England were clearly better than Croatia with a team I wouldn't have selected. Phillips simply was excellent. He was up against two midfielders who would get into any side in world football and he came out on top. He could never have dreamed of doing that before he met Bielsa could he?
Denmark should never have been asked, forced or ALLOWED to play on. But pre-Eriksen's collapse they were looking pretty ragged. Schmeichel made an error that exemplifies why he isn't one of the world's top keepers. Finland scored, because they had a plan to grab a goal; Denmark were just expecting a goal to happen. 0-1 was only an unexpected score line at kick off, by the time of Eriksen's terrible collapse it had become unsurprising. The choice of Hojberg to take the penalty both confirmed that Denmark were no longer mentally present due to Eriksen's illness and that they weren't actually very good at all. The decision to play on was dreadful, but the result was already on the cards in my view. I think UEFA imagined Denmark would go on and win anyway and that's why they pressed them, but as Bob Dylan say, you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Having just watched Scotland, leaving out Adams was nearly as baffling as England's benching of Grealish. How anyone can blame Hendry for the second goal, having looked like one of Scotland's most likely scorers when stepping up from the back, baffles me too. If your goalie takes up a position on a bus just outside the ground I'd say he's pretty culpable when the opposition score from the halfway line. Is Steve Clarke allowed to use the strap under Scottish Law?
I think Scotland also needs to get over its Andy Robertson fixation. He may well be the world's best in his position, but you've got to have other plans. McGinn was permanently marked, McTominay was ineffective, and until Adams appeared Dykes was too obvious a sole outlet having dipped his head in whitewash pre-match. In fact Scotland aren't bad, they need to ensure they don't lose against England so they can capitalise on Croatia's difficulties up front. First step is use Robertson less but more effectively.
Denmark should never have been asked, forced or ALLOWED to play on. But pre-Eriksen's collapse they were looking pretty ragged. Schmeichel made an error that exemplifies why he isn't one of the world's top keepers. Finland scored, because they had a plan to grab a goal; Denmark were just expecting a goal to happen. 0-1 was only an unexpected score line at kick off, by the time of Eriksen's terrible collapse it had become unsurprising. The choice of Hojberg to take the penalty both confirmed that Denmark were no longer mentally present due to Eriksen's illness and that they weren't actually very good at all. The decision to play on was dreadful, but the result was already on the cards in my view. I think UEFA imagined Denmark would go on and win anyway and that's why they pressed them, but as Bob Dylan say, you don't have to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
Having just watched Scotland, leaving out Adams was nearly as baffling as England's benching of Grealish. How anyone can blame Hendry for the second goal, having looked like one of Scotland's most likely scorers when stepping up from the back, baffles me too. If your goalie takes up a position on a bus just outside the ground I'd say he's pretty culpable when the opposition score from the halfway line. Is Steve Clarke allowed to use the strap under Scottish Law?
I think Scotland also needs to get over its Andy Robertson fixation. He may well be the world's best in his position, but you've got to have other plans. McGinn was permanently marked, McTominay was ineffective, and until Adams appeared Dykes was too obvious a sole outlet having dipped his head in whitewash pre-match. In fact Scotland aren't bad, they need to ensure they don't lose against England so they can capitalise on Croatia's difficulties up front. First step is use Robertson less but more effectively.