1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,000 You're listening to the Footglitch Podcast. Love football, learn English. 2 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:12,000 How does the English fan feel about Euro 2024 so far? 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:16,000 Should Gareth Southgate stop experimenting with players' positions? 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:20,000 Which players in the England squad would make a balanced team? 5 00:00:20,000 --> 00:00:45,000 And how are the words like literally, arguably and obviously used? 6 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:50,000 Hello everyone. I'm Zdenek Lukas and you're listening to the Footglitch Podcast. 7 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:54,000 Hopefully your favourite English learning podcast about football. 8 00:00:54,000 --> 00:01:00,000 And this is the second time we are discussing England in the Euros on this podcast. 9 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:05,000 And today I'm joined by Martin from the Rock and Roll English Podcast. Hi Martin. 10 00:01:05,000 --> 00:01:11,000 Hi Zdenek. Thanks for having me. I love doing these. Any chance I have to talk about football, I'm happy. 11 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:15,000 Fantastic. And we are always glad to have you here as well. 12 00:01:15,000 --> 00:01:21,000 So we are speaking about England. So in your opening game, why are you laughing? 13 00:01:21,000 --> 00:01:25,000 It's just, yeah. 14 00:01:25,000 --> 00:01:27,000 It could be worse. 15 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:34,000 Yeah, no, it's not. It's just like, I feel like I've seen this so many times in the past. 16 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:44,000 And I kind of thought with Southgate, we had kind of passed this era of just trying to get the best players in, 17 00:01:44,000 --> 00:01:53,000 not really having balance to the team and just like, just such bad performances. 18 00:01:53,000 --> 00:02:00,000 I've seen England lose obviously loads of times in my life, but when you go in for it and you're at least, 19 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:07,000 it's just that, just I was watching the match, I was watching it with a friend and it was just like, it's just so boring. 20 00:02:07,000 --> 00:02:14,000 Hang on, hang on, hang on. Let's slow down. So which match? So just to remind everyone, there have been two matches already. 21 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:21,000 So in your opening game, you managed to beat Serbia by one goal, one nil, three points. 22 00:02:21,000 --> 00:02:27,000 Then in your second game, which we are recording today on Friday, your second game was yesterday. 23 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:35,000 It was against Denmark. I watched that game. It was one all, one one. And so four points. 24 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:40,000 It's a playoff secured. Shouldn't you be happier? 25 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:48,000 No, not 100% secured. It's very likely, but because we could be one of the best third place teams. 26 00:02:48,000 --> 00:03:01,000 But yeah, it's just like I said, I've seen this before when England just don't get going and then they end up going out and they haven't even put in one decent performance. 27 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:14,000 So I hope I'm wrong because this is the thing that it's still early days and teams that often I see in tournaments that maybe start the tournament well, often don't continue that. 28 00:03:14,000 --> 00:03:20,000 And we often see teams not starting well and going on maybe even to win. 29 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:30,000 If you look at Argentina, they lost to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup. I remember in 2010, Spain lost to Switzerland, I think, in the World Cup when they won the World Cup. 30 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:37,000 Now, I'm not saying we're going to win it. I'm just saying there's still time to turn it around, which I hope will be the case. 31 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:45,000 The thing I don't like is that we seem to be experimenting with things like Trent Alexander-Arnold. 32 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:55,000 Southgate himself said about the Trent experiment and you think like we're in a tournament now, like the time for experiments. 33 00:03:55,000 --> 00:03:57,000 Might be a bit too late for that. 34 00:03:57,000 --> 00:03:58,000 Absolutely. 35 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:02,000 And that was probably the wrong trend to experiment with Trent. 36 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:10,000 In the midfield, right? So where should he be? Should he be on the as a right back? Should he play right back? 37 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:20,000 It seems quite logical for me. That's where he plays every week for Liverpool and he's played there every week for like, what, six, seven years now, seven probably. 38 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,000 I've only ever seen him play right back for Liverpool. 39 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:32,000 I've never seen him play. I know he kind of drifts into midfield now in the last sort of 12, 18 months, but he literally never plays there. 40 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:42,000 So, I mean, going to my basic footballing career, I remember once, so I would always play in midfield and I had to play in defence once. 41 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:49,000 And it was just for me, it was just like the whole pitch just looks weird. I'm not used to being in this part of the pitch. 