Last-ditch essential reading:
Thanks for your company, do join us again tomorrow. Bye!
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Southgate considers dropping Sterling
Judging by Steve Holland’s scribbled notes, Raheem Sterling could be dropped to the bench for England’s game with Panama on Sunday, with Marcus Rashford assuming his place. Here’s Dominic Fifield with more from Repino:
Transfer nugget: Lucas Torreira has not exactly given much of an update on his future, with the Uruguay midfielder stumbling through questions about joining Arsenal. The Sampdoria president, Massimo Ferrero, said Torreira had left the club for €30m but the player himself says he is still in the dark over a move. “No, I don’t know,” Torreira said. “At the moment , the most important thing is playing for my country. Arsenal are a good team, one of the most important in the world, but I am focused on playing for my country.”
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For updates from the first game of the day, look no further:
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More now on how we started proceedings, with Fifa taking a dim view of Morocco’s decision to play Nordin Amrabat five days after he suffered concussion. A statement from the governing body reads:
Following the questionable handling of the concussion incident involving the Moroccan player, [Nordin] Amrabat, during the Morocco-Iran match, Fifa wrote to the Moroccan team doctor to remind him of the importance to adhere to the guidelines that have been communicated.
Some semi-essential day eight reading ...
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Sergio Ramos has weighed in with his two-pennies’ worth, responding to some flak from all quarters with a couple of playground insults, namely dissing Diego.
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Remember you can rate every performance in Russia this summer. So far, things are looking pretty good for Artem Dzyuba and Cristiano Ronaldo, but not quite so rosy for Lucas Vázquez:
Joint-top of the player ratings are Ronaldo, and Alireza Beiranvand:
This is a wonderful tale on Beiranvand’s journey to Russia:
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Dedryck Boyata has been waxing lyrical about growing up alongside Vincent Kompany for club and country. The 27-year-old Celtic defender played with Kompany at Manchester City and deputised for him in Belgium’s 3-0 win against Panama on Monday. “I’d rather keep to myself what Vincent had to say to me after my performance, but he really touched my heart,” Boyata says.
Sepp Blatter is in town, in a five-star Moscow hotel to be precise. “I am suspended by Fifa but not to attend matches,” he said last night. “I am suspended as a president but I am here as a fan and I can go everywhere in the world to watch football.” Blatter has reportedly been given an open invite by Russian president Vladimir Putin to attend any game he pleases. Lovely stuff.
The Newcastle United defender Ciaran Clark has been attacked in a Spanish bar, police have confirmed. A British man in his 30s was arrested after punching the Republic of Ireland international at Crystal’s Bar in Magaluf, at around 2am (BST) on Sunday.
Clark was left unconscious and taken to hospital after an argument between him and the suspect broke out on the dance floor. The 28-year-old suffered cuts and bruises to his face and was taken to Son Espases hospital in Palma.
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From humble beginnings in 1930, to the Jabulani™ and beyond:
With Australia v Denmark first up on another blockbuster three-game day, a reminder that Tim Cahill can make history in Samara. If the 38-year-old gets on the scoresheet – most likely after coming off the bench – he’ll become just the fifth man in history to find the net at four different World Cups. The others are Uwe Seeler, Miroslav Klose, Cristiano Ronaldo and Pelé, of course.
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England news: some nifty undercover work appears to have uncovered Gareth Southgate’s planned starting lineup for Sunday’s game with Panama. An image, taken by the Daily Mirror, seemingly shows a, by now standard 3-5-2, but most intriguing is that Raheem Sterling’s name appears beneath Ruben Loftus-Cheek, while Marcus Rashford looks to appear alongside Harry Kane up front. Trent Alexander-Arnold’s name, for example, appears beneath Kieran Trippier’s, Jordan Henderson above Eric Dier and Jesse Lingard above Fabian Delph. The notes, dated 21 June, also suggest Dele Alli, as expected, will not be risked because of that thigh injury.
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Smooth-talking Timo Werner is not getting sucked into any of that Germany crisis talk. Oh no, he’s still talking them up as potential winners, and who can blame him, really? “Of course we can still win the World Cup,” the RB Leipzig striker mused. “Spain lost their first match at the World Cup in South Africa [to Switzerland] and ended up being champions. Now what we have to do is win the next match against Sweden [on Saturday].”
Here’s a longish read on England, by Daniel Taylor:
While England are out training, Panama’s Luis Ovalle has been speaking to the gathered press in Saransk. Asked about how others take a dim view of their team, he said: “It’s normal to see us in that way as our first World Cup, but on the pitch the millions do not play, we are 11 against 11 and everything can happen.”
Transfer nugget: Emre Can has arrived in Turin to complete his move on a free from Juventus to Liverpool; he has agreed a five-year contract and is undergoing a medical this morning.
