Liverpool Banter 3

16 Jul 2026 03:15:38
Couldn’t give two, England out, bring on the prem!!

15 Jul 2026 23:09:13
I have to say fair play to Messi, 39, and still by a mile the best player in the world, absolute joke he is, and simply a joy to watch. He's proving science and what's possible wrong over and over.

{Ed025's Note - its a pity he is an odious little irk really Nath..

16 Jul 2026 00:04:57
Obviously a legend of the game, but I wouldn't say he's still the best in the world. The standard of international football is poor and he plays in a sub-standard league.

16 Jul 2026 00:17:11
Far from best in the world.

16 Jul 2026 00:19:07
West, a 39-year-old gave a reality check to what fans consider modern "superstars". Today's "world class" wouldn't be a touch on what peak Ronaldo and Messi were.
Messi had moments in this match, and they were of the highest quality in a vital match.


What does it matter what league he plays in when he can put in that performance? Don't be sour grapes against the goat.

16 Jul 2026 00:49:23
40-year-old Messi made prime Rice, Anderson and Bellingham look as clueless as 3 nits on a bald head.

16 Jul 2026 01:33:34
Messi was great in moments, and that's all he needs to do.

He walks a lot, but he puts in enough effort without the ball to not be a passenger the entire game.

Good on him and good on Argentina. They showed fight and winning mentality to claw their way back into the game and into the final.

16 Jul 2026 02:58:11
If he was the best player in the world he wouldn't have moved to MLS three years ago. Even Messi doesn't think he's the best player in the world anymore.

16 Jul 2026 04:01:15
Messi is great, but in a competitive season with a lot of matches + facing teams that work hard as a unit, like PSG, for example, would destroy this Argentina.

Nothing against Messi, at 39 he's still better than many players half his age. It's just that he himself probably recognises he can't do it at that level consistently anymore.



It's not a dig at Messi, it's just why I think why some or maybe more than some people (including me) prefer club football than international football. I don't care about internationals, but I'll watch the final, sure. Not like there's any club football on right now.

16 Jul 2026 04:09:59
If someone has earned the right to chill in the MLS and then perform at the World Cup, then it's Lionel Messi.

15 Jul 2026 23:31:01
Ed025 why is a football page bringing up off the pitch stuff? We've just watched the match, Messi in moment's was top drawer and yet the editors are going out of their way to make it personal about an Argentinian player 🤣 yous lads look like Millwall supporters. Stop it 😂😂

{Ed025's Note - frustration i suppose Ron, but i stand by what i said mate..

16 Jul 2026 06:39:54
Who says I'm sour? I don't care about England. I literally just have the opinion that he's not the best player in the world right now.

16 Jul 2026 06:48:32
For me, the best player in the world is probably still Rodri. He's irreplaceable.

16 Jul 2026 07:12:46
I think he is superb even at 39. You can't argue with the goals he has scored, the assists and just the sheer trickery that he has in his looker. The guy is a magician, does make him the GOAT? Hard to say, there's a few who could easily be up there.

He made England look like school boys in those last 2 minutes when Argentina were in trouble.
No idea how odious he is, seems to carry himself well from what I've seen on and off the pitch but I don't know the guy, just like the rest of us.

16 Jul 2026 07:20:19
20 minutes.

16 Jul 2026 08:05:04
Well said, Irish.

16 Jul 2026 08:41:22
Messi is there for moments when he is with Argentina. They play for him, not the other way around, and deliver for the most part. Also, he has some top, top players around him, which makes it easier. Diego never had any of these in his pump and he still cooked, so there's that.



Still world class? Well, if a player, well past his prime, is still world class at near 40, then that should tell you the state of football at this point in time.

16 Jul 2026 11:28:32
Worth remembering that the HGH taken by Messi in his teens had the side effect of giving him greater muscle mass, density and stamina.

Whether he took it for that reason or not is irrelevant. That's the effect. So nobody should be surprised that at 39 he can still run around a lot.

16 Jul 2026 13:33:59
Nevada, so he is a cheat, otherwise he be playing panto with Snow White.

16 Jul 2026 15:05:45
Nevada, there are many out there who think (scratch that, they know with evidence) Messi would never have been allowed to play football at all if anyone actually bothered to do their jobs.

