AUGUSTA – Other than the superstar attackers turning up and the Fifa president doing everything to preserve his existing reputation amongst sensible football supporters, the theme of this World Cup has been missed penalties.
In total, 60 penalties have been taken so far – including during shootouts. The conversion rate is just 65 per cent, lower than at any World Cup since 1938. You wouldn’t think that it has got any more difficult for an elite footballer to kick the ball hard into a corner. So what has happened?
Goalkeeper research
It is abundantly clear that the amount of video data available to footballers and coaching staff has risen exponentially. Goalkeepers at international level will have a full breakdown of where every likely taker shoots as their first preference and may look for physiological tics in the run-up and approach to the ball.
But that data has been around a while, right? Well yes, and the data bears that out. Although 2026 has the lowest conversion percentage since 1938, the conversion percentage has actually been dropping ever since the 2014 World Cup. That correlates with the research theory; they’re getting harder to score.
Stutter run-ups
Stuttering your run up – or adding in the Jorginho leap – is an attempt by penalty takers to seize back some of the control that goalkeepers were gaining. Effectively you momentarily stop, either provoking the goalkeeper to give away which way they intend to dive or lose their rhythm and be unable to produce a full-length dive.
Lucas Herrington, 18 years old, should not be taking penalties (Photo: Getty)
The problem at this World Cup? The stutter has stopped working. No longer a surprise tactic, goalkeepers are standing their ground and it’s the takers who seem to be losing their composure. Eight of 16 stutter penalties in regular play have been missed in this tournament. Lionel Messi, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe have all made that same mistake.
I think we may well look back on this World Cup as the last of the stuttered run-up age. Does it make you a Proper Football Man to think that a striker running at a reasonable, steady pace and just hammering a football towards a corner (either deliberately low or towards the top corner) must be the best chance of success?
Poor selection
There is a more route one explanation: have you seen some of the picks in the shootouts? We could already expect the conversion rate to be lower at a World Cup, where there is immense pressure and the onus is always on the taker to score rather than the goalkeeper to save.
But picking the best penalty takers might help. So far, five central defenders (Davinson Sanchez, Lucas Herrington, Harry Souttar, Jonathan Tah and Manuel Akanji) have missed the target with penalties in shootouts and their nations were eliminated. Don’t leave it to centre-backs to do what the attackers should be able to.
On the Road USA
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All tournament, we have heard punditry from former goalkeepers who believe that the World Cup ball – the adidas Trionda – is swerving and veering in the air. Anecdotal evidence is undeniable: the ball seems to dip quickly but also move from side to side.
Could this play into the minds of players? If you’re used to aiming for the corner with power, it won’t take much movement for you to hit the woodwork (which has happened several times in this tournament already). Any extra doubt in the taker’s mind is likely to cause overthink that can easily mess with your technique.
The extreme heat
It’s just the added psychological pressure of a World Cup scenario. During regular club seasons, you’re less likely to be taking penalties when under extreme heat pressure. Putting the body and mind under heat stress causes technique fatigue and impairs decision-making through diminished cognitive function.
It makes complete sense, particularly in shootouts. If you ask an experienced taker to step up after 120 minutes of football in summer heat, muscle memory may well still win. Ask a less experienced taker and you are making their task harder.
My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, we speak to Jermain Defoe, one of English football’s most prolific strikers, about feeling invincible at Tottenham Hotspur, how Simply Red connects him to his departed loved ones, and the move to Juventus that never was.
It’s so hard to say when I was happiest
I made my debut at West Ham when I was 17, and I finished at 39. I played nearly 800 games.
Defoe, who is now retired, pictured in action for West Ham in 2001 (Photo: Getty)
There were so many periods I thought I was playing my best football and years later you think “hmm, I enjoyed this other period a lot more”.
My favourite season
The 2009-10 season at Tottenham. We qualified for the Champions League that year, and I went to the World Cup. I was playing some of the best football of my career, in terms of goals and how I felt physically. I scored five goals against Wigan Athletic.
As players and athletes, you know when you’re in the zone, when you feel invincible, like it doesn’t matter who you play against, you always fancy yourself and back yourself. I was in that mode.
Making my debut a year out of school, at 17, was a massive achievement
I was only a kid. The League Cup with Tottenham was also a big achievement. We should have won a lot more. At Rangers, winning the league title, arguably the biggest league title in such a big club’s history. But I think playing for England was the biggest of all. Because when the World Cup is on, the world is at a standstill.
