We beat...

Our lads a decade younger? The oldest outfield player on the pitch was Ashley Young.
Their average outfield players age is 28.6 ours was 26.3 a massive 2 years difference in average age.

 

This team has massively over-achieved. I thought before the tournament that we'd reach the Last 16 at best. I didn't know that we would overcome the glaring lack of creativity from midfield with such well drilled set piece routines. I didn't know that Trippier and Maguire would play so well at this level, because on paper - Stones apart - I didn't like our defence either. I didn't know how well the team would gel as a unit with three defenders playing it out from the back. Southgate deserves so much credit for finding the tactics which best suited such a limited squad. It's definitely a case of the whole being greater than the sum of it's parts. I still seem to have spent most of the tournament getting frustrated with half of the team!

 

The arrogance of labelling anyone we beat poor and average.

 

It just appeared that way because they are so much more experienced than us. Game management counts for so much at elite level, and that's where we couldn't match them. Plus playing without the ball expends a lot more energy than playing with it. That was another thing that really undid us.

 

There are glaring deficiencies in our team and full credit to Southgate for minimising them as much as possible.
That said I thought we were superb for the first half hour but when Croatia started to click in the second half we started to panic and the decision making went out the window.
The deficiencies need to be addressed in the next two years. You can't win a tournament without a decent midfielder. Nevertheless we came out of this with a lot of positives and a lot of pride restored.
There was a huge opportunity this tournament with the way the draw opened up for us. That suggests we're still in the mindset that we can't beat any of the big nations. Germany, France, Brazil, Argentina etc. If we continue to develop we CAN beat these teams and get to the point where we don't need favourable draws to compete.
We have World and European Cup winning teams at three youth age levels. Time and again other countries with surges of success at those levels have brought those players through to compete for top honours. We have to now do the same.

 

Especially when we brought the crab on, aka dier, FML! ‍♂️

 

Well apart from when we scored, The Keeper saved fromKane, we hit the post and Stones had one headed off the line