I remember the sense of relief in Germany when a side that many thought might be embarrassed at home made a run to the semi-finals in 2006. I guess the major difference is that after that semi, there was a clear sense of direction. There was a good mix of young talent and veterans with perhaps one more tournament left in their legs. Low came in to continue what Klinsmann had started, there was a real sense that the 2008 Euros would see a step ahead, and that arc ended with a World Cup win. I just donāt see anything like that with England right now
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Indeed itĀ“s not the first but it IS a talent drought and there is no proof you will have another great generation soon. italy havent.
Surely the players you have now is literally the only indicator you can go on?
You can say you will have some magic talent bubble burst through because you did decades ago, but you may not. Romania and Bulgaria are still waiting for theirs to come back.
I have a good German friend and he was quite confident before the tournament.
I insisted his team was shite but he wouldnt listen.
Maybe they missed the good luck that came with Jogi Loveās bollock scratching and sniffing?
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Itās not that bad; the U19 team just became European Championship runners-up, only losing to Spain in the final. It could be much worse.
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Maybe but the German press and players are not as arrogant as the english press and players, they seem to think they are the best team around, they are not, and when it comes to playing top teams , they really are dour.
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Wasnāt 1970 better than 1966 apparently?
That might be true.
Whole country got carried away after some wins against pretty mediocre sides.
Was same under Southgate. Beat a pretty mediocre Germany side and then Colombia without James and Denmark without Eriksen. DidnĀ“t beat any good Ā“big sideĀ“.
No idea, I wasnāt around to watch them. But they didnāt win, so they surely must have been shite. 
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And then failed to qualify for the next 2
Fair enough nah me nethierā¦ maybe it Cynical was still around.
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Well, lost only 1-0 to the winners Brazil who had a legendary team. Jeff Astle missed a great chance to score.
These things are often fine margins.
Bit like in the 2000s
2002 - lost 2:1 to the winners Brazil via a flukey freekick. That team had Ronaldo (a bit past his best), Rivaldo, Ronaldinho (still slightly before his peak) and Cafu, Carlos and Lucio.
2004 and 2006 - lost to Portugal only on penalties, them being hosts and us having 10 men in one game.
The Ā“Golden GenerationĀ“ gets a lot of stick but they played against very good nations and we lost really narrowly with a bit of bad luck. Even in 1998.
2000 we were shite though, however good that Romania side was.
Shame we have to wait till 10. 
And only managed to beat Czechoslovakia and Romania 1-0.
Then blew a 2-0 lead against West Germany in the 1/4 final
Tell me about those games.
IĀ“m sure you have watched them and know all about the respective strengths of Czechoslovakia and Romania at that time.
Teams are judged on documented results, not the distant memory of somone who was 7 at the time
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Musiala has a similar ceiling and already achieved more than Flo. Heāll easily have a bigger career than Wirtz.
I have a question. For maximum success for club and country in the last 30 years would you rather want to be an English player for Liverpool or a German player for Bayern?
The reason why Iām asking - we might have Rio Ngumoha but Bayern have a kid named Lennart Karl and I honestly think he will surpass Musiala and Wirtz.