England v Ireland

[Clinton Baptiste]

I suggest we get practicing penalties asap as Woy seems to be a draw specialist.

They practice them to death I bet, it comes down to bottle on the day and our players just collapse. The more shoot outs we miss the more the pressure builds on the next time we are in one. Until we win one in a meaningful match, it will continue.

 

[EastStandBlue]

I'd imagine it's exactly like darts and snooker in that during practice sessions, 147s and nine-darters aren't too uncommon, and it's the pressure of the spectacle/occasion that has far more to do with missed penalties. There was also something a German coach said (think it might've been Ralf Rangnick) about how he thought English players were so awful at converting penalties because by the end of 120 minutes, they're all out on their feet because of the arduous season they've just completed without a break.

Missed the first half last night which, by all accounts, wasn't up to much but thought England more than matched Brazil in the 40 minutes I saw. Oxlade needed that performance as I think he's been fairly ordinary when he's played for Arsenal this last campaign. I understand that Milner does a role for England by offering a bit more protection on the flank, but he's one of the most distinctly pedestrian footballers I can remember playing for England.

I thought Neymar looked fairly average - some nice flicks, clever passing and intuitive movement, but all to little effect. Paulinho looks some player and took his goal extremely well, Tor-Kristian Karlsen was mentioning on Twitter after the game that he spent two years in Lithuanian football and one in Poland without ever being linked to a European club, but is now rated at £15m.