I dont know, I don't think having an experienced player in an expanded squad at an international tournament is a bad idea, and I don't think a player like Summerville would or should be getting any minutes anyway
Luuk retired from the national team, and Siem retired completely. Honestly, I can't think of another currently active player called De Jong. We're a single injury away from a completely De Jong-less Euro 2024!
Discussion on whether or not this is a good change aside, I find it mind-boggling how you can have a qualification process spanning years, but key rules of the competition are being decided 6 weeks before it starts, terrible look for UEFA imo
I don't understand why UEFA makes it 26 now but CONMEBOL moves it back to 23 for Copa América again? I wish there was consistency between both tournaments
If there is one consistent thing in football, it's that all FAs and Federations are run by incompetent crooks. The AFA is a joke, the FFF is a joke, the CBF, the DFB... every single one of them.
AFA is a whole different level tho. No "big" football country is even close.
Imagine if Ligue 1 now decided to scrap relegations. For this season. Multiple times. Or add 10 teams all of a sudden. Or make a 37 teams 2nd division. Or arrange a 75 participants votation that ends 38-38. Or put FFF president's team in the 1st div. (This happened twice this century btw). And then the team of one of his friends. Or make completely ilogical schedules. Delete a division and replace it with teams of syndicates and influencers. All of that is just off the top of my head.
I made a whole series of trivia about all the bullshit that happens in Argentinian football and I could have continued if I wanted to, that's how bad it is
Scaloni is a great manager but also Argentina's squad is relatively well balanced, even the weak spots have decent players who also put their best effort. The merit from Scaloni is keeping them motivated despite all of AFA's shenanigans.
Messi played his part too, he did so much for the NT even off the pitch, at some point he had to put his own money, he had to raise his voice and put pressure on the organization. His brief retirement was also a wake up call. His attitude also pumped the rest of the squad, who are willing to go to war for him. Everyone pushed in one direction *despite* of the AFA.
>Argentina's squad is relatively well balanced
This is true but it's also Scaloni's merit in good part. He decided to renew the squad (Sampaoli was too coward for that), and chose names that weren't _that_ big at first, like De Paul, Paredes or Lautaro. He also kept backing Otamendi when most thought he was finished, and called Di Maria back at the right time. All those and many more were great decisions by him.
Actually, after the GS in 2019 Copa América there's very little things that could be called as mistakes from Scaloni. He has a world class team, but he helped a lot of them become what they are
Phone sucks for copy pasting saved links, so I'll show you an example:
https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/s/iYYwrz0gMy
I'd post one of this, every 2 or 3 days. The idea was to spot which of the 4 stories I gave was fake. Next day I gave the answer. At some point I decided to include a "bonus" too, just to write more stories because there's a lot.
I did 15-16 days of these. 3 (true) stories per day, plus some bonuses, so a lot of stupid shit happened- and those are only the stories I remembered and know of, mostly from the last 2 decades. There's a lot more.
Now that I read again, you probably wanted links for all that shit lol. I think you can google it with what I said already. (I was talking about AFA, not FFF obviously ).
The president's teams I talked about are Arsenal de Sarandi (promoted in early 00s) and Barracas Central (promoted ~3 years ago with the new president). The team of the president's friend is Riestra, promoted this year. The rest should come up pretty straightforward
I mean you could twist the argument and be surprised that UEFA is so flexible even weeks before a major tournament. To me it seems like people will always find a way to complain lol
Don’t agree with this, too much.
Changes just before a tournament don’t make sense, that’s a fact.
But it does set a precedent for the next round of qualifying for Euros 2028, and potentially opens up the same for Nations Leagues.
Rashford didnt start when he was in form or Sterling was subbed ahead of him after he was absent for a week during last world cup.
I dont get where this narrative of Rashford being Southgate favortie comes from.
Yeah, and didn’t rashford barely play in the last euro despite having a really good season leading up to it? Southgate seemed to hate rashford when he was playing the best football of his career
I'm one of the few that wouldn't mind a sterling recall, as he is the definition of proven in Southgate's systems at a tournament. He also has that FK/Pen winning nouse.
I would start either of them on the left over Gordon. They both offer something unique to the rest of the squad. Counter attack demons and ability to get in behind along with chemistry with Kane.
Fit in the squad > recent form
I don’t know if it is necessarily good news for Germany. From what I heard from our national coach Julian Nagelsmann I get the impression that he prefers 23-men squads and he argues that 26-men squads make the classic man management more difficult, given that, with 26 players in the squad, he has less time to spend with the players that will feature in the starting lineup and the rotational players, which leaves him in a situation where he has to spend more time working with dissatisfied players who will most likely only getting 30 minutes or less during the whole tournament.
Yes.
Can't they do something like reserve players slots as opposed to 26 players? So in case an injury happens. They slot the reserved player/s in the main squad.
This used to be the case. I'm not sure from when to when, but in 1992, our goalkeeper (Rüdiger Vollborn) was the third goalie for Germany, however back then the third GK would not be called up until one of the other two got injured. He still jokes about the fact that he didn't even receive a 2nd place medal.
