Right, we are closing on the 1pm kick-off in Samara, so I should thank you all for your company and input. Luckily for you, the fun carries on with Daniel Harris who is manning the live blog for Costa Rica versus Serbia. Until we meet again...
A collector’s item...
And for those who need to know more about Serbia...
A good time for this...
2018 news!
Not content with three games today, Mike is looking forward to 2026.
Writing via email, which you really need to be on nowadays, Mike says: “A sunny morning with high temp of 32 here in London, Canada but I still feel angst when I think of the 2026 World Cup.
“While I might accept a trade-off of watching Russia - Saudi, Morocco - Iran, Costa Rica - Serbia etc to see matches like Portugal - Spain, I can’t imagine how bad it will be with 16 groups of 3 in 2026. If the bottom 6 teams are poor here what will the additional 16 teams be like? It would be completely shocking if any of the 16 seeded teams does’t proceed to knockout stage.
“Anyway, I shall try to focus on the exciting matches to come this year and expect many good round of 16 games!”
Andrew has been in touch with this beauty for some reason or other. It’s a great one, so I will stick it up. Maybe I should have left it to the end and walked out with this playing.
The teams are in for the first game of the day...
Costa Rica: Navas; Gamboa, Acosta, González, Duarte, Calvo; Venegas, Guzmán, Borges, Ruiz; Ureña.
Serbia: Stojkovic, Ivanovic, Tosic, Milenkovic, Kolarov, Milinkovic-Savic, Milivojevic, Matic, Ljajic, Tadic, Mitrovic
Can you tell the difference? Is that you, Dennis?
FIFA World Cup Recreations with @TheF2 ⚽️
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 17, 2018
Cast your minds back to arguably one of the greatest goals in @FIFAWorldCup history! 😮
What a moment 👌#WorldCup pic.twitter.com/bzkCNVw0eG
Brazil’s coach Tite explains that Neymar might now be firing on all cylinders...
Neymar is still not 100 per cent, but he is very privileged physically.
The level he has displayed in his sprints in high velocity has been impressive. But still he has something to gain.
It should happen sooner rather than later, hopefully.
In many ways, there hasn’t been enough guff on Panama. Luckily, I provided some of that guff with this #EXCLUSIVE interview with your friend and mine, Jaime Penedo, their 131 times capped goalkeeper, who plies his trade at Dinamo Bucharest. He really is a lovely chap but does not speak English.
James Maddison might one day play in a World Cup, so I can shoehorn this in from our man Jacob Steinberg.
Along with Leicester, understand that Southampton have also bid for Everton and West Ham target James Maddison, who’s very likely to leave Norwich this summer.
— Jacob Steinberg (@JacobSteinberg) June 17, 2018
For a brief break from the football, I have ‘Spring Kitchen’ on, which includes bald icon, Dom Littlewood, looking at strawberries for no apparent reason. I have chosen to keep this on mute.
The Costa Rica fans are readying themselves in Samara...
Costa Rica will be hoping to do similar to the last World Cup, but sadly they won’t have to play anyone as awful as England’s 2014 vintage.
The have, however, lost their last two warm-up games to England and Belgium, but coach Oscar Ramirez insists they will be better for that experience.
“We need to improve the pressure we put on our opponents,” Ramirez chuckled.
“That’s something that maybe cost us in our friendlies, especially in our last match where we had a hard time dealing with Belgium.
“The first match in the World Cup is always crucial. We know Serbia press a lot in the first 20 minutes - we need to be able to handle this.
“The first goal will be key.”
I worked at ITV for a number of years (sorry) and I once suggested to the FA we could do a feature in the tournament ‘games room’ but was told this would not be possible as no one other than players and staff were allowed it. Now the media are playing darts and going bowling with the team, which is a huge change in dynamic.
Meanwhile, in the England camp, Jordan Henderson has done a modern Facetime with an England fan who has raided his local flag store to decorate his estate. Regardless of what you think of the decor, it’s nice to see the England squad so relaxed during the tournament that they feel capable of doing stuff.
Diego Maradona has given his version of an exchange with an Asian fan that witnesses perceived as racist. British television staff working in Spartak Stadium in Moscow during Argentina’s 1-1 draw with Iceland on Saturday reported seeing Maradona respond to South Korea fans calling his name.