42 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:54,000 So I'm sure that's what he's thinking. Like he's getting the ball with his back to goal on the half turn. 43 00:04:54,000 --> 00:04:57,000 He's probably just thinking this is, this is weird. 44 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,000 And not his, not his natural position. 45 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:11,000 No, I mean, it might become later in his career because I think he has got the capabilities to play that role, but he needs to learn that position. 46 00:05:11,000 --> 00:05:17,000 You can't expect him now just to just like having never played there, come in and do a brilliant job. 47 00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:22,000 But to be honest, I think he can be made a bit of a scapegoat because everyone's been rubbish. 48 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,000 Like Declan Rice was rubbish yesterday and he plays there every week for Arsenal. 49 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:33,000 That's true. He's always one of the best wherever he plays. So this is unusual for him. 50 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:38,000 Going back to Trent, it's really strange, right? 51 00:05:38,000 --> 00:05:47,000 It is strange, but I don't know if I'm just like picking on him because it's an easy thing to say because he doesn't normally play there. 52 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:57,000 Because like I said, everyone really, I mean Harry Kane, he got taken off yesterday, Declan Rice, like everyone hasn't been playing well. 53 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,000 So it is easier to say, oh, he's not playing well because that's not his natural position. 54 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,000 So there could be some of that. 55 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:14,000 I was going to say that maybe Southgate wants to play Trent in the middle of the park because perhaps he wants some creativity from the players and he has it. 56 00:06:14,000 --> 00:06:18,000 He has it. So he's looking for it anywhere he can find it. 57 00:06:18,000 --> 00:06:22,000 Right. So that would be my justification for playing him there. 58 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:27,000 But let's be honest, after those two games, I think we can all see that it's not working. 59 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,000 The only question is, can Southgate see it? 60 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:34,000 Well, I think yes, because he's taken him off in both games. 61 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:40,000 So why would you take if you're watching the match thinking he's playing really well, there's no way you would take him off. 62 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,000 But if he's not playing well, then you think, oh, I need to make a change. 63 00:06:43,000 --> 00:06:47,000 I'm going to take him off. So I think he can. 64 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:50,000 That's not a good indication. I don't even think he's arrived. 65 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:53,000 He's got to like 60 minutes in both games. 66 00:06:53,000 --> 00:07:02,000 I think like 53 minutes he got taken off yesterday and in the Serbia game, a similar time of the game, I don't know specifically. 67 00:07:02,000 --> 00:07:09,000 So I would say it's he thinks it's not working as well. 68 00:07:09,000 --> 00:07:16,000 You sound a bit miserable, Martin, but from a pragmatic point of view, he got it done. 69 00:07:16,000 --> 00:07:23,000 Boris Johnson had got the Brexit done in the same way Gareth Southgate got the job done. Four points. It's not too bad. 70 00:07:23,000 --> 00:07:27,000 Yeah, it's not. It's definitely not too bad. 71 00:07:27,000 --> 00:07:44,000 And yeah, but when the level of performance is so bad, you just kind of think, how are we going to beat like Spain or France or whoever? 72 00:07:44,000 --> 00:07:52,000 Because I mean, like looking at it on like paper, we should be expected to beat these teams. 73 00:07:52,000 --> 00:08:04,000 So if you think about it, I'm not sure if it was official, but like arguably the best player in Germany last year, Harry Kane, best player in Spain, to Bellingham. 74 00:08:04,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Phil Foden actually one player of the year in England. 75 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:11,000 So that's like three of the best players from the best leagues. 76 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:18,000 They all play for England. So I think we're right to like at least expect something. 77 00:08:18,000 --> 00:08:22,000 But it's just not it's just not working. Part of me thinks. 78 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:28,000 So I read from the World Cup squad, 13 of the 26, only 13 have survived. 79 00:08:28,000 --> 00:08:34,000 So that's a big overhaul of the team. And I don't know if like the dynamics are there. 80 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:44,000 I always got the impression before that the whole group were really together. And this is I mean, this is just complete sort of my sort of what I see. 81 00:08:44,000 --> 00:08:51,000 But I don't know if this is true at all. But just get that feeling of people like Grealish and Madison, they're like big characters. 