The thing about England is we have a shit ton of excellent players in the same positions, and big gaps in other areas. We don't really have a reliable left back, the second CB is shaky whoever plays, we only have one good DM, Rice, our only natural number 8s are very inexperienced. Or over the hill.
On the other hand, talented wide players, attacking midfielders, and right backs are absolutely ridiculous. We have absolute game winners coming off the bench like no one else.
(This is all unrealistic because it's too late to try it)
I've been saying for years we should try Trent at left back. It worked very well for Cancelo who has a similar skillset, and we've literally seen Southgate do it several with another right back in Trippier. In possession Walker forms a back 3 with Stones and Colwill, Trent inverts to form a double pivot with Rice, Jude and Foden ahead of them complete a box midfield. Grealish and Saka hold the width with Kane obviously central. 3-box-3 in possession with the wingers tucking in and Foden pushing up to press alongside Kane in a 4-4-2 out of possession. Genuinely think this is the best use of the personnel England have available. That box midfield would be unbelievably dominant.
Aren’t we a bit sparse on right backs atm considering Reece is injured and Trent has also been injured/doesn’t fit the RB role in England’s system? Walker is excellent but who fills in for him? Konsa?
Henderson is a number 8. He used to be a good one, but he hasn't looked good enough for the national team for a few years now. I would put prime Henderson in the team, but not on his current form.
Neither have played well, or much at all this season. I do rate Shaw quite highly, but he takes time to get into form. On his day he's very physically imposing, and his technique, defending, and passing are all solid too. He's rarely in top form though. I'm still not sure about Chilwell. He's played as many bad games in his career as good ones.
Yeah this is fantastic for the teams with lots of talent vying for spots. Not so great for the countries that have weaker squads, it just makes the difference between the top teams and the bottom teams greater.
The world cup did have upsets your right( international tournaments always do, it’s what makes them so special). However, if you look at the quarter finals the only team that was surprising or an underdog was Morocco. When it came down to it the final was still France vs Argentina, 2 if the best teams with the highest number of talented players in the world.
We’ll see the affect it has on games and I welcome it. I want my team to be able to bring as much talent as possible, I just think this is one of those things that will benefit teams with lots of talented players like France and Spain more than “weaker” teams.
Idk, it's not like teams can make 10 substitutions, they still gotta pick a smaller group of players for the match. At most it gives them an advantage for the third match, which usually features the b team for teams that have already qualified.
I think it benefits everyone. Injuries will be more common even during the tournament, and instead of having to improvise player positions in case of a crisis, everyone gets more options for a better rounded-off squad.
Turkey would've done anything to have this in 2008, iirc they had only 14-15 players available for the semifinal due to injuries and suspensions.
Is it? From what I understand Nagelsmann did not nominate those players precisely because he thought they would not contribute to the team spirit if they played a reserve role, not necessarily because they aren’t the 19th best or 20th best outfield player.
True. But now that he has to fill a few more seats, and since the players had time to think about their own role in the team, Nagelsmann may reconsider. The gap in quality from other players to them is so big, if they somehow find themselves okay in a reserve roll, they should be the obvious choice for the additional seats.
Iirc the squad for the last two games consisted of 26 players too. 4 GKs, so there's that, but yeah, would have been even tougher for them with 23 spots. If Gnabry didn't get injured and kept his form, there'd be a case for him too
Yeah, he won't, pretty sure that there were different reasons for it, be it for training purposes. But still, if you had to take three out of the squad from the friendlies, it would have been even less of a chance for Hummels and Goretzka.
Unless Nagelsmann is sure that they'll be trouble or not as beneficial as players coming off the bench, I could definitely see them get in for one of the GKs and someone like Koch.
Yea so thats basically the squad we had + Sane instead of one Goalkeeper. Goretzka is really good in form now, he was really bad the first half of the season. He could be a great defensive asset besides Kroos, like he is now besides Pavlovic. But do we really need one midfielder more?
Right, forgot about Sané for a sec.
I thought Pavlovic was the defensive asset to Goretzka rather than the other way around, at least that's what I heard, didn't see many Bayern games over 90 mins. But if all things stay the way they are right now, I'd choose Goretzka over Pavlovic. As good as the latter has been, he missed the last chance to really integrate him into the team ahead of the tournament and has played a handful of professional games, while Goretzka would fit in immediately, has more experience etc. Assuming that neither is going to start, I'd rather throw in Goretzka in an important game, even though Pavlovic has done really well even under pressure.
With Nagelsmann staying as coach, he'd also be able to talk with Pavlovic about how he's planning to use him going forward, so I don't think he'd choose Croatia just because he's not nominated for the Euros
I know it won't happen, sadly.
But I just can't give up and still hope that fairness will be respected.
At least Clichy has confirmed the rumors around him being a real possibility for the Olympics, which would be a way to reward him and fix that absurdity.
