Couldn't agree more, he is not good enough for Portugal squad that is full of talent. Yeah he can score goals, maybe he can even do it better than other players in Portugal attack but they are also losing so much on the team pressing with him in the game. He should be 15-20 minutes man for them, used in special circumstances but his ego will never allow for that.
Yeah, his finishing was (I say was as I've not watched him since leaving United) second to few, but even so, you sacrifice so much of the squad, formation, tactics to fit him in. I always think it's better to sacrifice one sure goal for 5 maybes -- especially when against better teams, where it's more like 1 sure goal for 10 maybes.
Some of his teammates are in the last years of their prime, really. Such a shame.
Germans are my favorite, they have a solid defense with likes of Tah from Bayern Leverkusen and Toni Rudiger who had a great season with Real Madrid. Joshua Kimmich included, aware he had a bad season with Bayern Munich but I know how much of a mentally strong player he's been.
In midfied they have Toni Kroos, IIkay Gundogan, Andrich, Jamal Musiala, Leroy Sane, Florian Wirtz. Damnit! It's gonna be bloody hot. Not to even forget Kai Havertz and Muller and that player Fullkrug playing for Dortmund. Hopefully Julian Nagelsmann handles them well.
Third favourites, not far off England and France, so yeah, I think it reflects the talents. But I can't help feeling the Germans believe in their own hype too much (I can't forget Rudiger's antics against Japan, it's precisely the sort of arrogance that ensures you don't win a tournament). Had Nagelsmann took the Bayern poison chalice, this team would flop hard.
Yes, but they're not taking my money. Even I am not convinced to bet on Modric's knees any more
Maybe we can get more insider information about Croatia national team from Cro2 Team Evil
They'll just ask me to put money on rigged team, and then arbitrate when I call foul, and rule against me. Team Evil knows where the line is, and crosses it, to redraw a new line.
Just looked at odds. England the favourite? Followed by France?
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Besides the fact that they are historical losers, I can't find any cons in this team, on paper they look very strong, don't they? It’s strange that Germany is in third place, in my opinion, besides the fact that they are the hosts of the tournament, it’s difficult to find arguments in favor of the fact that they should become stronger than everyone else, this really confuses me. I’m not saying that they are not stronger than half of the euro participants, but not England, France, Spain, Italy and many who are nearby for sure.
They do. They do. And that's the bastard thing about it. France, my god, Brazil, in the last WC. So classy, so breathtaking. And invariably find a way to fumble. I think England, crucially, has always played far too timidly on the big stage. Last time I bet on them a bit too much, believing they finally were taking it home. Think it was the England-USA game where they drew, when I said to myself: "Shame on me".