Euro 2020 and Copa America Football Tournaments.

Don't get too impressed with England looking poor against North Macedonia. You guys had already qualified. This game meant nothing. It's normal to let the guard down and refrain from trying too hard, lest a player could get injured.

 

Well CF, today Brazil vs Argentina, that will be interesting.

 

Brazil was horrible. They need to fire this interim coach. Many essential players were missing due to injury including two of their three best players (Neymar, Vini Jr) and presumably Brazil would have been better with the multiple missing players, but still, they were terrible, and lost for the first time ever a home game in the WC qualifiers. Now in 6th place! This is unheard of for Brazil. Barely hanging on inside the qualification zone (6 teams qualify directly, the 7th one goes to a playoff). Brazil played violently and committed a huge number of fouls, breaking their own foul record. The game was also marred by shameful behavior by the Brazilian police, who beat the Argentine supporters. A very sad spectacle.

 

That was a horrible game from both sides. Painful to watch.

I could not watch Austria vs Germany, which probably saved my TV

 

A few thoughts of mine.
Hansi became trainer of Bayern in a situation where the best team in world had lost its team spirit, hated Nagelsman.
Till the Flick was a assistant trainer, top of the notch at this job. Many say he was the architect behind the 2014 Worls Cup.
Probably was. AT Bayern all he had to do get those guys back in line and that is what he was allways good about.
Not just good superb.
But here is the problem, somebody else decides who is part of the cadre. Bayern it is the sports director, not the coach, he may have wishes.
Same in 2014, Loew decided and Flick, in my opinion, formed a team behind the scene. Once on his own he failed.
Next case, women National Team, same disaster in Australia. The coach had reached her limit, could not anymore connect with her team, or never really connected.
Men team Rudi Voeller took over for 1 game and they beat France. Rudi was once National Coach, old fashion footbal guy.
Nagelsman takes over, looked good at the start, but then same crap as usual. There is no fire in the Team.
Back to the women, they have to get in the top 4 of the Nation League and then make at least place second, to get to the Olympics.
That looked impossible. Mecklenburger had a psychological break down after the WM. No trainer. First game was managed by her stuff, scrapy win.
But then Germany has a guy called The Kopfball Monster, Horst Hrubesch. He is the ultimate interims trainer. When ever there is a need, that guy shows up and produces results, like nobody else.
Olympics in Rio. Germany did not have a team ready 4 weeks before the tournament started. Most Bundesliga Clubs refused to send their U21. Horst scraped together what he could from 3 and 2 Liga. 4 weeks and he formed a team out of it which won silver. Needed a Neymar, to beat them.
Now he is again interims trainer for the women team and the losing team is a winning machine and the girls love playing again.
Again, because he had that job before and naturally did more than well.
Horst nobody really knows. But when he worked for the German Football Organization he produced a lot of trainers for the U teams, 17 to 21 and they are on a rampage. In that age group Germany is Numero Uno and do on a regular basis what the A team does not do, they win.
Even, and that is the point, that the other teams are better, which is Horst' way. Or what I would call the old fashion German Football, grind them down and make that goal.
There are in this sport/ business, who fly under the Horizon and are actual stars, super stars, like Horst.

My point, how important is it, that the trainer can bring the talent together and motivate to go beyond.
Flick failed at Bayern in the end, Nagelsman, too and both were or are able not to do the job with the A team, men.
And then you got this retired guy who turns around a losing teams in weeks into a winning team

 

German U17 is World Champion

 

Paging @Montegriffo

Brazil win the friendly against England 1-0 at Wembley. Could have been way more as Brazil hit the woodwork once (with Watkins thoroughly beaten) and wasted some incredible opportunities (no fewer than 6 of them, including a sitter in the last few seconds of play). England had only one big opportunity so the expected goals were very much in favor of Brazil.

Endrick, the teenager promise, scored his first international goal for Brazil. Nice!

Brazil have a new coach and they do look a lot better than the team very poorly coached by the former one, who was struggling in the South American World Cup Qualifiers. Brazil seem to be on their way to recovery and to playing good football again.

FotMob credited only 3 English players with scores above 7 while Brazil had an incredible 10 players with scores above 7 (9 starters and 1 sub) showing Brazil's dominance. And this, with Brazil missing 5 injured starters including the two starting center backs (while England did miss an injured Kane). The only 2 Brazilian players who did not score above 7 got "passing" scores above 6.5 (6.6 and 6.. A lovely collective performance from Brazil.

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Interesting final of the Concacaf Nations League tomorrow featuring the USA versus Mexico. The two players from my club AC Milan, Pulisic and Musah, both played very well in the semifinal against Jamaica (USA 3-1).

 

Only saw the second half. England looked very pedestrian.
I thought the goal looked offside but VAR doesn't usually get that wrong.
Brazil broke a 21 game undefeated streak at Wembley so kudos to them.
Looking forward to the Euros.
Italy are in a tough group.

 

Friendly against France in Lyon. Nagelsman changed the Team on 7 positions.
Returnee Kross had a dynamite game. Germany scored in the 8th second, Second!!!!!!!!!!!
Kross kick off to Wirtz and goal. That was a designed and trained trick. Nagelsman brought some robust and journey-man style players into the defense and it worked. Anchored by Ruediger this defense looked far better.
Wirtz and Musaila and Havertz could never be controlled by the French. When Musaila had the ball it was red alert for the French. Wirtz to Musaila, who out danced the defense plus the goaly, pass in the middle and Havertz scored. Serious change in attitude and fighting will in the German team.
0:2 in France, not to shabby.
Tuesday against Netherland in Frankfurt. What to do with Sane, 2 games suspension, because of a red card, and Pav, sick, if this team beats Netherland, too.
Luxury problem for Nagelsman, because all those new players did rather well.

 

I guess I have to learn the names of those new players. Of some I have never heard. Dortmund had only 1 player in the team, Fuellkrug as a substitute, which was huge surprise, he came in 80 minute and nearly scored.

 

This completly new team, with so many new players, has some fire in it. Lots of the stars from Dortmund and Bayern were not nominated, like Hummels, Suehle, Brand or Goretzka, Gnarbri etc.. Kimmich is now a outside defender.
One guy who impressed me was Andrich, never heard about him. That guy is a brute, he plays beside Tony Kross, as his bodyguard, so to speak. Makes sure Kross has the room to show of what he can do.
Netherland wanted it today, so it was a little more than a friendly kick. Netherland scored early because a defender made a serious mistake with a back pass, 4th minute. But the same guy made good, what is his name? with a long distance shot, rather beautiful goal. Witz and Musaila helped setting up. 1:1 Halftime Only for about 20 minutes did Germany lose some control of the game, but the Dutch never were able to get a shot on goal which seriously tested ter Stegen.
On the other side the Dutch keeper had to show his quality several times. In the 85 Fuellkrug scored after a corner with a cheek/shoulder header, he was a substitute. Havertz who played #9 had some nice chances, but then its a friendly and any possible injuries are not needed.
Wirtz and Musaila, they click, there is some real magic and Havertz fits perfectly. When ever they did their combinations it was red alert.

After the 3 loses last year, were the team played like 3rd liga, those 2 tests are very encouraging and give hope for the Euros.

Another positive note, Ukraine qualified for the Euro, everything that gives this country hope and cheer about is positive.

US vs Mexico, I don't know. US won with two beautiful goals. Mexico was harmless. The game rather disorganized, not really exciting, besides those 2 goals.

 

England looked good against Belgium. Dominated for periods of the game and it looked like they were going to lose by a disappointing 2-1 until Bellingham (who else) equalised in the dying seconds of the match.
2-2