No problem with the new format allowing more nations to take part. In fact I think they could play more teams and have even more groups, and then they can go back to the top two teams in each group going through. Just need to think of a way to stop teams playing for a draw in the knockouts. 

I'm sorry, I know that many think that all Brits should have supported Wales etc etc.  But living close to the Welsh border, thank f**k they're out.  It would have been unbearable!  As my son said, "so many plastic Taffy's".

 

And I did actually say that to my semi-Welsh (born in England, grew up in Wales) friend tonight - well, I think she's still my friend.  She's a rugby fan and doesn't do football.  I resisted the temptation to point out that we've won the world cup of the round ball and and the oval ball variety.......

Glad Wales didn't make it through tbh, but I am one of them that would prefer Federer to win Wimbledon over Murray!

Fantastic achievement from the Welsh though, but it was going to be tough tonight especially without ramsay.

Love him or loathe him, Ronaldo is one of the greats, and it would be quite fitting if he was able to lead Portugal to a 1st? major trophy.

On a side note, the choice of kits really takes some gloss of the occasion, imagine an F.A. cup final with us in yellow and Arsenal in blue! It's just bizarre, why didn't 1 team play in a home kit?

Portugal struggle to get out of one of the easiest groups of the lot by finishing 3rd and have been one of the worst teams in the tournament.......and now they are in the final of the European Championships. Them winning it would be one of the worst possible outcomes. I don't care who makes the final out of France and Germany but whoever it is i hope they beat Portugal.

No problem with the new format allowing more nations to take part. In fact I think they could play more teams and have even more groups, and then they can go back to the top two teams in each group going through. Just need to think of a way to stop teams playing for a draw in the knockouts.

I think the quality of games has decreased as more countries has increased. When there was only eight, all the teams getting there were of a high standard. The consequence of having fewer games could be to play replays out to a finish, removing the draw as a way of progression. This though won't happen, the bloat of the competition is all about money generated.

One thing I would do is remove any points for a draw in the group games.

I think the quality of games has decreased as more countries has increased. When there was only eight, all the teams getting there were of a high standard. The consequence of having fewer games could be to play replays out to a finish, removing the draw as a way of progression. This though won't happen, the bloat of the competition is all about money generated.

One thing I would do is remove any points for a draw in the group games.

That's certainly a valid concern, too many teams playing for a draw. Perhaps in the group stage go to penalties if there isn't a winner? Maybe do it after 90 minutes instead of 120 so the players aren't completely fatigued during the knockout stages.

what a sh*te tournament this has been. the draws have been extremely favourable to some teams. f**k me, even england were given a poor draw against iceland for not winning the group and still lost. i have a feeling neither france, wales or portugal would have gone as far if given harder draws earlier on. france have made it so far despite struggling in the group stage against bloody romania. not just being biased (ok maybe a little) because conte is coming here, but italy would have made it to the final if given any one of the aforementioned draws. 

I think the amount of teams involved and the introduction of a round of 16 had pros and cons.

I can't remember any dead rubber games, as getting just 3 points gave you a shot at getting out of your group, but I think that meant teams were reluctant to over commit in the early games, or even play for 3 draws.

I think the answer would to expand the competition so more teams are involved meaning less or even no 3rd place teams progress, or go back to how it used to be.

Someone should do a study about why losing teams often play better in the last ten minutes of a match? Why not sooner?

It's like a Sunderland season condensed into 90 minutes.

A ' cultured midfielder ' is one who listens to Mozart, goes to the Opera and has a First Class Honours Degree from either Oxford or Cambridge...

Why didn't either Wales or Portugal wear their first choice strip last night?

The Portugal one looked awful!

I don't mind Portugal making it to the final, ever since the knockout games they have thoroughly deserved it IMO.

The group stages were a bit of a mess with third place teams getting through but I suppose it gives the underdog the chance but some of the games were very dull.

Curious to see the formations for Germany vs France tonight. I believe Germany goes back to a 4-2-3-1, but the first question is who is up top? Is it Müller who has been ineffective so far this Euro, or Götze who was pulled for the lineup in favour of Gomez? Then who plays on the right? I would like to see Sane but with only three caps I do not see that happening.

 

I do not have a good feeling about this match with Hummels suspended. Maybe Löw throws a surprise out there and sticks with a 3-5-2. However, the Müller and Götze two-striker front is not comforting.

 

Whoever wins, best whoop up on Portugal. Pepe and Ronaldo with a Euro Championship? No thanks.

