Ivan Bandov

Retweet articles to read later and occasionally jump into discussions. Proud Croatian. Soccer coach @ Marin FC and Redwood HS Girls Varsity. United fan.

[Morning Brew ☕️ @MorningBrew]

When their passive aggressive email has your manager CC'd "for visibility"

[Daniel Abrahams @DanAbrahams77]

No…

It wasn’t Thomas Tuchel’s substitutions…

Anthony Gordon scored in the 55th minute. The (already) infamous substitutions were made in the 82nd minute.

England had a measly 12% possession from the moment the ball hit the Argentinian net. It wasn’t the substitutions that made the difference (although perhaps they didn’t help)…it was the mindset of the England players after they scored. And this happens to England in major tournaments again and again and again and again…

So what happened? Performance anxiety…

“Don’t be the player to make a mistake”
“Let’s just see this through”

These aren’t thoughts. They’re feelings. Feelings in the pit of the stomach. Feelings that cascade through the whole body. Feelings that generate hesitancy, inhibition…and in the words of Thomas Tuchel post game, passiveness

A Low Intent - energy-back. Arguably the biggest killer in high performance sport is a drop in intent.

A couple of months ago I had the honour of being on The Overlap. As I described to Gary, Roy, Ian and Scholesy - “A drop in intent can make great players look very average.” Last night, a drop in intent made the England players, great players, look shockingly poor - an energy-back negatively impacting awareness, anticipation, decision-making, physicality, technical and tactical play.

The same happened against Spain in the Euros final 2024 and against Italy in the Euros final against Italy in 2020. And in countless tournaments prior.

Energy-back vs Energy-forward…

Argentina - energy-forward. Singing their national anthem with gusto. As aggressive in the press and in duels as you’re going to see. Slightly bending the rules. Being nasty…in their opponents’ faces…

…competing with so much passion and adoration for each other and with so much want and will and determination that there’s no room for anxieties (fears, uncertainties, doubts)…

No room…

This is hard to accomplish. Brutally, disgustingly hard. Phenomenally hard. Why? Because striving to play with energy-forward under pressure is so metabolically costly. It requires enormous will-power and tenacity…which needs an enormous amount of energy. It feels horrible. It feels exhausting. That’s why so many teams fail to deliver under pressure.

No, it wasn’t Tuchel’s substitutions. It’s a failure to address a national characteristic - a socio-cultural and bio-psychological tendency to play with fear (energy-back) under pressure.

This needs to be tackled now for the 2028 Euros and the 2030 World Cup. Plans need to be put in place…mental frameworks need to be laid down.

Attention
Intensity
Intent

England (like all nations and like all club teams) need mental frameworks that help players to compete with High Attention; Optimal Intensity; and (most importantly) High Intent under pressure.

And there is a behavioural template that shines like a beacon through the fog of complexity in the world game - the Argentinian National Team…

…they are, quite simply, the warriors of international football

[Front Office Sports @FOS]

This was Argentine announcer Pablo Giralt's call of the comeback goal that sent his country to the World Cup final.

[TheCroatian @TheCroatian_]

🚨🇭🇷 NEW: Sportske Novosti have published the HNS letter sent to FIFA after the match against Portugal.

“Once again, this edition of the World Cup has demonstrated the global strength and popularity of football, making it all the more important that we remain committed to the fundamental values of our game—fairness, fair play, and the consistent application of the Laws of the Game to all national teams.

It is precisely because several controversial incidents during the tournament have prompted strong reactions around the world—from referees, media representatives, football experts, and the wider public—that we consider it necessary to address you in order to clarify the application of the Laws of the Game and FIFA's protocols in the refereeing decisions made during the World Cup Round of 32 match between Croatia and Portugal, played on 2 July 2026 in Toronto.

During the second half of that match, Croatia had three goals disallowed, all following delayed offside decisions. Furthermore, after a VAR intervention, Portugal was awarded a penalty kick that resulted in the equalising goal, even though the referee was in close proximity to the players, had a clear view of the incident, and did not consider the challenge sufficient to award a penalty. Consequently, the incident did not constitute a "serious missed incident." Given that it involved the kind of physical challenge routinely seen inside the penalty area in virtually every match, we are equally convinced that it could not reasonably have been regarded as a "clear and obvious error" by the referee. In other words, neither of the two fundamental criteria for a VAR review was met and, under the VAR Protocol, the VAR had neither the authority nor the obligation to invite the referee to conduct an on-field review.

Particularly controversial was referee Espen Eskås' decision in the 103rd minute to disallow Joško Gvardiol's goal for the alleged offside position of Mario Pašalić. In FIFA's official statement, it was explained that "Connected Ball Technology, embedded in the official match ball, detected a touch by Igor Matanović, allowing the referee to correctly award an offside offence and disallow Joško Gvardiol's goal."

At the same time, FIFA's official explanation of the offside law on its website states:

"Hair is considered a body part only if it affects the movement or trajectory of the ball. This is likely possible only in cases involving significant contact with a substantial amount of hair, for example a bun on top of the head."

