Switzerland’s captain provided a freeze-frame history primer of the troubled relationship between Albania, Kosovo and SerbiaMaybe Fifa does have a sense of humour after all. Certainly there was a note of dark comedy in the news, relayed breathlessly over the PA on the final whistle, that the player of the match in this fraught Group E decider was Granit Xhaka.Not that Xhaka didn’t deserve it. He played well in deep midfield on a steamy night at Stadium 974. He controlled the tempo at times. More to the point Xhaka also controlled the noises off, directing the dark energy that must always accompany this fixture with the poise of a veteran conductor. Albeit, a veteran conductor with one hand down his...
The striker’s second goal was magic and as part of a reshaped attack there may be a new lease of life for NeymarA little presumptuously perhaps, the Lusail Stadium, the vast and startling mothership of this tournament, insists on calling itself the Iconic. It was the Iconic before the only pre-World Cup event of its lifespan, an awkward test affair where, iconically, there wasn’t enough water. Fair enough. Maybe one day every stadium will be iconic for 15 minutes.But the Lusail did host an authentic moment here, one of those instantly fixed and screen‑printed Word Cup happenings, a goal for the montage, the expertly sketched animation; and an indicator in its own way that no matter how much you stretch...
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,...
Spartak Trnava’s workaholic coach discusses fleeing Serbia as a child, being compared to Pep Guardiola and learning his craft in West Sussex’s amateur leaguesAfter his Spartak Trnava side beat Slovan Bratislava 1-0 in a game that may very well have decided the destination of Slovakia’s league championship three weeks ago, Spartak’s 35-year-old British coach climbed on top of his dugout and celebrated wildly with the fans.With five games left until the end of the season and a healthy lead at the top of the table, Spartak Trnava are close to their first league title since 1973, back when Slovakia was part of Czechoslovakia. The curiously named Nestor El Maestro – and we will come to that name later – has...
Twenty-three nations have booked their places for the World Cup in Russia, with the holders and Brazil looking in good shape but we rank England in 13th place, below IcelandIf the world champions were frustrated by their failure to win continental honours at Euro 2016 they have certainly taken it out on everyone else since. Germany won 10 qualifying games out of 10 and, even if San Marino’s presence in Group C needs taking into account, a record 43 goals scored suggests things are back in their old working order. So too did their Confederations Cup title in July, achieved with an experimental squad; Joachim Löw can select from an unrivalled depth of talent and, while winning back-to-back World Cups...