Ian Wright was my sporting idol
Defoe calls Ian Wright his ‘sporting idol. I felt like I could relate to [him]’ (Photo: Getty)
The goals that he scored, him being a centre-forward, his movement – just everything about him, really, the celebrations – I felt like I could relate to Wrighty, even though he’s south London, I’m east London.
That West Indian background, how tough it was to come from humble beginnings and become something with hard work.
I cry when I listen to Simply Red
When I listen to certain music, it reminds me of my nan or my dad. My mum had me at 18 when she was still at home with her parents, my nan and granddad, so it was like it was like I had two mums, and I was really close to my dad.
So sometimes if I listen to certain music, I feel myself getting emotional just thinking about all the good memories that I have with my nanny. Simply Red – “Holding back the Years.” That tune. It’s such a good tune. Growing up, West Indian culture, music was such a big part of my life. Proper music. That song – I’ve always loved it.
It’s nice when you have those moments. With my nan, when I have moments like that, it’s comforting, because I feel like I still can feel her presence. I’ve got my nan tattooed on my arm. I love those moments where she can just come into my head, when songs come into my head, it’s nice.
Grief has helped shape me in a positive way
It’s well documented, the stuff that I’ve been through, with my nan, my brother, my dad, my cousin, obviously Bradley Lowery, of course.
Sometimes in life I just believe that things happen for a reason, it does make you stronger, it actually makes you appreciate life more. It makes you appreciate people around you.
The people around you that you love, it’s important to actually show them that you love them with your actions and the things you say, and how you carry yourself, not just family members.
I could have signed for Juventus
I got a call from an agent in, I think it was 2008, when I went back to Tottenham about Juventus. But because I already told Harry Redknapp and Daniel Levy I was going back to Tottenham, I was just waiting for the deal to get done.
I think it was just principle, really. If you shake hands with someone, say, “Okay, then I’m coming back to Tottenham”, then you should.
I know players do it, but to change my mind at the last minute and say “OK, I’m going to Juventus,” I just don’t think I could have done it at the time.
My life could have been a lot different. Of course, there’s moments I’d change, like for example that first half against Germany at the World Cup, where Frank Lampard scored, and if there was VAR – but really, I wouldn’t change anything.
Growing up in the East End, when I was at school, if someone would have said to me I would go on and do what I have done, I’ve been like, “wow, really?”
What football has done for me and my family, I think you just have to be grateful.
This summer E.ON Next is encouraging people to get their washing done when they’re up watching football at night, to take advantage of cheaper off-peak electricity prices. The “Watch and Wash” campaign launches as it’s revealed the nation could save £93m collectively if they washed and watched this summer with the Next Smart Saver tariff.
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England have previous when it comes to stopping the best players on planet football. It generally ends badly.
When Diego Maradona was single-handedly (no pun intended) dragging Argentina through the knockout stages of the 1986 World Cup, England were powerless to stop him.
Preventing Ronaldinho proved beyond them in 2002. In 2006 they were undone by a winking Cristiano Ronaldo.
And last time out in Qatar, Gareth Southgate’s side were so fixated on dealing with Kylian Mbappe that Antoine Griezmann ran riot and put the ball on a plate for Olivier Giroud to score the winner.
Now, another great, one born in Leeds and polished in Manchester, stands between Thomas Tuchel’s side and just a third World Cup semi-final in 36 years.
No wonder the questioning occupying the minds of so many this week is how you prevent Erling Haaland from doing what he does better than almost anyone in the history of the game.
As Brazil found on Sunday afternoon in New Jersey, it’s tough. Really, really tough.
‘He’s not even looking – then bang!’
“And I’ll tell you why,” says Erling Moe, Haaland’s former coach at Molde. “It’s because this is a player that only really comes to life in the penalty area. And he sometimes does it very few times in a match.
“You saw that against Brazil. He’s walking, he’s walking. A few seconds before he makes his run [for the first goal, when he outjumped Gabriel from an Andreas Schjelderup cross], he’s not even looking at the ball. Then bang!
“He’s a defender’s worst nightmare. You have to be switched on 100 per cent of the time. You have to be as mentally sharp as you are physically sharp.
Haaland in action for Molde, where coach Erling Moe saw first-hand how effective he could be (Photo: Getty)
“You always have to know where he is, which runs he might make. But most of the time, you don’t actually have to worry about him at all. All the great players have unique qualities, that is what makes them great.
“They don’t do what everyone else does. If they did? Well, they would just be like everyone else.”
