Tomwin Lannister wrote:

farfan wrote:So you guys are just gonna beat this Hernanes joke to the ground until it loses its punch like you always do with everything ?

If I actually valued your opinion more than I do my own piss, i'd take your point in to consideration.

Evidently my opinion isn't the only thing you value less than your own piss ... subtlety , originality , and fresh material seem to get the same treatment .

Why would I need any of that when I have



H.E.R.N.A.N.E.S

Walked right into that one .

(:

People, please at least try to stay somewhat polite!

Meh. We are out of this tournament. Probably our worst tournament since forever. Hamren making us into a Lagerbäck team. He will get sacked after this. I am happy we were this bad because that means the clueless coach can actually be sacked and we can get in someone better. For once we actually have a good defence but everything else is just tripe. Usually it is the opposite

Oh and Italy are just as bad. They had like one chance before the goal, a header that hit the bar and should have conceded a penalty in the closing minutes. For a team that boasts players in top teams they sure play like a team full of championship players

With the exception of the Juventus defense,

Giaccherini-Bologna
Candreva-Lazio
Pelle-Southampton
Parolo-Lazio
Eder-Inter
De Rossi and Florenzi-Roma

Sorry but what top teams again?

That midfield and strikeforce is mid-table quality. Only the wingbacks are half-decent. With Verratti and Marchisio it would've been a different story.

Italy right now just happen to be a well coached with a very high motivation to do well.

The defence and goalie is basically Juve. Motta at PSG, Roma, Lazio and Inter are hardly poor teams either. That team should be able to dominate a Swedish team that aside from Ibra only have 1 player at a semi-top European club who happens to be a defender. This game felt like two teams on similar level playing against eachother. No offence but the first half of Ireland was better than the whole game of Italy against us. Maybe you got cocky and decided to coast past this game but it didnt look like that

Im not Italian so please don't refer them to me as 'you' please

Anyways, the obvious problem with Italy is the lack of passers/playmakers in midfield. Its so blatantly clear so they are forced to approach the game differently. Motta doesn't count as he only came on as a late sub. With players like Marchisio and Verratti who can keep the midfield ticking and orchestrate play,Sweden wouldve been dominated.

All those players i mentioned at club level are either mediocre/inconsistent or washed up like De Rossi for example. What is holding this team together is the Juventus defensive spine and a great coach. But you're pretending like Italy have the individual quality of Belgium or Spain or something which obviously isnt true. Italy have many players who can put in a solid defensive shift, but technically they're lacking in quality.

'Belgium one of the favorites to go all the Way'



English commentators

Nainggolan is dropped for Dembele

Ciman for Meunier

Carrasco for Fellaini

Bright start from Belgium

Lukaku is a terrible fit for this Belgium team. Just plain awful technically.

This match is great

Some great chances created by De Bruyne already

Lukaku scores. Just as i expected

De Bruyne has been outstanding this game .

2-0 Witsel

Game Over

nice counter there

well ireland made it look easy, they are terrible

Ireland plays with heat and grit but that's it. Need more than epl football in this level.

Well good comeback from Belgium. You'd expect them to beat scrub teams though. They could still potentially top the group.

So its looking like,

Italy vs Croatia

Belgium vs Portugal*

*If Austria doesnt cause an upset tonight.

Yes, now Italy cannot come in second, unfortunately. They are the group winners.

The main issue with this Italian team is the same issue I saw with Juventus under Conte when he had the dominant strike force of Vucinic partnering Matri (undefeated).

What happens if we concede first against a "real" team?

Conte is fantastic if it is 0-0 or winning but when behind, it's difficult to imagine this team equalizing with ease, but I suppose context is everything.

Italy certainly has the defense to go deep.

So H2H is given higher priority over GD? Dint know that.

S wrote:So H2H is given higher priority over GD? Dint know that.

Well now you know. Here's an avatar for your troubles

Spoiler:

http://www.juventuz.com/images/smilies/inter.gif

Belgium must be thanking heavens for not topping this group

Italy now have by far the toughest road to the final(that is if they get there)

Croatia-Ro16,Germany-QF,France-SF