This could be fun
World of Sport
SO THE draw has been made for Qatar 2022 and in Group B we have the following: England, USA, Iran, and Wales or Scotland or Ukraine.
Now I’m not going to go out on a limb and predict which of Wales, Scotland or Ukraine will join the other three countries, though my money will be on Gareth Bale’s boys.
But however it turns out, at a minimum George Offord and his fellow Jocks will have to fork out for two teams shirts or hoots mon, three. Could get awfy expensive, especially if England progress further into the competition.
But . . .
By my reckoning this World Cup draw sorely lacks one vital ingredient: a group of death.
Right now most would pick the Netherlands and Senegal to progress from Group A, England and Wales/USA from B, Argentina and Poland from C, France and Denmark D, Germany and Spain E, Belgium and Croatia F, Brazil and Switzerland G, and finally Portugal and Uruguay from H which, with Ghana and South Korea being the other two sides, is the only group that looks remotely even close to being the archetypal gruppo di morte.
An inauspicious start
I can’t have been the only person who thought that the prospect of the 2022 opening game being between host country Qatar and Ecuador would be a tad underwhelming, can I? This is why I was glad that Fifa went against tradition and made Senegal vs the Netherlands the curtain raiser.
For every action there is a reaction
The above is one of my favourite sayings and at the start of the season I warned that Uefa dropping the away goals rule would be detrimental to the game, and last week’s Champions League quarter-final first leg between Citeh and Atletico proved the point in spades.
Diego Simeone’s Atletico side are a hard watch at the best of times.
Over the years I’ve seen them compared to Stoke under Tony Pulis, and latterly compared to Burnley on steroids, a comparison that is grossly unfair given that the Clarets are a relatively small provincial club trying to survive in the world’s richest league, while Atletico are Spanish giants who regularly hold their own against Real and Barcelona.
Simeone is also by some distance the world’s highest paid manager and his club regularly spends huge amounts on players, which makes the Burnley comparison particularly laughable.
But back to the away goals rule — simply put, not needing to score an away goal removes a high degree of jeopardy in the tie and actively encourages the away side to shut up shop and hope to do the business at home. Need convincing? Here are the Atletico stats from the game at the Etihad, where their formation was essentially 5-5-0: shots on target, 0; shots blocked, 0; shots taken, 0; corners won, 0.
Arsene Wenger was one of the main protagonists behind the rule change because he felt that it was unnecessary and “holding the game back”.
I think he’s wrong, but then what can you expect from the main advocate of a World Cup every two years?
Team of the week
David Raya Brentford, Joe Gomez Liverpool, Christian Romero Spurs, Craig Dawson West Ham, Aaron Cresswell West Ham, James Ward-Prowse Southampton, Christian Eriksen Brentford, Vitaly Janelt Brentford, Bryan Mbueno Brentford, Harry Kane Spurs, Raheem Sterling Citeh. Manager: Thomas Frank Brentford. Players of the Week: Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane.
I still get misty-eyed recalling the times when Christian Eriksen would lay on chance after chance for Kane, Son, and Dele and his performances for Denmark.
The other week was a joy to behold, while last weekend he was absolutely masterful (yet again) as Brentford laid waste to Chelsea at the Bridge.
As good as Eriksen was, he has to share Player of the Week with his old teammate who selfevidently is now taking on Eriksen’s creative role at Spurs, as seen in his midfield masterclass against Newcastle. Now if only there was a way for Harry to get on the end of Harry’s passes then all would be hunky dory at the Lane.
This week’s games
Premier league today 2:30; Everton vs United. 5pm; Arsenal vs Brighton, Southampton vs Chelsea, Watford vs Leeds. 7:30 Villa vs Spurs. Tomorrow 4pm; Brentford vs West Ham, Leicester vs Palace, 6:30; Citeh vs Liverpool.
Selected Championship today 2:45; Sheffield United vs Bournemouth. 5pm; Middlesbrough vs Hull, Forest vs Birmingham, West Brom vs Stoke. Tomorrow 5pm; Fulham vs Coventry. Monday 9:45; Huddersfield vs Luton. Friday 2:30; Luton vs Forest. 5pm; Bournemouth vs Middlesbrough. 10pm; Derby vs Fulham.
Champions League quarterfinals, second legs, Tuesday 10pm; Bayern Munich (0) vs (1) Villarreal, Real Madrid (3) vs (1) Chelsea. Wednesday 10pm; Atletico Madrid (0) vs (1) Citeh, Liverpool (3) vs (1) Benfica.
Europa Cup quarter-finals, second legs, Thursday 10pm; Lyon vs West Ham, Rangers vs Sporting Braga. Europa
Conference quarter-final second leg 7:45; PSV vs Leicester.
Not much doubt as to the game of the week, it can only be the Premier League clash at the Etihad between Manchester City and Liverpool, AKA the best two teams in the country, if not the whole of Europe.
It’s too early to call this fixture a title decider, but a win for either side would see the victors become heavy favourites for said title and as such this is a must see game, unlike Citeh’s journey to Madrid on Wednesday.
F1
Australian Grand Prix Melbourne tomorrow 8am. It’s fair to say that Lewis Hamilton’s hopes for an eighth world title are fast disappearing up his own exhaust as Mercedes continue to struggle with their 2022 car.
For whatever reason, Mercedes are simply not competitive, especially when compared to early front-runners Ferrari and Red Bull, and are barely on a par with the likes of Haas, McLaren, and Aston Martin. If they don’t quickly find a way out of the current malaise then all that will be left for them to do is contemplate next season.
And finally
Last week I asked: which major footballing nation has not won a knockout tie in a World Cup since 2006? That would be the winners in 2006, Italy, who failed to get out of their group in both 2010 and 2014 before failing to even qualify in 2018 and for this year’s event in Qatar, meaning that by the time 2026 comes around it’ll be 20 years since they last beat someone beyond the qualifying groups.
This week: name the Premier League stadium that has yet to see all-conquering Manchester City score a goal in their four visits to the venue.
“Trust me, 100 per cent the euro came into being in 1982 and I’ve got a plaque at home to prove it,” so said Peter Crowfoot while we were contemplating an Aeria quiz answer on Wednesday. The answer? 1999. I do despair at times.