Right, that’s me signing off and heading out into the sunshine (if that’s the yellow stuff which has been glaring on the screen when the football’s on). Enjoy the rest of REST DAY and be back tomorrow for:
France v Argentina in the Kazan Arena from 3pm
then
Uruguay v Portugal in the Sochi Olympic Stadium from 7pm
I’ll leave you with a couple of interesting recent comments from below the line and this helpful instalment of our very own The Knowledge, which examined the (very true!) ITV curse in great detail (thanks for the tip off, Chris D Powell)
Deschamps is a good coach for France. I remember France when Zidane was injured or when he finished his career. They had great players but couldn't win matches. Deschamps brought some order to the great talent that French players have. They made 7 points at the group stage, same as Brasil and more than Spain, Brasil or Germany. Still think they are one of the favourites.
Stick it where the sun don’t shine I have received a fair number of promotional emails today, hoping for a mention in the blog (hi there Liam Grant, looking for a mention simply to help his last day at work go quicker). Most of them I’ve been happy to ignore but there was one detail in a study paid for by William Hill that caught my eye. Monitoring the changing cost of being a World Cup fan over the years, the study finds the thing that has seen by far the biggest price inflation is FOOTBALL STICKERS.
Children (or should that be parents) face the highest price increases; in Panini Football Stickers. Back in 2002, a packet of 5 stickers cost just 30p. Today, those 5 stickers cost 80p; an increase of 167% and a staggering 66% above inflation.
The Curse of ITV Geoff Savage emails from Birmingham:
One thing no one seems to have factored in to the whole “advantages of finishing first or second in the group” calculation, is which broadcaster is covering which game. By coming second and getting the Colombia tie, England now find themselves on ITV, whilst Belgium v Japan is BBC. Looking at England’s world cup performance stats for matches on ITV v those on BBC, it’s pretty clear that the Monday game would have been by far the most preferable outcome. Never mind Colombia’s technical excellence and attacking threat, the ITV curse is all that will be needed to finish us off!
It’s my understanding that ITV have first pick on round of 16 matches and so England were always going to be on with them. BBC gets the QF choice should there be one.
As for this curse, I must profess to ignorance so I wrote back to Geoff for some more detail:
Since 1982, England have only won 1 from somewhere in the region of 11/12 (can’t quite recall the exact figure) of the group stage matches shown by ITV. On the BBC their group stage record is 10 from about 12/13. I’m pretty sure the ITV knockout phase record isn’t much better either (though since England’s knockout record is so poor that it might unbalance the data from later rounds anyway). Certainly the last time we had a decent looking team playing attractive football, ITV scuppered it in the ‘98 Argentina game.
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Deschamp speaks and it sounds like he’s on the defensive:
“I’m not looking for excuses for the critics following the group stage matches. There were 14 players in our squad who had never played at a World Cup when we faced Australia, some newcomers started against Denmark, too. They lacked experience. We’re back to square one in the knockout stage... Some teams that performed great in the group stage were crashed out after the first round of the knockout stage. We remember that
“I’m happy to train the French national team for more than six years. We’ve made it to the Euro finals, we’ve had many great matches... I care about tomorrow’s game most.”
Where there’s a Wilson, there’s a way I don’t know about you, but for me the opening paragraph of Jonathan Wilson’s Germany South Korea match report was a tournament standout.
This, then, is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper. There are certain events so apocalyptic that it feels they cannot just happen. They should be signalled beneath thunderous skies as owls catch falcons and horses turn and eat themselves. At the very least there should be a sense of fury, of thwarted effort, of energies exhausted. And yet Germany went out of the World Cup in the first round for the first time in 80 years on a pleasantly sunny afternoon with barely a flicker of resistance. There was no Sturm. There was no Drang.
Here’s J-Wil’s latest, a column on Javier Mascherano and how he has dragged them into the knockout stages, despite playing badly himself
So near and yet so VAR As part of a bigger chat-a-long with the media, FIFA have also fronted up on VAR, with chairman of refereeing Pierluigi Collina, taking the lead.
