From Newsgroup: rec.sport.tennis

Hello!

Well, what can I say? I supported England but
their tactics was nothing short of moronic:
just defend after taking 1-0 lead!

Argentina's ball control was at 78% during the
second half of the match! They attacked
ferociously virtually all the time and got
great results: 2-1 victory is enough to take
them to the World Cup final!

The better team won, no question about it.

England should be ashamed!!! So stupid!!!


br,
KK
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From Newsgroup: rec.sport.tennis

On 16/07/2026 7:46 am, Kalevi Kolttonen wrote:

Hello!

Well, what can I say? I supported England but
their tactics was nothing short of moronic:
just defend after taking 1-0 lead!

Argentina's ball control was at 78% during the
second half of the match! They attacked
ferociously virtually all the time and got
great results: 2-1 victory is enough to take
them to the World Cup final!

The better team won, no question about it.

England should be ashamed!!! So stupid!!!

br,
KK

Yes, bad decision to sit back on a 1 goal lead. They knew Argentina was
going to attack and get at least 1 goal.
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From Newsgroup: rec.sport.tennis

On 16.7.2026 0.46, Kalevi Kolttonen wrote:

Hello!

Well, what can I say? I supported England but
their tactics was nothing short of moronic:
just defend after taking 1-0 lead!

Argentina's ball control was at 78% during the
second half of the match!

Argentina controlled the first half also. Just in a different, more
defensive way. The English goal was more a result of a fluke Argentinian
ball handling disaster than of tactical considerations. No other
opportunities for England before or after.

Would England have fared better with a less defensive formation with the
same possession as in the first half? I doubt that. England wasn't
taking it to the Argentinians at any point. This staring at possession percentages smacks of an English excuse (adopted by the lame Finnish
experts). So you don't have to admit the obvious: Argentina was the far superior team.

England should be ashamed!!! So stupid!!!

Lol. Why on Earth?! They still have a great team. One of the best. Just
one that lacks the X factor against the toppity top.
--
"Cough cough"
-- Suzanne Lenglen
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From Newsgroup: rec.sport.tennis

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Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8
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Pelle Svansl=C3=B6s <pelle@svans.los> Wrote in message:r

On 16.7.2026 0.46, Kalevi Kolttonen wrote:> Hello!> > Well, what can I sa=

y? I supported England but> their tactics was nothing short of moronic:> ju=
st defend after taking 1-0 lead!> > Argentina's ball control was at 78% dur= ing the> second half of the match! Argentina controlled the first half also=
. Just in a different, more defensive way. The English goal was more a resu=
lt of a fluke Argentinian ball handling disaster than of tactical considera= tions. No other opportunities for England before or after.Would England hav=
e fared better with a less defensive formation with the same possession as =
in the first half? I doubt that. England wasn't taking it to the Argentinia=
ns at any point. This staring at possession percentages smacks of an Englis=
h excuse (adopted by the lame Finnish experts). So you don't have to admit = the obvious: Argentina was the far superior team.> England should be ashame= d!!! So stupid!!!Lol. Why on Earth?! They still have a great team. One of t=
he best. Just one that lacks the X factor against the toppity top.-- "Cough=
cough"-- Suzanne Lenglen




There's no guarantee England would have won and prevailed in the end, but t=
he way they played after their goal, meant they almost had no chance.


Going forward with 40% or 50% or 60% chance is way different than 5% or 10%=
.

They opted for 5% or 10% chance, so wrong.
--=20




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From Newsgroup: rec.sport.tennis

On 16.7.2026 11.36, *skriptis wrote:

Pelle Svansl||s <pelle@svans.los> Wrote in message:r

On 16.7.2026 0.46, Kalevi Kolttonen wrote:> Hello!> > Well, what can I say? I supported England but> their tactics was nothing short of moronic:> just defend after taking 1-0 lead!> > Argentina's ball control was at 78% during the> second half of the match! Argentina controlled the first half also. Just in a different, more defensive way. The English goal was more a result of a fluke Argentinian ball handling disaster than of tactical considerations. No other opportunities for England before or after.Would England have fared better with a less defensive formation with the same possession as in the first half? I doubt that. England wasn't taking it to the Argentinians at any point. This staring at possession percentages smacks of an English excuse (adopted by the lame Finnish experts). So you don't have to admit the obvious: Argentina was the far superior team.> England should be ashamed!!! So stupid!!!Lol. Why on Earth?! They still have a great team. One of the best. Just one that lacks the X factor against the toppity top.-- "Cough cough"-- Suzanne Lenglen

There's no guarantee England would have won and prevailed in the end, but the way they played after their goal, meant they almost had no chance.

Easy to say.

I think Argentina would have prevailed in any case, yes. It's really an unbelievably strong team (Go Espana!). What irks me is the standard
English fair play (usually from the sidelines): "Not our fault!" It's
always someone else (preferably a furriner nearby). Why not just admit Argentina was WAY better.

Going forward with 40% or 50% or 60% chance is way different than 5% or 10%.

They opted for 5% or 10% chance, so wrong.

I don't think the calculations are that straightforward. Taking it to
the Argentinians would have meant raising the defence (=> more mommy
breaks), increasing possession (which they didn't have with the 1st half formation either), opening up their own penalty area more ... low
defence when leading is standard football, AFAIK. It's annoying, sure.
As such, an easy target.

Tuchel, FWIW, mentioned this. He said that England was under pressure
from the Argentinian passes into the box even before they withdrew. (He
also said the players withdrew before the new formation, lol. "It's
their fault!")
--
"Cough cough"
-- Suzanne Lenglen
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