And that’s all from me – from here on out, you’ll want to take yourselves here, where Paul Doyle will be liveblogging the game.
He’s already started, in fact – quick, go!
Cheerio folks.
Here’s David Hytner on why Kevin De Bruyne holds the key to Belgium’s fortunes this evening:
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Here’s the marvellous David Squires on the semi-finals:
Here’s Adam White on why France’s defence has been what’s made the difference for them so far:
And with that, I’ll sign off. To get you in the mood for tonight’s game, here’s Marcel Desailly, who knows a thing or two about winning World Cup, on the key midfield battle …
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Continuing our efforts to wrench this vehicle back in the direction of The Planet’s Biggest Football Tournament, a word on France v Belgium – the tastiest game of the World Cup thus far, and a mere hour and a half from kick-off.
This World Cup has most certainly delivered scorchingly on the entertainment front so far, and Russia 2018 could yet go down as an all-time classic: it’s been high on quality, goals, shocks and drama. Yet there’s one vital requirement that remains tantalisingly unfulfilled: a classic knockout game between two bona fide heavyweights.
France-Argentina was marvellous fun, but truly it was too low on quality to be bracketed alongside the likes of West Germany v France in 1982, France v Brazil in 1986 or Germany v Italy in 2006.
Tonight could deliver such a game; on paper there is no reason it won’t. It features two teams who should be bristling with the entitlement of the elite. It features one manager with a knack for making any game a thrilling one. And, across the board on both sides, it surely features the highest calibre of talent of any game this summer.
Over to you, chaps.
Away from the gravitational attention-field that is C-Ron, the Guardian’s man in Scotland, Ewan Murray, has taken his nation’s pulse in the wake of the euphoria south of the border – and indeed the newfound popularity of co-comms conquerer Ally McCoist among the English – and weaved it all into this fine piece.
Those of you who imagine the pubs of Glasgow to be full of well-wishing honorary Englishfolk, look away now:
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From the archive: the ever-marvellous Rob Smyth on Ronaldo’s 2014 Ballon d’Or win.
Teaser: He has turned ‘Oh I say!’ moments into ‘Oh’ moments. He is a freak of nature but also a freak of nurture, fuelled by an almost demented ambition to achieve everything he possibly can.
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Some words on the great man from his soon-to-be former employers.
“Real Madrid wants to express its gratitude to a player who has proved to be the best in the world and who has marked one of the brightest times in the history of our club and world football,” the club has said in a statement.
“Beyond the conquered titles, the trophies achieved and the triumphs achieved in the playing fields during these nine years, Cristiano Ronaldo has been an example of dedication, work, responsibility, talent and improvement.”
Ronaldo’s Real Madrid career in numbers:
- A handy 451 goals in 438 games
- Four Ballon d’Or titles
- Four Champions League
- Six managers
- €6m in profit for Real Madrid
- Infinite tedious squabbles about whether he is better than Mess-zzzzz…
Quite the story there, and one than nearly-but-not-quite (?) threatens to steal the thunder from Eden Hazard, Kylian Mbappé and co tonight.
Speaking of which – Ronaldo’s exit will leave a gaping galactico-sized hole in
Florentino Pérez’s
Real Madrid’s attack. And it’s fair to say Real Madrid are not averse to impulsively splashing out on the standout attacker of a World Cup summer.
Stage set for Eden Hazard, who has spent his past few months politely putting off signing a new contract at Chelsea, and who is two top-class performances away from bona fide superstardom?
Or perhaps I’m getting ahead of myself. Feel free to email me your thoughts on this most vital of matters: alex.hess@theguardian.com
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Cristiano Ronaldo is joining Juventus
Oh lordy. A story of some significance here: Cristiano Ronaldo has handed in his notice at Real Madrid and will be Taking His Talents To Turin. Lucky Juventus – although they won’t be getting him for free, of course, but rather for €100m. Crikey.
Full report:
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And back in the real world, Arsenal have wrapped up the acquisition of Lucas Torreira, who was busy in Russia with Uruguay until Friday.
He’s their fourth signing of an increasingly busy summer, and will wear the No 11 shirt next season.
Jordan Pickford is unlikely to be riddled with much self-doubt in the wake of his glorious man-of-the-match display to help get England past the quarter-finals on Saturday.
Should he need a confidence boost, though, he’ll be delighted to learn that the 5ft 7in former Mexico keeper has offered a word of support to the England man, who it has been established in recent weeks, is perhaps not the tallest.
“How many goalies are out of the World Cup? A lot. But [Pickford] is still here,” says Campos. “So I don’t care if he’s tall or not. I knew I wasn’t tall or strong so I had to be smart.”
The good news keeps on coming for Pickford, whose not being a little bit taller has proved no barrier to his being a baller. Shame he’ll never get a chance to sport the jerseys of Campos’ era, though.
The Thai football team rescued from an underwater cave have been invited to watch a game as guests Old Trafford next season.