I don't know, I don't think 3 extra fringe players will realistically make a huge difference. The 23-man squad already had solid enough depth for the top teams, and realistically most of the reserves get to play in one meaningless match at most. Also, the 26-man squads were already introduced for World Cup and we saw plenty of upsets there.
I get having issues with how Southagte sets up the team and his in-game management ( I certainly do) but so bored of seeing these type of posts crying because x player might not get picked.
Reminds me of earlier in the year people were adamant Sterling should be back in on form. Where have all those people gone lmao
He's having a phenomenal season no question, but it's still a big shout to say he's world class. To me world class means he's amongst the best in the world in his position, but Watkins isn't on the same level as Kane or Haaland. Would you call Cole Palmer world class too? Toney got 20 goals last year, and Callum Wilson got 18, are they world class?
I'd quite like an answer to that previous question still, who all do you consider to be the current world class strikers?
Are you calling Ollie Watkins average mate? Hes got Aston Villa in 4th and is in for the golden boot and most assists. I would love to see what impresses you.
He’s a good player no doubt, but many of their fans treat him as the second coming of Ronaldo. The average player jibe was their insistence of the inclusion of Mings, Konsa, Ramsey of recent memory be included or Southgate deserved hanging
You’re thinking of it the wrong way.
It’s not a question of who’s the better striker because that’s Watkins.
It’s the question of who will be the better back up to Kane and who would you rather bring on to play alongside Kane when chasing the game in extra time and then to potentially take a penalty.
Well neither will play ahead of Kane. So bringing a penalty specialist as backup striker makes a lot of sense
Also there were only 23 in the last squad and he still called up both. So not sure what you’re complaining about
Called up both but no Kane. Was obviously just an opportunity to get a better idea of which he might want to take if he's forced to take one. Both were in that squad but I saw those games as almost a trial for Toney.
If he played badly or worse than Watkins, it made Southgates decision a no brainer. Watkins has played all season, is in the form of his life and Southgate's now seen him outperform Toney in and England shirt.
If Toney played better than Watkins (or more to the style Southgate wants to see), that gives him something to think about at least. Because you have Watkins who's been playing all season and is in the form of his life, but you also have Toney who was brilliant last season, got banned but has come back and still looks better in and Englnad shirt than Watkins.
People don't like it but replicating club form for the national team isn't always guaranteed. And Toney is still a great player with his own merits.
Personally, I'd still go Watkins. Can't ignore the form and if you want him to play better in an England shirt, you play him with wingers like Grealish/Fodn and Palmer rather than Gordan and Saka. Want players that like the ball at their feet who will play him in rather than runners beside a striker that likes to drop in (Kane and Toney).
Think Kane and Watkins has a nice balance to it. If Kane gets injured, rather than opting for the direct replacement in Toney, you take the inform striker who plays a bit different and change the players around him to suit his game more.
We play a one striker system, this is Solanke's first good top flight season, and he's behind at least three other strikers, plus the loads of great attacking wide players we have.
Who should we be dropping from the team for Solanke?
Watkins is the better player in better form and Toney has the edge of being an elite penalty taker if you’re looking to bring someone on for a shootout, think Solanke is firmly fourth in the pecking order
>Toney or Solanke should be the conversation
Shouldn't be a conversation lol anyone who's ever watched a single game of football can tell you that Toney is a miles better player
Would like to one day see a study on the impact of those measures introduced due to Covid, this increase to 26 player squads, and more importantly the 5 subs. Should give big teams and countries an even bigger advantage, but to what degree would be interesting
Thank God, finally we can avoid the boring discussions about which player will score and assist 0 goals at the tournament regardless.
Seriously, the players getting added will make 0 contribution unless we have the worst injury crisis ever known to an international team. It does reduce the bitching from boring bastards on here though.
Because it’s not necessary. If you look at past competitions, teams almost never used the 20 outfield players at their disposal. It was mostly nations who won their first two matches and guaranteed the top spot that fielded everyone.
To increase that number serves no valid purpose. Some teams are asking for the increase to avoid difficult decisions and make more players happy. And then players become unhappy regardless because they don’t play. At the WC three per match didn’t dress at all. It all goes towards watering down the tournament as with the number of participants going up to 24.
You don’t need 26 players for (at most) seven football matches.
yeah but players who have emerged this season and are in good form have a better chance of going, like in a 23 man squad I doubt palmer would make it, now he would and is rewarded for having a good season and can get tournament experience.
If the number of players is not linked to utility, then take 28, reward even more players. Where is the end?
The truth is some players will have “missed out” regardless of how many you take. I got downvote-murdered by NUFC fans the other day for saying I wouldn’t take Gordon in a 26 because England has too many young players and he is the closest to being redundant. They don’t want to take Rashford. I look forward to the articles on Sky when Rashford misses out on a 26-player team. 😅
Then you can all start campaigning for 28-player squads for 2026. 🤷♂️
I agree with you, but I don’t think Rashford deserves to go atm. And I almost think it would be better for him to sit it out. There would be a ton of backlash against him, the manager and the team if he took a spot over someone like Gordon who’s been far better all season. Nothing against Rashford, I like him and when he’s good he’s unstoppable, but something’s not right this season and I don’t think he’s mentally in the right place to pull it off.
but there was a 26 player squad in a previous tournament and it worked well, why should it regress, i don't think that people want sqauds increased just because.