15 Jul 2026 22:37:34
I understand the dissapoinment.
I don't understand the anti Tuchel brigade now. We're a not a ball playing team. We're not blessed with technical silky players through out the team.
England are a physical and at times explosive side.
Messi is 39 and look at some of his moment's tonight. The highest of quality, it is what it is. I was never overly confident.


Jed Spence was outstanding tonight and not one of us would ever had had him on the pitch.
Kane was asked and explained the team sat back, they wernt asked too.
Tuchel made decisions probably based on Argentina getting a real grip on the game. It didn't work.
Would Rashford and Toney really have changed much? We're not blessed with great attacking players from the bench.

15 Jul 2026 22:51:19
Tuchel threw in the towel. Not often I would agree with Rooney but Tuchel's tactic cost us dearly tonight.

{Ed025's Note - not only Tuchel though MOT, the players need to look at themselves in the mirror mate..

15 Jul 2026 22:54:51
So, if you have a physical and explosive side, you should play 10 men in your own box with no outball?

{Ed025's Note - disgraceful SR, a cross between Arsenal and Everton mate and everyone sitting back hoping to defend a 1-0 lead..

15 Jul 2026 23:04:28
I don't think the plan was to sit back at all, Argentina forced us back and nearly scored twice before the change.

Tuchel reacted to the new reality of the match. We had something to hold on at that point.

I may have made the same decision.

This team, with the work started by Southgate, has given me new belief in the national team and I do think we have the right man in Tuchel.

{Ed025's Note - i beg to differ FORNAX, England played boring football...went ahead then shat themselves mate against a poor Argentinian side..

15 Jul 2026 23:11:05
Fornax, absolutely agree.
England's legs were going and our bench simply isn't great attacking wise. I hope Wharton kicks on and gets better and better. You need a midfielder in there to keep it flowing and moving.

15 Jul 2026 23:12:33
Something, their legs were going. The press was impossible after 70 minutes. Toney, yes, I believe should have come on earlier, but the rest of the subs made sense.
England do not have top class attacking players to come on from the bench.

15 Jul 2026 23:15:28
I'm sorry, but beating Doctor Congo, Norway and flipping Mexico doesn't mean gash.

Same old thing, soon as they play a real nation. Gone.

15 Jul 2026 23:22:44
When you have Dan burn up top for the last ten, it's game over.

Appalling really.

15 Jul 2026 23:29:25
Ron, he could've put Watkins or Toney on when it was clear that Kane couldn't run anymore (not that he does run much in the first place these days) to give you some chance of chasing stuff down and maybe pressuring the Argentine defenders at least somewhat, when they had the ball.

You can say "their legs were going", if you like, but as a manager, you have to make subs to try and reduce the impact of that.

Bring on someone who might be able to get on the ball and complete a pass or two. Or bring on a forward or winger who'll chase after things. Tuchel chose instead to pack the team with defenders, which let Argentina walk the ball to within 20 yards of the England goal all the time. Of course, they were going to score.

It's ultimately no skin off my nose that Tuchel bottled it. I'm not English, and just found it hilarious.

15 Jul 2026 23:30:41
Saka was on the bench.

12% possession in the 37 minutes between England's goal and Argentina's winner. That's capitulation.

Your opponent can't score if they don't have the ball. They needed to strengthen midfield, but instead they piled a load of defenders on the box.

15 Jul 2026 23:33:09
Liverpool, you mean quality opposition.
Those nations did very well and represented their countries greatly.
We are not blessed with great quality throughout, or that perform as well for England. We lack in midfield and the wide areas.

15 Jul 2026 23:42:15
Ron, what midfielders? There's no one that's going to keep the ball and keep it flowing. Wharton can do that, but needs to improve a level.
Anderson is an outstanding player. Rice is decent for England. He gets found out against better opposition. Bellingham isn't a central midfielder.

Our midfield is ok, but against the better technical sides, we always get found out. England beed Wharton to improve a level.
Something, lol. Be serious mate. Those players are average. Toney might have done something if put in sooner.

