previewing England, against France, and the World Cup
quarter-final, massive, clashes, talk about, who
the favorites are. Look at the French side. The English side
has to say from where I live in Southern England, obviously,
France. Just a short hop across the channel. There's a lot of
rivalry, a lot of respect,
but yeah, it's, this is going to be a big one for both
Nations and and Nick, when we look at France, would you say
the the favorites and
look going forward and back? Paid a lake?
Ravemon Giroud on fire going forward.
The only issue I have with them is maybe defensively a little
bit even against Poland, who have been pretty lackluster.
They coughed up quite a few chances and obviously haven't
had a clean sheet yet and Hugo Lloris has looked a little bit
shaky but
maybe I'm just focusing on some negatives from an English
perspective, but France still have the edge right. The
reigning champs. Yeah, I mean Lloris was shaky
and he's been talking about that for a bit as a Tottenham guy,
Jules come day, looks a little weird on the right side.
I understand the idea but at times he got
he looked a little like a guy who was playing out of position.
So there are questions there but I said yes quickly. And it
was on portent important because I wanted the thought to
be what you said about. The Senegal England game
for 30 minutes, England looked like, uh-oh,
and that just should
I know. Senegal is athletic and fast and I have a good identity
and they can play both direct and through combo, but it
should not have been like that. For a half an hour against
a team that was going to win the tournament. We have not seen
France
have that happen for more than 10 maybe 15 minutes tops
the entire tournament and so for me
that was a warning Bell
the louder warning Bell as Maddie cash.
The design of marking Killian Bop-It which worked at times
to get in front of them, quickly to try and stop him
from getting to the ball when cash a fine player in his own
right. Got there first lost the ball because I'm Bob
a physically bossed him.
Then blazed past and running faster with the ball. Then cash
had a prayer of running without it. And it made me say, oh my
gosh, this player
is unbelievable. Yeah, you basically anything gone up
against France right now, it's okay. Let's try and contain
everyone
and let's just hope for the best from killing them back by.
You can have all kinds of defensive plans against him.
And the two goals is called Andy would just world-class
obviously
to 16 goals in his last 14 games for France now and just
breaking records. All over the place. So it's highlighting
numbers exactly in the debate about him and Harlan is going
to rumble on. But right now, you have to say, you've taken
another World
Cup by storm, so
he's ahead of Holland. And that,
in that regard, but
for the French, I mean,
what do you think about them? Obviously, strengths, going
forwards, your rudes, Griezmann, dembele, and pepe.
It's all slot and together very nicely, right? I've really nice
kind of
I guess they just complement each other really. Well, don't
they? And it just slots together perfectly and attack
but Midfield and defense. Is it strong enough to go all the way
at the World Cup?
Oh, that is such a tough question. And I think it's
really tough to answer right now, especially because of
the matchup with England and not, because I think I think England
or is good as France, but I think we're England are strong
and Nick was Nick said it immediately when we started
talking about them today was
the Midfield performance and that is where France really
struggle. And if anyone are able to control the game and
possession and build slowly, the way the teams Have been
Poland, especially today were not able to do. It was all how
quick
can we get the ball up the field? How quick can we cross
it into the box? That didn't quite work but I do think
England with Bellingham the inflow. His growing influence
is so incredible. We know how solid they are with Declan rice
sitting there in front of the back line, Jordan Henderson as
an option, whether as a starter or Off the
Bench, it feels like England kind of have the squad to
really, really give France a lot of trouble and obviously,
you know, the matchup at Centre forward and Bob pay
Cain on the other side.
About they play Centre forward or not. It almost doesn't matter,
but I will say, I was glad to see Harry Caine.
Get a good 90 minutes of Fitness under his legs in this
game, as they were up three nil, very late on, by the way,
2700 minutes Harry Kane has played since the summer that is
just about an entire Premier League Seasons worth of minutes
in four and a half months.
He's going to fall apart at some point.
Oh yeah. And and the season for him right now and it totally
well early December. So
sorry, Tom Some fans, but Mainland hat on it's great to
see him flying like this and thread and
forth. Remember that I made a joke about that for months from
now. When I am just lamenting the fact that Harry Kane is you
know, nowhere to be found ever again.
Yeah. But it's great to see him
like putting those little Bulls through obviously getting his
goal and just make any moves attack /. I mean, Nick is 12
goals now and four games I guess, three games because they
didn't score against the US. So
Bellingham, you did Joe few did
yes. Exactly. For In the Bellingham was superb extra
kind of class.
But defensively we talked about their come up against killing
and pepe. What do you do? Do you just go one-on-one and back
car Walker? And his speed to
just recover behind and Babbitt or do you actually switch
because England do this a lot, they play it back, three a lot
with Walker as the right-sided center back and then maybe
trippy a comes in as the right wing back to have extra cover
there.