Manchester United said on Twitter: “MUFC is relieved to learn that the 12 footballers and their coach trapped in a cave in Thailand are now safe. Our thoughts and prayers are with those affected. We would love to welcome the team from their rescuers to Old Trafford this coming season.”
A lovely gesture indeed, although the boys may want to consider it carefully: it’s a 12-hour flight and only six Premier League grounds saw fewer goals last season.
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The ladies and gentlemen of our parliament have no shortage of pressing matters to discuss at the moment. One such topic is whether or not future World Cups should be on free-to-air telly.
Our roving reporter Martha Kelner reports that: “If the home nations submit a bid to host the 2030 World Cup, the government must amend its laws protecting the tournament’s TV rights from being sold to the highest bidder, parliament will be told on Wednesday.”
Where exactly on the parliamentary agenda that item will sit, we’re not sure. Either way, here’s our full report:
An email from Jim, on the subject of Mesut Özil and Germany:
It’s worth pointing out that by having their photos taken with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Mezut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan infuriated liberals as much as the right-wingers mentioned in your blog.
Liberal Germans – and liberal Turkish-Germans – are very upset that Özil and Gündogan appeared to be giving their backing, just before a crucial presidential election, to a divisive leader whose politics they disagree with. Gündogan has since said he did so out of “politeness”. Özil has refused to comment. Not good enough.
Fair enough, a point worth making.
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Self-acceptance, a loving family, staying the hell away from social media. Happiness, reader, comes in many forms – and for Gareth Southgate’s England it seems to have taken the form of an inflatable purple unicorn.
Those unicorns, and the water-races they enable, have only been one part of a multi-faceted psychological makeover this squad has been given, the project led by the esteemed Dr Pippa Grange. She was appointed by the FA as its head of people and team development in November last year, given the job of building resilience while confronting the pressures and psychodramas faced by previous England squads.
Certainly the evidence so far is that she’s doing sterling work (pun intended) and our feature writer Emine Saner has taken a deep dive (pun intended) into the psychology behind The Great Southgate Revamp:
Hello again all. In further Paul-the-Octopus-has-a-lot-to-answer-for news (sorry), here’s Sparky the Cat “predicting” the outcome of this evening’s heavyweight clash.
Sparky's mind is made up🙀 Take a look at his purrdiction for tonight's #WorldCup semi-final game! #SyriasSuperfans #FRABEL #BELFRA #FRA #BEL #Belgium #France @AleppoAMC pic.twitter.com/wxw30nUzzF
— SyriasSuperfans (@SyriasSuperfans) July 10, 2018
Je suis désolé, Didier.
Sparky, I’m reliably informed, was rescued by the Cat Man of Aleppo and survived a number of airstrikes en route to semi-eminence this wonderful summer.
Well that news has just knocked me for six. Oh Bartek! Did it have to end like this? Thankfully as I shuffle off in despair, Alex Hess is on hand to see this blog through to the bitter end. Enjoy!
Where’s that tiger? Here’s that tiger! Bartek, a five-year-old Amur tiger at Royev Ruchey Zoo in Krasnoyarsk, has selected Croatia in one of those prediction things animals do at World Cups these days. So bang goes that dream, then. Ah well. Paul the Octopus has a lot to answer for.
“Yes We Kanté!” There are high hopes for Les Bleus in France. Not least in the court of Emmanuel Macron, president and diehard Marseille fan. Angelique Chrisafis, chief of our Paris bureau, explains the political implications of tonight’s big game with Belgium.
So what’s going to happen tonight? And tomorrow? Will favourites France prevail over Belgium? Will the Red Devils reach their first World Cup final? Will Croatia? Or will England’s fresher legs tell? Martin Laurence of WhoScored has the answers!
The football section of this site doesn’t benefit from the poetic pen of Andy Bull too often. But here he is today! Because, as our senior sports writer explains: “It’s a strange business, right now, writing about any other sport, like working in a bookshop that refuses to stock the bestseller everyone’s reading, or a butchers that only serves imitation meat.” World Cups haven’t always been this irresistible, mind, a point he pursues in this typically wonderful piece.
A mural in St Petersburg depicting Stanislav Cherchesov was damaged in the wake of Russia’s quarter-final defeat to Croatia. A pretty harsh response, given his team’s unexpected heroics. But for every dull-witted vandal, there are thousands of good hearts beating true and strong. And a couple of them - street artists Artyom Burzh and Ilya Is - have today retouched the painting in honour of their head coach. Has anyone in Blighty started one of Gareth yet?
