Category: FIFA World Cup

Can They Bring it Home?

Can They Bring it Home?

We are just over a week away from the kicking off of the most controversial World Cup. One that proves money is more important than human rights in the eyes of FIFA. One that has caused a drastic shake-up of the football calendar as players are made to face off in dangerous temperatures. And while there will rightly be much talk of matters away from the pitch,there is still a football tournament to watch.

And the build-up to the tournament took it’s next step forward with the naming of Gareth Southgate’s squad. After impressive results in the last 2 tournaments, England have had a year to forget that saw them embarrassed by Hungary on the way to being relegated to Division B in the UEFA Nations League. With a pool containing USA, Iran and Wales, they should be heavy favourites to progress, but how will they do? Can the Three Lions bring it home? Let’s have a look at the squad…

Goalkeepers

No real shocks here, as Aaron Ramsdale and Nick Pope have had solid starts to the season, while Jordan Pickford is the incumbent. Pickford has the international experience and Southgate has frequently shown his loyalty to players, so while I feel that one of the others would be more reliable, expect the Everton keeper to get the gametime and hopefully not cost the team with a calamitous error.

Defenders

England’s fullback stocks took a massive hit as injuries ruled out Reece James and Ben Chilwell, who would likely have both started. Shaw has had an up and down career but has performed well as a wingback in big games for England, while it will be interesting to see if Southgate prefers the reliability of Kieran Trippier to the sublime attacking quality but questionable defending of Trent Alexander-Arnold. Most likely England play at the back with wing-backs, so I would advocate taking the risk. With that formation taken into account, Kyle Walker seems a reliable call to start on the right of the 3 to help cover Alexander-Arnold, but runs the risk of being undercooked as he returns from injury. To the disappointment of most, Southgate’s loyalty will likely see Harry Maguire continue to start, and we must all help that the Maguire who has been an embarrassment of a captain at Manchester United is not the one on the plane. White, Coady, Stones and Dier are all solid picks, but Fikayo Tomori seems very unlucky to miss out on a spot.

Midfielders

So let’s start with the elephant in the room: Kalvin Phillips is not enough of a generational talent to deserve an immediate spot in the squad after being injured all season, but as another old favourite of Southgate’s he gets in on thoroughly underserved bias ahead of players who have been putting in the effort and performances. Let’s just hope that he is left on the bench rather than forming another partnership with Declan Rice or it will be a very boring tournament for England fans. Henderson provides experience and will likely be brought on to help see out games late on or lead a second string team if they get a chance, while Conor Gallagher is rewarded for his form over the past season and a half, and Mason Mount would have been unlucky to miss out despite an iffy start to the season for Chelsea. All that remains then is Jude Bellingham, who is a player whose quality and maturity is well beyond his age—as one of the few world class talents in this squad, he needs to be starting!

Forwards

And so we reach the final third, where the headline is (finally!) the inclusion of James Maddison—that he only has 1 cap to his name is indicative of Southgate’s issues as a manager, having been one of the best attacking players in the league for years. Harry Kane will obviously lead the line as per,while Callum Wilson’s form deserves a call-up. But spare a thought for Ivan Toney, who misses out. Personally I could have understood his inclusion ahead of Marcus Rashford, but understand that Rashford’s pace and ability to cover the wide position gives him an advantage when numbers are limited. It’s no shock to see Sterling in the squad, but with more talented players like Foden, Grealish, Saka and Maddison, his minutes should be limited—so expect Southgate to play him the full 90 in every match.

Gareth Southgate

And finally we reach the gaffer himself, and here lies England’s biggest issue. While Southgate did a fantastic job of bringing pride back to the shirt and the team, his successful tournament runs have been more about the easy routes then England looking great. But what has frequently been the issue is his inability to play an attacking game, frequently leaving his most impressive playmakers on the bench and relying on formations that feature 5 at the back and 2 holding midfielders, while his loyalty to players who have done well for him in the past is destined to come back to hurt him at a big moment soon. To me, this feels like 1 tournament too far, and it is time for England to move on going into 2023.

