World cup 2026

[john122350]

Really ? I thought it was a pretty poor first half; Haaland only 5 touches and none in the final third

It was always a likely scenario; he contributes very little most of the game then bang bang - and every sensible person would want him in their team

  That's the Haaland trade-off. He can seem anonymous for most of the match but he only needs one or two chances to decide the game.

[raging_bull]

Fuck sake. England delayed til 2am now

[Paul9144]

Fuck sake. England delayed til 2am now

I didn't know until I just seen your post and looked it up.

Something to do with the weather - External Link/Members Only

[timsussex]

Fuck sake. England delayed til 2am now

Please God dont have any more delays I dont think I can stand anymore Rooney   !

[john122350]

England 2-0 up, Bellingham scores quick brace in two minutes

[toon972]

2-1, Pickford has pulled off some great saves.

[toon972]

Really ? I thought it was a pretty poor first half; Haaland only 5 touches and none in the final third

It was always a likely scenario; he contributes very little most of the game then bang bang - and every sensible person would want him in their team

Yes really. I dont think their manager will be complaining, Norway were the better team.

[john122350]

England down to 10 men, red card for Quansah 

[toon972]

Penalty 3-1 England. What else is there to happen.

[john122350]

Penalty 3-1 England. What else is there to happen.

kane who scored penalty just gave away penalty 3-2 now.

[toon972]

I spoke too soon, penalty to Mexico 3-2.

[toon972]

kane who scored penalty just gave away penalty 3-2 now.

 

[toon972]

Dan Burn on now, 5 at back.

[timsussex]

The ten men Held on !

If you didnt stay up lets just say it was worth watching the full game - dont just watch the highlights

[Stevelondon]

Yay 

[mr.bluesky]

Yay 

Isn't it great to see all those Mexican player crying their eyes out 
Bring on Norway

[toon972]

Incredible game, 11 mins injury time ffs.

[timsussex]

Real team effort
Great substitutions by Tuchel
How far did Gordon run ? I assumed he would be told to run for an hour and then Rashford on but he kept going for best part of 2 hours

[mr.bluesky]

Mexico shirts now binned I expect a sudden rush to buy Norway shirts now in chilly Jockoland 

[WASA38]

Red card system in disarray over Trump, Fifa and Balogun decision.  External Link/Members Only

Do Infantino and DJT have no shame ?

Belgium mightily and justifiably pissed off.

Maybe Quansah should be eligible for Norway match ?  Some hopes !

[mr.bluesky]

Red card system in disarray over Trump, Fifa and Balogun decision.  External Link/Members Only

Do Infantino and DJT have no shame ?

Belgium mightily and justifiably pissed off.

Maybe Quansah should be eligible for Norway match ?  Some hopes !

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The USA playing their Trump card

[bigden40]

England down to 10 men, red card for Quansah 

Jesus, that was the straightest of straight reds! 

Red card system in disarray over Trump, Fifa and Balogun decision.  External Link/Members Only

Do Infantino and DJT have no shame ?

Belgium mightily and justifiably pissed off.

Maybe Quansah should be eligible for Norway match ?  Some hopes !

The red cards probably should have an appeal process, and Balogun's red was bullshit.  But like Ronaldo pre-world cup it’s corrupt FIFA playing favourites

Quansah is lucky he’s not up on assault charges 

[raging_bull]

Norway should be doable, if we can keep Haaland under control. Looks like we'll potentially be heading to the semis again lads.

[Jumping Jack Flash]

I feel like a sleep-deprived zombie today, but it’s worth it! What a Lionhearted performance from the team and the subs, it was a nervous watch but the Mexicans really ran out of ideas.

Norway will be a a difficult match, but if we are on our game we should have enough to progress.

[Blackpool Rock]

Red card system in disarray over Trump, Fifa and Balogun decision.  External Link/Members Only

Do Infantino and DJT have no shame ?

Belgium mightily and justifiably pissed off.

Maybe Quansah should be eligible for Norway match ?  Some hopes !

Can't really comment as it's not the politics thread but i'm sure most of us know the answer to this 

Fuck me even Sepp Blatter has come out and criticised the decision and we thought he was the most corrupt fucker in international football, looks like he hasn't got anything on Infantino though 

[Jomoore]

I can't remember ever watching a better game.

