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Round of 16

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MikeH72 said:
This didn’t matter in 2018 when Croatia beat England.
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Expect Croatia has been in semi-final (1998) and backbone of the 2018 team were experienced seen it all players. Modric (Real Madrid), Rakitic (Barca), Brozovic, Perisic (Inter), Kovacic (Real Madrid), Mandzukic (Juve).

Probably more experienced in big games than that England, i mean your best midfielder was Henderson, that say it all.
You got much better team now (at least on paper). For all your problems and amateur on bench i still think you gonna scrape to final and then in single game everything is possible, remember how did Portugal beat France in 2016.
 

Papa Shango said:
I don't really see why this matters seeing as most of them have played in big games for their club sides? You have got players who have played for big clubs like Bayern Munich, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Liverpool, Juventus, Manchester City, Arsenal and Newcastle (lol) in that team. Playing at the business end of a tournament isn't alien to them or anything.
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International football brings motivations and pressures that are not there in club football. Take Baumgartner last night - floods of tears. You rarely see such emotion in club football. Making a semi-final would be a huge achievement for Switzerland and is likely to be a bigger deal emotionally for many of these players than making a Champions League semi-final. I'd always back the side who are more experienced in these situations when a game is, basically, 50-50. England are used to these occasions. In a tight match, that's not a disadvantage.

But, these things are in the head. If the Swiss have the right mental attitude, will, spirit, and belief, they can surmount any of this. I just feel that experience of doing it before makes it easier to believe you can do it. As Steve Davis famously said, "You don't know if you can be a winner until you win."

When I was 16, Ireland beat England 1-0 at Euro 88. We then played a superb Soviet side off the pitch in a 1-1 draw, and narrowly lost to the great Dutch side. As a teenager - up to that point - I never felt Ireland could win or compete at the top table. After that tournament, we knew we could. And we did. We had six more years upsetting apple carts everywhere. Our economy also took off. Economists put the economic boom down to Euro 88 and the belief that our success engendered in our people. That's why international football is different to club football. It moves entire nations. Ireland is now one of the most successful small nations in Europe, and thus the world. Was that all down to football? No. But it helped.

So, yes, I firmly believe that it's easier to achieve something that you have done before because it gives you belief. Of course, teams can also be pioneers - like that Irish team. That's what Switzerland have to be to make the last four. Maybe they can do it. I just think it's more likely that the team that has done it regularly before will do it again - and the team that hasn't will do what they always do: come up short.

The same dynamic will apply the other way to England in the final...
 
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Drico said:
International football brings motivations and pressures that are not there in club football. Take Baumgartner last night - floods of tears. You rarely see such emotion in club football. Making a semi-final would be a huge achievement for Switzerland and is likely to be a bigger deal emotionally for many of these players than making a Champions League semi-final.
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This was clearly a factor in England's final in 2021 and why it is harsh to expect that England only needed to turn up to beat that Italy side
 
Papa Shango said:
I doubt that a game 20 years earlier had any impact on that 2018 game.

I mean by that way of thinking England should have won because of 1966.
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I agree about that, it was completely different generations without much effect on anything, for every team is like that.
In the end its all about players quality and experience and mentality.

What i meant to say in earlier post is that core of our team in 2018 were important players in big clubs around Europe and absolutely experienced in playing big games (midfield was basically 2 from Real, 1 from Barca and 1 from Inter). Add Modric who alone played more games like that than majority of players from both teams put together. In the end it was that what mattered and not what happened in different tournament 20 years earlier.

Anyway i fancy both you and Netherlands to go through.
 

Billy Dean said:
This was clearly a factor in England's final in 2021 and why it is harsh to expect that England only needed to turn up to beat that Italy side
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Did anyone think they only needed to turn up to win? I don't think rational people did.

I think people were possibly disappointed that they couldn't repeat the 1966 experience. That probably made some more expectant than they should have been.

It'll be interesting to see if England can conquer their demons if they get back to another final.
 

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