So unlike the previous years it looks like most people are sceptical about England's hopes of reaching far in the World Cup...I think that it's a very solid team though.

It does look like England could pass the group stage, but then again even Costa Rica could put up a fight against England in the past.

The squad is really balanced, attack is strong with Vardy and Kane having 25+ goals per season there is also Rashford and Sterling all good talents.
Midfield that can back them up is also pretty good maybe not as good as some other countries have but Wilshare,Hendersen,Alli,Chanberlain,Dier are solid.
The defense is maybe the weakest part of the team but it's not that bad at all, Walker, Stones are part of the best defense in the league...

How far can England go?

You can only play the games on your schedule. England have done that.

My worry for them going into the tournament was a lack of a creative pivot, so I just assumed they wouldn't be able to create high quality chances from open play. While I was correct in thinking this, I completely forgot about set pieces and clearly Southgate did not. England has scored just 3 goals from open play this WC I believe (Kane deflection, Lingard banger, and Ali header), only one of which was from a buildup. To top that off, England have been truly dominant on set pieces, their corner routines are fantastic, everytime they get one I expect them to score. Nearly all of the pens that they've gotten have been from corners as well. Utter dominance in the air.

I am left very impressed with Southgate, he knew his teams biggest weakness (creativity) as well as their strength (height and power), and crafted a team that solved both of those. Add into that Pickford playing out of his mind, a solid defensive shape, a great WC from Henderson and Lingard up to this point, as well as Kane being a terror on set pieces, and England, always the underachievers, are genuinely overachieving.

I don't think they'll win, but they have a good chance against Croatia. My tournament favorites before the thing began were Germany/France/Belgium, and one of those is guaranteed to make it to the final, where I expect England/Croatia will lose. But, stranger things have happened.

its commmingg hommeee

its fudging literally commmmming HOOOOOME !!!!!!!

Whats the thoughts on Sterlings performance this last game...................better???
He has definitely got the creative side, dribbling and pace.............but CANNOT finish!!!!

@mancitydude In football, they are two type of individual, genius and athlete, sadly, as of now, Sterling obviously part of the latter category. Doesn't mean he is bad but his decision making is his major problem, need to work on that a lot.

Sterling has done a lot of fine work between the lines and I doubt he'll be dropped just for continuities sake. That being said, it's hard to imagine that Rashford, or Vardy in particular, could not do that same type of work. Even for City Sterling is a good bet for missing one sitter a game - England hasn't been made to pay for that yet, but who knows.

If I was Southgate and I was managing England, I'd rather play France than Belgium. England have used their new adaptations in the newly fashioned EPL that pace and strength is important. Pace and Strength has let England through, and converting a lot of their set pieces. Belgium aren't too different, and although the game in the group shouldn't really be reflective, they have great players that can combat England.France on the other hand are known to choke in final, although in their defense a lot of their players now have a lot more experience.

Can we give some credit to Pep, Conte and Poch? Pep for the style of passing around the back, Conte for formation and Poch for the development of players (most the players are Tottenham or have played there)

Southgate has gotten the best version of England, something Roy didn't. I doubt big Sam would have too.

@amir Agreed with what you said mate. +1

Who's seen the video of the guards at Buckingham Palace playing 'Its Coming Home'!!!

Must watch!!! Shows the English spirit :D

Oh well, England still deserve credit, they fought well, but they should have pushed a lot more to get another goal, got punished for trying to control the game. Perisic was pretty damn great in that game, a goal to get his team to extra time and then an assist. Will be interesting to see how England will do against Belgium.

:(

Oh well, England still deserve credit, they fought well, but they should have pushed a lot more to get another goal, got punished for trying to control the game. Perisic was pretty damn great in that game, a goal to get his team to extra time and then an assist. Will be interesting to see how England will do against Belgium.

Agree, people are bashing on England for a piss poor performance, but I actually thought they weren't that bad for some parts of the game. At least compared to previous England squads, this squad still managed to keep a bit of their composure in a lot of times when they could have easily panicked. 4th or 3rd place finish at the end, this is still something to be immensely proud of. These guys will come back stronger in the next WC run.

I agree they know now what it takes to reach semi and they will come back with players on their peak.

I disagree entirely. This was a very winnable world cup, where all the historical and modern powerhouses either didn't qualify (like Italy and Holland), fell at the first hurdle (like Germany), or were in the other bracket (France/Brazil/Argentina etc). I doubt England will put together a run like this again irregardless of if their side is superior to their current one.

Open to them proving me wrong though.

@iHEARTfootball Indeed, their team was young, next time they show up, they will be able to use the experience in this tournament and in the four next year to spur themselve foward. Will be very interesting to see how each of those player progress in the future.

Some painful errors from the ref................

But its over now, lets focus on the next Euros. Its ignited the passion for football again in England - Cmon u lions!!!!!

We're coming third, were coming third, were coming............

Kane didn't show up in the crucial moment, does he deserve the best player award for this WC ? Not sure...

@expertfootball Maybe not, but he has very big chance of winning golden boots. Which isn't bad. Would have liked it better if he wouldn't have scored half of his goal on penality but hey, you still need to convert those. ;)

Would make sense to give to Modric or Mbappe

@expertfootball Not convinced about that, if France win it, M'bappe might not be the first France on the list to get it. He got huge competition from Griezmann and Varane for me. Pogba and Kante also deserve a shout.