So the sticks from the enemies resumed after the drab draw against Slovakia on Monday night. I say drab because Slovakia had just one mission and it was straight up defending because a point apparently guaranteed them a place in the 2nd round as one of the best 3rd placed teams. England has to be the most dominant team in this tourney (hope I made sense) with the worst conversion rate and this is a big worry for me.
Mr. Hodgson switched things up a bit with his starting line up and a few eye brows were raised following the omission of team captain Wayne Rooney. For me whenever Rooney doesn’t get to start a game albeit his form is always a cause for worry. The first two games had 5 Tottenham players (Danny Rose, Kyle Walker, Eric Dier, Dele Alli and Harry Kane) in the starting line up but in this final group game against Slovakia Liverpool had the most players in the first eleven with 4 players (Nathan Clyne, Jordan Henderson, Adam Lallana and Daniel Sturridge). And some say if you don’t play for the top 4 teams in the English Premier League (EPL) you don’t have a shot #IDigress.
The game ended goalless with no major talking point. Why debate on a game where chances were not really created? Maybe the draw was a good thing though it would have been nice to have topped the group and faced Northern Ireland. England now face a tricky Iceland team on Monday night. The second round of the tournament is now left with the following 16 teams in these pairings:
- France Vs Republic of Ireland
- Italy Vs Spain
- Germany Vs Slovakia
- Croatia Vs Portugal
- Poland Vs Switzerland
- England Vs Iceland
- Hungary Vs Belgium
- Wales Vs Northern Ireland
The Round of 16 kicks off on Saturday with the Poland versus Switzerland match and the final game of the round comes up on Monday where England come up against Iceland.
My Prefered XI Against Iceland
- Joe Hart
- Kyle Walker
- Danny Rose
- Eric Dier
- Gary Cahill
- Chris Smalling
- James Milner
- Jamie Vardy
- Harry Kane
- Wayne Rooney
- Daniel Sturridge
That’s the line up I would love to see come Monday with a midfield trio of Eric Dier at the base with support from Rooney and James Milner. The forward line should comprise of Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy and Daniel Sturridge in a proposed (lol) 4-3-3 formation.
My Prediction
This is going to be an exciting game because to win you have to play and earn it, yes luck can play a part but will luck turn up for a team that does not come to the party ? England will nick this 3-2 with a possibility of meeting France in the quarter finals.
So happy for Cristiano Ronaldo, not because he scored a brace against Hungary in an entertaining game that ended 3-3 but Portugal also made it to the Round of 16. Ronaldo is a goal shy of Michel Platini’s all time European Final record of 9 and smart money says he would either equal it or beat it on Saturday night. I am not saying Portugal will beat Croatia just saying Ronaldo will score a goal or two.
Thanks for following guys, really appreciate your support. Much love.
For the first time I agree to an English win over Iceland but I dont agree that it will be an exciting match. England is yet to pull an astounding performance in the Euro tourney. That said, England usually crack and breaks into pieces like a poorly moulded clay pot in the Quarter finals of major tournies I doubt if this will be any different when she meets a team that isnt just organized but filled with talents and skills. FRANCE.!!! Till then its so long…….
Lol………… Thanks for reading Akinyele. Bless