January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
England v Portugal
The big game: Will England win?
David Bascome: Portugal is going to have the edge. They have a little more depth on their bench. When you look at the players coming off of England's bench, they have some decent players, but they don't have too many that's going to change the complexity of the game.
With England's direct style of play they're going to have to get more out of Rooney and Beckham. He's one of the best crossers in the world, but as a leader he's going to have to show a little more.
I'm not surprised with Rooney's performance. You can see he's frustrated with himself and the fans were expecting too much from him just coming back from an injury.
He can't just jump right back into it and be at full fitness — it's not going to happen.
George Holdipp: I'm sorry but I must say that there is no way I can see Portugal beating England this time around. The English have a very solid defence and Portugal struggle to score against decent opposition and are unfortunately missing their talisman, the Brazilian-born Deco, who is their principle playmaker - without him they will struggle.
Figo can turn it on from time to time, but I don't think he is the player he used to be, Ronaldo is suspect, still carrying that injury, and with a few solid knocks from the England players and he will 'wilt' This is where Sven's tactical genius will come to the fore - I don't think England have played to their potential yet but thanks to the astute leadership of their skipper David Beckham they have managed to get this far - England will win this encounter and unfortunately for my Portuguese brethren I think all those flags will have to come down over the weekend.
JW: No need to apologise George, I'd take an England win.
Not sure I've ever heard the phrase 'tactical genius' and Sven in the same sentence before. If by tactics you mean kicking lumps out of Portugal's flair players and hoping for a goal from a free-kick or a corner then yes I suppose that could well be the 'masterplan'.
It won't be pretty and England won't necessarily deserve a great deal of kudos, but in general, I think I agree.... They'll scrape through.
RC: Tactical genius is not a phrase often associated with Sven and he has done nothing in this tournament to alter that. It's as though he flips a coin and voila a new lineup and formation emerges. If England win I suspect the forced changes to the Portuguese lineup will be the cause versus tactics from Sven the Mensa. England have been poor and even without Deco Portugal have a real chance in this game.
Tiago will most likely replace him as will Petit for Costinha. They will not be as fluid offensively but defensively they will be very difficult to penetrate, particularly for an English team devoid of attacking ideas.
Chris Gibbons: Saturday's game, even without Deco, Portugal still have the players to win it if England continue playing as cluelessly as they have been. But if England can raise their game even a touch, I don't see why they can't nick it. It's a one-off cup tie, after all. Lampard surely can't fire blanks for the whole tournament. Rooney is due a goal and if Gerrard and Cole are on song, there is reason for optimism. I would like to see Eriksson keep Carrick, and start Lennon instead of Beckham but I don't expect for a minute he will drop Goldenballs. One danger for England is if they go 1-0 up early and try and sit on it. They won't need reminding what happened in Euro 2004 and the last World Cup when they attempted that - and worryingly, Robinson and Terry have looked a bit shaky.
GH: Sorry Chris, I can't buy that, Beckham is currently being blamed for all and sundry by the British media and several pundit's but if you can recall, it was his free kick which won the game in their last match. It was also one of his immaculate crosses which found Crouch to break the deadlock with Trinidad - six minutes from time. Beckham is catching flack but England wouldn't have reached this stage without him! Think about it!
Lee Beauchamp: Bet the bar owners in Bermuda think Christmas has come early with this "local" match-up.
I think Chris makes a good point regarding Beckham. Sven can play it two ways. Firstly, he can stick with Beckham, who has obviously lost a yard of pace, as he puts his foot on the ball and slows down every attack, and persist with the long ball.
If this is the case, then he must then play Rooney and Crouch up front and it's the old fashioned English way of hit it and hope.
Or, drop Beckham, play Lennon feeding Rooney and an attacking Gerrard, keep the ball on the ground and try to be creative. I personally favour the latter option as with Cole, Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney and Lennon there just may be enough skill to beat this depleted Portuguese team.
GH: We continue to hear about this free flowing attack, but I saw the Dutch play this way against Portugal the other day and what did it get them? They must have had 70 per cent of the possession in the second half and still could not convert. The story of the Dutch team in a nutshell - meanwhile, England have a player who is possibly the best free kick taker in the world and can cross the ball with pin-point precision AND who also happens to score goals or at the very least set them up - and we want to bench him? Forget attractive football — goals win matches and in Beckham England have someone who has proved he can score!
CG: Fair point, George - and his free kick won the game against Paraguay too. I'm not blaming Beckham for anything - there are plenty of others who have not lived up to their expensive reputations - but like a lot of other pundits, I wonder if England might not have been in those tight situations in the first place had we had someone of Lennon's pace and flair to open things up a bit more. Anyway, Eriksson is not going to drop Beckham, so it's a mute point and at the end of the day, I'll happily settle for a Beckham free kick winner against Portugal in the 91st minute.
GH: Let's face it guys, the English have always played and continue to play a 'kick and run' game, I think it is a little too late to change it now nevertheless in Beckham, Gerrard and Rooney they have the players to beat Portugal
RC: Not so sure that I agree with that synopsis. England performed admirably in Euro 2004 and if not for Sven's mindless squad selections, coupled with injuries to important players we could be seeing a different team. Beckham is far more effective in the flow of the game with Neville behind him and without doubt the next best thing to Beckham's crosses are those provided by Gary Neville.
JW: It's something they should have look to change long-term from the youth ranks upwards - decide on a style of play and bring it through at every level — something similar to Holland's policy of total football in the seventies. It needs to start and be overseen by the national coach though and a manager like Gus Hiddink would have been much better, in that respect, than the master of ugly football Steve McLaren. For now though, there's only one way England can win the World Cup, and it ain't by outpassing or outclassing anybody.
RC: Oh, my bad. Didn't know that we were discussing England winning the World Cup…that thought never entered my mind...
JW: I'm pretty confident in predicting that the 4-5-1 formation will be ditched and Crouch will come back in alongside Rooney up-front.
The key question is, does Sven cut his losses with the Lampard-Gerrard partnership and pick a genuine water-carrier like Owen Hargreaves (with Neville returning at right back) in the second centre-midfield role in order to get the best out of Gerrard?
GH: Can't see Sven leaving out Lampard, he is too good a player.
, I think Lampard is due to come good and Portugal better hope he does not bring his A game - they will have their hands full dealing with Gerrard, Rooney and Beckham!!!
LB: No, I don't see Sven dropping Lampard for Hargreaves. He will stick with the formula and team that has got him this far - same four across the middle with Crouch up front. The only change will be Neville for Hargreaves at right back.
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