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Brazil Saturday 23 March 7pm Belgium Tuesday 26 March 7.45pm Both on Channel 4 The squad Goalkeepers: Sam Johnstone (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Arsenal) Defenders: Jarrad Branthwaite (Everton), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Lewis Dunk (Brighton & Hove Albion), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), Kyle Walker (Manchester City) Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), Conor Gallagher (Chelsea), Jordan Henderson (Ajax), James Maddison (Tottenham Hotspur), Declan Rice (Arsenal) Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle United), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Ivan Toney (Brentford), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

What are your thoughts on his appointment as England manager? For me it is totally underwhelming . It is a political appointment. The FA have invested loads in St George's park and one of their motivators for that is to find and develop the next generation of coaches for football. Appointing Southgate gives credence to that objective.

His goalscoring record is insane for a 23 year old. Can/Will he surpass Platini, Zidane and Henry has the greatest French of all time?

So after the horrible events in Paris last night didn't really feel like time for a big game of Football but I'd been watching the news coverage continually for a few hours so with midnight approaching I decided to at least put on Argentina-Brazil as a distraction. Last night was a classic Brazil performance against a decent team. Just sit back, put men behind the ball, and lump the ball forward for Neymar to create something. No exaggeration to say Argentina (who are in poor form and were without Messi and Aguero) were completely dominant for the first hour and should've been more than 1 up, they played with fantasy and lovely ball playing in central midfield, Brazil did nothing of the sort. The thing that gets me is every World cup we get the same old tired cliches from the press, the boys from Brazil, why can't England play the Brazilian way, look at all those world class Brazilian players...ignoring the fact there's 4-5 European teams better than them and a couple from other continents. They were lucky they had home advantage at the last World cup as that was never a last 4 team, two before have been quarter final defeats, same as in the Copa America so the level England used to be at.... So who are these World class Brazil players....Neymar yes although he does still go quiet in the big games imo although he has an impossible role for Brazil, has to carry the ball in midfield and finish the chances. Willian in good form for Chelsea but a hardworker who can attack and defend out wide and whip in a decent cross, depends if you think Beckham was world class or not I guess. Costa is playing very for Bayern Munich but is only a sub last night....David Luiz is one of the biggest travestys going.... Argentina have problems aswell which is harder to analysis as they actually produce excellent footballers to watch starting with Riquelme and now with the likes of Di Maria, Banega, Aguero, Messi etc, it's a shame they too have gone in defensive mode. The big problem for Brazil is they have no attacking central midfield anymore...it's all defensive players who can cover and mark....Fernando, Fernandinho, Luiz Gustavo, Elias, Ramieres, all players who can run and mark but put them in the final third and it's a bit clueless. A while back they had Ronaldinho and Kaka around that area, it is a bit of a difference in quality. So there you go they'll probably scrape qualification in 4th or something as teams like Ecuador and Chile are just better than them currently but as long as Dunga remains manager, I hope they don't qualify for the World Cup.

not sure where else to put this... roberto martinez appointed belgium manager looks like they're going nowhere with their golden generation

Assuming Southgate leaves after Euro 2024, who would you like and who would you bet on? I think I might have a cheeky punt on Eddie Howe, who I think might be out of work by then. Not my dream appointment but think he could do a job since we have a deep squad and his tactics usually require it.

Do you think espionage or "espionage" (all depending on how you define that loaded word) exists in the world of professional football? * To what extent, where, how, why? Is it a form of corporate spying -- or something else? How might it cross the line into criminality or civil liability? Are there famous football spying scandals of the past that stand out to you? Besides this one. Does it happen in the transfer market? Match-day line-ups? Game plans? Are there legal forms of "soft spying" that concern you? Is there spying in plain view? Is it just part of football? Can it be policed? Is it policed? Do we protect against it enough? Are security procedures strong enough? On an ironic tangent -- and this is admittedly a longshot -- might football scouting sometimes be a cover for other kinds of misdeeds or even, well, actual espionage? * Why this topic now? It's been raised on Villa social media in some persistent ways that got my attention, and I've been concerned about it, too.