Haaland spent two seasons at Molde, scoring 14 goals in 39 matches, before making the switch to Red Bull Salzburg in Austria in January 2019. The rest is history.
And after rewriting the record books for Norway on the East Coast of the U.S. last weekend, his former national team age-group coach – ex-Oldham, Leeds and Bradford defender Gunnar Halle – believes Haaland’s experience as a young player has directly contributed to what makes him such a challenge to defend against today.
“The thing people forget now is that back then, when he was in his mid-teens, he was actually a small guy,” says Halle.
“He went through a massive growth spurt between the ages of 15 and 17.
Haland tackles Tashan Oakley Booth of England during an Under-16 friendly in 2016 (Photo: Getty)
“I vividly remember watching him play at a U17 tournament over in Croatia, where our squad also played against England.
“Jorgen Strand Larsen was leading the line with him and they were up against Marc Guehi in the England defence. By that point, Erling had shot up, but his body hadn’t quite figured it all out yet.
“He was just arms and legs all over the place! He looked like a completely different player physically, just trying to coordinate this sudden, huge frame.
“So it wasn’t like you saw this guy and thought he was going to be a superstar. The lessons he learned when he was smaller, he has taken with him.
“Even when he was gangly and adjusting to his height, he always possessed that distinctive goal-scoring mentality. You can’t really teach that.
“He had an innate hunger to get into the right areas and put the ball in the net, no matter how clumsy the growth spurt made him look on the ball at times.
“You have to have a plan for neutralising him because you can’t defend against him the way you defend against anyone else.”
My message to England? Good luck
If anyone knows how to stop a player who has now scored 62 goals in just 54 matches for his country, then surely Guehi and John Stones should have more chance than most, having played and trained with him day in, day out at the Etihad.
Suggest that to Moe, though, and you’re greeted with a wide smile and a distinctive Norwegian laugh. A bit like a supervillain when you suggest that he might want to go easy because James Bond is about to turn up in his Aston Martin.
“Good luck, that’s all I’ll say,” says the Norwegian. “If you look at the players who have handled him, then I’d have to say William Saliba is the best.
FOXBOROUGH, MA – We came into this tournament wanting to discover the natural heir to football’s greatest duopoly, the last knockings of the Ronaldo-Messi axis with a line of great pretenders. Kylian Mbappe is here to say something: I’m already it.
In Foxborough, just as in 2022, Africa’s best team offered resistance in patches but were never close to troubling the world’s best team. Mbappe gave them a second life with a miserably weak penalty, but in this game of cat and mouse only Morocco were ever likely to be souris.
Mbappe has suffered in the club game, at least by the expectations of his grandeur. Paris Saint-Germain improved in his absence and he was held up as a principal cause. At Real Madrid, his lack of defensive actions were proposed as a reason for failure this season.
The low point came with a viral post that concluded that Mbappe ranked 6,043 out of 6,044 players who averaged more defensive contributions last season. It provoked admissions from France’s captain that he needed to work on that side of his game.
Can I just say: I don’t care about the defensive actions. Real Madrid perhaps might, but France shouldn’t. Focusing on what Mbappe does without the ball is like turning over a Van Gogh painting and criticising the structural integrity of the frame. It is joyless and it has been made to look deeply foolish this summer.
On the Road USA
Join Daniel Storey on his 7,200-mile odyssey across the US to tell the stories of a World Cup like no other.
Mbappe now has 20 World Cup goals. Messi, still here and still scoring, is one clear of him at the top. Messi is the greatest player to have ever lived and scored his 21 goals in 31 matches. Mbappe has played 10 fewer. It is ludicrous.
In fact, you can make a case for Mbappe now being the ultimate World Cup footballer, up there with He has scored almost a third of international goals in the thinnest air of this environment, an astonishing statistic. He has a hat-trick in a final. He is still only 27. Forget Messi and Ronaldo for now; Mbappe could surpass their combined World Cup goals total.
The only flaw was the penalty – another way in which Mbappe personifies the World Cup. Twenty of the 60 penalties this summer have been missed, the highest miss percentage since World Cup statistical records began.
Why are so many players missing penalties?
Against Morocco, Mbappe had the perfect storm. He was facing a goalkeeper who he knows (the amount of research that goalkeepers do now must live in the minds of takers). He was forced to wait for two minutes by VAR, which creates extra pressure. The ball in this tournament seems to veer and move in the air, which may persuade players to keep their kick away from corners.
