England v Ghana Preview & Our ALL TIME England Draft XI

23 Jun 2026 · 39 min · 18 chapters

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In short

The episode is a Pitchside England World Cup preview focused on England vs Ghana, plus debate over England’s best XI and a full “all-time England draft XI.” Hosts discuss how England’s Tuchel-era style (direct, wide, fast, high tempo) impressed in their last match, arguing the defense wasn’t perfect but the overall performance was the best at the tournament so far. Key players praised: Jude Bellingham (everywhere, defensive work), Harry Kane (brilliant), and Amad Diallo/“Madwicky” (direct right-wing impact). Concerns: Reece James had a sloppy right-back game before improving in midfield; Declan Rice looked off due to mutual pain; Bukayo Saka may be unfit for the start. They predict an aggressive approach vs Ghana (3-0 to 5-0+).

Notable examples

Croatia’s ability to withstand pressure for only 20 minutes; Cape Verde surprising qualification; Belgium’s poor scoring.

Guests

The episode features the Pitchside regular hosts (Tom, Theo, Reeve, Lewis, plus “Will”/“Gerdin” referenced in the draft). No external guest identities are provided in the transcript.

Written by AI. May contain mistakes. Listen to the episode to check what was said.

Chapters

Tap a time to open that second in VO

Recollections from the Game

1:08 to 2:42

The hosts share their experiences and feelings about attending the game.

“I lost my sea salt spray, so I had to buy some in Budapest.”

Analysis of England's Performance

2:42 to 4:26

The hosts discuss their impressions of England's performance in the recent match.

“We're all having good, positive vibes, and you're attacking me again.”

Player Highlights and Concerns

4:26 to 6:40

The hosts highlight standout players and discuss potential concerns in the squad.

“We're not going to peak at the first game.”

Tactics and Team Selection for Ghana

6:40 to 9:48

Discussion about tactics and potential team selections for the upcoming Ghana game.

“See, I thought Concer was better than Stones.”

Expectations for Upcoming Matches

9:48 to 12:00

The hosts share expectations for the match against Ghana and other teams in the tournament.

“And once that worked, are we not falling into a trap again?”

Tournament Observations and Insights

12:00 to 14:00

Insights into the World Cup so far, discussing other teams and matches.

“No, it's my dark horse's voice from the start.”

Analysis of Recent Matches

14:00 to 15:00

The hosts discuss various recent matches and their outcomes.

“There hasn't been many nil-nils, has there?”

Cape Verde's Surprising Performance

15:00 to 16:00

Discussion on Cape Verde's unexpected competitiveness in the tournament.

“Cape Verde, you look like they're going to bloody qualify.”

Uruguay's Disappointment

16:00 to 18:00

The hosts share their thoughts on Uruguay's underwhelming performance.

“Like he's so eloquent and everything he talks about, it makes you want to be positive about England and then you see it on the pitch and you're like, okay, it's reinforced, that's great.”

Tuchel's Coaching Evaluation

18:00 to 19:30

The hosts evaluate Thomas Tuchel's coaching in the tournament so far.

“Oh, Lou, I've got to show you this, mate.”
Show all 18 chapters

Drafting the All-Time England XI

19:30 to 21:00

Introductions to the all-time England draft and scoring predictions for the upcoming match.

“No What about his It's like matter-bargument and stuff.”

All-Time England Draft Controversies

21:00 to 25:20

The hosts engage in spirited debates over their all-time England draft picks.

“Shit, I thought no one was going to touch Shearer.”

Finalizing the England Draft

25:20 to 28:00

The hosts finalize their all-time England XI and discuss the implications.

“Sorry, Will's just made a note on screen.”

Building the All-Time England XI

28:00 to 30:08

The hosts create their dream England football team, debating player selections and strategies.

“See, this is where you've been let down.”

Discussing England's Upcoming Match Against Ghana

30:08 to 33:49

The conversation shifts to England's strategy for the match against Ghana, emphasizing an aggressive approach.

“For England, I'd say Seaman over Joe Hart.”

Analyzing Warm-Up Games and Team Dynamics

33:49 to 35:26

The hosts analyze the team's performance in warm-up games and discuss the potential challenges ahead.

“You're also not going to blow your load against New Zealand in a warm-up game here.”

Transfer Rumors: Tonali to Spurs

35:26 to 36:55

The hosts discuss the potential transfer of Tonali to Spurs, speculating on its implications.

“but I want to get your thoughts on Tonali to Spurs.”

Expectations for the Upcoming Call-In Show

36:55 to 38:43

The hosts set expectations for their upcoming call-in show and engage in light banter.

