Redemption in Düsseldorf

Picture credit: Sky News/Reuters

It's easy to be hypocritical about England's performance at Euro 2024.

I've been so furious that Gareth Southgate doesn’t see the game the way I do. If your squad is full of attacking talent, then please entertain. Pragmatism is the enemy.

The first half was unremarkable for the neutral but from an English perspective it felt better.

Bukayo Saka was destroying Michel Aebischer down the right and Ezri Konsa was magnificent in keeping Breen Embolo quiet.

England had imposed themselves on the Swiss despite creating few chances.

A low bar, perhaps.

The second half started well but by the 60th minute England had lost control again. The Swiss had pinned England back into their own half.

Southgate needed to make changes to stop Switzerland’s momentum.

They came too late and Embolo’s 75th minute goal was well deserved. From here, there was only going to be one winner.

That’s the problem with a pragmatic game plan, once it’s been breached you feel your team don’t have much left.

There's so much scar tissue that you become apathetic. Then, you focus so much on the impending doom that you disregard the possibility of a moment of inspiration that can save your soul.

Cometh the hour, cometh Saka.

Moments after despair, he cut in from the right, beat his man and then curled a low shot that kissed the inside of the post and left Yann Sommer helpless.

It was the kind of goal that took you by surprise, simply because he had no right to score from there.

But what's become abundant in this tournament is that there's a group of England players who take responsibility when the chips are down.

Like Jude Bellingham against Slovakia, Saka refused to be beaten and dragged his country with him.

There were more excruciating moments in the final 10 minutes. Embolo really should have scored in the dying moments after a magnificent cross from Fabien Schär.

Extra time came and was even throughout.

Declan Rice had a long-range shot that was tipped round the post before Bellingham had another shot saved by Sommer.

Then, Xherdan Shaqiri nearly won it for Switzerland. A clever shot from a corner caught Jordan Pickford off guard but fortunately hit the crossbar.

It had once again come down to penalties and scars from English footballing history began to pulsate.

Cole Palmer went first for England having scored eight penalties for Chelsea in the Premier League. He easily sent Sommer the wrong way to put England 1-0 up in the shootout.

Manchester City’s Manuel Akanji was Switzerland’s first taker. But in a splendid moment of shithousery, Pickford kept him and the referee waiting.

He consulted his water bottle. Stuck to it was a list of likely Swiss penalty takers with instructions on how to save them.

Pickford’s research paid off, saving Akanji’s shot to give England an early advantage.

The Swiss didn’t miss again. But what was more important was the ruthlessness of the England’s penalties.

Bellingham skipped and despatched with ease, showcasing calm and leadership beyond his years.

Saka was next and memories of that Euro 2020 final came flashing back.

The trauma of that loss and the racial abuse that came after would have been enough to destroy many a psyche.

Despite that moment at Wembley, Saka showed why he has been consistently England’s best player in recent years.

He struck the ball inside of the right post before telling the England fans behind the goal to calm down. He had this.

Then, Ivan Toney moved into English cult hero status by keeping his eyes locked on Sommer instead of the ball for his penalty.

I’m sure Toney has practised that routine a thousand times, but to execute it on such a big stage was extraordinary.

The winning kick came from Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold - often criticised, under-utilised and played out of position in an England shirt – who punched England’s ticket to a third semi-final in the last four tournaments.

This has of course come under Southgate’s tenure.

We know he is not the greatest tactician. But in moments like these football supporters are afforded the right to be contradictory.  

His own experiences of disappointment at Euro 96 has helped forge a relationship with his players and they have now grown accustomed to ignoring the external noise.

When it came to penalties there was no anxiety from the players. England looked the most controlled and confident they have been throughout the tournament.

We can continue to focus on the negatives, if we like.

But for now, we must find joy in this moment and have appreciation for the redemption stories that played out in Düsseldorf.

The most important of the least important things.

Picture credit: wearkudos.com

Well, thank god for that. The general election has come and gone, and six arduous weeks of campaigning is finished.

It is now time to refocus our minds on the most important of the least important things.

That is football.

As much as we would like to focus solely on tactics there can be no doubt that the England team is a great unifier.

Every two years the nation comes together and supports a group of lads from different backgrounds that represents us in a way that no political entity could.

And beating the Swiss on Saturday in Düsseldorf will go some way in healing wounds across the country.

