by FIGHT TO THE ENDRICK
With the build-up to England’s game against Brazil dominated by an often heated debate about the colors of an inconspicuous rectangle adorning the collar of the men’s team shirt, we finally have the distraction of football to discuss. Not much of a game, mind, since the loudest cheers at Wembley on Saturday were reserved for Fabrício Bruno almost winging it with a paper airplane launched from the middle tier of the stands. In terms of accuracy and precision, young Brazilian midfielder Endrick went one better, as the 17-year-old scored his first goal for his country to lead Gareth Southgate’s brave boys to a narrow victory relating to him in the cosmic scheme. of things.
Only Southgate and his team will know if they have learned much from this competition, although one of the main media takeaways from what was a truly awful encounter seems to be that Ollie Watkins did himself no favors in the race to see the he or Ivan Toney will earn the right to sit on the bench at Euro 2024 as Harry Kane’s backup. Forced to live on scraps against a preposterously inexperienced Brazilian defense, the Aston Villa striker lost a reasonable half-opportunity that was certainly not as easy as it would besome quarterbacks Monday morning and Monday, you think. Against Belgium, Toney will be given a chance to impress and one suspects the Brentford frontman will back himself as some jokes, however lame and predictable, write themselves.
While Kyle Walker and Harrys Kane and Maguire left the England camp with a minor knock, there was sad news for goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, who faces what could be a season – and likely Euro 2024 – that ended a spell on the sidelines after suffering. during training. James Trafford has been called up from the under-21s and has recently had useful practice watching from the bench, having been dropped by Vincent Kompany for Burnley’s last game before the international break. An unused substitute in England’s defeat at the hands of Brazil and one of the Premier League’s brightest prospects, Trafford’s fellow Cumbrian Jarrad Branthwaite will be hoping to make his England debut in Maguire’s absence. Seen by many as a future England regular, the Everton defender, like the Burnley goalkeeper, has had plenty of practice honing his craft this season.
After last week’s palaver over fine-tuning the England shirt, the kit Southgate’s players are wearing against Belgium is likely to be under scrutiny by the country’s people with far too much time on their hands. An expensive dark raisin number with sesame logos and multi-coloured panels in different colors that are bound to cause confusion, the shirts worn in the second half will not feature players’ names in an initiative which is part of the FA’s partnership with him. the Alzheimer’s Association.
“We hope to not only encourage fans to donate to our early diagnosis research but also to support their loved ones as much as they support their football team,” said the charity’s CEO, Kate Lee. “This means taking the vital first steps to seek a diagnosis if they think someone they care for may be affected.” It goes without saying that this small but significant gesture on the part of the England football team has already been dismissed as a waste of time by a merciless minority of weirdos who clearly didn’t have to deal with the heartbreak of being forgotten. someone who lives with this terrible disease.
STATEMENT OF THE DAY
“It’s been a bit of a whirlwind – it feels like a lifetime ago. My first out-of-body experience was the best of my career. It was incredible to be in the squad and exposed to a club of that size. I wouldn’t change that moment” – former Manchester United midfielder James Weir chats to Will Unwin about those early days under Louis van Gaal at Old Trafford, spells in Hungary and Slovakia, and how ‘injuries led to retirement at 28. .
DAILY FOOTBALL LETTERS
As for the picture of Tommy Johnson with a cabbage (Friday’s Memory Lane, full email edition), that will be due to the fact that Neil Warnock, the County manager in 1989, who opened a grocery store in Nether Edge, Sheffield, especially. towards the end of his playing days. He did a good job in County, to be fair, and there was a bit of a buzz about him and him, in Nottingham at the time. That was the promotion season from the old Division Three. But he was generally seen at the time as some part-time upstart who was only managing non-league and who was down on his luck with Scarborough. I would imagine Johnson was showing support. On the other hand, hanging around the grocery store was as exciting as life was in Ruddy Nottingham in 1989, so maybe he was doing it” – Jon Millard.
