To ask why the England team (the men) keep falling at the final hurdle, (well virtually at the final hurdle,) at the football World Cup ... and The Euros too?

[GorgeousSpringtime]

Not an England-team bashing thread, but why, oh WHY do they - the men - keep falling at the final hurdle (well, virtually the final hurdle,) every time at the football (soccer) World Cup - and the Euro Cup too...?

They do so well, and get so far, and then BANG they're out. Nearly always in the top 8, or top 4, (and the top 2, in the World Cup once, and a couple of times in the Euros I think,) but never the winner. (Not since 1966 anyway!)

Is it nerves? Is it that they're so anxious to win that they keep making silly mistakes? Are they just not quite good enough? WHAT IS IT? Why do they keep getting so close, but just never manage to get the win?!

As I said, I am not bashing them, and they did well, and I am proud of them, but I just get so frustrated that they can't quite ever get the win!

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This! I thought the ref did well to be honest- we were outplayed and the move to defensive play left us little chance to counter attack.

But that’s football - the team you love can be beaten, you can be relegated, you can win the toughest games and lose ones you should win. Sometimes I hate football and sometimes I love it!

If the VAR sees serious foul play the ref has missed they can intervene.

It’s very obvious that the Argentinian players said something. Likely forgetting Bellingham can speak Spanish.

You should apply to be the England manager.

Def agree with your second half taking the game to them but not with first half ,of course they wanted to win and some are playing after recovery from really nasty nasty injuries.

That was definitely the problem. We were going great guns, right up until Tuchel decided to take Gordon off and have a 5 in defence. Just nuts to do that with at least 30 minutes to go against a side like Argentina. The lads didn't stand a chance really. I'm absolutely gutted for them.🦁🦁🦁

Simply because they’re reeeeealy good, but not the best in the world, so it’s a pretty accurate representation of their very impressive talents. Did you see France play this tournament? The most incredible football I’ve ever seen in my lifetime, but yet they are out at the same point as us. Not all teams can win. I get the disappointment because they could have won, so could have France, but we did do brilliantly. Our problem this time was sitting back and getting defensive one goal up far too early. That’s fine against teams like Norway, but not Argentina. Defending with messi round the goal for half an hour is never going to go well and unfortunately it didn’t. When we were on the front foot we played some incredible football yesterday; would have loved to see a second half like that. Then if we’d won or lost we’d have not fallen back on the old English approach of caution and sitting back deep. Unleash those lions! We did bloody well. And Thomas Tuchle’s subs bar last night were all a great call, so there’s still so so so much to be encouraged by. Well done boys!

No he doesn’t. What has he done to make you post this?

That is twisted mentality. You can’t go into a game and think oh I’m not as good as the team I’ve got I’m trying to beat.

This is what’s hard to take. If the decision had been different.

I think we all know who the 'prick' is

At the end of the day, its a funny old game and you couldnt write a script like this. A win is a win though: both teams were playing at a high level, the other team just wanted it more. I'm happy with the way our guys performed today, we're not quite there yet, but we're getting closer. If it had been on target, it would have been a goal

Its a game of two halves, goals win games, and its no use being as sick as a parrot, though were going to have nightmares over that one for years.

This mentality is sick. It drives down into children if they’re not the first they are crap.

Horrible isn’t it. To be that talented, young and carrying the team and you still get posts like that one from the pp.

Which is absolutely right. Second is first loser. 3rd or 4th is pathetic and not worth writing home about.

Ireland are the same. Not a world class team.

Difference is we celebrate our team getting anywhere.

Okay, England are a better team! But not number one.

Also, winners have the edge. Argentina had that.

Defo true but the team also sat back after the goal and before the subs. So a whole team thing and something defo not alien to England. Maybe a fear response / protection that I was hoping Tuchel was more detached from. He’s done great so don’t wanna lay into him at all but would have loved to see a positive set of subs at that point, boost the confidence and blast the balls to Bellingham and Kane. As you say things were looking pretty beautiful before that!!

It doesn’t matter what you think you saw, OP hasn’t edited her post from ‘failing’ to ‘falling’, which is what you seem to be implying.

They've got form for this. I wouldn't normally bite but Jude Bellingham has impressed me so much. I'm sure he couldn't care less what a bitter, ill-informed mumsnetter thinks of him.

To an extent they do, but very few other countries tear their team down in the way the English press do.

thats the big difference. Other places build up their team and then celebrate the successes they did have whereas the English media build them up and build them up and then tear apart the disaster of not winning (and very often have a specific player who ends up being at “fault” for it).

and sadly another opportunity for some more domestic violence too...

Argentina are the best team in the world right now. Which is mental they cheat so much as they don't need to. England were just outplayed last night but honestly I feel like they really played their hearts out. I'm proud of them.

The manager was at fault yesterday- clear tactical error and Argentina are very very strong plus Messi appears to be impossible to hold.

Absolutely nothing to do with desire or being overpaid millionaires (as literally EVERYONE on the pitch was). These England players had so much desire and character throughout this tournament. They really really wanted it. But it was impossible to hold on with 10 defending against absolute non-stop Argentinian attack. Manager at fault. He read the game wrong and made the wrong substitutions.

No, if they are not first they are not crap, they just don’t have the ability, the talent nor the mentality to win. Anyone wanting to be an elite athlete giving them a sweetie for taking part is not good enough.

A combo of a lack of self belief in the past, hitting them mostly on penalty shootouts, but last night was purely down to woeful tactics. You don't defend with 30 minutes to go and take off attacking players. Gordon has had a fantastic tournament, scores our only goal and he takes him off. Tuchel cost us that match.