On Twitter, ITV presenter Jacqui Oatley posted that Maradona “obliged with a smile, kiss and wave. Then pulled his eyes to the side in a clearly racist gesture.” In a Facebook message early Sunday, the Argentina great says he saw “an Asian boy wearing an Argentina T-shirt.”
He adds: “I, from afar, tried to tell them how nice it seemed to me that even the Asians cheer for us. And that’s all, guys, come on.” Fifa statutes prohibit acts of discrimination by teams, officials and fans at games it organises.
Not the greatest of defences there from Diego.
In a response to The Associated Press, Fifa refers to its anti-discrimination rules without commenting on the incident. Maradona also apologises for smoking a cigar in the VIP seats, despite a Fifa ban on smoking at World Cup stadiums.
The blog does make a great Father’s Day gift. It’s cheap, requires no packaging (good for the environment) and it includes loads of football, which is what we all want. One assumes fathers will be visited later for some bonding over this mighty fine World Cup. Anyone got a decent gift from their offspring? I got nothing, mainly due to me having zero kids. My father, in turn, will receive two-course meal as a gift later, if he wants dessert he’ll have to pay himself.
Anyway...away from the mistakes and Daniel’s Vitamix (please send me one in the post), we should get back to today’s action in Russia.
Aleks Kolarov, famed for his thwacking of the football, is trying to get us all in the mood for Serbia’s grand clash with Costa Rica in a bit.
If we play to our potential, are honest among ourselves, as we have been these three weeks, then we can do something.
Sunday’s game will determine how important the subsequent games will be - I hope that we will get a good result and it will mean a lot if we win.
I will tell the younger players to stay calm and enjoy their football because this is a huge opportunity for the 23 of us to represent our country.
Qualifying for Russia was a great success, we are here on merit, but we are not going to be satisfied merely by being here, we want to go a step further.
That Troost-Ekong bloke did not have a great evening against Croatia yesterday. I hope it had nothing to do with our interview last month...
I will try to bring enjoyment but let’s not be too optimistic. One man more likely to bring entertainment is Paul Doyle, who has written about Tunisia.
Anyway, that’s about me. Will Unwin will take over for the next little bit, so enjoy him. Bye!
“Germany may not have a transcendent player - but does the Mannschaft need one?” asks Silke Sessler.
“A team like Portugal certainly depends on a figure like Ronaldo. And we have all seen in 2014 how much Brazil depended then on Neymar.
A team like Germany plays as a team.
Mind you, I am not saying the Germans are going to win it! But what English fans seem to have a problem with is that Germany’s team works differently from a lot of other teams - the individual is not of that much importance.
We need good players, we have good players. They need the will to win it. I am not that sure about that, yet. They need team-spirit. We will have to see how much they have found themselves as a team.
But do they need a lead-act? No. Anyone can become the lead-act in each game. If the opponent takes one player effectively out of the game (not talking unfair methods here, just a good working defence) another will step in. That is the strength of the team-approach.
If you have one leading figure and that man gets injured or has a bad day or is caught out by the opponent’s defence, that is that.”
I don’t have a problem with it at all - you win how you win. But most World Cups are won by teams with that individual – Germany had Walter and Rahn in 1954, Beckenbauer and Muller in 1974, and Matthaus in 1990. They didn’t have that individual in 2014, but the competition is better now.
“When I was in my formative years I think I did reassess my life after some horribly wrong refereeing decisions,” emails Phil Grey. “I was 13 when Joe Jordan’s infamous handball won Scotland a crucial penalty against Wales. After all those children’s books and Disney films it does come as quite a shock when you see the villain get away with it and win in the end. And I was 18 when Harald Schumacher went totally unpunished for attacking Battiston. Those moments can actually change your worldview.”
Luckily it’s only football. In politics, at least, the good guys always win.
Football!
STEMNING i Parken da Danmark satte inn 1-0 🔈#2vm pic.twitter.com/kKXpd2a5TG
— TV 2 Sporten (@2sporten) June 16, 2018
“I’m guessing,” emails Sean McGurrin, “Costa Rica 0-1 Serbia, Germany 1-0 Mexico, Brazil 3-0 Switzerland.
