Richarlison and Mina head-to-head in Miami

Just hope all our players come back injury free. Don't care about internationals.

I agree Paul the internationals don't seem to hold much value as a suppoter no more...

Lets hope that we can kick on and get the same level of playing as the end of last season..

Some recon it really all starts after this international break...

I still feel it will be a up n down season and finish in a similar position as last season

Would be nice to turn the red shite over... that is ling over due...

Paul, Mark, it's becoming a regular farce, every four weeks or so IB, bread and butter (Club) football runs the risk of an injury, in what is often a meaningless friendly. (that is obviously 'no so friendly')

While I appreciate most players consider it an honour to play for their Country, and so it should be, but you would think they could come to a less disruptive arrangement, by scheduling Matches more wisely.

It always seems to happen when the team is on a run, then any momentum that has been built has evaporated.

I just think club football has now become so much bigger than international football. When I started watching football in the early 80's, it was the other way around.

Paul, ' tail wagging dog '?

Never been a big fan of England, or international football in general. I wasn't doing somersaults last summer when England got to the World Cup semi final, and I didn't feel the need to go round and wreck places because we got beat by Croatia. I think a lot of blues feel the same way as I do, though could be wrong, whereas a lot of RS support the national side. Mind most of their support is outside of Liverpool so will be very patriotic.

I'm like Paul, more concerned about any of our players getting injured. No doubt the biggest injury we suffered due to an international was Neville Southall while playing for Wales in 1986. Whilst we will never know if we would have won the league and / or cup that season, Southall was clearly a big loss.

As annoying as international breaks can be, I still can’t understand people that don’t support their country. It just seems crazy to me. It doesn’t make you less of an Everton fan by supporting England too.

Seems crazy with either have the European Championship the AFCON or the Copa America in the summer break, yet now European clubs are competing for places for the European Championship, and the South American countries are playing friendlies. They really need to find a way to give these top players a break, as they are virtually playing non stop for 12 months a year. If its not the AFCON or Copa America or Euros it will be fighting to compete in the next World Cup which will be in October I think now that will cause havoc with the fixtures.

They could do what they did years and years ago when there wasnt 26 man first team squads. The International manager picks say 18 players and the clubs carry on playing their league fixtures. Now some will complain about losing half a team to International duty but it worked fine 30-40 years ago so why not now.

I think there's more chance in hell freezing over than them changing to that system Brian. Most Premier League teams wouldn't have any first teamers. Think how many internationals we have in our starting 11. It would be uproar if that happened. It was changed clearly for a good reason.

International break...legs

Thing is though, Brian,30 - 40 years ago, English clubs were mainly made up of British and ROI players, with very few foreign players. They would play a league game on the Saturday, then join up with their international team on the Sunday. There was only the one international game played in midweek, Tuesday or Wednesday, then they reported back to their club the next day.

Now, we have players from all over the world playing in the premier league, flying a ridiculous number of hours just to play a friendly. There is also two games played in an international break, including a weekend game. So I doubt we could revert back to the system of 30 - 40 years ago.

The England team selection is always a mess since Southgate took over.

Sure they have won some games against mostly easy opposition and one or two better teams but it just seems to me if your English with a couple of games under your belt then Southgate will pick you if you have been mentioned in the media somewhere.

He doesn't seem to have a settled formation with players who have some pedigree and experience. Leaving the best right back (Kyle Walker) out of this squad is a beyond me.

I have no doubt they will beat the likes of Bulgaria and Kosovo no matter what squad he puts out but just selecting players to appease the media shows a lack of guts.

Like all Evertonians I just hope none of our guys get crocked.

Tom, also depends on who you play for. A prime example being Alex Oxlade -Chamberlain. He was out for most of last season with a serious knee injury. He played a few minutes for the RS this season and walks back into the England squad. Pathetic.

Rob, I sincerely hope you are not implying bias there mate. :-)

Mind you having said that Rob, our own Tom Davies who is seemingly ignored by Silva, if he's lucky he gets a splinter in his arse from a rare bench appearance, was not only picked for England U-21's but Captained them too. But I know what you mean.

Haha, Derek. Whatever gives you that idea? 😁😁😁

By all accounts Richarlison was ok for Brazil -

"Richarlison was pretty good too, though he really loses the ball a lot on 1:1s. And he missed an easy chance. But overall, good game, especially in the fist half."

Just delighted to continues to be an important part of the Brazil team - he's far from perfect at that level but the fans do seem to have taken to him well.

Mark @ 16.

"By ALL accounts Richarlison was ok for Brazil."

ALL accounts? Just OK?

Dunno where you lifted your reported account from, but I watched the entire game live and our Richie was nothing short of excellent. For me, Brazil's best player on the night. The Brazilian TV match commentators similarly spoke glowingly of him. Again.

Wearing the #9 shirt and - as with Everton since the closing fixtures of last season - he played wide right with a front 3 of himself, Firmino central, Neymar left.

He continually made himself available. Was excellent in his hold up and lay off play. Time and again got the better of his marker to get in behind the defence. Time and again he put in dangerous crosses for threatening headers. He pulled back another ground ball which the striking player would have scored from but for the ball hitting another Brazilian player.

