Welbeck has been one of the biggest contributor's to England's qualification.

[Edited on June 1, 2014 at 4:19 PM. Reason : .]

6/1/2014 4:19:12 PM

Ribery going to miss the World Cup?

damn

6/1/2014 4:32:57 PM

^^ and cleverley started too in a bunch of games. Point?

Sterling is a far better choice in the current setup.

And after thinking about it, if Gerrard is going to play they need Henderson with his stamina and legs. I'm good with that decision..

6/1/2014 6:11:27 PM

Except Welbeck actually had an impact. Cleverley didn't. You are judging Welbeck off one match where he didn't even play in his favored position and obviously wasn't going to give his best performance in a friendly before the World Cup which could easily risk injury.

6/1/2014 10:55:03 PM

I'm judging it on a seasons worth of form and impact on the setup. I said that BEFORE the game by the way..

6/2/2014 7:56:48 AM

By saying this, I'm NOT saying we will beat them or anything but that Germany roster isn't that scary IMHO. I think Germany is the most overrated of the "favorites" (Argentina, Brazil, Spain, etc.)

6/2/2014 8:39:34 AM

So my friend said to watch the games in Raleigh at bada wings. I assumed to watch them at London Bridge. I want somewhere with volume up for our games, a good crowd, and good drinks. Ideas or known things from 2010? Any help is appreciated.

6/2/2014 10:39:00 PM

Hopefully another movie theater steps up this year to show games.

R.I.P. Galaxy.

6/3/2014 7:03:10 AM

Go to London Bridge. The place was packed during weekend qualifiers last year. I imagine it will be even more so for the actual World Cup matches. I will be there, loud and proud for both England and the US.

6/3/2014 9:53:04 AM

London Bridge for sure. I go pretty frequently, and the place will be packed on a Sunday morning at 8AM for a good premier league matchup.

6/3/2014 10:05:21 AM

http://games.espn.go.com/world-cup-bracket-predictor/2014/en/group?groupID=28429

Created a TWW group for the ESPN bracket predictor

password is tww

6/3/2014 11:38:36 AM

^^ I am sure I have seen you there haha. Might as well have a World Cup TWW meet up.

6/3/2014 8:34:44 PM

Lol Mexico. Down 1-0 vs Bosnia in a friendly.

MEXIL L

6/3/2014 10:21:48 PM

I'm not watching but on paper England's back four today is comically bad at a supposed power in international level...

From what Im reading, Ox has been terrific. Surely he or Sterling will start over Welbeck?????

[Edited on June 4, 2014 at 3:34 PM. Reason : X]

6/4/2014 3:25:07 PM

It's only half time but England's defense has been atrocious in this game so far. They are letting way too much by. I know that these pre-cup friendlies are meant for different teams to try out a few different squad combinations before the real games, so hopefully Hodgson has figured out that this one isn't quite working too well.


On the other side of the coin, the attacks have been really good. Lots of speed coming from Barkley, Ox, and Rooney. If they have this attacking force combined with the defense that they had on Saturday against Peru there will be a decent fight against Italy.

6/4/2014 3:55:33 PM

Hodgson's biggest mistake was not taking a legitimate defensive midfielder with him. England's defense is shaky With Johnson, Smalling, and Jagielka. Jones and Cahill together I believe is the best combo.

Hodgson will probably go with Cahill and Jagielka though and without a proper DM the center half's will get exposed by pace. Other than that I can't complain much about the others. I can only hope that Barkley and the young kids get a chance over the tried and failed partnership of Lampard and Gerrard when the real match's start.

6/4/2014 8:02:10 PM

who the fuck plays James Milner at RB when you've got people on the roster who play RB.

6/4/2014 8:15:31 PM

^England has 1 RB on the roster, Johnson. Shaw and Baines are LB's. Smalling can play there I guess but not effectively. In a World Cup friendly it isn't risky to try something to assess your options.

6/4/2014 8:20:53 PM

Who is England's RB2 if a second one would have been added to the roster in place of one of the other outfield players?

6/4/2014 8:54:50 PM

Flanagan

6/4/2014 9:18:07 PM

Banned items at the World Cup...

http://msn.foxsports.com/soccer/story/fireworks-vuvuzelas-forbidden-items-at-world-cup-in-brazil-060414?cmpid=tsmfb:fscom:foxsoccer

I'm cool with the flares, but everything else is sort of silly. Europe is a bunch of cry babies. I was shocked at all of the talk about vuvuzelas last World Cup. Everyone was acting like it was a new thing. Horns like that had been being used in CONCACAF for years. It was no big deal to me.

