Will England win the European Championship? [I Love Football]
I think we can but we are dark horses more than favorites. Too many times England fans have gone into major tournaments expecting victory when really we were nowhere near good enough.
I do think that this generation of England players is potentially better than any I can remember. Yes, the 2000s team of Beckham, Rooney, and Gerrard was much hyped and never went beyond the quarter-finals. I never thought that generation was quite good enough anyway and crap coaches (Eriksson and McClaren) meant we lost almost every game to a significant team.
This time I really do think it could be different! LOL. England over-achieved to get to the semi-final of the last World Cup but since then a plethora of really good midfielders and forwards have emerged so we certainly look stronger 'on paper' than last time. I also think Gareth Southgate is a smart coach who picks players on what is best for the team, rather than just picking on reputation. This was a big problem for previous England coaches.
I think that the attack is definitely good enough to win a major tournament but the defense still has lots of question marks. Our two center-backs are slow and the backup is not up to standard. We don't have a world-class goalkeeper. Also, a lot of key players are in their early twenties so there is an argument that we will be peak in five years or so. Will be interesting to watch though. So I would say quarter-final is minimum expectation, semi is a par and anything else is a bonus.
Thoughts?
I do think that this generation of England players is potentially better than any I can remember. Yes, the 2000s team of Beckham, Rooney, and Gerrard was much hyped and never went beyond the quarter-finals. I never thought that generation was quite good enough anyway and crap coaches (Eriksson and McClaren) meant we lost almost every game to a significant team.
This time I really do think it could be different! LOL. England over-achieved to get to the semi-final of the last World Cup but since then a plethora of really good midfielders and forwards have emerged so we certainly look stronger 'on paper' than last time. I also think Gareth Southgate is a smart coach who picks players on what is best for the team, rather than just picking on reputation. This was a big problem for previous England coaches.
I think that the attack is definitely good enough to win a major tournament but the defense still has lots of question marks. Our two center-backs are slow and the backup is not up to standard. We don't have a world-class goalkeeper. Also, a lot of key players are in their early twenties so there is an argument that we will be peak in five years or so. Will be interesting to watch though. So I would say quarter-final is minimum expectation, semi is a par and anything else is a bonus.
Thoughts?
41-45, M