And he used the dreaded stutter run-up, which has only a 50 per cent success record at the tournament. It invites goalkeepers to dive and then you pick the opposite corner, but the goalkeeper now knows just to wait. By then players must be panicking. Go the right way and the goalkeeper saves the penalty. Lo and behold: a half-and-half success rate.
France will not care, for they march on. All tournament we have been waiting for them to stutter or stumble. Paraguay kicked them from pillar to post, but that appears to be the only way to stop this team and even then they found a way. Senegal troubled them for 30 minutes but lost 3-1. It’s hardly cause for great concern.
It is Mbappe, not Messi, who has become the defining player within this tournament. He has suffered physical treatment from defenders. This week stood up to disgusting racist abuse from Paraguayan senator Celeste Amarilla when it would have been easier to simply dip his head below the parapet. He has worn the captain’s armband for three years and he is a symbol of a better, united France at a time when far-right politics is engulfing the country.
Mbappe doesn’t display his emotions often; these superstars usually prefer to let the football do the talking. But he has had a long week and a long season. Two minutes after full-time in Gillette Stadium, Mbappe danced up and down and waved his arms in joy. On the big screen above him, his name was read out as this quarter-final’s best player. Never in doubt. Mbappe is owning this summer.
KANSAS CITY — It was half a smart play by Fifa. Revisit the case, adjust the tariff, double down. You might say Jarell Quansah paid the price for Fifa’s egregious (mis)management of the Folarin Balogun case.
Balogun, you may remember, was sent off for serious foul play, handed a two-match ban and was going fishing before Donald Trump picked up the phone to his valet, Fifa president Gianni Infantino, to protest injustice.
The exact process that led from the Trump call to Balogun’s reprieve is buried in mystery, protected by a regulation that allows Fifa’s disciplinary committee to revisit cases without explanation or account.
However, by upgrading Quansah’s red card offence to serious foul play and doubling his ban from one to two matches Fifa’s shadowy order could plausibly claim equivalence of process, namely that they went back over the evidence in the same way to ensure the “correct” outcome was reached and appropriate sanction applied.
To which most right-minded folk would call bullshit and roll their eyes. The FA made their position clear, pointing out that when the referee went to the VAR screen to make his initial judgement he based his decision on still images which is against established protocols.
Fifa responded with a dismissive wave of the hand to deepen Thomas Tuchel’s right-back nightmare, most of it of his own making. His preference for the injury-prone Reece James and Tino Livramento over more robust options has left him praying for the continued health of Djed Spence, who he largely saw as a left-back.
Quansah saw red against Mexico (Photo: Reuters)
Spence has the attributes to succeed, pace, good feet, aggressive in the tackle. He can also switch off and stray the wrong side of the ball.
The England camp offered no updates on the health of James, nor Declan Rice, Marc Guehi and Elliot Anderson, who were all following individual programmes on the final day in Kansas before Saturday’s quarter-final meeting with Norway.
The team flew out Friday for a training session at the Miami Stadium to replicate the late afternoon conditions under a hot sun.
The mercury, which hit 94 on Wednesday, dropped following early morning thunderstorms but such was the amount of moisture in the heavy air, temperatures actually felt hotter.
None of this seemed to overly trouble the players, who appear more determined than ever to maintain the positive groove following the incredible high of Mexico.
Nico O’Reilly, who is particularly close to Quansah, and is himself one yellow card from suspension, said: “Yeah, of course, it’s sad. It can’t get appealed so we’ve just got to get on with it. Obviously, I feel bad for him as well.”
The sentiment found an echo in Bukayo Saka. “It is the way it is. We are not here to complain. We just need to adapt and pick a team ready to beat Norway.”
It’s all part of the new-found resilience running through the group. Saka is coming quietly to the boil after recovering from injury. Alongside the improving Anthony Gordon, Saka’s wide contributions have given England a new dimension in attack.
Gordon explained how he was frustrated and disappointed by his slow start to the tournament and how, against DR Congo in the round of 32, he decided to go for it, to remind himself why Barcelona chose him over Marcus Rashford and at twice the price to boot.
Saturday’s fixture pits England against a familiar foe. No opponent is more Anglicised in terms of their football presences and the number of players established in domestic English teams.
In this hot-house environment it feels like England are being carried towards a bejewelled destiny commensurate with their growing confidence and stature – which they will need to be to return Erling Haaland and his team of rowers to Norway in the longest of boats.
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KANSAS CITY — The dartboard is still there, players taking it in turns to take down Peter Crouch with bonhomie or even a well-placed arrow.
The content boom that became such a crowd-pleaser during Gareth Southgate’s great English makeover is an easy icebreaker for media sessions, lightening the mood and loosening tongues.
