It’s time for Gareth Southgate to drop Joe Hart, Aaron Hughes embodies Northern Ireland’s ambition and Ben Woodburn has once again proved himself for WalesBefore the games against Malta and Slovakia Gareth Southgate suggested no other goalkeeper had “staked a strong enough claim” to take over from Joe Hart. It seems a strange statement given the fine form and obvious talent of Jack Butland and Jordan Pickford. It is an oddity of the goalkeeping position that, while mistakes are always highlighted, it generally takes a run of howlers to lose your spot. Sustained middling form, or the mild uncertainty that Hart has emanated for more than a year doesn’t seem to be enough. Southgate missed a chance in the current...
Patience pays off again for Gareth Southgate and co as Marcus Rashford, initially pinned to the right flank, eventually inspires victory amid banks of empty seatsPatience, they had all chorused. From Gareth Southgate to Jordan Henderson to Harry Kane. They were talking about the realisation of a long-term plan, of course, but the same virtue had been required in both qualifiers over this window. It has taken England time to find their feet in each fixture, exploiting Maltese fatigue last Friday and, eventually, striking up a proper rhythm against Slovakia once the initial approach had been tweaked. Marcus Rashford was instrumental in inspiring this win, looking every bit a player at home at this level, though there was some positivity...
The fact remains that front-loading a prefab sense of shared habits, team cultures and all the rest may not actually have much to do with winning football matchesThe poet, librarian and attic-bound misanthrope Philip Larkin was asked once why he didn’t cash in on his bicycle-clipped celebrity by touring England giving speeches and milking the fame circuit like his contemporary, handsome, leather-jacketed Ted Hughes. Larkin’s response was to shrug and wince a little and point out that he just couldn’t face the idea of “going around pretending to be me”.It is a phrase that always seems to lurk in the background whenever Gareth Southgate or anyone else at the FA talks about the need to discover and implement an English...
For all the impressive records, Rooney’s time in an England shirt will always be judged by the failure to repeat his jaw-dropping form from Euro 2004There is an irony that Wayne Rooney, a player plenty, including the England manager, had considered surplus to requirements last season, has chosen to retire from international football just as the national team were wondering whether they might be in need of him again. Adam Lallana and Ross Barkley are in rehabilitation. Other forwards have yet to find form this term. Cue Gareth Southgate’s telephone call this week, the tone of which, Rooney implied, was that the former captain’s presence might be beneficial in the squad for the forthcoming qualifiers against Malta and Slovakia. Related:...
As the women’s game grows and professionalism increases, so does that technical ability and pace – which we will be able to see in the Netherlands The Women’s European Championship finals got under way on Sunday. Holland beat Norway 1-0 after a beautiful swerving cross from Barcelona’s newly signed Lieke Martens was powered in by the stooping head of Liverpool’s Shanice van de Sanden. And it always promised to be an exciting match. Norway possess some of the most exciting attacking talent in Europe, which was excellently nullified by the Dutch, while the rapid growth of women’s football in the Netherlands is showing on the pitch. The Stadion Galgenwaard in Utrecht was rocking with 21,732 fans, a record crowd for...