My starting XI from this squad:

5-2-3 formation

Goalkeeper: Aaron Ramsdale

Centrebacks: Kyle Walker, Ben White, John Stones

Wingbacks: Trent Alexander-Arnold, Luke Shaw

Midfielders: Declan Rice, Jude Bellingham

Wings: Bukayo Saka, James Maddison

Striker: Harry Kane

What are your thoughts on the squad? Who would make your XI?

2022 FIFA World Cup: The Pools

2022 FIFA World Cup: The Pools

The first November/December World Cup is getting closer by the day and now with just 3 places still to be decided, the pools have been drawn. 37 teams (who will be whittled down to 32 in the final couple of qualification matches) were sorted into 8 pools of 4, with the top 2 from each pool proceeding into the knockouts.

As always, the pools were selected by a random draw, with confirmed teams split over 4 bands depending on their spot in the FIFA World Rankings to keep the pools somewhat balanced (though as hosts, Qatar earned a spot in the top band despite being ranked at 51), while nations from he same confederation could not be drawn in the same pool, with the exception of 5 pools having 2 European nations.

So how are the pools looking and who will be making the last 16? I’ve taken a look at each pool to give my thoughts. For each pool, I’ve listed the teams included in the order of the bands they were in (top to bottom), with their current pot in the FIFA World Rankings in [brackets].

Pool A

Teams: Qatar [51], Netherlands [10], Senegal [20], Ecuador [46]

The pool that everyone in Bands B-D would have wanted to end up in due to Qatar taking the Band A spot. The rankings certainly suggest that the Netherlands and Senegal should go through, but could home comforts give Qatar a boost and see them pull off an upset? And further to that, don’t ever rule out Senegal from an upset against a European team in the World Cup—France learned the hard way in 2002.

Pool B

Teams: England [5], USA [15], Iran [21], Euro Playoff Winner (Wales [18]/Scotland [39]/Ukraine [27])

The first pool still awaiting confirmation of their final team, and as such it makes it a little more difficult to predict. That said, this should be England’s pool for the taking with the quality of players they have. While the rankings would suggest that the USA would join them in the last 16, I can’t help but feel that Scotland or Wales could take the second spot should they qualify. But what of Ukraine? Well if they qualify, could they find that the current events going on in their country gives them extra impetus, similar to Denmark in the Euros following the loss of Christian Eriksen.

Pool C

Teams: Argentina [4], Mexico [9], Poland [26], Saudi Arabia [49]

The rankings are certainly a little misleading here in regards to Mexico, as they so rarely play teams who are currently ranked in the top 20. As such, I expect things to be relatively comfortable for Argentina, while the match between Poland and Mexico will be crucial in deciding who joins them. Don’t be shocked if this goes down to goal difference.

Pool D

Teams: France [3], Denmark [11], Tunisia [35], Inter-Confederation Playoff Winner (UAE [68]/Australia [42]/Peru [22])

While there are still 3 possible teams to fill the last spot, I must be honest and admit that I can’t see any of them seriously influencing the outcome here. France will be the obvious favorites to top the group, while I expect Denmark to be too strong for the other nations and secure the runner-up spot.

Pool E

Teams: Spain [7], Germany [12], Japan [23], Inter-Confederation Playoff Winner (Costa Rica [31]/New Zealand [101])

Again no offence to Costa Rica or New Zealand, but I can’t see either of them really troubling the other teams in this pool. A European 1-2 looks the obvious call here with the match between the pair deciding who tops the pool, but if one of them comes in struggling for form, then Japan could become a threat.

Pool F

Teams: Belgium [2], Croatia [16], Morocco [24], Canada [38]

Another pool where a European 1-2 looks the most likely, as the rankings don’t give justice to the difference in strength of squads between Croatia and Morocco. Meanwhile Belgium find themselves with a squad brimming with talent but without the trophies to back it up; could a solid group performance to top the pool set them up for their first appearance in a World Cup final?

