I don't really watch much football, these days, but I did put this on last night. England seemed OK, Italy seemed like a shadow of what they've been in years past - am I just out of touch with football, or were England that good? Or are Italy really (comparatively) pedestrian?
O.
Bit of both. Italy's European Championship win came with a period of effective play that has been surrounded before and after with failures at championships, and failures to qualify for championships. That one of their better players, Tonali, was absent related to possible betting irregularities may not have helped.
England look genuinely amongst the favourites again. Their run over the last 2 World Cups and getting to the final in the Euros to lose to Italy were not flukes. I think Southgate may be overly loyal to some players, Maguire and Phillips last night, but the team has a number of genuinely world class players, and in Bellingham a player in great form.
England, France, and Portugal with the phenomenon CR, are the outstanding form teams for next year.