However, Gareth Southgate’s task is not an easy one. Switzerland are well drilled and organised.

They thrive in major tournaments and regularly take the scalps of the major footballing nations.

This has continued at Euro 2024, outplaying Italy in the last 16 and were a minute away from defeating the hosts Germany in the group stages.

Murat Yakin’s team have shared their seven goals around the squad. Proving that the Swiss are not reliant on a couple of standout players like England have been in at Euro 2024.

Captain Granit Xhaka – fresh from winning a German double for Bayer Leverkusen – is more than capable of dominating an underperforming English midfield.

Breen Embolo will also test an English defence that is now weakened after Marc Guéhi’s suspension.

According to media reports Southgate is going to switch to back three for this match.

Whether this is to match the Swiss up man for man or that Luke Shaw is still unavailable is up for debate.

What isn’t, is the frustration from supporters that the media are reporting this tactical change before a huge game.

I get it. England starting line-ups are a story. It generates discussion and therefore generates clicks and money.

But if I was Southgate, I would be furious that there was a mole within my camp at a time when the squad is already under huge pressure to progress to the later stages.

However, the country has been screaming out for a change of approach.

Should change come then there is hope that Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham can finally co-exist within the same team.

Fortunately, the 21-year-old is available after UEFA only decided to fine him after making a ‘crude gesture’ against Slovakia.

Bellingham’s influence will once again be critical, but it is also imperative that England play as a more cohesive unit and create more chances for Harry Kane.

Now, I know this is hopeful.

The likelihood is that the country is going to suffer another emotional rollercoaster to reach the semi-finals.

Southgate’s squad will once again have to be utilised and the substitutes will have to be as effective as they were in last 16.

But if England can win here, then supporters can start to dream, and how they got there will be viewed as irrelevant.

After years of division, this football team could finally provide unity to a country that badly needs it.

CLUTCH

Picture credit: CNN/Reuters

It was a game that encompassed why we both love and hate football.

For 94 minutes I hated it. I stewed into my beer, growled at every missed placed pass and grew frustrated that Slovakia were so comfortable.

As the minutes ticked by, I was more interested in my phone, joining in with the collective grief and the lack of faith that had set in amongst England supporters.

Why is a team packed full of talent playing so badly? Why isn’t Gareth Southgate making changes and why are we so determined to throw away another golden opportunity?

Then, on the 95th minute, with 30 seconds left, something unexpected happened that reminded us of why we love the beautiful game.

Kyle Walker launched a desperate long throw that was flicked on by Marc Guéhi.

The ball was behind Jude Bellingham, but in a moment of individual brilliance, he managed to leap into the air and deliver a perfect overhead kick.

The ball snuck inside the right-hand post and sent the country into pandemonium.

A last-minute goal that was sent from the gods, saved some blushes, saved a job but ultimately got you off your seat and made you believe again.

Underserved? Definitely.

But it doesn’t matter. Teams rely on their best players in knockout football and Bellingham provided England’s clutch moment.

The momentum had shifted as extra time began and any fears of a potential penalty shootout were quickly eased by England’s first attack.

Cole Palmer’s whipped free kick was punched out by Martin Dúbravka. It fell to Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze.

His scuffed shot found Ivan Toney, who reacted quickly enough to head the ball towards the six-yard box.

Then, Harry Kane finally broke free of Denis Vavro and thundered his header into the back of the net.

English limbs filled the Gelsenkirchen air once again. My pint survived the celebration in my front room, but I doubt the same could be said for those watching in pubs across the land.

Despite Southgate’s substitutions becoming far too late in normal time, they worked.

And Kane - so often criticised during group stage football - had provided another clutch moment in the knockout rounds.

For a small period, there was no negativity. The smartphone stayed on the table, and we were suddenly in awe of the drama that had changed this match in an instant.

Of course, it didn’t last long.

England invited pressure once more and any hope of finishing the Slovakians off was replaced by another anxiety-ridden 15 minutes before the final whistle blew.

There will be time in the coming days for another post-mortem into performance related issues before England meet Switzerland in Düsseldorf.

But in the years to come nobody is going to remember 115 minutes of a match that was mostly viewed through prism of social media.

It will be remembered by Bellingham’s exquisite equaliser and a reminder that football is still capable of surprises when all hope is gone.