“I can't remember He was like Oh, good That's a good That's a good point Well made Oh, God Tom, can we expect A little call-in show this week?”
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Transcript

Automatic transcript. May contain errors.

0:00Now, time to thank our partner of this episode, XTB. Now boys, the game is starting and you know what that means. Your investing should too. If you think about it, football and investing actually have a lot in common. It's about backing your picks, playing the long game and hopefully making some smart decisions along the way. And this summer, XTB is making it easy to get started. If you sign up with XTB, enter the court pitch side and deposit£50 within the first seven days of opening an account, you could get a free share of Nike. Yep, a free Nike share and get it cheaper than a Nike jersey with XTB.

0:30You can't directly invest in the football chaos this summer. but you can gain exposure to some of the massive brands involved in it, like Nike. So while you and your mates are getting invested in all the football chaos, why not take your first step into investing too? Don't just watch the game, invest in it. Get a free share with XTB. Get a free share of Nike when you input code PITCHSIDE when signing up and deposit£50 with XTB. Capital at risk, investment values can rise or fall, limited free stock availability, TNC supply. Welcome back to Pitchside, everyone. Pitchside, Pitchside. It's the greatest time of the year because Tom is here.

1:07With his new slick back gelled hair, by the way. Do you know what it is? This is going to be really boring. I lost my sea salt spray, so I had to buy some in Budapest. But this one, it like sets. I didn't realise. It's like a spray and then sets. It's hard, which you know. Wolverine. You know being around me, usually it's very soft and bouncy. Yeah, exactly. It bounces a lot. You look like you've got Bril cream in it. Yeah, I don't like it. So I'm going to have to sort it out. I didn't realise. How are we all? Yeah, good mate. I'm now Spider-Man. How was... Reeve and Lewis, how was your experience together as like real mates going to the game the other day?

1:46Like really enjoying it with the fans and stuff? Yeah, it was good. A lot of things happened. I might have had the best day of my life. Yeah, I've seen you. You looked very drunky. Theo, how was your experience? I actually had a really good time. Oh, you're a bad friend. Bad friend. What? Oh, he's salty because he's not here. Oh, no. I wish I was with Reeve and Lewis for that game. Oh, I'm sorry, boys. I'm so sorry for getting us semifinal tickets. Oh.

2:23It's supposed to be about the unity of the country, bro. Why is he attacking me then? I don't know. Why is he attacking me? Why are you taking that as an attack? I don't know, but it is funny. Because you are attacking me. You're trying to make me feel bad. No, I'm not. Yeah, you are. I'm just... Yeah, you are. It's exactly what you're doing. I'm just stating the fact. It's literally the World Cup. It's England in the World Cup. We're all having good, positive vibes, and you're attacking me again. It's all about unity and being with your friends. Fucking hell, you're living in the past, bro. You're living in the past.

2:48We've moved on from being attacked 24-7. Out here, all we do is build people up and bring positive heat to the world. Is that a real... Here you are as being a douchebag again. Oh, douchebag. I've learned a new word. Damn. That was good. What are your thoughts on the game then, Tom, as a man who watched it at home? I was really impressed. Really impressed. Do you know what I loved? We played how I've always wanted England to play. That's our style. We shouldn't copy Spain or the Brazilians. We should be in your face, direct, get the ball wide, fast. That's how we should play. Yeah, don't get me wrong.

3:32The defending wasn't amazing. I do think people have been a bit harsh. I thought they were two good goals. They're good. They're really good. We just switched off for the... Yeah, the second one was like that far from being offside. So I wasn't even that arse about the goals we conceded because then obviously they come out second half and for 20 minutes I thought that's the best performance I've seen at the World Cup so far. Isn't it crazy how much of a difference between the Southgate side and the Tuchel side under England is just even for entertainment value as well I think the main difference is that Southgate side would have shut up at shop at 3-2 yeah whereas this Tuchel side it could have been 6 like really there's no stopping them is there like Croatia are good as well by the way it's not like we just did that against Tuchel they're a decent team out of all the big big nations we've probably had the hardest start so therefore in my opinion the most impressive start but also So this won't be our peak.

4:28We're not going to peak at the first game. Well, hopefully anyway. You're hoping this is just a starter block and it just keeps building. Tom, was there any player during the game that stood out to you at all? I was just about, are you trying to make me admit I was wrong? I was just asking, Fernie, who's your superior player of the match? I thought Jude Bellingham was fucking immense. Ah, Jude Bellingham. He was absolutely immense. He was everywhere, wasn't he? Even the first half, the one where it was a corner but then got overturned, I think, for that one. His defensive duty as well. He was everywhere, man.

