Eamon: "...a cloudless June sky, the oxen reposed in the shade of the mighty British oak, the reek rising from a million barbecues, and England beginning its World Cup endeavour."
Bill: "It's the kind of thing that puts you off England."
Essential viewing for the day that's in it
“Every team can have their people, so I don’t understand why people from Africa cannot.”
Senegal captain Koulibaly speaks out on travel bans limiting travel from his country for fans for World Cup.
Story @TheAthleticFC with @David_Ornstein
https://t.co/4gWtouA3Vy
Analysis of Kylian Mbappe's penalty claim from the challenge by Sadio Mane.
The referee was sent to the monitor by the VAR for the spot-kick, but the review was rejected.
#FIFAWorldCup#FRASEN
No one gives a FUCK about October 7 anymore.
Got that? NO. ONE.
October 7 is not a get out of jail free card for Israel. It didn’t give them the right to commit a genocide in Gaza and sure as shit doesn’t give them the right to blow up the whole world’s economy over Iran.
I’m ready to say hydration breaks are bad enough that it may legitimately ruin soccer as a global viewing phenomenon. It is the the worst enshitification to date.
Completely ruins the things that make soccer good on tv.
- Ad breaks disguised as hydration breaks.
- Players waiting for music to stop to restart match.
- Atrocious/suspicious officiating.
- Visa’s preventing fans entry into the US.
- Overpriced tickets/travel.
- Not allowing interviews in Spanish.
An embarrassment of a World Cup.
Willie O'Connor DOUBLES DOWN on format issue and feels he could WIN tournament as top four seed
"They're coming in fresh, we've had three hard days now.
"We've come in today and we've felt the toll the last two days.
"I'd feel like I could win this tournament if I come in fresh.
"When these four teams go through to today and they have no playing to be done to get there, it's not fair on the rest of the field.
"You can be as fit as you want say what you like, the longer this goes on the more your body feels it. It's harder for the boys that's been here that few days longer and that's no two ways about it.
"Those boys know the story as well."
#Darts
Joga Bonito? Perhaps not.
“Dead balls are an important strategy,” said Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti this week. And his players have been wearing NFL quarterback-style playbook wristbands while practising set pieces in training ahead of their World Cup opener against Morocco.
In a World Cup when the sapping heat is expected to diminish teams ability to play and train at intensity, an effective playbook of set pieces could be the difference between winning the tournament and not.
📝 @JamesHorncastle
https://t.co/GHjTpT1gyq