John Collins scored a penalty against Brazil in the 1998 World Cup’s opening game. He explains what it means to see Scotland back at a major tournamentI’ll never forget when we played Brazil in the opening game of the 1998 World Cup. I knew I was the penalty taker so, like most athletes, you visualise and think about what you would do in certain positions and I picked my spot the night before. My secret was never to change my mind and thankfully for me it hit the back of the net. It was a special feeling to equalise against the mighty Brazil and get our team back into the game in front of all our fans. Wonderful memories. Related:...
Wales youngsters impressed Giggs, Cazorla is astonishing and will ONeill stick around for Northern Irelands play-off?With the reality of reaching a third tournament finals still sinking in as elated Wales supporters furrowed out of the turnstiles in Cardiff, five precious words will have stirred further excitement. This is just the beginning, Ryan Giggs said. And he has a point. Giggs put the onus on young players in his first qualifying campaign in charge of his country and how the new generation rewarded him, with Daniel James, David Brooks, Harry Wilson, Ethan Ampadu and Joe Morrell all of whom are 22 or under complementing headline acts such as Gareth Bale and, after returning to fitness, Aaron Ramsey. Next summer Giggs will...
England captain rises to sixth on his country’s all-time scorers’ list on a night to remember the present rather than the pastOver to you then, Harry. From the flames of the Sterling affair, the dark talk of vendettas and humps and all the rest of it; from all this England found a moment of cold, still calm at Wembley.Never mind that they also found opponents so astonishingly poor the Montenegrin defence seemed at times to be putting on a highly crafted, beautifully choreographed piece of physical comedy. Related: England celebrate 1,000th game with seven-goal charge into Euro 2020 finals The two worst things about England football: the urge to sell itself at every turn and a deadly obsession with the...
Aaron Ramsey return to Wales after a year out, Naby Keïta must step up for Guinea and Iceland will face a frosty reception The build-up to Wales’s remaining qualifiers has been dominated by the dismay that Gareth Bale’s call-up has caused at Real Madrid, where the forward has been on the sidelines for a month nursing a calf injury. Bale’s late winner against Azerbaijan in September proved how influential the forward can be in swinging matches Wales’ way but the returning Aaron Ramsey may be just as important for Ryan Giggs. The Juventus midfielder has been absent for Wales for a year so his return now, with two must-win games ahead, could not be better timed. Having just returned to...
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...