I think that the PL is generally overrated as a league. Playing for Stuttgart isn’t necessarily worse than playing for Brighton nowadays.
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Expectation and pressure is totally different when comparing Croatia to England.
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Wow! Some strange opinions of the game yesterday. France scored 2 goals. One a 25 yard screamer, the other a deflected header from a cross, which could have gone anywhere.
England gave France a good game. Kane blazed a peno over the bar. That was the difference. The two penos were 100%. On another day it’s a different story. England play as a coherent team.
Croatia and Morroco have done fantastic but if England were to play that way they would get slaughtered. Somebody called the way England played yesterday a drab beige???
I thought it a great game of football. For me the best game quality wise of the World cup, although maybe not drama wise.
I’m no lover of England but I’m being forced to defend them. If the English went around showing the same blatant nationalism as other nations do they’d be accused of being arrogant English men with an imperialist attitude.
Very strange perception for me.
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This is a strange point of view. So how is it overated? Is the premier league not in the top 2 leagyes of Europe then?
Croatia haven’t won a knockout tie in a major tournament in normal time since the 1998 World Cup. They’ve been on an extraordinary run of winning penalty shootouts. They’ve definitely overachieved, but there has been a certain element of luck to their recent success as well. Zoran is correct, the levels of expectation and pressure on them is so much lower than the likes of an England or Brazil in this tournament which arguably makes it a lot easier for them to cope in those high pressure scenarios.
Ultimately it is another tournament fluffed by England. Add it to 1990, 1996, 2002, 2004, 2018 and 2021. They’ve had a great chance to win all of those tournaments with squads filled with high quality players, but the usual factors of having a limited manager and not being able to push beyond that final mental hurdle costs them again.
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Croatia carry on the way they’re going and the tides will soon start to change…the young talent they hold within their ranks go under the radar, at u21 level they’re able to compete with the best, Biscan’s record there is very impressive since he took over few years ago.
A lot of that expectation and pressure on England comes from the English fans…journalists…pundits and ex-players that over hype their team every tournament…I can assure that the view from the rest of the World is that England are just another nation.
I’m an England fan and my expectation was QF, which looks about par to me. Anything beyond that exceeds expectations, and was entirely possible; as was something less than that, which would have not met expectations.
I wouldn’t put too much store in what the tabloids or blathering idiots like Rio Ferdinand say.
Most observers know the score. England are decent side, not great, but one of about half a dozen who, with a fair wind, might have won the World Cup. When all is said and done, QF is about fair enough, as that is where the team is at.
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I don’t see England being hyped up. I think those that say that for some reason have a chip on their shoulder or an axe to grind.
England had a chance to win the World cup. Were they fave’s? Nope. I thought they had a good chance of beating France yesterday and it was a hard fought game.
It’s a bit of a mental hurdle imho. Like LFC for 30 years not winning the league or why Spain/Dutch couldn’t get over the line despite having a wealth of talent.
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England youth teams won some trophies in 2017 Toulon Tournament, World Cup and Euros and since then there has been progress. Very slow but it has been there.
This golden generation is not overhyped compared to the last.
More than ever PL the best league in the world.
How old have Gerrard, Lampard etc been when they won their first league titles and CL trophies? Older than Trent, Foden and Mount I believe.
Foden a generational talent on club level.
Bellingham definitely one of the best 15 players in the world this year.
Rice, Reece James, Gallagher and Saka just getting started.
But the last golden generation had Carra, Ferdinand and Terry at the back and one can question their talent but they had character, experience and success on club level. Not seeing that with any English CBs at the moment.
Probably best to stick with Southgate because of the lack of world class managers being available but doubt England will win anything in the next two tournaments.
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They probably have a good chance of winning the Euros. Germany, Holland, Italy and Spain are solid teams, again France would be the fave’s.
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As said: bar the top five - six teams, the other teams in the PL are comparable to also-rans in other European leagues in terms of quality.
Brighton/Everton = Stuttgart/Mönchengladbach = Real Betis / Espanyol = Lazio / Fiorentina
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World class managers generally don’t go into international football at their peak.
Though the England job is pretty attractive because it’s difficult, you see sometimes quality managers flerting with the idea. Mourinho thought about it before, Pochettino now maybe does as well.
But even a Capello (who was probably past his ‘best’ when he took over England, but still a top proven name) didn’t guarantee success. England were good under him, but not quite good enough.
Was Deschamps a world class manager at the moment he took over France? He won stuff, but not really one of the best out there. Was Low? No. Aragones? Important past, but no. Lippi? Possibly, yeah.
I think you have certain coaches that are more suited to being international managers. And I imagine a lot of club managers would struggle at international football. It’s a different kind of job. Also depends in which country.
People mention Croatia here and yes we have sometimes even better results than England. But I’m telling you if you knew Zlatko Dalic close up and followed Croatia regularly, you’d probably moan the same way and possibly even more than at Southgate.
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This is a throwback to a different era in the Prem and even then, PL teams were winning and competing in CL finals. In the last few years there have been two English winners of the CL with multiple final appearances. The league might have been overrated before, I agree, but it’s far stronger and more competitive than most others.
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Ivan Toney would have been more than useful.
Goodness knows what’s gonna happen to him now with those betting charges 
Sounds like he’s leaning towards leaving…?
Not going to lie, I’m slightly freaking out at the prospect of Southgate leaving and the FA appointing Neil Warnock as a ‘safe pair of hands’.
Fat Fwank is favourite to replace him if he leaves. Potter, Rooney and Gerrard also are contenders.
I can see the FA going for Fwank with Gerrard his AM in A last ditch attempt to prove they can work together