Question: Harry was taken off; if it had gone to penalties would that mean he was ineligible to take one of them?

[maxxblue]

Yes

[Blackpool Rock]

I feel like a sleep-deprived zombie today, but it’s worth it! What a Lionhearted performance from the team and the subs, it was a nervous watch but the Mexicans really ran out of ideas.

Norway will be a a difficult match, but if we are on our game we should have enough to progress.

Me too, I went on the piss all day Saturday so was knackered and sleep deprived all day Sunday, went to bed to watch the game last night setting the alarm to wake me up but was only able to doze a bit beforehand as the TV was on

I've then watched bits of the game whenever something happened and the commentators went crazy which woke me up although I wasn't aware of the red card until 10 minutes after it happened 

I'll try and do the gym later and hopefully knacker myself out totally so I can get a decent sleep

[Stevelondon]

That ref covered some ground too. Mostly cos he was chasing after players to ‘Have a word’ 😂

Well I probably slept for 4 hours and as usual I’m up.
Howay the lads, brilliant Bellingham and I take back what I said about Gordon. Barca obviously seen something I’ve missed. He ran his heart out today.

Let’s hope the Norwegian fans find out where the England hotel is before the match and make a lot of noise outside to keep the players awake. It certainly works. 

[mr.bluesky]

I can't remember ever watching a better game.

Question: Harry was taken off; if it had gone to penalties would that mean he was ineligible to take one of them?

Yes only players who are on the pitch are eligable to take penalties. A calculated risk by Tuchel which luckily paid off

[mr.bluesky]

That ref covered some ground too. Mostly cos he was chasing after players to ‘Have a word’ 😂

Well I probably slept for 4 hours and as usual I’m up.
Howay the lads, brilliant Bellingham and I take back what I said about Gordon. Barca obviously seen something I’ve missed. He ran his heart out today.

Let’s hope the Norwegian fans find out where the England hotel is before the match and make a lot of noise outside to keep the players awake. It certainly works. 

I don't know who the Mexican number 23 was but he was in the refs face all the time, whinging tosser

[john122350]

dailymailsport: Jordan Henderson has suffered a 'really bad' wrist injury, Thomas Tuchel has revealed, after the non-playing England substitute fell in the team's post-match celebrations in Mexico at the World Cup.

The midfielder, who was shown a yellow card during the game despite not playing, was arm-in-arm with his team-mates behind the goal in front of England fans, before falling as he vaulted back over the advertising hoardings.

He has been taken to hospital and will stay in Mexico City while England fly back to Kansas City, their World Cup base.
Boss Tuchel said of the 36-year-old: 'Not good. Not good. Jordan just fell over and injured his wrist. It looks really bad.'

Henderson had to be given oxygen as he was carried from the pitch on a stretcher in a sour end to England's epic 3-2 win.

[Jomoore]

Yes only players who are on the pitch are eligable to take penalties. A calculated risk by Tuchel which luckily paid off

 

[timsussex]

dailymailsport: Jordan Henderson has suffered a 'really bad' wrist injury, Thomas Tuchel has revealed, after the non-playing England substitute fell in the team's post-match celebrations in Mexico at the World Cup.

....

OAPs can be unsteady on their feet and often have brittle bones !

[The0neAnd0nly]

Absolutely fantastic performance in a hostile atmosphere and a team who were very very game in Mexico.

Norway will be a tough test however if they can keep the Big Unit up front quiet/goaless should be 90% there as not much elsewhere.

Well done boys!! I wasnt sure about Tuchel when he came in but so far hes got the big decisions and substitutions right.

[Blackpool Rock]

Absolutely fantastic performance in a hostile atmosphere and a team who were very very game in Mexico.

Norway will be a tough test however if they can keep the Big Unit up front quiet/goaless should be 90% there as not much elsewhere.

Well done boys!! I wasnt sure about Tuchel when he came in but so far hes got the big decisions and substitutions right.

