The International Football Thread

[termninja 5,290]

So lampards been dropped from England starting 11, well that's what I heard.

He should be dropped. His performances weren't good enough to earn him a place imo, and Capello shouldn't rely on Lamps but on younger players.

[Tortilla9 390]

Argentina v Venezuela - linesman pulls out camera from his pocket, takes a pic of Messi, puts camera away. lol

[LukakutoStamford 779]

Well that was a frustrating 2 hours for us Belgians. Completely dominate Azerbaijan for 2 halves and have a mental breakdown in the 86th minute to cough up a 1-0 lead effectively ending Belgium's Euro 2012 hopes ... excuse my while I drown my sorrows. So pathetic for a team of this caliber to fail to only garner a tie at Azerbaijan.

[Madmax 9,219]

Argentina v Venezuela - linesman pulls out camera from his pocket, takes a pic of Messi, puts camera away. lol

Yeah I noticed lol. You should have seen the fanfare here surrounding Messi. National newspapers were carrying reports about what he ate for breakfast etc. The crowd cheered everytime he touched the ball. Ditto for Aguero. The linesmen and referees looked like star struck teenage fans rather than professional football officials. Messi was playing to the galleries as well, waving to the crowd before taking corners et al.

[Jusek 2,031]

Can someone post England's lineup? Thanks in advance.

[dave30 728]

its a joke that some of the English players just cant be bothered to sing our own national anthem . i bet some of them don't even know it , its embarrassing .

[Randall 315]

its a joke that some of the English players just cant be bothered to sing our own national anthem . i bet some of them don't even know it , its embarrassing .

If I was manager you wouldn't play if you didn't sing the anthem.

[dodojojo 510]

Spain's defense is so thin--without Puyol and Pique, they're toast. Why does Del Bosque persist with Arbeloa and Albiol who don't even start for RM? Why not choose defenders who actually play every week for their clubs?

[bababoom 4,478]

3-0 England, Cahill, Rooney x2

[dodojojo 510]

Albiol done in again.

[dodojojo 510]

Del Bosque's defense selection is being demolished.

Oh well they can't blame this one on Torres.

[Tortilla9 390]

Sometimes DB is a victim of favoring players based on reputation, ie they play for Barcelona or RM. Puyol has proven how invaluable he is to the SNT. The problem is he's not getting any younger and DB has to find a better solution.

[dodojojo 510]

He has had since 2010 to blood in younger and faster defenders as Puyol's been oft-injured since the WC. Yet he's persisted with Albiol and Arbeloa along with playing Ramos as CB when he's awful in that position. And today, he made the same mistake by playing Javi Martinez out of position as CB.

He also could have played Fabergas, Thiago, or Iniesta in the MF but instead went for caution by playing Alonso and Busquets. Alonso is too slow to help out the defense.

[dave30 728]

If I was manager you wouldn't play if you didn't sing the anthem.

same here matey

[Tortilla9 390]

Maybe DB isn't too bothered because it's a friendly? On the other hand, Spain has taken their foot off the pedal since winning the WC while other teams are looking to head hunt when they play them.

[dodojojo 510]

I just hope he doesn't bring on Mata and Torres to chase the game. I'd rather they play the easy game next Tuesday.

[Tortilla9 390]

Reina on for Casillas who shouldn't be blamed that his defense is crap. Iniesta and Pedro also on for Alonso and Villa. No need to play Torres or Mata today.

[Tortilla9 390]

Damn DB - Torres is warming up.