Lions Watch: Fullbacks jostling for position and too late for any bolters?

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1:04Luke Moore: Conditions apply. Hi, this is Mark Bittman from the podcast Food with Mark Bittman. Spring means literally to burst forth, to grow, and that's what we're talking about both in our kitchens and at Whole Foods Market. Freshness and seasonality is what's happening at Whole Foods Market right now With the season's first new potatoes, spring onions, artichokes, favas, snap peas, radishes, spinach, and other spring greens, and more. Enjoy the fresh flavors of spring and save at Whole Foods Market. Owning a home is full of surprises. Some wonderful, some not so much. And when something breaks, it can feel like the whole day unravels.

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2:18From one of the fastest-growing soccer newsrooms, The Guardian brings you in-depth World Cup coverage that gets into the winners and losers on and off the pitch. Read, watch, and listen as our journalists connect the dots between the games, the cultures, and this political moment. We'll have daily newsletters throughout the tournament, a global perspective, and a squad of Americans, including me, on the ground with the U.S. national team. Plus, if you want to test your soccer knowledge, try On The Ball. It's a game in The Guardian app, and it's really, really fun. And if you're into stuff like this…

2:47Luke Moore: Well, I think the problem is if you give footballers an inch, they will take a mile. Is it too much when it's this close? It's a bit much. It's a bit too real. Maybe you could just talk with a slight delay. Be sure to listen to our Football Weekly podcast for on-the-move expert analysis. The Guardian, bringing you the whole picture on soccer. Search Guardian Soccer for more. Have you ever been stuck on a weight loss plateau, trying everything and anything you can to lose that extra weight and reach peak health? We've all been there. But Noom's unlocked a secret to reaching the mountaintop. going micro.

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4:05Luke Moore: Hello, everybody. Welcome to another edition of Lions Watch. We are here, we're live, and We're doing this every fortnight until the World Cup begins. We are only 57 days away from the big kickoff in North America. Luke Moore is with me. Hello. 57 days, brother. I thought it was 63. You're wrong. Am I? Fair enough. I just know that in the run of the order it says 63. But it doesn't matter. Yeah. It's an amount of days. Yes. Maybe it's 57 till it starts and 63 till England play. There you go. That's probably what it is. That's what Luke's worried about. Crisis averted. He doesn't give a damn about the other nations.

4:41Luke Moore: He only cares about one. I do give a damn about them. Do you? Yeah. Not in a football league. I think all nations should be equal, but some are just a bit more equal than others. Right, there we are. There we are. That's Mr. England, Luke Moore there. Now, Luke, we're going to be answering the good listeners and viewers' questions, of course. Get them in the chat box on YouTube. I mean, first comment from Yassir Remen, Mon the Scotland. Yeah. It's Lion's Watch. He spotted his own line. They do have one. I've seen they don't have three though I've seen a comment here saying you're live so don't say fuck or bugger right okay well we won't we won't do that Supernova Dragon hello all hello to you excellent Ben Haywood oh I caught you guys live sweet sweet as bro that's it yeah yeah sweet as okay more of that okay let's sorry about the bollocks everybody let's start with a question here never apologize on email yeah he's got in touch on email so So he knew we were doing this and he thought, I'm going to get head of the pack.

5:41Luke Moore: Clever. Yeah, head of the pack of Lions. Pride of Lions, a Pride of Lions. It's a Pride of Lions. We should have changed the name actually to from Lions Watch to something to do with the Pride. Update it for the new tournament. Let's talk about that. Put your suggestions in. Just put your suggestions in, Marcus. We've got a whole listenership in front of us here. As we use them. Let's get to Jack's question. Yeah. Given the excellent form of Nico O 'Reilly over the past couple of months, is he now a nailed on starter for England? at the World Cup. Luke Moore? I don't think he's a nailed-on starter.

6:11Okay. Purely because there's two main reasons for that, everyone. What camera am I? That one. Two main reasons for that, I think. The first is that there are other options. There's a Lewis Hall in the mix. There is. He's had a very good season. And that kind of leads into the second reason, which is that Nico Reilly isn't really a left-back, is he? So Lewis Hall is... I understand Lewis Hall came through at Cobham was a midfield player as a young player and has kind of adapted himself into a fullback as a lot of players have done in the past. But Nico O 'Reilly is basically an attacking midfielder with a left foot who can defend and is very athletic and therefore Guardiola has kind of repurposed him as a left back.

6:53Now, it's funny, isn't it? Because at what point do we just accept that he is now a left back? I think my answer to that would be when Guardiola says he is.