82 00:08:51,000 --> 00:08:53,000 They were left out. 83 00:08:53,000 --> 00:08:57,000 That's what I mean. So yeah, OK. Not playing. 84 00:08:57,000 --> 00:09:05,000 They didn't really play much anyway in the World Cup, but just being around day to day like they actually are good people. 85 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:10,000 And I don't know if that's sort of OK. Well, I have two point two points. 86 00:09:10,000 --> 00:09:15,000 So first of all, too many stars. Yeah. So they have good big roles in their clubs. 87 00:09:15,000 --> 00:09:21,000 So you've got Saka Bellingham, Foden. These are prominent players in their clubs. 88 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:27,000 But if you have too many players like that, even Harry Kane, of course, Declan Rice, too many players like that in one team. 89 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:35,000 Does it could it mean that basically you cannot give the same role to those players and they are used to a different sort of standard? 90 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:48,000 And then because if you are used to being the best and suddenly the nature of the team is that you have to be part of that team and it's just one of the 11 players on the pitch. 91 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:57,000 Yeah. So could it be one of the issues? And the second one is so you mentioned these all these excellent players being best in the top leagues. 92 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:02,000 They play so many games these days. This is something that has been talked about a lot. Right. 93 00:10:02,000 --> 00:10:12,000 There are more and more games because of the everyone wants more revenue from the from the TV rights and the tickets sold. 94 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:20,000 So is that a problem as well? But I mean, so starting with your second point, if that is a problem, that's a problem for everyone. 95 00:10:20,000 --> 00:10:31,000 Like you can't you can't blame like just like I don't know, like the Spain, like whoever France that their players play lots of games as well. 96 00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:36,000 So like some of the players I mentioned, like Harry Kane and Bellingham, they don't even play in England. 97 00:10:36,000 --> 00:10:45,000 So I find that difficult. But so going back to your first point, though, that is a very good point. 98 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:59,000 And if I think of what this so far, this tournament reminds me of, it's kind of like the golden generation era where we had the same problem, where we had Gerrard, Lampard, Rooney, Skolz, Territ. 99 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:12,000 We had all of these top, top, top players that were like best. Like that generation, if I think if I had to name an all time Premiership 11, lots of those players would get in and they were all playing for England at the same time. 100 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:15,000 But yeah, they just didn't play together, didn't work as a team. 101 00:11:15,000 --> 00:11:19,000 Because like you said, you're like Steven Gerrard was the main man at Liverpool. 102 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:24,000 And then when it was like for England, he's not the main man anymore. And it just never worked. 103 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:34,000 So that that that is a worry as well that I thought exactly that this like like I said, this thing I've seen so many times with England, but I thought it stopped after Southgate. 104 00:11:34,000 --> 00:11:40,000 But now, like I said, I hope I hope I'm wrong and things can turn around because there is still time. 105 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:46,000 But that it reminds me of that, like that 2006 kind of time. 106 00:11:46,000 --> 00:11:50,000 And that's not good. 107 00:11:50,000 --> 00:11:58,000 But I just I just hope we click. So you mentioned as well about he wants Trent in central midfield for some creativity. 108 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:07,000 Now, I haven't seen him play very much, but they've got Adam Warton. I think his name is the Crystal Palace player. 109 00:12:07,000 --> 00:12:14,000 And they call him I can't remember where he's from, but something Peele. So like the London Peele or something like that. 110 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:20,000 And he really can pick out a pass and he plays central midfield every week. 111 00:12:20,000 --> 00:12:24,000 I mean, the thing is, he's only just picked him. I don't know if he's played for England yet. 112 00:12:24,000 --> 00:12:30,000 So it's a big ask for someone that plays for Crystal Palace to come into a tournament. 113 00:12:30,000 --> 00:12:34,000 But it might be if he's picked him. So he must think he's ready. 114 00:12:34,000 --> 00:12:38,000 So if picking play him that he could be the solution. 115 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:50,000 I don't know. I would like to see a sort of midfield of Rice Bellingham in a kind of number eight position box to box and Foden as a number 10. 116 00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:58,000 That's how I would like to see. And I think Bellingham is better as a number eight box to box because he's not so creative. 117 00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:03,000 When he gets on the ball, he's not like one to find a cute pass like Foden. 118 00:13:03,000 --> 00:13:10,000 He is more power, strength, and I think he is best as a number eight. 119 00:13:10,000 --> 00:13:13,000 Sorry, this is my daughter that's just coming. 