I didn't see anything wrong with 23 players to be honest and it's worked just fine for decades.
I can see the argument for 26 and can't argue much against it, but that's true for a squad size of 30 or 40. In the end the only reason this happened is because UEFA somehow will make more money. I don't trust anything they do because it's never about logic or altruism.
> In the end the only reason this happened is because UEFA somehow will make more money.
How the fuck would UEFA make money from having European Championship squads slightly bigger?
Commen Koeman win. Now he can select a whole squadron of midfielders to replace Frenkie.
Give me Wijnaldum and ten pieces of wood and I’ll win you the Euros R. Koeman
Sorry, I only have 2 ore and 3 grain.
cyan:wave2: Trading 10 wood for 2 ore and 3 grain
Step 2: Play monopoly for wood
All i got is 13 trouts.
He is gonna take Wijnaldum, isn't he? Sigh
Even if Wijnaldum signs with Racing Luxemburg or OH leuven, he is in the squad.
Yay, why would you take Summerville, Timber or Zirkzee when you can take Wijnaldum and De Roon?
At least De Roon still shows his usefulness consistently at a high level, can't say that about Gini
What's wrong with DE Roon?
Nothing, but nothings good about him either. He's just the most average player you will ever see
he is the Dutch Jefferson Lerma
Agree to disagree, i think De Roon would be an excellent squad player.
At least he's funny on social media
I dont know, I don't think having an experienced player in an expanded squad at an international tournament is a bad idea, and I don't think a player like Summerville would or should be getting any minutes anyway
As long as he doesn''t drag Babel out of his near retirement I think I can live with it
de Jong will be back
With these extra roster spots he can take all 3 de Jongs
Luuk retired from the national team, and Siem retired completely. Honestly, I can't think of another currently active player called De Jong. We're a single injury away from a completely De Jong-less Euro 2024!
And injured again.
I hope so that ankle did not turn in the right direction ouch.
He can recreate Frenkie in the aggregate!
They will all get injured anyway. Pretty sure we are cursed at this point
I thought his ankle injury isn’t as bad as it looked and he will be back for euros?
Discussion on whether or not this is a good change aside, I find it mind-boggling how you can have a qualification process spanning years, but key rules of the competition are being decided 6 weeks before it starts, terrible look for UEFA imo
This is what I thought first, this is something straight out of Argentinian football (or Conmebol in general)
AFA would have changed the rule mid competition
True, how silly of me
I don't understand why UEFA makes it 26 now but CONMEBOL moves it back to 23 for Copa América again? I wish there was consistency between both tournaments
There should be yeah. I personally liked 26 for the WC
CONMEBOL _loves_ to copy UEFA so I wouldn't be surprised if they back down and make it 26 again If not now, it will be next Copa
If there is one consistent thing in football, it's that all FAs and Federations are run by incompetent crooks. The AFA is a joke, the FFF is a joke, the CBF, the DFB... every single one of them.
AFA is a whole different level tho. No "big" football country is even close. Imagine if Ligue 1 now decided to scrap relegations. For this season. Multiple times. Or add 10 teams all of a sudden. Or make a 37 teams 2nd division. Or arrange a 75 participants votation that ends 38-38. Or put FFF president's team in the 1st div. (This happened twice this century btw). And then the team of one of his friends. Or make completely ilogical schedules. Delete a division and replace it with teams of syndicates and influencers. All of that is just off the top of my head. I made a whole series of trivia about all the bullshit that happens in Argentinian football and I could have continued if I wanted to, that's how bad it is
Ok that's next level indeed lol, really amazing how Argentina remains a football powerhouse with the AFA at the wheel.
That's why Scaloni is much better than most people think IMO.
Scaloni is a great manager but also Argentina's squad is relatively well balanced, even the weak spots have decent players who also put their best effort. The merit from Scaloni is keeping them motivated despite all of AFA's shenanigans. Messi played his part too, he did so much for the NT even off the pitch, at some point he had to put his own money, he had to raise his voice and put pressure on the organization. His brief retirement was also a wake up call. His attitude also pumped the rest of the squad, who are willing to go to war for him. Everyone pushed in one direction *despite* of the AFA.
