Day 11 - Group B Wraps Up!
Everything's up for grabs this afternoon as Group B wraps up. England sit on 4 points at the top of the group and need at least a draw against Slovakia to qualify automatically. They need to equal Wales' efforts against Russia in order to top the group. All four sides, including Russia on one point currently, have a chance to qualify for the Round of 16 depending on other results.
Join me for all the Group B action this afternoon.
posted by The Blue Devil @ 10:55 AM
228 Comments:
Afternoon, chaps. News out of Blighty that Woy Hodgson is resting at least Wayne Rooney, Danny Rose and Kyle Walker. Ryan Bertrand and Nathaniel Clyne will deputize for the fullbacks. Nervy move given that England haven't qualified yet.
Eric Dier is the only England midfielder to survive. Jordan Henderson will replace Rooney, Jack Wilshere, Daniel Sturridge and Jamie Vardy replace Dele Alli, Raheem Sterling and my Golden Boot boy Harry Kane.
So, six changes for England as they face Slovakia this evening in St. Etienne. Here's the team news:
England: Hart, Clyne, Cahill, Smalling, Bertrand, Henderson,
Dier, Wilshere, Lallana, Vardy, Sturridge.
Subs: Forster, Walker, Rose, Milner, Sterling, Kane, Rooney, Stones, Barkley, Alli, Rashford, Heaton.
Slovakia: Kozacik, Pekarik, Skrtel, Durica, Hubocan, Kucka, Pecovsky, Hamsik, Mak, Duda, Weiss.
Subs: Mucha, Gyomber, Gregus, Sestak, Stoch, Nemec, Hrosovsky, Skriniar, Salata, Svento, Duris, Novota.
Referee: Carlos Velasco Carballo (Spain)
Afternoon Bob,
I got someone to watch my last period of the day so i have made it home before kick off
Already changed...not in an England shirt.. and ready for the match
Not sure about the line up... are we saying to Slovakia...you're not that good....they are!!
England in red
COME ON ENGLAND
I am sitting in my spot with Tom sitting in your seat. Matt is on the couch with Paul. Another fried is coming over too
I have moved the computer into the living room
Have the Watch ESPN on the computer screen for the Wales match.
It is delayed but I will be able to see the other match
Nice one, mate - welcome!!!
I agree with you about the changes - I might have made some changes for form but it seems risky to rest players when we haven't qualified for the next round yet.
We are close
If Italy don't lose to Ireland we are thru
England are already better than Group A's third place
COME ON ENGLAND
COME ON ENGLAND
COME ON ENGLAND
Let's hope that Ian Darke and Macca are a bit more positive today.
Watch ESPN is behind about a minute or so but I will still follow it
So what's the safe bet here - two draws?
Site of the famous England Argentina battle in 98 best know for Owens's goal and Beckham's flick!
Out come the teams
Link seems to have caught up
Can't believe one that did keep his place is lalana
England three up by half time please
I'll take that one, mate.
Link is still behind
Spanish referee
Slovakia have 6 players on yellows but that doesn't matter to England
Slovakia beat Spain in qualifying and Germany just recently
We are off!!
England wearing red about to kick us off here in St. Etienne. Come on!
Stupid foul by Lalana
Useless cross by Lalana... of course
Nice turn by Lallana but his ball in was poor. I agree with you about him - he hasn't been good.
Bale had a great save saved and the rebound was saved too but it was offside anyway for the rebound
Oh - Bertrand had a nice chance to play one in but it was a poor delivery again. Lallana nearly in on the rebound.
Cut it out, Monkey Boy!
Happy Anniversary
Send my regards to Kate
Oh - nice turn of pace from Clyne and Vardy with an instinctive strike - close!!!
Nice cross by Bertrand deflected toward goal by Vardy
Nice effort
Thanks for the earlier post, mate - I'll pass that along.
You're welcome
Bright start from England but I'd like to see an early goal to settle the nerves.
Got to shut down those long shot efforts - I don't trust Joe Hart any more.
Hamsik is the danger man - he nearly got Duda in there. Nice recovery from Smalling.
Still not fast enough and direct enough for me
Oh - nearly in there after some head tennis between Vardy and Lallana. Good saving challenge by the defender.
England get the ball in the box... a bit of head tennis...Sturridge shot blocked
Ramsey refuses to shoot and nothing comes of a chance
Bloody hell - Aaron Ramsey has scored for Wales!!!
Still not a goal yet on my link by Wales have scored thru Ransey
HE JUST SCORED
Come on England... ATTACK
USELESS BY LALLANA
Oh - nice interchange there from England - Lallana shanked his shot though. Well wide.
Decent goal from Ramsey?
The Liverpool man gets the chance again... why is he getting so many chances.... he has stunk on all of them
Hamsik scares me - he got loose wide and sent a dangerous cross over...to no one, thankfully.
