Topic: The Push Square Football (Soccer) Thread

@JohnnyShoulder We’ve got different commentators on STV up here!

Yeah, we’re either going to have to get lucky from a corner or Dykes will have to throw off one of those centre backs. It’s a shame because we have a pretty solid squad, just lacking a proper finisher.

Get Jack on!

Well I’ll take that! To be perfectly honest, you’d be hard pushed to pick the better side there. We actually played pretty positively instead of just grinding out a draw.

England and Scotland together got a total of 5 points in 4 matches, with one goal scored.
Italy got 6 points in 2 matches, with 6 goals. I think I'll keep supporting Italy... 🤷‍♂️

@andreoni79 We’re going for 0 goals scored, it’ll be a new record!

Scotland were the better team last night. The fans were better too. Great passion.

Scotland played way better last night. Pretty damning actually, we need Sancho on. How he isn't in that team is beyond me, he's one of the best players in world football yet there's boys from Leeds and West Ham on the pitch. The game was set up for dribblers and he's one of the best.

@themcnoisy Just because they are from so called less fashionable clubs does not necessarily mean they are lesser players. Otherwise it would be as simple as only picking players from the top clubs all of the time.

But England did not play well last night and Scotland did. Kane does not look nowhere near match fit. I wouldn't have taken Foden off either as he was one of our best players.

@themcnoisy I was really quite shocked that Sancho didn’t come on. Taking Foden off seemed like a mistake too. Obviously I’m not a professional manager and Southgate is but Sancho surely deserves a shot.

@JohnnyShoulder would agree with not taking fodden off, he looked your biggest threat and was clearly up for it. Crap gazza wannabe hairdo though 😝

Got to love VAR. It’s a goal! No it’s not. Yes it is!

@nessisonett If that had been in the Premier League the players would still be out there waiting for a decision.

A fun trio of games today which put last nights match to shame.

@JohnnyShoulder but he's Sancho. One of our best player and proven in the CL unlike the lads from other clubs and that experience counts for a ton.

@themcnoisy Since when has that been a requirement to play for the national squad? It is never that simple. Sancho is cleary a very good player but the other attacking options have very similar stats to Sancho last season. Grealish doesn't play in the Champions League but does not mean he shouldn't play. Everyone was raving about Phillips and Rice in the first match, so for them to be dropped would have been very harsh.

So far two of the best italian players have been Locatelli and Berardi and they play in a small Serie A team, Sassuolo.
Verratti, who plays with PSG, may spend the rest of the tournament sitting on the bench.

@andreoni79 I would be really surprised if Italy doesn't make the final. It's pretty great when you're country's team is this good.

I watched (parts of) all matches so far, but I'm going to take a small break probably for the next couple of matches, which I don't expect to be really important. Wake me up for groups E and F, those will be bangers.

@JohnnyShoulder it's not a requirement but surely it helps? If you are regularly going against the best players in Europe - who are mostly in this competition - then it has to be a help.

Sancho is a better player than Grealish, a better player than Rashford, better than Sterling. Yet because he plays in Germany he's on the bench. Seems mad to me.

@andreoni79 Another good performance from Italy means they’re clear favourites going into the knockout stage!

@themcnoisy As alluded by someone else, just because they play in a top team in a top league, does mean they should automatically be selected. It should be whoever is right for the team for the current match. Greece won the tournament once and they certainly did not have the best players, on paper anyway.

And how do you know that is why he is not being selected? Jude Bellingham plays in the same league and has played. Trippier is selected but does not play in England. It could be loads of reasons. It could be his attitude, which has been criticised when playing for Dortmund and he got dropped for it in the past. So to say he is not selected because he plays in Germany, is way off the mark.

@nessisonett And the best part is that today half of the team was made by backups.