Yep, I too reckon we’re in for another feast of attacking football. Germany might scrounge one more and Serbia might not score at all.
We’re football-146. Check this on Serbia, who feature in today’s first game.
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Ooooh yeah.
Iceland, then. They really know what they’re about, don’t they? What I love about them is how appalling annoying they must be to play against, like the kid in the playground who didn’t buy your dummies or feints but just got in the way, yet at the same time I’d quite enjoy watching them get gubbed 37-0.
Here’s Darren Anderton, writing for us on playing in World Cups – Worlds Cup – and England starting against Tunisia.
Belgium: absolutely cannot be trusted to win big games, never mind a succession of them. May well finish second in their group; my dark horses.
France: amazing squad, unamazing manager, look clueless, hope their good players will make something happen.
Spain: best in possession but nowhere near as impregnable as when they had the greatest midfield of all-time. A serious contender, but a good team may well punish their defence.
Germany: Know they can do it, lack a transcendent individual.
Brazil: Settled, have a star, but who knows how they’ll perform when it gets real.
Argentina: Clueless, but have brilliant attackers and Messi.
I’m going with Brazil and wouldn’t be shocked if it was Spain but would be relatively surprised were it any of the others, unless France fluke the correct combination of players.
So who’s going to win the World Cup? My rationale is as follows:
I enjoyed this.
My little offering on that boy Ronaldo. https://t.co/3WhRqkjLgi
— Michael Gibbons (@mikewgibbons) June 17, 2018
What’s your favourite blender? I have a Vitamix, and can’t recommend it highly enough. I have just procured myself some green juice because I am not yet mature enough to eat vegetables. In it one can find: kale, spinach, grapes, ginger, blueberries, cucumber, apples. Of these, ginger is the only one I would consume in non-liquidised form. I’d better stay away from freak yachting accidents, basically.
I wrote about the wonder of football, the wonder of the World Cup, and what we can do about its specific circumstances on this occasion.
Why should we allow the arseholes of humanity to rob us of its finest aspect? @DanielHarris on Russia 2018. https://t.co/s3n9zgna0M
— New Statesman (@NewStatesman) June 13, 2018
Read an interview with reality TV star, John Barnes, who is thoughtful and interesting on race.
Updated
Back to pluralisation:
*Vidukae
— Tom Evans (@TomEvansEcho) June 17, 2018
“Viduks” is one of my favourite football nicknames.
Remind yourself of yesterday’s VAR romance.
Who's with VAR here?#WorldCup #bbcworldcup pic.twitter.com/07s2rGgOwZ
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) June 17, 2018
Sake.
Maradona not so cool now. Some South Korea fans just shouted “Diego” and he obliged with a smile, kiss and wave. Then pulled his eyes to the side in a clearly racist gesture. All of us who saw it are stunned.
— Jacqui Oatley (@JacquiOatley) June 16, 2018
Stats versus Eyes dept: I thought Messi was crowded out yesterday, and if you miss a penalty at 1-1 – your chance to define the match – and it finishes 1-1, then you almost necessarily played badly because that’s how football works. Which isn’t to blame him for Argentina’s apparent lack of gameplan and wingers.
Player ratings show Messi [6 shots - 42 deep zone touches - 13/18 dribbles] had a very good game, though the missed penalty will dominate memory.
— 11tegen11 (@11tegen11) June 17, 2018
Lack of a support cast is clear, as has been the story of Argentina for a long while.
They were better with Banega, it seems. pic.twitter.com/9LEaGyqVzk
Today is Jordan Henderson’s birthday. Hope old Gazzreth has got the jelly and ice cream in.
Updated
I’ve just seen this that Jesseh Lingard said this: “Southgate has come in with the mentality to play with freedom, play without fear, and you will enjoy your time more. So, as a group of players that is what we are going to do, enjoy our football, play with no fear and play exciting football.”
It’s hard not to wonder if he’s comparing.
Updated
“Sky sources”, or “the internet” as it’s sometimes called, understand that Harrance Maguire will play for England tomorrow, not Garrance Cahill. And I guess that makes sense - Maguire is much better on the ball, and his team should have plenty of it. Other hand, Tunisia will defend deep and, I’ll be betting, concede a fair few corners. Cahill is one of the best defenders I’ve ever seen when it comes to attacking the opposition box, so might still have been useful.
