Saudia Arabia are 2,000-1, but the chances are one of the top six in the bookies’ odds will lift the World Cup on 15 JulyHow do you build a team around a player without being reliant on him? The tightrope that Jorge Sampaoli has to tread with Lionel Messi is made of a spider’s silk but if he manages to strike the right balance this could be Argentina’s time. It is 32 years since they won the World Cup, 25 since they won a major tournament, an implausibly barren run for a generation that has included some of football’s great talents. Ángel Di María and Paulo Dybala could do with stepping up to help Messi, as they can, but have...
You can win the World Cup only if everyone is together as Italy were under Marcello Lippi in 2006, says the still glowing defenderWinning a World Cup is the best feeling that a footballer can experience. It is something I – and so many people – dreamed about as a child and actually to do it is an incredible emotion that stays with you for the rest of your life.Clearly winning the World Cup is not very easy. Only 20 teams have done it so far and I can count myself lucky to be among those few people in the world who have had that feeling. Related: What next for Italy after their failure to qualify for the World Cup?...
Twenty years after their only World Cup success France may look at their resources and believe the time for a repeat has comeNapoleon met disaster in Russia after sending almost half a million soldiers on an invasion that began in the summer of 1812 and ended in humiliation. Didier Deschamps, with only 23 men in his Grande Armée, will be hoping for a better outcome in the coming weeks. For a start the inhabitants of Moscow are unlikely to have burnt the place to the ground by the time his squad pitch camp next week in a Hilton hotel 50km west of the city walls.France are ranked fourth in the World Cup betting behind Brazil, Germany and Spain. Twenty years...
Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling showed promise in attack but England must be more clinical and tactically astute when they face Tunisia in the first group game in RussiaThe best part of England’s performance against Nigeria was the interaction between their forwards during the first half. Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling formed a front two ready to exploit any space in the opposition’s back four. Behind them Jesse Lingard and Dele Alli played intelligently, almost taking it in turns to spring forward from midfield or look to bisect the opposition with a through ball. This was all promising. What the team needed was more decisive finishing. Related: England blow hot and cold against Nigeria after Gary Cahill’s quick start Continue...
Nigeria’s players could not have a bigger incentive to perform well against England at WembleyThe main event will kick off in a couple of weeks but for Nigeria Saturday’s meeting with England is more than a warm-up. For some Super Eagles, at least, the heat is really on. Unlike Gareth Southgate, Nigeria’s manager, Gernot Rohr, has not settled on the squad that he will take to the World Cup, preferring initially to name a 30-man panel before ditching surplus players in instalments as if trying to lend his selection process some of the suspense and agony of a reality TV show.Four players were evicted after Monday’s 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo, while a fifth, the Gent winger...