What began as farce and blatant corruption is now becoming literally deadly, as reports are claiming unsafe and brutal migrant slave labor conditions (over 25 Nepalese workers confirmed dead). Now Blatter is pushing through with plans to schedule the event over the winter, throwing most of the world's leagues' into utter chaos. I've said it before, Sepp Blatter needs to be brought before the Hague, and his little dog, too. (Platini) I really think the English FA should take the lead on this, form a coalition and boycott a Qatari World Cup. Go back to the ping pong balls and pick again. Or better yet, just award it to Australia.

Just watching the U19 Euro final, Israel look quite good to be fair, wouldn’t be surprised if they score first.

Going to watch this at 17:00 as there’s not much other sport on, plus Jacob Ramsey starts with Cameron Archer on the bench. Hope Archer gets some mins.

With the decisive euro qualifiers coming up in a few days, I was just thinking about Republic of Ireland. They are the unluckiest team in world football. When they don't qualify for a tournament, they always seem to be so close. Losing in the play offs in 96, 98, 2000 and 2010. I am desprate for them to qualify, their players deserve it and we have had about 8 Irish players ovr the last 16 years. Even though I'm not Irish, I will be devastated if they don't qualify. This is also the last chance for Given, Duff and Keane to play in a euro.

Might as well have one of these as well don't we. How does your GOAT 11 look? So to not make it utterly ridiculous it's obviously only players in your lifetime so I won't be adding guys like Pele or Puskas for example who I never saw play. Choose any formation you like but if it's a back 4 it shouldn't contain 4 RB's and so on. No 0-0-0-11 formations . I'll get back to you with mine.