Anyone remember
Spangles
Germany? Die Mannschaft are still the reigning world champions, for another five days anyway. But it seems an age since they were bundled out of this tournament. Ever since, the search for a scapegoat has been on. And it would seem Mesut Ozil is copping for most of the flak. He and team-mate Ilkay Gundogan posed for photos with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan back in May, a move which annoyed the DFB. Gundogan later made a statement in order to placate those irritated, but Ozil has not, and now DFB president Reinhard Grindel has told Kicker magazine that fans are owed an “answer”:
It’s true that Mesut has not commented yet. That has disappointed a lot of fans because they have questions and expect an answer. They are right to expect this answer. That’s why it’s totally clear for me that Mesut should speak on the issue. We have to wait for the sporting analysis and see whether Joachim Loew still counts on him.
The sagacity of this flame-fanning statement is moot, given the number of right-wing politicians, columnists and comedians sticking the boot into Ozil right now. His father Mustafa, noting that nobody from the DFB has condemned any of the abuse, said: “Unfortunately there are still people in the German population who have reservations and prejudices against us of Turkish descent. In Mesut’s place I’d resign from the Germany team. But that’s just my personal opinion.”
So this is only the fifth time the last four of the World Cup has been an all-European affair.
1934: Italy, Czechoslovakia, Germany, Austria
1966: England, West Germany, Portugal, USSR
1982: Italy, West Germany, Poland, France
2006: Italy, France, Germany, Portugal
Are you spotting the pattern we’re spotting?
Anyway, whatever happens, Uefa are celebrating. Their president Aleksander Ceferin says that “even though some of our traditional contenders such as Germany, Spain and Portugal were eliminated, there are other teams which have surpassed expectations and can now win the title ... these results validate all the work that is being done across the continent to develop football, and they also showcase the strength and quality that exists across the whole Uefa region.”
Today’s World Cup Fiver has landed! Boom! If you haven’t already subscribed ... well, it’s probably a bit late now, isn’t it. But don’t worry! Simply click below for guaranteed* FUN and confirmation that FOOTBALL’S COMING HOME**.
* not guaranteed
** to Bobby M’s house in Wigan
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... and now some proper news. It would seem Croatia defender Domagoj Vida is doing his level best to ensure that any Russian fans in the Luzhniki Stadium tomorrow night will be supporting England. Here’s Shaun Walker, our Central and Eastern Europe Correspondent, with the story.
Croatian defender Domagoj Vida continues to court controversy, after a second video emerged of him chanting pro-Ukrainian slogans. Fifa investigated the first video, recorded after the quarter final win against Russia, in which Vida shouted “Glory to Ukraine” and former international Ognjen Vukojevic said “This victory is for Dynamo (Kiev) and for Ukraine”.
Both players used to play for Dinamo Kiev. Tensions between Russia and Ukraine remain high since the annexation of Crimea and Russia-backed war in eastern Ukraine.
The phrase “Glory to Ukraine” is a nationalist greeting that has become widespread in Ukraine since the Maidan revolution of 2014.
Croatia’s football federation sent Vukojevic home as a result of the incident and apologised for the statements, which they said “were in no way intended to have political connotations, yet which unfortunately left room for such interpretations”. Fifa gave Vida a warning.
Overnight, a new video surfaced in which Vida, appearing to swig from a bottle of beer, again shouts “Glory to Ukraine” and also “Belgrade is burning”! The video sent social media into overdrive, but appears to have been made a long time prior to the World Cup, and possibly to refer to a bar in Kiev called Belgrade, where Vida was a regular during his time at Dinamo.
Thanks to Alex. And I’m back just in time for some big BREAKING NEWS: “Around a dozen” England fans travelling to Moscow have been spotted in dark-blue waistcoats. Yes the rolling blog has come to this. The fans were clocked brazenly boarding planes at Heathrow wearing their clothes, and news organisations were duly informed. A spokesperson for Marks & Spencer confirmed the garments might have been purchased at one of the company’s stores, possibly, sort of: “Gareth Southgate’s sideline style has meant our waistcoats are really scoring with our customers, with sales doubling since the World Cup began.” More on this developing story when we have it.
And before I hand back over to Scott, a thought: perhaps the one story running through all four of these semi-finalists is the rehabilitation of the “meh” manager.
Until this summer, Roberto Martínez was the wide-eyed gung-ho merchant who took Wigan down and couldn’t get Belgium to add up to the sum of their parts, Didier Deschamps was sneered at for making Europe’s most thrilling squad into a team of safety-first chuggers, Zlatko Dalic’s biggest achievement outside Saudi Arabia and the UAE was winning the Albanian Supercup a decade ago, and Gareth Southgate was stranded in age-group limbo at St George’s Park having underwhelmed emphatically at Middlesbrough.
Today, Belgium are in the semis thanks to Martínez’s tactical masterstoke against Japan and his crafty outmanoeuvring of Brazil. Deschamps has finally forged a system that lets Paul Pogba shine without halting his electric attackers. Dalic has Croatia partying like it’s 1998, and Southgate has solved three decades of England’s deep-seated tactical, technical and psychological deficiencies with a mere swish of his wand.
Bravo all round, chaps.
