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He gets stuck in though. And his work rate helps the team. Ref has been poor, agree.

I agree with that - I have always said that a player can affect the game a lot by controlling it or doing stuff before the actual goal and assists. I didn't know that Pedri was being played as more of an AM. He can be just as good and effective a player though as a pure CM. Yeah he was injured...

I get the guy's point - Olmo seems to have more end product (and he's a talented footballer too). Pedri is even more gifted but he seems like a typical heart of midfield type of player. Spain in this tournament seem have tried to use him as a player driving into the box. like the main box threat...

What makes Argentina so formidable is not just that they're so good in forward areas and have technicians like Mac Allister and Fernandez in midfield - it's also that they have so many warriors in their team. I have noticed it for a few years now - something switched and they started showing so...

Just googled why E Martinez is nicknamed Dibu - looks a cool character. On the game - been pretty good and entertaining. Canada unlucky to be behind, goal from nothing though a beautiful pass from De Paul. Alvarez's feet were too fast for the defender and lovely finish. Messi had that beautiful...

Yeah we will see. I think I will change to 2-0 - 1-0 seems conservative. They could lose though too, you're right. They have to be wary of the counter

I understand the reasons for it but it has been annoying me for a while. The Premier League don't do this and it's by far the most watched league in the world with hundreds of millions of eyes on it every week. I wanna watch Spain in red and France in blue.

True. But even though people were sleeping on Spain - they were still seen as a realistic winner. It's just that people were hyping up the flashier players from Portugal and France. You're essentially right though - Spain as a unit play the type of football that then allows the gamebreakers to...

Yeah, France wore their home shirt once in the tournament I believe. IN SIX GAMES. This is because they were the designated 'fourth team' in their group, so were only the 'home' team vs Poland. Then from there on out they were the 'away' team in QFs and SFs. They were the 'home' team vs...

That's a very good point - international football is more methodical often than the club game, and he has an advantage as you (and some of us others) have said in that Spain are a better unit and better drilled than many other international teams. It has let him play his own game. At club level...

They're in the final now which is really good, and they clearly play like a Pep team. But yes, Spain were at their best when Del Bosque basically copied Pep by playing all his Barca players and aping his style of football (minus Messi). Pep has influenced everything - no way Spain win those...

I sort of see both sides. You don't wanna burn out young players or throw them to the wolves too early - but on the other side of the coin, signing non-entities like Rabiot just as a body (on the wages he'd want) is never gonna be a game changer. It's not gonna make much difference having...

Would be even cooler if they had beaten Germany in 90 minutes, but yeah, even doing it without penalties would be a huge achievement.

Just hope he doesn't end up burned out - he needs to be managed well so he can have a long career. He's a worldie talent but he is only 16. He's so mature and sensible for his age that it's easy to forget, but he's still a child essentially.

Gonna go for ARG 1-0 CAN Tempted to go 2-1 Arg or 2-0 but can't decide. These Argentina games have had fewer goals often though.

Exactly my point. Xavi and Iniesta are so underrated. I still think they were the two best players after Messi - not Ronaldo - but I don't talk about it much as it's an unpopular opinion.

It's harder to win in a prime Messi era though. Plus Xavi and Iniesta weren't PR merchants like Ronaldo. Rodri wouldn't have won it in Xavi and Iniesta's era either, and they would be the two best players in the world now if in prime. The BD is something of a popularity contest though. Though...

He's more talented, intelligent, and a better team player (as well as understanding the game) than someone like Bellingham. Bellingham will come up with more magic moments, but he won't dominate a game like Rodri can. I get your point though that players are less talented now.

Top shout.

Someone like Leao has insane hype in the media because he looks flashy and runs fast, despite being an average player. Olmo isn't as flashy but definitely a more impactful player, but has nowhere near the hype of a Leao or Felix. Leo and Felix aren't smart enough to do that touch Olmo did and...