Euros - better to finish second in our group

Rofesleg

Rofesleg

Well-known member
If we win the group we (probably) play either Germany, France or Portugal.
If we finish 2nd we will play Slovakia, Sweden or Poland (assuming Spain win group E).
 
As long as we beat Scotland and get out of the group, I'm not overly bothered if we finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

In a way I'd sooner play the big teams early on because the narrative is only going to be that we only progressed because of an easy route if we don't beat a traditionally big nation along the way.
 
The thing with that is Spain might not win group E though.

I think we do this too often, worry about other teams instead of having the confidence to just do the job ourselves and send a statement. Getting to the semis, with a super-easy route as per 2018, is not going to go unnoticed anyway.

9 points from the group stage please Gareth.
 
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I think there could be a few shocks in these euros. Players are coming into off the back of a pretty busy schedule.
Plus, you can’t go into a group aiming to come 2nd.
 
Portugal/Germany don't really scare me to be honest.

France do though. Their spine and squad is fantastic.
 
The only team I'm worried about is France. I think they will win their group so if we win ours as well, we cannot meet them until the final. If we make it that far, I'd give us a better chance against them in the final as our young team should grow in confidence the further we get. However if we lose to Croatia for example and finish second, then scrape past someone like Sweden, we would meet France in the QF and I'd be less confident in our chances.

Obviously there'll be some twists and turns, but if we win the group and other games go to form, we would have to play Germany/Portugal, then Spain, then Portugal/Germany/Netherlands to get to the final. That's not an easy route, but neither is France in the QF and Belgium or Italy in the SF on the other side of the draw. So if we want to win the whole thing, we'll likely have to knock out 3 or 4 of the traditionally strong nations along the way.

I'll also add that France won't be worrying about plotting their route to the final, so if we want to be serious contenders, we should take the same approach, i.e. we can beat anyone and everyone.

Bring it on!
 
Corcaigh_the_Cat said:
Win every game, win the tournament.

You have more chance beating the second best team of another group than beating the best.
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I agree - but 2nd place in our group plays 2nd place from Group E, so irrelevant.
I just think the 2nd placed team in Group E will be weaker than the 2nd placed team in Group F.
 
I posted this on another thread a couple of weeks ago but I've actually changed my stance on this. I'd be confident going into a knock out game with Germany/Portugal having just won three games on the spin. Build momentum. They will have more to worry from us than the other way around.

Things never play out the way you think and wouldn't be surprised if we ended up playing either Ukraine or Spain in second round.
 
Doom_On_Horseback said:
I posted this on another thread a couple of weeks ago but I've actually changed my stance on this. I'd be confident going into a knock out game with Germany/Portugal having just won three games on the spin. Build momentum. They will have more to worry from us than the other way around.

Things never play out the way you think and wouldn't be surprised if we ended up playing either Ukraine or Spain in second round.
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There's very little confidence in the Spanish team over here from what I read and hear
 
Malaguena said:
There's very little confidence in the Spanish team over here from what I read and hear
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I must admit on paper looking at it, it doesn’t look to be the strongest individually.
Still if it’s solid defensively and keep the ball well, can do well in a tournament setting.
 
Don’t forget we play Croatia first up the last side to beat us in a major competition. It’s a tough group.
 
I think we can beat Germany in Ro16 and Spain in the quarters. I don't think we can beat France in the quarters but may have a chance in the final as pur young team could thrive on that. I'd like us to win the group.
 
Football is meant for winning, if you rest on your laurels and hope for results going the other way it never works out. All I care about is being proud of an England team and 9 points from the group would certianly make me feel that and confident in the rest of the tournament
 
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Of course the correct thing is to avoid all the good sides until you absolutely have to play them. As soon as we play a decent side we get beat. (Belgium X2, Croatia).

Southgate no mug. He'll have us qualifying in the correct position just like he did 3 years ago.
 
I thought we beat Croatia last time we played them
They are a very ageing team now so I think we will be too mobile for them
Germany do not hold any great fears either as I doubt they will get past France or Portugal
 
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