The world’s first celebrity referee had some interesting things to say, including this qualification on whether players should be getting booked for making the ‘TV screen’ gesture with their fingers as they demand some sweet sweet VAR
Tariq Panja of the New York Times reports:
Collina says as long as players don't make TV screen gesture demanding VAR in a blatant manner it's okay not to book them. I'm wondering what a non-blatant gesture for a TV screen looks like. Same as a non-blatant imaginary yellow card gesture?
— tariq panja (@tariqpanja) June 29, 2018
Rafa Honigstein, ex of this parish, elaborates
why no yellow card for people asking for VAR with gestures? Collina: "The reason to caution is not the gesture itself, more the manner it is make. some players don't speak the language of ref. if not made in arrogant, disrespectful manner, ref did not waste yellow cards"
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) June 29, 2018
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Didier Deschamps’ France are first up in the round of 16. The French boss has been speaking to the media and I’ll try and find some quotes. He’s had his job guaranteed by the President of the French FA whatever happens, so we can look forward to a liberated attacking display tomorrow?
In French team news, Benjamin Mendy is out against Argentina with a muscle problem.
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Absolute Kante
On the subject of Teams of the Group Stage (TOGS), Steve Hoare writes:
“Why is everyone picking Kante? Just ‘cos well, it’s Kante therefore he’s an obligatory pick? I think he’s looked as average as the rest of the France team so far. Can’t we have Herrera in the enforcer role? I didn’t see the Sweden game but that aside he’s been pretty good.”
Steve asks a good question, follows it up with an accusation of bias (it’s obligatory in 2k18) then makes a good suggestion. For me Kante, against both Oz and especially Peru, was the difference between France eking out a narrow win and dropping points. In a lop-sided team he was required to provide defensive balance all by himself and it’s a tribute to his abilities (not least of which is the reading of play) that he has been able to do it. Herrera was outstanding against Germany, but less so against Sweden where Mexico were minutes from going out.
BREAKING (someone’s face with an accidental elbow): Marouane Fellaini signs a new two year deal with Manchester United
Marouane Fellaini has signed a new #MUFC contract which runs until June 2020, with the option to extend for a further year.
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) June 29, 2018
Full details: https://t.co/aC01F3JIDs pic.twitter.com/oFvKHSPxyw
Thought he was by far the biggest attacking threat for Belgium B last night ...
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A combative team of the group stage here, with a front two that would frighten you, from Joao Pereira in Portugal:
Goalkeeper: Cho Hyun-Woo
Defenders: Lucas Hernandez; Thiago Silva; Yerri Mina; Vrsaljko
Midfielders: Kante; Modric; Coutinho; Hector Herrera
Attackers: Ronaldo; Diego Costa
Paul is back to take you through the afternoon, you’ll be pleased to know. Happy football-free day!
My highlights of yesterday’s games were Davinson Sanchez’s perfect challenge on Sadio Mane and Shinji Okazaki’s attempt to run off a niggle last about 30 seconds of the second-half. Two wonderful moments.
Was Sanchez’s tackle the best of the tournament so far?
In an attempt to compete with Diego Maradona, England maverick Paul Gascoigne has got himself in trouble for saying naughty words on BCC Radio 5 Live. After Gazza quipped that he could beat Chris Chrissy Waddle at goal, Waddle told Gascoigne to “start talking proper now”, to which the Italia ’90 blubberer said: “I’m a Geordie, how the f*** can I speak ... ooh sorry, how can I speak properly?”
Bad Gazza
Captain competition time …
For legal reasons: there are no prizes.
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Despite the loss last night, these England fans are, unsurprisingly, pretty optimistic …
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No football today and to make matter worse I am missing all the games tomorrow as some of my selfish friends are getting married. I am also reliably informed that Michael Portillo will be in attendance, which is galling.
Lucas has emailed in his team
“Yes I’m doing this at work I know …”
Sommer (Swiss)
Lichsteiner – Godin – Thiago Silva – Augustinsson (Sweden)
Kanté – Modric
Coutinho – Messi – Hazard
Kane
(Messi only for the goal he scored against Nigeria)
Do not worry about work, Lucas, this is far more important.
Updated
More lovely stuff from World Cup winner Jorge Valdano on football and it being anti-science
ITV’s staff are using the day off to play five-a-side. Having seen some footage of this, it has resulted in a final between Mark Clattenburg’s team and one captained by Ryan Giggs. Despite the Welshman converting a penalty in the shootout, his side could not get the better of Clatts et al. Will this result in another tattoo for the big man?