5:05Kane was brilliant. I actually thought Rhys James had one of his worst games at right-back. I thought he was sloppy. But then he moved into midfield. Yeah, then I thought he was really good. Rice didn't look himself, but he gave the ball away a bit. But he still did his work off the ball. I thought Anderson, Bellingham and Kane were our best players, personally. and I thought Madwicky played really well actually I was going to ask you no that is actually not coming are you going to apologise to Jude can you look him down the camera Jude Jude I am sorry for ever doubting even a smidge whether you should start or not good boy I apologise hey Jude Tom what did you think of the Conza Stones partnership do you think you should come back in there do you think you should trust the process I'll be honest.

5:55Yeah, I don't know. We spoke about this last time, didn't we? I'm not arsed who plays at centre-half. I think they're a much of a muchness. I think they're all just like... I don't know whether Stones is lack of game time this... I don't know. Maybe the lads have got a better idea on that. Someone did make a point to me the other day. It might have been... No, I don't think it was Stanley. Someone saying how maybe the reason... like Gordon was so quiet and our left-hand side was so quiet was because Stones was on the left where he usually plays on the right, doesn't he? At the back. So he naturally comes to his right and plays out.

6:35I don't know. I don't know how deep into that it is, but I don't care who plays at the back. Do you? No. I would prefer Geahy, I think. Over who? Concer. See, I thought Concer was better than Stones. Also, I didn't realise how fucking wham Concer is. Is it you? He's a unit at the back. He's a unit. That's why he'll be selected for physical attributes, yeah. I don't mind really, but my preference as a player is Gehi, I think. I think he's a level above. Are you just saying that just because he's got the mood, because he had all the, because he got the mood to... Gehi's been class for ages, hasn't he?

7:12So is Concer, though. Yeah, maybe I just naturally don't, like, give that love to Concer. Oh. Maybe he deserves that. Is he not a warrior? Maybe I need to be a better patriot of my country and actually appreciate concert. I do think whoever we are going to keep at Cinebite, it has to kind of be a partnership that's started now and cemented moving forward. If you keep chopping and changing, it's not going to get any better, is it? One player that had sort of done really well, and he is the second choice right wing, Amadweke. He's filling in Saka's boots at the moment. What do you think of his performance?

7:45I thought he was great. He was an excellent one, I thought. It's everything that Tom's just said about what we like about England. But then how good was Saka when he come on? I thought Saka was really good when he come on. Yeah, he got the assist for Russia, didn't he? I just thought he looked sharp. That's the first time I've seen Saka look sharp in months. The issue is he's not, apparently he's not been involved in group training ahead of the Ghana game. So he's clearly not 100 % fit. So do you think we'll see Madweke start again and Saka comes on? He's only 10 minutes in. How far does this go though?

8:13Say Madweke plays really well again and then Saka gets fit. Do you drop Madweke? No, definitely not. Do you know what I mean? Can you do that? Honestly, he's so direct. I love it, man. Every time he gets to the ball, he just... That's what happened when Saka first came into the team, wasn't he? He wasn't the one expecting to start when he came to his first tournament and he played himself in. Am I remembering right? Yeah, you are right. Yeah, you are right. Yeah, so I'm a big fan, especially in tournaments like this where it doesn't matter about your pedigree so much. Who's playing the best right now?

8:44And in those first few group stages, if he's just fucking smashing it, you have to start him like... Yeah. Yeah, and then I suppose Saka's always a great option off the bench. But then again, it's a bit different. It's a bit like Saka is one of our best players, usually one of the starters. So I don't know. I'd be interested to see what he did. I don't think I could second guess him, to be honest. He might even use the Panama game as the run-out for Saka. Yeah. To see what he's going to do as a starter. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's a good conundrum to have, though. Declan Rice, I know, Tom, you said you weren't too impressed.

9:15I thought he was good. I thought he did the running, the dirty work. I thought he was great off the ball. I was disappointed. I thought Anderson was better on the ball. He has come out and said he's had this pain. He's had this mutual pain since December. For him to be took off at 60 minutes after when we're three, there's obviously an issue there. You're not going to take Rice off here when we're three-two. It's such a precarious time in the game. Looking forward to the Ghana game. Are we all thinking the same team's going to start or do you think Rashford's going to come in for Gordon? I think he'll start Rashford now.

9:47I thought Gordon was really again not really his fault we didn't give down and to be fair to Gordon a lot of the times Kane would drop in or Bellingham would get the ball in those little half spaces and the pockets it's because Gordon kept making those runs he doesn't stop does he but I did think he was so quiet I forgot he was playing at half time I'm not even joking do we not think though because I was saying before we said pre-tournament it would be great to have Gordon to run down the defender and then at the end Rastford comes on and scores and that's what he didn't necessarily or Gordon didn't necessarily do his part, but Rashford came on and scored.