6/5/2014 12:17:22 AM

vuvuzelas are terrible

6/5/2014 1:02:55 AM

^I'm not going to complain that they aren't there, but I won't complain when I hear horns of some sort either.

6/5/2014 1:07:22 AM

I have a vuvuzela. I'll be bringing it with me to Brazil. Whether or not I am allowed into the gates with a giant horn stuffed down my pants (athankya) remains to be seen.

6/5/2014 2:25:52 AM

It's a shame Walker got hurt. He would have been England's best option by a mile.

6/5/2014 7:02:27 AM

Walker isn't exactly better than Johnson either. England has so much quality at LB and is absolutely dross at RB. Fortune has never shined on England since 1966, except almost briefly when Gazza first emerged on to the scene in Turin!

6/5/2014 10:54:12 AM

i loved going to the last world cup and the atmosphere of the vuvuzelas - we have a few at the house now

the only downside was depending on the section you were in it possibly detracted from the typical songs / chanting

6/5/2014 10:57:50 AM

Give me the Brazilian samba drums over vuvuzelas any day. The atmosphere at this World Cup is going to be electric in the big matches.

6/5/2014 11:03:26 AM

Google maps in all the Brazil World Cup stadiums https://www.google.com/maps/views/streetview/brazils-world-cup-stadiums?gl=us

6/5/2014 11:05:09 AM

are the stadiums done yet?

6/5/2014 12:34:52 PM

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/05/sport/football/brazil-sex-world-cup-football/



[Edited on June 5, 2014 at 12:38 PM. Reason : ]

6/5/2014 12:38:28 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8d2Be79Ho8

6/5/2014 1:29:34 PM

^lol!

6/5/2014 3:12:39 PM

^lol!

6/5/2014 3:14:06 PM

^lol!

6/5/2014 3:32:29 PM

The Altidore one is funny too

6/5/2014 9:46:27 PM

^I like the one from 2006...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=px31n8e0MWg

[Edited on June 5, 2014 at 10:15 PM. Reason : .]

6/5/2014 10:12:32 PM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_i3Lcjli84

6/5/2014 10:17:12 PM

Best ever soccer ESPN spot is the one with Landycakes kicking the copier: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5fYJcdEeiM

6/5/2014 11:10:22 PM

^Yeah, that one is great too. I also like the one where all of the people in the office keep falling down and faking injury.

6/5/2014 11:13:18 PM

Jordi Alba just got killed on the pitch.

Oh never mind, he's fine now. Just fell like he was shot in the heart and then rolled around for sixty seconds... in a friendly... against El Salvador.

Barca DNA.

6/7/2014 4:28:33 PM

Reus ruled out for the WC

6/7/2014 6:08:38 PM

Reus ruled out for the WC

6/7/2014 6:08:38 PM

^^^ Did they bring out the most unnecessary piece of bullshit in soccer... THE STRETCHER?

Honestly, soccer would be so much better if they instituted some major suspensions for injury, like if you go off with "injury" you cannot return in the match at minimum. Diving is such a huge problem and yet they never do anything to truly address it. So frustrating.

6/7/2014 9:12:18 PM

6/7/2014 10:38:23 PM

Sorry, LeBron. You cramped up, so you're out for the game.

6/7/2014 10:42:52 PM

England are so fucking boring. I'm being kind of a twat harping on it but they are just awful to watch.

Gerrard has to play which means Henderson has to play next to him because Gerrard is a liabilty defensively and they need Henderson's engine to cover. This limits any chance of creativity though. Wilshere isn't a star (and Henderson has far better form) but he would be the most creative and technical CM by a mile but can't play with Gerrard because that would be suicide.

The only other spot where you are going to get positive attacking football is Chambo\Sterling for Welbeck but Roy simply won't do that. So annoying...

[Edited on June 8, 2014 at 9:17 AM. Reason : and I think kyle walker is shit but he is much better than Johnson at this point]

6/8/2014 9:16:46 AM

why does gerrard have to play?

6/8/2014 12:32:45 PM

because he's a golden god

6/8/2014 12:52:36 PM

^^Well, he's the captain and an outstanding player

6/8/2014 2:07:02 PM