Pool G

Teams: Brazil [1], Switzerland [14], Serbia [25], Cameroon [37]

A favourable draw for Brazil, who should be able to rotate and qualify comfortably for the knock-outs. Meanwhile I expect a tight affair behind that, but think that Switzerland have the experience to qualify just ahead of Serbia.

Pool H

Teams: Portugal [8], Uruguay [13], Republic of Korea [29], Ghana [60]

Oh how Ghana would love to get some revenge in Qatar for Uruguay controversially knocking them out of the 2010 World Cup on penalties, but I can’t see it happening here. Portugal v Uruguay will likely decide the pool winner as the pair qualify comfortably. I will however predict Uruguay getting the top spot in this pool.

How do you see these pools finishing?

England’s Magic Victories

England’s Magic Victories

For sports fans, Sunday 14th July is a day that will live long in the memory. Lewis Hamilton won a 6th British GP in a race that saw Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen praised for some of the best racing in years. The Scottish Open reached its end. The Tour de France continued towards its first rest day. England’s men’s and women’s rugby 7s team won their respective tournaments to qualify Team GB for the Olympics. New Zealand’s beat England to win the Women’s Rugby Super Series title and remain #1 in the world. Novak Djokovic defeated Roger Federer in the longest Wimbledon men’s final and England won the Cricket World Cup against New Zealand.

That win for Eoin Morgan’s men – by virtue of number of boundaries in the match, after the teams could not be separated over 50 overs and a super over – gave cricket one of its greatest finishes of all time and made England the only nation to have won the Men’s World Cups in cricket, football and rugby. While that stat may not be too surprising given the number of countries that play all 3 of these sports to an elite level, what makes this incredible is that all 3 of these victories have come following some form of extra time.

England’s 1966 FIFA World Cup victory saw them concede a late equaliser from Wolfgang Weber to make the scores 2-2 at the 90-minute mark, but 2 goals from Geoff Hurst in extra time – including one in the final seconds of the game – saw Bobby Moore lift the trophy as the nation celebrated a 4-2 victory.

The RWC2003 final saw defending champions and hosts Australia bring the scores level in the final moments, as Elton Flatly kicked a penalty to level the scores at 14-14. Extra time saw Flatley and Jonny Wilkinson trade a penalty each, before a Wilkinson drop goal won the game with just 26 seconds left on the clock.

Sunday’s final at Lord’s saw England hold New Zealand to a reachable total of 241, before struggling themselves with the bat. Requiring 15 runs from the last over, luck was on England’s side and they tied things up with the final ball, taking things to a super over. England got 15 runs from their over, but things got off to a bad start in New Zealand’s over as Jofra Archer started with a wide and was hit for 6 a few balls later. He tightened things up on the final balls though, leaving New Zealand needing 2 runs from the final ball to win. Martin Guptil got the first run to pull things level, but was unable to get back down the wicket quick enough and was run out, leaving the scores level and seeing England win through the tie-breaker of most boundaries in the match.

With all these matches, they have their moments that will be remembered for how differently they could have gone. Hurst’s first goal in extra time was an early case for goal-line technology, as the ball hit the crossbar, bounced off the ground and was cleared away, only for the assistant referee to decree that the ball had crossed the line. Ben Kay agonisingly dropped Matt Dawson’s popped pass with the try line at his mercy, while Wilkinson’s successful drop goal came with his weaker right foot after having missed 2 drop goal attempts earlier in the match. At Lord’s England’s saviour Ben Stokes was almost caught out in the penultimate over, only for Trent Boult to step backwards onto the boundary to turn the ball into a 6, while the next over saw an even luckier moment as a fielder’s throw deflected off his bat and reached the boundary to total 6 runs off that ball – though in hindsight it should have actually been 5 runs.

It’s safe to say England have had their fair share of luck, with the Rugby World Cup just months away, hopefully they haven’t used it all up at the weekend. Perhaps that will be England’s first victory in regular time. I’m not sure our hearts can take another close finish!