15 Jul 2026 23:54:16
We sat back, let them cross the ball, which is ok if we can defend them, but they were getting on to the end of those crosses.
Maybe England's legs did go, but I doubt Spain or Argentina will rely on running and pressing to win the thing.


We couldn't keep hold of the ball, and hoped that some good to average defenders would see us home for over half an hour.
We didn't know what to do when we went 1-0 after 55 minutes, and that is worrying.

16 Jul 2026 00:00:05
Tuchel backed himself into a corner with the squad he picked. There are technical players and better wingers he could have selected. Saka was clearly not fit enough to be selected. Toney, Henderson & Mainoo were complete wastes of squad spaces as they didn't play. Madueke is woeful.

For a squad apparently built to bring the best out of Kane, Kane was pretty poor for most of the tournament imo.

Tuchel made a mistake putting so many defenders on, but it also just shows how poor our defenders are that even with 8 of them in the box, Argentina still managed to score a header.

16 Jul 2026 00:03:22
Watch Cape Verde against Argentina and see how they play on the front foot. That team is Messi on his last legs, literally, and 10 plumbers. That was as sackable an offense as it gets from Tuchel, who took off everyone just to defend and get the goal peppered for 40-odd minutes.

{Ed025's Note - absolutely Warya..

16 Jul 2026 00:06:49
We were competitive and combative until we scored, then the manager and the players all bottled it and tried to sit back when they should have been brave and carried on as they were. Serves them right. I have absolutely zero sympathy.

16 Jul 2026 00:44:40
We do have more technical players like Cole Palmer, Trent, Phil Foden, but Tuchel chose not to pick them. That's on him.

We needed players who could get us up the pitch. The absolute worst thing we could do was put more defenders on and sink deeper. Argentina have too much quality to surrender possession in front of your own box for half an hour.

Plus, we simply don't have good enough defenders to defend our own box in a low block like that for half an hour.

Our defenders are the weakest part of the team.

The only way to manage that game was to flood the midfield, keep the ball and keep them away from our goal as much as possible.

We did the opposite. We emptied the midfield and allowed them to pin us in far too easily and the inevitable happened.

16 Jul 2026 00:44:42
To be fair, I think Tuchel did a great job getting to a World Cup semi final with this dreadful England squad. There's not a lot of quality in the England team these days.
I thought sitting back rather than pushing for a second was an obvious mistake as soon as we started doing it, but still, a semi isn't bad considering.

Nobody would be complaining if it had worked.

16 Jul 2026 01:50:09
England didn't have the composure to hold the ball for long enough and wrestle some momentum back.

Personally, I think it was mainly mentality, experience to win those big moments.

16 Jul 2026 05:11:56
Shocking goalkeeping from Pickford for the equaliser.

16 Jul 2026 00:59:03
I am waiting to see if FIFA has the cojones to punish the argie team for their clearly political statement with that banner which against their rules. I doubt it very much

16 Jul 2026 05:54:22
As a non-English, I thought Tuchel and England did well (mostly) and overachieved with this squad.

Few thoughts. For me, Tuchel fell short twice:

1. The first one was the lack of creativity in the WC squad selection. I knew it from before a ball was kicked this WC. I actually thought you guys would lose to Mexico. I would've taken Trent over Chalobah when the Livramento injury happened, Wharton over Mainoo, Gibbs-White or Palmer over Toney, Bowen over Madueke. With those you get more creativity, hunger and "X" factor.

2. This Argentina game after going one up. I would've added more mids and wingers rather than defenders. What you needed was to keep the ball and score a second as Argentina got desperate and open up when chasing a goal. It was extremely stupid to sit back and give Argentina all possession. Tuchel should've made better subs and told the players to push up the field.

Take Kane off, throw Saka on the right and let Rogers play attacking mid/false 9. Swap Rice or Anderson for Mainoo or Eze for fresh legs. Pile up the centre of the pitch and stretch the field with the wingers.

Still, I think England overachieved with that squad and was fortunate with the fixtures. Same as Argentina who are very poor and should've never been in the finals.

Also important to note, the English squad would be the most tired of all teams in the WC. The heat + the extremely congested fixtures was never going to do England any favours.

