I have to say I was gobsmacked that we got a penalty for that! But over the 90 minutes even though 90% of the 2nd half was awful I thought we deserved to win.
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I agree
Iāll give you that means giving back a goal
If only the final was on Saturday night !
Penalty or No Penalty?
Penalty, studs up and late, should have been a red card as well for Dutch defender.
If that had been a tackle in the middle of the park then it would have been a foul and because its studs up a red card, so why should it be different if its in the penalty box?
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Iām getting my sombrero ready for the final.
Ā”Vamos, EspaƱa!
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What did I tell you? Weāve done the same for the past 34 years. We get better and better during tournaments. We were way better the first half and always had an edge on the second. Yes it was a pen. The guy came high up with his studs. Always a free kick for years, so why suddenly doubt it just because itās a semi-final and in the penalty area? Well done England. As soon as Bellinghamās overhead went in, I knew weād be in the final. Itās all psychological with us, weāve always had the talent, but just need to be let loose.
Well well well, good on England. Definitely donāt believe that was a penalty but the scores on the board. Think England (begrudgingly) were the better team and deserved the win.
Good luck for the final.
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Pete, that was a nailed on penalty, you canāt go through the ball.
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You probably know more than me so I certainly wouldnāt argue but I donāt know what a defender is meant to do. Both had the feet in the air.
I hope our Phil Foden gets in the net a cracking belter or two against Spain. He really deserves to be a part of history.
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If you havenāt seen it yet, pop over to YT to see how The Killers (and crowd) watched the end of the match at the O2 in London. It was a great moment anyway but to have been in the middle of that would have been brilliant.
No, just biased 
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Enjoy the next few days. 
Bit of a dilemma for a Welsh bloke but letās go for it 
I said from the off that performances matter less than results. I also noted that Southgate is the most successful England manager of all time and that there are reasons for that. Both positions challenged by others here and both successfully reinforced I think.
A fair few things to say specifically about last night.
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Walker, Stones, Rice and Kane are struggling for various reasons but tactically the team selection was spot on. The stuff about Kane diving is accurate but here itās also partly driven by petty club allegiances and thatās a bit boring tbh as Iāve yet to see any team in this tournament not try to gain advantages through some dreadful diving. Bellingham is so poor as a diver you have to laugh. Saka too. Fact is that Kane occupied the Dutch defence and midfield to the point of raggedness and it worked.
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first half England were superb. Largely about movement off the ball but also I see little credit for Mainoo here. Foden had space for the first time in the tournament but the reason he had that, and that the ball was consistently moved quicker and wide relentlessly, was Mainoo. Put aside your petty allegiances. He was magnificent and almost nobody noticed.
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second half was tense but not dull. The commentary team noted that Koeman adjusted the formation. Even today it appears only Southgate publicly noted that the Dutch actually changed tactics three times in the second half. For a load of blokes who know about football I note that literally no-one here has mentioned that.
Whilst that levelled the game play it was noticeable that England coped with that without making any substitutions bar the enforced change of Shaw for Walkerā¦ Just slight tweaks in position. The Dutch were back in the game but their struggle to dominate and create real chances was down to the slight switches Southgate made positionally. Again, zero acknowledgement of that here. Itās almost like no-one noticed.
Those complaining about the reactive nature of Southgate as a manager might note that Koeman watched 45 and then was wholly proactive with substitutions; a change of formation and three positional changes. They levelled up the possession stats. andā¦ nothing else. Itās very easy to criticise managers for not being proactive but itās based on a pile of assumptions which rarely stand analysis. The Germans were coping with Spain right up until they too decided to be āproactiveā and make changes. Fans always have simple answers. They are not managers for a reason.
- I see little controversy about the penalty. It plainly wasnāt.
āStuds upā in isolation is not an offence. It has to be careless, reckless or using excessive force. That far up in the air there was little force and what force there was was clearly aimed by both players at the ball. No part of that could therefore be deemed excessive. Both players were trying to play the ball.
Couldnāt possibly be careless as that requires a lack of attention and the attention of both was on the ball. Neither were close enough to have taken each others heads off. It was just a 50/50 ball which happened to be up in the air. If one had gone in with the head and the other with foot then you could begin to argue carelessness or inattention but this wasnāt any of that.
Same with recklessness. What was the danger being disregarded? Two players going foot to foot for the ball.
As ever these things are raged about largely by people who have neither read the laws of the game nor taken on board the current seasons interpretation. Also applied to the ref and VAR here. An utterly ridiculous decision.
That said, Kane took a magnificent penalty and England at the very least deserved to be level if not ahead at that point. It was the wrong decision but even with my Welsh hat very formly wedged on I think it would be harsh to grudge England that.
Rode their luck? Nah, texans always have chances. These things always turn on fine margins and the reality is that England were earning their free kicks by their relentless forward momentum in the first half.
What can you say about the winner? If heād pulled it across goal youād have said heād have created a great chance for a runner. Getting a shot off at the near post and maybe getting the side netting or getting a corner would have rightly been applauded. That though was something else altogether. An absolutely world class winner.
FWIW I think England can win this now. Spain are by far the most entertaining team at the tournament. Letās not confuse that with being the best though.
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Pretty much agree with you on all counts, Mike.
Penalties are usually contentious, especially when Kane is involved. And that wasnāt a penalty. Referee Felix Zwayer, he of match-fixing notoriety, was good, if not at the level of, say, Daniele Orsato. But he and VAR were wrong. Simple as that.
Kobbie Mainoo has been superb in every game. Lamine Yamal is rightly lauded for being so good at such a young age. Mainoo is almost as eye-catching. The kid looks like a player whoās been at the top level for 20 years.
Yes, England deserved the win, and look capable of beating Spain, given fair winds and following seas. But, no surprise, this Scot would prefer to see them being applauded after a never-say-die defeat.
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Iām with you on that, but not for the usual stock āI support any team playing Engerlandā Jock response.
Rather, the fact that, I can never support any team containing Harry āTimberā Kane, the inveterate cheat, ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ and him the Captain too.
No, winning isnāt actually everything, when he brings such dishonour to his national side. 
2024 rules, not the 70s or when I used to playā¦ of course it was a penalty. Doesnāt matter if it was a split second before or after the ball left his foot, itās dangerous play. Tough, we won.
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Iāve said before, I tend to like England and the English (my dad was a Londoner, after all). But so many England fans get right up my shonker (getting on the teamās/coachās/playersā backs at the first sign of trouble; and general boorishness, thankfully much less in evidence in this tournament).
As for Timber, heās been a superb player for many years. But his cheating leaves such a sour taste.
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Did you read Mikeās post about the laws? Or have you read the laws themselves?
Anyway, this is now a boring debate.
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