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Group A & B match 3: Switzerland/France, Romania/Albania, Wales/Russia, England/Slovakia


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They were saying earlier Xhaka's been sent off five times in three seasons for Wolfsburg (three times last season alone). Fuck me.


But anyway I don't understand why the BBC are being so negative about this game. Switzerland, of course, were awesome, and while France's quality was on-and-off, it was quite exciting for a 0-0.

Even if the standout talking point of the game was what broke more easily, the turf or the Swiss shirts.

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I switched over to the Romania/Albania game midway through the 2nd half as the tempo of the other game really dropped off. Fantastic result for Albania. Wonder if three points and -2 goal difference will be enough to see them through. That would be incredible.

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So disappointed in Romania. Shit defending at that goal, little creativity in the attack. They needed to win this to ensure their advanced, yet the team that came on the pitch was still pretty much defensive oriented. Poor tactical plan there.

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1 hour ago, DjourouLoveMe? said:

They were saying earlier Xhaka's been sent off five times in three seasons for Wolfsburg (three times last season alone). Fuck me.

Yeah - I'm not surprised. Re: Last season - he picked up a couple of sending offs and quite a few yellows before December, apparently someone had a word with him and he picked up only one yellow card in the last 16 games.

He's still getting sent off against Liverpool though. 

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The ripping of the Swiss shirts not the only kit problem of the day, France had to play in a modified version of their away kit because having sleeves of different colours is banned. Strange they went to that effort when the home shirt did not clash.

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9 hours ago, DjourouLoveMe? said:

Even if the standout talking point of the game was what broke more easily, the turf or the Swiss shirts.

Don't forget the ball that Behrami killed.

Great team effort of the Swiss, but it was still a lucky result with Payet hitting the crossbar and a couple of other chances by the French. I would've liked to see some attacks, but the Swiss game kind of ended outside the French box. I wonder if this will be enough against the Polish/Germans.

Dzemaili was the only one that stood out for having a really bad day, he was pretty much useless and complained all the time. The rest did a solid job.

France was doing okay, with a solid defence and they proved that they could run some great counter attacks. I think this is probably how they will play against the top teams and I like their chances going forward.

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Wales v. Russia: This is a very poor Russian side. Wales should be able to get a point here at a bare minimum. Going for a 2-0 Wales win.

England v. Slovakia: This one is tougher to call. Slovakia have a couple of players who could cause problems for England. I doubt Hodgson drops Kane which means that Sterling has got to go as Sturridge needs to start this one. Am thinking this will either be 1-1 or 2-1 to England.

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1 hour ago, Les Diables Rouges said:

Wales v. Russia: This is a very poor Russian side. Wales should be able to get a point here at a bare minimum. Going for a 2-0 Wales win.

England v. Slovakia: This one is tougher to call. Slovakia have a couple of players who could cause problems for England. I doubt Hodgson drops Kane which means that Sterling has got to go as Sturridge needs to start this one. Am thinking this will either be 1-1 or 2-1 to England.

I more or less agree with you, except I think this is an appalling Russian side, and the only reason they stole a draw against England was because England repeatedly let their guard down after turning off the gas. I think Wales will win this 3-0. I agree with you that England will most probably beat Slovakia 2-1, but I also think that England are going to be objectively outplayed.

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England v Slovakia should be a comfortable win for England. With Sturridge and Vardy up front we basically need to keep it simple and get the ball up to them quickly. I know we're resting players but Clyne, Bertrand and Wilshere are more than adequate replacements, and Henderson's a decent all-round player. 2-0 England.

Wales v Russia could be a tricky one for the Welsh. Everyone's expecting them to win which is not a position they're used to being in, and the Russians could be tough to break down (like they were against England). 1-1.

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What? That's a crazy amount of changes. Does Roy not care if England are first or third in the group? Not saying it's necessarily a weaker side, but swapping out half the starting lineup smacks of resting players.

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Woah...did not expect England to make so many changes. Slovakia are a decent outfit fully capable of turning England over if this lineup does not gel well. I agree that it does smack of resting players which is quite the risk as England could end up finishing third.

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Bertrand and Clyne are as good as Rose and Walker anyway, and swapping Wilshere for a tired Alli makes sense. Rooney for Henderson is the only strange one. I still think we'll win comfortably. We'd need to lose to Slovakia to finish third which just isn't going to happen.

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At the moment, the draw for finishing second may be more favourable than winning the group for England. Even if there is a small advantage to finishing first, it would be outweighed by having a rested squad. The biggest problem is that the first choice attack has not clicked yet, and this is one of a limited number of chances to get it right before the big games.

I am very pleased that our academy product Ryan Bertrand is starting, in my opinion he is a good deal better than Rose anyway.

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