I think you guys should still be proud though. I really wish England would've made it to the finals and I hate that Argentina has made it to it. They don't deserve this finals or any of their previous 3 WC stars because they've cheated or been helped every single time, bloody cheaters.

{Ed025's Note - PROUD!!!, your having a Giraffe Greg, i was disgusted by the way we totally bottled it by playing anti-football mate..

15 Jul 2026 23:34:27
I'm sorry Ron and Fornax you both are totally incorrect. This result is all about the decision your manager made after getting the lead. He ballsed it so well that it's up there with the biggest balls up ever. Ever. No debate about it.

{Ed025's Note - im with you SG..

16 Jul 2026 06:18:20
England are fairly weak defensively, lack creativity, and that showed last night.

We only really faced one tough opponent before last night, and that was Mexico. Norway were fairly workman like, and could have easily beaten us as well.



Argentina deserved the win. They could have scored four. We hardly created anything and were susceptible to crosses. The World Cup has been pretty good, but overall the quality of teams has been better in the past.

16 Jul 2026 06:34:15
Imagine using the same tactics, of playing with 6 defenders, to defend a lead against Mexico, Norway and then Argentina.

No imagination and no bravery.

England got what they deserved. Move on.
England had loads in the bench, even if it was just simply to keep applying the press, but to go defensive, on 60 minutes, with additional time to play, is just incompetence.

16 Jul 2026 06:44:50
We were awful after taking the lead. Yeah, fair enough if you are going to counter attack, but we had no one up there.

You don't sit back and let the Argentina players do what they want, and why was Kane even on the pitch? We never have anyone upfront when he's on.



Why not bring on Watkins or Rashford earlier, and use their pace to keep the 2 Argentina CBs, who are both on yellow cards, thinking, and he took off Gordan, the one forward player that seemed to be make the defenders wary.

We s*** the bed after scoring, and that's on Tuchal.

16 Jul 2026 08:03:42
Tuchel subs have worked almost every game regardless of how much I've questioned them, yesterday he got it wrong.

The squad he took, wasn't the best available to him, now if we'd have won that would have been justified, but we never, so he'll rightfully catch flack.

Trent has always and will always be a better player than James, and should be England's starter. With a midfield of Rice and Anderson, Trent was needed.

Maguire, for all his flaws, performs in an England shirt. Palmer, although not having a great season, was needed as a plan B.

Saka is borderline finished, being run into the ground by Arteta, however Eze and Madueke should never be near an England squad, they're just not good enough.

Maguire, Trent, Gibbs-White, Palmer and even young Rio should have been there, Trent and Maguire starting with the others being a 'we need a goal against Argentina let's throw something at the wall.'

Tuchel is still the right man for me, though he got it wrong last night.



The refereeing this tournament has been the worst in memory, it's an absolute farce game in game out, with favourites being easily recognisable. FIFA will have their 'changing of the guard' moment with Yamal/Messi and that weird picture of Messi bathing him will be everywhere. This World Cup's been awful for the sport, but good for the 'product'.

Argentina stepped up when needed, a lot of which was allowed by our style of play, I'll be a Spain fan this weekend, the behaviour of Argentina is abhorrent time and time again.

16 Jul 2026 10:18:30
I agree with ed25 here tbh, I think it was the manager and the players that were at fault, it was a typical England reaction to succumbing to the pressure of being and competing at the level we're supposed to be at, we get to the semi final, against a beatable Argentina side that should no longer be in the competition, and you s*** the bed, because it always seems to be a surprise when we get to a semi final or final of these competitions. That mentality needs to change. We lost the game mentally, to a team that man for man is not as good but has been here before.

