The great German teams could raise their games to suit the occasion, but this new side seem to do the polar oppositeEverything is connected. A whistle blows in Doha and within fractions of seconds, via a lattice of mobile phone networks and whispers and nudges, its sound has somehow travelled the 30 miles to Al Khor. And the cheer around the stadium gives the game away, and on the Germany bench Hansi Flick senses a change in the air, and he takes a look around, and he glances at his bench, and he knows, he just knows. He turns back to face the pitch. But his hands are in his pockets, and his thoughts are elsewhere.Everything is connected. A World...
Hajime Moriyasu’s team won a game that seemed way beyond them for the second time in a wild and extraordinary outcomeSuddenly they went wild and just as suddenly they stopped again. Japan’s players though would be given a second chance and so, it turned out, would Spain’s. Ao Tanaka had bundled the ball into the net, the World Cup upside down again and a sprint had begun, squad and staff racing each other from bench to corner. Hajime Moriyasu’s side had scored twice in three minutes and so, for the second time in this tournament, they were now winning a game that had seemed way beyond them; that hadn’t seemed like a match at all in fact.Better still, 2-1 up...
Belgium’s manager and his trophless group of players leave a diminished legacy after elimination from the World CupRoberto Martínez embraced each and every one of his backroom staff, then did the same to every player before going over to applaud a small cluster of Belgium fans whose boos could be heard above the din of the stadium PA.His six-year reign as head coach is over and so, despite his protestations to the contrary, are the World Cup dreams of a golden generation. They leave behind a diminished legacy. Continue reading...
Politicians at home are criticising the national team while Hansi Flick struggles to find a natural goalscorerVery few Germans seemed to take much pleasure from their 2-1 defeat against Japan in the opening game of the World Cup. One notable example, however, appeared to be the country’s far-right AFD party, for whom the surprise result – coupled with the decision to make a protest in support of LGBTQ+ rights before the game – offered irrefutable proof of the team’s confused priorities.“If you care more about woke armbands than about football, you lose 1:2 against Japan,” tweeted Martin Reichardt, the party’s family policy spokesperson. “Defeat is symbolic of the decline of Germany, where ideology takes precedence over everything!” Continue reading...
Argentina’s maestro against Poland’s star striker was no contest but both ended up embracing in celebration after a tense nightLionel Messi headed one way, put the brakes on and with a turn of the ankle and a dip of the shoulder set off in the other direction, defender desperately chasing. Robert Lewandowski was the man there, following him and then fouling him. The Argentinian didn’t look pleased; the Pole didn’t either, but there was no way he was going to complain; doing so could cost his country a place in the World Cup, he knew.It was the 94th minute and it was the first time Lewandowski had got anywhere near Messi, and this wasn’t the way he had imagined it....