England is out of the World Cup group stage. That is the only unqualified positive to take from a 1-0 win over Panama that had more in common with a root canal than a tournament performance. Thomas Tuchel’s side finished top of Group C but the vibes are awful, and the mailbag at Football365 is absolutely roasting.
The complaints are familiar. Same old England problem. We cannot move the ball with any purpose. We look stiff and predictable. And the defense is so shaky fans are actually missing Harry Maguire. A Liverpool fan said that. Out loud. In writing.
Ezri Konsa is getting cooked on the ball and the decision to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold at home looks more inexplicable by the day. Reece James is made of balsa wood and we all knew it. Quansah is a center back being asked to play right back and now he might be hurt. Tuchel brought a 37-year-old Jordan Henderson into a World Cup knockout stage but could not find room for one of the most creative fullbacks in Europe. Make it make sense.
One reader framed it bluntly. We invented this sport but other countries perfected it. The “bestest league in the world” produces a backline that panics under pressure, a midfield that cannot control tempo, and wingers who make terrible decisions every single match. Football IQ is low. The academies are not fixing it. And now an English manager is not even in charge because the FA could not find one capable of leading a nation of 70 million plus. That part stings.
Gareth Southgate got a pass because he reached finals and semis, but people are pointing out the paths were soft. Every time England faced a top ten team they folded. Same root causes. Same weaknesses. Southgate was lucky and now Tuchel is finding out the hard way that the talent pool is shallower than the hype suggests.
The Scotland section of the mailbag is a whole different kind of gut punch. They finished group play on minus one goal difference and went home. Steve Clarke stepped down and the consensus is it was the right call. The SFA now needs to find a replacement with a home Euros on the horizon. Derek McInnes would have been the obvious name but he just took Rangers. David Moyes probably is not leaving Everton. Someone mentioned Pep as a joke. It probably will not happen. But the fact that Scottish fans are even floating it tells you how broken the pipeline feels.
And then there is the VAR conspiracy piece. A Colombia goal was disallowed for offside late in a match and the replay showed it was clearly onside. Like, naked-eye obvious. Which has some fans asking whether Infantino and FIFA are shading calls to protect certain narratives. The graphics are delayed. The overlays never match the actual freeze frame. Take it on trust, they say. But in no universe was that offside.
Canada made the last 32 for the first time. They got their first World Cup win and first point. But they lost home advantage for the knockout round and now have to play South Africa in LA before a potential date with Netherlands or Morocco. It is progress though. Small steps.
Spain has an easy path. France looks dangerous. Japan might give Brazil a real fight. Morocco could knock out Holland. Ecuador might soften Mexico up before the Azteca showdown. Norway versus Ivory Coast is the most intriguing second round matchup. But for England fans none of that matters. They are looking at a round of 16 tie against DR Congo and wondering whether they even survive that.
Tuchel got a contract extension before this tournament ended. That looks premature right now. The heat and altitude in Mexico will be the excuse if they bow out early. Nobody complained about those conditions in 1970 but okay. For now the team is through. The margins are terrifying. And the fans are already pining for players the manager left on the plane.
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