120 00:13:13,000 --> 00:13:19,000 Your daughter is also not happy about the way England play. That's for sure. 121 00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:26,000 I just want to see a team with balance. And I just think with Foden on the left, it's just not. 122 00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:40,000 To be honest, I know he had a terrible season. But for me, especially when he plays for England, Rashford is perfect because we have Kane who likes to come drop and come deep. 123 00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:48,000 But you need people running past him. And Saka, who didn't have a great game last night. No one did. 124 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:53,000 But he was our best player. Well, him and Bellingham in the first game. 125 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:59,000 They're just more direct. Rashford is one of those winger slash striker. 126 00:13:59,000 --> 00:14:06,000 He's not like Foden who keeps dropping in to get the ball. 127 00:14:06,000 --> 00:14:16,000 Obviously, Rashford's not being picked. Even Anthony Gordon, who plays for Newcastle, just people that are more direct and are going to run past the striker. 128 00:14:16,000 --> 00:14:24,000 And then it will be balanced. And obviously, the other big problem we have is we haven't got a left back. Trippier is playing there. It's not his natural position. 129 00:14:24,000 --> 00:14:30,000 I think he's doing an OK job, but it's just you haven't got that balance. It's that left hand side. 130 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:42,000 So you've got a right back playing left back. And then you've got Foden playing. He's not a winger. That's not his game. He's constantly coming inside. 131 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:47,000 So a lot of players playing out of position. The balance isn't right. 132 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:53,000 We say square pegs in round holes. That's what it feels like. Yeah, I've heard that phrase. 133 00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:58,000 Yeah. And that's what it feels like. We've got a right back playing central midfield. 134 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:06,000 We've got a right back playing left back. And then we've got like a sort of a number 10 playing left wing. 135 00:15:06,000 --> 00:15:21,000 It seems like a nightmare, to be honest. And on paper, these players, all your players, they make so much money and they are like worth so much money in total, like incomparable to any other teams really in the tournament. 136 00:15:21,000 --> 00:15:29,000 I think it could it also be like you're not you might not like this sort of point, but could it also be that the Premier League is a bit overrated? 137 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:37,000 I'm saying this. I love the Premier League. I watch it. I watch it week in, week out. But could it be that as well? 138 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:44,000 Because we all learn to love it. Not just you, the English, but everyone in the world and in Europe. 139 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:50,000 And then it creates so much pressure on you, on your players. It just gets to everyone in the end. 140 00:15:50,000 --> 00:16:03,000 Well, don't you think so? I have heard. So OK, the pressure thing is, I think, another argument. And yeah, I think that's a valid argument, like too much pressure and like negativity. 141 00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:09,000 But going back to the argument of like, basically, is the Premier League overrated? And maybe are these players overrated? 142 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:20,000 The reason I would argue against that is because like two of our best players don't play in England and they have been like the best players in their league. Harry Kane. 143 00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:26,000 I know they didn't win the league, but how many goals have you scored? I've got no idea. Like 40, something like that. 144 00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:32,000 And Bellingham, who was like Real Madrid's best player, and they won the La Liga and the Champions League. 145 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:43,000 Like they literally they've been like the talisman of those teams. So and well, Foden has been the best player at Manchester City this year. 146 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:50,000 And they won the Premier League again and they were very unlucky in the Champions League against Real Madrid. 147 00:16:50,000 --> 00:17:00,000 So I don't know, I find that argument difficult to maybe believe because I don't think I believe it myself. 148 00:17:00,000 --> 00:17:09,000 I'm just playing the... Yeah, it's a valid argument to make. But yeah, I don't really believe that one. 149 00:17:09,000 --> 00:17:15,000 I think what you mentioned about the pressure is a big thing. 150 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:26,000 I mean, I think it is the same in other countries, I'm not so sure. But the way that we just sort of like to moan about... 151 00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:32,000 You haven't won for a long time as well. Yeah, exactly. And the pressure gets bigger and bigger every time. 152 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,000 It's kind of hanging over you. 153 00:17:34,000 --> 00:17:44,000 And so this Southgate team, so when its first tournament 2018, I think that was the tournament where everyone in England had zero expectations. 154 00:17:44,000 --> 00:17:49,000 We were coming on the back of losing against Iceland in 2016. 