FIFA WORLD CUP 2026 - DISCUSSION AND WATCHALONG THREAD ⚽️. Part 2

[placemats]

The other one is full

Agree, Tuanzebe played for us for a bit and wasn't half bad. Definitely don't underestimate them.

Whoever we face, I'm afraid I have lost confidence. Unless we face a massive kick up the arse, we will be nowhere near the final. Bellingham isn't as good as he thinks he is, although I am a fan. My concern for him is that his temper is going to be used against him at a crucial stage of the tournament. He did seem to have calmed down last night so i take it he was spoken to. I'm just getting Beckham Argentina vibes.

The Guardian made the very good point thay there are a lot of good forwards who don't seem to work together. 'Lampard and Gerrard: the Revenge' made me laugh.

The Beckham debarcle didn’t seem to stop his popularity for too long. It would these days with social media. He had a bit of hate, but now it would be relentless wouidnt it. What he did was worse than Southgate’s infamous penalty miss in my opinion and that was bad enough for him.

Beckham was booed every time he kicked a ball and the chants about Victoria were disgusting. It wasn't just a little bit of hate.

I'm sort of thinking that sending off reshaped him and calmed his ego. Watching his Netflix documentary showed how much our own fans' adverse reaction to him affected him. His reprieve against Greece with THAT free kick, must have given him closure.

Bellingham is considered one of the best footballers in the world. I take it you are not an expert? Just a sofa warrior?

@lovecotswoldsliving I think I will listen to Harry Redknapp on that one. Also, this isn't the bear pit AIBU thread so lighten up. We've all managed to post so far, without getting personal..

That's uncalled for. I agree with @LuckyHazelFox

Let's keep the thread civil.

But you are saying one of our stars is over rated?
You need to be able to justify negative comments.
They celebrated his arrival in Spain and everyone knows who he is.
The same for Harry Kane.
People here seem to love to put people down.

I don’t have a lot of confidence in the team despite the obvious talent there and experience. My main gripe is they don’t seem confident or have enough flair like some of the other countries seem to display.
I don’t follow league football or other international games , only going by the recent England games and the odd ones I’ve seen with France and Portugal.
Of course it’s a difficult game and so on, but years of disappointment is hard to overcome isn’t it! I remember the really bad days of England too when they didn’t even qualify for the WC too! They seem to have come a long way from those days.

Well we will have to disagree.
i think Bellingham is our best player.

Every poster who supports England and other teams is allowed to have doubts and negative thoughts. It's the men's world cup!

So far there's been no trouble at the games, though booing at the 'hydration breaks/advert breaks' amongst the stadium crowds is gaining momentum.

I shall be watching the England match in London. Thankfully it's Wednesday as I'm going to the Palladium on Thursday to see Jesus Christ Superstar!

He's not on the level he believes he is. He is also too hot tempered and can come across as arrogant. I put that down to his youth. His goal last night was a soft one. We've left some game changing players back home. When he was at Blues, he showed humility. He's still got to prove himself on the international scene. If he bails us out/catapults us into a winning and commanding position, I will admit I was wrong.

Lucky you. Have a fantastic time. That will be phenomenal x

Thanks x

It's the same with rugby. Different continents, different attitudes and self belief. Cricket is probably the one international sport in which we hold our own. Ashes excluded!

Out of interest, I just asked my husband who he thinks is the best player. He was a semi professional footballer, so probably in a better position than me, to make a judgement.
He said Bellingham, so I am keeping the faith. He has scored 2 goals and hope he scores more.

His mum used to keep him in line, and at Dortmund as well as at Blues. Unfortunately he seems to be missing her good influence.

Fair enough 👍 let's hope this is the tournament where he establishes himself. I think Kane is the grafter.

I like Kane. He is steady, calm and can score a great goal. I also like Rashford and a lot of the other players. Now we need the passion to come through.

It's is a celebration of fans from different countries coming together. Maybe Trump (and FIFA) has managed to unite us all against his hateful rhetoric in showing diversity is great.

The treatment of the Iran team has been awful as well as the banning of the referee and fans from certain countries. And the fans have been loud in saying this is unacceptable.

Oh absolutely agree 💯

We certainly do. Ghana sat back and were bastards to break through. Not that we tried much. We allowed them to dominate. Panama had nothing to lose last night and were playing for pride. We looked ordinary in the first half. If we faced France tomorrow, I would write us off. I don't think our defence has been tested thoroughly yet either. There's no attacking incision where we take the game to teams.

Uefa gave that ref the supercup in August to attempt to show solidarity, and all the villa fans I know are delighted about it.