In another fixture, Gary Neville bagged a penalty but Iain Dowie saw his effort from the spot saved, resulting in a loss for his side. Poor Iain.
Good news! We tasked out writers with coming up with things they have learned from the final set of group games. . .
Paul tasked me with coming up with my tam of the tournament so far - here is my effort …
Olsen
Akanji Granqvist Stones
Casemiro Kante
Modric
Ronaldo Isco Coutinho
Kane
Updated
As Paul heads off to find the freshest falafel in London, I (Will Unwin) will be taking over for the luncheon period.
Something to do at lunch
As suggested to me by my close personal friend Jihong Lee, Professor of Economics at Seoul National University, here is my team of the group stage. What is yours? Post in the comments or email me.
It’s a 4-3-3 by the way
Allison
Trippier Godin Mina Nagatomo
Modric, Kante, Coutinho
Ronaldo, Lukaku, Isco
Updated
I see that the England “debate” is still going strong – in the comments, my inbox and on Twitter.
My tuppence worth: England didn’t play to lose that game last night, but they made the result an order of second importance to resting players. Most coaches having won their first two group games would opt to do the same. Our opponents did the same. The reason for doing it was in order to give us the best chance of winning our first knockout game. I don’t think anyone in the England camp has said anything about this tie other than that it would be a real challenge, whoever we played. England, as Gareth Southgate keeps saying, have not won a knockout round game in 12 years. There is no doubt that Colombia will post a real challenge for England, and that we are not favourites to win. Creating a narrative that, if we do lose, it would be because we chucked away momentum is great because it could never be disproved. It’s also pretty arrogant. And yet it seems like the argument against resting is that it was arrogant!
Right, on to more fun things …
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FIFA gonna getcha!
Out in Russia all is going swimmingly: it’s been a good tournament, with upsets and late goals a-plenty; there’s been no violence whatsoever; fans have been having a great time (especially Latin American ones); VAR has yet to blow up spectacularly. No wonder Gianni and Vladimir are always smiling!
So hurrah for FIFA. They gave a media briefing this morning and a couple of interesting things have come out of it. First of all there has been a doping update which, according to the BBC’s Richard Conway, included the following details:
#WorldCup
— Richard Conway (@richard_conway) June 29, 2018
Over 2700 doping tests conducted so far. Fifa say every player attending the tournament tested at least once.
4 players at every match tested, sample sent to WADA accredited lab in Switzerland.
No anti-doping violations to date.
Secondly, Fifa’s “director of competitions” Colin Smith stonewalled any complaints about the use of “fair play” criteria to rank teams when they are level on points, goals and head-to-head records after Senegal went out in favour of Japan yesterday.
The Africans became the first team in World Cup history to exit the tournament because of their inferior disciplinary record in Group H. Senegal have not complained, however, and Smith said:
We want to avoid the drawing of lots as we believe teams should go forward based on what happens on the pitch. This is the first time we’ve used it at a World Cup, so obviously we’ll review it but as things stand we don’t see any need to change it.”
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REST DAY activity. Try this quiz, filling the missing blanks in classic World Cup teams:
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Some England bits now.
First off the FA have confirmed that Fabian Delph has left the camp to attend the birth of his third child. I’m assuming that means he’ll be back before Tuesday.
Secondly, Martin Gamage emails about the keeping situation:
I don’t have a particular issue with England fielding a changed team last night. As Adrian (9:50) says, Southgate is damned either way. Where I do have an issue is with not changing the goalkeeper either (although I note that Martinez didn’t either). But then Courtois’ position in the team is more sure than Jordan Pickford’s. I really don’t think Pickford was impressive last night. He had two or three fumbles and arguably should have saved Januzaj’s shot. Surely it would have made sense to give Butland and Pope a half each. I know Southgate likes Pickford because of his distribution and getting involved in playing out from the back but I would rather have a keeper who saves the shots and doesn’t parry the ball straight back into his box. Anything else I’d regard as a bonus.”