155 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:56,000 I remember that too. And so when Southgate got the job, there wasn't even a press conference to announce him. 156 00:17:56,000 --> 00:18:03,000 It was just like in the paper, Southgate is the new England manager and everyone was just so not engaged. 157 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:09,000 Just like, oh, who cares? Just totally giving up. Went into the 2018 World Cup, zero expectation. 158 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:17,000 Got to the semi-final and then it was like, oh, wow. And then so that was like the start of this team that we're seeing now. 159 00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:19,000 And then you got to the final of the last year. 160 00:18:19,000 --> 00:18:26,000 Yes, to the final. But that was kind of home advantage. We played all of our games except one at home. 161 00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:35,000 So got to the final. And then in the World Cup, I think we were actually team of the tournament until we got knocked out. 162 00:18:35,000 --> 00:18:42,000 We beat Iran 6-2, which unbelievable. We drew 0-0 with America, which everyone could have an off game. 163 00:18:42,000 --> 00:18:50,000 We beat Wales 3-0. We played Senegal. We destroyed them 3-0. And we kind of went toe to toe with the French and were like there. 164 00:18:50,000 --> 00:18:57,000 And then Harry Kane missed the penalty. But so it's that which has created all this expectation now. 165 00:18:57,000 --> 00:19:03,000 And because the previous tournaments and the last three tournaments have gone relatively well. 166 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:08,000 So three tournaments gone well. We've got all of these top class players. So now the expectation is there. 167 00:19:08,000 --> 00:19:15,000 So when they went in 2018, it was like I don't think they had that pressure. And it was just like people pleased to see England. 168 00:19:15,000 --> 00:19:20,000 That's true. And we have to be honest, like there's so many good teams in the Euros as well. 169 00:19:20,000 --> 00:19:29,000 Anyone can win it. Almost anyone can win it. And the gap is getting smaller and smaller between the good and bad teams as well. 170 00:19:29,000 --> 00:19:30,000 Yeah, I agree. 171 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:38,000 I also wanted to ask about your goalkeeper. I know you only conceded one goal. So like that's not the problem here. 172 00:19:38,000 --> 00:19:46,000 I actually thought your defense looked quite solid. Yeah. But to be honest, the keeper, let me ask you about the keeper. 173 00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,000 So he seems a bit mad. Yeah, he's always been like that, though. 174 00:19:51,000 --> 00:20:00,000 To be honest, yeah, with Pickford. So he's been the number one since like 2018 World Cup now, like tournaments wise. 175 00:20:00,000 --> 00:20:11,000 And I must admit, I've never been a big fan of him. But like when I see him, I don't watch Everton every week, but you see him in play in the Premier League. 176 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:17,000 But he's never really let England down. And like if you've got a goalkeeper that basically doesn't make mistakes. 177 00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:24,000 I can't really remember any goals. I think like, what was he doing there? 178 00:20:24,000 --> 00:20:29,000 Like, for example, my team Manchester United, like every other week, the goalkeeper is doing something. 179 00:20:29,000 --> 00:20:35,000 It doesn't matter who is in the goal. Whether it's Onana or... 180 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:43,000 Onana I really am not a fan of. Even in the FA Cup final, he let that goal slip. And you're just like, what are you doing now? 181 00:20:43,000 --> 00:20:48,000 Because the game was going well, like Manchester City weren't really getting anywhere. And then just let that one in. 182 00:20:48,000 --> 00:20:59,000 You think, I've never seen Pickford do that. Not once for England. So yeah, he's got this annoying goalkeeper thing of if someone has a shot and he saves it. 183 00:20:59,000 --> 00:21:01,000 He'll go down to the ground. 184 00:21:01,000 --> 00:21:07,000 Well, the first thing is he goes on the floor and then gets up and then starts shouting at his defenders. 185 00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:15,000 And you think, look, you're there to save. This is your job. Like you can't expect to not face a shot in the whole match. 186 00:21:15,000 --> 00:21:22,000 But he's just got, I mean, Peter Schmeichel, I mean, they're nowhere near in terms of like quality. Peter Schmeichel had that. 187 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:26,000 I don't know, maybe it's just a goalkeeper. Everyone says goalkeepers are mad. 188 00:21:26,000 --> 00:21:33,000 Speaking of Peter Schmeichel, I saw a meme yesterday where Peter Schmeichel was interviewing his son. 189 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:35,000 Did you see that? 190 00:21:35,000 --> 00:21:39,000 Yeah, that was really nice. I actually listened to a podcast recently when he was talking about his son. 191 00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:43,000 It was a Father's Day podcast and there was Peter Schmeichel, Ian Wright and Jamie Carragher. 192 00:21:43,000 --> 00:21:48,000 All of their sons have played or play professional football. 193 00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:53,000 That was really interesting actually to think about. You don't really think about that as a family thing. 