Why does the England team play such bad football?
Let's go through all the major positions England have been doing well in, and where they lag. (It tells a story)FORWARDSOne of England's greatest strengths is that they have a world class striker in Harry Kane. They also have Rashford who is a decent player and Vardy, who is adept on the counter.WINGERSThe wings are an important attacking position. In this case, only Sterling can lay claim to even being remotely world class. He will have a crucial role to play in the 2018 World Cup.Sterling: Key Player in World CupMIDFIELDThis is where England lacks creativity. Dele Alli is a good, stylish player, and I'm impressed with the likes of Delph and Dier, but they do not have a star player who can create chances seemingly out of nowhere.DEFENSEIn the 3–4–1–2 formation under Southgate, the defenders play a key role in stopping opposition attacks and bringing the ball forward. Manchester City pair Walker and Stones offer great solidity, with Kyle also having the ability to attack. Danny Rose has done well in the EPL. Also, Trent Alexander Arnold is an exciting prospect.Walker and Stones have combined well in MCIGOALKEEPERSAnother glaring weakness. If your #1 plays for Everton, a team that's never won the Premier League, there's something wrong. Pickford is decent, but he isn't any De Gea or Allison. Hart has completely lost form, evidenced by his loan spells to Torino and West Ham.Now, the major conclusion from the above is that the England squad is not talented enough in the goalkeeping and midfield departments. However, there is a slightly less obvious reason as well.The English Premier League's clubs have a much higher earning than most clubs from other countries. So they are able to purchase players from other countries in weakened departments. There isn't as much need to develop English players in the Premier League, which has led to a dip in quality.There you go! Any edits welcome
Which team is the underdog in the 2014 FIFA World Cup who might amaze the world and/or the top guns?
The unanimous view of this year's World Cup is that Belgium are the main 'dark horses', followed by Colombia (Jackson Martinez, Cuadrado, James Rodriguez, Guarin, Quintero, Zapata, Zuniga) and/or Ivory Coast (Yaya Toure, Drogba, Bony, Kalou, Gervinho)One of the main qualities of these teams is that they can and will probable be the giant killers but none of them have that much World Cup experience.So, I'll go for either of France or England. Both have fine squads with a good mix of young talent and experienced heads and most importantly, nobody expects them to go further than quarter-finals. So, no pressure there.Although, England might look back at Roy Hodgson's decision of dropping Ashley Cole and not persuading John Terry out of retirement, for I think they don't have enough quality backup in the defence. As for France, they might miss Ribery and rue Didier Deschamps decision of not calling Samir Nasri as he's been in a very good form this season, often acting as the driving force of Manchester City in the absence of David Silva.Probable stars for England: The Liverpool section of England NT (which now includes Lambert and might include Adam Lallana too)Probable stars for France: Paul Pogba, Raphael Varane, Remy Cabella, Karim Benzema.Thanks for the A2A! ;)