An argument for Pickford’s removal? Certainly some strong words. For my money the Everton keeper has been named the number one and that’s why he played, Get him more minutes, more time getting used to the system. As for his performance, there has been some criticism of Pickford for the way he attempted to save Adnan Januzaj’s strike that led to the only goal of the game. It has been suggested he was both in the wrong starting position and attempted the save with the wrong hand (his left while the ball was going right).
Keeper turned pundit David Preece had some thoughts on this on Twitter last night:
Look, I know I have a self-interest in this and bang on about it constantly, but it’s what I want to do. For how big a role a goalkeeper players in the decisive moments of a game, the analysis like tonight proves there’s a need for an improvement.
— David Preece (@davidpreece12) June 28, 2018
Meanwhile, in the comments, Insperationless writes:
Suddenly and quite unexpectedly Tripper looks to be one of, if not, England's most vital player. Our new found proficiency at set pieces evaporated last night. It appears rather than a new wonderfully organised and drilled approach to set pieces England simply found a player who is good at delivering corners and free kicks.
This is an opinion I have a lot of time for. While it’s an English habit to become obsessed about players who were hitherto an afterthought is an English habit (think Owen Hargreaves in 2006), Kieran Trippier’s positioning and delivery were mint in the opening two games. Trent Alexander-Arnold has received positive coverage on his competitive debut last night and quite rightly. But there was a discernible difference in the quality of the set plays last night, in my opinion, and Trippier will surely return against Colombia.
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SQUIRES ALERT
Our cartoonist has filed …
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Here’s the Goat in training today, having a scratch (or maybe practicing Ronaldo’s goal celebration)
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Jacob Whitehead has some thoughts on what to do with this REST DAY. One of those is to scroll through ‘football Instagram’, something I could not advise against more strongly.
Feedback is already flooding in. I’ve got a message from Aaron Sheehan about the League of Ireland (not today, not today) and something from Neema Eliya which just reads “W wwwfa” (thanks mate)
Krishna Moorthy has both emailed and messaged me on Twitter (breaking the recipe rule already) to ask:
“If and that is one big IF Portugal and Argentina meet in QF the greatest question doing the rounds 10 or 7 can be put to rest But is it ever an even contest: it is equivalent to an exquisite fencer meeting Thanos?”
First of all Krishna, I like the imagery. Ronaldo as Thanos I can definitely see. Messi as a fencer? Not so sure. The man can do more damage with his feet than a blade with a cork on the end (they put corks on the end, right?). It’s a duel everyone would like to see but, as you observe, Argentina have to beat France and Portugal Uruguay for this to have a chance of happening.
The first two last 16 games take place tomorrow and I have to say I find them difficult to call. The early kickoff, France and Argentina, is tricky simply because France have yet to turn up. Argentina, meanwhile, might have turned a corner with a more committed performance against Nigeria and that late winner from Marcus Rojo. On balance, I’m leaning towards France but I think anything could happen. In the latter tie – Uruguay v Portugal – I’m backing the South Americans. They have three big men – Cavani, Suarez and Godin – compared to Portugal’s one (I have downgraded Pepe) and all are in form.
So basically I’m saying the duel is not gonna happen. And if it did, Ronaldo would win.
Updated
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening. Unless you’re in Senegal in which case you probably still have the curtains closed and are refusing to get out of bed with no clue what the time is. I sympathise with all Senegalese today, and Nigerians too to be fair. No African side in the last 16 is a loss and both sides showed enough to be deserving of a knock-out chance.
So here we are then: REST DAY. I’ll be reposting old Guardian content and stealing good ideas from the internet for the duration today and it would be great to hear from you too. Post below the line in the comments, obviously, or email me on paul.macinnes@theguardian.com. Don’t use my Twitter, that’s just for exchanging recipe tips.
And with that, I’ll hand you over to Paul MacInnes. Thanks for your comments and attention. Bye.
Mexico’s bunny-hopping legend Cuahtemoc Blanco is now embroiled in the country’s murky politics. David Gendelman takes up the story here:
A couple more emails from you the public: on the bookies’ prices, from Jordan Devine: “As much as I dislike Ronaldo, Pepe et al, I’m baffled that they’re 25-1 for the outright win. This is the same team that won a major tournament two years ago. With a proven goalscoring talisman (who may or may not have sold his soul to the devil). I wonder if someone might explain to me how England are 7-1 in comparison?” A reflection of where the money’s going isn’t it? And The Market is never wrong. Ever.