England have had some races in training – Sterling beat Alexander-Arnold – and they’ve also played some Kabaddi. Back in the day, West Bengal were my team.
“I’m still fuming over a decision that went against Charlton in 2007,” tweets Richard Hunt. “TBF, the subsequent pain since that season might have something to do with it. I’ll seek help.”
Yes - I feel you, but wonder if it’s the aformentioned pain about which you’re fuming rather than the decision itself.
And no slacking on the bench either.
Updated
Peru’s anthem was easily the best rendered so far.
Adam Collins’ report from Sophia Gardens yesterday has a fair old bit of football #content.
BREAKING NEWS: Middlesbrough have offered £5m for Sundarland’s Paddy McNair. More as I get it.
Updated
Also in Russia...
RIVER OF BLOOD: Arctic river turns RED after nickel processing plant LEAKS into waters https://t.co/Z12d67LVwn
— Svein T veitdal (@tveitdal) June 17, 2018
A SHOCKING ‘river of blood’ has appeared on satellite pictures as pollution spews from Siberian nickel processing plant. pic.twitter.com/iwFmDK6lKn
My own view on this: if a refereeing error, in a football match, is something which bothers you more than five minutes after the game has ended, then you might want to reassess your life. And I say that as someone who has and does dedicate significant swathes of their life to writing about, thinking about, watching and watching their team play football.
VAR is really killing the tedium of tedious debate, isn’t it? Here’s Barney Ronay on that.
Did you watch the Scotland ’78 doc on BBC? If not, you should and can, here.
This, from the director, just made me chuckle. Sitting in a room on my bill.
One story I couldn’t verify for #Scotland78 documentary....
— John MacL (@Celticsleftwing) June 16, 2018
The legend is that on the night that #Peru beat #Scotland Glasgow Zoo stationed a guard on the llama enclosure
So what’s the state of play with this World Cup then? We’ve now seen eight games and only one of them’s been any use, but dearie me, how much use was it? More or less, that’s because it was a knockout played in the group stages, which bodes well. In 2014 and 2002, the group stages were excellent but the knockouts were mainly rubbish, which this time ought not to be so. We’ll get a decent selection of attacking teams who’ll back themselves, and it’s those knockouts that, in the end, determine whether or not a World Cup is a classic. There are some poor teams to filter first, but from the last 16 onwards there should be some belters.
Nemanja Matic reckons Serbia will be focusing on the “details”. As someone who watched him a lot last season, I’d recommend that he also took note of the basics, such as “running fast” and “passing accurately”.
🗣 "Details will be the difference, and that will be our approach"@FSSrbije expect an equal opponent in #CRC, according to Nemanja Matic. #CRCSRB pic.twitter.com/atv62KyfV7
— FIFA World Cup 🏆 (@FIFAWorldCup) June 17, 2018
So today we have for ourselves:
Group E: Costa Rica v Serbia (1pm BST)
Group F: Germany v Mexico (4pm BST)
Group E: Brazil v Switzerland (7pm BST)
Er, ok then! Don’t mind if I do!
Talking of which...
I’ve just read this on the sad story of Lucas Neill. I recommend it, and as a bonus we get to enjoy some excellent puralisation from Stan Lazaridis:
“Of his 96 caps, he probably only had one or two average games. You’d put him up there with the Vidukas, Schwarzers, Kewells and Cahills.”
Updated
There is no phrase in sport more evocative than “from the England camp”. Sadly it is not, this time, suffixed by “in Baden-Baden” but we fet what we get and don’t get upset. So here we are, live “from the England camp”.
We are LIVE as the #ThreeLions prepare for their final training session ahead of facing Tunisia... https://t.co/iML4aJcoUq
— England (@England) June 17, 2018
Morning all! And welcome to yet another day of wondrous football. It’s not such a bad old life.
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Before I pass the liveblog baton into the safe hands of Daniel Harris, I’ll leave you with this beauty on how Brazil went from zeroes to heroes in the blink of an eye.
Catch you next time.
Once again Javier Hernandez will be central to Mexico’s hopes of maintaining its streak of progressing out of the group phase, albeit in a different role to previous tournaments.