Meanwhile, more on those 2018-19 EFL fixtures:
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Australia’s game with Denmark could see a possible clash between two of Huddersfield Town’s standout performers in the Premier League last season, as Mathias Jorgensen and Aaron Mooy go head-to-head, while Jonas Lössl could also feature in goal for the Danes. “If we want to meet our expectations, which are to go through the group stages, then we need to beat Australia,” Jorgensen said. “When you see videos from back home after we won, seeing the crowds at various big screen events out in Copenhagen and around Denmark, seeing how the fever has hit everyone in Denmark and seeing them just enjoying being a Dane.”
Big news from the England camp: no sling for Gareth Southgate.
Germany are out training in Sochi, with the inquest into their defeat to Mexico still very much ongoing. “We won’t win the next two games by tearing ourselves apart,” Thomas Müller said, asked about reports of team rift. “You can believe me: No one wants be more successful than this squad and the coaching staff.”
England news: Dele Alli will sit out training in Zelenogorsk this morning as he continues his recovery from a thigh strain. All the other 22 members of Gareth Southgate’s squad will take part in England’s first full training session since their 2-1 win over Tunisia. Ruben Loftus-Cheek is set to replace Alli on Sunday:
A dab of Football League news: the 2018-19 fixtures have just been released, with Frank Lampard’s Derby County opening at Reading on Friday 3 August. Elsewhere, Marcelo Bielsa’s maiden game in English football will be Leeds United’s match at home to Stoke City, on Sunday 5 August. Both those games will be televised. Sunderland, meanwhile, start League One life at home to Charlton.
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Now, some news to pull at the heartstrings a little: the Denmark squad had a whip round to pay for a private jet so that Jonas Knudsen could fly home and see his baby girl. The Ipswich defender’s wife, Trine, gave birth several weeks earlier than expected, after he had arrived in Russia for the tournament. But, after his team-mates’ helping hand, he spent a day with his new-born daughter before flying back to the Danish base camp in Anapa, on the Black Sea. A goal against Australia later today would surely result in a rock the baby celebration ...
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Reports in Colombia suggest police will investigate death threats made on social media against the former Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sánchez, now of Fiorentina, who picked up the first red card in Russia this summer for a deliberate handball three minutes into his country’s Group H opener against Japan.
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Unknowingly, Kasper Schmeichel eclipsed his father Peter’s record after racking up a record 533 minutes without conceding a goal for Denmark. And he can extend that clean sheet feat by shutting out Australia in Samara today:
Some painstaking number-crunching has created this beauty:
On the menu a little later, after Australia’s match-up with Denmark, is Peru’s clash with France and Argentina v Croatia. The latter will see Barcelona team-mates Ivan Rakitic and Lionel Messi pit their wits against each other in Nizhny Novgorod, with Jorge Sampaoli’s side, finalists in 2014, under pressure to deliver after stuttering to a draw against Iceland. Speaking of Messi, Rakitic said: “My impression is not just that he’s motivated, but that he’s uber-motivated. When he goes to Argentina, he has a special smile on his face. I don’t think there is a player more proud to wear the jersey than he is. I appreciate him as a human and a player.”
Meanwhile, here’s Barney Ronay on Argentina’s No 10:
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Talking of injuries, England manager Gareth Southgate dislocated his shoulder while out jogging near their training base in Repino, on the Gulf of Finland:
I am just a bit gutted because I was on for my record 10k time. I might not be celebrating any goals as athletically in future. The doc has made it clear that punching the air is not an option.
Здравствуйте! Let’s kick-off with a serious topic: concussion. Nordin Amrabat, the Watford defender, returned to the Morocco lineup against Portugual on Wednesday, five days after not remembering anything for “five or six hours”. The players’ union, FifPro, are not best pleased, highly critical of what it called “yet another alarming example of a player being put in harm’s way.”
The Morocco coach, Hervé Renard, defended his decision to pick the player, saying: “He’s a warrior; he wanted to play. It’s because his spirit is amazing and I was lucky to have a player like this.” As for Amrabat, who also accused the referee Mark Geiger of trying to bag Cristiano Ronaldo’s shirt – “it’s not a circus” – the 31-year-old insisted: “I am my own doctor.” All in all, not great.
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And with that, it’s over to Ben Fisher once again. Thanks for your company, until next time.
Kieran Pender has been chatting to the Australian ambassador in Moscow, Peter Tesch, before the big game in Samara.
“In the worse case we plan for the large-scale contingencies,” Tesch says. “If there is some sort of significant incident that affects Australians en masse. It does not even have to be a terrorist scare – it could simply be an infrastructure failure, a breakdown in public transport – anything that is going to inconvenience Australians and put them at risk. The other end of the spectrum is the much more likely: the day to day experience of people who lose a passport, use it as a beer coaster, put it through the washing machine etc, or are hospitalised. These are the more practical consular contingencies that we have been preparing for.”