10:19And once that worked, are we not falling into a trap again? Yeah, true. Let's start Rashford. It's like we're losing that. I'd much rather Rashford coming in at the end than Gordon because Gordon can't finish. He's really good at running out defenders. But if you're only using him for 15 minutes, he's less likely to make an impact than Rashford. True, but if you're Rashford, you're going, well, I've come on and done more in 15 or 20 minutes than he did. But Tommy T's trying to see his best start in XI moving forward to the knockout stages, right? And this is probably more of an impactful game where Rashford can prove himself in that starting XI rather than the Panama one.

10:50Yeah, I just think... That would be a rotated team. As a combined two, I think you get more start of them with Gordon starting and Rashford... Because if you bring Gordon on the last 20 minutes, he barely hits the target normally. Well, that's in theory. That's in theory. But if you actually start Rashford and see how he plays... Yeah, and he just... Is this Garner game not easier than the Panama? No, but if we win the Garner game, the Panama result... I think that equally is easy. You know, Panama rank quite considerably... Yeah, I couldn't believe it. I literally checked this the other day. I couldn't believe they're ranking.

11:20They're like 30th. Yeah. But then Ghana do have Semenyo. They have a standout player. Do you know what I mean? Yeah, but they are... Mate, did you watch that? They're so bad. I'm expecting three or four minimum. If we can't score three... Man, Cairn's going to get double digits. Maybe put four against Croatia, yeah. I do also think I'm still in this mind... The Southgate mindset of we only get one or two goals usually. So I feel like I don't want to go overboard. but then also if they're going to play like they did against Ghana wouldn't withstand that 20 minutes that Croatia did no one can there's no one not one team in the world that can withstand this Tommy Tuchel side we're about to win every game 5-0 who do you think who's impressed you the most so far other than England that's second France that's 20 France were similar didn't they they were bad first off but they had like 20-30 minutes of just Elisa and Mbappe Netherlands are good I like Morocco and Netherlands No, never too good.

12:17No, it's my dark horse's voice from the start. Spain's first half yesterday. Japan, baby. Spain looked better, didn't they? But they're playing against no one. Japan are the ones, I'm telling you. Germany looked pretty good as well, to be fair. Do you think Germany looked good? I thought they were good in Spurs. I thought Ivory Coast would probably win that game. I thought they got really lucky, Germany, the other day. It was a good game, though. I really enjoyed that game. It was a good game. But no, I think, overall, I think, I'm trying to think, as the other teams, I think they'll fear England and France the most so far.

12:48Sorry, what about Belgium, Tom? Oh, mate, how bad were they yesterday? What the fuck are they doing? Can we sort of... So, every now and again, Will sort of says stuff to us each day, just like drip-feeding information from the UK in. Where's this Lukaku golden boot shout-out come from? Because my theory for Belgium was, I thought on paper they had the easiest group, and they've drawn both games. That group is set up so good now. It's like the whole shittiest group. They're so bad. That group is so bad and they just can't score. They're just all going to keep drawing. They can't score and I thought they'd get penalties and Lukaku would just nick four or five.

13:32I also didn't expect Mbappe to score two, Messi to get a hat-trick, Kane to get two. I thought it'd be low-scoring games, to be honest. But yeah. Let me ask you about that. High-scoring games, wouldn't there? Yeah, I was going to say, Tom, do you think this has been one of the more entertaining World Cups so far? Oh, yeah, I think it's been really... Well, from what I've seen, I can't watch all the games because some of them are like 5am or 3am. So I watch them back in the morning. But I think there's only been... There hasn't been many nil-nils, has there? Other than... No. There have been a couple the last few days.

14:06The only draws that have happened have basically been in that group of shit. Yeah, but that Belgian game was hilarious because as soon as they went down to 10 men, Iran were worse. they didn't know what to do like because they they just sat in two banks of four then once they actually got the ball they were like what the yeah this is hard it's 10 men yeah that was that was one of the I think that's the worst game I've seen so far yeah yeah because even like the Ecuador 15 saves from the curacao keeper yeah all these goalies that's putting in massive performances getting multi-millions on Instagram we were laughing yesterday it's like they were just playing for like Instagram followers someone shot from 40 like the halfway line and went like it dribbled by the corner flag or something.

14:45It's like, stop trying to get the Insta followers, man. Mate, he's gone from the halfway line, mate. You're getting at least five million followers. They're like, fuck it. We're going out anyways, lads. At least I can get a career off the back of this. They're not going out. Honestly, it is. They're not going out, though. They're not going out. Cape Verde, you look like they're going to bloody qualify. That's true. They're going to get a point against Saudi Arabia and they're qualified. I need to apologise to Cape Verde and my take of less clubs is better because fucking hell, I've never been more wrong in my life.

