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...
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...
Portugal striker put off-field dramas behind him to become the first man to score at five World Cups in thriller against GhanaOh no, not another Cristiano Ronaldo column. Well, what else could it be? Who else could it be? How about the player whose goal made it 1-1 and made a wild match of a night that, until then, really hadn’t been? João Félix, who clipped in a lovely shot to put Portugal back into the lead? Rafael Leão, perhaps, guiding his first touch into the net. There was Osman Bukari, scoring with two minutes to go – well, 10 – and at the end, Iñaki Williams, a flash of cunning that caught out everyone. That almost saw Ghana catch...