Hello from Ekaterinburg. Lots and lots of Peruvians here and a few French. Giroud back in a France team under pressure to improve. Guerrero should start for Peru who are desperate to win. Looking forward to this one. https://t.co/16k2oFvYRv
— Amy Lawrence (@amylawrence71) June 21, 2018
English hangovers, certainly in Leeds, seem to have been pretty severe after the opening win over Tunisia. More than four times the average number of sick days were taken in the Yorkshire city on Tuesday, apparently.
How are those Russian hangovers? After their jubilant qualification for the last 16, a wave of optimism is lighting up the nation, writes the Guardian’s central and eastern Europe correspondent Shaun Walker.
Guardian reporter Chris Knaus is in Samara, and he has this dispatch on the feel on the streets:
“The anticipation is building among Australian fans here in Samara. There’s a feeling of cautious optimism about the team’s chances. The general consensus? The Socceroos are a real shot at causing an upset, but no one – not even the most hopeful of armchair experts – can say where the goals will come from. There’s one thing the Aussies have already won hands down. Their fans significantly outnumber the Danes on Samara’s streets. The city’s pubs were crammed with Socceroos’ gold last night and you could scarcely go half an hour without hearing a drunken rendition of Waltzing Matilda or I Am Australian. This morning, it’s all gold along Samara’s main promenade, and down on the banks of the Volga River. The Danes that have made it here are understandably confident of their prospects. They offer confused looks when you rattle off a list of Australia’s best players – Aaron Mooy, Mat Ryan, or Mat Leckie. Australian fans are hoping the names will register a little more recognition after this afternoon.”
Archie Thompson, the former Australia striker who once scored 13 in one game, is on the telly now and he doesn’t believe the Socceroos should mix it up too much after being impressed by their performance in the opening defeat to France. “I don’t think you really need to change too much,” he says. “They were pretty solid throughout.” Like many in Australia, he’s tipping a Socceroos win. “With the confidence from the first game, there a bit of belief. There’s a big belief, not just in the team, but across Australia.” Never, ever underestimate the power of big belief.
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And of course, Argentina are also in action, against Croatia later today. Here’s (possible Smiths fan) Barney Ronay with a nod to Frankly Mr. Shankly and, armed with some interesting and, perhaps, surprising statistics, a look at Lionel Messi:
In the hope that a croissant and a slice of a tres leches cake miraculously lands on my desk, I’ll acknowledge the other Group C match to be played today, between France and Peru. Les Bleus are the clear favourites, and with Olivier Giroud back in the starting XI, supported by Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappé, it’s going to be difficult for the South Americans to avoid a second defeat – and an exit from the tournament.
Treats! A package has just arrived at Guardian Towers (Sydney chapter), containing a Danish pastry and a Lamington, a loosely football-related gift from a popular social media platform. I should really tweet about it...
Much of Australia’s focus pre-match has been on how they can stifle the creativity of Christian Eriksen, but it’s at the other end of the pitch where they perhaps face their biggest challenge. Because standing in between the sticks is Kasper Schmeichel, the Leicester City keeper who has not been beaten in a monster 533 minutes. “We’ll need to pray hard for Australia to have any sort of chance. Cahill’s forehead needs to pull off another miracle,” James Minglis writes below the line, offering one possible solution.
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sgGibson asks what we’ve all been thinking: “How is it even possible to dislocate your shoulder while jogging? Was he running upside down?” It’s scientific fact that it’s possible for footballers (and by extension managers) to injure themselves while performing seemingly innocuous tasks. See exhibit A (folding down an ironing board), B (shaving legs), C (jogging again, but in style) and D (mowing the lawn), to list but a few examples of the genre. More here:
“Has anyone asked Princess Mary who she is hoping will win - we want to know Mary?” writes Weakaspiss below the line. Somebody has indeed asked, although we’re still in the dark. This is from an Australian betting company, who say they got in touch with an offer of a charity bet if her tip won the match: “Understandably, it seemed picking between her head and her heart was too hard, and we have received word that she has politely declined the offer.”
Amazingly, it took until the penultimate first-round group game for a red card to be brandished in Russia, the dubious honour of becoming the first player to be sent off this tournament going to Colombia’s Carlos Sánchez in the Group H game against Japan. Does that make this the cleanest World Cup so far? If red card knowledge is your thing, test yourself with this quiz, which includes posers such as, “How many red cards were there in matches involving Argentina during the 1990 World Cup in Italy?” (And, for that matter, poseurs such as David Beckham.)