15:14I love watching their journey now. I just didn't think these teams were like, I just thought surely they're not going to be competitive but like, yeah, even one draw is enough to justify their existence. So never mind. Yeah, Cape Verde can't sell the European. Cape Verde could beat Zadier Raby by the way. Yeah, they could. Definitely. Also, we're forgetting about this. Sorry, guys. The Cape Verde team, by the way. Are we surprised? Bear in mind they topped their group ahead of Cameroon. They only lost once in qualification where was all this a few weeks ago didn't South Africa they'd beat like Nigeria to the qualification well look Cape Verde took the group of Estuani Mauritius Angola Libya and Cameroon yeah I'm not surprised that they're trying with Uruguay then to be fair yeah exactly based on that Uruguay have been a disappointment haven't they bloody hell big old disappointment they have been they're about to go out I don't mind seeing Uruguay not do well and I feel like it goes all the way back to the South Africa World Cup where they knocked out Ghana and I feel like since then I'm like hmm you're a hatredist for one minute not a hatred but like yeah it's like I don't mind you going out because you robbed Ghana of for a season yeah I don't really care if they qualify did they rob him it was well Suarez cheated I mean no he didn't he got sent off rightfully so and then they missed the penalty they weren't cheating I know but objectively Suarez is already a prick so he's already on a thin line with me as well and you know that Louis if you're watching this Louis?

16:45Louis yeah before we get the draft I wanted to ask just your thoughts on how Tuchel's been this tournament so far he's played some really attacking football he speaks well he seems to be his subs were perfect as well he got it banged on he speaks and acts like a fucking winner you can tell he has underlying confidence in himself because he has won and he's class and we're going to win the World Cup there's quite there was obviously like we spoke about the other week there's obviously a plan in place with the squad it's obviously all mapped out and he's got a whole plan like there's he's not just winging it is he I mean I just loved his subs they were just so like positive and each sub like even Spence nearly scored when he'd come on like I just yeah I was heavily heavily impressed but it is only one game it is only one if we go and draw tomorrow then it'll be the end of the world when it's so I don't think I don't think we will but They're looking at what he's saying though, aren't they?

17:42Like he's so eloquent and everything he talks about, it makes you want to be positive about England and then you see it on the pitch and you're like, okay, it's reinforced, that's great. I will say though, I found it a bit offensive how he called you out, but you know, that's... Yeah, did you say that? Oh yeah. I'll let him off, I'll let him off. You haven't seen the video? No. Oh, Lou, I've got to show you this, mate. It's crazy afterwards, yeah. Okay, well, yeah. Well, it's actually mad. They're on good terms now though, yeah? Oh, I don't know. Nah, well, yeah. I'll speak to him privately yeah right lads it is now time to do our all time England draft 11 you lot love it so much when we do drafts because we get to miss out on the players that we won well we do I mean we we've spoke about the Ghana preview but what do you actually think the score is going to be 5-0 England you actually think 5-0 4-0 3-0 4-0 yeah on the side of positivity yeah who would like to go first what that's a go on I'll give Tom the chance back home because Theo's looking at me going, me, me, me, me, me.

18:43Which way does it come back? So he can go last. Yeah, so who doesn't go to? It'll be Lewis, then Reeve, then Theo. Gerdin, I get two picks. You've just been played. Okay. The last two. Oh, we can... There's not a set formation, is there? I can't remember how we do this. What formation are you going for? 4-3-3 or 4-4-2? I might go 4-4-2. I don't yet. I don't know. It depends on who I'll get left with, but England will be playing 4-4-2. I'm going to go for I'll start with

19:14Do you know what? I'll go Harry Kane Interesting choice for the beginning I'm actually going to go Rhys James What? That's a mental first pick even I think that's mental Trust me Trust me right now Bobby Moore What? No What about his It's like matter-bargument and stuff. Yeah, I've learnt my mistakes from last time. I'm going David Beckham. Ooh. Yeah. And I get two picks, right? And then I'm going to go Ashley Cole. That's a good shout-out. I'll stick with my theme and go Bobby Charlton as well then. Fucking hell. I'm going to go... I'm going to pick everyone from before. But the 60-60. Keep going then.