The return to Kansas City post-Mexico was supposed to be about decompressing before rising again in Miami, where Norway await in Saturday’s quarter-final.
While there has been some of that, Morgan Rogers explaining the benefits of England’s home from home in the American Midwest to a Norwegian journalist tasked with a dispatch from inside the enemy camp, there is also a low thrum of electricity crackling about the squad, a sense that some cosmic force is driving England towards the ultimate finale.
As an observer of the Southgate years, you never quite got the feeling the team believed the message.
Southgate’s instinct for inclusion built genuine bonds but never quite the commensurate belief that all champions exude.
If Thomas Tuchel has achieved one step with this team it is in shedding the imposter syndrome that ultimately stalled Southgate’s vehicle, the feeling that against the very best there was something deficient in the English character that condemned them to fail.
Thomas Tuchel allows his men to play with belief in themselves as individuals (Photo: Getty)
Rogers points enthusiastically to the game-changing output of Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane, the arrival bang on cue of the big dogs in England’s time of need.
This is not only expected but anticipated, and not just by the players.
The feeling of eminence is shared by the fans, which is, according to Rogers, a mutuality they have not really experienced before.
“We’ve shown to the world that we can win in different ways in different atmospheres, and environments,” he said.
“I think it gives us a lot of confidence, but I think gives the fans back home and everyone that extra bit of belief that no matter how the game’s going, we’ll find a way and we’ve got the ability to find a way.”
This does not come across as arrogance or bombast. It is a view genuinely held, promoted by a coach whose belief in them is absolute.
Yet for all the positivity and gratification associated with the Azteca rising, England have made it to the quarters without dominating in the manner of France or Spain.
This, you feel, is the elusive quality England have lacked, the ability to control a game from front to back, to put all the elements together in a cohesive way that leaves none in doubt about their calibre.
Declan Rice is a doubt for the quarter-final clash with Norway (Photo: Getty)
It may be that Bellingham, Kane and Declan Rice are enough of a guarantee.
It would be nice, however, were England to win the hearts of the neutrals as well as their own followers.
We have gleaned from the vanquished coaches of DR Congo and Mexico in the knockout rounds the esteem in which England’s finest are held.
Their technical appreciation of Bellingham and Kane speaks of the growing power of England to intimidate and threaten by reputation alone.
That is the ultimate measure of any team’s status, the degree to which the opponent falters in their presence.
England are on the point of becoming the team they want to be, of recognising their own power and influence in a way we have not seen since 1966.
Mexico was a watershed for many, exorcising the Hand of God in the Azteca.
That is only the start of the process.
Taking down Argentina and Lionel Messi, in many ways the son of Diego Maradona (God), in the semis, then emulating the boys of 66 in the final would return England to the vanguard of the game.
England’s strength in depth is almost unmatched. It’s probably only bettered by World Cup favourites France. What other country can afford to leave stars like Trent Alexander-Arnold, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden at home without missing much of a beat?
Such is the competition for places among the Three Lions that many footballers who could play for England actually represent other countries instead. Some of those are personal choices, some are more down to the quality of their positional rivals, some due to closer ties with those other nations, and more often than not they are a combination of all three.
You can actually make an alternative (and functional) England XI out of players who are at this World Cup, but not in Thomas Tuchel’s squad. Don’t believe us? Have a gander for yourself…
Owen Goodman – goalkeeper
It was a struggle to find another goalkeeper at this World Cup who could technically have played for England, but we just about got there (in a more perfect world, David Raya signs for Blackburn Rovers a couple of years earlier to gain British citizenship, but I guess that’s asking too much).
Having sifted through all 47 other nations, Crystal Palace prospect Owen Goodman is the only player who fits the bill. The 22-year-old played for Canada and England’s youth sides, though eventually revealed his dream to represent the World Cup co-hosts last summer.
However, head coach Jesse Marsch initially believed Goodman, who lived in Canada from the ages of five to 13, could not be called up due to concerns over his citizenship. The process to resolve this issue started and finished in late 2025, paving the way for Goodman to join the Canadian setup.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – right-back
DR Congo’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka battles for the ball with England’s Marcus Rashford (Photo: Getty)
Aaron Wan-Bissaka was once part of a young British core at Manchester United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. When he was signed for £50m from Crystal Palace in 2019, he was expected to break into the England squad.
Alas, he only ever earned one call-up, and stiff competition from the likes of Kyle Walker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reece James and Kieran Trippier meant Wan-Bissaka never played for the Three Lions.
