EURO 2016 France - Group E

Glad Italy lost. I didnt want them to go undefeated in the group. Conte is still an idiot though. Horrific game by italy. Only created chances when insigne and ses came on in the last minutes. Stuaro and immobile should be sent back home to enjoy the euros from their hdtvs.

LOL @ premature handshake

9gollan

Bye Bye Ibra.

What a terrible game. Why even play if its gonna be like that. I don't think they fought for 1 divided ball, Ireland won all of them. Sturaro with the worst game I've ever seen him play misplacing every ball. Motta just looked like he was afraid to get injured/booked so he never comitted to anything. I understand that it was meaningless for Italy but that was just too casual.

M99 wrote:9gollan

Hes so awesome

ibra goes out with a wimper

A legit penalty turned down against Italy and a legit goal disallowed vs Belgium. Meh

Also not surprised Ireland beat Italy. Italy are poor

halamadrid2 wrote:A legit penalty turned down against Italy and a legit goal disallowed vs Belgium. Meh

Also not surprised Ireland beat Italy. Italy are poor

Let it flow brother, were here for you now

Ibra flopping his way out of the Euros.

RealGunner wrote:Ibra flopping his way out of the Euros.

With the line up he had, it's almost as if Conte wanted to cut Ireland a break. Immobile and Zaza? Suspect he plans on using Insigne and SES more if they get by Spain and knows Immobile and Zaza won't be playing in the later games so this being a throwaway match was optimum to give them some playing time.

Why was Buffon celebrating?

Well done to the Irish, a thoroughly deserved result. Any defeat is bitter but glad they've made it through to the next round. Hopefully they can now exact revenge for Henry's infamous handball.

This may have been a second string side but these were meant to be players trying to force their way into the side against Spain. Instead they merely reinforced why they have been confined to the bench thus far.

This in part remains a tactical issue. There's no point beating a dead horse with regard to our approach and strategy on the ball but it certainly hindered the performance of a player such as Bernadeschi. He's a player who thrives on getting touches in and around the box, ideally with the freedom to drift to the flanks when beginning from the centre. Instead he was forced to spend the majority of his time defending deep, picking up the ball in his own defensive third - an area of the pitch where it is far too dangerous to take players on, which is a particular strength of Bernadeschi.

Simply put, this is what happens when you play people out of position. Some may argue that he has played as a wingback previously at Fiorentina but it's important to remember that this is not where he performed best for his club and that even so, Fiorentina's approach radically alters the requirements of the position compared to what Conte asked of him. Still, Bernadeschi certainly did not do enough to warrant being trusted as Candreva's reserve at this time. Only poor refereeing prevents us from also discussing a clumsy tackle that gave away a stone wall penalty.

More disappointing however were the performances of those who were not playing out of position. Florenzi and Sturaro achieved the impossible against Ireland. They turned me into Full Metal Giacchet fans. Sturaro is a donkey who can't pass the ball under pressure. That he would struggle to make an impact offensively, sometimes sending the ball miles ahead with his first touch, was frustrating but predictable.

Florenzi however would have been expected to stake a legitimate claim as a starter in midfield. He has not been helped by being asked to play the left channel. Such a move has even affected the performances of Pogba this tournament, in fairness. What I saw however was inexcusable. Error after error on the ball, poor decision after poor decision. It wasn't bad enough to see Italy constantly cede possession trying some absurdly ambitious and unnecessarily complex move. He couldn't even get the basics right. Florenzi demonstrated an astonishing lack of footballing intelligence on the pitch, the sort that suggests that he can be a lovely finishing touch to a midfield that is organised and run by a true general, such as at his club. He cannot however be trusted as a building block. When Marchisio, Verratti and Jorginho return to this team, he may well prove himself as a useful complement to these players. Until such time, he has seriously damaged his reputation. Hopefully Conte slaps some sense into him because we will need his running power off the bench still if we're to progress any further.

The other major culprit was Sirigu. No wonder Buffon had such a big smile on his face at the end of the game, he'll still be assured of a starting spot when he's 52 on the basis of that performance. The question must also be asked though why we took a keeper who's been on the bench for 12 months. Failed to communicate with his defence, misjudged and flapped at far too many deliveries and picked up a pointless yellow card that showed his head was clearly not in the game. Buffon, despite his age, remains peerless.

The one major positive was Insigne. He oozed class when he came on and he demonstrated that we can also advance the ball into the right areas of the pitch without low percentage flicks, dummies and blind switches of play. It's criminal that he was only afforded an opportunity so late in our third group game but hopefully now it is obvious that he's a level above our other attackers. Given his positive showing against Spain in our recent friendly, I hope he's at least trusted off the bench in the next game.

A loss is never a laughing matter at this level. It was however a loss that in no way affects our progress in this tournament. We had a dead rubber in which we had nothing to lose and everything to gain through experimentation and fearless play. Sadly though we absolutely wasted it.

breva wrote:With the line up he had, it's almost as if Conte wanted to cut Ireland a break. Immobile and Zaza? Suspect he plans on using Insigne and SES more if they get by Spain and knows Immobile and Zaza won't be playing in the later games so this being a throwaway match was optimum to give them some playing time.

A coach would keep 2 players on the bench for the whole groupe stage , a 1/8 final but if they reach the 1/4 he's going to use them ? That's odd.