7:03Luke Moore: Yes. And I don't think, I just don't think Guardiola kind of works in that way so to me that's a very complicated answer with two main points first one is there are other options second one is you know do we trust him to be a traditional left back in the truest sense when it comes to a key game in a knockout stage of a tournament I mean what do you think about those two points yeah I think you know me Luke I I can be seen as a traditionalist you have to answer this question without saying the two words Luke Shaw. No, I'm going to say Lewis Hall. Yeah. I still veer towards Lewis Hall a little bit for reasons you've said there, because he is actually a left back.

7:44Luke Moore: I think O 'Reilly's brilliant. And I think in games maybe where England feel that they could dominate, then maybe you might want to push the boat out a little bit and think, maybe we could have O 'Reilly starting as a left back, drifting into the box, that kind of thing. if England are chasing the game it could be an attacking move to bring him on but my gut feeling still goes with Lewis Hall but that could be the traditionalist in me talking people might say come on what's the matter with you no I think it's a fair comment and I think you kind of end up talking about things like you know different opposition offers you different challenges and you may feel like you make a calculation which of those two is just the best true defender that we've got, which I would say is Lewis Hall.

8:34And if you're playing up against a really good, tough opposition where you want to keep it tight and not give much away, maybe you pick him. But then maybe if it's a case where you're playing a different type of opposition where you've got to break them down or they're going to sit behind the ball and you get to the point where you need to win the final group game or whatever and the team's going to make it hard for you, then maybe you use Niko O 'Rourke as a slightly different option. But I cannot stress enough, to me, he just looks like an attacking midfield player. who's just being asked to play left back.

9:02And that's why he's so good at scoring these crucial goals for Man City and occupying these attacking positions. To understand that properly, you really have to fully appreciate how Man City play. And Man City play, even though they've had their travails over the last 18 months, Man City, 95 % of the teams they play against, how often are they really attacking them? As in honestly, consistently attacking them in wide areas? City are used to calling the shots and dominating the play I just don't think it's as often going to be like that for England Yeah

9:35Luke Moore: I agree with you and you know we could go around in circles here but ultimately that's the point I come to as well the only other little thing I would add on to this is do you think he should be taking another specialist left back because he doesn't seem to want to do that you could say if Dan Byrne goes as one of the centre-halves he can also play We talked about that last time didn't we that you're going to end up having as a third choice the way the modern game is as a third choice fullback, you're probably going to have Konza for right back and Dan Byrne for left back. I hope you never have to play him in that position.

10:04Luke Moore: Well, we know that it won't be Trent Alexander-Arnold at right back. Which is something, I mean, if you want to talk about that now, we can. Let's get it out of the way. Well, I probably didn't go kind of heavy enough last time on how bananas it is that Tuchel is adopting this position that he's taken on Alexander-Arnold. And the reason I think that is because you can excuse it if you've got Rhys James and one other absolutely brilliant right back ahead of him. Liveramento? Maybe. Maybe. But the point isn't that. The point is that he's picking Ben White in the squad who at the very top level recently has been pretty woeful.

10:48Luke Moore: I think we can agree Ben White won't go to the World Cup. Sure, but why is he looking at him over Trent? Because he doesn't fancy Trent. It's as simple as that. That's bonkers though. It's bonkers. What about Doug's saying, James Garn Garner has played both full-back positions this season and done well. I thought you met an England player called Duggs. I don't know who that is. Come on, Duggs is one of our boys. Yeah, fine. But Garner, he's versatile. He has played full-back. He's not a full-back, naturally. I think Garner will probably go as a back-up midfield player. Quite possibly. Who can also slot in there.

11:13Luke Moore: Which is probably the point Duggs is making. Livermanta can play either side. I mean, even if you want to take Jed Spence, although some people might not have him in the squad. Let's move on from full-backs. We've had a number of messages. Before we do, Georgie Boy says absolutely fairly, Liveramento plays both sides, by the way. Which is, I did just say. Not both sides. He'd be wearing an England kit, whichever side of the pitch he's on. He's not Agent Zigzag. No, no, no, certainly not. And if he did, then we'll smoke him out before the tournament. Zoe's Journey says, hello, Ramblers. Love from Indonesia.

11:44Luke Moore: Very nice. What about that? Very nice. International we are. Good to have you on the chat.

