Gabriel Agbonlahor on Luka Modrić and Croatia ahead of the match against England:
"I’m not being funny, fantastic player but there should be no issues in that midfield against Modrić. It’s fantastic he’s still playing, but you shouldn’t be fearing Modrić."
"No offence to Luka Modrić, fantastic player. He was one of those players when he was at his peak you try and press him and he’s already popped it off, got a one-two, outside of the right boot passes, the goals he scored, fantastic player."
"But let’s be honest, you should not be worried about Modrić. He’s 40 years old! Croatia haven’t really got those players that run in behind with pace. If Modrić was playing and he had Rashford and Gordon running in behind then I’d say ok, he’s still got that pass in him, but they’ve not really got that squad of players."
"We should not be worried about Croatia, we really shouldn’t." [@talkSPORT]
THE SOCCEROOS ARE MASSIVE 🔥
4.78 million people across Australia tuned into SBS to watch the Socceroos' first match of the World Cup ��
Football in Australia unites the nation like nothing else!
REALITY CHECK for the Pauline Hanson racists out there...the guy who tweeted this about an Aussie has more followers than Australia has people!!! #Socceroos
Good reminder for all the new Beach fans that
a) you could have been watching him each week
b) he wasn't even the best Aussie keeper in the league this season
c) the a-league is full of quality players and the wider narrative around the league is a nonsense
Socceroos:
- 18 players w direct immigrant or refugee heritage
- Over 15 different ethnic backgrounds
- 4 players born in/raised in refugee camps
- 3 players born outside Aus
If you support One Nation, then don’t support the Socceroos. Just be a racist, not a racist hypocrite.
For most of us, we can’t even imagine what Nestory’s journey has been like.
As with all refugees.
Displaced, homeless, full of hope but in desperate need of safety. A chance. An opportunity at life.
With a dream and a ball, making a new life, in a country with a proud history of welcoming refugees, but facing its own forces of opposition today.
Nestory didn’t just shoot the ball into the Turkish net, he struck a lightning bolt to the conscience of millions of Australians.
How can we cheer one brilliant, skilled, explosive and confident young kid representing us, and we him, and simultaneously portray refugees or new arrivals as less worthy?
It also should raise the question of how refugees come to be? Everyone wants to live a safe life at home, with kin, generations of family, not having to ask for a chance..
But conflict, it’s funding, the breakdown in international law, the weapons industry needing to be fed, exploitation of resources, religious tribalism and extremism, all create the more than a hundred million people who have fled their home.
It is these drivers we must stop, and these causes we must never support nor participate in.
Football brings everyone together and shows us what we share.
Now, we share a love of a young Aussie kid who overcame every barrier put in his way, to reach the pinnacle of world sport.
And that is needed more than ever.
As Australia are playing in their first game of the #FifaWorldCup, we want to thank Socceroo footballer Jackson Irvine for speaking out for human rights.
It’s a powerful message to all footballers and pundits that they can use their platform at the World Cup to speak out against injustice. #HumanityMustWin
Quotes from an interview with the Guardian published on 29th April 2026. Credit: Jackson Irvine Instagram
A reminder that there’s a bunch of people supporting Whine Nation that would have deported this record breaker before he even got to wear the shirt
We don’t know what fate has in store for the people who come here, we can only hope to harness their goodness for our commonwealth
🚨 Jürgen Klopp has launched a scathing attack on the cooling breaks being used during this World Cup. 👊
"Football is being held hostage by executives sitting in air-conditioned offices.
These breaks are being presented as a shield for player welfare, a noble weapon against the heat. In reality, they are nothing more than a golden cage built for sponsors.
When I saw players standing around during cooling breaks while television timeouts dictated the rhythm of the match, I couldn't help but ask myself: who is the World Cup really serving?
The supporters? The players? Or the advertisers?
A World Cup match should flow like a river. Instead, we are building dams in the middle of it so commercials can be shown.
It's dangerous for the spirit of the game. Football used to be the main event, but it now risks becoming background music for an advertising show."
He didn't hold back. 👏👏