England - the future....

[Snowflake Royal]

82 Greenwood: Germany, they made the final; we went out 2nd group stage
86 Robson: Argentina, winners; QF
90 Robson: Germany, winners; SF
98 Hoddle: Argentina, QF; 2nd round
02 Keegan: Brazil, winners; QF
06 Erikson: Portugal, SF; QF
10 Capello: Germany, SF; 2nd round
14 Hodgson: LOL
22 Southgate: France, final; QF

The Euro comps in the 80s and 90s make grim reading for England, tbf to Southgate, at least he navigated the group stage.

04 Erikson: Portugal, final; QF
08 McClaren LOL
12 Capello: Italy, final; QF
16 Hodgson: LOL

I think 08 through to 16 is a special kind of suck. Players were good, we'd been solid recently and yet ...

PS 2012 was Hodgson, Capello resigned in February that year.

We usually got defeated by a higher-ranked (or host nation) team that then made it to at least the semi-final.

That is typically what happens when you lose a quarter-final, yes.

Smirk.

[bcubed]

In Friendlies/Qualifying, Kane has played 9 games vs those teams and scored 6 - this is close to his overall scoring rate for England
In Nations League, Kane has played 11 games and scored 3
In Major Competitions, Kane has played 8 games and scored 2

So, yeah, against better teams when things matter, he does appear to score less.

The only country I think I've missed that could matter is Belgium (5 games but 2 he didn't play in, the other 3 a WC play off, 2 Nations League)

Cheers
Certainly chimes with my gut feeling.

[Winston Biscuit]

Squad announcement:

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City)

Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle United), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Reece James (Chelsea), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Myles Lewis-Skelly (Arsenal), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham Hotspur), John Stones (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (AC Milan), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa)

Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona, loan from Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

headlines seem to be surprise at Grealish, Foden & Bellingham missing out, and Trafford being in over Pope

[South Coast Royal]

Grealish has had a few good games for Everton but they make him the main man with players running around covering for him, something that wouldn't happen with England.
The other two haven't played much football so no great surprise really.

I am enjoying Jordan Henderson being picked ,and watching him for Brentford it is obvious he is not yet a busted flush and Tuchel obviously likes having him around.
If Loftus-Cheek gets in then why shouldn't Henderson?

[WestYorksRoyal]

No Wharton. Tuchel out.

[Sanguine]

Given how solid Elliott Anderson looks alongside Declan Rice, it's easy to imagine a situation where Adam Wharton reaches 25 years old without playing 20 times for England.

Question for me though is why Tuchel might take Jordan Henderson to the World Cup, and not Wharton, as backup. Hope the November squad addresses this.

There's little about Antony Gordon that screams international footballer, but what Harry Kane needs is runners past him, and there is little doubt that Gordon is providing that.

[Esteban]

Given how solid Elliott Anderson looks alongside Declan Rice, it's easy to imagine a situation where Adam Wharton reaches 25 years old without playing 20 times for England.

Question for me though is why Tuchel might take Jordan Henderson to the World Cup, and not Wharton, as backup. Hope the November squad addresses this.

There's little about Antony Gordon that screams international footballer, but what Harry Kane needs is runners past him, and there is little doubt that Gordon is providing that.

Yeah, I agree with you to an extent. When Wharton gets his chance, he's going to have to play very well to oust Anderson.

Henderson keeps the ball moving quickly and has loads of experience playing at the pointy end of knock-out football. I can make a good case for him being in the squad, even though he's in his mid-30s now.

Loftus-Cheek is the one I find a bit bemusing. He's lost his place in the Milan side recently and he was playing for them as a number 10 - he's getting nowhere near that role for England. I would much rather Wharton goes to the world cup than him.

[WestYorksRoyal]

There's little about Antony Gordon that screams international footballer, but what Harry Kane needs is runners past him, and there is little doubt that Gordon is providing that.

I rate Gordon. Still quite raw, but plays a big part for Newcastle at a high level. Always running in behind and taking players on. Agree he's not in the same league as Saka on the right, but most successful international teams have a couple of "effective but not world class" players. If he helps stretch the game and create space for Kane to drop deeper he's worth his spot.

[WestYorksRoyal]

While it's fun seeing us play energetic football, I worry about how sustainable it'll be in the heat and humidity next summer. I wonder if it could be quite a boring tournament.

[WestYorksRoyal]

In my boredom, I have picked the 26 man squad for next summer on the assumption of no injuries. Reflects the system we've been playing recently and the need for balance.

1st choice XI

Pickford
James Stones Guehi Livramento
Anderson Rice
Saka Bellingham Gordon
Kane

2nd choice XI

Henderson
Spence Konsa Burn Lewis-Skelly
Wharton Henderson
Madueke Rogers Rashford
Watkins

Extras:
Trafford
Eze
Bowen
Palmer

4th choice CB and left backs very much up for grabs. No space for Foden but he can force his way back in, and if next off the rank if there is an injury.

This assumes a 26 man squad and not 23.