Yeah I think anything less that a quarter final would have been deemed a failure

Most people expected us to be facing Brazil if we made it through and Norway does seem like a much easier option but as you say they need to make sure Haaland isn't left to do his thing, he quite often looks like he's wandering around aimlessly and then bang he sparks into action like an ambush preditor 

The thing is that at least our lot should know how best to try and play against him as they will have experienced playing him in the Prem so hopefully it will blunt his edge slightly 

[WASA38]

Jesus, that was the straightest of straight reds! 

The red cards probably should have an appeal process, and Balogun's red was bullshit.  But like Ronaldo pre-world cup it’s corrupt FIFA playing favourites

Quansah is lucky he’s not up on assault charges 

Predictable hyperbole.

The ref thought it was a fair tackle and was prepared to let play continue and it needed VAR to determine the red card.

[bigden40]

Predictable hyperbole.

The ref thought it was a fair tackle and was prepared to let play continue and it needed VAR to determine the red card.

Notwithstanding your mind reading of the ref, it wasn't a fair tackle by any stretch of the imagination, he launches in, studs up and shin high. Dangerous all day long, the sort of challenge that breaks legs, don’t understand why you’d even try to defend that.

A still doesn’t always tell the full story, but it looks worse in motion. Kevin Muscat would have been proud of that one.

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[daviemac]

Great game but I wish they'd dump Shearer, great footballer but shite commentator / pundit. He comes out with some crap what with his 'if a player feels a touch he's entitled to go down' then him saying Mexico should never have had a penalty.

Harry Kane was nowhere near the ball, he kicked the underside of the players leg which then pushed that leg onto the ball, why can't he just accept that it was a foul like everyone else. Yes it wasn't deliberate but neither was the tackle for the red card, doesn't mean it isn't a foul.

[scouting]

Notwithstanding your mind reading of the ref, it wasn't a fair tackle by any stretch of the imagination, he launches in, studs up and shin high. Dangerous all day long, the sort of challenge that breaks legs, don’t understand why you’d even try to defend that.

A still doesn’t always tell the full story, but it looks worse in motion. Kevin Muscat would have been proud of that one.

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I agree it was a straight red. I do feel for Quansah though, his leg bounced off the top of the ball sending his foot higher, ie not an intended foul tackle. However if a player goes into a tackle with as much pace and power as he did then loses control he has to face the consequences.

[scouting]

Great game but I wish they'd dump Shearer, great footballer but shite commentator / pundit. He comes out with some crap what with his 'if a player feels a touch he's entitled to go down' then him saying Mexico should never have had a penalty.

Harry Kane was nowhere near the ball, he kicked the underside of the players leg which then pushed that leg onto the ball, why can't he just accept that it was a foul like everyone else. Yes it wasn't deliberate but neither was the tackle for the red card, doesn't mean it isn't a foul.

I couldn't understand why Shearer was defending Kane so vehemently, the studio pundits in general felt it was a penalty. What Shearer didn't recognise was that it was the same situation as when we got a penalty off Modric against Croatia.

[WARSZAWA16]

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[TomTank]

I couldn't understand why Shearer was defending Kane so vehemently, the studio pundits in general felt it was a penalty. What Shearer didn't recognise was that it was the same situation as when we got a penalty off Modric against Croatia.

I'd have to watch again, but I think they are a bit different.

Madueke clearly won the ball and Modric kicked him after he won it.
I don't think Guttierez made contact with the ball and actually moved his leg in a weird way across Kane's path. And I think Kane made contact with the ball after contact with Guttierez's foot.

Still technically a penalty, but no account taken of the nuance of whether it really was a foul.

Like I said, I would need to watch it again, but I do understand people defending Kane.

[Fuzzyduck]

I couldn't understand why Shearer was defending Kane so vehemently, the studio pundits in general felt it was a penalty. What Shearer didn't recognise was that it was the same situation as when we got a penalty off Modric against Croatia.

England Captain Number 9 Club. No-one else on the telly nor anyone else I've spoken to about it thought it wasn't a penalty, just unlucky. The acid test is how you feel if that happened to Kane in the oppo box and it wasn't given.

