Platinum Stars v England

[Stranded]

1990 we were very good against the Dutch.

I remember that game (as with most of that group) being absolute dullsville.

[readingbedding]

You should see the highlights on youtube, we played very well, Gazza especially.

The game against Ireland was admittedly ruined by the crap, crap weather.

[papereyes]

Gazza's Cruyff turn and Pearce's freekick

Though, in hindsight, its expectation management. In 1988, England got shoe-ed by the Dutch.

[Row Z Royal]

At risk of another FAIL on this thread:

In 1966 IIRC we drew 0-0 with Mexico in the first game.
I gather that no World Cup winning team has ever lost their first game.

So going backwards from my list we have:

98 - BEAT Tunisia
96 - DREW with Switzerland
94 - DNQ
92 - DREW with Denmark
90 - DREW with Ireland
88 - LOST to Ireland
86 - LOST to Portugal

Comprehensively disproved that st8ment I think.

Does BR2 not mean that no team who has lost their first game has gone on to win the tournament?


Or were you not replying to him, Mags?

[papereyes]

I think he may have been replying to

the English are jammy (more so than the fans tend to believe, certainly) and normally start tournaments fairly strongly

[Row Z Royal]

Second FAIL then.

[readingbedding]

Of course we start well, how many times have we failed to qualify out of the first stage?
Fine margins.

Although England fail at the must-do-it-stage, we certainly haven't been well beaten in a WC match since 1962.

[Big Foot]

TBH I'd rather we lost our first game to USA or one of the group games so that the defeat is out the way, much much much more at stake in the knock out rounds

[Baines]

You should see the highlights on youtube, we played very well, Gazza especially.

The game against Ireland was admittedly ruined by the crap, crap weather.

Agreed with all of that. But then, pretty much every game against Holland is memorable, and pretty much every game against Ireland is awful.

[readingbedding]

England haven't beaten Ireland in competative football for aeons.
Scrappy affairs!
Of course the last person to score a hat-trick against us in a tourno was Marco VB (I think), and a very memorable match against the Dutch was in 1996.

[Maguire]

I was replying (both times) to the statement that we'd do well on against the USA because we "normally start tournaments fairly strongly".

Only two opening game wins (v Tunisia and Paraguay) in all those tournaments I listed would suggest that if we we're using history as our guide then we won't actually win on Saturday.

So, FAILs dished to all the relevant posters above.

[floyd__streete]

2002, was a good start.

England 1-1 Sweden

[Ginger Ninjas]

1990 we were very good against the Dutch.

Assuming you mean '96. That was a tournament where people remember England doing well, but except for the performance against Holland it was pretty unconvincing stuff...

Draw with a poor Switzerland
Slightly fortuitous Win vs a poor Scotland (thanks to Uri Gellar, Gary Mcallister and a moment of genius from Gazza)
Great win vs Holland
Tedious draw vs Spain (and Psycho banishes the ghosts of Italia 90)
Draw vs Germany (Southgate earns himself a Pizza Hut advert)

[Baines]

Pretty sure he meant 1990.

[Maguire]

yeah 1990 was good

[Ginger Ninjas]

Pretty sure he meant 1990.

Fair point, although the rest of my post is still valid

Looking back at 1990, our group must have produced the dullest set of results ever...

England 1 – 1 Republic of Ireland
Netherlands 1 – 1 Egypt
England 0 – 0 Netherlands
Republic of Ireland 0 – 0 Egypt
England 1 – 0 Egypt
Republic of Ireland 1 – 1 Netherlands

[Thaumagurist*]

.

[Maguire]

Second and third went through - the lots only decided who finished second and who finished third, not who got to the second round.

[PlasticRoyale]

The 1990 squad who would you like to see in the current squad - Shilton would be a defo, best English keeper ever, Des Walker, Robson, Barnes, Lineker, Gazza, Waddle

When you see it written down it doesn't look that good


Player DoB/Age Caps Club
1 GK Peter Shilton 18 September 1949 (aged 40) 118 Derby County
2 DF Gary Stevens 27 March 1963 (aged 27) 39 Rangers
3 DF Stuart Pearce 24 April 1962 (aged 28) 24 Nottingham Forest
4 MF Neil Webb 30 July 1962 (aged 27) 24 Manchester United
5 DF Des Walker 26 November 1965 (aged 24) 18 Nottingham Forest
6 DF Terry Butcher 28 December 1958 (aged 31) 72 Rangers
7 MF Bryan Robson (c) 11 January 1957 (aged 33) 85 Manchester United
8 MF Chris Waddle 14 December 1960 (aged 29) 52 Marseille
9 FW Peter Beardsley 18 January 1961 (aged 29) 40 Liverpool
10 FW Gary Lineker 30 November 1960 (aged 29) 51 Tottenham Hotspur
11 MF John Barnes 7 November 1963 (aged 26) 53 Liverpool
12 DF Paul Parker 4 April 1964 (aged 26) 5 Queens Park Rangers
13 GK Chris Woods 14 November 1959 (aged 30) 16 Rangers
14 DF Mark Wright 1 August 1963 (aged 26) 24 Derby County
15 DF Tony Dorigo 31 December 1965 (aged 24) 3 Chelsea
16 MF Steve McMahon 20 August 1961 (aged 28) 12 Liverpool
17 MF David Platt 10 June 1966 (aged 23) 5 Aston Villa
18 MF Steve Hodge 25 October 1962 (aged 27) 22 Nottingham Forest
19 MF Paul Gascoigne 27 May 1967 (aged 23) 11 Tottenham Hotspur
20 MF Trevor Steven 21 September 1963 (aged 26) 26 Rangers
21 FW Steve Bull 28 March 1965 (aged 25) 7 Wolverhampton Wanderers
*22 GK Dave Beasant

[cmonurz]

No Pearce, Platt and Beardsley?