So a so a new format for international football. Have to say it's all very confusing. They don't like doing things the easy way do they? Nations League OpenFootballmenu Nations League: Wales beaten to spot in league A by Netherlands 11 Oct From the sectionFootball Wales lost 1-0 to Republic of Ireland on Monday Wales have missed out on a place in the top tier of Uefa's new Nations League tournament after losing their final World Cup qualifier. The Nations League sees the 55 European national teams divided into four pots dependent on their rankings, with the top 12 going into League A. The Republic of Ireland, who beat Wales to get into the World Cup play-off, are also in League B with Northern Ireland. England are in League A with Scotland in League C. Netherlands' 2-0 win over Sweden in their final game in World Cup qualifying Group D took them above Wales, into 12th place in Uefa's co-efficient rankings, to claim the final place in League A. But what is the Nations League? How does it work? And what's the point of it? Uefa say it "creates more meaningful and competitive matches for teams and a dedicated calendar and structure for national team football". The competition, which starts in September 2018, will provide four qualifying spots for Euro 2020 and will determine the composition of the draw pots for the subsequent Euro 2020 qualifiers. By virtue of the format, lower-tier countries - the bottom 16 in the rankings - are now guaranteed one of the 24 qualifying slots for the European Championship finals. There will also be promotion and relegation between divisions. Each of the four tiers A, B, C and D will contain four groups of three or four teams, with these decided in a draw on Wednesday, 24 January 2018 in Lausanne, Switzerland. Watch Uefa's guide to the Nations League Uefa Nations League composition League A League B League C League D Germany Austria Hungary Azerbaijan Portugal Wales Romania Macedonia Belgium Russia Scotland Belarus Spain Slovakia Slovenia Georgia France Sweden Greece Armenia England Ukraine Serbia Latvia Switzerland Republic of Ireland Albania Faroe Islands Italy Bosnia and Herzegovina Norway Luxembourg Poland Northern Ireland Montenegro Kazakhstan Iceland Denmark Israel Moldova Croatia Czech Republic Bulgaria Liechtenstein Netherlands Turkey Finland Malta Cyprus Andorra Estonia Kosovo Lithuania San Marino Gibraltar The format of the Nations League The 55 European national teams have been divided into four leagues based on Uefa's national association coefficient rankings on 11 October, 2017. Leagues A and B, the top two divisions, will consist of four groups of three teams. League C will comprise one group of three teams and three groups of four sides, while League D will be made up of four groups of four teams. The draw for the first phase Nations League will take place in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 January, 2018. In each league, four group winners are promoted (or play in the Nations League Finals, see below) and four teams are relegated for the next competition to be played in 2020. The overall Nations League rankings will determine the composition of the draw pots for the subsequent European qualifiers (European Championship or World Cup). The Nations League will also provide four teams which will contest play-offs in March 2020 (see below) to qualify for Euro 2020. When will the Nations League take place? The Nations League group games will be held over six matchdays, during the 'double-headers' in September, October and November 2018. The winners of the four groups in League A will contest the Nations League Finals competition in June 2019. The knockout Nations League Finals (semi-finals, third-place match and final) will be hosted by one of the four countries, appointed by the Uefa Executive Committee in December 2018. How will the Nations League affect qualifiers? The top two in each of the 10 qualifying groups for Euro 2020 will qualify automatically. There will be five groups of five teams and five groups of six teams. The remaining four of the 24 places for Euro 2020 will go to play-off winners, comprised of the 16 group winners of the Nations League. The Euro 2020 qualifying draw will be made after the completion of the UEFA Nations League and allow for the four UEFA Nations League Finals participants to be drawn into groups of five teams. The Euro 2020 qualifiers start in March 2019. There will be two matchdays in each of March, June, September, October and November 2019. If a group winner has already qualified via the European qualifiers, then their spot will go to the next best-ranked team in their league. If a league does not have four teams to compete, the remaining slots are allocated to teams from another league, according to the overall Uefa Nations League ranking. Each league will have a path of its own and each path will feature two single-leg semi-finals and one single-leg final. The winner of each path will win a place at Euro 2020. UEFA Nations League calendar Group stage draw: 24 January 2018 Matchday 1: 6-8 September 2018 Matchday 2: 9-11 September 2018 Matchday 3: 11-13 October 2018 Matchday 4: 14-16 October 2018 Matchday 5: 15-17 November 2018 Matchday 6: 18-20 November 2018 Finals draw: early December 2018 Finals: 5-9 June 2019 Euro 2020 play-off draw: 22 November 2019 Euro 2020 play-offs: 26-31 March 2020

So the 46th edition of Copa America is being held in Brazil and starts on June 14. For reasons that absolutely has nothing to do with money Qatar and Japan are also taking part in the tournament this year. The home nations biggest name Neymar has just pulled out because of "injury" but there will be loads and big names playing. And since Messi ended his biannual retirement from the national side he will lead Argentina. Fully expect him to once again retire unless they win the tournament, And then come back in good time before the WC. These are the groups. Home nation with a somewhat favorable draw shocker.

Can't see a thread for this but need to post this Kiwi screamer. 2 wins from 2 yoop!

The squad GK : Jack Butland (Stoke City), Alex McCarthy (Southampton), Jordan Pickford (Everton) DEF : Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City) MID : Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), ATT : Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal).

8 months to go. 8 teams there so far. Russia (As hosts), Belgium the only UEFA qualifier so far, Brazil who top the S.American section, Mexico already through from CONCACAF and the 4 qualifiers so far from Asia - Saudi Arabia, Iran, Japan and South Korea. 24 places still up for grabs 3 more from South America plus the CONMEBOL/Oceania play off. 2 more from North and Central America plus the CONCACAF/Asia play off. 5 more from Africa. Leaving 12 more for UEFA - 8 more group winners and the 4 play off winners African qualifying finishes in November. Last week of qualifiers start today though everywhere else before any November play offs. Play offs will be CONMEBOL 5th place vs OFC winners (New Zealand) CONCACAF 4th place vs AFC 5th place (Australia or Syria) 4 x UEFA play offs for the 8 teams with the best record out of the 9 qualifying group runners up.