I'm annoyed with England so far
Why not go out and try and win
Oh - the cross from Lallana was just behind everyone but Hendo did well to turn and shoot. Out for a corner.
Hendo with a chance.
Nice control from useless cross... blocked
Kane NO
Rooney NO
Bertrand with the corner...short one of course... USELESS
Short corner routine comes to nothing.
oooh..... Vardy breaks....saved
BUGGER
Attack like that more often
Oh - Vardy in one on one with Vardy with his impressive pace but he shot straight at the keeper who stood up well. Great.
Love the pace of England tonight. How can Woy leave Vardy out - he looks dangerous!
Clash of heads there with Bertrand and the Slovak is bleeding like a stuck pig.
Jamie V should have gone to the near post
Oh... Cahill is down hurt...up again
And what's going on with Cahill? That's not good.
Is it a hammy>
Looks like hie is going to stay on
Pekarik is going to need a new shirt - crikey!
Looks lower back impact
Slovakian looks like he just fought Rocky
Wales two up!!
Wales are 2-0 up!!!
Neil Taylor with the second goal.
Took two chances but the left back puts Wales up by two
England need a goal! We've had chances, just as in the first two matches. But no goals yet.
England playing against ten men but not showing any urgency to take advantage
Sturridge has done nowt
Given away in midfield by wilshire.... England survive
cynical foul on Vardy
Nice cut out by Cahill after Wilshere had coughed up the ball.
And now Pecovsky picks up a yellow stopping Vardy.
Free kick in a dangerous area now.
Useless free kick
Why is Bertrand taking all the set pieces? Another high hopeful one.
England keep losing it in the middle of the field.... KNOCK IT OFF
They keep making stupid fouls in the midfield too
Start playing
Slovakia have nothing to fear
Why do England do this to me
Rather ping pongy now. They need to settle it.
England are doing okay, creating chances. Just need a finish before half time.
Steve says get the ball.. move it around... get comfortable
NO... get the ball... go toward the big rectangle and try and score
Disagree...
Useless corner ... can't beat first man
Macca is complaining again.
Vardy broke thru with a thru ball... DO IT AGAIN
If Vardy had finished his chance - or Sturridge had nipped in to score, you'd be singing a different tune.
Get on the end of that cross!!
and another one
Better pressure now - Slovakian defense look really rattled.
sorry... very upset
Nice idea from Hendo but poor execution.
We haven't been threatened at all by Slovakia. Not at all.
so bad by Sturridge
Bloody hell, Sturridge - don't just shoot every time!
Oh - Lallana with a great strike beaten out by the keeper!
Lallana with the shot... right at the keeper
HIT IT TO THE SIDE
Why are these keepers saving everything
And another corner won by Sturridge - come on!
Useless pass by Hendo
Henderson tries a short one but then blows the cross well over everyone's head. Why does he keep hammering the crosses so long?
Nice stuff by Sturridge there but Wilshere's shot was blocked out.
Why is Lallana getting all the shots
Haven't done his job every time!!!
They do make us suffer, don't they mate?
england have been on top and had chances but still not good enough for my liking
Great long pass from Dier to Sturridge. I would have liked to have seen him volley it first time. Still - wins a corner.
Useless corner by Hendo
GET IT OVER!!!
People just standing in the box waiting for the ball to be delivered and it doesn't come
Useless by Wilshire!!!
Too many Liverpool players out there.... they came EIGTH!!!
Cynical foul on Vardy - should be a yellow.
Vardy brought down... no yellow?
Come on - this one has to go in!
Honda - doesn't beat the first man - poor.
Hendo fails to beat the first man
PROFESSIONALS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Don't you hate that autocorrect with Hendo changes to Honda
Hendo with a shot... going in... blocked!!
BUGGER
Oh - two good chances there. Clyne did well with the cross from the by-line and then Hendo had a chance on the volley.
A minute to go.. go forward!!!
GET IT IN THE BOX
Terrible by Lallana
One minutes of stoppage time to come.
Tom saw Sterling warming up... he better not come on
Half-time. 0-0 again. Boy, we have had to suffer this tournament.
Half time
Not good enough in my book
The crowd has been calling for Rooney.
We really need to take off one or two of the four Liverpool players off
We're back on for the second half. No changes as of yet.
We're off
No changes
COME ON ENGLAND
I agree - I would have Sturridge off for Kane and probably Henderson off for Rooney. Wilshere has impressed me with his range of passing.
Oh - Clyne nearly got through there with a good run.
Clyne with a good run but chose the wrong pass... tried to go backward/sideways instead of going forward
Bring on RASHFORD
Still sideways and backwards ending with a Hart kadoomph
This has been worse, if anything. Definitely need to freshen things up.
Bertrand is the first England player into the book today. That seemed harsh.
Bertrand gets a yellow... no difference with the one against Vardy
Set piece chance for Slovakia
Do the cards reset in the knock out round
Hart punches out
Hart palms the free kick away.