And on the England over-reaction problem, from Adrian:
“Surely Gareth Southgate is dammed if he does and dammed if he doesn’t. Think about what could happen/could’ve happened.
Play strong team, still get beat by Belgium - England are rubbish.
Play strong team, win group, beat Japan, lose to Brazil - Should have finished second.
Play strong team, Harry Kane gets injured - You’re an idiot Southgate.
Play weak team, lose, lose to Colombia - England are rubbish.
In other words, unless we reach the semi finals, people will moan. Just like every other world cup I can remember.”
So what are Colombia making of all this? They’ve had a curious campaign – decent against Japan before running out of steam due to their early sending-off, electrifying against Poland, unimpressive against Senegal but grinding out a win. Here’s something from Reuters on how they see things going into the England tie:
England hold no fear for World Cup last 16 opponents Colombia, said the South American side’s coach José Pekerman, who is relishing the prospect of the “full on, to-the-death” knockout phase of the tournament …
While Pekerman was impressed with England’s opening displays in the tournament, he was confident his side could get through to the quarter-finals, where either Sweden or Switzerland would be waiting.
“I definitely think England have what it takes to do well, but it will be a match in which Colombia is going to be confident of playing at a high level and getting a good result,” he told reporters.
“We know that any team that reaches the last 16 is good, we are talking about the best 16 teams in the world,” he added.
“Obviously England can have a good day or an even better day. England is a young team, has a lot of harmony and you can tell they have a lot of faith in themselves …
“Now a different kind of match is heading our way, these will be completely full-on, to the death matches, win or you are out. These are extreme situations.”
Pekerman’s side were largely second best for much of their match against Senegal and had to play 60 minutes without talisman James Rodriguez, who was substituted in the first half with an injury.
The Colombia coach said he was “extremely concerned” about the player’s fitness but was pleased that the team rose to the occasion to snatch the win against Senegal.
“I want to highlight that all my players played well and at a high level,” Pekerman said.
“When you prepare a team you look at the upcoming game and are very focused. These incidents (Rodriguez injury) can give you a very hard time so what we did was very extraordinary, especially when you think about the team we were playing.”
Updated
“Expecting England to win a world cup is like eating a bowl of soup with a fork,” writes JohnTest below the line, channeling The Day Today’s Jacques “Jacques” Liverot. “And every 4 years, we rock up with a fork. The fork in question of course is the players, schooled from a very young age using coaching methods that were rejected 40 years ago by most of the continent.”
Slightly harsh given England’s more refreshed and refreshing approach of late though it is true to say that they’ve not been properly tested yet. Meanwhile, a response to John Enevoldsen (9:16) from Benedict Dries-Jenkins: “… while I see his point, Denmark and France essentially stopped playing football in the latter stages of their game while the same cannot be said of last night’s second strings. Furthermore, France and Denmark’s result could have had ramifications for Australia, unlikely though that was at that point. I think that is what galls about such gamesmanship (and that of Japan yesterday). I am not saying I condone England’s and Belgium’s approaches, but it had no direct consequences for others in the same way.”
There is indeed a rich irony in Japan being rewarded for “fair play” by abandoning the basic tenet of the game – trying to win a football match. Ludicrous rule that, in my opinion.
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Facts of the day: the 2018 World Cup has already smashed records in a 32-team tournament for the number of late goals, penalties and own goals, the Press Association tells us. There have been 25 goals scored in the 85th minute or later, with France 98’s record of 24. There have been 24 penalties awarded this summer, with 18 scored - both record tallies. And the nine own goals scored to date beats the previous record of six set in 1998.
Back to last night’s sole talking point, here’s an email from John Enevoldsen: “Looking at the comments today, it seems that it was very smart and strategic for Gareth Southgate to rest some of his key players, and have the Belgium game played as a friendly.However, it was a disgrace and a shame to football when France did it against Denmark (at least according to the English press)?”
Updated
England’s training session today has been cancelled, now they’ve got an extra day before their next match. So Southgate has given them a day off.