194 00:21:53,000 --> 00:22:01,000 Like Peter Schmeichel said his son was playing for Leeds and he was getting so much abuse because his dad played for Manchester United. 195 00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:07,000 You don't really think about these things. So you briefly touched upon the England defence. 196 00:22:07,000 --> 00:22:15,000 So I was really worried about that because I think, well, on paper, that's our weakest part of the team on paper. 197 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:19,000 But that's actually been the best part of the team in reality. 198 00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:21,000 That's true. 199 00:22:21,000 --> 00:22:25,000 The Crystal Palace player, is it Gahey? 200 00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,000 Gahey, Gahey, something like that. 201 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:28,000 He's doing really well, right? 202 00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,000 He's been amazing, yeah. 203 00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:38,000 Again, sort of what I said about that Adam Warton, I was worried thinking he only plays for Crystal Palace. 204 00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:45,000 I don't mean to sound disrespectful, but he hasn't played in the Champions League and he hasn't dealt with that pressure. 205 00:22:45,000 --> 00:22:48,000 But he seems brilliant. 206 00:22:48,000 --> 00:23:00,000 I actually heard him talk as well during an interview and he just seems like he's really well spoken and seems just a really nice sort of level headed guy. 207 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:09,000 I would say he's been our best player until now, except that first half where Bellingham absolutely ran the show. 208 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:13,000 And also the first match, that was Bellingham's game as well. 209 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:17,000 But Bellingham really though, he faded in the second half though. 210 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:22,000 True, but I'm not just talking about the goal, just the way he went past people. 211 00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:26,000 It just seemed like he was by far the best player of the game. 212 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:30,000 The first half of that game, it was like men against boys. 213 00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:36,000 There were times when he was just walking past me and just sort of pushing people off. 214 00:23:36,000 --> 00:23:41,000 And that is why I want to see him play number eight, because I want to see him run the game. 215 00:23:41,000 --> 00:23:46,000 Because as a number ten, he hasn't got that creativity, I don't think. 216 00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:51,000 So you're basically advising more experiments to Southgate. 217 00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,000 I don't really see it as that much an experiment. 218 00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:57,000 I see that as Bellingham's natural position to play number eight. 219 00:23:57,000 --> 00:24:06,000 I know he has played more advanced in the number ten for Real Madrid, but I think his natural position, his best position is number eight. 220 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,000 To get into box to box because he's powerful, he can do everything. 221 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,000 He can defend, he can tackle, he can shoot, he can do everything. 222 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:18,000 So make him run the game, not just sort of like coming into the box late. 223 00:24:18,000 --> 00:24:23,000 Well, you have got one more game to do that now that you have pretty much more or less qualified. 224 00:24:23,000 --> 00:24:26,000 I don't think we will jinx it if we say it here. 225 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,000 Four points. 226 00:24:27,000 --> 00:24:31,000 I do not want to say anything. 227 00:24:31,000 --> 00:24:35,000 I think some teams will even qualify with three points. 228 00:24:35,000 --> 00:24:36,000 That is my prediction. 229 00:24:36,000 --> 00:24:38,000 To be honest, I'm not a big fan of this thing. 230 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:44,000 I would never say before, oh, we've qualified now until it's done. 231 00:24:44,000 --> 00:24:45,000 I'm not saying that. 232 00:24:45,000 --> 00:24:47,000 And also, I'm in a different position. 233 00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:49,000 I'm not an English fan. 234 00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:53,000 I cheer for you, but as my number three or four. 235 00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:56,000 Actually, Slovakia as well. 236 00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:57,000 Right. 237 00:24:57,000 --> 00:24:58,000 OK. 238 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:00,000 So I think more like number three, number four. 239 00:25:00,000 --> 00:25:01,000 Oh, right. 240 00:25:01,000 --> 00:25:03,000 And so number four, who would be their number three? 241 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,000 So I thought I would also cheer for Ukraine. 242 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,000 But they're not really pulling out any trees. 243 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:11,000 They're not at the races. 244 00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:15,000 So it looks like I might have to stick with England. 