11:54Luke Moore: ZDB420Lol asks me who is my favourite English monarch? Well, how long have we got for that? Do you know what? In the spirit of what we're doing here I would probably say Athelred the Unready. How about that? I think it's pronounced Athelred. Athelred. That's okay. I see what you're doing there. You see what I'm doing. I love that you knew him though. You knew of the man. Yeah, that was a pun on his name apparently. Nice to know that they were doing puns and wordplay back in the 900s or whatever it was. It runs down the fabric of this nation. Now, what have we got here? Where shall we go? I think we're going to go with this one.

12:33Luke Moore: Andrew Lorimer says, a lot of chat around England is very negative at the moment. What are your reasons to be cheerful going into the summer? The form of Harry Kane this season would definitely be one of them because that man is playing like the best striker on the planet. Yeah, and there's a few reasons to be positive, I think. One is that England have got a really good squad, okay? It's not perfect, and there's a couple of issues in terms of depth, I think. But ultimately, you can only judge it on the full-strength squad that you think is going to go at this point. And if you do that, then England have got a really good squad.

13:11The second reason to be positive is they qualified brilliantly. they've got a really good record competitively under Tuchel and they've shown on occasions they can be a little bit lacklustre but on other occasions they can be really good and we have to trust the manager to get it right going into the tournament that's where he's going to earn his money and I think also the group the group is hard but it's winnable and I think if you're going to spin it in a positive way you'd say do you know what on one hand it could be a bit tricky but on the other hand the tournament is big so three teams are going to go through probably and the other thing you'd put in there is that it's a good test you know you play Ghana you play Croatia you play Carlos Kiaros's Ghana

13:54Luke Moore: you know you're in for a test you're going to have to break them down aren't you as we struggled to do against Iran last time round when we only beat them 6-2 exactly that's a very good point you can come back for one more turn around the sun Carlos are here that's right yeah but he didn't have a player like Antoine Semenu at his disposal true true so we've got a few reasons it's another sick now how did we not get him in England team. I know. Him and Elise. Hey? Don't, we've got to move on. But I don't think we're overly negative on this show about England at all. No, I think, but the question was is I think there's a general sort of negativity around England.

14:27Luke Moore: I think after those two friendlies, again, you wanted to see a little bit of something and the only goal England scored in two games was a scuffy Ben White goal. So that's probably where the negativity comes from. But I do think it's also, you know, we have a there is a trend in this country where it will be negative and if the opening to the tournament is bad people will be like told you so told you so and then if England start doing well the bandwagon is gigantic I mean look at 2018 it was the absolute nadir I remember I remember you know the build up to the World Cup we just couldn't really get anyone interested in it we were like well no one not as many people want to listen to the show and we talk about England now and that's when I got hold of the wheel of the bandwagon.

15:13You did. And you drove it. You got your little waistcoat out. Still driving it now. But the point being, as soon as England start to show that they might actually go somewhere, how good was that summer? It went from the Nadir to the absolute peak.

15:25Luke Moore: Question from me, where in the bandwagon are you? Are you up front with me? Are you in the back? Trying to just kind of make sure everyone's behaving themselves. If you're driving it, I feel like you're the driver, I'm the conductor. Do you know what? I need to be checking the tickets. I need to be making sure people are having a good time. Is that what conductors do? Well, I tell you what, To quote a certain individual, or paraphrase him rather, if I start driving a bandwagon recklessly, you'll be able to have people hanging out the back of it. Speaking of bus drivers and conductors, do you want to hear an amazing bit of more family trivia?

15:54Of course I do. My granddad used to drive a bus.

15:57Luke Moore: Right. Presumably there's more to it than that. And his conductor turned out to go on to be the bad guy in the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Running Man. You're joking. Yeah, true. That is magnificent. yeah the guy he's from where I'm from and he started out as a bus conductor and he ended up being a Hollywood actor get a load of that everybody so every time I see the running man the bad guy the TV show guy yeah yeah yeah the guy who's the host yeah yeah he used to be the conductor on my grandad's bus yeah that's lovely stuff great stuff right back to the questions sadly this from let's say a little bit of a different flavour here from at Charm School who said food trucks are huge in America what would the Ramble food trucks serve at the World Cup.

16:40Luke Moore: Well, listen, I'm not sure if I can say this, Charlie producer's staring at me, but you might find out soon. You might find out soon. Watch this space. Events are unfolding. There will be announcements made soon. And will they include fire trucks? Yes, they will. Fire trucks? Fire trucks? Sorry, food trucks. Food trucks. Unless things go badly awry, they won't include fire trucks. England are on fire so much, we're going to have to turn out and put everybody out. That would be nice. I think, though... What do you think? sausages would feature yeah that's German though isn't it you've got to be careful English as well don't go too German no you could Cumberland cottage pie there we are we've got there in the end what about what have you got Luke there's a question here I saw from Georgie Boy again he's got a lot of mentions but he's got like a little thing next to his name which I think means he's a little paid subscriber so he gets a little bit of priority he says I'm worried about England's creativity mainly which I think is a I think is a bizarre but again I think people are looking criticism I think you're right about sort of...