You’re still thinking of the bad news, aren’t you?

England qualified for the round of 16 on Tuesday night after a drab 0-0 draw against Slovenia. The result was enough to win group C but will do little to stem the critics of Gareth Southgate’s team.

England had enjoyed much of the possession in Cologne but struggled to create chances against a robust Slovenian defence who knew a draw was also enough to qualify.

England were also dependent on Denmark not beating Serbia in the groups other game.

Had the Danes found a winner in the dying moments it would have knocked the Three Lions into a last 16 match with hosts Germany.

Southgate and England will claim that it is job done.

They won the group with two clean sheets and the only goal they did concede was a 30-yard screamer from Morten Hjulmand against Denmark.

But this group has been the worst of Euro 2024. Only serving up seven goals in the six matches which has been the lowest of the tournament.

England’s performances have been poor and have not earned the tag as pre-tournament favorites.

Last week’s criticism from broadcasters also feels justified. The players clearly felt aggrieved before Slovenia but failed to put in the performance that would make their supporters believe.

The travelling England fans were superb again in Cologne but even that turned unsavory when plastic pint pots were thrown in the direction of the manager at the end of the match.

Southgate downplayed this of course. Safe in the knowledge that Euro 2024 is now a results business now they have reached the knockout stages.

By sheer luck England have found themselves on the so called ‘easier’ side of the draw after France failed to finish top of Group D.

They will play Slovakia in Gelsenkirchen on Sunday evening which on paper is preferrable to the Netherlands.

Qualifying for the last 16 has been a triumph for Slovakia after beating Belgium in their opening Group E match. A goal by Ivan Schranz in the 7th minute secured the shock win.

The Slavia Prague winger was on target again in their second match which ended in a 2-1 defeat to Ukraine.

But, a 1-1 draw was with Romania in their final game was enough to the qualify as one of the best third placed teams.

Slovakia will test England’s underperforming midfield and forward line on Sunday.

Ondrej Duda (Hellas Verona) and Stanislav Lobotka (Napoli) have been influential at Euro 2024 and have plenty of experience of playing matches in Europe after several seasons in Serie A.

Milan Skriniar – at centre back - has also regularly played in the Champions League for Paris St-Germain and Inter Milan.

There is a precedent in European Championships – Greece in 2004 and Portugal in 2016 - where it is possible to bore your way through the competition and win it.

But then, England under Southgate have never taken advantage of luck and another trip to Gelsenkirchen fills me with dread.

Slovakia will care little for ego or big names now the opportunity of another big scalp has arisen.

England did win their opener against Serbia in the Veltins Arena so should be comfortable in those surroundings.

But, England cannot simply continue to plod through the tournament with the expectation of doing the bare minimum to progress.

If England are successful here, they will still run into the Italians, Dutch or an in form Austrian team.

Despite what the betting markets say England will not reach the final playing like this.

Sooner or later Southgate’s team is going to have to emerge from the bad news and start taking advantage of the blessings they have been given.

The last days of Southgate?

Picture Credit: Opta Analyst and UEFA.COM

Nobody needs to relive England’s performance against Denmark in Stuttgart.

It was the worst England performance at a tournament since losing to Iceland in 2016. Only this time, they escaped defeat and fortunately Denmark missed out on a well-deserved victory.

What was more interesting was the response from the broadcasters. Their normal supportive nature of Gareth Southgate and the players has been replaced with vehement criticism.

Alan Shearer was close to an aneurism at times in the BBC commentary box.

He followed his disdain for those wearing the shirt that he once wore in a spectacular three-minute rant that singled out several top ‘stars’.

Once finished, you admired Shearer for not dropping the expletives that nearly came, and the bosses at Auntie would have been relieved that they didn’t have to pull the audio feed.

It was England captain Harry Kane who was the subject of much of their anger. “In all honesty, he needs to do better,” Gary Lineker said on the BBC.

“As a striker you have two jobs: score goals, which Kane has been good at all his career, and make space.”

“Against a back three he has to stretch the play, run one way and then come short so you don’t have to come to too far to receive it.”

“He needs to make more space for the midfield players behind him to create chances.”

Other pundits were equally critical of the captain’s desire to drop into midfield. But it was Brentford manager Thomas Frank, who commented on England’s incapability of providing support for their talisman.