Except, of course, there’s still time for them to make tactical chumps of themselves on the very grandest stage there is. We await in earnest. Ta-ra – and back to Mr Murray
In no one’s getting carried away news, I solemnly report that – deep breath – Gareth Southgate’s waistcoat is being sought by the Museum of London for its permanent collection.
“Waistcoats were born in London in 1666, promoted by King Charles II,” enthuses the museum’s very own Indiana Jones, curator Beatrice Behlen. “The new fashion soon spread and for at least 300 years a three-piece suit soon formed a key part of every man’s wardrobe.
“Now Watford-born Gareth Southgate is reviving that London tradition and bringing waistcoats home to the forefront of fashion.”
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And back in the real world – or at least, the world of club football – the coming season holds the exciting and long overdue prospect of a Manchester United women’s team.
Casey Stoney, she of 130 England caps and 10 major trophies, will be in charge and our reporter Suzanne Wrack has been to speak to her. Unsurprisingly, she has plenty to say.
Read it here:
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Tomorrow’s Big One will reunite Dejan Loren with his old foe from last season, one Harry Kane. You might remember that match-up didn’t go too well for the Croat back in October of last year – he was hauled off after half an hour having given a masterful demonstration of “the art of un-defending”, as our own Barney Ronay put it.
Kane – the Golden Boot glowing alluringly in his sights – will fancy his chances, then. Except Lovren’s quietly splendid return to form since then may mean things aren’t quite as simple as that.
Here’s what Lovren himself has to say on the matter:
England’s swaggering march to the last four has been marvellous on many levels, not least as it has brought with it an outpouring of Italia 90 nostalgia.
Here’s two highlights of the ballooning genre: The great Matthew Engel on that summer’s tears, penalties and how he realised his country had changed for ever while taking out the bins:
And here’s Louise Taylor on the man in the dugout that day, and how Bobby Robson’s wonderful legacy leads directly to a certain waistcoated wonder:
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Test your brainpower with this quiz on the four semi-finalists’ squads:
While we’re talking stats, here’s a few regarding the physical prowess of Gareth’s Boys. Our man Sean Ingle has crunched the numbers, and the man who was England’s fitness coach at Italia 90 reckons the signs are promising. And it’s not all cold, hard data – there’s wistfully boozy tales of Lineker and Waddle in there too:
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Afternoon all. Let’s kick off with a stat:
World Cup red cards for serious foul play/violent conduct
— Bill Edgar (@BillEdgarTimes) July 10, 2018
1998: 16
2002: 11
2006: 8
2010: 6
2014: 7
2018: 0 (after 60 of 64 games).
Faintly astonishing, that, and I’m sure you’ll agree it represents a significant blemish on what is supposedly the World Cup of “shithousery”.
Time for the players to up their game. Although tonight’s tie, mouthwatering as it certainly is, is more so for its attacking talents that any potential nark. That said, as long as Marouane Fellaini’s Elbows remain in this tournament, there is hope – and of course, World Cup semi-finals involving Croatia have a strong history of contentious sendings off for violent play.
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It’s almost as though I was killing time until lunch. So with that, I’m off to lunch. Alex Hess will be your guide; I’ll see you again very shortly.
He’s bringing FootballBack. Justin Timberlake has hitched his carriage to the England love train, leading a chant of “It’s coming home” at his O2 Arena gig last night. Stopping short of a full blown Lightning Seeds medley, he instead segued into a passable impression of a cockney soccer fan: “Go on then Kane! Go on! Go on then Maguire! Come on!” Three Lions is on course to reach number one again this week, 22 years after it came out. 22 years! Timberlake’s 37 and all. Anyone else feel so very old?
A couple of hours ago, Gokul Kannan compared the current England team to India’s t20 cricketers of 2007. Josh Gill thinks there might be an even more appropriate sporting analogy: the 2017/18 Philadelphia Eagles.
A team that finished bottom of their division the last time around. A group of mostly young players, talented but not household names, built around a young superstar-in-the-making. An unfancied coach famously described by one pundit as the “least qualified in the last 30-years”. Not the worst team around, but certainly nowhere near title contenders.
But they won hearts and minds with their social awareness, and won games with a sense to family, togetherness and joy. Finally, they brought a trophy back to a city that hadn’t seen a championship win since the Sixties. Everyone went berserk, climbed lamp posts, and caused mild amounts of criminal damage. Surely England’s parallel success is written in the Stars (and Stripes?)
“What would England winning the World Cup really mean?” Barney Ronay poses the question. Or, more specifically: “What would it mean for England - the Fat Man of Europe; land of under-geared school sport and falling participation; but a place where professional football is brilliantly managed?”
A few words from Gareth Southgate, who has been telling Independent Television what he expects of his men against Croatia.
To be able to keep doing what we have been doing: play with real defensive discipline, good organisation, tactical awareness. Then with the ball play with the freedom and expression that we have and the same patterns and movements that we have shown.