The photo you included was taken when Johnson was early in his career as a striker at Notts County and the chairman at the time said he needed to build up to improve his stamina. A local green grocer (Warnock? – probably Football Daily Ed) ensured a timely delivery of a flat box of vegetables to help bolster the plan. Villa fans may remember him coughing up his pre-match meal in the center circle before his first game so it was clear he had a special relationship with food” – Richard Bullock.
I can’t claim credit, but I enjoyed a reference to the Derby Islands derby in another magazine in August as the ‘No Taxico’” – Rob Taylor.
Send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s lucky letter winner is … Jon Millard.
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
Join Max Rushden and the Football of the Week podcast squad as they chew over the weekend’s action.
♬♪♬♪ RECORD RECORD! ♪♬♪♬
When we heard that Baumgartner had made headlines with a sporting feat at the weekend our minds immediately flashed back to 14th October 2012, when Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner threw himself from the edge of space in a freestyle. supersonic funded by Red Bull and hurt back. to the ground from heights never before reached as the world watches on with mild alarm … but mostly dismay.
But it was Austria’s Christoph Baumgartner who took us back to our days of yard kicks last weekend as he ran straight up the pitch from the start before blasting the ball past the Slovakian goalkeeper after just six seconds. It was the fastest goal in international football history. “We’ve made this change before, with it being a complete risk from the start,” he tried after the 2-0 win. “Somehow the sequence of steps worked out so I got the run.” Christoph earns his keep at RB Leipzig, which means he not only has the same nationality and surname as Felix, but also the same paymaster. If Red Bull made goals etc and so on…
NEWS, YEAST AND BOBS
Dani Alves, who was convicted of rape, has paid bail of €1m and can leave prison pending his appeal.
Former Chelsea chief executive Marina Granovskaia has appeared in documents revealing offshore payments made by Roman Abramovich, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged breaches of football spending rules.
Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley is facing the prospect of having to pay a Greek shipping magnate more than £3m after a high court legal battle.
Portsmouth’s Abu Kamara has reacted to being one of five players named by former Norwich outfit Stuart Webber as an example of black footballers who needed to make it “because the alternative could be jail” . “I want to say to all the black and minority ethnic children that you don’t have to be a professional athlete to avoid a life of crime and it’s important that this false narrative is not left to a younger audience,” he said. . “I’m proud of where I come from and I acknowledge the sacrifices my family made for me to have a career in football.”
Wales and Poland fans have been warned not to bring pyrotechnic devices to the Euro play-off final in Cardiff. Four Polish fans were arrested for possessing pyrotechnics in Cardiff 18 months ago and the Football Association of Wales was fined more than £14,500 after home fans set off flares in the World Cup play-off win over Austria and Ukraine.
Uefa has made “no sensible efforts” to settle claims on behalf of 1,200 Liverpool fans affected by the chaos surrounding the 2022 Champions League final, a law firm has said.
João Cancelo is still hurt by his unceremonious departure from Manchester City. “Lies were told,” he said, trying to dispel rumors that he had a disturbing influence.
And Ashley Cole is the latest inductee into the Premier League Hall of Fame. “To join the likes of Alan Shearer, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba and Rio Ferdinand, I’m privileged to be in their company,” gushed the former Arsenal and Chelsea defender as he looked around his fancy new virtual club .
STILL ABOUT MORE?
Here are your WSL talking points from the weekend’s action. Get stuck in!
Wembley and Belgium give Ivan Toney a great chance to show Gareth Southgate that Harry Kane is the ideal subject of a follow-up study, writes David Hytner.
It’s time for the USA USA men’s team to get in shape, barks Tom Dart.
Xabi Alonso’s choice, a little easier than Sophie’s choice but which of Liverpool, Bayern or Barcelona should he choose to manage next season? Jonathan Wilson provides careers advice here.
Greg Wood has the latest on the Football Index and all those who have gone under it.
And as AI football lies, be grateful to those who are ready to rage against the machine, writes Barney Ronay.
MEMORY LANE
It looks like some of Arsenal’s reserves came up against their Chelsea counterparts on 20 March 1948. That’s Denis Compton on the right, who went on to play 78 games for the England cricket team.
