Rousseau

Seconds away from my first Correct Score... bloody Ronaldo!

Still waiting on predictions from @Tannochsidebear @stewarty @Ted McMinnime and @26th of foot.

Once is enough, mate.

I thought Poland looked good in flashes, but not consistently, and then that red card killed them.

I was actually disappoint with Sweden. They did not play how I expected. I expected them to compact the space, in that narrow 4-4-2, defending aggressively in a mid to deep block, then play on the transitions, with quick vertical passing to get in behind. They left too much space in the first half, and then no one moved when they recovered the ball, to facilitate a decent counter. They did better the second half. Danny Murphy kept complaining about their 4-4-2, with two strikers that were 'playing too deep'. He has no awareness of the fact that's how it should be, and is, played by Sweden: they're supposed to be compacting the space and cutting off the middle of the park, to give the Spanish midfield nothing -- which they actually did quite well. It's like Southampton: their 2 strikers are deep in defence, then burst in behind when they win the ball, and their wide men tuck inside so it's a 4-2-2-2. Similar to what Sweden tried to do, with Forsberg (a quick forward), playing LM. Do these pundits do any research? Anyway-- that's my punditry rant for today...

It's so predictable from Shearer and Ferdinand: Spain will have too much, because they're Spain. No awareness at all. I think it was the Europa League final, when the Penalties were about to be taken, Ferdinand was asked who'd win. He's says, Man Utd. He's then informed that Villarreal have won their last several penalty shoot-outs, whereas Man Utd have lost their last few. He still thinks Man Utd will win, because they're Man Utd. They did not win. They're thick as Sh*t. I was really impressed by Emma Hayes. Her tactical input was superb. It was fascinating to listen to. It wasn't just the same player-focused rubbish. She was giving us a breakdown of what the managers were doing, tactically. Too many players just don't have an awareness of this, for me.

Well-- I'm still doing terribly, but at least we're all in the same boat now. From the last two games, only one player (Ted) got a point.

Who's the female co-commentator on the Poland-Slovakia game? Her tactical insight is great. A hundred times better than the usual tripe we're subjected to.

Oof.

O'Donnell over Patterson...

Scotland XI leaked:

Get your predictions in for matchday 2!

Finland 1 - 3 Russia Turkey 1 - 1 Wales Italy 2 - 1 Switzerland Ukraine 2 - 0 N. Macedonia Denmark 1 - 3 Belgium Netherlands 2 - 0 Austria Sweden 2 - 1 Slovakia Croatia 2 - 1 Czech Republic England 2 - 0 Scotland Hungary 0 - 2 France Portugal 2 - 0 Germany Spain 1 - 1 Poland

Ugh--

Matchday 2: Finland - Russia Turkey - Wales Italy - Switzerland Ukraine - N. Macedonia Denmark - Belgium Netherlands - Austria Sweden - Slovakia Croatia - Czech Republic England - Scotland Hungary - France Portugal - Germany Spain - Poland

I'm having a shocker! I'm on course for only 2 Correct Results from the opening 6 games!

England were good, almost threatening to blow Croatia away, but it didn't really materialise. Croatia gradually dominated, I'd say - and I still think they were poor, overall.

I noticed they were playing a 19 year-old at LB. Unless he's the next Lahm, surely Barisic gets the starting berth?

We need to get into the habit of selling players, after buying cheap and developing them. That's the sustainable model we need to adopt.

Italy employed lopsided full-backs: their LB (Spinazzola) was high, virtually a winger, whereas their RB (Florenzi) tended to stay back to form a back three. That's not something we do. There's definitely a similarity in the passing midfield, with one player having a license to find space further forward (Aribo / Barella). Italy's counter-pressing was good too, which is similar to us; when they lost the ball, several players would cluster to win it back. I was impressed by Italy.

Ahem... @Gribz

Crystal Palace were close to appointing Nuno Santo, but I think he's holding out for the Everton job.

The Red Honda Ulster... ?

We were light already in central midfield, even with Zungu. I fully expect Kamara to be off after the Euros. I think Aribo might be played deeper, with the signings of Wright and Sakala, but even then we still need some more numbers in there.