They of course have a very strong midfield. The higher the level of opponent, if you press in a disorganised fashion, then you will get picked through and we have got to be conscious of that.
Raheem Sterling has been fundamental to the way that we have played: his movement, the positions he takes up, his pressing of the ball, his work-rate for the team, the winning of free kicks and corners, his speed to stretch teams.
He was a constant threat to Sweden. Of course he hasn’t scored the goals he would have liked to have scored but for myself and the players he has been a crucial part of the way that we have been playing.
Any team in a World Cup semi-final is going to find the energy and going to find the motivation. So we won’t win the game just because Croatia had half an hour more football than us three days ago. We’ve got to win because we play better.
“Nothing lasts forever, not even droughts.” Expert opinion from Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, Spain and Argentina is divided over England’s chances of winning the World Cup. Here’s how they see it around the globe.
Eleven o’clock, and all’s well! For the latest David Squires cartoon has landed! Trigger warning: contains some very bad news for those of us who believe that football is indeed coming home.
England fans are streaming into Moscow for the big game, as you’d expect. Money no object.
The greatest goalkeeper in Everton’s history runs the rule over the club’s latest netminder. Neville Southall reckons Jordan Pickford is the real deal. He explains why, but also gets one or two things off his chest before doing so. A class act, is Big Nev.
Who gives you more belief that they know what they’re doing? Gareth Southgate or Theresa May? Who would you rather meet? A bright young goalkeeper like Pickford, who is turning out to be very special in this World Cup, or Trump? We’ve got so much shit going on in the world and yet our government are reportedly spending £30m on bringing a complete idiot in Trump over here. The Trump balloon they are flying over London has probably got more intelligence than him. So I am very happy to concentrate on Southgate and Pickford.
That rubber chicken, in close-up.
Dele Alli meanwhile has designs on irritating Luka Modric. A nutmeg, or some latex poultry launched with extreme prejudice at his noggin? Daniel Taylor has the answer.
While England have everyone fit and raring to go, Croatia have injury concerns. Their goalkeeper Danijel Subasic limped his way through extra time against Russia, while right-back Sime Vrsaljko was hooked. Additionally, the Croats have had to work harder than England to get to the semis: one more period of extra-time, plus another set of stressful penalties. Here’s David Hytner on how England hope to drive home any advantage that may give them.
Here, the Champions League starts again today. You’d think that can’t be right. But it is. Celtic are in Armenia for the first leg of their qualifying preliminary round tie against Alashkert. Normality is going to be hard to deal with when this World Cup is over, isn’t it.
Oh yes, England. And some most welcome news this morning, ahead of the big semi-final against Croatia: everyone’s fit and available. The squad had a run-out at the Spartak Zelenogorsk stadium this morning ahead of their flight to Moscow. Jordan Henderson had been a concern with a tight hamstring, while Jamie Vardy missed the Sweden game thanks to a groin injury. But both trained. The squad also spent some time flinging around a rubber chicken. Hey, if Gareth thinks its a good idea, it’s a good idea.
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Kylian Mbappé has been the breakout star of the France team at this World Cup. But Adam White argues that defenders Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernández have been the true heroes. Here’s his reasoning.
I’m aware a disproportionate chunk of this blog has been about jangly Scottish indie bands and children’s cartoon-book characters, as opposed to the football. So here’s an observation from Gokul Kannan about the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 cricket. “This England team reminds me of the Indian Cricket team led by MS Dhoni which went on to win the inaugural t20 World Cup. We Indians had zero hopes on the team which was so unexpected of an Indian team in a cricket world cup. But that lack of expectation proved to be crucial. They rediscovered their identity and quietly went about their business beating some very good teams on their way to glory.”
Tonight’s big match may be of particular interest to supporters of Manchester United. The Old Trafford club will have a couple of their midfield giants facing each other down. Belgium’s Marouane Fellaini and Paul Pogba of France have both impressed in Russia this past month ... but only one can make it to the final. Marcel Desailly, a World Cup winner in 1998 and a man who knows a thing or two about their position, delivers his verdict.
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“Classy nod to Roddy Frame, one of my all-time favourites.” It’s the happy happy sound of Peter Oh, listeners. “Good Morning Britain is a rousing Aztec Camera tune, but given the fervent It’s Coming Home groundswell, I expected a link to All I Need Is Everything.” New Pop versus Britpop? It’s a rout. Frame 10, Broudie 0.
A big worry for Belgium tonight is how to go about replacing the suspended Thomas Meunier. Roberto Martinez’s reshuffle will probably see Yannick Carrasco facing Kylian Mbappe. Oh dear. Some better news: Kevin De Bryune is expected to be deployed in an attacking role. David Hytner, our man in St Petersburg, has all the details.
Today’s Rumour Mill has landed. We won’t lie, it’s not a bumper crop. But to be fair, what hot gossip we have for you is quite special. Trigger warning: there’s some very bad news for Tottenham fans, as predicted by the World Cup Fiver the best part of a month ago.
