The World Cup countdown to Qatar is on: one year to go November 23, 2021 “It’s actually 363 days, 21 hours and 49 minutes to go,” said Fifa president Gianni Infantino yesterday as he began his monologue of praise towards next year’s World Cup hosts Qatar. “One year before kick off, all venues are ready. Some other host countries, many years after the event has taken place, have stadiums that [...]
Trevor Steven: England have mojo back as World Cup countdown begins November 16, 2021 As we’ve come to expect from Gareth Southgate’s England, they completed a very comfortable qualifying campaign for the Qatar 2022 World Cup with a flourish this week. While Monday’s 10-0 walkover in San Marino grabbed the headlines, a better benchmark of their performance came in Friday’s 5-0 win against Albania. England have got their mojo [...]
San Marino 0, England 10: Record win secures place at Qatar 2022 World Cup November 15, 2021 England swaggered into the 2022 World Cup finals by hitting 10 against 10-man San Marino in their biggest ever win in a competitive match on a night when it all went right for Gareth Southgate. Harry Kane plundered a morale-boosting four-goal haul and wrote more entries in the England record books, Emile Smith Rowe shone [...]
England 1, Hungary 1: Southgate’s attacking experiment backfires October 12, 2021 England missed the chance to take a major step towards confirming their place at next year’s World Cup as a dogged Hungary held them to a draw at Wembley tonight. John Stones dragged the hosts level after they had fallen behind to Roland Sallai’s penalty, given for Luke Shaw’s dangerously high boot, but Gareth Southgate’s [...]
Foden’s Andorra masterclass promises solution to England playmaker problem October 10, 2021 Fixtures like Andorra away represent something of a hiding to nothing for England, which also happens to be what they dished out in the Pyrenees on Saturday night. But with World Cup qualification not in any danger, this 5-0 win was more encouraging for the hints of evolution in Gareth Southgate’s plans that it revealed [...]
Squeezed out by club and country, sparkling cameos may not be enough to win Jesse Lingard a place in England World Cup squad September 6, 2021 Bukayo Saka may have made the most heartwarming contribution to England’s 4-0 win over Andorra on Sunday but Jesse Lingard’s was the most potent. The Manchester United attacking midfielder scored twice yesterday, breaking the visitors’ resistance early on and adding England’s third with a characteristically confident finish from 18 yards. Lingard might have had a [...]
Qatar pokes fun at English critics of World Cup bid after Euro 2020 final crowd trouble at Wembley July 13, 2021 Media in Qatar have used the crowd chaos at the Euro 2020 final to lampoon English critics of their appointment as World Cup hosts. British journalists and commentators have been among the most vocal critics of the decision to award the tiny desert state next year’s World Cup. A Qatari newspaper has been quick to [...]
Mason Mount continues emergence as key man in Gareth Southgate’s England Euro 2020 project March 29, 2021 When Mason Mount collected Harry Kane’s pass and clipped the ball over Albania goalkeeper Etrit Berisha on Sunday it was job done. Another three points for England to continue their flawless start to the qualifying campaign for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. And another exhibit in the burgeoning cache of evidence that Mount deserves a [...]
The most complex World Cup qualifying process yet? England’s path, the role of Qatar, the Nations League and Russia in the race for Europe’s 13 spots March 23, 2021 When Bill Shankly quipped that “football is a simple game complicated by people who should know better” he could have been talking about the Qatar 2022 World Cup qualifiers. This week, England and the other 54 European national teams kick off their campaigns to reach next year’s tournament with a triple-header of matches. And the [...]
Why Bruno Fernandes, Gabriel Jesus and Jadon Sancho might be forced to sit out the next international break March 5, 2021 Football’s international break is on the horizon, but for some players these 2022 World Cup qualifying matches might as well not be happening at all. The UK’s requirement that those travelling to certain countries quarantine for 10 days on their return has made some Premier League clubs reluctant to release players. But the situation could [...]