20:02Name the players. I'm going to go Luke Shaw. I'm getting down the hard positions first don't worry about it you should have gone for a right winger Willie because there's only like Willie you have to go white winger Willie I'm going to go with I'll get two now don't I yep I'm going to have Rooney Rooney is that up front with Kane yeah Rooney and Kane up front I'm going to go with Gaza Oh, Paul Gascoigne. Right, I'm going to go Pickford. Oh, bollocks. I've got it down now. I've got the R positions. You're just building the 2021 Euros team. No, but I've got the R positions. Actually, Rich James didn't play in that, did he?

20:50By the way, when we put the graphics up afterwards and they say Shaw, James and Pickford, they're going to go, he definitely picked them last, didn't he? Nah. Man. I'll go Lineker then. All right. I'm going to go... I'm going to go Owen and Shearer. Shearer. Shit, I thought no one was going to touch Shearer. That's fine. That's a fucking strike partnership right there. You chose Luke Shaw over Shearer, mate. Your baby honey Luke... You chose a Mackham? Damn. He's English, mate. He's English. This is the England team.

21:36I will go with

21:42Raheem Sterling Oh that's who I wanted Oh Reeve Reeve You can put him left all right can't I Right Yikes Yikes Yikes Yikes Give me jaw call He's actually good Reeve who did you say Sterling Okay I'm going to go with Gerard and John Terry Oh great picks there son Great picks Right That's fine I'm going to give me Oh God I'm going to have to take this play But I don't like him Don't like him But I'm taking him Ferdinand That's nice What's wrong with that?

22:28Frankie Lamps No one said him Have you? Nope Okay cool After you've done yours I wonder how our teams are looking so far Yep I get two picks don't I I'm going to go for John Barnes Oh you bastard And then I'm going to go for

22:53I'll go Kevin Keegan How's our team looking so far then Theo who have you got I've got Owen and Shearer up top Barnes on the left Keegan in the middle Beckham on the right Colt left back What about you, Reeve? What? How many plays is that? He's just double-picked, aren't he? Oh, he's just double-picked I've got Bobby Moore at centre-back I've got Lampard and Boba Charton in midfield and then Sterling and Lineker up top I've got Pickford and Gould Rhys James right back Ferdinand and Luke Shaw on the left and then I've got Joe Cole and Tom I've got Terry at the back Gerrard, Gascoigne and then Rooney and Kane Oh, that's naughty.

23:33Back to you, Eve. That's pretty good, mate. Yeah, Tom's cocking it, to be fair. No favourites, bro. What the hell? Carl Walker, then.

23:44Carl Walker, eh? Terrible pick. Is he? Can I have Trent in midfield? Is that not allowed? Do what you want. Give me, sucker. I'm surprised no one's taken him to be filling that right. Who's your right winger? Have you not got the position yet? Sterling can play it there so I'm leaving it open I see his left Tom, two picks? I need a wide player Probably two picks they call them I'm going to go Glenn Odell and then I'm going to go with I'm okay with and then Stuart Pearce Oh no There was only like three left backs you could pick from really yeah right I'm going to go Andy Cole barely played for England good pick mate he's a great player though I'm actually going to do something very cheeky here and actually do you know what I don't even okay I do need to do that I'm going to go Kieran Trippier but I'm going to play him left back ooh your team's just taking a hit there no he did play left back I know I know but like he's the stronger players out there Lewis guess how many times Andy Cole played for England three better than that 15 games one goal see there you are great player though one goal yeah but he's good Paul you should have picked Nugent

25:10I'm going to go I'm going to go Paul Scholes I might have fucked this with you yeah you you stunk it up mate the tactic wasn't good that's oh my god that's my midfield that's my defence your first pick was Rhys James all time I'm going to go new friend of the show Gary Neville alright at right back Declan Rice unless he's been said no not been said right give me Les Ferdinand Jesus

25:52that's stinking no it's not Les Ferdinand Surely it's more than Andy Cole How many do you want to Give it a go 32 Reeve how many do you think I reckon it's less than that 25 Tom Yeah 23 17 Two more than Andy Cole Combination of 32 England caps Between your two strikers Five Your front two have six England goals between them Yeah, but the great strikers, though. Great strikers. Great strikers, lads. Look at my management. They'll be good. London Lewis potent management. Shit. Whose go is it? Lewis' go. No, I just took less. Oh, it's Tommy two picks. Is it me? I'll go with... Sorry, Will's just made a note on screen.

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26:48Lewis Howler could be a good short here. Howler. I'm going to go... I can save this. Terry and... Has Ferdinand been picked? Yeah. Oh, he has. Sorry. I got both of Ferdinands, mate. Yeah, Anton. I'm going to go... I'll go Sol Campbell and... I'm going to... I'm running out of wide players. I'm going to go... I'll go Trent at right back. At right back? Yeah, he's actual position. Yeah. Go on, Luke. I can't wait to see who he's got next. I'm fucked. Shit. Ellie Anderson. I'm going to go get Stones. I thought you would have picked him, hadn't you? No. Oh. Now I have. Your back fours, your back five, Pickford.