Meanwhile, an email: “A couple of retorts to the India Brindle email (08:03),” counters Chris Sato. “First, Colombia have a huge traveling support in Russia and it will be like a home game for them. By contrast, there are few Japanese in Russia. Also, Colombia played their first game against Japan for 85 minutes with only 10 men, so that first loss can be be discounted - they look very good and their style of play will not suit England, unlike Japan.”
We’ve heard rather less, on these shores at least, from the perspective of Roberto Martínez, who after all made more changes to his first-choice XI than Southgate last night. Now that his team have only gone and won the group he had this to say:
“I don’t think you can plan the ideal scenario,” he said. “I don’t think that in the World Cup you can be successful by trying to hope to get an easy path. We saw that in the Euros two years ago [when Belgium were knocked out by Wales].
Martínez has been pleased with the spirit in his camp. “On the pitch, we were just thinking of having fun,” said the midfielder Youri Tielemans. “All those calculations weren’t something for us but for the press. Both halves of the draw are difficult. We showed that we are very competitive across the squad. We’re all good.”
Brussels newspaper Le Soir was a tad more forthright. “In a non-game that was hard to watch at times, England came out looking cynical and Belgium in the end decided not to sully their image,” it wrote.
Flemish daily De Standaard wrote: “The Red Devils showed they were sportsmanlike and ambitious and that they are afraid of no one – not even a quarter-final against Brazil.”
Morning from that London, where everywhere is abuzz with the raging argument about whether losing a football match is better than winning one. What do we reckon? Does the World Cup really only contain England, 14 beatable teams, plus completely unbeatable Brazil, as some of today’s headlines seem excitedly to imply?
Anyway, why you’re pondering all this, kick back and enjoy today’s World Cup Daily podcast with Max and the crew:
And with that, it’s time to hand over to London. Thanks for your company. Until next time.
We all know how expensive it can be to follow your team, especially an international team embarking on a World Cup adventure. But even if you’re just an armchair fan happy to buy a shirt and watch on TV, you still need deep pockets. Factor in kids and those pockets need to reach Mariani Trench depths. CupoNation has looked at the prices of offical World Cup team shirts, and compared them to an average daily income in different countries, with some interesting findings:
- Based on an average daily income, people in Europe need to work 1.4 days to afford an official jersey, 3.1 days in South America, 3.2 days in North America and 13.8 days in Africa
- If you are lucky to work in Switzerland or Denmark, it will take you only a half-day to earn enough money to buy a shirt
- Football fans in Senegal need to work 25.5 days to afford an official replica jersey, in Nigeria 13.7 days. Fans in Egypt should be ready to work for nine days to get a Mo Salah jersey
This is the kind of content you get on a non-match day during the World Cup.
Meanwhile:
On #WorldCup Football Daily later: @maxrushden is joined by @bglendenning + @Will_Unwin, with @Tim_Vickery on the phone. Any questions?
— Guardian sport (@guardian_sport) June 28, 2018
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Zlatan may not be at this World Cup in a playing capacity, but of course he’s having his say on things. And he reckons his fellow Swedes can go all the way and win the pot, which might not be the craziest thing ever to have emerged from his mouth.
“I said before the World Cup they’ll go far and they’ll probably win it. I’m very happy, proud to be Swedish, driving around with a Swedish flag, so, we hear them,” Ibrahimovic said, before, naturally, making it about him. “I took over the world, now Sweden are taking over the world.”
More just in from Gareth Southgate on his decision to rest so many players for the Belgium game. He says his entire squad understood and accepted his decision to make eight changes and he’s confident his first-choice side will have benefited from the rest when it comes to the knockout tie with Colombia.
Scott Murray has the latest transfer goss, with Chelsea apparently set to beat Liverpool to the prized signature of Brazil keeper Alisson, Marco Asensio closing on a big-money move to Anfield, and Manchester United in for straight-talking German Toni Kroos.