“Isn’t that what Kane’s done in the last four or five years? (At Spurs and Bayern Munich) They have runners around him. They (England) needed Foden or Jude going in behind.”

Bukayo Saka and Kyle Walker are also capable of this having ripped Serbia apart several times in the first thirty minutes of the opening game.

So, it isn’t a question of England players not being capable, it is a question of why Southgate’s players do not commit players forward more regularly.

Why has England stunk out a tournament that has thrived on great attacking play? Opting instead, to surrender their midfield and attacking output once scoring the first goal of the game.

It must be Southgate’s tactics.

The same tactics have been consistently exposed during big matches in the last three major tournaments against Croatia (Russia 2018), Italy (Euro 2020) and France (Qatar 2022).

If it is not the tactics, then it could be something more worrying. The fear of playing for England.

Southgate was commended for removing the burden of wearing the Three Lion’s shirt when he took over in 2016.

He granted the media with more access than ever to an England camp. Providing journalists with the platform to write and film positive stories about England stars that had previously felt impossible.

However, a string of poor performances has now left the print and broadcast media impatient, leading to speculation as to whether the manager’s time with England should come to an end after Euro 2024.

The players do not seem to have lost faith in Southgate yet having defended the manager in pre-match interviews.

If they were playing with fear, they also wouldn’t have felt emboldened to fire back against the nation’s media and reminded ex-players of their ‘responsibilities’ when discussing England.

Patronising, perhaps.

However, the players do have the right to defend themselves. But in doing so must improve their performances at a stage of the tournament when failure will set up a tough first knockout match against hosts Germany.

These tests will come eventually for England. But without finding form and momentum against Slovenia, England will be on a flight home sooner rather than later.

Hey, Jude.

Picture Credit: Getty Images and BBC Sport

Gelsenkirchen is notorious for uninspiring England performances. The Veltins Arena was the scene for the Three Lions 2006 World Cup Quarter Final penalty shootout defeat to Portugal.

Wayne Rooney was sent off for a stamp, Cristiano Ronaldo became the most hated man in the country and Sven-Göran Eriksson’s tenure with the ‘golden generation’ would end without a major trophy.

However, for those who suffer with England PTSD, the first 30 minutes of Sunday’s match against Serbia was the perfect tonic.

England were utilising their array of attacking talent.

Kieran Trippier and Kyle Walker bombed on from full back, Bukayo Saka tortured Filip Kostić and Strahinja Pavlović on the right and Jude Bellingham was dominating an international tournament like he has for Real Madrid in La Liga and the Champions League.

It was these combinations that provided the only goal of the game in the 13th minute.

Bellingham played the ball out wide to Walker, who then played a sublime through ball to Saka. The Arsenal man outpaced Pavlović before delivering a cross into the perfect area.

It was met by an unsavable header from Bellingham who had driven into the box after starting the move.

England would continue to attack after taking the lead and may have made it 2-0 had there been someone to tap in an opportunity made by Walker after another surging run into the box.

Serbia improved in the final 15 minutes of the half.

Dušan Vlahović and Sergej Milinković-Savić became more influential, and it became clear that England were going to have to suffer for the three points.

By the 50th minute, England had lost all control of the game by needlessly squandering possession and the midfield forced to retreat to their own third of pitch.

It was now time for England’s defence to step up, having been widely criticised in the build-up to the tournament.

But, John Stones and Marc Guéhi were calm and dominant at centre back.

Snuffing out several opportunities that would have changed the direction of the game had the Serbians been rewarded for their effort.

England did re-establish some control when Gareth Southgate brought on Conor Gallagher for Trent Alexander-Arnold.

There will be a conversation to be had on whether his partnership with Declan Rice should continue in the coming games.

Nonetheless, Gallagher’s introduction got England up the pitch and by the time West Ham’s Jarrod Bowen entered the fray, England were creating again.

Bowen provided Harry Kane’s first and only chance of the match, beating his man on the right-hand side before delivering an appetising cross that looked set to calm English nerves.

However, Kanes header was brilliantly saved by Pedrag Rajkovic, tipping the ball onto the underside of the crossbar before being cleared from danger.

The Serbians came again, and had it not been for Jordan Pickford, Vlahović would have scored the goal of the tournament so far.

A long ball from Dušan Tadić was initially defended by Stones, but his header only reached the Juventus forward on the edge of the 18-yard box.

