Rather play Spain at the minute than any of France/Germany/Portugal. But we'll have to play a decent team at some point and can't take any pride in getting to the semis by avoiding the better teams again.
Hmm well discounting the woeful Euros in 2016, the only other major tournament Kane has played in is the World Cup in 2018: First game: scored 2 Second game: scored 3 Third game: rested Fourth game: scored 1 Quarter final: played full 90 in winning side Semi final: lost So one good tournament and one poor, which is standard by England's reckoning. He has also scored 34 goals in 54 games for England. I can't understand why people write him off so easily was my point. But yeh, let's bench him.
Quote me an international where he's shone against a top team. He didn't score any of those goals in the last World Cup against a top team though, They came against Panama, Tunisia etc including two pens and one that hit him. Any decent English striker would have a decent collection of goals if he'd played in all the internationals Kane has played in. Again, he's not a bad player but he has yet to prove he has what it takes at the sharp end of tournament football yet people still buy all the Sky sports hype and laud him as something amazing. I read one comment this week that he was the best striker in the world. The same week Ronaldo scored his 107th international goal. Now THAT'S an exceptional player. And yes, I'd bench him. We've already qualified and we might find out more about another striker than we already know about Harry Kane.
With the exception of Euro 96 I'd suggest all England players since that tournament havent proven they have what it takes at the business end of tournaments. The only business end Kane has been involved in is the Iceland and Croatia games. The same thing happened with the likes of Rooney, Owen, Lampard, Gerrard, Scholes etc. Exceptional at club level and disappointing in internationals. I would argue that we failed as a team against Iceland and Croatia however, but people love a scapegoat and that's happening with Kane and Sterling now. Ps the comparison to Ronaldo is a joke, I agree
For what it's worth I think he played a good target man role first half but, along with the rest has disappeared second half. So frustrating we stopped playing.
That's how I saw it too. Strange how we seem to withdraw the intensity when really there's no pressure. Very disappointing second half. Thought Saka was great going forwards and needs to be involved more
So there are four possible permutations of third placed teams remaining. ABCD (Very unlikely, would require Sweden and Slovakia to win and Portugal to lose 4-0) ACDE ACDF ADEF In the ACDF and ACDE scenarios a win for Sweden tomorrow and the draw really opens up for us if we can win the next game. We'd play the winner of Sweden/Ukraine in the quarters and one of Netherlands, Czech Republic, Denmark or Wales in the semis. In ADEF our quarter final would be against the winner of group E v Czech Republic, and a semi final against the Netherlands/Wales/Denmark or third in group F. The rub is what happens in group E tomorrow, Spain and Slovakia play knowing that a draw could see both through. Spain can't risk a draw though as a win for Poland would see them out, meanwhile Slovakia know a defeat would likely see them out as they have an inferior number of goals scored to Ukraine.
I think you mean England or the Runner up in Group F will play Sweden/Ukraine in the quarters. Or have they given it to England already?