Cathartic as it is to support Wales on the world stage, reminders of unfairness and Qatar’s broken promises are everywhereFurrowed brows at half-time. Old friends raised knowing eyebrows and exhaled. The concourse of the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium was the kind of place you bumped into friends from school you hadn’t seen for years, but everyone skipped pleasantries to go straight to the important stuff: “Why wasn’t Kieffer playing? Don’t we miss Joe Allen in midfield? Oh, you’ve left the DVLA to start your own business and you’ve just had twins? Nice one.” Wales were 1-0 down and had been dreadful, an uncharacteristically poor performance after a surreal day. Maybe this is what World Cups are always like. I had...
Rob Green and Bert Williams have unfortunate roles in the history of two teams who meet again in QatarAt least Rob Green can laugh about it now. “I was doing the school run when I found out England had drawn USA in their group at the World Cup,” the former goalkeeper wrote in the Mail on Sunday this week. “I had just enough time to send one tweet, with one emoji, a pair of eyes. As if to say: ‘well this is awkward.’”But despite his blunder that helped the United States hold Fabio Capello’s side to a 1-1 draw in their opening match in 2010, Green – who is working as a pundit for BBC radio in Qatar – is...
Gareth Southgate’s team selection worked perfectly against Iran but also showcased the importance of England’s finishersIn the 71st minute of England’s victory over Iran, Gareth Southgate brought on Phil Foden, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish. They are not traditional substitutes, they are the manager’s finishers – the players brought on to lift the tempo and see the match out. They made a difference and could do once more against USA on Friday.Gregg Berhalter’s side struggled to hold Wales in the second half because their stamina levels were depleted and a tired challenge from Walker Zimmerman on Gareth Bale resulted in a late penalty. If USA run out of steam in the same manner, they could face an even tougher final...
Even if Hansi Flick’s side go out in the World Cup group stage after defeat by Japan, some things just matter moreSometimes in football, as in life, you don’t always get what you deserve. We might otherwise now be lauding Germany for defying Fifa before beating Japan in their World Cup opener. Instead, after an upset that resembled Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa in its force and magnitude, the sniping from the critics quickly began.There was a common refrain after Germany’s 2-1 defeat: that they had paid the price for being too distracted by daring to stick up for human rights. As one Qatari reporter’s account, liked more than 200,000 times on social media, put it: “This is what...
France have lost top players before this World Cup but they still have their razor-sharp centre-forward to score and set up goalsWith 44 minutes gone at the vast, craning, wildly over-engineered Al Janoub Stadium, Kylian Mbappé did something extraordinary, perhaps even unique in modern World Cup history. Basically, he missed an open goal from six yards out. No great shakes. It happens. Ball, bounce, angles, collisions.This is still a kind of physical chaos. Continue reading...