Germany begin their World Cup defence against Mexico at the Luhzniki Stadium. Mexico have made the last 16 at the past six finals, a record that could have been better but for an England-like ability to shoot themselves in the foot.
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But while Germany’s record of reaching at least the semi-finals of every major tournament since 2005 sounds intimidating, all might not be what it seems underneath the hood. “We’ve done a marvellous job over the last 15 years but we’re now at the crossroads again,” suggests Thomas Hitzlsperger in this terrific piece from Donald McRae.
As well as Brazil, Germany are in action for the first time today and Austrian defender Sebastian Prödl reckons Die Mannschaft are playing catch-up to their South American rivals at this early stage of the tournament.
Brazil’s opening opponents in Group E are Switzerland, which means another chance for Granit Xhaka to lock horns with Neymar and continue a long-standing rivalry.
Updated
Looking ahead to today’s fixtures, naturally there’s a focus on Brazil. David Hytner has investigated Tite’s rotating captaincy policy and how the coach prospers with “inner peace”.
Updated
Ok, time to lighten the mood. Brazil are in action later so why not have a crack at selecting your all-time Selecao XI. It’s not easy, but it’s great fun.
If you need inspiration, Cafu’s XI is here:
“There had to come a time when tech intervened, lest the mob on the injured side of an obviously incorrect decision take it out on everything in their path as they crash their way through the exits,” argues Joey H.
As sadly true as that is wouldn’t it be better if we all learned to deal with the fallibility of officials and the disappointment of watching our teams lose football matches? VAR doesn’t claim to introduce 100% accuracy, so mistakes and controversy will still occur, but we’ve now also introduced this artificial disruption to the equation.
And it should be pointed out we are far from the point of VAR being infallible.
On the positive side of the VAR debate, decisions have been mercifully efficient so far at Russia 2018, noticeably more direct than in the A-League trial.
One of the major flaws in the system has been the time it takes to invoke the VAR protocols and communicate them to fans inside stadiums. It’s not the greatest hardship for viewers on TV to endure a few extra replays and a little confusion narrated by a commentary team, but when it’s playing out on-field to a paying audience with no idea what’s going on it can become farcical.
And that real-time experience is crucial to understanding opposition to VAR from some participants in the A-League trial. The doubt it has introduced to the split second after a goal has been scored is robbing matches of atmosphere. Football has precious few moments of unbridled joy and VAR risks restraining them.
Or as Danny Baker put it:
This fucking VAR. It's like we're all guests at their football match. An arid, soulless, clockwork orange wrestling the vitality out of one of the most spirited unfettered spectacles on earth. I'll take fallible freewheeling human spectacle over dreary rigid formality any day.
— Danny Baker (@prodnose) June 16, 2018
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“Why can’t teams request use of VAR, as they can in cricket/tennis etc, with a limit on the number of appeals?” asks Andrew Benton. “Then the decision to use it is made by the teams themselves.”
A consideration raised by Tom Heywood:
@JPHowcroft I'm struggling to understand why VAR wasn't tested with offfield refs making decisions and onfield captains having reviews. This changes the dynamic with the onus being on the team and the pressure off the onfield ref.
— Tom Heywood (@deaftom1) June 17, 2018
I don’t have the answer, but I can direct everyone to the masterplan for VAR: www.theifab.com/projects/vars/background-scope where greater understanding can be gleaned. The key phrase is “minimum interference – maximum benefit”.
The aim of the experiment is not to achieve 100% accuracy for all decisions as there is no desire to destroy the essential flow and emotions of football which result from the game’s almost non-stop action and the general absence of lengthy stoppages. The philosophy is: “minimum interference – maximum benefit”.”
I contributed (badly, it has to be said) to this video about the implementation of VAR in various leagues around the world. Australia’s A-League has been FIFA’s canary down the mineshaft and anyone who has followed the trial would surely have to conclude it is not yet fit for purpose. It’s improving, sure, and there are obvious benefits (as explained by Paolo Bandini) but for me the pros remain outweighed by the cons.
Regarding the France penalty...regardless of whether Risdon got the ball his contact was in a different movement to the initial tackle. Surely it becomes a penalty regardless because of that motion.