Semi finals #61 10/07 19:00 C1 France 1-0 Belgium G1 #62 11/07 19:00 G2 England 1-2 (aet) Croatia D1 3rd place playoff #63 14/07 15:00 G1 Belgium 2-0 England G2 World Cup final #64 15/07 16:00 C1 France 4-2 Croatia D1 > Quarter finals thread <

#57 06/07 15:00 A1 Uruguay 0-2 France C1 #58 06/07 19:00 E1 Brazil 1-2 Belgium G1 #59 07/07 15:00 F1 Sweden 0-2 England G2 #60 07/07 19:00 A2 Russia 2-2(aet) 3-4 pens Croatia D1 Winner of game : #57 plays #58 #59 plays #60 > Round of 16 thread < > Semi-finals & final thread <

#49 30/06 15:00 C1 France 4-3 Argentina D2 #50 30/06 19:00 A1 Uruguay 2-1 Portugal B2 #51 01/07 15:00 B1 Spain 1-1(aet) 3-4 pens Russia A2 #52 01/07 19:00 D1 Croatia 1-1(aet) 3-2 pens Denmark C2 #53 02/07 15:00 E1 Brazil 2-0 Mexico F2 #54 02/07 19:00 G1 Belgium 3-2 Japan H2 #55 03/07 15:00 F1 Sweden 1-0 Switzerland E2 #56 03/07 19:00 H1 Colombia 1-1(aet) 3-4 pens England G2 Winner of game : #49 plays #50 #51 plays #52 #53 plays #54 #55 plays #56 > Quarter finals thread <

Belgium Panama Tunisia England MATCHES 18/06 @ 16:00 - Belgium v Panama 18/06 @ 19:00 - Tunisia v England 23/06 @ 13:00 - Belgium v Tunisia 24/06 @ 13:00 - England v Panama 28/06 @ 19:00 - England v Belgium 28/06 @ 19:00 - Panama v Tunisia Winner faces runner up from group H (Poland, Senegal, Colombia, Japan) Runner up faces winner from group H All times in BST

Poland Senegal Colombia Japan MATCHES 19/06 @ 13:00 - Colombia v Japan 19/06 @ 16:00 - Poland v Senegal 24/06 @ 16:00 - Japan v Senegal 24/06 @ 19:00 - Poland v Colombia 28/06 @ 15:00 - Japan v Poland 28/06 @ 15:00 - Senegal v Colombia Winner faces runner up from group G (Belgium, Panama, Tunisia, England) Runner up faces winner from group G All times in BST

Germany Mexico Sweden South Korea MATCHES 17/06 @ 16:00 - Germany 0-1 Mexico 35' Lozano 18/06 @ 13:00 - Sweden v South Korea 23/06 @ 16:00 - South Korea v Mexico 23/06 @ 19:00 - Germany v Sweden 27/06 @ 15:00 - South Korea v Germany 27/06 @ 15:00 - Mexico v Sweden Winner faces runner up from group E (Brazil, Switzerland, Costa Rica, Serbia) Runner up faces winner from group E All times in BST

France Australia Peru Denmark MATCHES 16/06 @ 11:00 - France v Australia 16/06 @ 17:00 - Peru v Denmark 21/06 @ 13:00 - Denmark v Australia 21/06 @ 16:00 - France v Peru 26/06 @ 15:00 - Australia v Peru 26/06 @ 15:00 - Denmark v France Winner faces runner up from group D (Argentina, Iceland, Croatia, Nigeria) Runner up faces winner from group D All times in BST

Brazil Switzerland Costa Rica Serbia MATCHES 17/06 @ 13:00 - Costa Rica v Serbia 17/06 @ 19:00 - Brazil v Switzerland 22/06 @ 13:00 - Brazil v Costa Rica 22/06 @ 19:00 - Serbia v Switzerland 27/06 @ 19:00 - Serbia v Brazil 27/06 @ 19:00 - Switzerland v Costa Rica Winner faces runner up from group F (Germany, Mexico, Sweden, South Korea) Runner up faces winner from group F All times in BST