Gareth Southgate has led a revolution that has produced better results and entertainment while England’s cricketers have also benefited from a more aggressive attitudeAmong the myriad skills that are employed in different sports one that is shared by all is risk assessment. Though it sounds like some dark art practised by insurance agents, it is the basic cost-benefit analysis that most competitors make intuitively and upon which all coaches are fixated. Namely, does a given action increase the likelihood of gaining an advantage more than it increases the likelihood of suffering a setback? That is the question a full-back has to ask each time he sprints down the wing. Or a tennis player when she rushes the net.And overall it...
Scotland and Nigeria have suffered from the strict enforcement at penalties which is doing the competition no favoursI can only imagine the emotions felt by the Scotland players when their dreams of qualification for the knockout rounds died on Wednesday night as Florencia Bonsegundo’s twice-taken penalty hit the back of the net, deep into stoppage time, and denied them victory over Argentina. For them, it must have been absolutely heartbreaking. Watching the drama unfold from a distance, I was feeling something quite different: fury.I don’t think I have ever been as incensed by a football rule in my life. I was a fan of VAR at last year’s World Cup: coming in at the right time, cleaning up refereeing errors...
Phil Neville has been keen on rotation throughout the World Cup and Stanway and Daly – both making their World Cup debuts – certainly justified their selectionKnown as a bit of a tinkerman, even those most used to Phil Neville’s mix-it-up style baulked at the eight changes for such a statement game against Japan. He has made 12 in the three games. Having qualified, only top of the group was up for grabs, but with the USA and France both throwing down their title credentials, the former in some style, this was a chance for England to announce themselves as serious contenders in a side of the draw where they could meet either team.Dropping the “crot” (cross/shot) queen Beth Mead,...
While much progress has been made in recent decades today’s female coaches can still recount grim tales of sexismHere is something I was unaware of until recently. When England took part in the second unofficial women’s World Cup in Mexico in 1971, they played in front of crowds of 80,000 and 100,000. More staggeringly still, their squad included two 16-year-olds, a 15-year‑old and two 14-year-olds. In some ways the tournament was 50 years ahead of its time. But even as England’s players were enjoying the greatest moment of their careers they knew it was an oasis.Two interviews with England players in 1971, dug up by the academics Claire and Keith Brewster in the latest issue of History in Sport, illustrate...
Phil Neville has been making all the right decisions but it is important he brings Millie Bright back to face JapanThanks to a brilliant performance from Vanina Correa in the Argentina goal England’s task on Friday turned out to be more difficult than they might have expected when the draw was made, and I think they should be very pleased that it was. It was the perfect time to have quite a difficult game, and England will be a stronger team in this World Cup for having faced it and prevailed.There have been more impressive scorelines: USA beat Thailand 13-0, Italy beat Jamaica 5-0 and France put four past South Korea. Those results are great and definitely build confidence but...