Of the World Cup
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for November and December. Can we hope the young players who made the summer of 2017 so memorable could give us an early Christmas present? ussia: This tournament will be my first viewed as a retired BBC commentator. I have reported on 13 World Cups, both the worse for wear and singing The Most Beautiful Girl in the World. Manager Willie Ormond banned the players from the bar. BE: I was awarded this great honour for services to the game I love in 2001. enalties: In Italy 1990 my main concern was following the scoring sequence correctly. The days of a chart on the screen were years away and when Stuart Pearce and Chris Waddle missed in the semi against Germany, I was the one who told the nation we were out of the World Cup. atar 2022: The desert World Cup is scheduled If we get out of our group we’d expect to beat Senegal, Poland, or even Colombia in the second round. I’m plotting a course to the quarter-finals. There, the chances are we could play Brazil or Germany. There could be a summit meeting of Brazil and Germany before we even get there, and the winners could play England before we go out.
OPQhave a refreshing change ity. Gareth Southgate has the squad together in a y haven’t been in previous ups. He’s been there to bring nger players through. k he’s a humble and ated guy, and that’s wants his team to be.
Rand though I last commentated on live games in Germany in 2006, it’s always there for me. The anticipation. The excitement. I’ve been captivated by it since I was eight. for Shearer and Sheringham: Alan and Teddy’s partnership made England’s attack the most feared in the tournament at France 98. hierry Henry – and that sneaky handball that knocked Ireland out of the play-offs for South Africa in 2010. SA 94: I lost the final. After a run of three World Cup finals in the commentary box, it was time for the BBC to give Barry Davies a go. Of course, I was gutted – and the decision made newspaper headlines. ‘Motson, that’s your lot son’, said one tabloid headline.
SUTictory: Or lack of. We’ve won it once. embley: It’s the home of English football and the scene of our only World Cup win. factor: In 1973 I was tested out by BBC bosses with a commentary on the second leg of the Leeds United-juventus Fairs Cup Final they would review on tape. I had to travel to Leeds and report to versatile commentator Alan Weeks. I was to be known for the night as ‘Commentator X’. ellow: When the Romanians all dyed their hair in 1998 I had real trouble telling them apart. inedine Zidane: In the 2006 World Cup Final the world’s greatest player threw a headbutt at Italian Marco Materazzi who fell to the ground. Stunned, I said: “And the referee has gone across now with his hand in his pocket. He’s been told about it. He’s off. It’s red. It’s Zidane. You can’t excuse that. Zidane’s career ends in disgrace.”
XYZ