I don't mind Portugal making it to the final, ever since the knockout games they have thoroughly deserved it IMO.

 

Really ? i think they have been incredibly lucky and painful to watch. The last 16 against Croatia was the most boring game of the tournament and they needed a goal in the last minute of extra time to win it. The quarter final against Poland was another terrible game of football that ended up going to penalties and the game last night was pretty dull too. They are pretty much relying on one chance a game. If Portugal had been on the other side of the draw they would be out by now.

Go on Portugal....yes, I have them in the works sweepstake :)

Really ? i think they have been incredibly lucky and painful to watch. The last 16 against Croatia was the most boring game of the tournament and they needed a goal in the last minute of extra time to win it. The quarter final against Poland was another terrible game of football that ended up going to penalties and the game last night was pretty dull too. They are pretty much relying on one chance a game. If Portugal had been on the other side of the draw they would be out by now.

They beat the teams they faced fairly, they might not be exciting to watch but neither were we on the Munich run or in that final.

They deserve to be where they are.

I'm fed up with the Euros - too many boring matches.

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Edited July 7, 201610 yr by EmeraldBlue

Planned to watch every match coming into this tournament, I've barely watched three properly

Not sure why

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I have France in a sweepstake.

Go on France.

Planned to watch every match coming into this tournament, I've barely watched three properly

Not sure why

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Same here mate, I think it's just been a boring tournament in all honesty.

Same here mate, I think it's just been a boring tournament in all honesty.

I find the actual game rather boring to watch in many ways, as I've gotten older, especially if it's not your team playing.

Failed attacks and mistakes after mistakes with little quality bar the rare occurrence of a goal.

It's the glamour, debate especially, and drama that make football what it is for me I think.

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I actually enjoyed the earlier group games, but it's gone downhill since the start of the last round of group matches where most teams didn't need more than a draw to qualify, and the knockouts haven't yielded many outstanding individual performances that usually light up tournaments.

I actually enjoyed the earlier group games, but it's gone downhill since the start of the last round of group matches where most teams didn't need more than a draw to qualify, and the knockouts haven't yielded many outstanding individual performances that usually light up tournaments.

I definitely think that's a disappointment, that there have been no "on fire" players. Usually there is at least one every tournament, often more than one.

Multiple big names have really underperformed (Lewandowski, Muller, etc), and even the good performers (Ronaldo, Bale, etc) haven't been all that good.

There has also been no breakthrough new star à la James Rodriguez, Michael Owen, Wayne Rooney.

Edited July 7, 201610 yr by offside

I find the actual game rather boring to watch in many ways, as I've gotten older, especially if it's not your team playing.

Failed attacks and mistakes after mistakes with little quality bar the rare occurrence of a goal.

It's the glamour, debate especially, and drama that make football what it is for me I think.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I think this is why i have grown a bit tired of football too. The quality has been really poor in recent times, there is just so much crap football being played. The Premier League is viewed by a lot of people as the best league in the world, but i just don't know anymore. It seem's like the quality is dipping more and more, season after season. It's the most competitive but when it comes to passing and finishing, i think it has really dipped. It's not just in England though, it's happening all over.

 

I am not a fan of Spanish football because of all of their diving and play acting, but when it comes to actually playing the game, the Spanish sides are at the very top. I'm not surprised that they have been getting their teams in the Champions League and Europa League finals in recent years, they just play the game better than anyone else.

 

Less than 10 years ago we had so many world class football teams, these days it's Barcelona, Real Madrid and possibly Bayern Munich. Us, United, AC Milan, Inter Milan, Lyon, Valencia and more have all dropped off and been overtaken by teams that are not really anything special.

 

The game is lacking the quality it had under 10 years ago in my opinion. I feel it has become obsessed with fast players who can get up and down the pitch quickly and work hard for the team over players who may be a bit slower but can actually pass, control and finish well.

Edited July 7, 201610 yr by Scott Harris

Lineups are out:

 

Germany: Neuer, Hector, Howedes, Boateng, Schweinsteiger, Ozil, Draxler, Muller, Can, Kroos, Kimmich.

 

France: Lloris, Evra, Umtiti, Koscielny, Sagna, Matuidi, Pogba, Sissoko, Payet, Griezmann, Giroud.

 

 

Looks like a more solid midfield than I was expecting from Germany; they do look fairly hard-hit by injuries though. Obviously France deserve to lose for electing to play Sissoko over Kanté.

 

 

 

Jesus Christ though, Simon Church and Moussa Sissoko playing in successive European semi-finals. I think at this point we can safely say that international football is dead.