17:40Luke Moore: Given the players? Given the players, yeah. Can he get the balance right? I think what happened is you've got your number 10s and people say, oh my goodness, there's a lot of competition. You're absolutely right, there is. But Ebreche Eze has had an injury, of course, recently for Arsenal. Some people may not even put him in contention for 10. They might have him on the left side. But has not done brilliantly this season. He's shown flashes. Jude Bellingham's been out injured for a bit, so we haven't seen him that much. He'll play tonight probably, won't he? Against Bayern? You'd have thought so.

18:09Yeah.

18:10Luke Moore: Cole Palmer's not been playing particularly well. Phil Foden can't even get on the pitch, really. So suddenly England had, you know, on paper these players. You know, Foden was player of the season not that long ago in the Premier League. Cole Palmer scored in the Euros final. He got the goals in the Club World Cup in North America, don't forget. Bellingham, of course, we know. All these players, even Morgan Rodgers, who had a bit of a purple patch this season, again, has not been doing it. You think, well, okay, well, what about on the flanks? Well, we thought there was fierce competition. Sorry, there is fierce competition, but we thought because of so much quality, well, Saka's had a terrible season by his own standards, really.

18:42Luke Moore: I know he's been injured as well, but he's not... He has. No, it's fair. He's not been doing it. And Saka, to me, was always one of the first names on the England team sheet, thinking, ah, okay, well, who else is down there? Bowen's been all right. You know, not too bad. Gordon. Gordon. Well, you go on the other side there, but okay, Gordon. Bowen. You said Bowen. Yeah, I said Bowen. Madueke. Rashy. I think it's good. Rashford has not been playing that much for Barcelona since Rafinha's come back from injury and even then if Rafinha's not been in the side Rashford hasn't been starting that much although I think Rashford would be a reason to get quite excited yeah Maduweke again I think people are if Maduweke didn't go I don't think that many people would kick off but there's just a lot of creative players there's a lot of creative players it's about getting that blend and it's about getting some of them back in form and I think that's maybe why some people are a little bit concerned Harry Kane is a magnificent forward inevitably though some people are saying well hang on a minute in it.

19:35Luke Moore: Well, what if Kane is injured? I mean, Balfour Beast has said, Kane gets injured. Who are we realistically playing up top? People are remembering the Euros last time around when Kane clearly wasn't fit. He wasn't firing on all cylinders and it was a bit disappointing. A lot of people asking who is the backup. The one little flicker of good news, I think, with regard to that, which again is we're painting a particular scenario with Kane getting injured. you know Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a huge drop-off everyone's a drop-off Solanke again I think Watkins coming into a bit of form I think is probably missed a lot of chances the other day yeah but I think Watkins has at least been to a Euros yeah but he's also but he's also a different forward he is they're all different forwards they are but Watkins I mean maybe you could say this about Calvert-Lewin I don't know but Watkins really plays off the shoulder and I don't think he's a great footballer yeah but it proved to be quite handy in the Euros as an option to mix it up fresh legs well indeed yeah take a chance all being well you know Kane is if you're going to go all the way if you're going to go deep in this tournament play 5, 6, 7 even 8 games all the way to the final I don't think in that heat as well you can rely on Kane in his 30s to play every single minute even though you'd want him to play as much as possible ideal scenario you've won the group and he has a bit of time off yeah because the third group game or whatever you only need to use him for half an hour or something like that yeah yeah yeah a bit of time off fly south for a couple of weeks to the Caribbean and then we'll see we'll see you for the quarters but I think that just I understand there's an issue with form here and I understand that you know we're not in the place we were maybe a couple of years ago in terms of the form of these players but they are such good players and I think you know you'd fancy a combination of those players that you've listed to be able to get to get attuned somewhere yeah look do I think Phil Phones should be starting for England at the moment?

21:29No, I don't. Do I think Cole Palmer should be starting? No, I don't. The reason I mention those two is because they started against Japan. But we do have options.