27:43I thought he was already picked. Yeah, I got Pickford, Rhys James, Fernand, Stones, Luke Shaw. That's a good defence, man. It is good. You've worked for the rest of it. I got the best, I got basically some of the, yeah, the best players to ever play these positions for England. I'll go Rashford then I have? yeah no one's a bit Rashford I'm going to go Harry Maguire and then he's going to be partnered with Tony Adams oh that's naughty isn't it oh yeah I will go with Gordon Banks then and keep my theme of making the oldest team possible No, but the thing is that Actually, don't worry Don't worry I'll take Darren Bent Oh, yeah, baby Guessing Gerard Lampard ball taken Yeah, they are, mate You've been paying attention Wait, have you got no more Have you got any sentiment?

28:42Over there Scholes Taken That is gone Alright There is one I'll take Rice, mate No, it's taken No Henderson I'll take Bellingham, please okay for my last two I'm going to go Peter Shilton and Steve McManaman my last pick oh any midfielders knock him out give me Michael Carrick nice how many times did he play for England he should have played more for England and that midfield even sorted yeah but he should have been in like he would have made that work right I need to make this work I'm completing the best English cinematic partnership I'll go Jack Charlton Carrick played 34 times Franklin yeah losers trying to build the team with the least amount of caps Jack Charlton yeah probably more Jack Charlton my keeper so Pickford's been taken yes Banks taken Shilton taken so it's really a toss up between Paul Robertson and David Jay.

29:54Now we're going David Seaman. See, this is where you've been let down. Me and Pickford's huge for my team. He goes, he's running for your teams. Are we done? Yeah, we're done. Not going to lie, by the way. Use the laugh of my team. My team's actually good. Very good. Ooh, Seaman over Joe Hart. For England, I'd say Seaman over Joe Hart. Yeah. I reckon I haven't got the worst here. All right, in goal. Actually, go on, Tom. You were first, weren't you? I've got Shelton in goal then I've got Trent, Campbell Terry Stuart Pearce I've got McManaman Gerrard Gascoigne Glen Oddle Rooney and Kane Yeah mine's better than that Mine's better than that I've got the best defence in England history I've got Pickford Rhys James Ferdinand Stones Luke Shaw So you've prioritized your defence and I don't even think it's the best defence These clutch moments as well you know Then we've got Carrick and Beningham in the middle your character sitting back Bellingham can push on and do all his Bellingham stuff we've got Saka and Joe Cole Joe Cole underrated isn't he wow and up front the partnership from Newcastle as well Andy Cole and Les Ferdinand nice mate keeping it safe what a horrific team considering you went you went second speaking of teams my team Gordon Banks in goal Kyle Walker Bobby Moore Jack Charlton and Kieran Trippier as my defenders we've got a midfield of Rice Lampard and Bobby Charlton and then up front I've got Sterling Rashford and Gary Lineker that's a perfect blend of history yeah but he played there in the Euros yeah I know don't try and cover me mate he's fucking great at that position I think mine's a better team than yours because of his because of his Matip argument who did Jack Charlton play for?

31:43Leeds fair enough in goal in goal I've got David Seaman right back Gary Neville centre-back partnership with Tony Adams and Harry Maguire left-back greatest left-back of all time Ashley Cole midfield of Beckham Scholes Keegan Barnes and up front it's Olin Shearer damn who do you think all happy for teams? yeah actually am you yeah really happy yeah I think going old makes it a little bit more interesting we'll get that out in a couple of days and we'll get people to vote for the three of it well people will vote best people will vote for Tom's because he's got Rooney and Kane up top I mean you've got You've got World Cup winners in there.

32:19Exactly. Anyone over 50 will vote for mine. By the way, I've got the only two English Ballon d 'Or winners. Well done, mate. I've got the most underrated English players of all time. Did it even exist back then? 66. Yeah. Stanley Matthews is what I think. Hold that, bro. Not true. I think there's been five. Stanley Matthews, wouldn't it, as well? Yeah, come on, lads. What are we doing? You only counted after the 70s. anyway lads so we've had a little bit of a chat with Ghana how do you think we're going to approach this then on tomorrow all out attack tomorrow yeah absolutely pepper them mate fuck them up yeah all out attack mate we're going to give them the peen it'd be a bad day to be a Ghana fan tomorrow we can't go off the back of that second half and not just immediately try and replicate that style of football we can't if we go back to the first half it'd just be like oh guys come on we should just be front footed we will though we'll see how it works yeah exactly it might be 4-0 by half time we're not even taking the piss can I just ask you where do you think this came from because the warm-up games and the friendlies we've had we didn't really look like we were going to be aggressive people I think always try to like look too much into these warm-up friendly games it's like pre-season almost you know we read too much into it and actually it ends up being like none of the teams play how they did in pre-season a lot of the times I think a lot of those games we were just absolutely shattered a lot of the players and now they're full rested.