Then, Vlahović skilfully turned away from Rice an unleashed a powerful shot towards goal. Fortunately, the England keeper saw it coming and managed to tip the ball over the bar.

The England goal was subjected to another long range shot as the game concluded.

It went high and wide but that didn’t stop Pickford berating his teammates for giving the Serbians the opportunity of a late equaliser.

As the final whistle blew there was a sense of relief. A good 30-minute performance followed by an anxiety ridden second half.

It was also a game that posed questions.

How do you get the best out of Phil Foden in an England shirt? The premier league player of the year was largely anonymous out on the left.

There may be some uncomfortable conversations for Southgate if Foden doesn’t rekindle some of his Manchester City form in the weeks ahead.

Kane also had an underwhelming game, touching the ball only twice in the first half.

Whilst dropping back into midfield draws ire from pundits and supporters alike, his ability to draw fouls and run the clock down was invaluable.

However, England won’t be successful without their record goal scorer and Kane must be more involved if they progress to the knockout rounds.

Their next match in Group C is against Denmark on Thursday evening in Stuttgart.

But for now, the plaudits belong to Jude Bellingham.

Who even in England’s darkest moments in Gelsenkirchen provided leadership well beyond his years to drag his team to victory.

This game will be remembered for his performance, the choruses of ‘Hey, Jude’ that echoed across the Veltins arena and his role in exorcising a ghost of England’s past.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. But now it’s time to put VAR back into pandoras box before it’s too late.

VAR was brought in to make football purer. But has our desire for perfection damaged what we love about the beautiful game?

“The road to hell is paved with good intentions,” the ancient proverb warns.

In modern times, the term has been adopted in film and literature to express caution or regret at inadvertently causing disaster.

The perfectionists inevitably die in the following scenes. Normally by being stabbed to death by a rival (Romeo and Juliet) or eaten by a Velociraptor (Jurassic Park).

This week it was football’s turn to express regret after the latest VAR controversies in the Premier League.

Despite being heralded as a system that would eliminate unjust decisions, VAR has only caused mayhem since it was introduced in 2016.

According to FIFA, VAR has increased refereeing accuracy from 92.1% to 98.3%. An improvement, but not perfect.

But then is our quest for purity in football achievable in a sport that thrives in its unpredictability and tribalism?

We all like to believe that we know what a dangerous tackle or a penalty looks like, but the reality is that football is subjective.

What my dad’s version of a tough tackle is now a red card offence, one man’s push in the back is another’s weak defender and for every person who insists the ball is out, there is another screaming that the ball is round.

These arguments predate VAR. What has changed is the pressure on officials to be robots.

Technology in cricket and tennis is successful because you can factually decipher if the ball has nicked a bat or crossed a sideline without discussion.

However, every system that is controlled by humans is not infallible.

Changes can be made but what are we willing to sacrifice about the game we love to reach the promised land?

We can move to a system where the referees wear microphones like in Rugby and NFL.

Communication would ease frustrations of match going fans who are often left checking their WhatsApp messages to find out what is happening.

However, we will have to accept more disruption in big games like Spurs v Chelsea, when the ball was only in play for a third of a 56-minute first half.

The VAR officials made the correct decisions eventually. Probably taking longer to make sure they weren’t on the receiving end of a pile on.

Great for talking points in the media perhaps, but not for those in the stadium gasping for their next pint.

There have been other suggestions to improve VAR. Better training, semi-automated offside systems and importing better referees.

Maybe one of our pundits could put themselves forward rather than suggesting that nobody understands the game better.

Will AI be the answer to football’s quest for perfection if we persist? But then, what becomes of football?

Chances are we will still gorge each other over how VAR is implemented. Supporters will still be robbed of moments of joy over subjective decisions.

Then - like an old man shouting at a cloud - we will yearn for the days when football was fun. We tried, but now it is time to put VAR back into Pandora’s box before it’s too late.

The World Cup So Far

Football in its purest form is about drama, romance, and agony. On the pitch, Qatar 2022 has delivered.

Sure, there has been the odd dull 0-0 but when you consider the number of shocks and stories that have emanated from this World Cup then you may consider it to be the best group stage in history.

For those of you who are still uneasy at FIFA’s running of the game and awarding Qatar the tournament, please know that the Emir has not quite got his nails into this modest blogger from Edmonton just yet.