Bloody hell, Smalling!!!
Atrocious by Smalling and Hart...bloody hell
That should have been one nil Slovakia
Nearly had a heart attack there.
Clyne in.... saved again!!!
Oh - and then Clyne got in behind. Great save!
Why are these keepers saving everything
Hello Everyone!
My first posts of the tournament. I am laid up with a broken toe, so I am just sitting here eating lots of food and watching a lot of footy.
England is rampant tonight. The results are unfortunately more like those of Portugal which was equally dominant a few nights ago.
Oh - Cahill got a head on it but not the direction.
Hiya, Red Devil - I was sorry to hear about your broken toe, but that is a good excuse to put your feet up in front of the football.
England as usual are giving us fits.
Oh - Weiss nearly found out Hart at the near post. Phew!
Struth... Slovakia almost in
NO URGENCY BY ENGLAND!!!!!!!
Rooney is on for Wilshire
Wilshere trotting off and Rooney on - seems like a logical move at this point.
I now want Rooney to be a Scholes and look for Vardy
I think the two wingbacks are making a bigtime difference for England. Llallana is playing some great soccer. I think the Slovaks are playing into the hands of the English by not anticipating how hard the lads are tracking back. England is completely out-hustling the opposition as well, particularly some of the more offensive players who are tracking back great.
Useless cross... I hate it!
Nice idea from Sturrdige but his delivery was poor for Bertrand.
Dusan Svento on for Duda now. I'm sorry to see Duda go - he's been hopeless.
These short passes going no where are driving me nuts
Not a good first pass from Rooney - straight out of play.
Rooney's second pass...just as bad
I agree with you about the fullbacks, especially Clyne tonight and both Walker and Rose in the earlier matches. It adds a bit of dynamism. I wouldn't mind seeing Woy roll the dice and stick Sterling on for Bertand and play with a back three.
Hendo with yet another useless pass.
Unbelievably bad
Alli for Lallana
Dele Alli on for Lallana now.
Oh well, the call has gone out to put the kids to bed. I'm out again, but I hope to be communicating again these days.
Keep your heads up, though. This is a young, hungry and highly interchangeable British squad. All they need is a goal.
cleared off the line!!!
how did Alli not score... great defending... why are they don't it against England
Oh - how did that one stay out - Dele Alli with a great chance!
Another defender on for Slovakia. They seem happy with a draw.
That was a good effort by Dele.... why did that guy have to have a big toe
This match has been bad for my heart health. Actually, all of them have been.
still too much passing... get it wide... get it over
England needs to keep Slovakia under pressure. They can pass it around quite well if they are not put under pressure.
They aren't playing to Vardy's strengths... has he touched ball this half?
25 minutes for England.... You need to get better
We want a goal! We want a goal!
Damn, Hamsik is strong on the ball.
Rooney clueless at the top of the box.... BLOODY HELL
Im moving seats
Diet with a daisy cutter - well wide.
Agreed - Hamsik is the one Slovak I fear.
Bale is now the top scorer in the tournament - Wales 3-0 up.
Just one goal, that's all I ask. One in off the bum, I'm not fussy.
Dier's down now - he may have to come off.
Looks like Harry Kane is being readied.
Bale's third goal means Matt and I take a tumble in the scoring charts
Kane about to come on... why not Rashford
He's going to take off Vardy isn't he
He can't take off Vardy... England need a goal
Oh - Sturridge was in there from Dier's ball but he missed it entirely. What a miss!
Bloody hell... Struridge should have scored
Oh dear - that made me nervous - but offside. Phew!
England knackered
Slovakia almost in again... offside any way
Rooney blocked out by Skrtel. Corner.
Roooney's shot blocked
STOP IT
And another. Lovely. This one has to go in.
Sturridge off for Kane - I'm okay with that.
Kane on Sturridge on
It would be quite a nice time for my Golden Boot pick to get off the mark.
still fifteen to go
England are toothless from corners
Oh - Cahill got his head to that one but no real purchase on it.
I'm surprised because I thought that corners would be a real weapon for us.
I'll take your Golden Boot to score with his golden bum
Slovakia couldn't give a toss at this point. They know they're through.
I'll take that one too - come on, Harry!
England players don't look disappointed... they just have no urgency at all.... TURN UP THE PACE.... who are you... United in disguise
Skriniar on for Weiss now - last one for Slovakia.
Rio tweeted... Kane to score.
Hendo got lucky with winning a corner. Come on!
Come on, Delle - you've got eight players to aim for.
Atrocious second cross by Dele.... I just don't know how you can get it so wrong!!!
Smalling kicks the ball out of play
Pathetic
Blimey - 19 goal attempts!
Pinball in the box... still nothing
Massive scramble now with Skrtel blocking three or four shots.
Bloody short corner... Rooney fails to get the cross over and the ball goes out for a throw in
COME ON ENGLAND
Under ten to go
Post a Comment
<< Home