Euro 2016 - hype, anticipation and general excitement

And where better to start than with Cantona basically calling Didier Deschamps a massive inbred racist?

Yes! Giroud and Martial over Benzema and Ben Arfa is perverse whatever the motivation. The latter has been astonishing this season, and not just because it's him.

so the racism, name-calling, and fighting is moving to this thread?

Cantona otm

So excited for this. I don't expect much but equally I know what a rare joy it is to have Ireland taking part in a summer tournament.

xp
martial or coman over ben arfa the correct and obvious move. being good at dribbling in ligue 1 doesn't equal being effective in euro 2016

cantona still jealous of deschamps all these years later

Being least shit in a shit EPL team clearly the more relevant qual

Xp, c'mon - his vision / passing have been sublime, not to mention 17 goals from midfield.

What's the latest with the sex tape blackmail thing? If Benzema is going to seriously impact squad unity then he shouldn't go.

Ben Arfa's omission is bewildering though.

Oh shit I didn't realise Varane was out as well. How good are France in general right now? Surely they must be in with a considerable shout?

I think they are probably my favourite to win.

got to be france, germany, or spain

with engerlund not impossible

me and my 1/8th italian ancestry will be cheering on possibly the most depressingly, mediocre azzurri ever, which is saying something.

catenaccio!

Despite Dechamps this French side is probably the most likable since Les Blues in 1984. Je suis game.

Or '82, for that matter

Pps. Someome point A Hoy Hoy to this thread, he needs to be in on the fun tbh

Spirit of Leicester City still reigns right now so I might have a flutter on I dunno Iceland or someone.

Ha I said the exact same thing about Iceland too, particularly as I'll be spending a week of the tournament there. At the moment money is on France with Croatia each way although I can't see why Germany should be any worse than 2 years ago and fully expect them to step up as usual.

Fancy Lewandowski for top scorer with a cheeky each way on a nicely rested Hazard.

Arent there very good reasons benzema stays home?

The push for ben arfa is silly stuff

Shane long obv top scorer

... for Ireland. One goal.

rooting for the team with the best odds of winning!!!!

Tellin ye now shane long ten goals

http://cdn.playbuzz.com/cdn/359a9782-9633-4a93-83ab-fcf0358a2dce/2121d05d-dbb8-4051-8bdb-c241673c6297.jpg

we're ready

assuming I'm gonna be the sole Wales advocate itt. am good with that

Nonsense, Wales have never been as well supported as they will be in this tournament.

surprised myself at how pleased I am to see wales qualify, I think watching the over-the-top/ironically triumphalist/perfect celebrations of wales fans after the bosnia game has helped

suspect ireland are going to have a brief tournament

but it will feel agonisingly long

we're marginally more entertaining this time around.

i actually think we could get a result off one of the teams in our group. our aggressive anti-football is more of a return to traditional values in which we are open to the possibility of a goal from a setpiece or long ball, rather than the goal ban of the trappatoni era.

agonisingly shane long

why tf are there matches at 1700 GMT btw?

at least I have a chance of seeing those, gonna be pretty awkward getting caught in our workshop study room watching the 2 o'clock kick-offs on the computer

oh there's 2pm as well? bah...

3pm/6pm/9pm CET so 2, 5 and 8 in the UK

yeah, England - Wales for example is 2 o'clock on a Thursday afternoon. wondering if the Guinness Book of Records keeps a track of days when most sick leave has been taken.

shit I'd not even noticed that. I'm the only person in my small office that really gives a shit about football so could probably just ask for a half day w/o constructing a tissue of lies

I took the week off but have to now go to Dubai to work for the first three days, making it a slightly inconvenient 5pm, 8pm, 1am.

11pm actually. That's more doable.

I could probably work out some time off in lieu for key games but it's always the not-key games I end up enjoying most

Pps. Someome point A Hoy Hoy to this thread, he needs to be in on the fun tbh
― Le Bateau Ivre, Thursday, 26 May 2016 21:11 (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Hiya!

What sex tape? Benzema just cant stay away from gross sex scandals can he? He is an amazing striker and seemingly a deeply unlikeable character. (He was all over the underage prostitute mess a couple years back right?)