Time for an email before I scuttle off, from Indie Brindie. “Unlike former manager, Glenn Hoddle, who was babbling on about our boys needing to win, Southgate actually has a brain and cleverly rested our first team and got us into the easier half of the draw. His interview was telling.. ‘one eye on where we are going next.’ This is our best chance since Italia 90. Talk of whether Japan would be an easier team to face than Colombia is short-sighted and misses the point that if we can’t get past either of those teams then we don’t deserve to be in the QF. Let’s not forget that both Colombia and Sweden were going home before their last game. That’s how good they are. Southgate may have lost the battle last night but it’s the war he’s focused on and we’re in a much better strategic position now.”
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Wayne Rooney has flown to Washington to finalise a three-and-a-half-year contract with DC United. Andy Hunter pays tribute to a true England great:
“Without the fanfare that greeted his arrival as the most gifted English player in a generation or the acrimony of his first Everton exit, has brought his 16-year Premier League career to a close. Even so, and even with all eyes on Gareth Southgate’s new breed in Russia, it is a career that does not slip away unheralded.”
This is a mad and sad story. Iran striker Sardar Azmoun has reportedly retired from international football after the abuse he received in the wake of Iran’s failure to qualify from Group B made his mother ill. Azmoun, known as the “Iranian Messi”, is just 23.
“My mother had overcome a serious illness and I was happy,” said Azmoun. “Unfortunately because of the unkindness of some people, and the insults that me and my team-mates in no way deserved, her illness has become severe. This has put me in a difficult position where I must pick one or the other - and as a result I pick my mother.”
“This is a World Cup without Italy or Holland, Germany are out and Spain and Argentina are not the force which matches their reputations,” writes Jft9675 below the line. “This is the most unpredictable World Cup for decades.” Sage words. Oh, hang on. “That’s what gives England a chance.”
Senegal’s cruel exit means there are no African teams left in the 2018 World Cup. With Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia also failing to get out of the group stage, it’s the continent’s worst showing since 1982 and one which Didier Drogba has labelled a “big step back” for African football. It’s clear exactly how much it means to the Senegal fans in this cruelly juxtaposed video:
The rest of the back pages for those of you waking up in the UK, with a soon-to-be 100% correct prediction from our resident cartoonist:
Colombia will definitely beat England. https://t.co/DyjPKaSfTY
— David Squires (@squires_david) June 28, 2018
So, here’s the last 16 lineup:
- Uruguay v Portugal
- France v Argentina
- Brazil v Mexico
- Belgium v Japan
- Spain v Russia
- Croatia v Denmark
- Sweden v Switzerland
- Colombia v England
“Absolutely cracking ties to look forward to,” writes Mark Jenkins. France v Argentina stands out as an obvious highlight, given the individual talent on show, but it’s far from being alone.
Would love it even more now if Mexico beat Brazil, and expose the "coming second in the group is great" stuff for the know-nothing idiocy it is
— Tom Davies (@tomdaviesE17) June 29, 2018
As mentioned earlier, today marks the first time for just over two weeks that there will be no live football on our screens. Time to catch up on sleep/work/chores or perhaps spend some time away from the television, with loved ones, or doing something more meaningful than cheering on 11 blokes chasing a ball around? Don’t be silly! It’s the World Cup, and everything must involve football in some way or another for at least two more weeks, as Jacob Whitehead explains.
A couple of the British back pages, suggesting England might actually be happy with their defeat:
Friday’s i sport: England lose (but did they really win?) #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/yovndKCxQn
— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) June 28, 2018
Friday’s Daily Telegraph sport: Bitter sweet #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/wCdCCAVPYL
— Helena Lee (@BBCHelenaLee) June 28, 2018
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Nishino knew exactly what he was doing. Here’s what can happen when knowledge isn’t a factor.
There were incredible scenes in Volgograd yesterday, when Japan decided to play the final 10 minutes of the game against Poland without trying to attack, and instead place their destiny in the hands of two teams playing miles away in Samara. Clearly, it was a strategy that could have backfired spectacularly. Fortunately for Akira Nishino, the Japan coach, it worked this time, and his team went through as Senegal went out on the fair play rule. The situation was “very regrettable”, said Nishino.
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And just finally, before we forget about Germany for the next two weeks once and for all (or at least until Jogi Löw gets punted), there are some positives to be taken from their early demise. Just ask Brazilians, whose team might have faced Germany in the last 16, were it not for that incredible South Korea game. The fact that they do not now have to face their demons and reopen the wounds of their 2014 World Cup – when they got spanked 7-1 – is truly a blessing, and one the Germans should take full credit for.
