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Yeah I alluded to possible suspensions earlier. That would be my concern for them too.

To be honest I think Austria would give Spain a better game than Netherlands would. Austria have been better than NL in this tournament. People are judging teams too much on paper, in my opinion.

True, but United are a joke of a club and forced Ronaldo in him. He is generally a better technical director but he's managed Austria well. Also, I read somewhere he is responsible for the last 10-15 years of altering Austrian football too, so he is reaping the benefits.

Austria have some good players, but I get your point. The thing is, in football, quality of players is very important - but so is coaching. There are plenty teams with better players than Austria but not many who are better coached. Every Austrian player has been drilled to know where to be...

Nearly spat my fucking milk out.

Austria are a dark horse in this competition. The high-pressing energy and the quality on the ball could cause many teams problems. I think they have 9 yellow cards though so they'll probably end up with suspensions as the tournament progresses. Been hugely impressed with them in this first...

Not sure, to be honest I agree with you. They should have enough for Poland (especially a demotivated Polish side) without him. I guess Deschamps doesn't wanna take any chances. He's gone for a defensive midfield so looks like he wants Mbappe magic in front of that.

Exactly, it was definitely gonna happen when I picked him in fantasy lol. On a serious note, he tends to play every game, and France aren't assured of first yet, so this is a surprise. I also am with you on Barcola; he hasn't really had a chance for the NT yet and will be interesting to see if...

Mbappe playing; no Griezmann. Of course I picked Griezmann in the fantasy game as I didn't wanna gamble on Mbappe starting. Baumgartner rested for Austria too.

No, never heard of him.

What about the Pitcairn Islands? I am sure they're a country too. Though with about forty people including women and kids they couldn't make a squad ha.

Predictions for tonight, then France 2-0 Poland. Mbappe first scorer if he starts. If not, Griezmann. Netherlands 1-1 Austria. Baumgartner first scorer. Denmark 1-0 Serbia. Hojbjerg England 2-1 Slovenia. Kane first scorer.

Imagine if it was Austria? An Austria win and a France non-win does it. Unlikely but never know.

Obviously it is hard to rate players like the full-back reserves and Di Stefano we have only seen on video, but it is just a bit of fun. I have left out so many great players (Zidane, Muller, Best, Puskas, Zico, Ronaldinho, Gullit, Van Basten, Moore etc) but we have to be ruthless. I'd rather...

I prefer Xavi and if I vote it will be 18-18. I can't bring myself to vote against Iniesta on anything though as he's one my faves too.

The Albania game was the problem really. That last minute equaliser put so much pressure on you for the Italian match. Italy beat Albania and you didn't, and that is what has cost you ultimately.

I preferred Xavi, but they're two of my favourite players of all time and I don't wanna pick one over the other, so I will not vote. The way Xavi controlled games under Pep and Del Bosque was just unreal though. There was a four or five year period where, if Xavi was playing, the other team...

I have said it a few times, but I am not really comfortable with the celebrity worship in society. We all know Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar etc are great players, we know that some people are brilliant actors and singers, but people really shouldn't be revered for possessing a skill in life that makes...

Do you think Ipswich will go straight back down? Or could they spring a surprise and do well? They look like the poorest team in the division.

I would agree with most of that - all I would say is that even though Portugal have better players (mostly on paper) than Spain, Spain still play more cohesive football and if they meet then I would expect Spain to dominate the ball and Portugal to try to hit counter-attacks.