Have you ever wondered why you feel anxious when faced with the unknown? The answer lies in the theory of evolution, which said that people who continue to doubt this will survive when those who went in search of things removed their eagles. Acquaintance does not breed contempt; it gives us a feeling of love. Football fans sadly lost that joy after England played attacking football to beat Croatia 4-2, but the familiar English sense of joy returned in the second leg as England were jealous and proud of what should have been a team against what they thought was a small country.The Three Lions shirt is an incredible piece of magic, capable of turning a world champion into a center fielder overnight. Therefore Wayne Rooneyone of the greatest players in the Premier League, whose performances in England’s shirt in every competition after Euro 2004 left nothing to be desired. The Man Utd legend has one World Cup goal to his credit. That means he has stepped on more balls than put them in the net at World Cups. England’s performance against Ghana was, in this sense, the most spectacular of the old days, what Don Draper would call nose pain and England fans would call tosh.But while English fans may wonder if they’ve been cursed with an albatross in the second leg, one man who would be laughing is the Godfather of all football managers: Sir Alex Ferguson. A proud Scot, Ferguson turned down the England job twice and said clearly: “There was no way I could think of taking the England job. Can you imagine me doing that? A Scotsman? I always joked that I would take the job and get rid of them: making them the 150th country in the world, and Scotland 149.“And the fact that it was his former assistant Carlos Queiroz of Ghana who upset England would have made him laugh out loud, as did the fact that England had 78.8% of their possession and still failed to find the back of the net, the most uncapped World Cup crowd since 1966.For old time’s sake, Queiroz unleashed some Ferguson-esque lines after the match, asking if VAR was working at the World Cup, if the VAR referee went on holiday in the second half, and if he went out for coffee.Before introducing players like Fergie into international football, Queiroz was the man who helped build Ferguson’s third great team at Manchester United. Ferguson was enthusiastic, calling the assistant who challenged him brilliant and “the closest to being the manager of Manchester United without being in charge”.
Under Queiroz, United moved away from their 4-4-2 formation, with two wingers and two midfielders, to a more flexible 4-3-3 that gave them more space in midfield, more strikers and an attacking formation that could also defend. It was a form that helped United become the biggest club in Europe. One of the most famous games was Manchester United’s Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona in 2008, which was decided by Paul Scholes’ superb goal and two-legged defensive skills as Barcelona dominated and still lost. One wonders if United’s two matches against Barcelona in 2009 and 2011 would have been a little different had Queiroz been around.He also helped sign players from Portugal and Brazil, among others Cristiano RonaldoNani and Anderson, and they helped to transform Ronaldo from a teenager affected by laughter into an example of a game that became a complete football player, whose competition with Lionel Messi could dominate almost two decades of football.Like his friend and former student Jose Mourinho, the first goal of Carlos Queiroz is not to lose, which leads to the so-called “sufferball”, where both teams suffer but only one acts willingly. Against England, Queiroz had a clear formation: a stable central position, a narrow line at the back, Thomas Partey looking at the defense, and England were forced to have more weapons without being too threatening. Ghana had no desire to win the ball from England’s defenders. Instead, he defended in midfield, thwarted England’s forward-thinking players and prevented Harry Kane from dropping into pockets and combining. As DAZN’s analysis pointed out, England had “width without penetration”.At half-time, England had 78% of the ball but could only see one goal. By the end of the game, he had 19 attempts but only three shots on target. This did not happen by accident. Ghana allowed England to roam in harmless areas, then closed down the areas that were important: the route to Jude Bellingham, the bag Kane wanted to be, and the area where most of England’s players wanted to cut inside. As soon as the ball passed, the Ghanaian defenders held their shape, the defenders defended the box, and Partey showed a dangerous position in front of them.It was Queiroz’s football in its pure form. You can keep the ball, you can pass it, you can have all the numbers but not score. It was a game that would delight the heart of a Scotsman, especially one who hates the English.
The GOAT is back?
From the Portuguese management, it is time to turn to the Portuguese players. Cristiano Ronaldo, whose failure to score grabbed the headlines in the first leg scored twice in the 5-0 win over Uzbekistan and announced to the cameras that he was back. The real question, even if they have a dual purpose is this: Should they still exist?
Indeed, Ronaldo scored 10 goals for Portugal in World Cups to pass Eusebio to become Portugal’s top scorer, but Eusebio only played one World Cup. The fact is that this was Ronaldo’s first goal in an open game in five years. When asked about Messi in the mix, Ronaldo remained silent perhaps because, as Athletic pointed out, five of Messi’s goals have come against teams in the top 30. Uzbekistan, meanwhile, is ranked 50th in the world.In the other game of the day, Croatia achieved what they usually do at World Cups to keep their hopes alive as Modric turned the clock on his 200th international appearance to become only the fourth man to do so. Colombia also beat DR Congo 1-0 which means they are still in contention to top Portugal. Colombia’s most impressive performance came though as DR Congo striker Lumumba Vea stood tall with his hand raised on the pitch.
Day 14 Look Ahead
Group B MEETING: 1:30 AMNow we are at the end of the group, which means that all the group matches will be played at the same time, so no one can play the game. The Group B match will feature Switzerland against Canada to decide who is in charge of the group. Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar is a good shootout and a draw won’t help and whichever team wins will find themselves well on their way to third place.Group CLATEST: 3:30 AMIn Group C, Brazil will face Scotland. Brazil has four points, Scotland has three, which means participation will help them both qualify. If Brazil wins, Scotland could qualify, but that will depend on other matches. Morocco face Haiti and like Brazil they have four points and only need a draw to ensure they qualify. Haiti on the other hand would still be alive mathematically if they beat Morocco.Group AMEETING: 6:30 AM Mexico vs. Czechia. The hosts have already finished with two wins as Czechia have one point and need to beat Mexico to stay alive. Meanwhile, South Korea is playing against South Africa. The Asian giants have three points and can manage to win or draw.
Premier League representative
The Premier League likes to present itself as the biggest show in the world. Real football fans insist that it is the World Cup. But how many Premier League players are in the competition? According to information from the league, 182 players linked to the Premier League (169 currently and 13 registered in 2026-2027) are appearing in the World Cup. Now, as Premier League broadcasters have been shocked to learn, there are some English football clubs who count around 200 players at the World Cup. German clubs have 109 players. French clubs have 86. Spain has 86. Italian clubs, although Italy is not eligible, also have 49 players. Currently, 44 players are participating in MLS.
Meme WATCH
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