robsblubot

Yup that Brazil side got bullied big time. The coach and staff did not understand the competition with the narrow pitches. I've been hearing from a lot of people who are claiming that Estevao has a higher ceiling than Endrik. Like I wrote before, their development as players and individuals from now on will play a bigger part; similar to how Neymar's decisions hindered his career in a number of ways. Even Neymar's initial reluctance to leave Brazil was a red flag to me... he Joined Barcelona at 21.

Same. Would be really weird if we posted, or commented on, about things we don't see--sure there is a medical name for such condition. 😆

Main attacking numbers isn't the worst in Mudryk's game, but if you dig a little deeper in passing/linkup and defensive numbers, you can see Mudryk's weaknesses in stats as well https://footystats.org/players/ukraine/mykhailo-mudryk Now comparing the two and it still works for your point above that there isn't an advantage there either: https://footystats.org/players/germany/karim-adeyemi (matches my eyeball on the little I saw him too).

What J.Davis does for the Canadian team should be taken with a grain of salt, otherwise we should be signing James Rodriguez who currently warms the bench for São Paulo FC. The level is so different from what we need that I'd not read too much into that tbh. Now his goal tally, or rather attacking stats, in league 1 is definitely impressive.

Watched little of him (Jonathan David) -- only playing for Canada and have to say that I wasn't impressed. He's definitely athletic, a very physically player, which surely helps in the PL, but I'm not sure I see enough skill there for an elite player. The fee is irrelevant.

so can he play LB then? or at least cover? (reading above ... he can apparently)

I know how you feel about him and I'm still gonna say it, Pickford is twice the goalie Kepa and any of fuckers we've got. And if folks don't think that will hinder our chances in the near future, well, then they haven't been watching football for too long.

KDH (wasn't signed for the bench), Caicedo, Enzo, Lavia, and Conor... that's for 3, or perhaps 2 positions depending on well, variables. Just don't see the minutes here barring bad injuries.

That was very unfair actually. 🙂 A real coach against one of the quacks who roam in the brazilian league.

Nunez should've won the game to be honest here. That was a free header for a striker like him -- he played well actually, but boy his finishing is nowhere to be found.

Think Colombia will likely beat Uruguay as they’ve been playing the best football but then again the small pitch may just be enough for Uruguay to disrupt colombias play.

I feel much of it is down to format: the small pitch + the no extra time just helps the defensive approach too much. the red was well-deserved tho—vicious tackle straight for rodrygo ankle. can see quality in endrik but he’s still super green. He does not know how to position himself yet.

☝️ agreed and gotta have some competition internally to keep players on their toes. Starter who looks at the bench and only sees kids who would never take his place isn't going to give that extra 10%. Nkunku is the player we've missed tho. Established 26yo player pacy and skillful who can play striker or on the left (twice the player Muddy is). Will we see more of him tho?

Endrik will get his first start apparently.

It is devoid of skillful players, but it’s still a strong team—suffice to see where each player plays. the teamwork is nonexistent tho. It’s like the 4th official game of this coach, and the previous attempted a Pep like thing that failed miserably.

Quality in football is the finishing tho. hope for a good match but need to play a very different game from the Venezuela match.

Do you guys remember Jackson and Caicedo's first say 10 matches in the PL? I know they eventually improved and played well, but until then it was painful. And I intentionally mentioned 2 players who were already proper footballers starting for good clubs. What about shy 18yo coming from SA? Where and when will they play? I'm actually curious about that.

A few smart bets was never a bad thing. Signing good academy players was never a bad thing. Where do players who just aren't good enough just yet play tho? Will they get minutes to develop proper? will we have to suffer while they learn the ropes? It has been historically difficult to give minutes to developing players and there is a reason for that--that's the advantage of smaller teams.

Congrats indeed! they will have to tighten up a lot to even contain Argentina tho. It could get ugly if they play like today... Venezuela was counter-attacking while Canada were one up. 🤷‍♂️

Except that the youngest player you listed above is 34yo (Valencia). The others are closer to 40 than 30; Pepe is 41. I think Chilwell is a good player, but his constant injuries turned him into a lesser player IMO. Sterling seems like a similar case, but perhaps for different reasons: burnout maybe? Afaik the main reason to sell the players was to lower the wage bill -- not really about quality. Except Andreas, which is the one sale I don't understand at all.

It's really crazy times when people who simply ask for a couple of good players in the 25yo range are called "spoilt brats" or impatient. It's as if signing young talent made signing established players an impossible task for some strange reason. I'm convinced this is all a blind implementation of a system that did work in other circumstances, other sport, which completely disregards the peculiarities of the contact sport football is. Even American Football, which is evidently also a contact sport, isn't really that similar to football.

While Olise would've been the better option given our weaknesses, I think Calafiori could be a one-in-a-generation type. It's evidently hard to say for sure at this point, but he has shown that spark of brilliance in the toughest moment, which only the truly exceptional have.

Honestly, nobody knows that yet. Neymar was a prodigy until he "decided" to value his life style over his athlete's life--same goes for mentality. When we sign them so young the risk sometimes goes beyond mere football.

Ener Valencia is known for his misses like against Fluminense in the last Libertadores. He's a strong player for the Brazilian league, but his lack of composure limited him as a player. Enzo was shocking every time he was near the opposition goal; I am getting worried about him. Caicedo did indeed have a strong game; his mobility caused a lot of problems to argentina in midfield.

Highlight of the match (Estevao goal is the last one): This was not at Gremio stadium because of the floods which ruined Porto Alegre last month. So, they play in Caxias (smaller stadium) in the Sierras 2h drive from the Porto Alegre.