Bishop

[Zlatan Ibrahimović @Ibra_official]

The studio will never forget

[Rilwan @Real1_balogun]

That things stay popular doesn’t make them sound, and some pundits are experts at rehashing popular opinions.

Belgium indeed had a golden generation of footballers and Martinez remains the most successful manager they’ve had. They were top of FIFA ranking for three years. That’s golden. Bronze medalists at the World Cup.
That’s a feat many countries will never achieve.

Only 19 teams have won a medal in the 96-year history of the World Cup and Belgium are one of them. They weren’t before Martinez.

He has the highest winning rate of any Belgium coach in history. That third place in 2018 remains the biggest thing achieved in Belgian football. People look at international football coaches and think they see Sir Alex Ferguson.

Didier Deschamps has been France coach for 12 years, and he’s only won one trophy. If you tell that to a novice in football, they’ll think “one in a dozen years doesn’t seem a big achievement” but the nuances hold the facts.

Martinez could have won with Belgium simply because it’s international football and anyone can win. After all, Portugal won in 2016 when they were drab and dull. When you zoom in, you’ll appreciate the sheer difficulty of pulling any triumph internationally. But to paint him as a failure is being unfair.

He didn’t ‘waste’ a golden generation. He achieved some of their best feats with them.

Many golden generations have come and gone in football without winning. The label ‘golden’ is human. England had it, and they never made a semifinal. Brazil had it in 2006 and they didn’t go past the quarterfinals at the World Cup.

Cote D’Ivoire didn’t win jack with their golden generation. But you can’t dub them failures.

From a Nigerian perspective, our much-vaunted golden generation only went as far as the round of 16 at the World Cup and won the AFCON once. Anyone will be asinine to think of that generation as a failed one.

It’s not about the achievements you see at the end only. International football is ghetto. It’s hard to win there. You can be a national team manager for 20 years and not win a single thing, yet you’re doing a fantastic job.

There’s nothing that guarantees success in international football. You can do your best and that’s it. If you win, lucky. That Spain 2008-2012 run isn’t a feature. It’s a bug. We won’t see it every time.

To even think that the only senior international title of Schmeichel’s career was won by a coach he swore would ruin their football, and refused to play for initially because he disliked his methods. Not sure what he thinks about the man today. Maybe the best coach of their ‘golden’ generation?

[Bishop @manlikeafi]

@heeeeeen96 Wow

[ColiflorRM @ColiflorRM]

Hay algo que olvidamos constantemente cuando juzgamos a deportistas, artistas o genios.

No llegaron hasta allí comportándose como nosotros.
Un futbolista de élite, un Dalí o un Steve Jobs no son personas corrientes.

Son personas que, para bien y para mal, se apartaron de lo normal.

La arrogancia de Bellingham, la obsesión de Cristiano o la necesidad permanente de protagonismo de Vinicius suelen ser el precio de las mismas cualidades que los hicieron extraordinarios.

Por eso siempre me ha parecido extraño exigir a un talento excepcional que piense, sienta y se comporte exactamente igual que el resto.

Los delanteros viven en una realidad psicológica muy distinta a la nuestra.

Tienen que salir a un estadio con 80.000 personas convencidos de que pueden decidir ellos solos el destino de un partido.

Eso exige una relación con el ego que probablemente sería insoportable en una oficina y necesaria en el Bernabéu.

Muchas veces admiramos el resultado de una personalidad extraordinaria mientras intentamos corregir los rasgos que la hicieron posible.

[Will Jeanes @will_jeanes]

Jonathan David is the first player from a host nation to a score a World Cup hat-trick since Geoff Hurst for England in the 1966 final.

[weird medieval guys @WeirdMedieval]

you fools….where do you think they’re rowing to…..?

[Bishop @manlikeafi]

This is very underrated. The racism and xenophobia in several countries is worse than people think and is back with a vengeance too. It really fucks with kids psychologically

[Adaupo @theculturedguy]

@glamboyosa The need to raise your children in an environment that is surrounded by their own culture and people.

[. @tosinmm_]

Michael Akpovie Olise, you are a genius of a footballer.

[The Athletic | Football @TheAthleticFC]

Michael Olise could have opted to represent any one of four countries: Nigeria, Algeria, England or France.

He chose the latter, saying that he had dreamed of pulling on the blue shirt since his first childhood holidays in France.

As France prepare for the World Cup, he is now considered an automatic pick on the right, despite stiff competition for places.

Olise may be a little off-kilter, hard to pin down, but he is serious about his craft.

📝 @jacklang

Our World Cup Stars of Soccer is free to read here ⬇️

🔗 https://t.co/HRA9S62ovJ

[James Pearce @JamesPearceLFC]

What a pass from Olise. Absolute class

[Bishop @manlikeafi]

💯

[EMEKA NWANI @emeka_nwani]

Lowkey, Mbappe’s World Cup resume isn’t far off the best in our lifetime

[I. @Iifeofisaiah]

I really like this ref 🤣

He said today we’re letting men be men

[Florian Ederer @florianederer]

Contrary to popular belief, it's actually rich countries (and their academies) that produce the soccer players for poorer countries.

Reverse migration after skills acquisition

[Bishop @manlikeafi]

We have the gene pool. We just need to lock in there is NO sport we won't dominate. Including swimming

[LFC ITB 🇵🇸🇨🇩🔴 @iTweetBanter]

michael olise - you are exactly who they say you are

[Richard Awe @Richard3d7]

@DoubleEph The Nigerian National Assembly should also constitute one…. The committee should come and sit in London to investigate also 😂

[tyro @DoubleEph]

Olise is just an incredible player. There ought to be a Commons Select Committee to investigate why he was allowed to get away from England

[Polymarket Sports @PolymarketSport]

🚨FACT: Spain have only won THREE World Cup games since the 2010 Final:

2014 vs Australia
2018 vs Iran
2022 vs Costa Rica

[SuperSport Football ⚽️ @SSFootball]

The African giants start their #FIFAWorldCup2026 campaign with a point ✅🇪🇬

#DStvFIFAWorldCup2026 | #EverythingCanWait

[OptaJoe @OptaJoe]

1 - Despite Spain having 74% possession, Cabo Verde conceded just one foul in this match - the fewest by any team in a FIFA World Cup match on record since 1966.

Disciplined.