245 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:21,000 Well, they got batted by Romania, which I think maybe was probably the best performance I think I've seen. 246 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:23,000 The Romania game. 247 00:25:23,000 --> 00:25:27,000 And there's always this prize team that could be there, I think. 248 00:25:27,000 --> 00:25:31,000 And as of now, they are losing to Slovakia as well. 249 00:25:31,000 --> 00:25:34,000 Typical. 250 00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:37,000 It might change, but they're not looking very good at the moment. 251 00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:39,000 Romania losing. 252 00:25:39,000 --> 00:25:40,000 No, no, no. I'm talking about Ukraine. 253 00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:41,000 Sorry. 254 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:42,000 Right. Sorry. 255 00:25:42,000 --> 00:25:44,000 You're playing Belgium tomorrow, aren't they? 256 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:45,000 Yeah, maybe tonight. 257 00:25:45,000 --> 00:25:46,000 I don't know. 258 00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,000 Oh, is it tonight? 259 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,000 OK. 260 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,000 Actually tomorrow. 261 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:50,000 Yeah. 262 00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:53,000 So I'm just saying I was going to support Ukraine because of the war situation. 263 00:25:53,000 --> 00:25:55,000 I really wish them. 264 00:25:55,000 --> 00:25:57,000 I think everyone does. 265 00:25:57,000 --> 00:26:01,000 Well, older people that have common sense, I will say. 266 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,000 Yeah, yeah, of course. 267 00:26:02,000 --> 00:26:08,000 I think everyone's second team is Ukraine for what's happening. 268 00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:10,000 Because that's the great thing about sport. 269 00:26:10,000 --> 00:26:16,000 Certainly, when a country does well, it just gives everyone such a lift. 270 00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:24,000 So in my time, any time England have got to semi-final, there's just such a great feeling. 271 00:26:24,000 --> 00:26:27,000 And everyone's together, and it's brilliant. 272 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:32,000 So if anyone deserves it, it's certainly Ukraine. 273 00:26:32,000 --> 00:26:34,000 Yeah, it's not looking good, sure. 274 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,000 It's not looking good at all, actually, right now. 275 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:44,000 And they are yet to play arguably the biggest team of that group, which is Belgium. 276 00:26:44,000 --> 00:26:46,000 So I don't know what's going to happen. 277 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:48,000 You lost the first match, though. 278 00:26:48,000 --> 00:26:50,000 Belgium reminds me a bit of us, really. 279 00:26:50,000 --> 00:26:56,000 Got lots of good players, but never really click as a team. 280 00:26:56,000 --> 00:26:59,000 Their golden generation seems to have gone a bit now. 281 00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:01,000 I think it's past its best. 282 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:05,000 But when they had that golden generation, it was kind of like our golden generation. 283 00:27:05,000 --> 00:27:11,000 We had all these wonderful players who just never really played that well as a team. 284 00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:15,000 And I'm kind of worried this is the new one that we're seeing. 285 00:27:15,000 --> 00:27:21,000 Because these players, although in fairness to Southgate, he showed some courage. 286 00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:24,000 I was going to say a different word there. 287 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:29,000 By taking off Kane, Saka, and Foden. 288 00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:30,000 He took all three of them off. 289 00:27:30,000 --> 00:27:31,000 At the same time. 290 00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:34,000 Yeah. And I was very surprised by that. 291 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,000 But I thought fair play, because they weren't doing anything. 292 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:41,000 And you need to give them a kick up the backside. 293 00:27:41,000 --> 00:27:47,000 You can't just think, I'm just going to play rubbish in my place in the team, like Harry Kane. 294 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:50,000 You can't just play rubbish every game and expect to play. 295 00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:55,000 At one point, they say, look, you need to pull your socks up and do something. 296 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:57,000 Because if you don't, you're off. 297 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,000 So I was pleased to see that. 298 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:04,000 Anyway, Martin, we have got to go. 299 00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:08,000 I can see you really. 300 00:28:08,000 --> 00:28:10,000 It's getting out of hand a little bit. 301 00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:11,000 I'm joking. 302 00:28:11,000 --> 00:28:12,000 Yeah, of course. 303 00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:17,000 We want to hear a true English fan on the podcast. 304 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:18,000 And it's great. 