Intimidation, casual vandalism and generally treating locals like un-people is also a form of xenophobiaBread, circuses and England defeats. One upshot of England’s alarmingly limp performance in Prague was that it diverted attention, however briefly, from a topic always seemed likely to dominate the noises off around Monday night’s game against Bulgaria in Sofia.Not so fast. England abroad: it is in many ways the never-ending story. Albeit one that seems in recent years to have involved shining a fearless light on the failings of others, even while the German bombers continue to fall, the Pope gets fucked and the bottles fly across the Baroque town squares. Ever wondered what other countries make of this myopia, the ability to say all...
In the 4-0 win against Bulgaria, England’s forwards proved too hot to handle and again underlined their potential as the team breezes through Euro 2020 qualifyingIt wasn’t thrilling. It wasn’t much of a spectacle. There must be broader concerns about the diminution of the Euro qualifiers as a spectacle since the expansions of the finals. Not that football has ever shown much inclination to worry about such matters, but there probably should be qualms as well about how many central and eastern European sides seem simultaneously to have suffered such a decline. But for England the lack of drama in Saturday’s 4-0 win over Bulgaria is itself an indication of how positive the present situation is for them. Related: Harry...
Gareth Southgate’s faith in the forward was rewarded by a mature performance against Bulgaria that was all about helping his teammatesWhen Harry Kane scores seven goals in training at St George’s Park, Marcus Rashford imagines scoring eight. The reality against Bulgaria was somewhat different and the imagination is likely to remain where the Manchester United forward out-scores the England captain given their respective roles in Gareth Southgate’s side. Kane’s hat-trick, however, did not disguise the reality of how important Rashford is to England. He was goalless, frustrated but crucial to breaking Bulgaria and maintaining Southgate’s stroll towards Euro 2020.Stationed on the left against a five-man defence and without opportunity to even argue over penalty-taking duties for his country, unlike for...
Montenegro and Serbia’s historic meeting, unhappy memories for England and the Republic of Ireland, and Georgi Petkov’s international return – at 42Twelve years after Montenegro achieved independence and 11 years after they were formally recognised by Fifa, they meet Serbia for the first time. The match is, according to goalkeeper Danijel Petkovic, the biggest in the nation’s history. After two games the teams are level on points at the top of Group C4, adding competitive edge to an already spicy encounter. Serbia are far from full strength: Crystal Palace’s Luka Milivojevic is one of several players to have dropped out of the squad since the World Cup after falling out with the manager, Mladen Krstajic, while the captain, Nemanja Matic,...