What of the vanquished? All this talk of the last 16 must be hurting those teams who failed to make it out of the group stage. And perhaps nowhere more so than Germany, where an entire nation seems to be struggling to get over their performance – and earliest exit from a World Cup in 80 years.
This, from a German living in London, is excellent:
“Watching the World Cup as a German in London is to experience an emotional rollercoaster involving fear, hope and schadenfreude. I’m still slightly wary of leaving the house in my Germany shirt, and was seriously considering flying back if we met England in the later rounds. The prospect of staying in London to watch the English lose to us on penalties yet again seemed a bit too intimidating. Those reflections now seem to belong to a slightly different era.”
England’s defeat means they finish second in Group G and find themselves in the “easier” half of the draw. Belgium now join Uruguay, France, Portugal, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Japan, whereas England have Colombia, Sweden, Switzerland, Croatia, Denmark, Russia and Spain in their half.
But to assume an “easy” path lies ahead is to do many teams a disservice. Croatia are one of just two teams with 100% records so far in Russia. Colombia have pedigree and will be confident of reaching the quarter-finals for a second World Cup in succession. And the forward planning also assumes England’s involvement in the tournament will continue post-Colombia, which is a dangerous thought process to employ.
Anyway, Barney Ronay unpacks all this in greater detail and with far more eloquence. Give him a read.
Some great shots here of the game in Kaliningrad, including a fair proportion of anguished England players and a spot of brow-stroking from Gareth Southgate.
Southgate, despite his furrowed brow, was at peace with his decision to change up a winning side after the game. He reckons the last 16 encounter with Colombia, in Moscow on Tuesday, is the nation’s “biggest game for a decade” and having his best players, like Harry Kane, fresh for that one trumped any notion of topping the group.
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Valdarez writes in below the line with an early contender for comment of the day. “I had genuinely forgotten Januzaj existed. Its been so long he has become a kind of myth, buried in time, like Robin Hood or an Arsenal title challenge.” Valdarez, of course, is talking about Belgium’s match winner against England, the wispy winger from Belgium, who might have played for Albania or Kosovo, but not England, even though he was widely linked with such a move. A quick internet search has just reminded me he was nominated for the BBC’s young sports personality of the year in 2013, which really is amazing.
“Senegal go out on ... yellow cards”. It’s an arresting headline, for sure. On penalties, yes. On aggregate, on away goals rule, yes. But we haven’t quite yet become used to the disciplinary thing being a decisive factor in a team’s success, and it still seems a highly unfortunate way to meet an end. And perhaps more so for Senegal, who were left to carry the hopes of a continent on their shoulders.
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There may be no respite for World Cup livebloggers, but that’s not the case for the lucky buggers on the pod (some of whom might also fall into the category of livebloggers, admittedly). Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning and Will Unwin to pore over England’s 1-0 defeat to Belgium and the rest of the games as the group stage came to a close, before they take a well-earned break (a break!) from recording for a day. Get your fix now.
Preamble
And then there were 16. With the footballing equivalent of wheat (Croatia? Uruguay?) sorted from the chaff (Panama, Saudi Arabia.... Germany) after 15 days that have seemed like about six, we find ourselves at the business end of the tournament. Sixteen teams gone, 16 left. Eight (give or take) mouthwatering ties to look forward to and more twists and turns than the big dipper next to Sochi’s World Cup training facility guaranteed. But first, an entire day of no live football to contend with. How on earth will we cope?
By firing up another liveblog, that’s how. And why not? There’s plenty to dissect from the final four games of the group stage, including England and Belgium’s team changes, Senegal’s disciplinary woe, a Japanese farce and Tunisia’s first win in 40 years (at a World Cup finals, of course). Much more on all that in due course.
Throughout the course of the day/evening/whatever it is where you are, please do 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?
Brazil's B-side would feature Firmino up top; Douglas Costa, Fred, and Fernandinho in midfield; Danilo, Felipe Luis, and Marquinhos in defense. Probably Ederson in goal.
That team is more talented than all but a few of the remaining teams in the World Cup.