He cut inside beautifully to leave his man for dead in the right corner of the penalty area and hit a superb left foot curler that just went past the post.

The only serious one on one he lost was when HIS perfectly timed run took him clear of the defence to go one on one with the hugely experienced Ospina (celebrating his 100th Colombian cap) who quickly got out to deny Richie a chance.

And that was just the first half. It goes without saying he didn't neglect his defensive duties, either.

I will take this opportunity to add that in recent weeks, on the back of his slow start in an Everton start this season, I've read some psycho-babble on these pages about Richarlison's poor attitude and negative body language. That simply doesn't tally as to how the lad truly is, or how he is perceived and hugely liked and respected in Brazil.

Just yesterday, I had two lads do some work in my house and inevitably the conversation turned to football. On discovering I was a Blue, one of them immediately imitated Richie's pigeon walk goal celebration. They spoke glowingly about his football, but more so how 'humilde' he is: humble.

A lot of Brazilians see themselves in Richarlison: from a good, but poor rural family in the interior. Backed his talent to trial with a big city club. With dedication and hard work has deservedly progressively worked himself up the football ladder. Remains extremely loyal and faithful to both his family and home town, funding various charitable causes in his home state.

Enjoy him in a blue shirt while we can, because I saw signs last night of yet further improvement in his game in one so young. Europe's super nova clubs WILL be interested in him if his continues playing and scoring in the vein he has in the last 12 months.

On the other side, Mina was solid. He and Richarlison took to shoving each other following what looked a clear penalty when Mina's centre back partner Sanchez shoulder charged Neymar in the back which caused the PSG man to clatter into the surrounding pitch boards.

Neymar equalised with a tap in goal, set up by a crisp cross by Dani Alves, but he really is looking a shadow of his former self.

Pickford and Keane both starting, if there are any England fans here...

Two Everton players shoving each other Jay? It’s been a long time since we had winners in our squad, and I’m genuinely intrigued to see Walcott, playing in the same team as Delph, simply because I think the least of Theo’s problems is ability, but more to do with desire?

I used to see a conspiracy in the RS players seemingly effortlessly getting into the England team. I now sniff a conspiracy in 2 RS players (Sanchez and Alexander-Arnold) NOT being included in the playing XI by Southgate. Being instructed not to include those players to avoid the risk of getting injured and derailing their Premier League championship run!

Do you mean Gomez Ajay?

Living in Colombia, there was certainly a good deal of laughing here when Neymar struck the hoardings head first, leading to the aforementioned handbags.

I concur that Richarlison looked interested and lively all the time.

I do think the body language thing that people mention is misunderstood. It is quite possibly a result of place and style of upbringing that results in an "I don't give a shit" external shell. Open to debate, of course...

Yes indeed, Simon, thank you for the correction.

#4 Paul Hewitt - That's what my dad said a few days ago. In Greenland we (normally) support Denmark, as we are Danish citizens. (I support Brazil!)

When my dad was a school principal in the eighties, he sent the kids home in the early afternoon, because the teachers were gonna have 'a meeting'. After that 'meeting', the teachers that were still in school brought the TV to the hall and they would have a few beers while watching Denmark playing an international match.

Now it's a different story... can't do that anymore and the international breaks just makes you impatient, lol.

If I had my way it would be AFCON / Euros / SAmerican Comp every 8 years, with World Cup 4 years after each of these. Give the players a break and us the supporters - too much of the same thing makes this Jack a dull boy. Alas money talks and it will never happen.

Lovely Jay, just lovely.

I see Mina has been fined £10k over his none betting, the fine being vindicated by the excuse that a warning alone was considered insufficient.

Sounds like two bob each way to me.

I know the evils of gambling 'n all that, but the ad was actually a very funny one, very much in keeping with the bubbly character Mina appears to be.

Not much reported by the 'meedjah' of course, but he didn't gain personally from the ad: his fee went directly to his charity for disadvantaged kids in his homeland.

On learning of the regulation, he asked the betting company to take it down immediately. I can no longer find a link to it. It's been removed from their Facebook page.

At the same time as the FA announced this one (and remember, Mina was fined £10,000 for appearing in an ad for a betting company, NOT betting on games), Jordan Stevens of Leeds was given a six-week ban and fined £1,200. His crime? He admitted to placing 59 bets on football between August 2018 and May 2019, five of which involved bets on Leeds games.

Tony Kay, anyone..?

Something very disproportionate in all this.

Jay (#29); And no word yet on Harry Kane's face on a gambling ad in Africa, but then, he is Captain of England.

Pois é, as we say in Brazil, Alan.

A simple phrase, kinda said in a sighing resigned tone meaning, 'yeah right' with lots of implications.

In this case 'one-rule-for-us-and-our-beloved-and-another-rule-for-anyone-else-not-part-of-our-gang'.

A bit like the Orwellian ruling pigs in Animal Farm who by the end of the book reduce the governing laws to one:

"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others".

Four legs good, providing it is not in the form of a Yankee.

I'll stick a pony on that one Alan.