The squad is young enough to be more or less intact in 2022 but Gareth Southgate’s players must go for broke in RussiaThis is the phoney-war period before the World Cup, the last couple of friendlies are about to commence and in the absence of actual football to talk about side issues such as Raheem Sterling’s tattoos are being blown up into big news. ’Twas ever thus, though admittedly body-art representations of assault rifles are something new, but what is conspicuously absent from the buildup this time is the old fashioned “England expects” note of patriotic fervour. Related: Brazil's all-time World Cup XI: create your own Related: A beginner's guide to the World Cup 2018 Related: Which is your favourite...
When Johan Cruyff sold Jan Olsson the mother of all dummies with the subtlest of swerves, the Dutch captain’s signature move became the enduring symbol of Total FootballIt’s the defining image of the 1974 World Cup; the defining image of the great Dutch team of the 70s; the defining image of one of the most talented, enchanting and magical players to ever breeze around a football field.It’s the 23rd minute of the Group 3 game between Holland and Sweden at the Westfalenstadion in Dortmund, and Wim van Hanegem has the ball at his feet on the right wing. He’s about to be crowded out by Bjorn Andersson and Ralf Edstrom, so clips a pass back along the flank to Wim...
England’s goalkeeper was laid low by food poisoning before their quarter-final – during a World Cup that saw little go rightIt was Friday 12 June. The previous day England, without playing at all well, had beaten Czechoslovakia 1-0 to secure second place in Group C and qualification for the quarter-finals. All four ties were to be played on the Sunday, giving the team a couple of days off. Alf Ramsey decided that there was enough slack in his schedule to allow a little downtime.Not far from the Hilton, where England’s team was based, was the Guadalajara Country Club, a swanky golf course with tennis courts, swimming pools and swanky bar attached that apparently charged £1,500 a year – the equivalent...
Random tales from the 1966 tournament that have absolutely nothing to do with Azerbaijani linesmen, Kenneth Wolstenholme or Pickles the Dog1. The branding for the 1966 Football World Championship for the Jules Rimet Trophy was all over the shop. But at least Fifa were trying. The 1966 finals was the first to be blessed with a mascot, a small lion wearing a union jack shirt walking along with its eyes narrowed to the point of being totally shut. A myopic nationalist, who’d have thought it. Willie was the creation of the freelance artist Reg Hoye, who had first considered “a little man in a bowler hat” and “a man in a cloth cap” but wished to steer clear of class...
Reaction to the 250 or so Commonwealth Games athletes and officials seeking to stay underlines a basic rule of thumb: never believe what a country says about itself during a mega-eventAfter the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne 61 athletes and officials defected. Heroes, every one of them, in an era when switching from east to west – or vice versa – made the humans themselves prized trophies, coveted propaganda wins in the endless Cold War dick-measuring contest. Following last month’s Commonwealth Games on Australia’s Gold Coast it has been revealed that around 200 athletes and officials have outstayed their visas and are now seeking asylum. (Another 50 remain in the country illegally.) It is not called defecting today, you’ll note,...