Canada are a strange side, full of energy and good to watch but so tactically naive.

They haven't been walks in the park but equally we have had favourable draws. We firstly had Colombia who were missing their best player at the time and are far from one of the World's elite even though they have some handy players, and we only just got there via penalties. We then had Sweden who were really average and then we met our match in Croatia who themselves were possibly at the peak of their powers but were still not a France, Brazil or Belgium. It was our inability to beat Belgium that saw us fortunately get onto a much weaker half of the draw in what was an otherwise very poor group. Go forward 2 years when many of the games were in England, comfortable enough group, then the toughest knockout draw we have probably had under Southgate. It was a Germany in transition but it was a really good win, had we gone a goal up early or a goal down obviously it may have been different and either of those situations would not leave me with much optimism in Southgate. Then we got a very easy quarter final and then the most favourable semi finalist, a Denmark side missing their best player and it took a dodgy penalty to win that. So yeah, we definitely have had favourable draws in the last 2 tournaments. Our record under Southgate is good against lower opposition, my fear/expectation is that when we come across one of 5 or 6 heavyweights, our game management would let us down. France have been consistent throughout Deschamps' tenure, he is quite pragmatic and sometimes picks more safety first choices but they always seem in control of the big games.

I don't think that it is anything to do with being a sexy name. Ultimately if he had left prior to this World Cup, then you would have to rate his tenure as a success. But as I said, international knockout tournaments are not necessarily going to conjure up the best team as the winner, as they are massively reliant on luck, if it was a league then every team obviously plays each other home and away but Southgate has had incredible fortune in the draws that we have had. We have flair players that have only really emerged in the last couple of years, but their international form and how they are used is not comparable by a man who is very pragmatic to the point of not getting the best from his players. If we played a big nation in the knockout rounds, I would not trust Southgate to be tactically savvy enough to win a game having scored early, nor would I have faith in him to turn a game that we were losing in. It is a good foundation to have a squad that seemingly enjoy playing for their countries, but that alone won't overcome top sides.

No chance do QPR get promoted under him. His stock was high well beyond what he has actually achieved (literally just a good run of form to start the season) and Rangers are a bigger club than QPR and probably can offer a far bigger wage. I bet he regrets his previous choice to stay. Wolves has just appointed a manager with the calibre far beyond what Beale would offer. An absolute joke, there should be limits on how many games can be moved within a set period of time. Sky as ever putting no thought into supporters.

I don't think that Southgate has lost lots of goodwill in that I don't think he had much to begin with, I think the majority of England supporters (impossible to quantify I admit) don't rate Southgate and would prefer someone else in charge. Agreed on the motivation point, impossible to know for sure on the outside but I think that is what Southgate is good at. That will only take us so far and he for me has obvious tactical deficiencies that will always limit us. The thing with international tournament football is that the best country will not always win, one bad day and you are done and in the last 2 major tournaments we have had incredibly lucky paths to the latter stages with really fortunate draws. Our 2 previous eliminations came against quality opposition whereby we scored early goals and had no tactical know how on how to then adapt from there. I also have never felt that he is the man to get the best out of our better attacking players, notably Phil Foden who Pep Guardiola and a blank chequebook still trusts implicitly to start and perform in the very big games, he is a special talent and should be the main man yet he is so far down the pecking order with a poorer manager who simply cannot get the best from him.

I wouldn't fret too much as we are almost certainly through either way. But Wales are shocking. I don't think its a motivation thing either. Southgate is lacking tactically and it is no surprise that our 2 tournament eliminations have come from an inability to manage an early lead. We also have a lack of ability to control games through our midfield as athletic as it may be, and the inability to build a team around Foden is bizarre.

Just piss poor that well paid pundits know very little about the other teams and everything is about England.

You agreed with bringing Henderson on?! Crazy decision. Mount must know a secret about Southgate as he plays regularly over superior players. I don't want to see constant, regurgitated interviews, I want them to talk about the game they are bloody showing! The lack of knowledge and research is astounding, the pundits should know in depth the various teams but it usually goes half an hour in the England camp, then maybe 2 minutes talking about the main player for the teams playing, always the same one.

Denmark and France was one of the more eye catching games of the group stages, yet the build up will seemingly be dominated by England (and Wales) reaction. Boring.

Absolute crap last night from start to finish and nothing to be excited about against a side that was nothing more than ok. This love affair with Mount is so strange, he is bang average and is not a top level player, all whilst Foden who is the best player aside from maybe Kane is criminally underused. Southgate is a really limited manager and it is not hard to outsmart him. He settled for a draw after an hour and the Henderson sub was laughable.

Yeah he is an odd selection even as a squad player. I think they are much more pragmatic than they have been in years gone by.

People are just commenting on a game in a seperate group in the opposite side of the draw. Brazil were hardly amazing and I dont see anyone implying that they were as such. I have seen loads of people credit England the other day but you seem to have such an overwhelming obsession and paranoia about it that you cannot allow conversation about other teams without assuming that it must somehow be a dig at England. I just dont get it and surely it must remove any potential of you enjoying any game aside from ours?

What a goal that is!

😂 everything must come back to England! Not been a good watch, Serbia are a good side and Brazil's attacking talents have not had their best games.

I disagree as you can only play 7.

As you touch on, it is the relentless obsession with turning every single discussion into England based discussion that frustrates. There are 32 teams and so many different sub plots to the tournament, including Saudi Arabia and to a lesser extent Japan pulling off shocks. I have been watching the games on their individual merits, not comparing everyone to England. Pedri, Busquets and Gavi are for me the best trio in the competition, that doesn't mean that I think that Spain are the best side in it because I have question marks over both their defence and surprisingly after today, their cutting edge. But that was a standalone comment that didn't require another England debate. For what it is worth, I think Bellingham is an excellent talent, Foden is our best player aside from Kane, Rice is a very good albeit not elite holding midfielder and Mount is a decent enough player to have around. And is it is, Iran aren't very good, the majority of their players do not play at a good standard. Costa Rica are poor too, as are Australia, comparing between 3 poor teams (all of whom have been referred to as such) is bordering on pointless.

Spain look very good, albeit against a woeful Costa Rica side. That midfield 3 are the best in the tournament.

100%. The lazy comparisons are rife on TV comparing the 2, but the Japan side is packed full of players playing at the highest level. It is obviously a shock to see them beat Germany, but Japan are no mugs.

Agreed. Should have gone off at half time at 3 up, never mind post injury.

Great.

France can just click into gear, Mbappe is incredible, best player in the world.

Seems like the person in charge of the graphics for ITV is a budding "analyst" with stats including defensive line breaks.

Must every game be about how each team compares to us, whether we can beat them, how individual players compare and how decisions prove how FIFA hate England? Saudi Arabia (even if they aren't an underdog that I will be rooting for) beating Argentina is an incredible story in its own right.

For a team with Van Dijk, not to mention Gakpo, De Jong, Bergwijn etc, Summerville is their best player?!

Saka is deserving of his place, has been performing very well for a while and offers real pace. Performing at a level far above Sterling and Mount. Gary Lineker also has a very good record for England.