33:46They want to go out and win a World Cup. They don't want to go out and win a friendly. You're also not going to blow your load against New Zealand in a warm-up game here. I mean, even Costa Rica was, what, 3-0 and we didn't even look that good. I know, obviously, that was a friendly two, but... They're just training exercises? Yeah, literally. And then now coming into the World Cup, Croatia are a better opposition. In order to beat them, you need to be at your game. So the fact that we've elevated that to a level now is obviously good moving forwards. There's also a possibility that a lot of Mexico fans are looking forward to playing England in Mexico.

34:24That's the highest ground above sea level in the tournament, right? Do you think that could be one of our toughest fixtures in the tournament? Will that be the round of 32? No, 16. 16. So they need Mexico to get through. That's what I mean. The way the draw could end up, Mexico could have a really tough game in the round of 32. It may not even be Mexico. we still we still will play in Mexico but it may not be against them it depends if they win because at the minute I know it's going to change some teams only played once I think at the minute we're due to play Portugal in the round of 32 yeah that's true you expect Portugal will get a win yeah but Portugal yeah exactly Portugal will beat Uzbekistan or whoever or whoever with Homelander mate you can never be shit with your hatred could you imagine it's our hatred could you imagine if we lost to Portugal and Ronaldo scored the winner.

35:14That would be calmer for me. That would sum up your season, I think. I feel like I'd have to put my hand up for all of England there and say, this one's on me, guys. Tom, we've spoke about it a bit yesterday, but I want to get your thoughts on Tonali to Spurs. Oh, that would fill me with so much joy and happiness if that happens, just to see the look on that chimp's face. How else do you support Spurs, so you could be getting a good player? Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm not totally sure. Is it close or what? No, they haven't even had a bid. Yeah, they rejected a bid, didn't they? I'd be surprised if Tonali went there.

35:53I think it's to flush out Arsenal and Man City. But I think if Arsenal and Man City don't come to the front, he will go. Because apparently he can get double the wages. He can get... And play for a massive club. And also, he goes to London as well. Fair training facilities. I'm at a point where whoever wants to go fuck him and fuck off I can't be arsed at least you signed that guy you were on about the other day yeah that was a good sign for Liverpool for Liverpool honestly Fabrizio needs to fuck off because oh yeah it's his fault yeah it's all his fault he's finding out and he's letting Liverpool know who he won and then they're going and signing them yeah it's all Fabrizio's fault is Tonali worth 100 million Tom say that again is Tonali worth 100 million in today's market probably who isn't these days mate honestly you're throwing 100 million on a random player in the World Cup I mean how old is he how old is he 26 yeah something like that 26 I mean probably yeah he probably is worth that I don't think any of these players are worth this we've had this discussion the Elliot Anderson thing is setting a precedent a little bit for this it's like Ash Brown's are now£2.30 from McDonald's are they really worth that no but are you going to pay it yeah Supply and demand, my friend Inflation Sounds like the Gary Neville thing Which is what?

37:15I can't remember He was like Oh, good That's a good That's a good point Well made Oh, God Tom, can we expect A little call-in show this week? Yeah, every Friday Every Friday, baby I want the Sweden fan back on Because he's got He's got a lot to answer for I don't know if you saw that I was getting absolutely pumped 5-1 Well, yeah, he said they were going to win every game and he couldn't understand how I thought England would go further than Sweden. I'm 5-1 to be a Sweden fan. Because apparently they've got the best firepower at the tournament. Yeah. To be fair, Lewis would agree with that. Would I?

37:49You were saying that Brian Brobby was better than Jokeres. No, I didn't say that. He is. He is, by the way. Even I don't think that. Even I don't think that. Brian Brobby is better than Jokeres. No. Even I don't think that. A million percent. But to be fair, it's a mixture of both my agendas at this one Sunderland and Arsenal which one comes out on top I support your crest yeah as you should mate well look as always we are trying to hit 400 ,000 on YouTube so make sure you do subscribe ladies and gentlemen we're trying to hit that by the end of the tournament yeah we'll see you after the game for the England review of the Ghana match where hopefully we have won 4-0 5 5-0 7 I 8-0 would hate to be a Ghana fan.

38:37Yeah. What Lewis said, guys. Anyways, ciao. Ciao, Bella.

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