Definitely going to be tough to beat.
Teams will have to find a way to make Kante ineffective, and how that's possible, I don't know.
Day 5: Hungary vs Portugal | France vs Germany
- Thread starter Samid
- Start date
Teams will have to find a way to make Kante ineffective, and how that's possible, I don't know.
Yeah I think it's the best game so far but these initial group games are never high quality so you can't be too harsh or draw too many conclusions.
A 43 year old Klose would have done better than a few of the german forwards today, should have brought him from the stands
Happy with the result but really disappointed that we started parking the bus after the goal.
The first 20 minutes were good though
The first 20 minutes were good though
There was something really Old School about the match.
Its imperfections made it far more fascinating.
France look special once they get going.
Its imperfections made it far more fascinating.
France look special once they get going.
At the end of the day other players aren’t playing those passes. That’s what he’s tasked to do. If you can create three big chances in a game, and the only thing you’re asking is the fastest player on the pitch to be more conservative in his runs to turn those moments into goals, you’re doing your job very well. Yes you’re relying on your team mates to help make those openings possible, and to convert, but that’s normal. That’s not a Pogba thing. It isn’t a low bar.
No, doubt there's anything racist about it directly, more a weird dislike of him as a person. But it does tend to come from the white commentators and pundits more, the likes of Wright, Jenas, Evra are more likely to praise him.
Looked over and over. Couldnt see an actual bite at all. Maybe jabbed top teeth into shoulder blade. Totally weird.
haters gonna hate, but Kante well in shot for the ballon d or if they win the championship and he plays like today.
We lack a coach willing to line up and play to create, for starters. Five defenders and Kroos dropping deep on top of that, there's nobody left to get attacks going. This also forces Müller to play in a CF or winger position, both of which work equally ineffectively.
Yep, disappointed in the commentary today. Two moaning sods.
It's a low bar.
I enjoyed that game a lot for far. Definitely the best of the games I've managed to see despite only having the 1 goal.
Not that disappointed, didn't lose as badly as I thought we would. Though that is more to do with France playing defensively than us being really good. I fully expect Hungary to give us a battering on the counter.
Kroos and Gundogan should never play together, hope Goretzka gets back to fitness.
Kroos and Gundogan should never play together, hope Goretzka gets back to fitness.
Rudiger is a very dislikeable character
Really enjoyed that. End to end. Both teams do look very good.
France are such a joy to watch. Think Germany will have a very good tournament too.
France are such a joy to watch. Think Germany will have a very good tournament too.
I don't not so sure - Germany were toothless and France were quite comfortable. I think they played within themselves and I had the feeling they had another couple of gears if Germany had have scored.
Wright just blamed Pogba for the goal being offside
Try counting the number of times a single player creates more big chances in a game than all of his team mates and the opposition combined, in a game between two of the biggest teams in the tournament. It tends to be quite uncommon, and therefore, a high bar…
Thought it was an excellent game tbh.
First round of fixtures has done enough for me to be super excited for this tournament. Pretty rare to have so many countries who are genuinely very good and dangerous sides.
First round of fixtures has done enough for me to be super excited for this tournament. Pretty rare to have so many countries who are genuinely very good and dangerous sides.
- France
- Portugal
- Germany
- Italy
- England
- Belgium
- Spain
- Netherlands
Hard working? Is that a joke? They were lazy as feck in the first half going forward.
What the Germans would give to have a Klose or Bierhoff in their squad...
Chelsea should be after Pogba on a free really. Links up well with Kante.
Second one was his fault really. The first touch wasn’t good enough.Wright just blamed Pogba for the goal being offside
Meep meep
France looked extremely lazy going forward.
Ha ha totally agree. Or Bierhoff
I wonder why white people are critical of a brown muslim, I mean it is so unprecedented.
Kante is adored by most of the English press and envied by most of this forum. Haters.
Instructions for minimal use of VAR. So far I think it’s perfect, let them check the offsides and only make the call if it’s a red card situation and let the game flow.
Yeah the ball got stuck under his feet unfortunately.
Man that would boil some piss
I didn't say it wasn't a tight game, based on the scoreline, it clearly was. Just saying that of the 2 teams, I feel France was more unlucky than Germany.
You could name the chances France had now, that's at least 3 that in a game without VAR could have been 3-0, yet in your previous post, there was literally only 1 real chance you could recall for Germany despite France conceding possession to them for long periods, they just couldn't capitalize on it. Felt like you could have another 90mins and they wouldn't score.
If this is definitely much better than you expected for Germany, then I worry for their prospects in their group let alone beyond it. They were really poor if we totally honest.
But the whole debate here is on the unlucky part. For me of the 2 teams, France was more unlucky not to win by a higher margin than Germany unlucky for not getting the draw.
If it cheers anybody up, Toronto Sports Network has a whole segment of Kevin Kilbane complimenting Pogba's game. 
Tbf he did get his feet a bit muddled there, it is a valid criticism. It's just the selective focus on all his negatives, and seldom ever his positives, that's grating.Wright just blamed Pogba for the goal being offside
Pogba is as crucial as anyone in that French team, they've played without him a couple of times and they lost all creativity in the team. Personally he's the hardest to replace in that team because players like Mbappe, Kanye, Varane all have a good backup option on the bench but there's no one else with the passing range of Pogba to get the attacks going.
The Germans are better than i thought. But how crap is Volland with his few minutes on the pitch? Looks overweight too
Very ugly too. Only Kevin Constant comes close.
Thought Pogba had a good game. Far more influential than Kroos again.
Who is Kante's good back up? It doesn't have to be a comparison. Pogba without Kante is not the same player and becomes a much bigger liability. Kante can't create anything remotely close to the level of Pogba. They're both very important, but no way I'd say Pogba is the least replaceable player and not have Kante included in that.