It seemed to have happened instantaneously after scoring the goal, we just thought the hard bit was done so see it out. Whilst that was happening, I genuinely couldn't see how we could change the momentum with the players we had on. Unfortunately we relied heavily on individual brilliance this World Cup, so maybe we were also in a false position. I think like for like changes should have happened long before they scored their first goal to give us an outlet up top and some fresh legs at the back, but we took the risk of just lucking our way to a 1-0 win and at 1-1 it was clear we were trying to keep it that way and make it to penalties. At that point I knew it was over. It's just a shame England can never have consistent coaching set up that builds a sustainable model in the way Spain, France, Argentina etc have done. We always seem to freestyle in that department and it doesn't work, at some point we just have to accept that England are a physical side that suit that style of play more and aren't going to be technically sound despite the players we have. It's never really been Englands game as a team, we have individual players that bring joy in that sense, but I can never see England passing it around the box dominating through the lines like Argentina were yday after we scored. Whenever teams sit back against us, it's slow side to side waiting for someone to get open and waiting for our top player to pull a rabbit out the hat. We never look like we know what we're doing unless teams open up against us.

I think we did well this World Cup, but I think we got to the stage we should be getting to, and against that ratty Argentina team, we should be in the final. Losing to Spain, France who are clearly better teams I'd understand, but losing to Argentina is difficult, not just in a sporting sense but politically also. And before anyone says it's just a football match, they made it more than a football match, and have done throughout the competition, it's all over social media. Their fans, their government, their team etc all very dislikable, in addition to fifa favouring them, it's very frustrating. I really hope Spain do them but something tells me it'll be a similar story for them.

15 Jul 2026 22:30:34
The end was so predictable. Bring on an extra defender and give the opponent endless chances until they eventually score, build momentum, and suddenly have an extra attacker against a team that has spent the final minutes doing nothing but panic defending.

I mean, you can’t f'kin go 5 at the back and park the bus your way to a win anymore. Teams are too good. Giving up the pitch is a cardinal sin. You need control, and you need numbers ahead of the back line.

Giving up territory is so costly in the modern game.

"Let’s just let our goalie get bombarded for 40 minutes. It’s only Argentina, how many could they score?"

Billion-dollar national team and they play like prime Norwich City fighting relegation.

Probably the most you’ll ever see a manager s*** himself. Every sub hurt the team and made it so hard to even change things back after they equalised.

Tuchel absolute Disasterclass.

16 Jul 2026 00:46:16
Spot on, RedKop. He did the exact opposite of what he should've done.

Absolutely s*** his pants.

15 Jul 2026 22:28:11
Surely Maccas transfer fee has gone up in the last month.

15 Jul 2026 23:13:16
Has it? By missing an absolute sitter with the header? The man's no legs for the Premier League.

15 Jul 2026 23:21:33
Why would Macca's value have changed? The player is still the same - when he puts in the required effort he is an excellent player, when he's not 'up for it' and starts the third rate theatrics he becomes a passenger. What we as fans chose to see as his value may not be the same as outsiders value him.

I stand to be corrected, but I think, all things being equal, if he starts in the Final, he'll be the first player to play for Liverpool who will have played in 2 World Cup Finals. Not a bad achievement. There's a player in there, maybe AI can get him fired up.

15 Jul 2026 23:40:35
If Argentina win the World Cup then for sure his Transfer Fee / Value will go up some.

imo, Liverpool should sell if a decent offer comes in.

But I think it would be bad for everyone involved if LFC was to start offering him to other clubs or make it obvious that trying to move him on.



My heart is saying let's see his performances with Iraola's style of football.
Last chance now, on your absolute lazzies.

My head is saying, move him on, wish him the best. Replace him right now.

16 Jul 2026 00:05:46
I reckon he'd more suited to playing in another country or further forward for us with a couple of proper midfielders behind him. Where would that leave Szob and Wirtz though?
Or we could sign his compratriate Lynsey de Paul to help him out.

Those Argentinian subs made a difference tonight and I'm not trying to make a pun about the war that enabled Thatcher to win another election.
Some things you just don't joke about.

16 Jul 2026 05:57:37
He needs to go to Spain or Italy, to be honest. He'll do much better there. Or even at Bayern.

I'd take £55-65m and get a workhorse type midfielder for similar price.

16 Jul 2026 06:32:08
Macca looked ok last night, their midfield had balance. Ours was combative enough, but lacked balance. Overall, our defensive play is shown up by better teams, as is our lack of quality in the wider areas.

16 Jul 2026 06:57:20
TBH if Macca was anywhere near that Malvinas flag last night then I'd be selling him straight away. I don't want that kind of player anywhere near my club.