21:36Luke Moore: And providing they personally get fit. There's no doubt about that. Yeah. In a way, this is almost an extension of the point I made earlier on the round, but about Arsenal. We'll see what happens tonight. But I think if you do get too systemic, you kind of lose something. And I think, you know, if we can trust Eze, and perhaps even Medueke and certainly Bowen to just play with a bit of freedom. I think those problems might just dissipate. What about this from Tom Spinks? Is it too early to get Rio Nguyen Mo on the plane as our off-the-bench-shit-them-up-with-10-minutes-to-go superstar? Isn't it interesting that...

22:14Luke Moore: People have mentioned Dalman as well. Yeah, but isn't it interesting that Liverpool and Arsenal almost got the same kind of issue there? Yeah. But Liverpool, they're playing really kind of sticky, muddy, kind of slow, can't get out of their own way football. And when Ungamoa comes on, it's a breath of fresh air. It's kind of the same with Arsenal and Dalman, isn't it? When Arsenal kind of get stuck in their ways, like I say, too systemic, look a bit frightened to do anything or try something in the final third, but Dalman comes on and he's completely opposite to that. Is there merit in applying that to an international tournament?

22:50I think there probably is, actually. I think we saw it with Owen at World Cup in Argentina. I'm sorry against Argentina but in the World Cup in France I know that at that point Owen was a lot more experienced and more accomplished than these two are but that X factor is something that's very hard to get these days because of scouting because of data because of all the the world is so much smaller and the access to information is so much more readily available it genuinely might be that a good team hasn't thought about how to prepare against Ungermeyer or Damman because I just don't think there's any chance they're going to play against them having said that there is an embarrassment of riches and I don't think, you know, it's a bold move, isn't it, to say pick Downman over Foden.

23:32Luke Moore: Yeah. I mean, that is a massive gamble for an international manager to make. I'm not sure it would be that specific decision but you understand the point I'm making. Yeah, I think it's too late for Ngomou and Downman. I don't think they're going to go to answer that question. And in a way, too early for them as well. Early all round. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Financial stress can result in anxiety, sleep disruption and even depression. At the start of 2026, 88 % of Americans reported feeling some form of it. If money is having an outsized impact on your well-being, therapy can be a good place to manage your anxieties.

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26:37Luke Moore: Conditions apply. You're listening to this podcast, so I know you've got a curious mind. Here's a helpful fact you might not know yet. Drivers who switch and save with Progressive save over$900 on average. Pop over to Progressive.com, answer some questions, and you'll get a quick quote with discounts that are easy to come by. In fact, 99 % of their auto customers earn at least one discount. Visit Progressive.com and see if you can enjoy a little cash back. Progressive Casualty Insurance Company & Affiliates. National average 12-month savings by$946 by new customers surveyed who saved with Progressive between June 2024 and May 2025.

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27:44Luke Moore: down Scotland. Harvey Barnes. I don't expect to answer that as normal. Are you stuck on the puzzle? I think Harvey Barnes is an option, right? Yeah. And Tuchel's going to have to make a decision between these are the players who have played two or three tournaments. They know what the setup is. They can deal with the occasion, et cetera, et cetera. Or, do you know what? We need to freshen it up. And if you do freshen it up, that's when those names, Barnes, Dalman, Ungamoa, whoever else, start coming into the conversation. But, you know, realistically, England have got two games left and both of those are being played in the United States just before the tournament.

28:23So, if you're going to have to... This is why I think, and the point I was going to make, perhaps I could just fold it in now. Retrospectively, I wonder if the way that Tuchel did this for the last camp was the right way of doing it.

28:38Luke Moore: I agree with you. A bit disjointed, a bit all over the place. I think people have got the jitters. My positive spin on that is that he thinks I've got them, how I want them to play. They know their jobs. Brilliant. Now, all I need to do is I can chuck this next round of fixtures away because I can do some meets and greets just in case of injuries, just in case of this, and I have a look at people. That is my hope from how it's played out. But I agree with you. It's a weird time to do that. Well, it is, Luke. And I think that that's why I think that that international break, it will quickly forget it'll quickly become forgotten perhaps already has but I think that international break has really tempered people's expectations about going about England at the World Cup this summer let's turn our attention to a defender before we do that can we just get a couple of reviews of your impressions Mr.

29:28Freemo says Nick Hewer there and Stephen Clegg says one of the worst impressions I've ever heard

29:34Luke Moore: Cleggie let me try and win you over don't goad him Don't go there we'll just do it more and finally for now Tom Spinks Brucey lives on through Speller Didn't I do well Didn't I do well what bad luck You want to talk about Defender I'm happy to do that but before we do I also want to say that you know we have to stay in touch with our listenership and the people who are watching this as well Doug's 4456 there's no way we can make room for Rio or Dam when the whole conversation is insane Right okay Is it insane though? I think it probably was a few weeks ago whereas now you think well Is it that bad?