Im really excited about this tournament. It seems like it could throw up a lot of interesting possibilities. Like who would have tjought wales would be in it with a sound team with one of the best players in the world? If they get lucky and Bale is on FIYAH they could be fun to support. And england are actually worth liking again, unless the white pele ruins everything.

(That makes it seem like i think wales could win it which i obviously dont. But then who knows anymore? Get the Tinkerman for Wales boss)

Didn't really work for Greece, tbf.

I think Turkey could be one of the better outside bets to get to the semi-finals if they can get a result against Croatia.

If James McCarthy can score an important winning goal that gets Ireland through to the second-round I'll have a shitey piece of trivia about how every momentous Irish tournament goal is scored by someone from Castlemilk to wheel out

Never easy for Ireland to win from the smallest football countries, wouldn't take this draw too seriously.

For me, personally, I would take Rashford. I think me and him and our belief and youth could be a match for anyone.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CnCYAHiWYAAXN9S.jpg

:)

Extremely sad for the result today, felt like winning was the only good thing happening to France in the past 14 months, but this team is going to be good for years to come and I'm very optimistic.

otm

yup.

I you had asked me beforehand which teams I really didn't want to get to the final I would have answered France and Portugal. So that was the worst possible final for me. I didn't even watch it. But I guess I'm happy for Portugal, a small country that had never won anything before. And I won't have to suffer the arrogance of the French media and I won't have to see Griezmann's rejoiced face. So yeah, it's the best possible outcome for this terrible final.

Wow, a lot of chips falling off shoulders since last night. Obvioulsy gutted, but France didnt really look like a Europen champion (Portugal even less but whatever). Griezmann has always struck me as good guy - surprised to see the amount of schadenfreude directed at him (and the rest of the French squad - who apart from Evra and Pogba - was a pretty humble side by french standards).

Portugal deserved to win last night. France weren't good enough. Aren't good enough. What was Pogba doing last night? He was like Ray Wilkins reincarnated. Why was Giroud left on the pitch for 80 minutes to trundle about ineffectively? Why are Evra and Sagna still playing? Etcetera.

Pogba playing out of position but also largely over-rated fundamentally. Evra and Sagna still playing because of lack of younger and better options - they are definitely the weak links and wingbacks have been a weak spot for France for nearly 10 years.

If you can't beat a worse side, you deserve to lose. It's probably better for France not to be allowed to pretend Deschamps is doing a good job.

any team that made Sissoko look like your MOTM can't have been a good team

Griezmann has always struck me as good guy - surprised to see the amount of schadenfreude directed at him

It was the shit dance that he did to celebrate his goals

bit bemused by all the guardian hacks giving robson-kanu goal of the tournament. shaqiri's was way better imo.

better technically but less satisfying than 3 defenders getting foxed with one move.

final was irritatingly dull (i could have gone to the cinema instead) until extra time. i didnt see every single match this year but did seem like most matches had this air of semi-lifeless and playing it safe.

I know he had that bad performance against whoever in the group, but Deschamps preferring Gignac over Martial all tournament was weird. Surely when Giroud isn't working you go for something different, rather than an even shitter version of the same thing

Martial has been consistently hopeless with the national team - he's had his chance during the pre-tournament friendlies

final was irritatingly dull (i could have gone to the cinema instead) until extra time. i didnt see every single match this year but did seem like most matches had this air of semi-lifeless and playing it safe.

― StillAdvance, Monday, 11 July 2016 12:18 (19 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Tournament finals are ususally crap though.

The group games were the worst bit, how do you get motivated to win a game if you know not losing 3 games is almost definitely good enough to get you through?

Really? Didn't see the directly pre-tournament games but it seemed like he did well in his first few games. Picked up a few assists iirc

It was the shit dance that he did to celebrate his goals

Yup. That and his nazi haircut.

We turned over for about 10 mins, saw the change ends after the first ex-tim period, then the goal. Match looked quite good.

I take it the rest of the match wasn't.