15 Jul 2026 22:23:53
Don't know who I despise more: Tuchel or Messi?

Tuchel completely threw it away, made nothing but defensive changes, and you could see the goal coming a mile away. Parked the bus and, at the first sign of panic, reverted to Pickford, boot the ball to our striker, Dan Burn (Recognised centre back), while Kane continues to play DM.



As for Messi, you are 39, man. Give it a break. This is the time when you are supposed to offer nothing, to very little. Instead this (trying my best not to swear) little man has dragged Argentina to another final. Wth?

Absolutely devastated.

15 Jul 2026 22:38:19
A hole team of defenders.

15 Jul 2026 22:38:44
Totally agree. Loser mentality.

15 Jul 2026 22:40:10
I did think that by replacing Southgate with Tuchel would give us a different outcome and performance.
Unfortunately, that didn't happen tonight.
However, that was Tuchel's first tournament, and if he can improve in the next one, it might see us winning one soon.

15 Jul 2026 23:16:59
Despise is a strong word.

We ended up with a whole defensive team full of holes. We weren't even winning headers in our box!

{Ed025's Note - but we did have Dan Burn to come on against a team of Munchkins Rigsby...how did that work out mate?..

16 Jul 2026 01:54:34
Unlucky mate, I have been supporting Argentina (mainly Messi), so was rapt.

But I play with a lot of Brits and felt devastated for them, especially to have it taken away so late.



As an All Blacks fan, we had to wait a long time to win our second Rugby World Cup. Not quite 60 years, but still a quarter century!

So can fully empathize with what you're going through.

16 Jul 2026 00:15:33
Good question, Ed025.
Maybe it was better delivery and movement but I was shocked at how many headers they were winning.
In hindsight, Guehi, Stones, Konsa and Burn are no Baresi, Costacurta, Nesta, Desailly or Maldini, are they?
In fact, they are nowhere near the levels of Adams, Campbell, King or Ferdinand.

{Ed025's Note - if thats the best we can muster up Rigsby then god help us all mate..

16 Jul 2026 15:08:59
Ed25, how Dan Burn made the England squad is baffling. And there are a lot players in that boat, I might add.

{Ed025's Note - i think there were 4 or 5 that baffled me Oli, as well as the tactics i must add mate..

15 Jul 2026 22:11:19
England sat back after scoring n invited pressure, took Gordon off you put Rashford on, but Kane was on his last legs. But look at the sub striker Toney. Just lacking in quality players who can make the difference.

15 Jul 2026 22:42:13
Lacking quality players? Maybe. Problem was a manager who thought he could give that Argentinian side all the space to play into. I thought Tuchel was supposed to be elite? As soon as England scored, they were beaten; no better than Southgate, and England still haven't learned how to see out a game tactically.

Now let's get back to proper football, looking forward to the new season.

{Ed025's Note - it was like watching Everton CGD, get the first goal then defend for your lives, horrible to watch mate and a complete capitulation..

15 Jul 2026 23:15:24
CGD, so where are the quality players? We have Kane, Bellingham, Rice, Anderson, then a 2nd tier of Gordon, Rashford, Saka, not much in reserve. Yea, I agree we sat back too much, but don't think we had a choice unless we swapped Rashford for Gordon etc. Momentum swings it; as soon as they scored we were deflated. If we hung on we'd be heroes.

{Ed025's Note - and if my Auntie had balls she would be my uncle Strom, it was disgraceful and we deserved to lose mate..

16 Jul 2026 00:20:11
We never looked like hanging on. Stromsy,
They hit the post twice before scoring and Enzo was allowed to practice shots on our goal.
MacAllister could have scored with two headers. Martinez did score, and how tall are they?

16 Jul 2026 00:21:38
Ed025, never heard me say we deserved to win.im saying we lack quality players we have a few n that's it.maybe we should limit the foreign players, say 3 to each team to make sure our own players get the chance to play at a decent level,

{Ed025's Note - but lets be honest Strom...would you really want a team like England playing like that winning the World Cup?..

16 Jul 2026 06:05:37
Even with those players you could've seen the game out by dominating the midfield, keeping the ball and stretching the field.