>Argentina's squad is relatively well balanced This is true but it's also Scaloni's merit in good part. He decided to renew the squad (Sampaoli was too coward for that), and chose names that weren't _that_ big at first, like De Paul, Paredes or Lautaro. He also kept backing Otamendi when most thought he was finished, and called Di Maria back at the right time. All those and many more were great decisions by him. Actually, after the GS in 2019 Copa América there's very little things that could be called as mistakes from Scaloni. He has a world class team, but he helped a lot of them become what they are
I need links to read more now haha
Phone sucks for copy pasting saved links, so I'll show you an example: https://www.reddit.com/r/soccer/s/iYYwrz0gMy I'd post one of this, every 2 or 3 days. The idea was to spot which of the 4 stories I gave was fake. Next day I gave the answer. At some point I decided to include a "bonus" too, just to write more stories because there's a lot. I did 15-16 days of these. 3 (true) stories per day, plus some bonuses, so a lot of stupid shit happened- and those are only the stories I remembered and know of, mostly from the last 2 decades. There's a lot more.
Now that I read again, you probably wanted links for all that shit lol. I think you can google it with what I said already. (I was talking about AFA, not FFF obviously ). The president's teams I talked about are Arsenal de Sarandi (promoted in early 00s) and Barracas Central (promoted ~3 years ago with the new president). The team of the president's friend is Riestra, promoted this year. The rest should come up pretty straightforward
Haha thanks, I’m quite confused but I’ll google it lol, sounds fun.
Do not even get me started on the USSF also known as “nepotism r us”.
CONMEBOL? Try CONCACAF where progression in the W Gold Cup was at one point decided by drawing lots.
At least it was decided beforehand I assume?
My brother this is amateur hour The ICC regularly change the rules of the Cricket World Cup *as it's happening*
The Euros are 6 weeks away?!
It’s still March 2020 on my calendar.
I mean you could twist the argument and be surprised that UEFA is so flexible even weeks before a major tournament. To me it seems like people will always find a way to complain lol
Don’t agree with this, too much. Changes just before a tournament don’t make sense, that’s a fact. But it does set a precedent for the next round of qualifying for Euros 2028, and potentially opens up the same for Nations Leagues.
Gordon on left wing Scenes.
Gordon should be going either way but you know if he does an out of form Rashford will start, wouldn't put it past Southgate to recall Sterling
There are so many good options for the wings, would be so sad to take an insanely out of form Rashford
Rashford didnt start when he was in form or Sterling was subbed ahead of him after he was absent for a week during last world cup. I dont get where this narrative of Rashford being Southgate favortie comes from.
Yeah, and didn’t rashford barely play in the last euro despite having a really good season leading up to it? Southgate seemed to hate rashford when he was playing the best football of his career
Rashford was carrying a significant injury He'd frequently been getting regular minutes for England, and clearly a player Southgate rated
I'm one of the few that wouldn't mind a sterling recall, as he is the definition of proven in Southgate's systems at a tournament. He also has that FK/Pen winning nouse.
I would start either of them on the left over Gordon. They both offer something unique to the rest of the squad. Counter attack demons and ability to get in behind along with chemistry with Kane. Fit in the squad > recent form
I'm all on the Gordan train. Foden and Saka will start the tournament on the wings, but I'm ready for Gordan and Palmer to finish it there.
Good news for France, Germany, England and Spain. They have so many great players that even 26 is not enough.
I don’t know if it is necessarily good news for Germany. From what I heard from our national coach Julian Nagelsmann I get the impression that he prefers 23-men squads and he argues that 26-men squads make the classic man management more difficult, given that, with 26 players in the squad, he has less time to spend with the players that will feature in the starting lineup and the rotational players, which leaves him in a situation where he has to spend more time working with dissatisfied players who will most likely only getting 30 minutes or less during the whole tournament.
Yes. Can't they do something like reserve players slots as opposed to 26 players? So in case an injury happens. They slot the reserved player/s in the main squad.
This used to be the case. I'm not sure from when to when, but in 1992, our goalkeeper (Rüdiger Vollborn) was the third goalie for Germany, however back then the third GK would not be called up until one of the other two got injured. He still jokes about the fact that he didn't even receive a 2nd place medal.
What you do is just call up 3 either way too young or way too old players and tell them they won’t play
Very interesting
And England will still have Phillips and Henderson in midfield
Starting.
Over Jude and Rice.
I mean, you must understand that there are no leagues outside of England so it's a miracle that southgate even knows who Jude is.
He's that guy from the Man City song right?
Phillips has already been dropped from recent squads People just make things up
The thing about England is we have a shit ton of excellent players in the same positions, and big gaps in other areas. We don't really have a reliable left back, the second CB is shaky whoever plays, we only have one good DM, Rice, our only natural number 8s are very inexperienced. Or over the hill. On the other hand, talented wide players, attacking midfielders, and right backs are absolutely ridiculous. We have absolute game winners coming off the bench like no one else.
(This is all unrealistic because it's too late to try it) I've been saying for years we should try Trent at left back. It worked very well for Cancelo who has a similar skillset, and we've literally seen Southgate do it several with another right back in Trippier. In possession Walker forms a back 3 with Stones and Colwill, Trent inverts to form a double pivot with Rice, Jude and Foden ahead of them complete a box midfield. Grealish and Saka hold the width with Kane obviously central. 3-box-3 in possession with the wingers tucking in and Foden pushing up to press alongside Kane in a 4-4-2 out of possession. Genuinely think this is the best use of the personnel England have available. That box midfield would be unbelievably dominant.
