Rare goal against Sweden can spur the midfielder to greater heights as England’s World Cup adventure continuesThe hour-mark was approaching when Dele Alli’s moment arrived. England had pinned Sweden deep inside their own territory, patiently sizing up when to deliver the critical pass as teammates manoeuvred themselves into position and flustered opponents sensed impending disaster. It was Jesse Lingard who eventually arced over the cross and there, the wrong side of Emil Krafth at the far post, was Alli to connect sweetly with his header.The midfielder flashed a glance towards the assistant referee for reassurance that there would be no flap of a flag, before out came all those dance routines and intricate handshakes that had been in storage at...
As England reach their first World Cup semi-final since 1990, take a breath to drink it all in and savour the momentThe red and white train just keeps rolling along. In the city where Russia’s space programme shot for the moon, England’s footballers have now entered their own near-earth orbit. There they go now, a little giddy but still upright, out there floating in their tin can, high above the world.It has been a month and a day in Russia, all the way from the fly pits of Volgograd, to Kaliningrad on the Baltic, and now on to Samara, a city lodged in the humid armpit of the south-east. But after Wembley in ’66 and Turin more than a quarter...
Germany may have escaped with a last-gasp winner from Toni Kroos against Sweden, but the air of inevitability which preceded it was all too familiarAnd that’s why they’re the champions. More than that, that is why they are Germany. Of all the countries, of all the situations to find themselves in: 30 seconds from leaving the World Cup just 10 days in, only 10 men on the pitch. Then Toni Kroos, a cunning free-kick and a ball curled inside the far post. This time, it really didn’t look like it was coming, but then it did.OK, mathematically, Germany would still have had a chance had Kroos not taken control. But the reality was that, with one game in Group F left,...
When Johan Cruyff sold Jan Olsson the mother of all dummies with the subtlest of swerves, the Dutch captain’s signature move became the enduring symbol of Total FootballIt’s the defining image of the 1974 World Cup; the defining image of the great Dutch team of the 70s; the defining image of one of the most talented, enchanting and magical players to ever breeze around a football field.It’s the 23rd minute of the Group 3 game between Holland and Sweden at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, and Wim van Hanegem has the ball at his feet on the right wing. He’s about to be crowded out by Bjorn Andersson and Ralf Edstrom, so clips a pass back along the flank to Wim...