Argentina’s captain and maestro was never going to give up the dream of winning his final World Cup lightlyListen, mortals, the sacred cry. Freedom, freedom, freedom. Suddenly, there it was, there he was, and it was all let out. In a moment, a flash of that left boot Lionel Messi was liberated and so were they, released with a single shot. All around this place, thousands of Argentinians absolutely lost it. Below them, so did Argentina’s captain, clinging hard to his last chance. He wasn’t going to let this end yet. Not just this game, not just this World Cup, but all of it.It was too early for that, even as it started to feel late at Lusail, time slipping...
England manager remains impressively unruffled as he blocks out the criticism that followed the tepid draw with the USAAt times like these, you really have to hand it to Gareth Southgate. Suffocating tension, an underwhelming performance, the fans booing and he remains inscrutable, immaculate, not a bead on him.When you have lived what Southgate has lived – two World Cups as an England player, now into his second as the manager – it is easier to put a game like Friday night’s slog against the USA into perspective, to blot out the noise. Continue reading...
Caught between pressing and pragmatism, Germany lack big personalities on the pitch in Qatar – and they are not aloneAn angry team meeting. Home truths exchanged. Defeat used as a launchpad for improvement. West Germany did it in 1954 after defeat by Hungary and went on to win the World Cup. They did it in 1974 after defeat by East Germany and went on to win the World Cup. They did it in 1982 after defeat by Algeria and went on to reach the final. But that was in the old days, when Germany was a Turniermannschaft – a tournament team – and they could rely on their leaders, their Führungsspieler, to drag them through.There was an angry team meeting...
Football federations should take a stand on moral issues, but in Qatar they folded when Fifa put them under pressureThe saga of the OneLove armbands that were going to be worn by a number of team captains has been annoying and frustrating from start to limp finish. In many ways, the clamp down by Fifa on the wearing of them is ironic, too, because everyone within the federations who put together this show of support has worked hard to build a new OneLove brand almost to detach from the rainbow, to dilute and depoliticise an issue that is unavoidably political.The whole episode was disappointing because even the most watered-down attempt to show that football should be an inclusive and welcoming...
Gareth Southgate’s team delivered a performance protest but perhaps this should be expected at World Cup of bad energyHow to control the narrative, how to cool the air, to reverse the fevered expectation of an early tournament romp? Well, that was certainly one way.Who knows, perhaps there was an element of masterful long-game vibes-chess about England’s performance against the USA in the gleaming shell that is Al Bayt stadium. Continue reading...