Euro 2016 - hype, anticipation and general excitement

me and my 1/8th italian ancestry will be cheering on possibly the most depressingly, mediocre azzurri ever, which is saying something.

catenaccio!

Despite Dechamps this French side is probably the most likable since Les Blues in 1984. Je suis game.

Or '82, for that matter

Pps. Someome point A Hoy Hoy to this thread, he needs to be in on the fun tbh

Spirit of Leicester City still reigns right now so I might have a flutter on I dunno Iceland or someone.

Ha I said the exact same thing about Iceland too, particularly as I'll be spending a week of the tournament there. At the moment money is on France with Croatia each way although I can't see why Germany should be any worse than 2 years ago and fully expect them to step up as usual.

Fancy Lewandowski for top scorer with a cheeky each way on a nicely rested Hazard.

Arent there very good reasons benzema stays home?

The push for ben arfa is silly stuff

Shane long obv top scorer

... for Ireland. One goal.

rooting for the team with the best odds of winning!!!!

Tellin ye now shane long ten goals

http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/359a9782-9633-4a93-83ab-fcf0358a2dce/2121d05d-dbb8-4051-8bdb-c241673c6297.jpg

we're ready

assuming I'm gonna be the sole Wales advocate itt. am good with that

Nonsense, Wales have never been as well supported as they will be in this tournament.

surprised myself at how pleased I am to see wales qualify, I think watching the over-the-top/ironically triumphalist/perfect celebrations of wales fans after the bosnia game has helped

suspect ireland are going to have a brief tournament

but it will feel agonisingly long

we're marginally more entertaining this time around.

i actually think we could get a result off one of the teams in our group. our aggressive anti-football is more of a return to traditional values in which we are open to the possibility of a goal from a setpiece or long ball, rather than the goal ban of the trappatoni era.

agonisingly shane long

why tf are there matches at 1700 GMT btw?

at least I have a chance of seeing those, gonna be pretty awkward getting caught in our workshop study room watching the 2 o'clock kick-offs on the computer

oh there's 2pm as well? bah...

3pm/6pm/9pm CET so 2, 5 and 8 in the UK

yeah, England - Wales for example is 2 o'clock on a Thursday afternoon. wondering if the Guinness Book of Records keeps a track of days when most sick leave has been taken.

shit I'd not even noticed that. I'm the only person in my small office that really gives a shit about football so could probably just ask for a half day w/o constructing a tissue of lies

I took the week off but have to now go to Dubai to work for the first three days, making it a slightly inconvenient 5pm, 8pm, 1am.

11pm actually. That's more doable.

I could probably work out some time off in lieu for key games but it's always the not-key games I end up enjoying most

Pps. Someome point A Hoy Hoy to this thread, he needs to be in on the fun tbh
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 26 May 2016 21:11 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hiya!

What sex tape? Benzema just cant stay away from gross sex scandals can he? He is an amazing striker and seemingly a deeply unlikeable character. (He was all over the underage prostitute mess a couple years back right?)

Im really excited about this tournament. It seems like it could throw up a lot of interesting possibilities. Like who would have tjought wales would be in it with a sound team with one of the best players in the world? If they get lucky and Bale is on FIYAH they could be fun to support. And england are actually worth liking again, unless the white pele ruins everything.

(That makes it seem like i think wales could win it which i obviously dont. But then who knows anymore? Get the Tinkerman for Wales boss)

Didn't really work for Greece, tbf.

I think Turkey could be one of the better outside bets to get to the semi-finals if they can get a result against Croatia.

If James McCarthy can score an important winning goal that gets Ireland through to the second-round I'll have a shitey piece of trivia about how every momentous Irish tournament goal is scored by someone from Castlemilk to wheel out

Never easy for Ireland to win from the smallest football countries, wouldn't take this draw too seriously.

For me, personally, I would take Rashford. I think me and him and our belief and youth could be a match for anyone.

Never easy for Ireland to win from the smallest football countries, wouldn't take this draw too seriously.

What does this mean? Wouldn't place much credence in the apparent spirit shown by Netherlands to salvage a late draw? Agreed.

I was being sarcastic, Ronan. Didn't even watch the match but felt like calling our national team "one of the smallest football countries", as that's what we're heading towards rapidly with our FA tools and managerial fools. And apparently our equalizer was celebrated as if we actually will participate this summer, as if it matters. Wasn't taking anything away from Ireland, au contraire tbh.

Tl;dr: the shoe is on the other foot. Holland is disgrace. It is a crying shame we're even playing these dumb friendlies.

Holland looked totally disinterested in the first half but they perked up a bit once they brought some subs on later in the game

I don't know if it's inspiring or depressing that we're going to the Euros with a striker who made his club debut three months ago.

I'm assuming Studge is out here but at this rate of injuries when it comes to squad culling time Roy will just be sending Andros Townsend off like a banished medieval villager.

sturridge left in, townsend and drinkwater left out of the 23

kein trink wasser

Reus out of the Germany squad yet again, poor bastard.

did wonder if he'd take all 5 forwards given Rooney's multitasking ability. probably a shade harsh on both mids given Milner and Henderson get to go

I don't know if it's inspiring or depressing that we're going to the Euros with a striker who made his club debut three months ago.

Amusing is the word you're looking for.

remind me anything about the scotland team

100% behind our fellow Brits at this summer's tourney.