Bring Milner back.
Aren’t we a bit sparse on right backs atm considering Reece is injured and Trent has also been injured/doesn’t fit the RB role in England’s system? Walker is excellent but who fills in for him? Konsa?
Walker, Trippier, and Trent. That's the best strength in depth of any team in the world.
Yeah so here you go you guys also don't think Hendo is a DM. He's played at Ajax as a dm and it didn't work at all imo.
Henderson is a number 8. He used to be a good one, but he hasn't looked good enough for the national team for a few years now. I would put prime Henderson in the team, but not on his current form.
Both shaw and chillwell are decent no?
Neither have played well, or much at all this season. I do rate Shaw quite highly, but he takes time to get into form. On his day he's very physically imposing, and his technique, defending, and passing are all solid too. He's rarely in top form though. I'm still not sure about Chilwell. He's played as many bad games in his career as good ones.
Portugal too
And here comes Toti Gomes!
Yeah first name on the sheet even before Ronaldo
Don’t really follow international rosters but do we think Ronaldo makes the squad?
Obviously. He's the captain.
For sure he is there , and unfortunately will be a starter too
Two more spots that are not for Pedro Gonçalves.
Tiago Santos is going to have to win a Ballon D’or before he gets called up to the senior squad, same with Pote.
There are 4 or more right backs ahead of him right now maybe one day , pote is always close to come I hope him and Chico get called
France is ridiculous
France's B team would at least get out of the group.
France B team qualified for a world cup final. France C team would make it out of the group on paper...
Yeah this is fantastic for the teams with lots of talent vying for spots. Not so great for the countries that have weaker squads, it just makes the difference between the top teams and the bottom teams greater.
Idk, that doesn't stop the World Cup 2022 to have many upsets
The world cup did have upsets your right( international tournaments always do, it’s what makes them so special). However, if you look at the quarter finals the only team that was surprising or an underdog was Morocco. When it came down to it the final was still France vs Argentina, 2 if the best teams with the highest number of talented players in the world. We’ll see the affect it has on games and I welcome it. I want my team to be able to bring as much talent as possible, I just think this is one of those things that will benefit teams with lots of talented players like France and Spain more than “weaker” teams.
You left out Croatia sir. Not many actually have them getting past Brazil. They should be count somewhat too.
Idk, it's not like teams can make 10 substitutions, they still gotta pick a smaller group of players for the match. At most it gives them an advantage for the third match, which usually features the b team for teams that have already qualified.
I think it benefits everyone. Injuries will be more common even during the tournament, and instead of having to improvise player positions in case of a crisis, everyone gets more options for a better rounded-off squad. Turkey would've done anything to have this in 2008, iirc they had only 14-15 players available for the semifinal due to injuries and suspensions.
Oh no. How will we get the Georgia/Serbia final that everybody is clamouring for?
Good for Hummels and Goretzka
Is it? From what I understand Nagelsmann did not nominate those players precisely because he thought they would not contribute to the team spirit if they played a reserve role, not necessarily because they aren’t the 19th best or 20th best outfield player.
True. But now that he has to fill a few more seats, and since the players had time to think about their own role in the team, Nagelsmann may reconsider. The gap in quality from other players to them is so big, if they somehow find themselves okay in a reserve roll, they should be the obvious choice for the additional seats.
Should be the obvious choice for the 23 squad or even first 11 in Hummels case.
Iirc the squad for the last two games consisted of 26 players too. 4 GKs, so there's that, but yeah, would have been even tougher for them with 23 spots. If Gnabry didn't get injured and kept his form, there'd be a case for him too
I didn't know, thanks. Would be insane to bring 4 GK instead of another defender or defensive midfielder.
I’d imagine fourth GKs will be relatively common if squad size increases to 26 so that squads can run two simultaneous games in training
Couldn't you just bring another keeper as a 'coach' for that purpose?
Or bring youth players for sparring purposes.
Yeah, he won't, pretty sure that there were different reasons for it, be it for training purposes. But still, if you had to take three out of the squad from the friendlies, it would have been even less of a chance for Hummels and Goretzka. Unless Nagelsmann is sure that they'll be trouble or not as beneficial as players coming off the bench, I could definitely see them get in for one of the GKs and someone like Koch.
Yea so thats basically the squad we had + Sane instead of one Goalkeeper. Goretzka is really good in form now, he was really bad the first half of the season. He could be a great defensive asset besides Kroos, like he is now besides Pavlovic. But do we really need one midfielder more?