Still, what's all this about Poland 'shouldn't have won' business? what do you want, another ballot? Um, I mean, a replay?

jamie jackson the worst guardian writer?

What now for England? Forget the Sam Allardyce or Gareth Southgate route. Find an absolute managerial wizard and ask his price. Sit back and watch England become the world and European champions.

lol

well, we do have to admit: anybody can become European champions, and the new booooring 24 teams seemingly further increased this, with Wales reaching the semis.

now world champion, that's a totally different story.

they simply need to "find an absolute managerial wizard"

what do people think of the 24-team format anyway? i think it's highlighted how poor the supposed big teams really are.

I like the 24 format, but think the group stage should be arranged differently. Eight groups of three, first two to progress, group winners play a number two from a different group, third place goes home. No shenanigans like 'best number three' to go through or whatever.

24 team format execrable - lack of clarity and drama during teh first round, overall too many games also penalising forceful attacking play. Next edition without an organising country should be even worse

next three tournaments will probably kill international football - russia, everywhere, qatar

^^ otm

what do people think of the 24-team format anyway? i think it's highlighted how poor the supposed big teams really are.

The 'big teams' are especially weak at the moment.

A lot of seemed to come down to poor management imo

verall too many games also penalising forceful attacking play

this. i mean Northern-Ireland was 1-0 down against Germany, and didn't attack so they would advance, and could play another dreadful game. Imagine when they hád to attack and try to equalize, and Germany scoring 3 more beautiful goals. Maybe even Muller would have scored in this scenario. Ok probably not. :P

Big tearms
Mean nothing
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEQj_xniiJg

Eight groups of three

Instinctively think three-team groups (esp with two qualifiers) are a dubious solution, but the only time they were used (WC82), they only really produced one duff game (Poland happy to hold USSR at bay to go through on goal diff). Elsewhere we had Rossi & Boniek hat-tricks, "it only takes a second to score a goal" - neither Keegan nor Brooking mustering one in 20min, Maradona red, Giresse & Rocheteau. But that was just a fantastic tournament.

Another detail I'd forgotten - order of matches in that second group phase at WC82 was determined by result of opening game. There was a provisional order that was adhered to if the opening game was a draw, but if there was a positive result, the winners didn't play again until match #3.

that is pretty cool.

A lot of seemed to come down to poor management imo

otm

I agree that the laws should be changed so that defending is outlawed and all games are passing and tricks exhibitions, win awarded to the prettiest team

Isn't it accepted wisdom that squads and fans of any qualifying team deserve more than two matches in a tournament?

jamie jackson the worst guardian writer?

What now for England? Forget the Sam Allardyce or Gareth Southgate route. Find an absolute managerial wizard and ask his price. Sit back and watch England become the world and European champions.

― Bein' Sean Bean (LocalGarda), Monday, July 11, 2016 2:21 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

given that every other writer's answer is a variation on "forget it they're fucked" I could believe he might have gone for a challop just for a bit of colour, but he actually says the same thing earlier on in his bit as well. so in conclusion, yes Jamie Jackson the worst Guardian writer

24 teams

First round = 12 groups of 2 Winners go through

12 losers play in 4 groups of 3 for the final places

sorted.

(12 groups of 2 will play to extra time/penalties etc)

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CnGYIa7WEAA3qZF.jpg

Kimmich was shit.

Boateng wasn't all that either

feel like that team deserves one more Frenchman (not sure who though)

No brady fuck off

Guardian put Clark AND Whelan in their Flops of the Tournament team, but only had Sterling and Hart from England...

what a bizarre list

Griezmann was selected by UEFA's 13-strong panel of technical observers, also including Sir Alex Ferguson, Alain Giresse, David Moyes, Packie Bonner, Mixu Paatelainen, Savo Milošević, Peter Rudbæk, Gareth Southgate, Thomas Schaaf, Jean-François Domergue, Ginés Meléndez and Jean-Paul Brigger.

packie bonner

Mixu Paatelainen! WTF? How did he get that gig?

deeply resent me having to be the one to point out that krychowiak pissed over everyone but kroos

defenders defender award goes to domagoj vida