— WaterfallpoiMonkey (@Wtrfallpoimonky) June 17, 2018
I’m inclined to agree with you, although I confess I have not heard yet from a referee on the subject to confirm. Likewise there’s an assumption that any touch on the ball, however faint, is sufficient to insure the tackler from punishment, which I am not convinced about.
Barney Ronay was charged with bringing the day’s various VAR controversies together, concluding: “VAR has offered us uncertainty and 50-50 judgment at one remove. We have simply kicked this endlessly tedious debate into some longer grass a little further off. The parameters have been narrowed. Obvious mistakes can be weeded out. But where once the subjectivity came on-field, now it comes in the VAR’s office.”
So what about VAR?
Didier Deschamps was unsurprisingly pragmatic about things in his post-match press conference. “I am not going to complain about VAR today because it was in our favour,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bert van Marwijk was spewing. “I saw him standing there [at the VAR console],” Van Marwijk said. “The body language was that he didn’t know – from my position. Then you have to take a decision: France or Australia. It is very difficult to decide – for a referee with 50,000 people on his back, he must decide when he is doubting. On the other side, I think he was standing very close to the moment of the penalty and he directly said no penalty, he directly said go on. He is also a human being, so everybody makes mistakes. But when you are 100% for sure that is no penalty and then you go and you doubt. You have to ask him.”
Australia turned in a decent shift in their opening match, executing Bert van Marwijk’s strategy superbly. The lack of cutting edge did mean that however resolutely they defended the chances of them troubling France were always going to be limited. The challenge now is to tweak the model enough to score the goals they have to find in a crunch match against Denmark.
Argentina were not the only big name to underwhelm on day three. France somehow escaped from their match with Australia with three points despite turning in a performance that made you wonder if it was the first time some of the players had met each other, so poor was the synergy in the vaunted midfield and attack.
That France did creep over the finish line owed plenty to the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee. For the first time in World Cup history the on-field referee reversed his decision with the aid of video technology. The outcome was a penalty for Les Bleus, handing the otherwise disappointing Antoine Griezmann his opening goal of the tournament. Debate raged over whether the penalty was justified and in particular whether the evidence was clear enough to overturn the original decision.
All of that is of course common knowledge to anybody with ears, such is the popularity of lovingly patronising the Nordic battlers.
Iceland began its debut World Cup in style yesterday, holding Lionel Messi’s Argentina to a 1-1 draw. It was a result that did little to inspire confidence that Argentina could secure its first major trophy since 1993.
Did you know, Iceland’s population is less than 350,000 and they’re the smallest nation to qualify for the World Cup? They also do this clap thingy you might be interested in.
The same goes for Denmark’s somewhat fortunate victory over Peru. Although this was a terrific football match with no shortage of incident, including a visit from our old friend VAR. More on which to come.
In the spirit of John Robins and Elis James I think we should tick off a few tastes before really digging into something hearty. I mean, does anybody really want to fill up on Croatia vs. Nigeria?
Sure, it’s an excellent three points for Luka Modric and co. but when the main story of a match is how abject the defeated side proved to be (see Exhibit A: Russia 5-0 Saudi Arabia) it might be best to park a fulsome discussion of both countries until later in the tournament.
Where shall we begin? How about by looking back on yesterday’s action: four games, eight goals and endless controversy.
The Football Weekly massive have bravely digested that feast of football and battled through the inevitable postprandial haze to communicate everything you need to know, in podcast form. The 40-minute show is ideal in duration to take an adult labrador for a stroll through a suburban park. I know, because that’s what I did shortly before signing on here.
Welcome to Day Four
Hello everybody and welcome to the start of day four of Russia 2018.
It’s a day that promises plenty with the first sightings of heavyweights Germany and Brazil. None of the other strongly fancied teams have stamped their authority on this World Cup yet so a statement performance from either perennial contender could lay down a marker to the rest of the competition.
Brazil feature against Switzerland in the last of three matches. Before that we’ve got Germany taking on Mexico. And before that Costa Rica and Serbia meet in what’s sure to be a barnburner as a consequence of so many fans sacrificing it in favour of completing basic life admin tasks that have been put on hold during this weekend orgy of football.
There’s no shortage of talking points from day three to churn through as well, not least the debut of Video Assistant Referees at a World Cup. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of correspondence to get through on that subject, so feel free to email or tweet me about VAR or anything else Mundial related you want to discuss.