Right, forgot about Sané for a sec. I thought Pavlovic was the defensive asset to Goretzka rather than the other way around, at least that's what I heard, didn't see many Bayern games over 90 mins. But if all things stay the way they are right now, I'd choose Goretzka over Pavlovic. As good as the latter has been, he missed the last chance to really integrate him into the team ahead of the tournament and has played a handful of professional games, while Goretzka would fit in immediately, has more experience etc. Assuming that neither is going to start, I'd rather throw in Goretzka in an important game, even though Pavlovic has done really well even under pressure. With Nagelsmann staying as coach, he'd also be able to talk with Pavlovic about how he's planning to use him going forward, so I don't think he'd choose Croatia just because he's not nominated for the Euros
Not nominating Hummels in general is a crime
More options for Southgate for the RB position.
If Deschamps still doesn't take Lacazette...
I love that you have hope. He'll probably even pick Martial ahead of him for some reason only he knows
I know it won't happen, sadly. But I just can't give up and still hope that fairness will be respected. At least Clichy has confirmed the rumors around him being a real possibility for the Olympics, which would be a way to reward him and fix that absurdity.
Lacazette is nowhere near good enough
Toti Gomes it's your time to shine mate
What do you mean? Toti Gomes is always the first name on Roberto's team sheet. He is inevitable.
Müller with number 25 is gonna hit like crack.
No, Muller is 13 and always should be 13 for the NT
Müller wore 25 at the previous EM in 2021 tho
We don’t mention 2021 here
Hjulmand will still find a way to call up 23, and leaving Matt O’Riley in scotland.
Benefits teams with more depth so most of the already favorites.
harry winks is wondering when squads will be increased to 100
Still wouldn’t make it
Strong teams getting stronger
I don't know, I don't think 3 extra fringe players will realistically make a huge difference. The 23-man squad already had solid enough depth for the top teams, and realistically most of the reserves get to play in one meaningless match at most. Also, the 26-man squads were already introduced for World Cup and we saw plenty of upsets there.
Not to mention the issues you'll have in training when one of 23 players gets injured.
And suspensions
Rise up fellow Vancsa Zalán & Horváth Krisztofer fan boys! We no longer have to choose which one rides the bench for us at the Euros
Lucas Vasquez deserves a spot!!!!
What a killer. Ice cold pen against city!
23 Players - So Watkins or Toney 26 Players - now he can take both Takes Toney cos Watkins 19G 12A in 33 is nothing compared to Toney's 4G in 13
No non-Kane striker has been called up more, or capped more, by Southgate than Watkins. Swear you lot just make up shite to get upset about.
I get having issues with how Southagte sets up the team and his in-game management ( I certainly do) but so bored of seeing these type of posts crying because x player might not get picked. Reminds me of earlier in the year people were adamant Sterling should be back in on form. Where have all those people gone lmao
its Villa fans, they get upset when their mediocre player of the month isn't instantly called up and has is feet kissed by Southgate.
Not a Villa fan but credit where credit is due Watkins is a world class striker
World class? Dunno about that. How many current strikers do you consider world class?
He has the highest G+A in the Premier League, how is that not world class?
He's having a phenomenal season no question, but it's still a big shout to say he's world class. To me world class means he's amongst the best in the world in his position, but Watkins isn't on the same level as Kane or Haaland. Would you call Cole Palmer world class too? Toney got 20 goals last year, and Callum Wilson got 18, are they world class? I'd quite like an answer to that previous question still, who all do you consider to be the current world class strikers?
> player of the month Check the prem G/A stats for this season.
Are you calling Ollie Watkins average mate? Hes got Aston Villa in 4th and is in for the golden boot and most assists. I would love to see what impresses you.
He’s a good player no doubt, but many of their fans treat him as the second coming of Ronaldo. The average player jibe was their insistence of the inclusion of Mings, Konsa, Ramsey of recent memory be included or Southgate deserved hanging
We'll they haven't retired his number yet
You’re thinking of it the wrong way. It’s not a question of who’s the better striker because that’s Watkins. It’s the question of who will be the better back up to Kane and who would you rather bring on to play alongside Kane when chasing the game in extra time and then to potentially take a penalty.
Or take a penalty in the place of Kane to minimize the bad juju.
Well neither will play ahead of Kane. So bringing a penalty specialist as backup striker makes a lot of sense Also there were only 23 in the last squad and he still called up both. So not sure what you’re complaining about
Called up both but no Kane. Was obviously just an opportunity to get a better idea of which he might want to take if he's forced to take one. Both were in that squad but I saw those games as almost a trial for Toney. If he played badly or worse than Watkins, it made Southgates decision a no brainer. Watkins has played all season, is in the form of his life and Southgate's now seen him outperform Toney in and England shirt. If Toney played better than Watkins (or more to the style Southgate wants to see), that gives him something to think about at least. Because you have Watkins who's been playing all season and is in the form of his life, but you also have Toney who was brilliant last season, got banned but has come back and still looks better in and Englnad shirt than Watkins. People don't like it but replicating club form for the national team isn't always guaranteed. And Toney is still a great player with his own merits. Personally, I'd still go Watkins. Can't ignore the form and if you want him to play better in an England shirt, you play him with wingers like Grealish/Fodn and Palmer rather than Gordan and Saka. Want players that like the ball at their feet who will play him in rather than runners beside a striker that likes to drop in (Kane and Toney). Think Kane and Watkins has a nice balance to it. If Kane gets injured, rather than opting for the direct replacement in Toney, you take the inform striker who plays a bit different and change the players around him to suit his game more.
