Ahead of the European Championships set to kick off this Friday, we take a look at five underrated players to watch at the tournament.
Tag: Declan Rice
Why England’s tactical flexibility makes them favourites for Euro 2020
The England National Team heads into the UEFA European Football Championship in scintillating form, with a crop of players that some argue could rival the golden generation at the 2004 edition of the tournament. However, this time, hopes are even greater for The Three Lions, as Gareth Southgate's squad not only has a wealth of depth, but also tactical flexibility. With the hope and promise that Southgate's squad could pick up silverware for the first time since 1966, we take a look at how they might approach the competition, tactically and beyond.
Futbol Masterminds – European Super League, Racism, and Euro 2020
On Sunday April 18th, 2021, twelve of Europe's elite clubs made a shocking announcement that they had agreed to take part in a "European Super League". The announcement was instantly condemned by UEFA, FIFA, the FA, and fans around the globe...not to mention the Futbol Masterminds. Rhys, Kausty and special guest Vivek dissect some of the many issues to do with the European Super League, before delving into a discussion on racism in football and England's Euro 2020 squad. Submit questions and follow the show @futbolmasterminds on Instagram, or on themastermindsite.com.
Picking the PFA Team of the Year (2020-21)
The 2020-21 Premier League season has certainly been one of the most unprecedented in the history of the competition. Due to the state of the outside world and the novel coronavirus pandemic, very few players and very few teams were able to gain any sense of consistency over the course of the season. Some of those "very few" aforementioned players fall under the star-studded Manchester City umbrella, and were able to escape the heavy storm relatively unscathed. But a few other stars from around the league consistently performed to high levels, and certainly the Citizens can't claim to have the best player of the season in each and every position. With that, here is our Premier League Team of the Year, as though we were the players picking the team ourselves.
Picking England’s Euro 2020 Squad
It's been debated throughout the entirety of the 2020-21 season, and now TheMastermindSite takes their swing at picking England's squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 tournament. Taking into consideration both our dream squad and Gareth Southgate's likely plans for the tournament, here is our 23-man squad for Euro 2020, as compiled by Rhys Desmond, Sam The Man, Kevin Ravindran and Anthony Khoury.
West Ham United – 4-2-3-1 – Tactical Analysis (2020-21)
Recently, I did a second Aston Villa Tactical Analysis discussing how Dean Smith's side went from narrowly escaping relegation in 2019-20 to now being genuine contenders for the Europa League in time for next season. The same could be said of West Ham United. Although David Moyes' side escaped relegation by a greater margin, they've also been better than Villa by a narrow margin again this season, just in a much different place in the table for both. Like Aston Villa, West Ham United are also contenders for a place in next season's Europa League with their performances in the league in 2020-21. With Villa being one of their top challengers for a top six finish, doing the double over the Lions has also boasted well for the Hammers as they go into the final third of the season. Here is a tactical analysis of West Ham United since they shifted from a 5-4-1/3-4-3 formation to a 4-2-3-1.
David Moyes – 5-4-1 – West Ham United – Tactical Analysis
After disappointing losses to Newcastle and Arsenal, West Ham United have been on a surprising run of form. The Hammers scored seven goals in the span of two matches, without conceding against Wolves and Leicester, before clawing their way back from 3-0 down at Tottenham to draw level in the final minute. David Moyes has become almost something of an underrated manager these past few years after his failed spell at Manchester United and later, West Ham United. But the Scotsman quickly earned his job back after a year and a bit away and now has West Ham back in the top ten to start this 2020-21 Premier League season. Here is a Tactical Analysis of David Moyes' West Ham.