305 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:26,000 But I want to keep these podcasts a bit shorter, because I also have to explain some stuff, like some vocabulary at the end. 306 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:28,000 I'll try to keep it short. 307 00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:37,000 I hope we'll record another one towards the end of the tournament where things have changed and England are looking like a proper team. 308 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:38,000 It can be one of the two things. 309 00:28:38,000 --> 00:28:42,000 It can either be that or you're going to come to rent here. 310 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,000 Yeah. 311 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:46,000 Yeah, exactly. 312 00:28:46,000 --> 00:28:50,000 OK, well, thanks a lot for having me on Zenit and yeah, talk to you. 313 00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:52,000 And obviously, good luck to the Czech Republic as well. 314 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:53,000 You're very welcome. 315 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:58,000 And if anyone is interested, Martin has a fantastic podcast called the Rock and Roll English podcast. 316 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:00,000 I think I've got my Rock and Roll English top. 317 00:29:00,000 --> 00:29:01,000 I have. 318 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:02,000 There you go. 319 00:29:02,000 --> 00:29:03,000 There you go. 320 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:05,000 Get some advertising in there. 321 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:06,000 OK, nice one. 322 00:29:06,000 --> 00:29:07,000 Nice one. 323 00:29:07,000 --> 00:29:08,000 Cheers, Martin. 324 00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:09,000 See you. 325 00:29:09,000 --> 00:29:15,000 Bye bye. 326 00:29:15,000 --> 00:29:16,000 Welcome back. 327 00:29:16,000 --> 00:29:22,000 In this part of the show, I'm going to be the English teacher I am and explain to you some vocabulary. 328 00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:28,000 And I promise I will make it short and sweet because we don't have so much time today. 329 00:29:28,000 --> 00:29:29,000 What are the words? 330 00:29:29,000 --> 00:29:32,000 Obviously, literally, arguably, what do they mean? 331 00:29:32,000 --> 00:29:34,000 How are they used? 332 00:29:34,000 --> 00:29:36,000 So I'm going to give you an example. 333 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:39,000 Martin said he literally never plays there. 334 00:29:39,000 --> 00:29:49,000 He was talking about Trent Alexander Arnold and he was saying basically that Trent normally plays as a right back, not a center midfielder. 335 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:58,000 And if you say that someone literally never plays there, you're basically emphasizing the fact that the player doesn't play there. 336 00:29:58,000 --> 00:30:06,000 Basically, this word literally means exactly as described, but it's a way to emphasize your point. 337 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,000 Yeah. 338 00:30:09,000 --> 00:30:10,000 OK. 339 00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:14,000 And then Martin said arguably the best player in Germany, Harry Kane. 340 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:18,000 So arguably means probably. 341 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:25,000 And then there's another word, obviously, which means clearly or everyone can see that. 342 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:29,000 Now, these three words are adverbs. 343 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:36,000 They end with L, Y, as you can see all of them, and they are put at the beginning of the point that someone makes. 344 00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:40,000 So usually at the beginning of a sentence or clause. 345 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:44,000 And they are opinion adverbs. 346 00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:53,000 So by using the word obviously, you're kind of giving it more certainty, right, to your utterance, to what you're saying. 347 00:30:53,000 --> 00:30:58,000 With the word literally, you're basically saying that it's exactly as described. 348 00:30:58,000 --> 00:31:00,000 Again, you're kind of emphasizing it. 349 00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:07,000 And with the word arguably, you're sort of making it a little bit weaker, what you're saying, by saying probably. 350 00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:09,000 You don't want to sound too strong. 351 00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,000 So all these three words, you would use them at the beginning of sentences. 352 00:31:12,000 --> 00:31:26,000 There are more words like that in the English language, which help you kind of adjust what you are saying one way or another, making it weaker, stronger, likely, less likely, stuff like that. 353 00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:27,000 All right, guys, that's it. 354 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:31,000 Thank you very much for listening to this episode of the Footgrish Podcast. 355 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:33,000 Don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. 356 00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:40,000 It's available wherever you listen to podcasts, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, you name it. 357 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:42,000 Thanks again and have a good day. 358 00:31:42,000 --> 00:31:57,000 Bye bye.