FIFA boss Gianni Infantino kicked off the World Cup by hosting a bizarre press conference where he claimed that he understood the discrimination that Africans, migrants, and gay people (to name a few) felt because he once had red hair.

Now, speaking as someone whose friends still have my number saved as ‘weeman’ after all these years, I’ve got to tell Gianni that at some point you either need to seek help or get better PR advisors. It is simply not the same.

As requested, once the tournament starts, we should “stick to football” and that is what this piece is all about.

The tournament has been headlined by its upsets and we didn’t have to wait long. For Argentina, this World Cup is Lionel Messi’s ‘last dance’.

Their 36-game unbeaten streak – that included winning the Copa America – was broken by a resolute Saudi Arabian team that cared about little other than making a statement in the first World Cup in the Middle East.

Messi and Argentina would recover, beating Mexico and Poland and Australia to reach the Quarter Finals as expected. The same cannot be said for Germany.

Having been dumped out of group stages in Russia 2018 and the quarter finals of Euro 2020, Germany seems to be stuck between generations.

While this World Cup may have seen the end of Thomas Müller we have also seen the birth of Jamal Musiala. While me may laugh at Germany’s demise, I suspect it won’t be long until they’re back amongst the best in the world.

It is genuinely sad to see Belgium’s golden generation not fulfil its potential. Reports of infighting has taken its toll on a squad that has come close to glory but succumbed to pressure.

This is of course unfair to Japan and Morocco who have upset the European order. While possession of the ball may not have been their priority, they took advantage of their opponents’ weaknesses.

After a couple of poor tournaments, the African and Asian countries are having a renaissance.

Australia – who compete in Asia – surprisingly got the better of a talented Denmark team who reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020.

Granted they were well beaten in the end by Kylian Mbappe and France. However, we must be mindful that this isn’t a squad blessed by Premier League players as it has been in the past.

In my opinion, the last group games in Group H were the most dramatic (apologies to Group E). Ghana waited 12 years for revenge against Luis Suarez and Uruguay.

It was a game that saw Ghana miss a penalty and Suarez notch up two assists. It mirrored that dramatic quarter final from the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

In the end an unexpected late goal saw South Korea beat an impressive Portugal team to dump Uruguay out of the tournament.

It may not have been the revenge that the Ghanaian’s had expected, but if they were to go out then, by God, they were going to take Uruguay with them.

Forgive me for not expanding on the Brazilian, Dutch, Spanish and French performances. They have been solid, but this World Cup has been about the underdog.

It is a shame – depending on your politics – that Qatar couldn’t perform better. They did after all win the 2019 Asian Cup.

Maybe they choked on the biggest stage? Major tournaments are enhanced by strong performances from the host nation. I predict we will get this from either the USA, Canada or Mexico in four years’ time.

I will, however, talk about England. We started the tournament with an impressive 6-2 win against Iran.

After several dreadful performances and relegation in the Nations League, it felt like a performance that finally got the best out our most talented players.

There is a sense that England would have won the Euro 2020 Final and World Cup Semi Final had Gareth Southgate gone for the jugular rather than relying on a more pragmatic approach.

However, it should be said that no England manager has done more to unite players, supporters and the media like he has.

The critics returned after the 0-0 draw with the United States and while it was a poor performance, it should never have been a thought of as an easy game.

We must remember that most of the teams in this tournament have players that are playing in Europe’s major leagues.

England went into the ‘British derby in the desert’ knowing it was almost impossible to be eliminated baring a disaster. England would run out 3-0 winners with a dominant performance.

We all expected the Welsh to excel in this tournament as they have done in the last two Euros. While we all laughed at Kieffer Moore’s statement that he “couldn’t wait to knock England out,” it is important to remember that qualifying for their first World Cup in 64 years should be seen as an achievement.

This of course won’t stop our friends from the Valleys and Highlands from going ‘full Infantino’ by identifying with and supporting the African Champions on Sunday night.

Senegal will be England’s toughest test so far. They’re comfortable playing knockout football, having won the African Cup of Nations in February. They then followed this up by knocking out Egypt to qualify for Qatar.

Despite being without Sadio Mane, Senegal are led by the charismatic Aliou Cisse. You may remember him from his time at Portsmouth under Harry Redknapp.