“Surely no coverage of France-Belgium can ignore the eternal question ...” Rajit Ojha there, taking today’s semi-final discussion up a notch.
Sam Allardyce: a penny for his thoughts* right now. Here’s a typically entertaining John Crace piece on how the nation fell head over heels for Big Sam’s accidental successor, Gareth Southgate.
* ... and Roy Hodgson’s, come to that.
So the business end of the tournament starts today with France-Belgium. A lot rides on the rest of the week, not least how history will come to view this tournament. USA 94 was pretty great, in the main, but the memory was seriously soured by a couple of extremely dull semi-finals and a stinker of a deciding game between Brazil and Italy that had promised so much - a rerun of 1970, basically - but delivered bugger all. Conversely, Italia 90 was almost satirically bad, but two epic semi-final matches did much to salvage that particular tournament’s reputation. Here’s hoping for a denouement to Russia 2018 in keeping with all that’s gone before. Given there’s not a completely dependable defence left, we could be in luck. Fingers crossed!
Good morning Britain, as Roddy Frame once sang in equally turbulent times for a Conservative government. England played a fairly big football match in 1990, too, come to think.
Alas, that’s all the time for me, Richard Parkin, on the joystick at Guardian World Cup HQ. Thanks for your emails, tweets, comments etc. I don’t know about you, but I’ve genuinely buzzing for these two semi-finals. Let’s hope the football continues in the manner it has thus far.
Leaping into the lion’s gaping maw is Scott Murray, so you’re in good hands as the UK awakes. See you next time!
I’m intrigued by this from the btl commenter “Caesar of Rome”:
Like everyone else, I will root for Belgium to win but the trio of Mbappé-Griezmann-Giroud will be far more difficult for Belgian defenders to deal with than Inui-Kawaguchi-Kagawa or Neymar-Coutinho-Jesús. Both Japan and Brazil had forward lines that were certainly fine in quality but a bit one-dimensional - stop the mazy dribbles of Neymar and you’re in or break down Kagawa’s link-up play and you’re fine. But with Giroud you have physicality and airborne strength, with Griezmann you have intuitive playmaking, longe range efforts from nowhere and top-class finishing and with Mbappé you have pace, dribbling and a never-wavering verve.
The obvious rejoiner being that in Hazard-Lukaku-De Bruyne the Belgians have a “front trident” that mixes raw power, guile and mercurial talent, so pose a similar dilemma to the French backline.
It’s a fair point though. For reasons perhaps not yet truly unpacked, there’s no doubt that Jesús had a rotten tournament, in part probably due to Neymar’s inability to share his toys. But does Martínez have a better array of defensive options, or at least defensive tactics, at his disposal to adjust, adapt and neutralise so varied a frontline?
And speaking of penalties - randomly I’ve stumbled across this from the deeper, darker vaults of the internet - a Guardian yarn from so long ago we ask for correspondence via post. Bless.
One of my dreams to witness at a World Cup is that in a high stakes penalty shootout somebody attempts a panenka only for the ‘keeper not to move at all and just catch it comfortably mid-height.
Almost certainly this has already happened, yes? Surely.
The following isn’t from a World Cup, but for fans of the A-League, two of their stars (or former stars, now) locked horns this week in a pre-season cup in China, and for the manner in which he departed Sydney FC, I, for one, am okay with this happening to the Polish winger Adrian Mierzejewski.
.@adrianmierzej86, on debut for Changchun Yatai, tried to score a panenka past @glen_moss.
— Hyundai A-League (@ALeague) July 9, 2018
Never again 😱😱😱
📽 @Sproulie72 pic.twitter.com/kPKVTVYK2X
Suffer in ya jocks, Adrian.
As someone hailing from a footballing confederation not flush with World Cup success [should AFC, CAF, CONCACAF and OFC just give up and have their own Europa League style Cup? Discuss.], I do always enjoy the subplot of inter-confederational rivalry, even if with four European nations remaining in Russia 2018 that particular battle has become a little moot this time round.
But for African fans following this blog, this yarn from Ed Aarons casts the “all-European” final four in a slightly different light.
And indeed one of the nicer aspects to the story that is England rediscovering its affection for its national team at this World Cup, is the embrace of a new, more cosmopolitan face to “modern England”. Until Sterling misses a penalty, I guess.
Going back to that Adam White piece (see earlier - or, here) - the fact that three of France’s back four were not first choice per se during qualifying is quite an interesting aspect to today’s clash as well.
Neither of Benjamin Pavard or Lucas Hernández are slouches; you don’t get to clubs like Stuttgart or Atlético Madrid if you’re a weak link. But - they haven’t really faced a front three like Hazard, Lukaku or De Bruyne yet at this tournament, either.