It therefore remains unclear whether the referee disallowed Croatia's goal solely because Matanović may have touched the ball with a single strand of hair, or because he concluded that such contact affected the movement or trajectory of the ball—something that cannot in any way be inferred from the publicly available footage.

Moreover, all available video footage clearly shows that after passing Matanović's head, the ball did not change its direction, trajectory, speed, or rotation. In other words, he did not play the ball and therefore there could have been no offside offence. We consider it fundamentally wrong that an almost imperceptible vibration detected by a sensor can determine the outcome of a match of such importance.

We do not believe it serves football, its supporters, its players, its referees, the spirit of our game, or FIFA itself for technology to be trusted more than what is plainly visible to the human eye. As the reactions of people around the world—not only Croatian supporters—have demonstrated, virtually no one believes that Matanović touched the ball. When technology attempts to convince the public otherwise, it is entirely understandable that many describe such a decision as an "obvious robbery" or claim that "technology is destroying football." Such widespread negative reactions do nothing to enhance FIFA's reputation or strengthen public confidence in technological innovation. This is particularly unfortunate because we firmly believe that technology has an important and welcome role to play in football—but not in this manner.

The entire situation is further complicated by the following question: if the sensor data conclusively confirmed a touch and the VAR team definitively established the existence of an offside offence, why was the referee invited to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor at all? In such circumstances, this would have been a purely factual decision that the VAR is authorised to make independently. Conversely, if the referee was nevertheless called to conduct an on-field review, what exactly was he reviewing? Which specific video angles enabled him to conclude that Matanović touched the ball or affected its movement?

Furthermore, the available television footage clearly shows—through the data displayed at the bottom of the screen—that the "peak" indicating the alleged touch appears significantly before the ball reaches the Croatian attacker who is alleged to have touched it. Such footage simply cannot be regarded as sufficiently reliable evidence on which to base a decision of such significance. We therefore respectfully request that FIFA provide the Croatian Football Federation with the relevant footage from the VAR operations room so that we may determine why this "peak" appears before the ball had even come into the vicinity of Igor Matanović.

We are fully aware that no subsequent interpretation of these events can alter the outcome of the match against Portugal, a national team that we respect and congratulate on qualifying for the Round of 16.

However, given that football matches—and especially the FIFA World Cup—are followed with immense passion and emotion by billions of people around the world, we believe it is essential to further strengthen confidence in refereeing, particularly with regard to the criteria and methods governing the application of modern technology, so that it cannot be misapplied or used contrary to its intended purpose. Everything that occurred during this match, and especially the final offside decision, generated enormous dissatisfaction among football supporters around the world, thereby harming the game during this historic FIFA World Cup.

We therefore consider it appropriate for FIFA to conduct a thorough review of all the controversial incidents from this match and to provide comprehensive explanations of the refereeing decisions that had a decisive impact on the outcome of this Round of 32 fixture. Although such explanations cannot restore Croatia's opportunity to pursue another great achievement on football's biggest stage during Luka Modrić's extraordinary international career, we sincerely hope that similar unjust and fundamentally unfootballing decisions—in which a sensor becomes more important than what is visible to the human eye—will be prevented in the future through clearer protocols and improved procedures.

Unfortunately, decisions of this nature cause immense disappointment among football supporters—from Croatian fans in the stadium to football lovers, media representatives, commentators, and the wider public across the globe. We firmly believe that such situations can be avoided in the future, and it is precisely for that reason that we have chosen to address you in this manner, fully aware that no explanation can lessen the tears, sadness, and disappointment of our players and supporters.

In light of all the above circumstances, we respectfully ask that you give careful consideration to the questions and proposals we have presented.”

[Henry Winter @henrywinter]

Interesting back-story to Ismail Elfath, the American referee for England v Argentina. Born in Casablanca, Elfath won a US government “diversity lottery ticket” aged 18. Left an extended family of 16 in his grandfather’s house (his mother died when he was 8), arrived with $200 at University of Texas at Austin.

Studied mechanical engineering, played decent standard locally (striker for Austin Lightning in USL League Two) and complained about refereeing standards so decided to become one. Continued playing until tackled badly from behind, over-reacted, sent off, and argued with ref, grabbing the red card, on way off. Briefly suspended, so decided to focus on reffing.

Got a job in IT (useful for VAR) while climbing refereeing ladder. Not that well-known, mainly MLS, but did Qatar 2022, upset Cristiano Ronaldo by disallowed a goal for an apparent foul, and a lucky omen for Argentina – fourth official in the 2022 final they won.

Now 44, and a naturalised US citizen, Elfath has spoken candidly to his local Austin American-Statesman newspaper about being Muslim after 9/11, talking of the abuse but also of the great kindness of Austin people. Role model for US refereeing and his faith. #ENGARG #FIFAWorldCup

[Ivan Bandov @IvanBandov]

@ByDougMcIntyre @FOXSoccer Yes, bring GB back for a 3rd time. What a crazy attention seeking thought

[Croatian Football  @CroatiaFooty]

🇭🇷💔 𝐄𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐅 𝐀𝐍 𝐄𝐑𝐀: Zlatko Dalić. The greatest manager of Croatia.