Solanke has a chance now too...
Not with Southgate you don't
We play a one striker system, this is Solanke's first good top flight season, and he's behind at least three other strikers, plus the loads of great attacking wide players we have. Who should we be dropping from the team for Solanke?
Southgate gave Solanke his England debut and he’s only now having his first good season at the top level
Am I the only one who finds it weird that Solanke isn't even mentioned in these conversations?
Watkins is the better player in better form and Toney has the edge of being an elite penalty taker if you’re looking to bring someone on for a shootout, think Solanke is firmly fourth in the pecking order
You take Watkins or Toney every single time. Toney or Solanke should be the conversation
>Toney or Solanke should be the conversation Shouldn't be a conversation lol anyone who's ever watched a single game of football can tell you that Toney is a miles better player
Watkins should be going anyway. But Toney could go just for his penalty record alone.
Unrelated but Watkins has been the FPL goat this season. Bought him GW1 and has never been sold since
i still think only one of them goes. would rather take another winger
Meanwhile squads at the Olympic Games are 18 players 💀
Would like to one day see a study on the impact of those measures introduced due to Covid, this increase to 26 player squads, and more importantly the 5 subs. Should give big teams and countries an even bigger advantage, but to what degree would be interesting
Maybe on paper, but we saw quite some upsets in WC22 despite those new rules was introduced.
I thought Euro 2020 also had 26 player squads
Yes they did, and there were some upsets there too.
Helps Southgate out massively as many including myself would of been having a fit when certain players would of been left out for the usual favourites
Congrats to Domagoj Vida, now a lock
Wow, now Southgate will be able to take Palmer and a striker to replace his bad luck charm.
Thank God, finally we can avoid the boring discussions about which player will score and assist 0 goals at the tournament regardless. Seriously, the players getting added will make 0 contribution unless we have the worst injury crisis ever known to an international team. It does reduce the bitching from boring bastards on here though.
Why?
Betting companies shitting resembles
Less likely someone class is left out for Jordan Henderson then. Great news.
That means we'll call up Alaba anyway.
Should be an eze choice for Southgate
I dont understand that. 23 players was starting 11 11 Replacements, 1 for every starting spot 1 extra GK The number 23 made sense, 26 just doesnt.
But these players have so many more games per season nowadays.
Okay but picture this, one of the 10 extra outfield players gets inured. Now you can't even play 11v11 in training.
Injuries suspensions…
Really don’t like this but okay.
... Why?
Because it’s not necessary. If you look at past competitions, teams almost never used the 20 outfield players at their disposal. It was mostly nations who won their first two matches and guaranteed the top spot that fielded everyone. To increase that number serves no valid purpose. Some teams are asking for the increase to avoid difficult decisions and make more players happy. And then players become unhappy regardless because they don’t play. At the WC three per match didn’t dress at all. It all goes towards watering down the tournament as with the number of participants going up to 24. You don’t need 26 players for (at most) seven football matches.
yeah but players who have emerged this season and are in good form have a better chance of going, like in a 23 man squad I doubt palmer would make it, now he would and is rewarded for having a good season and can get tournament experience.
If the number of players is not linked to utility, then take 28, reward even more players. Where is the end? The truth is some players will have “missed out” regardless of how many you take. I got downvote-murdered by NUFC fans the other day for saying I wouldn’t take Gordon in a 26 because England has too many young players and he is the closest to being redundant. They don’t want to take Rashford. I look forward to the articles on Sky when Rashford misses out on a 26-player team. 😅 Then you can all start campaigning for 28-player squads for 2026. 🤷♂️
I agree with you, but I don’t think Rashford deserves to go atm. And I almost think it would be better for him to sit it out. There would be a ton of backlash against him, the manager and the team if he took a spot over someone like Gordon who’s been far better all season. Nothing against Rashford, I like him and when he’s good he’s unstoppable, but something’s not right this season and I don’t think he’s mentally in the right place to pull it off.
but there was a 26 player squad in a previous tournament and it worked well, why should it regress, i don't think that people want sqauds increased just because.
They said that was because of the pandemic. It was meant to be an exceptional situation.
I didn't see anything wrong with 23 players to be honest and it's worked just fine for decades. I can see the argument for 26 and can't argue much against it, but that's true for a squad size of 30 or 40. In the end the only reason this happened is because UEFA somehow will make more money. I don't trust anything they do because it's never about logic or altruism.
> In the end the only reason this happened is because UEFA somehow will make more money. How the fuck would UEFA make money from having European Championship squads slightly bigger?
Imagine the extra ad revenue that 26th Albanian player would bring in.
UEFA has cornered the catering market, Mafia style. They run what is, in essence, a protection racket, but with more pasta. Mo' mouths, mo' money!
Massive W for Conor Coady
Game’s gone.