“Anything is possible of course,” says Mikkel Beck, the former Denmark international who spoke with John Davidson earlier in the week about Australia’s chances. “But they will have to be better offensively to beat Denmark. They will be very good in defence, they have the two central defenders and Maty [Ryan]. But they need to find a way to find Rogic more. Rogic wasn’t really in the [France] game. I think that was a problem for the team because he should be the link between the midfield and the strikers. The fact he wasn’t in the game meant the strikers never really got any balls, so I think that’s the key to their game offensively, to get Rogic more into the game.”
Australia’s World Cup hopes hang in the balance later, when Bert van Marwijk’s side meet Denmark in Samara. Lose and the Socceroos can start planning what they’re going to do next month. Win, and it’s a different story. Draw, and, well, it’s not quite so clear cut.
The feeling in a nation that so desperately wants its sporting teams to do well is that points can be won off a Danish side that failed to convince in a patchy opening victory over Peru. That, coupled with a decent enough showing in their own opener against France, has Socceroos fans believing a dream run out of the group stage will still be a possibility come full-time against the Danes.
Who will be charged with carrying those hopes in Samara later remains unknown. Van Marwijk has kept his cards close to his chest so far, and there are still questions over who will lead the line: will Andrew Nabbout get another run out, or is it time for Tomi Juric to assume the starting striker’s role? May Jamie Maclaren get the nod? And what about Daniel Arzani? Could the youngest player at this tournament squeeze into the side, possibly at the expense of Robbie Kruse, with the need to unsettle the Danes at the back so important?
Sadly, I don’t have the answers. But Van Marwijk has and one assumes he will let us know soon enough. Here’s Kieran Pender’s preview of the match to get your teeth into in the meantime:
Before yesterday’s victory over Morocco, Ronaldo’s teammate Pepe said Portugal were “privileged” to have to have the Real Madrid man in the squad and that there is “no doubt that the most important thing for our team is that Cristiano Ronaldo is in top shape”. I’ll leave you to judge whether that is the case.
Martin Laurence has come up with some ratings to compile a best XI of the opening round. No surprises to see Ronaldo and Costa leading the team from the front, but what about the rest? Take a peek for yourselves:
On that final point, Southgate’s unfortunate injury – sustained while going for a jog, of all things – has rendered him incapable of celebrating any goals, apparently. “The doc has made it clear that punching the air is not an option,” he said. “It is better this is me than one of the players,” he added. “They were a bit surprised in the team meeting and were asking: ‘What have you been doing?’ As always, they were probably quite amused. It is good that we have had a quiet day today so I had prepared the meeting before and we are on to preparations for Panama. I am just a bit gutted because I was on for my record 10k time.”
And let’s get an early plug in for this, yesterday’s daily podcast, in which Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and Sam Diss analyse day seven’s events with the help of Barney Ronay, who calls in from Russia to talk about Gareth Southgate’s running injury. As usual, it’s well worth a listen.
What better way to get things started today than with an outrageous story from Russia involving Burger King, an incredibly ill-judged and poor-taste social media campaign, a hardly surprising backlash and an inevitable apology. The headline speaks volumes. Incredible stuff.
Preamble
Something of a natural order, if you like, has been restored to the World Cup. How long this state remains is unknown, but after an opening round that contained a number of upsets, it was with a sense of comfort/disappointment (depending on your disposition) that day seven’s round two results went as expected. Not only were the wins for Spain (1-0 over Iran), Uruguay (1-0 over Saudi Arabia) and Portugal (1-0 over Morocco), but the identity of all three goalscorers also came as little surprise.
Diego Costa grabbed his third of the tournament to give La Furia Roja their first win, Luis Suárez opened his account on his 100th international appearance to send Uruguay into the last 16 and, perhaps most inevitably of all, Cristiano Ronaldo thundered home a brave header to put Morocco out.
Ronaldo’s effort, in the fourth minute at the Luzhniki Stadium, was his fourth of the tournament and ensured the already short odds for him to become the tournament’s top scorer were trimmed even further. The coveted Golden Boot appears well within the Real Madrid striker’s reach.
Lionel Messi will be hoping to trouble the scorers for the first time later today when he leads out Argentina against Croatia in Nizhny Novgorod. But before that there is the small matter of two Group C games – and possibly some World Cup fates – to be settled: Denmark v Australia and France v Peru. Much more on those to come in due course.
It’s the usual deal again: I’ll take you through the next three hours, before Ben Fisher takes over and guides you through to the first kick-off of the day – that crunch Denmark-Australia clash in Samara. At which point, we’ll have individual liveblogs as follows:
1pm BST/3pm MSK/10pm AEST: Denmark v Australia
4pm BST/6pm MSK/1am Friday AEST: France v Peru
7pm BST/9pm MSK/4am Friday AEST: Argentina v Croatia
Throughout the course of the day/evening/whatever it is where you are, feel free to get in touch on email (mike.hytner@theguardian.com) or Twitter (@mike_hytner) or below the line. Meanwhile, why not sign up for the World Cup Fiver?
