Dr Who?

Well. It’s the morning after the Kane rocket that sent England through to the Rd of 16, and a time to take a breath. Which is welcome, as we’re about 70 games in already and I’ve produced just one blog entry. Possibly the lowest xB score of these World Cup finals…..Hats off to Birchy for his Rice-like energy levels to continue to produce his insights at a much more reliable tempo!

So with a LOT to catch up on, let’s get started with the England. While not perfect by any stretch, England has been getting it done, consistently, and has real world class stars in Bellingham and Kane. I can’t agree more with Birchy’s observation at our tendency to focus on the negatives and bring the team down - maybe it’s our maturing years (& many blogs at this stage) that helps provide a more reasonable perspective. Could I now take the next 10 paragraphs to bemoan poor Djed Spence and an Everton level hesitance to have anyone who actually plays right back? Yes, yes I could. But I can also choose to focus on England coming from behind to win a World Cup game for the first time since 1966! (which speaks volumes btw on English mentality - and for 20 mins after conceding, was also very evident yesterday). 

Unfortunately, the US tv companies have flooded the commentary boxes with English voices, in an attempt to sound competent. The offshoot of that being Darren Fletcher (look him up, not the Scottish one), unloading years of English anxiety throughout the game, treating DR Congo as an international equivalent of Accrington Stanley. While I get the basic premise - small country, first WC in a generation, more research and perspective is needed. They had the largest proportion of players (20/26) not born in the country they represented, qualified via African qualifying so handily, they would have made it even if this was only a 32 team World Cup, drew with Portugal 1-1, and in a game I watched - played great and only lost narrowly to a strong Columbia team. So to act like we were up against part timers who’d only just learnt the offside rule via YouTube on the team bus was way off the mark. (Although hats off to Lionel Mpasi for a FA Cup giantkilling performance in goal). 

Looking forward, it’s a World Cup - so of course it gets harder. Navigate Sunday night at the Azteca (and an implausible Mexican home record), and we then skip through Brazil (or Haaland), Argentina and then France or Spain in the final. Simples 🤪.  The one positive to take here is, it’s unlikely that England face a low block from here, which in theory should benefit the way we play.

Elsewhere, and good for the tournament, all three hosts continue to exist, maintaining a strong interest from each fanbase. Canada look up against it vs Morocco, US continue to look cohesive while navigating a fairly reasonable path so far - and think fair to say that this is the most capable US team to date. They never looked in danger last night versus a limited Bosnian team, despite the harsh red card for Balogun (which will hurt them next game). A personal highlight from the game was Edin Dzeko, exerting his 40 year old body into a mild sprint in the 2nd half, only to immediately pull up due to an innocuous knee twinge with nobody near him, and immediately jog off the field. I feel so seen. Thanks Edin. 

And with 865 other games to recap, here’s the rundown of World Cup staples:

Unstoppable team: Clearly France. By a mile. Will be fun figuring out where they inevitably come unstuck the way all of these teams do at some point. 

Shitshow team: No contest. Tunisia really outdid themselves. Making Potter look like Carlo in game 1, firing their coach before England had even played a game, installing Herve Reynard’s exemplary white pressed shirts only to not register a shot on target in game 2 & be eliminated. 

Performative Referee: While yesterday’s insistence that sir Harry was a diver is a contender, it doesn’t come close to the El Salvadorian ref gleefully sending naughty schoolboy Miguel Almiron off for whispering behind his hand. Great execution.

The “how on earth did they get out of the group” team: South Africa. Added no value and thankfully home.

The “how on earth did they make the Rd of 16” team: A delicious booting of Germany, only one winner. Paraguay expertly showed that having the ball was overrated, leveraging a backs to the wall effort, added to a soft disallowed German goal to pull off the upset. Special mention: Belgium. How they sneaked through yesterday I really don’t know, which leads me to….

In game mental breakdown: Senegal - spontaneously combusting having been seamlessly cruising two goals up with 5 mins to go, and then feigning injury for around 5 minutes while laid on the penalty spot in a high standard level of shithousery. To no avail. On the plane home. 

Spurs: I know, a strange entry for a World Cup blog. But surely their astronomical summer spending spree is a secret Gianni Infantino funded FIFA scam to make the prices of World Cup tickets appear reasonable?

Box Office: You name it, they’re at it. I don’t recall another tournament where almost every big name has turned up. Messi, Mbappe, Haaland, Kane et al making the golden boot race one for the ages. Tournament defining goals will separate them over the next two weeks!

Sleep deprivation: Somewhere during my blog hiatus, I flew back home for a few days  - and realized half of this tournament is taking place in the overnight hours and impossible to keep up with. Quite how the country manages its way through Sunday night’s 1am kick off is anyone’s guess!

Ok, that’s me all caught up, other than to acknowledge the Spurs spending inspired me, and I will be taking my 3 boys to Paraguay vs France on Saturday for their World Cup experience. (Slightly bummed it wasn’t a German blockbuster, but I’ll take it - tickets were acquired months ago where FIFA took my card details with no idea what teams would play or where our seats were. Lovely process). The weather forecast calls for potential thunderstorms and a feel like temperature of 107 degrees Fahrenheit. Hoping I don’t melt while watching 90 (120?) minutes of low block and shithousery! Vamos!