Champions.

Anyone completely neutral and with a grain of honesty would have to admit we were the better side on the night despite the speed of Mbappe, the presence of Giroud the brain of Greizman and a less than friendly referee. Unfortunately, none of that is much consolation; we had our chances and didn't take them. Four years is a long time and who knows where the earth's roulette wheel will stop by then? .

In the privacy of our inner thoughts, we probably agree with Pru's "What a xxxxxxx stupid sport..

[Mar]

Wonder how much the referees were influenced from previous games.

Take the VAR referee he was from Colombia and we knocked them out last tournament. Last nights referee was Brazilian and they had our English ref in the match that saw Brazil leave the competiton, making decisions that might have been seen as unfavourable from their perspective which could lead to a grudge.

Don't think it mattered all that much but the selection of referees could've quite easily have been against us prior to kick off