European U21 - Poland 2017

Robespierre wrote:I couldn't watch it but hell

11 players wandering about doing their own thing. They played better than the scoreline suggests but still the Czechs were 100% a team and brought their physical game hard.

Di Biagio is just clueless again.

I only watched roughly 25 minutes of the game (left just after Berardi scored ) on my lunch break from work.

Brother rincon, what happened? What did we do?

Why did we make so many changes from the first game?

Defense of:
Calabria-Rugani-Ferrari-Conti

Midfield of:
Grassi-Cataldi-Pellegrini

In the first match:

Benassi-Gagliardini-Pellegrini
Barreca-Rugani-Caldara-Conti

????????

Luca wrote:I only watched roughly 25 minutes of the game (left just after Berardi scored ) on my lunch break from work.

Brother rincon, what happened? What did we do?

Why did we make so many changes from the first game?

Defense of:
Calabria-Rugani-Ferrari-Conti

Midfield of:
Grassi-Cataldi-Pellegrini

In the first match:

Benassi-Gagliardini-Pellegrini
Barreca-Rugani-Caldara-Conti

????????

Who knows. Di Biagio took everything that worked and changed it. The team went from a clumsy chemistry to cluelessness.

I don't particularly care about winning youth tournaments, I watch them just to see fresh players, but at least you have to give your best!

No doubt he gets fired if we don't qualify (which is very likely).

Frankly I knew Di Biagio ( loved as player, but as coach ffs )  was a scrub even before of this tournament.
it was enough to look this NT, just carried by a good talent but basically it is a talent that travels alone. there is not the coach's hand. ( similar to Belgium in WC,  with due proportion. )
for me Gagliardini doesn't perform as DM on a 4-3-3 so I can understand Cataldi , but whyt then Grassi (?? )  

Ah I repeat, Petagna is scrub player. Probably the worst CF U-21 seen . Still I don't understand who rates him.

I'm just trying to understand the logic. We won 2-0 in the first match and the response is to change 5-6 players for the second match...?

A win would've meant qualification.

Who rotates THAT much in a tournament ffs.

How is Petagna under 21 ? He looks like a 35-year-old greek trucker named Svatos.

About the match well the first goal is a shame, both Rugani & Donnarumma commit mistakes on that action. For the rest i cannot say today was a bad performance, the czech came out strong. Travnik #10 is a player to watch

Di Biagio = underestimating your opponent at its finest.

Yeah Travnik looked good.

I don't understand Di Biagio. That lineup made so little sense. The only reason to play Petagna (even by his own interview after the first match) is for him to control the ball and bring players into the scoring positions. Like Pelle. Knocking down long balls, back to goal, etc. So if you are gonna play him as a sole CF then you need inverted wingers and players running into the box.

So then he goes and plays Bernardeschi on the left, where he cannot shoot. But ok, in the first game he had Pellegrini and Benassi who can break through the lines, and Caldara and Gagliardini who put nice long balls. So what did he do the second game? remove Benassi who is the runner into the box, remove Caldara and Gagliardini who launch the balls to Petagna, keep Bernardeschi on the left, keep Chiesa on the bench. So who is gonna score and how does that plan work?

Only Berardi and Pellegrini have the view towards goal and they are also supposed to playmake. Too much fluff and no directness in that lineup + screwing the defense.

Since goals are needed in the last game I hope to see something like this

England team

Pickford; Holgate, Chambers, Mawson, Chilwell; Chalobah, Baker, Ward-Prowse, Swift; Redmond, Gray

Poland:

Wrabel; Kedzioria, Bednarek, Jach, Jaroszynski; Frankowski, Linetty, Murawski, Moneta; Kownacki, Piatek

It will be a success if we don't lose this. Only Kownacki and Kędziora (the RB) have a winner mentality in this team. Linetty seems to be underperforming

We seem to play better without a striker. Won the Toulon Tournament that way

Slovakia are beating Sweden, so we definitely need to win this game now.

England win 3-0 and top the group.

Slovakia also won 3-0 and are 2nd with 6 pts and +3 goal difference, so could go through as the best runner-up.

Well, at least future Brighton, Tranmere Rovers and Stoke City players that is England u21 topped the group. Really did not have a single hope for them which means they'll probably reach far.

Italy: Donnarumma - Conti, Caldera, Rugani, Barreca - Chiesa, Gagliardini, Pellegrini, Benassi - Berardi, Bernardeschi

Germany: Pollersbeck - Toljan, Stark, Kempf, Gerhardt - Arnold (C), Dahoud - Weiser, Meyer, Gnabry - Selke

ROBBED

that was a legit goal

Schick is a talent. What a goal.

lmao Italy score and then, as a celebration, proceed to push a few german players to the ground.

Surely at least 2 of these overmotivated pricks should have been sent off

Gagliardini hands around the German guy's  neck  as Perisic did with Cuadrado Proud of my guys when they remember that football is sport for men ( just 2 times in a year )

Does Italy advance from 1st place in this state of affairs?

Think they need to win 3-0 or something

We are out if we lose by 2 goals.
Anyway if the Czechs lose both teams are in the semis

Denmark manager is an idiot. Decides to play his two best forwards for the first time when they are out.

Hapless_Hans wrote:Anyway if the Czechs lose both teams are in the semis

What about Slovakia? I thought they'd be the best 2nd place team

Germany's forwards, Selke, Gnabry, Weiser, not even Meyer, are nowhere near the level of Italy's forwards.

Can't for the life of me understand why we would sign Gnabry

Myesyats wrote:

Hapless_Hans wrote:Anyway if the Czechs lose both teams are in the semis

What about Slovakia? I thought they'd be the best 2nd place team

I must admit I don't really know

Dahoud is flashy and his turns are sometimes breathtaking but he lacks a lot of substance