Who passed the audition?
WITH realistically only Jordan Pickford, Declan Rice, Raheem Sterling, and Harry Kane guaranteed, injury permitting, to start in England’s first game at the World Cup, who made their case for inclusion last week?
Coming on as substitutes against Germany, Bukayo Saka and Mason Mount booked their tickets on the plane to Qatar. Eric Dier surely did likewise, despite being left horribly exposed by the hapless Harry Maguire, who should be nowhere near the national side at the moment, but the saintly Gareth thinks otherwise so he’ll also be going.
In goal Nick Pope’s howler against the Germans merely confirmed Pickford’s status as number one while probably confirming Aaron Ramsdale as number two keeper.
Luke Shaw, despite being, like Maguire, out of favour at Old Trafford is in pole position at left-back, assuming he regains his place in his club side, and Jude Bellingham all but confirmed his place in the starting eleven.
For any others who are or maybe on the cusp there’s just five weeks left for them to force their way into Southgate’s plans, so the squad as is currently set in stone though I would hope that there’s room for a genuine creative midfielder to come through.
Never mind the quality feel the width
Gareth Southgate in his time as England manager has acquired a reputation as a snappy dresser; in Russia in 2018 his waistcoats grabbed the attention while of late it’s been his sharp suits that have come to the fore.
However more and more people are realising that when it comes to things football it has become increasingly apparent that the Emperor has got no clothes.
His biggest problem is his inherent negativity, as we saw in the Germany game. When he sets up the side to cover England’s perceived defensive deficiencies, England look and are poor; when he gives the attackers free rein, England look good as they should with the quality forwards they have at their disposal.
Lose the negativity at the World Cup and you never know, England might make the quarter-finals and beyond; set up with effectively seven or eight defenders then they’ll do well to get out of the group.
Zut alors Donner und Blitzen
It’s not just England; the French and Germans are also struggling at the moment, the only problem is that unlike England I think they’ve got midfielders who can actually create, and there the difference lies.
This week’s games
Premier League today 2:30; South London Nomads vs Spurs. 5pm; Bournemouth vs Brentford, Palace vs Chelsea, Fulham vs Newcastle, Liverpool vs Brighton, Southampton vs Everton. 7:30 West Ham vs Wolves. Tomorrow 4pm; Citeh vs United. 6:30; Leeds vs Villa. Monday 10pm; Leicester vs Forest.
Selected Championship today 5pm; Blackpool vs Norwich, Coventry vs Middlesbrough, Sunderland vs Preston, West Brom vs Swansea. Tuesday 9:45; Luton vs Huddersfield, Sheffield United vs QPR. 10pm; Reading vs Norwich. Wednesday 9:45; Middlesbrough vs Birmingham, Watford vs Swansea. 10pm; Preston vs West Brom. Friday 10pm; QPR vs Reading.
League One today 5pm; Ipswich vs Portsmouth. Selected Scotland today 2:30; Hearts vs Rangers. 5pm; Celtic vs Motherwell, Ross County vs Hibs.
Champions League Tuesday 10pm; Liverpool vs Rangers, Eintracht Frankfurt vs Spurs. Wednesday 7:45; RB Leipzig vs Celtic. 10pm; Chelsea vs AC Milan, Citeh vs FC Copenhagen.
Europa League Thursday 7:45; Omonia Nicosia vs United. 10pm; Arsenal vs Bodo/Glimt. Europa Conference Thursday 7:45; Anderlecht vs West Ham. 10pm; Hearts vs Fiorentina.
Games to watch
There are two Premier League blockbusters for our delectation this weekend as Spurs travel to the Socialist Republic of Islington in the latest instalment of the best derby of them all, while in Manchester the club otherwise known as United Arab Emirates FC take on Manchester Buccaneers, aka Tampa Bay Buccaneers sans Tom Brady.
The Goners (sic) are flying while Spurs are unbeaten this season but form usually counts for nothing in the North London
Derby and I expect this game to be no different.
If I were a betting man and a neutral my slip would look something like this: Harry Kane to score, one or more penalties awarded, at least one red card in the game, five-plus yellows, Arsenal to have over 60 per cent possession, four plus goals in the game.
Meanwhile up in Manchester; Citeh, like Spurs, are still unbeaten and with Erling Haaland flying I don’t expect this status to change but United have been in reasonable form lately, so with the likes of Rashford and Sancho on either wing they can get behind Citeh’s defence and do some damage. I still fancy a Citeh win but a draw wouldn’t particularly surprise me.
In Europe
Who doesn’t love a good old fashioned footballing battle of Britain? Well that’s what we’ve got at Anfield as Liverpool take on Rangers. Conventional wisdom says that Liverpool should win but previous cross border battles haven’t gone all England’s way in the past and with a little bit of both good fortune and old-fashioned pluck Rangers may well escape Liverpool with a draw.
Let’s not forget (1)
Thursday night in South Nicosia as hordes (probably Steve Barwick and one other) of TRNC-domiciled Manchester United fans converge on the GSP Stadium to watch their beloved Red Devils take on local side Omonia. Given the locals’ reputation things may get a bit spicy after the game.
Let’s not forget (2)
10pm Friday night sees a genuine clash of the heavyweights in women’s football as European champions England take on the mighty USA at a sold out Wembley. This will be a genuine test for England as to whether or not they really are as good as many people and pundits (including that dipsy woman from Guisborough) think they are. I may even watch it; after all it can’t possibly be as bad as watching Middlesbrough.
F1
Singapore Grand Prix tomorrow, 3pm. This could, depending on where Charles Leclerc finishes, be the race that confirms Max Verstappen’s first legitimate world title. Alternatively this could be the race that sees Lewis Hamilton get his first F1 win of the season.
My money’s on the former, especially given that pole position on this street circuit is so vital and that Red Bull are way better in qualifying than both Mercedes and Ferrari.
And finally
Last week’s question: who appeared at 11 FA Cup finals but was never on a winning side? Well done to those who saw the topicality of the question because it was of course none other than the Queen, who attended 11 FA Cup finals at Wembley plus of course one World Cup final. This week: what connects Kansas City, Johannesburg, Exeter, and Leeds?