🥈 2018 FIFA World Cup
🥉 2022 FIFA World Cup
🥈 2023 UEFA Nations League

🗓️ 111 matches
✅ 62 wins
🤝 20 draws
✖️ 29 losses

[Nasss♟️ @NassimMTL]

Ce joueur du Paraguay a mit 2 coup de poing dans le match, à Mbappé et Koundé mais il a prit aucun carton

[MLFootball @MLFootball]

ELECTRIC: TOM BRADY NARRATED THE GREATEST AMERICAN SPORTS MOMENTS FOR AMERICA’S 250TH BIRTHDAY AND IT’S AN ALL-TIME VIDEO.

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸

CHILLS. ABSOLUTE CHILLS.

[Nico Cantor @Nicocantor1]

I’m not here to discuss whether or not the right call was made. With the tools at the disposal of FIFA referees, they made the correct call.

I’m here to discuss whether or not THIS is upholding the spirit of football.

To the naked eye it’s impossible to tell with absolute certainty whether Matanović (20) touches the ball therefore creating a second action which would deem Pašalić (15) in an offside position. There were countless replays shown and not a single one could determine with unequivocal evidence that Matanović was in contact with the ball.

Then came the “heart beat graph”. The y-axis showing force onto the ball measured by a chip inside the ball. It shows a touch. Where? Hair? Head? Not sure. But if the chip is calibrated correctly, contact exists. As a collective we are forced to blindly trust the technology.

Is this football spirit? Having to agree on something not a single person on Earth could see?

VAR and technology feels like the antithesis to the nature of football. Like a foreign pathogen corrupting the rhythms and flows of a game that is extraordinary.

Football is great because it is imperfect. It pits emotion, determination and skill of 22 players against each other. It forces three referees to make brave judgment calls when margins are razor thin. Of course, human error has produced extreme controversy. Enter VAR.

VAR was introduced to correct the “clear and obvious”. But it has invaded the game and taken control. It’s now rewriting the “microscopic and imperceptible”.

That is not football. Because in the football pre VAR the Croatia goal yesterday would’ve stood. The assistant referee never raised his flag. And we’d be endlessly replaying this goal to search for the Matanović touch we could never truly find.

In our reality, though, Portugal is through. Croatia’s goal was offside.

And in our reality, VAR is holding football hostage. And if we settle for that, the technology will kill football. From experts to former footballers, people that lived and breathed for this sport don’t like it. They see that even with technology, justice fails when VAR was pitched as infallible.

Reform shouldn’t be a thought. It should be a non-negotiable demand from everyone. From former players to current ones. Presidents of federations to managers. As the tide of our world is on the edge of shifting towards a future primarily dictated by artificial intelligence and evolving tech that we might not even comprehend, the time is now.

It’s our only hope.

[Croatian Football  @CroatiaFooty]

Brilliant 2nd part to John Malkovich and Croatia | I Hear It's Beautiful!

Featuring the one and only Luka Modrić!

[Tonči Glavina @TonciGlavina]

Modrić & Malkovich u nastavku filma „CROATIA – I hear it's beautiful“

Uživajte u nastavku u kojem se ovaj put u glavnoj ulozi pojavljuje i naš kapetan @lukamodric10. Sretno Vatreni! Cijela Hrvatska je uz vas! I John Malkovich! 😉

[Andrew Marchand @AndrewMarchand]

Full service here

[World Cup HQ @WorldCup26HQ]

An Argentina fan lost his wallet…

The guy who found it turned the owner's name into a chant to track him down… It worked!

Football fans are the greatest. 👏🇦🇷

[Ivan Bandov @IvanBandov]

@ManagerTactical or her Bosnian abc news boss said apologize or find a new job lol

[Jerry Thornton @jerrythornton]

No matter how cool your fight song is, it’s not going to be Nena’s “99 Luftballons” cool.

[Fabrizio Romano @FabrizioRomano]

2️⃣0️⃣0️⃣ times Luka Modrić. Legend. ✨🇭🇷

[ApexFii 🇺🇸🇬🇭 @fiifi_gh]

Only people who watch key and Peale understand 😆

[USMNT Only @usmntonly]

Brazil, Morocco, Haiti and Scotland fans dancing to 'NO SCOTLAND NO PARTY' in the middle of downtown Boston, late at night.

The 2026 World Cup vibes have been impeccable. The United States is hosting what's becoming an all-time sporting event 🇺🇸 ❤️

[Mario Nawfal @MarioNawfal]

🇺🇸🇫🇷 “I just had Texas barbecue for the first time… better than any moment in my life.”

The French have a long history of contempt for American cuisine, calling it “la malbouffe” (foul food).

But this particular Frenchman makes no bones about his America-maxxing.

“I’d give my left croissant for a Texas brisket.” 😂

Writer: Michael