We can’t hide behind rankings or diaspora when the performance on the pitch is poor. Uruguay being 16th in the FIFA rankings or Cape Verde’s squad makeup doesn’t make a dour, nervous display acceptable. I’d rather we went out having played attractive football than scrape through or limp home because we were too cautious.

To be fair, context matters. You pointed out that Cape Verde have a lot of players born abroad — Portugal (4), Holland (6), France (3), Switzerland (2) and even one from Ireland and the US. There were more players born in Rotterdam than in their own capital (6/4). That diaspora, and the way international slots changed so Africa has more representation, explains their presence. They attacked and took three points. Fine. But none of that erases the fact that our display felt flat, hesitant and lacking ambition.

Football is about how you play as much as what you get. You can respect an opponent and still expect your team to try to impose themselves — to press, to move the ball at pace, to take the game to the other side. Saying "we were poor" isn’t shirking accountability, it’s honest. Saying you’d rather go out on your shield than play safe? I agree. Fans want identity and guts, not pragmatic turtling and a lucky result.

Finally, the constant negativity that hangs over everything — the endless girning some people do, even comparing this to Rangers and dragging that into every argument — is draining. Criticism is fine. Persistent moaning for its own sake isn’t. If we’re going to pick apart a poor performance, let’s do it with some balance: point out what was wrong, yes, but what would we actually like to see change? I’m fed up with the knee‑jerk doom and gloom. Want better? Then demand better football, not just complaints.

Written by Angus1812: 13 July 2026

Tags: match-review