30:09Luke Moore: I mean, again, I think it's because of the lack of form of certain players and injuries and so on and so forth. Yeah, and the follow-up is it's fine to have the conversation about them, but the question should be who are you taking out to accommodate them? Exactly, yeah. Which is kind of what I said. It is, yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, Defender. Supernova Dragon has been in touch and said, should John Stones be an automatic guaranteed choice considering how he's been injured constantly? This often comes up with John Stones before tournaments, I feel. I think that if he's fit, then he's worth taking a gamble on because of his experience and what he brings to the side.

30:46Luke Moore: I think at centre-half, I think England are all right. I think Mark Gay is a big player for England. He'll start games. I'd have Gay in stones if everybody's fit. I think Konza's got enough experience. I don't think Konza's a brilliant defender, but I think he's solid. Remember when Portugal won the Euros with big Jose Font at the back. I think Konza's good. so Conzo's a good defender I think Maguire's form is something to be positive about in both boxes and and Big Dan Byrne for the bants you know for the vibes for the vibes exactly to me the answer but I think he's take Stones because on his day he's so I won't sit on the fence for this if Stones is fit he goes yeah and I think he plays yeah and in a way the question's kind of obsolete because you know his injury record is what it is if he's injured when the World Cup's happening he won't be playing but he's not played for England this calendar year from memory and if he's racing to be fit for whatever reason then they have to take a view on it but I think to me if he's fit he plays I mean do you not agree with that?

31:53Luke Moore: No I do completely agree with you It'll be Stones and Gay as we've seen before at Euros well I know this is the World Cup but we've seen on the big stage Max Page says hi guys any chance you see Tuchel playing a three at the back in the summer. Interesting. If you look at the way England have gone in the games where I think Tuchel has got the best out of them, they often do that thing now where when they're attacking, the fullback, usually Rhys James is quite crucial to this, joins the midfield. And it kind of then becomes a sort of a bit of a back three. Everyone kind of shuffles over. Could be the same with, I think that's why Nico O 'Reilly could be an option.

32:30Luke Moore: Again, one to join in with the midfield, this sort of tactical trend that we're all very, very aware of them nowadays. So I think starting with a back three, I don't think he will do that to answer your question there, Max, because I think it's kind of built into the system and built into the style of how he wants England to go about it, get that extra body in midfield, get someone else a bit further up the pitch and you have the solidity of the back three and then when they're under pressure, they kind of go into that back four. I think England could play a back three. I mean, Gay in particular is very adept at that.

33:03Luke Moore: But that would be my direct answer. I know you hate tactics chat, Luke. But come on, if England are playing in the World Cup and he thinks, right, because Southgate switched it up, really out of necessity. I just think the players they've got and the preparation they've done, it's a 4-2-3-1. Yeah. So you don't see them going. I always just keep going back to that Serbia game. Yeah. Away from home, smashed them, played really well. The balance was really nice. They played with, they basically, I can't remember if it was due to necessity or just through choice. But what's interesting is those kind of players that are divisive because of their form and like Bellingham and Foden, they just didn't play.

33:46So it was Anderson and Rice and it was Madiweke, Rodgers and Gordon, and it was Kane. And their balance was great. It was really nice. I mean, it was real positive wide forward play. It was Kane linking up well. Rice dominated the midfield and put up a couple of assists. and I think Gay and Konza or Gay and Stones are used to playing in the back four as well although I know that Guardiola does lots of different flexible type of tactics but the Stones thing as well just going back to that I understand he hasn't played that much I understand there's a bit of pushback in the comments saying look he needs to prove his max fitness I agree with that I've said that he needs to be fit

34:20Luke Moore: He's not going out on one leg No exactly so for me I wouldn't like to see us flip to a three at the back now to me it's just also about the message it sends you remember when Liverpool flip to a three at the back against PSG in the first leg. It was only last week. Yeah, and they just don't play three at the back. And it sends the wrong message anyway. It's like, if you're going up against a good international side in the tournament, you know, say a France or a Spain or whatever, and all of a sudden you're flipping to three at the back, you know, when you've not really done that and it doesn't really suit your players.

34:50What do you think the opposition coaching team are thinking? They're thinking, they're fucking great. They're rubbing their hands together because they're thinking you're scared and you're frightened and you're trying to mitigate us rather than do what you're good at. So to me, I wouldn't like to see him flip to it. I think the 4-2-3-1 suits the players perfectly. That's what I think.

