British Tennis Forum - Celebrating 20 Years!

JonH · Tennis legend

RE: FIFA World Cup 2026 - Canada/Mexico/USA

indiana · Tennis legend

Oh that was a nice shambles to wake up to, Magnificent 3rd Belgian goal

USA 1 Belgium 4

Var · Challenger qualifying

indiana wrote:
Oh that was a nice shambles to wake up to, Magnificent 3rd Belgian goal

USA 1 Belgium 4

Karma!

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Oh that was a nice shambles to wake up to, Magnificent 3rd Belgian goal

USA 1 Belgium 4

Poetic justice! What's the betting the Great Orange One will seek to have those four Belgian goals chalked off?!!

JonH · Tennis legend

Didnt you see the news? For every goal the USA lost any match by, the team that beat them gets a 10% tariff imposed. So that is 30% for Belgium

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

indiana wrote:
Oh that was a nice shambles to wake up to, Magnificent 3rd Belgian goal

USA 1 Belgium 4

Nice comment from a contributor to the debate about Ronaldo's "legacy" on the Beeb's site:

Fifa 1 Rest of the World 4

JonH · Tennis legend

Re Ronaldo - I was really disappointed with Roberto Martinez (who of course was Belgiums coach previously to Portugal) - he just didn't have the guts to drop Ronaldo when the whole world could see he needed to not pick him. He let Portugal down.

I don't know if Ronaldo holds such sway that Martinez (who I always thought was a good coach at Swansea etc) was scared, or the Federation gave him orders? Either way, massive mistake.

Time to retire, Ronaldo.

seagull · Tennis legend

Martinez now failed with very talented Belgium team and this Portugal team. Dont rate him

JonH · Tennis legend

seagull wrote:
Martinez now failed with very talented Belgium team and this Portugal team. Dont rate him

You're right - was it Brighton he was with in the Prem? Did you rate him there (or am I getting him confused with someone else?)? I seem to recall he did well in the Prem for a good while

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

seagull wrote:
Martinez now failed with very talented Belgium team and this Portugal team. Dont rate him

And now the ex-manager of Portugal! wink

seagull · Tennis legend

JonH wrote:
seagull wrote:
Martinez now failed with very talented Belgium team and this Portugal team. Dont rate him
You're right - was it Brighton he was with in the Prem? Did you rate him there (or am I getting him confused with someone else?)? I seem to recall he did well in the Prem for a good while

No. It was Wigan and Everton wasnt it?

indiana · Tennis legend

JonH wrote:
seagull wrote:
Martinez now failed with very talented Belgium team and this Portugal team. Dont rate him
You're right - was it Brighton he was with in the Prem? Did you rate him there (or am I getting him confused with someone else?)? I seem to recall he did well in the Prem for a good while

From.Wiki, in the Premier :

He wad 4 years with Wigan ( 2009 - 2013 ) - I had somehow actually forgotten about this quite long period. Seemed very decent job overall. In 2013 he won the FA Cup then was relegated, and Everton came calling.

He was 3 years with Everton ( 2013 - 2016 ) - good start then rather downhill. Sacked.

Yes, I think he has overall been pretty poor in international football with the highly talented Belgian and Portuguese teams he has managed, delusional or in some way under orders re Ronaldo. Strikes me as a bit of a Southgate re decisiveness. Neither to me are a touch on Tuchel.

JonH · Tennis legend

Southgate gets a really bad rap. He took us after the dire times of Brazil 2014 and in to Russia 2018, and the semis, 2020 euros final, 2022 World Cup against France in the qf and 2024 euros final again.

Yea, perhaps he was not flexible but we be careful what we wish for. No one has achieved a consistent record like that. People say we had easy draws - perhaps, but the draw we have struggled with this tournie are hardly any harder.

Yes, Southgates time had been run, but he did great to turn around a failed team and pull us back to the top. Perhaps he wasnt the man to take us to the very top, hopefully Tuchel will - but Southgate did a really good job for most of his tenure.

Stircrazy · Tennis legend

Bellingham station in south-east London has been temporarily renamed "Jude Bellingham station" until next Monday. smile

indiana · Tennis legend

Stircrazy wrote:
Bellingham station in south-east London has been temporarily renamed "Jude Bellingham station" until next Monday.

So not much optimism about England going beyond the QF biggrin I guess no-one available to sort it on Sunday morning.