All the big teams are doing their best to get eliminated by minnows.

@VSonMe I don't think England are quite good enough to win it, though Southgate is doing very well.

We never stop believing

@VSonMe Hope is fine but expectation is dangerous. Unwarranted too, given previous performances.

Semi final would be a good result and the best in 7 tournaments. Remember, there are at least five teams with stronger squads and we are playing one of them next.

I don't expect us to win but i'm going to ride this until the end. I feel better about this squad than any since 1990 with Gazza

@VSonMe And that was a great World Cup. Lineker, Gazza and Nessum Dorma.

@VSonMe Struggled with this for a moment. England a big team?

@MartinII well, we always think of ourselves that way, in spite of any evidence to the contrary

@VSonMe Indeed, and that has been our problem for years. If Southgate has got the team thinking differently, we may do well. But we haven’t played a half decent team yet.

@MartinII No, not yet, but none have looked invincible. With a bit of luck, we can do well. I really like what Southgate has done. He's proven to be a far better manager than anyone could have anticipated

@VSonMe Well, we’ll see. I hope you are right. Certainly England have played with spirit, confidence and cheerfulness, all of which are good. But I worry about the set-up of their defence ...

@MartinII yeah, i'm not too sure how the defence will cope against good teams. Offensively though, we're pretty good. Let's just hope. However it ends, we won't be coming home in ignominy like previous World Cups. And Southgate has proven he should stay in charge for the next World Cup.

@VSonMe Agreed. Southgate has already enhanced his reputation.

This is the first England team I can remember which plays better than the sum of its parts. The opposite is normal. Also, the goals scored from set pieces, the tactics and the substitutions all indicate a very well managed side.

@Burnley123 Yeah, that's what makes this so heartening. The Golden generation never played as a team. Lampard and Gerrard never should have played together - at least not in 442. Maybe in a 3 man midfield with a holding player like Carrick, but that would have left no place for GoldenBalls, who wasn't capable of being a wing back.

@VSonMe Its why Southgate is different. He picks a way which suits the players, rather than just putting the biggest names in the team sheet.

He's cleverly compensated for our dire lack of centre mids with passing defenders, wing backs and Jesse Lingard's conversion. I would have never even thought of that and neither would most coaches.

@Burnley123 Wonder how we would have fared in earlier World Cups if someone with his courage to make tough decisions had been in charge? Who would had axed Beckham? I think Southgate would if he didn't fit the system as he did with Rooney.

@Burnley123 Agree with all these points. But ... I worry about Walker, who looks uncomfortable, and Sterling, who I feel is not up to it. More generally, let’s see them against a really good competitive team. Don’t mean to be negative, just realistic, or cautious.

Yes sterling needs to be dropped and rashford in, yes let's wait and see what happens when we play a top team,

@MartinII Agree on Sterling when he's in front of goal. He causes problems for defences though. Maybe Rashford will take his chance. He's played with confidence for England. I like Loftus-Cheek too, but Lingard/Alli in front of Henderson has looked good against the weaker teams. Wonder if he might prefer Dier against stronger opposition?

@VSonMe I think Rashford is close to starting a game, at least according to the leaked team sheet. 🤣

I think it's a good point about Dier but Henderson is playing too well to drop. Southgate could start both Henderson and Dier together against Belgium or he could bring back Alli. Big decisions against a powerful but ultra attacking Belgium.

Personally, I would go with the same midfield.

Loftus Cheek is much better than Alli defensively and you don't wanna move Henderson from where he is playing well. Same with Lingard. I think they should change the tactics though and play just slightly deeper. Belgium attack well through the centre but leave a lot of space to counter out wide because both of their wing backs play like wingers.

If that doesn't work, then Southgate will know to be more defensive against other big teams. I think that will be his strategy though and I also think it can work.

@Nyloncapes @MartinII

@Burnley123 So you would play the first team against Belgium? Is there perhaps a case for giving a match to three or four members of the squad who haven’t played yet? And what team will Belgium field?