35:06Luke Moore: Let's mix up the chat a little bit. So we've been slightly trying to find reasons to be positive about England and so on and so forth. Blanc Monge asks this. Which nation's... I think it's just pronounced Blanc Monge. Blanc Monge. That's how you spell Blanc Monge. What, with Blanc and then... I think it's got a silent C in it. Is it really? Yeah. Oh, goodness. I've been getting it wrong all these years. You can say Blanc Monge if you want. I want to. Yeah. White Mange yeah exactly and that is Mange which nation's team would you most want England to beat in the final bracket since they're definitely getting there who'd you like to beat in the final Luke I told you in a World Cup year I'm very laissez-faire on my xenophobia I think it's a loophole in a World Cup year you can be very unfair about other nations let's be specific xenophobic towards European or South American yeah any of either Germany, France or Argentina I'll take any of them would you?

35:59yeah yeah I'd love to beat them all on the same night

36:03Luke Moore: like King of the Ring next one yeah but I kind of feel like the Germany question has been answered that's been kind of done hasn't it we've kind of exercised those demons I'd choose the Americans would you? in the final? yeah in their own past oh imagine that Trump's there going oh hey we're going to beat these guys we're going to get she's used another impression of Nick Hewer well you would honestly choose the US I'd like to beat them on the way. You can't tell me you wouldn't like to beat reigning world champions Argentina in the final. That would be very good. The stress before it, though, I think I could do without.

36:36Luke Moore: But, yeah, look, if we're guaranteeing the victory, then, yeah, I'd pick those sausages. Georgia Boy says beating the US in the final would cause World War III. A small price to pay, George. Has NATO got its house in order before that game? That's what we need to know. Actually, though, going back to something vaguely sensible for a second, because I genuinely think we overlooked this last time. and this is a conversation worth having I think and a few people got in touch to me personally about this Silmar says do you guys think that Tyreek Mitchell should be involved most underrated left back in the league just played his 200th Premier League game and is never less than a 7 out of 10 I'm surprised he's not had a look at him he won't go now because it's too late I should have done that at the start when we were talking about left backs and I think it's a fair question and Mitchell of course even if you wanted to go down the wing back route which we think would probably not be a good idea he could do that as well I think Mitchell's been a little bit unlucky I think he could definitely feel unlucky that he wasn't considered for the Euros two years ago some people say it might have been early days for him but come on he's like mid-20s now but he was really good against Newcastle which is part of the reason I think people started talking about him again I think Mitchell has has he got a cap or two maybe something like that I think ultimately it's too late for him now but I think previously maybe even the international window just gone we've just scrutinised and said it was a bit of a waste I think he could have had a look at him you've got two caps in 2022 apparently there you go you see lest we forget there you go now what about this one from Michael Prodanovich who says very excited for the upcoming tournament as an Aussie I'm very keen to see how our group goes and it's such a tight group well of course it is I mean if Australia you know you have a look at the groups they have got a pretty tall order as I'm desperately trying to find it Australia are in with drumroll please the US Paraguayan Turkey That's a lovely, that's poised, I think.

38:26Luke Moore: Yeah, I think you need to understand something here, Michael, is that that isn't a bad group at all to be in, all things considered. I think that's a very evenly matched group. Yeah, I think so. Difficult to call it. But he asks this question. Well, he says a tight group, to be fair, so maybe that's what you get. Sorry, I don't want to do you dirty there, Michael. Which group is your most anticipated watch, other than England? I've got to say, you don't want to do you dirty there, Michael, because the Turkish room will certainly do that. what's the question the group that you're thinking oh that is that is pretty tasty other than England of course I think group I leaps to mind to be France Senegal Iraq and Norway yeah I mean Norway is the X factor because I think Senegal they are are they still African champions we'll never know they've got the trophy they currently own the trophy there's a lot of admin involved the name is on their hands are on the trophy their security guards are around the trophy so you could certainly make a good argument that they are the best African so Norway are one of those ones that people will tip for sort of dark horse and so we know it's great and France are among the favourites and rightly so because of the squad they have and good luck to you Iraq because that is a tall order but that's a group I find quite fascinating yeah I think that's the that's the standout group I agree and the other two that I would say are potentially of the most interest would be Group E and Group F so Group E is Germany Ivory Coast Ecuador and Curaçao I think Curaçao obviously would be delighted to be there not patting them on the head but realistically they're probably not going to go that deep it's amazing that they've qualified but germany will have two quite stern tests i think in ivory coast and ecuador i think a group f netherlands are the same netherlands have drawn japan sweden and tunisia i think it's nice really nice graham potter sweden exactly yeah exactly exactly so those would be the ones that stand out but i agree with the original assessment that is definitely the standout one i think yeah um just to just to give a bit of um further um kind of information around Ecuador that Ecuador qualified like brilliantly well.