Or do you just keep doing what you're doing with your England?
It's a difficult one, isn't it? Yeah, I mean, I'm at the point
where Where I keep doing well, I do whatever. I think gives me
the best chance to score
goals and then I just really big up. Jordan pickford's
confidence because he's going to have to make saves. The
reason I say that
the two MBA pay goals,
the first one he's coming in from the left side, right? Same
same spot from his left and he opens up his hips and
the keeper goes one way and he cuts it like opens the gate. As you
might say, cuts it inside the post and
the next time he's coming from basically the same spot and you
actually see the keeper cheat a little bit. Is right because
that's what happened, the last time. And the ball goes
the other way and just misses him because he had to respect that.
This guy is just not going to
shoot across goal like everyone else.
He's smart, he's physical, he's confident, he's clearly having
the time of his life and that is the main reason that I just
picked Brazil to beat France in the final. And now I want that
back which is crazy because Brazil has been fine.
Yeah but friends just clicking through the gays ominously out
there and he's so is there any way you can blink? Stop. This
French attack defensively. Anything they can do
differently. I think it's through possession and that is
kind of been the theme of
this World Cup is you know, without time to prepare it is
really really hard to get everybody on the same page and
so with a lot of these games 30 minutes and actually maybe
a England Senegal very structured for 30 minutes that game was
and Senegal
able to hang in there and Poland for as well. They had
a lot of Joy early in that game. But once the game gets
stretched a little bit, it almost becomes Streetball. And
then we see how it then, it really becomes about, who's got
the most talent. And those teams are starting in The
Knockout stages, at least to
win out. And so,
if it does come down to that, probably favors France just
a little bit but I do again that midfield for England is so so
strong, you've got Kane up there. That's able to hold
the ball up as well and pulling didn't really look for
Lewandowski to do that and so they couldn't play out of
trouble. A lot obviously Cain will do
that will create the chances. Like you say
like to have to Two forwards centre-forward wide forward,
whatever, as complete of players
as these two are
is absolutely. It's going to be one of the best games of
the World Cup. And I'm actually really glad they're six days
between today. And when they play, everybody gets a rest,
thank you.
Yeah, exactly. Looking forward to that and like I said it's
going to be a huge game between two. Heavyweights in the world
cup and Nick. I'm gonna ask you a prediction but also
this whoever wins this game it seems like To disrespect
the other teams on that side of the bracket, but it seems like
they're pretty Prime to go to the final right?
If you look at Portugal, Spain, Morocco and Switzerland, there
on that side of the bracket can no disrespect to them. But when
you say England and France or ahead of Spain and Portugal at
this point, the tournament. And yeah, what's your prediction?
How do
you think's going to shake out between England and France?
I'm going to hedge and say, talk to me after. I see their
first knockout, round games because my gut, I think you're
right, by the way,
but my got was to say, no,
no, not at all. I think, I think that
at that side of the bracket is going to be a real fight.
I'd rather be on the other side as you know,
and I will probably lament for another four and a half years,
but yeah, I think anything could happen on that bottom,
but I'm going to want to see how Spain looks first. Morocco,
because I mentioned if Morocco wins, I'm going to think they
could be a team of Destiny.
If Spain dispatches them with style, I'm going to be like, wow,
look what they just did.
So yeah, there's a lot and Portugal again. As we
mentioned, I know, there are calls right now. I saw,
I think we, Did it out at NBC sports soccer, 70%
of Portugal fans polled. Want Reynaldo benched, that is
interesting.
Yeah, it really is. Andy, what's your prediction for
England against France? What you think is going to happen?
I think it's going to extra time,
it's going to be really really even to to probably going into
extra time and on that side of the bracket I do agree actually
as much as I want to get behind
Morocco and Spain and Portugal as well. Because they're all
very, very Very fun to watch. They're going to get
considerably less rest between the round of 16 to their
quarterfinals. And so they're going to maintain playing every
three or four days whereas these couple of teams
earlier on are going to get an extra couple days so when they
meet then there's going to be a massive massive Advantage for
whichever one of those Mega talented teams France or
England get through.
Yeah it's
I think I'm going to go with my ha and I think England can
actually do it. I'm actually really excited the way they're
playing in the way that they're scoring going forward. I think
It gives them a chance and I think I've been
good enough defensively McGuire and stones and Luke sure
Bigfoot and then Declan rice in front of them,
but this is going to be their biggest test so far. So like
I said, and it's gonna be really tight going to be a great
battle between England and France and yeah head over
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reaction before during, and after a, massive World Cup
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