‘I WALKED ALONG THE AVENUE …’
The volleys of beer zinging across Boxpark Croydon during England’s Human Rights World Cup opener against Iran were presumably made up of Bud Zero. It was Monday lunchtime, not usually a time slot associated with epic b@ntz, but England supporters acting up for the cameras made it feel like this might actually be a real World Cup. Some traditions die hard. You can take away booze in the stands, you can disallow the wearing of any rainbow insignia associated with LBGTQ+ rights on armbands, kits or even among fans and hacks, Gianni Infantino, but you will never take away an England fan’s right to get ruddy, bloody excited.
Though perhaps they were justified in their excitement. Six goals slammed in against the Fifa-ranked No 20 team in all of world football. Five different scorers, and in Jude Bellingham, a commanding performance from a teenager looking like a globe-straddling megastar. And for those demanding it, Gareth Southgate had released his metaphorical handbrake, letting fly his dogs of war. Bukayo Saka, scoring twice, and Marcus Rashford, sauntering on as substitute to score within seconds, buried something of the ghosts of that Not Euro 2020 penalty shootout.
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Any downsides? Not really, though Harry Maguire, who had played well before that, was again on the crime scene as Mehdi Taremi scored Iran’s first goal, the Manchester United man a little slow to the punch. And perhaps the draining effects of the added variable that every coach now faces: Fifa’s latest tinkering with the format has led to matches lasting north of 100 minutes, rather than 90. Southgate’s men played something like 28 added minutes over two halves. A high proportion of time is being added on … in a similar fashion to how attendance figures are being swelled beyond official capacities.
The Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium has a listed capacity of 40,000, and yet 43,418 were reported to have attended Wales’s return to Big Stage for the first time since 1958, and USA! USA!! USA!!!’s return after missing out on Russia 2018. And that’s despite empty seats being clearly visible to all those watching at home. Those who were there saw a game that got away from the Americans, who excelled in the first half, scored a fine goal through Timothy Weah and then fell victim to Wales getting it launched to towering half-time sub Kieffer Moore. Gareth Bale was a fringe presence until winning a penalty from a dumbfounded Walker Zimmerman. “You make the call,” demanded NBC Sport Soccer on Social Media Disgraces, showing a still of the unfortunate Zimmerman clearly removing Bale’s legs from under him. “Was this a foul?” Of course it was. And of course Bale scored from the spot. The wash of emotion that followed was more evidence that, phew, this might just be a World Cup of sorts after all.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“The [HR] World Cup shouldn’t be here. It shouldn’t be here … The corruption, regarding Fifa, you’ve got a country, the way they treat migrant workers, gay people. I think it’s great that it’s been brought up … You can’t treat people like that. We all love football, we love soccer, we’re on about spreading the game. But just to dismiss human rights flippantly because of a football tournament. It’s not right. It shouldn’t be here …. Treat people with decency, that’s the bottom line” – Roy Keane uses his ITV punditry platform to good effect.
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTER
“Thought I might find it hard not to watch the game but it’s not really that hard at all. Waiting for Gianni Infantino’s next performance is going to make it difficult for the football to compete anyway, on this stage” – Neil Chalmers.
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