40:22I mean Argentina are the standout best side in South America right? Obviously world champions. Because Brazil weren't actually that convincing. No they weren't. And I used to hear won the qualification group by miles but Ecuador was second and had some really good results. They actually beat Argentina at home. So that would be interesting.

40:38Luke Moore: One match in particular I'm looking forward to in the group stage is in Group K Portugal versus Colombia. I know France just handily beat Colombia in a friendly in the US but again friendlies and qualification, we know all that kind of stuff can go out the window because again, if you face Brazil this summer, Scotland, we're looking at you to kind of go, don't worry lads, in qualification they were poor. Yeah, but take a look at the eyebrow on the touchline they've got. Take a look at some of the players they've got. I know it's not a vintage Brazil side but you know, when the tournament starts, often the form book goes out the window.

41:06Group K with Portugal and Colombia can't be a group of deaths because they've got a doctor in there.

41:10Luke Moore: Yeah, Dr. Congo. Exactly. Yeah, you see. He'll make sure there's no death involved. I'm going to have to move on before I say something really. they talk about English is Lions Watch and we must be running out of time anyway I think we are running out of time so I think a lot of the questions I think have been about the wider World Cup now and so shall we finish in this if you had to pick the quintessential World Cup group who would be in it alongside Tommy's brave Lions that's from Tom Spinks again old Spinks he involved I think that's a really good question and off the top of my head I think immediately I leap to Mexico Netherlands and Argentina that's nice it's harsh to leave out Brazil but are Mexico more of a World Cup side than Brazil in terms of the vibes maybe no but you're thinking a quintessential World Cup group you're thinking maybe meet Brazil and get knocked out by them if you've got Mexico Netherlands and Argentina you'd be fuming tell you what if you had like a 16 team World Cup the quality in there would be quite something it used to be that you have to have a Latin American side and Mexico are the one you could even I mean you've thrown in another South American side do you know what I might actually I would mix it up and put a West African side in there maybe put a Cameroon in there But even though they've never won it, Netherlands are the definitive European World Cup team.

42:23Luke Moore: Everything just screams World Cup. I disagree with you. Who would you say? Admittedly, I have, you know, I've just said Cameroon and obviously they've not even qualified this time. But maybe I'll get on and then just to be on the safer side. No, because Netherlands, there's too much of a gap in Netherlands history from, is it like the 30s to like 1974? So it doesn't matter. It does to me. Iconic moment. It matters to me, Luke. Okay, okay. You did ask me the question, which is probably the source of the confusion. so I'm sorry for trying to answer it we'll have that then we'll have that then there we are Max Page Turkey or a dark horse just ask Andy Brassel yes he'll never escape that embarrassment yeah but he never had them as dark horse he had Slovakia he quit the ramble over that yeah alright fine why am I getting in why am I getting in the way of some good ramble folklore exactly yes there we are right why do Donald Trump and John McGinn have the same trunk according to Hero Cross Jack.

43:20Luke Moore: I think it's a good way to finish that. We're not going to answer that for obvious reasons. So there we are, everybody. Thank you very much for watching Lions Watch. Join us again in two weeks' time for another live stream. We'll be back in exactly two weeks' time, whatever the date is that, but two Wednesdays time at 12 o 'clock again. And we'll be here tomorrow morning to do the Arsenal sporting game, right? We're going to pour over that. It's not going to be a live stream, though. No, it won't. It'll just be a standard podcast. Yes, but of course on Lions Watch, we do try and get through as many of your questions and comments as possible, as ridiculous as they are.

43:48Luke Moore: So do hit that subscribe button so you get told when we go live next. And as Luke said, we will be announcing a very exciting World Cup event on Monday's podcast. So make sure you are downloading all the football rambles in your podcast pipe and that you listen to Monday's show because it is a very, very exciting announcement. And do remember to get your podcast pipe out for the lads as well if you get a chance. Yeah. Yeah, important. That's right indeed. yeah no I'm not going to take the bait so thank you very much everybody for tuning in see you later it's been a pleasure see you next time

44:31Luke Moore: the Football Ramble is a Stack production and part of the Acast Creator Network

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