Reus out of the Germany squad yet again, poor bastard.

and yet schweinsteiger is in after a really ropey season

Shit calls from woy

Rooney so obviously will be fat weight in any xi this tournament

I'm not sure what Barkley brings to the table given that Alli, Lallana and Sterling are all in the squad. He feels like the classic squad player who will come on in the 70th minute of a 1-1 draw in the first game, then not appear at all until extra time of the final game when England are staring down the barrel of imminent elimination on penalties. Doing nothing of note in either.

I know he had that bad performance against whoever in the group, but Deschamps preferring Gignac over Martial all tournament was weird. Surely when Giroud isn't working you go for something different, rather than an even shitter version of the same thing

Martial has been consistently hopeless with the national team - he's had his chance during the pre-tournament friendlies

final was irritatingly dull (i could have gone to the cinema instead) until extra time. i didnt see every single match this year but did seem like most matches had this air of semi-lifeless and playing it safe.

― StillAdvance, Monday, 11 July 2016 12:18 (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Tournament finals are ususally crap though.

The group games were the worst bit, how do you get motivated to win a game if you know not losing 3 games is almost definitely good enough to get you through?

Really? Didn't see the directly pre-tournament games but it seemed like he did well in his first few games. Picked up a few assists iirc

It was the shit dance that he did to celebrate his goals

Yup. That and his nazi haircut.

We turned over for about 10 mins, saw the change ends after the first ex-tim period, then the goal. Match looked quite good.

I take it the rest of the match wasn't.

Still, what's all this about Poland 'shouldn't have won' business? what do you want, another ballot? Um, I mean, a replay?

jamie jackson the worst guardian writer?

What now for England? Forget the Sam Allardyce or Gareth Southgate route. Find an absolute managerial wizard and ask his price. Sit back and watch England become the world and European champions.

lol

well, we do have to admit: anybody can become European champions, and the new booooring 24 teams seemingly further increased this, with Wales reaching the semis.

now world champion, that's a totally different story.

they simply need to "find an absolute managerial wizard"

what do people think of the 24-team format anyway? i think it's highlighted how poor the supposed big teams really are.

I like the 24 format, but think the group stage should be arranged differently. Eight groups of three, first two to progress, group winners play a number two from a different group, third place goes home. No shenanigans like 'best number three' to go through or whatever.

24 team format execrable - lack of clarity and drama during teh first round, overall too many games also penalising forceful attacking play. Next edition without an organising country should be even worse

next three tournaments will probably kill international football - russia, everywhere, qatar

^^ otm

what do people think of the 24-team format anyway? i think it's highlighted how poor the supposed big teams really are.

The 'big teams' are especially weak at the moment.

A lot of seemed to come down to poor management imo

verall too many games also penalising forceful attacking play

this. i mean Northern-Ireland was 1-0 down against Germany, and didn't attack so they would advance, and could play another dreadful game. Imagine when they hád to attack and try to equalize, and Germany scoring 3 more beautiful goals. Maybe even Muller would have scored in this scenario. Ok probably not. :P

Big tearms
Mean nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEQj_xniiJg

Eight groups of three

Instinctively think three-team groups (esp with two qualifiers) are a dubious solution, but the only time they were used (WC82), they only really produced one duff game (Poland happy to hold USSR at bay to go through on goal diff). Elsewhere we had Rossi & Boniek hat-tricks, "it only takes a second to score a goal" - neither Keegan nor Brooking mustering one in 20min, Maradona red, Giresse & Rocheteau. But that was just a fantastic tournament.

Another detail I'd forgotten - order of matches in that second group phase at WC82 was determined by result of opening game. There was a provisional order that was adhered to if the opening game was a draw, but if there was a positive result, the winners didn't play again until match #3.

that is pretty cool.

A lot of seemed to come down to poor management imo

otm

I agree that the laws should be changed so that defending is outlawed and all games are passing and tricks exhibitions, win awarded to the prettiest team

Isn't it accepted wisdom that squads and fans of any qualifying team deserve more than two matches in a tournament?

jamie jackson the worst guardian writer?

What now for England? Forget the Sam Allardyce or Gareth Southgate route. Find an absolute managerial wizard and ask his price. Sit back and watch England become the world and European champions.

― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Monday, July 11, 2016 2:21 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

given that every other writer's answer is a variation on "forget it they're fucked" I could believe he might have gone for a challop just for a bit of colour, but he actually says the same thing earlier on in his bit as well. so in conclusion, yes Jamie Jackson the worst Guardian writer

24 teams

First round = 12 groups of 2 Winners go through

12 losers play in 4 groups of 3 for the final places

sorted.

(12 groups of 2 will play to extra time/penalties etc)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CnGYIa7WEAA3qZF.jpg

Kimmich was shit.

Boateng wasn't all that either

feel like that team deserves one more Frenchman (not sure who though)

No brady fuck off

Guardian put Clark AND Whelan in their Flops of the Tournament team, but only had Sterling and Hart from England...

what a bizarre list

Griezmann was selected by UEFA's 13-strong panel of technical observers, also including Sir Alex Ferguson, Alain Giresse, David Moyes, Packie Bonner, Mixu Paatelainen, Savo Milošević, Peter Rudbæk, Gareth Southgate, Thomas Schaaf, Jean-François Domergue, Ginés Meléndez and Jean-Paul Brigger.

packie bonner

Mixu Paatelainen! WTF? How did he get that gig?

deeply resent me having to be the one to point out that krychowiak pissed over everyone but kroos

defenders defender award goes to domagoj vida