Yes, Argentina should have been formidable (or at least an Argentina that wasn’t absolutely creaking at the back might have been); but don’t forget even a stuttering Albiceleste put three past France.
Will either of the fullbacks, or even Samuel Umtiti whose inexplicable brain explosion handball threw Australia a brief lifeline in the group stages, be the target of a Roberto Martínez tactical plot?
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Another who knows a little about France’s 1998 victory is Marcel Desailly (aka “the original Harry Maguire forehead”) and what a treat it is having him on board as a Guardian columnist for this World Cup.
Not surprisingly, he identifies the pace of Mbappé as a key factor in today’s match:
I really like the point he makes about the confidence, or better yet - insouciance - of youth, and how important that can be in the big games.
Put simply, sometimes players can be too young to have accumulated the baggage of fear, of loss. And that’s a powerful and dangerous thing. Anyone who remembers Michael Owen striding up to take a penalty at France 1998, vs say, David Batty, can attest to this.
I do hope in Mbappé’s case that holds. With Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar all gone it would be nice to see somebody really illuminate the late stages of this tournament. Kieran Trippier aside, that is.
A subplot that fascinates me ahead of today’s match is the “Thierry Henry dilemma” - whereby one of the all-time great French players accidentally ends up amid the coaching staff of a team looking to prevent the 1998 World Cup winner’s own country of making another final.
Kristof Terreur unpacks this for us a little more:
Needless to say, compatriot Olivier Giroud finds it a touch bemusing as well:
A few tips and musings coming through, from you, the good people:
Gokul Kannan writes:
It is fascinating. Predicting this game. Funny that you mention ‘tactics are only as good as the players’ execution of them’. Martinez has the players who can execute any. Fellaini to Januzaj. It is entirely upon him to get the tactics right. Playing 3 at the back with Carasco as the winger would be inviting Mbappe to run you over. Playing De Bruyne deep would be pleading Kante to become the hero.
The delightfully Guardian-named btl commenter “AdFalsoQuotLibet” reckons:
Extremely tight match-up today. If pushed, I’d have France to edge it as I think they have that little bit extra. Griezmann and Hazard are both incredible playmakers with dazzling skills, but the Frenchman is the better goalscorer, for example. Lukaku is far, far better than Giroud in every respect apart from possible headed set-pieces, but then again Belgium have nobody comparable to Mbappé.
Mark Jenkins says:
Mbappe and Griezmann will provide a way bigger test than Neymar to the Belgian defence. This is because they have a better midfield backing them with Pogba and Matuidi very capable of being playmakers.
I would love a Belgium win (as they are more entertaining ) but World Cups have traditionally seen boring, functional teams win.
And commenter “sarkmah” states:
Key match ups will definitely be Kante v Hazard, Griezmann v Fellaini, De Bruyne v Matuidi, Martinez v Wigan fans.
Surely Wigan fans still love ol’ RM, don’t they? At least more than Manchester City fans I imagine.
I do like this idea of “heart vs head” that appears to be playing out for a lot of the neutrals - that due to a slightly more attractive brand of football Belgium are a slight sentimental favourite; but scarred by “business-end games of World Cups past” (USA 94, anyone?) the smart money is on France.
Or is this all just very hopeful England fans presuming that Hazard and friends represent the “easier” final opponent?
And speaking of “the young people” and “the internet”, this was brought to my attention.
In Russia it’s illegal to display the LGBT pride flag. So during the #WorldCup these 6 football fans have formed a hidden rainbow flag with their soccer jerseys, to protest Russia’s discriminatory laws in plain sight. #HiddenFlag ✊🏳️🌈 pic.twitter.com/I6uvYztGlR
— Jason Ball (@jasonballau) July 9, 2018
It sounds odd to say it, but it’s almost as if the quality of football has saved the Russian government this World Cup. With so many scintillating matches on the pitch there have been perhaps fewer than expected column inches dedicated to off-field concerns.
What a clever protest, though. And as an aside, a collection of the above photos would, I imagine, make a wonderful coffee table book.
Meanwhile, this is not bad.
@rrjparkin If you're planning to watch England win the world cup with your partner, and wondering how to celebrate when Maguire heads the ball into the net from centre circle, here's a suggestion. "smooching time" anagrams with #ItsComingHome 😁😋😘 #WorldCup
— Finndian (@finndian_guy) July 10, 2018
I’m awful with anagrams, so yes, I did just spent the last ten minutes with a pencil trying to test that out.
I am enjoying Harry Maguire’s “casual lean” becoming a bit of an internet meme, but as Finndian points out, phwaor, he can’t half head a ball.
And if you’re one of those who loves their memes, The Guardian made some poor sucker collect them all. Like a Pokemon.
In the interim, if you’re just waking up across continental Europe, there have been a few interesting world football transfer developments with both Manchester City and Barcelona making some early splashes:
He’s a busy lad, that Pep Guardiola, who our antipodean followers of this blog will note has been popping up at sister-club/franchise Melbourne City’s training facilities this week to the delight of fans and players alike.
