Perhaps this was a rehearsal for next year.
So many of our good players are very very young.
newbrof
1706
so, penalty kicks to decide a final. Good game design? (I know, what else can you do) …
Hope the English media will not be after these young players too much - the English press (and fans) tend to be merciless against your players when they lose PKs, and they really don’t deserve it for having the courage to take responsibility.
Also - hope the English security is on the ball tonight. Danish fans were badly treated on Wednesday and reported about English hooligans starting fights… and that was after England won. And security was broken before the match as well. Hope everyone gets home safe tonight.
From you keyboard to god’s ears…
Everton fans can’t even enjoy Pickford’s strong showing without getting disrespected.
I suspect, as @dwinn just pointed out on Twitter, that some of the tabloids may not take a charitable view given the three fellows who didn’t convert their kicks.
aeneas
1711
Why would you sub players on to just take penalties and not get a chance to get some touches.
Hell, both those guys probably had an hour’s worth of play time the entire tournament combined. And here they come in the 120th minute for penalties.
I would be surprised if England doesn’t get far at the WC (assuming the key players stay fit). They need to get rid of their tendency to fall back and play passively at some point in every match, though.
Having a teenager take the deciding penalty in an international cup final is just madness, Southgate should rightfully take some flack for that call
Happy to see Chiellini lift the trophy. One of the best players in the game, and he has never won a trophy outside of Italy. Now he has … so well deserved.
aeneas
1717
Well the WC will all be about coping with Qatar. I imagine that it may not go to form of the teams heading in.
Right before kickoff Football Manager did this to me in a cup game, so I should have read the signals.
Canuck
1719
I don’t get it. Isn’t that decision up to the manager? Or do the players decide the kicking order amongst themselves?
So…am I reading correctly that that’s the first penalty Saka’s taken in the entirety of his senior footballing career?
What in the world was Southgate thinking?
(And kudos to Saka for wanting the responsibility and wanting the kick. Good kid, amazing future.)
Southgate just grooming future football managers of England who let their country down with a bad penalty kick.
aeneas
1722
Gareth Southgate speaks to the BBC. “We’re hugely disappointed. The players have been an absolute credit, they’ve given everything they possibly could. They’ve run themselves into the ground. At times they played really well, at times we didn’t keep the ball quite well enough, especially at the start of the second half, but we can’t have any recriminations, they’ve been a joy to work with. They’ve gone further than we’ve gone for so long, but tonight it’s incredibly painful in that dressing room. It’s down to me. I decided on the penalty takers based on what they’ve done in training, and nobody is on their own. We won together as a team, and it’s on all of us for not being able to win the game tonight. But in terms of the penalties, that’s my call. It totally rests with me.”
Canuck
1723
What’s with the slowdown, stutter step before taking the kick? It doesn’t seem very effective to me. It seems to throw the kicker off more than the keeper.
Yep. It will be a tough tournament.
Mentioned earlier tonight that Hjulmand commented on the Danish team after the match in Baku. An average weight loss for the players on the field of 3,8 kg, and one player with a 5,6kg weight loss. That won’t be healthy, if the players are going to face similar conditions in Qatar in game after game.