[webpunter]

External Link/Members Only

'The White House asked for a review on the red card'

You can't make it up
That UEFA getting stuck in 

If he does play which is looking very likely i sooo hope that Belgium batter the US 
& if by some quirk he doesnt play i hope Belgium do the same

[daviemac]

I don't think Guttierez made contact with the ball and actually moved his leg in a weird way across Kane's path. And I think Kane made contact with the ball after contact with Guttierez's foot.

If you watch it the ball is clearly above the Mexican players leg, at no point does Kane make contact with it, he kicks the leg.

Dermot Gallagher on Sky Sports News:

"I think it's a penalty. In this case, Harry Kane is the defender and he doesn't realise the forward is coming in. The forward gets to the ball first and Kane gets the bottom of his foot.

"You have to be careful you have a broader spectrum and you don't just look at this incident and say 'we don't know if it's a penalty'.

"If you cast your mind back a few days against Croatia, there was a very similar incident with Noni Madueke and Luka Modric, where Madueke got there first and Modric caught him. I don't think they are too dissimilar so, in that case, the officials have applied the laws in the same way.

"The VAR is of the opinion that the Mexican player got the ball first and Kane caught him behind. A second the other way and Kane would have got the ball first.

"But when you see the replay, it's one I'd describe as, once you've seen it, you can't unsee it. I think it's a foul."

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[TomTank]

If you watch it the ball is clearly above the Mexican players leg, at no point does Kane make contact with it, he kicks the leg.


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Yes, I've watched it again, and still the same view (and same as you) that it's a penalty.

I do understand the view that it wasn't though, and there are quite a few, including ex-FIFA refs saying it wasn't.
Gutierrez isn't actually getting to the ball with his foot and is almost blocking Kane.
If he stepped across Kane on the deck like that it could even be called a foul on Kane (we've seen them given where a player blocks a player kicking).

[mills_and_bhuna]

Mexico shirts now binned I expect a sudden rush to buy Norway shirts now in chilly Jockoland 

Why do you care?

[Blackpool Rock]

I agree it was a straight red. I do feel for Quansah though, his leg bounced off the top of the ball sending his foot higher, ie not an intended foul tackle. However if a player goes into a tackle with as much pace and power as he did then loses control he has to face the consequences.

I've been in pubs watching games loads of times when something like this happens and you then get the Partisan view -

"He got the ball therefore it's not a foul" followed by "Yeah but he's then gone through the player and could have ended his career"

IMO I don't think he intended to foul /take the other player out as he did win the ball however it looked to me that his foot then went over the ball and as he continued to slide in the ball was under his leg effectively pushing his leg / foot / studs up against his intention and making it a much worse tackle than it would have been
In fact if the ball hadn't have gone under his leg and he just won the ball / tackle then people would have been saying what a great challenge it was 

[Vice Admiral]

It’s not every day that p. 14 of the Times features a large photograph of fans of Portsmouth FC outside Elvis Presley's house, Graceland, so I thought I’d celebrate!

The accompanying report includes this:
____________

The streets of Memphis have heard blues, soul, and the birth of rock’n’roll — and now a chorus of 20 football fans from Portsmouth singing "Play Up Pompey".

The singers were among hordes of England fans to descend on the home of the blues — and Elvis Presley — on the Mississippi River between World Cup matches in Dallas and Boston.

A large group of friends from Portsmouth wore Elvis outfits purchased on Amazon to Graceland, the museum at Presley’s home, while others wore their England shirts. Other bemused visitors asked to take selfies with them.
____________

There is, however, one oddity about the photograph – namely that the man on the right looks a tad overweight.   This is strange because you never see overweight people in Portsmouth.  Let alone Pompey fans.

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(For some reason my uploaded photographs, unlike the one in the post above, always appear very small.  But if you click on them, you can see them in all their glory.)

The Times coverage of the World Cup continues to be dominated by Portsmouth fans.

On p. 5 of today's paper there's a report about Oliver Henry, a 26-year-old Portsmouth fan who's been posting positive stuff on Tik Tok about his experience of America – which led to him being invited to the White House to sit in the front row during Trump's speech at the grand opening of the Great American State Fair on 24 June, and then going backstage to chat to, and have a photograph taken with, the President (which is reproduced in the report).