Cisse’s finest moment came in the 2002 World Cup when he captained Senegal to the Quarter Finals. They arguably caused the biggest upset in the tournaments history when they beat, reigning champions, France.

It is important to emphasise that England shouldn’t fear anyone when you consider the array of talent at Southgate’s disposal.

Such is the nature of English football, opinions on the starting line-up will differ depending on which club you support.

We just must hope that Southgate’s decisions allow our talented Lions to flourish. If he gets it right, then there is a chance that football can come home.

So, this is Christmas…What have FIFA done?

So, it is World Cup eve. And for football it will be a Christmas like no other. A winter World Cup that has inflicted an insane number of games into an already tight domestic schedule.

Inevitably this has led to injuries to the likes of Paul Pogba and Sadio Mane, who will miss out on the chance to represent their countries on the grandest stage in football.

This is of course minor in the grand scheme of things. Qatar hosting the World Cup has plagued the world of football with issues surrounding bribery, human rights abuses and homophobia.

In 2010, the FIFA executive committee chose Qatar over established sporting nations such as the United States and Australia.

The explanation was that FIFA wanted to take football to new places, new markets and help grow the game.

It’s not a view that I disagree with. The USA, South Africa, South Korea and Japan have all held successful tournaments and created a legacy.

However, since that bidding process, 11 out of 22 that voted to award the world cup to Qatar have since been suspended from football, fined, or sent to prison.

While investigations didn’t find enough evidence to connect the awarding of the 2022 World Cup, the FBI found that bribes, undisclosed and illegal payments were a “common way of doing business at FIFA.”

This is exacerbated by Sepp Blatter’s recent vomit-inducing attempt to redeem his image by claiming that the decision to go to Qatar was wrong.

Again, investigations have found that Blatter wasn’t connected. But let’s not ignore the fact that he ran a multi-billion-pound organisation where corruption was rife.

Then we get to discrimination and human rights abuses. According to the Guardian, 6,500 migrant workers have died building stadiums and other infrastructure projects.

Many have complained of having their passports confiscated, working under unfair conditions and living in appalling accommodation.

A major talking point will be how gay people are treated in Qatar. Homosexuality is punishable by jail time and possibly even death if you are Muslim.

If FIFA truly believe that the “Football is for everyone” and works to “serve our game for the benefit of the entire world,” then why have they chosen to turn a blind eye to a demographic that will be unwelcome at this World Cup?

The Qatar organising committee have insisted that everyone will be welcome. However, this fell apart when one of its ambassadors, Khalid Salman, stated that “homosexuality is damage in mind.”

I’m no travel agent but I’m not sure that’s the reassuring message that gay supporters or journalists were looking for.

Still, if women and homosexuals feel unsafe during their stay, they can always visit one of the designated safe houses. I hear they are lovely in the run up to Christmas.

These questions are incredibly embarrassing for FIFA. An organisation hell bent on avoiding tough questions about culpability. This led to current president Gianni Infantino’s plea for us all to “focus on the football.”

Now, I could sit here and criticise another grey man in a rather expensive suit, but I suspect that is what’s going to happen.

Much like other World Cups and Olympics that have been steeped in controversy in the build-up - once the sport begins it all goes quiet.

I guess if I was less of a hypocrite I would boycott and not watch it at all. The truth is I love football and I love the World Cup.

I will try and watch every game including when Australia play Tunisia. With apologies to my wife, it’s the kind of big game you only get every four years.

I will buy the new England shirt at an exorbitant £75, wrap myself in a St George’s flag and sing ‘god save the king’ for the first time.

We will gather at homes and pubs across the country with friends and family and play ‘it’s coming home’ after every victory.

You see – football at its best brings people together. It doesn’t matter what background you’re from. All you need is a ball.

At its worst, the administrators that run the game have become power hungry and financially driven that they are now willing to discriminate and compromise football’s soul if it earns them enough profit.

We have seen this through the European Super League, increasing ticket prices and now sports washing.

Those whose identities aren’t intertwined with following their local club or national team would simply say to stop giving these people your time and money.

But we can’t. Because we love football.

I hope that come Christmas, I’m proven wrong. That football was the launch pad for change for everyone across the region.

That the families of those that died can be compensated and perhaps have a feeling that their loved ones’ lives were worth it.

Because if not, what have FIFA done?