International Football

So this is the crunch time for England. They are Scheduled to play Slovakia in the last 16 of Euro 24 at 5 pm BST on Sunday evening. Can England get through to the quarter finals? England may have won their group, but they have stuttered through the games they played & flattered to deceive as they really struggled to show any cohesion in those three games. England will need to up the ante against Slovakia if they are to progress to the next round. England will be hoping they can. If England do get through they will meet Switzerland, who impressed against a below par Italy side in their last sixteen match today.

A good insight to what they see as an England tactical issue by Peter Petrov & Hancock Analysis. It's alright having the best players but should they be placed in the same positions as they are for their clubs just for the sake of it for instance? Problem is, these players might be playing in similar positions for England but the other players are different, as is the overall balance of the England side, compared to their club side. So therefore those players may not perform as well as they do for their club side. Do PON members see any tactical issues with the England team that could jeopardise England's chances of going far in Euro 24?

I'm Oblivious To It? No Not Me, the words of England Head Coach Gareth Southgate, when asked about the Criticism of his England Team. Is that because You walk around with Your Head Stuck Up Your Arse then Gareth? How can he Not be Aware of the Disgruntled feelings of England Fans and Football Pundits? It's Not Important To Me. Then you're aware of the Criticism? But You Just said you were oblivious to it? It's make Your Mind Up Time Gareth. I'm My Own Biggest Critic. Well You Ain't Listening To Yourself Then, Are You Gareth? And this Person is Who the F.A Pin Their Hopes on to Lead England To Euro's Glory. He wouldn't know which way a Lift Went, Even If …

Scotland are out of Euro 24 after losing to Hungary with virtually the last kick of the match. Scotland were denied a clear penalty with just three minutes to go. The referee said no to a penalty and the incident didn't even go to VAR, which is inexplicable. The BBC pundits all agreed that it should have been a penalty. If VAR is supposed to be there to check if a Ref makes a mistake in penalty decisions, why are there inconsistencies with VAR? Overall, Scotland just didn't do enough in the game from the possession they had. They lacked quality up front and didn't really threaten the Hungary goal till the last ten minutes of the game. Did anyone see t…

Is returning home for family reasons, he’ll be a big miss, I hope it’s only temporarily.

Euro 24 starts tonight with the hosts Germany v Scotland that kicks off in Munich at 8 pm.

Today is the day when there will be lots of scrutiny on Gareth Southgate & his England team. Can they get an impressive win today to silence some of the criticism that Manager & Players have been getting since their last match with Denmark? Many of those questions will be answered today, or maybe there will be even more questions asked depending on the performance & result. All supporters want to see an England improved performance, with an impressive big win & a few goals to celebrate too. So CMON England.

Are you like me Looking Forward to the England vs Slovakia Match? That's right the 3 Lions Face Slovakia. According to the B.B.C And We all know the B.B.C ARE NEVER WRONG.

"Sam Allardyce doubles down on Wales manager job as legend agrees to join coaching staff". "Sam Allardyce has confirmed that he'd be interested in Wales' managerial job - with a former player of his agreeing to join his coaching staff". https://www.walesonline.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/sam-allardyce-wales-manager-job-29403660

So what do PON members think about the latest performance of England after their latest group game against Denmark. Are you happy with this team, their shape and the tactics of the Manager?

I can imagine quite a few people agreeing, sadly because there's a lot of people who are against Gareth Southgate (perhaps lack a real understanding of the game). There are some points which I would agree with, but I feel the video is pandering to those who have no clue. Southgate wasn't the issue as to why Serbia grew into the game. No changes were made after we scored, changes if anything happened too late and at a point where our players allowed the game to become more pressured for them. Yes, he went defensive when Serbia started knocking on the door. It's a fair point about not subbing Harry Kane, however, Kane plays because he's a quality striker…

Is There A Danger of the National England Football Team becoming a less Potent Force, within World Football? As the influx of Foreign players and Coaches in the Premier League seems to get larger with each passing season, how soon will it be before it's starts having an effect on the England Team? Because it seems that there are less and less English Players coming through the Ranks of Footballing Academies in the Premier League. From which all England players are chosen. The Fault lies purely at the feet of the F.A. due to the fact they allow far to many Foreign business people take over the running of a Team ,who instead of encouraging Home Grown Talent, will go o…

To assist VAR in UEFA 24, UEFA are using a chip in the match balls to determine hand balls. Belgium had a goal disallowed because the chip detected a hand ball in the build up play before the goal was scored. It detects when the ball is touched and looks like Snicko on a screen. The Snicko showed that the ball touched the outstretched hand of the Belgian player. Football is really going hi tech. Is this what Football is all about? I don't like it. How about you? https://www.sportingnews.com/in/football/news/contact-sensor-var-chip-ball-snicko-euro-2024-technology/780882771226bde802160732

This is a thread to discuss the best and the worse England Managers that you have experienced over the years, & who you think might make a future good England Manager. The FA always seem to go for the same type of Manager, they are usually the mild, soft spoken type who are good at public relations. I'll start you off with the worse England Manager that I have seen, and he was Graham Taylor who had success as Watford Manager. Taylor was another yes man & a Manager out of his depth that the FA appointed. Taylor's tenure was from1990 to1993, & he was cruelly labelled the turnip by the newspapers. He had a very good side on paper but he just f…

The final matches of the Africa Cup of Nations for 2024 will be completed this weekend. Saturday 10th February 3rd & 4th place playoff. South Africa v D R Congo Sunday 11th February Final Nigeria v Ivory Coast The host nation, Ivory Coast are the surprise team of the Africa Cup Nations tournament this year. They go into the final against Nigeria as clear underdogs, but they will be spured on by their fanatical home crowd.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-13052227/The-35s-World-Cup-coming-Mail-Sport-dives-squads-Ronaldinho-Frank-Lampard-Thierry-Henry-Kaka-set-grace-English-turf-summer-football-festival.html

Starting from today these rules have come in to place for Goalkeepers during penalty shootouts. Is it really necessary to make these changes? I mean penalty shootouts are a psychological battle and goalkeepers do whatever they can to win that battle and save the penalty. Especially the part where they say "distract the Taker". Surely that's all part of the battle? But what about the people taking penalties? Will they put in rules that stop them using tactics like stuttering run ups or feinting to shoot? This could potentially lead to long penalty shootouts. But also what happens if a GK does any of these? Red Card? Yellow Card? What do you guys thin…

Andy Cole definitely had a lot to offer. They called him Cole the goal for a reason. Prolific at both Newcastle and Manchester United during the 90's. However, around that time, England had a whole host of strikers to choose from. The likes of Shearer, Sheringham, Les Ferdinand, Ian Wright, Michael Owen, Robbie Fowler. It was always going to be a tough ask to get in to that England squad as a striker. I think he perhaps could of or should have been given more of an opportunity maybe a bit of rotation every now and again. Had he been around a bit later, in a different generation, he would have been given more caps.

Fifa Best Awards: Lionel Messi wins best male player, Pep Guardiola named best male coach. In the Women's award section, Manchester United keeper Mary Earps finished ahead of West Ham's Mackenzie Arnold and Barcelona's Catalina Coll. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/67953843

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/67659554