And speaking of football down under, the mission to bring former Atlético and Liverpool legend Fernando Torres to Australia has fallen through. Who would have thought the US might have proved a slightly bigger drawcard.
The Spanish Football Federation has also moved swiftly to put Lopetegui-gate behind it, with the announcement of its new manager:
And, look, while we’re on a roll, Jack Wilshere has finalised his departure from the club he called home for 17 years (or 65% of his life). All the best, Jack, England supporters would I imagine look forward to you rebuilding your career.
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And where do we imagine the key match ups will be?
The blistering pace of Kylian Mbappé straight away poses questions of Belgium’s defence - how will Jan Vertonghen, Toby Alderweireld and Vincent Kompany fare against the precocious teen? There are some creaking legs there, not to mention Kompany’s well-documented history of fitness issues, especially given the tight tournament timeframes.
As David Hytner mentioned (see earlier), with Thomas Meunier suspended, Martínez may be forced into an elaborate reshuffle that could see Nacer Chadli at right wing-back. Could the French target him, in the manner that the Belgians identified Brazil’s third-choice right back Fagner as the loose link?
Those are just a few options to mull over; your thoughts on others?
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Prediction is necessarily a mug’s game, but you know, the more I think about this game, the less certain I am of how it’s going to unfold.
What do you think? Email me your tips, but more importantly, the reasoning behind these - and I’ll cast my red pen over them (with comments like “needs citation”).
Much has been made of the impressive tactical job Roberto Martínez did on Brazil (although as he will remind you, tactics are only as good as the players’ execution of them; just ask Andres Villas Boas)
Does the wily former Swansea man have more in the locker in that department that his counterpart Didier Deschamps, perhaps?
David Hytner has some lovely insights into the “battle within the battle” that delights football anoraks and grown-men-who-still-play-Football (née Championship)-Manager the world over:
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Keith Forbes is in very early doors:
My 14 year old son Julian has coined the phrase, “Battle of the Frites” for Belgium v France. I think it’s quite clever.
Ah, yes, Keith, but we all think our children are exceptional.
Ha. I don’t mind that, to be fair. Chapeau, Julian. Now, not to start a Nuremberg v Rothenburg “who has the best mustard” war, but what do we think; Belgium with an edge in the “Battle of the Frites” on the mayo front?
Football-wise however, is it right to presume France are favourites, albeit marginally, for this one?
200 million+ Brazilians might disagree; still waking in fright to Chucky-style apparitions of Kevin de Bruyne haunting their sleep. And that’s before you even start with Eden Hazard or Romelo Lukaku who both appear to be in career-best form.
As we know though, a team is much more than individuals, and I think that’s why this piece from Adam White grabbed me - looking at France’s two “second choice” fullbacks, and how they’ve stood tall at this World Cup:
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France v Belgium.
These good friends from the Schengen zone. Comrades in many historical japes together they will be glowering at each other across all 620km of their shared border today.
For either of these sets of supporters, as Guus Hiddink once said “these are the games, what’s it all about”. And for the neutral, what a mouthwatering prospect - two sides that attack with verve and gusto (unless they have a gentleman’s agreement with Denmark, that is).
There is absolutely no argument to build that Russia 2018 as a footballing festival has shortchanged anybody, but France’s remarkable round of 16 showing against Argentina and Belgium’s quarter-final defeat of Brazil surely rank as two of the more exciting games of international football we’ve seen in recent years.
As always, it’s hard to rank things as subjective as games of football. That said, Nick Ames cast his eye over the four quarter finals a few days back, and here’s what he reckons in terms of where our final “fab four” are at.
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Preamble
And so, at that stage of the World Cup where every day without a match feels inexorably pointless - we awake with a spring in our step, and hope in our heart, because football, dear reader, is back once more.
Just three epic games to play (and one “well we may as well while we’re here” encounter) - until Russia 2018 announces its ultimate winner; Vladimir Putin, aside. Will it be France; Belgium; England or Croatia?
18 of the 20 World Cups of all-time have gone to nations that aren’t these four - have we ever seen such an open contest? Two of these have never won one; let alone even made a World Cup final - will either of Belgium or Croatia make history?
All we can say is that for two of these four sides that answer will come sooner rather than later, as today (*producer jump zoom*): one of these nations is going home.
Today’s schedule:
7pm BST/9pm MSK/4am Wednesday AEST: France v Belgium, Saint Petersburg
So get your kippers and slippers prepped, do your morning (or evening) calisthenics now, and for heaven sakes ring Mum, otherwise you just know she’ll ring you during the match.
As always, do send your best insights, talking points and questions to join the conversation today: via email (richard.parkin.casual@theguardian.com), twitter (@rrjparkin), or simply comment below the line. Especially if you happen to know more about Belgian football then your humble scribe today.
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