2022 World Cup Qatar

I thought it was a similar situation to the Euro final. Southgate didn't use substitutes when needed, the team was looking leggy and needed an injection to get over the line. He could have done the same thing at the Euro final, but Mancini used his substitutes better, just like the Poland manager did.

Some tactical naievity shown by Southgate. England should still qualify but it certainly makes the last matches interesting.

I am wondering

Is the team beginning to run out of energy, motivatkion and ideas in the last 10 - 15 mins of games and is Southgate starting to make
tactical errors in terms of substitutions at the right time?? Should we look back to what happened against Iceland in the previsouy Euros and
say Have we nmoved on from that moment or is there still something in players minds that bring up memories of that game?

And has that draw ended up being two dropped points that could have made qualification almost a certainty? Anfd should we be worried?

Hungary is the tough one out of the games left

a 1 -1 draw probably now leaves England have to win probably two games by big margins to be sure of qualifying.

Where did Southgate get it wrong?

England now need 4 points from the last two matches to guarantee first place in the group. Assuming that happens, the winning margin is irrelevant - as in the event of finishing level, I believe the head to head group record is used first. England have that advantage over both Poland and Albania.

All's not yet lost - yes I think yesterday's tactics / formation could have been better, but I don't think we need to start the "getting it wrong" inquest unless we fail to qualify.

It showed how much Kalvin Phillips was missed (through injury). Hungary played well and we failed to control the game as Rice was overwhelmed in midfield.

^^ Very good point. I think Kane struggled against their defenders too. He was left isolated and we never really created the space needed for both the forwards and midfield to make an impact on their goal.

I'm still optimistic of qualification, but there's no doubt some tweaks are needed assuming we do get there.

Poor England performance against fair opposition who clearly came for either a draw or low number defeat. England did miss Phillips but it shows Southgate cannot play Mount,Grealish and Foden together against a defensive side of quality. It was also evident that Stirling is lacking something at the moment and Kane looks like little boy lost.
Kane especially needs to get himself sorted with Tottenham, he probably knows he she have stuck to his guns and left but now needs to just knuckle down again. Oh and who told Tyrone Ming's he was a footballer,not international class I'm afraid.
Southgate maybe needs to have a look around and maybe bring in a couple of new faces just to keep the squad fresh and on their toes

Apart from Rice, who was having to do two guys work, the best player on the pitch was Grealish. Then who did Southgate bring off, Sterling no, Foden no, but a very disgruntled Grealish.

Scotland won though - and as usual like to mess with our blood pressure, as is the normal but puts us in a good position

In other European (UEFA) qualifying, Denmark have become the third team to qualify for the finals, after Qatar and Germany. They look focused and very solid - won all group games so far without conceding a single goal. Sweden still top their group ahead of Spain. I saw some of their win against Greece - including a route one assist from goalkeeper Robin Olsen for striker Alexander Isak to score their second.

I've also been following some matches from other confederations:-

In the Asian qualifying (AFC), Japan are finding it tough in their section. Saudi Arabia, Australia and Oman are all still above them in the qualifying places in their group. I think there's still a good chance of some surprise teams coming from that part of the world with Lebanon and China still in a good position in the groups.

In Africa (CAF) it currently looks like the usual teams with Morocco and Senegal having advanced to the next round and Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Egypt, South Africa, Algeria and Tunisia still topping their groups. Tanzania and Mali top their groups though so could still be a few surprises there.

In the South American (CONMEBOL) zone, it's always a brutally tough process - played in a single league format of all 10 teams playing home and away matches. Brazil, Argentina, Ecuador, Uruguay and Colombia are currently in the qualifying places.

North / Central America (CONCACAF) currently sees Mexico and USA occupy the top two places but Panama and Canada remain in a good position to claim what would be only a second ever appearance in a finals for either team.