The substitutions weren't progressive. He needed to bring fresh legs on in midfield, up front and wide instead of defenders.

It doesn't matter too much who, but those bench players would've been capable of seeing the game out against a poor Argentina. Giving all possession away and sitting back was the absolute worst thing you could do in semi-finals.

16 Jul 2026 08:40:49
Anyone else think that Tuchel turned into Slot after going 1-0 up.
However, the guy that got the equaliser shouldn't have been on the pitch after the first 20 mins or so. Onto the Prem and some proper football again.

16 Jul 2026 08:56:33
Rigsby, I totally agree. We invited the pressure n couldn't cope with it. We could all see Argentina winning it, but we don't have enough top players. Most top teams have about 7 or 8; we have 3 or 4.

To me, we're lucky we got this far n unless we change a system (at domestic level) that allows our players to flourish, it will always be the same.

16 Jul 2026 15:10:27
The worst thing is that the more England brought players on to park the bus, the more clear cut chances Argentina created.

Which tells me that even Tuchel wasn't even good at parking the bus to begin with.

15 Jul 2026 22:09:56
Messi is 39 and still has magic feet.
Tough loss. The side sat back too much after the goal inviting the pressure.
You need a great wide player in the modern game to make a real difference.

We don't have one. A fit Saka isn't it either. No "superstar" dragged us out of this.
There's no disgrace in losing to Argentina. We're a good side, not a great one.

15 Jul 2026 22:44:08
They aren't a great side either, they shouldn't have even got this far and we all know how they did. England do what they always do when they get to a position they're supposed to be in, issue is the defensive changes did not help us. All Argentina had to do was play around our box and put good crosses in, even though we're twice the size of them. How we didn't make some attacking changes with pace once we realised we were going to be playing on the counter I'll never know, every player on the pitch was slow af, whilst you got the likes of rashford and saka on the bench.

Argentina were the worst team to lose to, they are a very dislikable nation, and at that stage it gets political too. I really hope Spain do them, but something tells me corruption will win.

{Ed025's Note - Spain will whack them Kman..

15 Jul 2026 23:53:53
Amen to that Ed.

Lamine Yamal will probably be man marked and muscled out the game, probably a quiet showing.

But i see Space opening for Dani Olmo to get forward with them 'give and go' Runs he likes.
And scoring the Winner with a Daisy Cutter low shot from just on edge of box.

15 Jul 2026 22:09:53
As much as Argentina are basically Team Evil, it is good to see a manager get punished for trying to sit on a 1-0 by putting on around 7 center backs.

Let's hope for a Spain win on Sunday though.

15 Jul 2026 22:23:12
Agreed, taking off a confident goal scorer and attacking outlet felt like a very schoolboy error there.

15 Jul 2026 22:23:22
Tuchel made a right balls of that.

15 Jul 2026 22:28:49
No, I disagree. The players weren't told to sit back. They naturally did that themselves. Dan Burn, I have no problem with if there was a set piece. Toney should have come in, though a lot sooner. The conditions are zapping. Rice was poor, Oreily coming on, no problem.


England do not have midfielders to come on and dictate the game.
Anderson is England's best midfielder. Rice is decent for England but Anderson has been a level above.
England have some very good players but we lack top quality in some key areas against the better opposition.

15 Jul 2026 22:48:16
"The players weren't told to sit back"

Mate, when Argentina scored their goals, England had Spence, O'Reilly, Stones, Geuhi, Konsa and Burn on the pitch. That's 6 defenders. On what planet is that not sitting back?

15 Jul 2026 23:30:00
We stopped trying to win and reverted to our standard way of playing - trying not to lose. At the very highest level - like a World Cup semi-final, 99 times out of 100 you'll get found out.

I remember winning it in 66 and the impact it had on the game in England.

I was hoping we'd win it and it kick starting the PL, which has been increasingly average in the past two or three years. Shame we bowed out with a whimper.

15 Jul 2026 23:47:44
Tuchel is the coach, Ron. He decides on tactics, formation, starters and substitutions, game management. The players do what the coach coaches them to do. This is all about Thomas Tuchel. All of it.