Wan-Bissaka was wooed by DR Congo for half a decade before deciding to ratify his switch of international allegiance in 2025, just in time to help them secure World Cup qualification. It’s ironic that he played so well in their eventual last-32 defeat to England.
Axel Tuanzebe – centre-back
If injuries hadn’t hampered Axel Tuanzebe’s career, he may very well have fulfilled his potential and become an England regular. He was highly rated coming out of United’s academy system and was tipped to captain the first team, though fitness worries made it difficult for him to play for the Red Devils on a regular basis.
Tuanzebe moved to England from DR Congo as an infant and was a regular in the Young Lions teams. But after growing out of those age groups, he failed to even knock on the door of the England team and, like Wan-Bissaka would a year later, locked in DR Congo as his national side.
Kevin Danso – centre-back
Kevin Danso’s Ghanaian parents decided to emigrate to Milton Keynes from Austria, the country of his birth, when he was six. He came through the Dons’ academy and made the switch to Germany with Augsburg at 16.
This multiculturalism still embodies Danso to this day. He told L’Equipe: “I arrived in England when I was six years old. I could have played for England. I lived there for 10 years before going to Augsburg. And it’s strange, sometimes I feel more English than anything else, but sometimes more Austrian or more Ghanaian as well. I am happy to have this multiculturality, it allows me to be who I am.”
Austria were aware of Danso even when still with MK Dons, capping him at U15 level and fast-tracking him into the senior side in 2017 while still a teenager.
Antonee Robinson – left-back
Another son of Milton Keynes is left-back Antonee Robinson, now one of America’s best players thanks to his father earning citizenship having lived in New York.
Between Championship spells at Bolton and Wigan, Robinson earned a call-up to the United States senior side, while England were only offering an U21 berth. He picked the USMNT and has now represented them at three tournaments, all the while the Three Lions have cycled through a host of left-backs.
Michael Olise – right wing
France’s Kylian Mbappe celebrates his goal against Sweden with Michael Olise (Photo: Getty)
Michael Olise has said he hails “from four countries: France, Algeria, Nigeria and England.” Despite that, there was only one choice in his heart: “I have always had a connection with the France national team, that is why I play for France.”
It didn’t stop the FA from trying to change his mind. After all, Olise was born in Hammersmith Hospital and grew up in the Greater London suburb of Hayes, previously home to other English geniuses such as Glenn Hoddle and Ray Wilkins.
Obviously, it’s hard to get on a foreign radar when you’re still just a kid, so Olise’s mother is said to have sent tapes of him to the French Football Federation, eventually landing on the desk of a youth coach. In 2019, Olise was called up by France’s U18s, finally breaking into Les Bleus’ setup.
Jamal Musiala – midfield
Bayern Munich wizard Jamal Musiala was born in Germany and plays for Germany. That should be case open and closed there, right?
Well, it’s not that simple. Musiala’s father is part-British and their family moved to England when he was seven, joining the academies of Southampton and then Chelsea. He quickly found his way in the England youth setup, starring alongside future Three Lions in Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers and Noni Madueke.
The tide started to turn against England when Musiala’s family relocated back to Germany during his late teenage years, with Bayern Munich acquiring him from Chelsea. Days prior to his 19th birthday, Musiala announced he wanted to represent Germany at senior level. Even before turning 24, he has amassed 46 caps, is one of few flair players in Die Mannschaft’s ranks and will no doubt be a favourite under Jurgen Klopp (head coach’s job pending).
Scott McTominay – midfield
For many years, there were few England supporters rueing missing out on Scott McTominay to their Scottish neighbours north of the border. That sentiment may have flipped over the last couple of seasons.
At Manchester United, McTominay was an industrious if unspectacular squad option. It probably explains why Scotland went all-in with their pitch, whereas Gareth Southgate is said to have only sent him a text.
McTominay took his talents to Napoli in 2024 and announced himself as one of Europe’s leading box-crashing midfielders. It’s not a position or profile the Three Lions are lacking in, though he would have been a handy option for Tuchel to bring on from the bench, right?
Antoine Semenyo – left wing
When Ghana were dumped out of the 2010 World Cup in cruel fashion by Uruguay, they inadvertently left a lasting mark on Antoine Semenyo, whose Ghanaian family were left devastated by the result.
Up until his January transfer to Manchester City, almost all of Semenyo’s life was spent in the south of England. He had unsuccessful trials at Arsenal, Tottenham, Crystal Palace and Millwall before heading west to Bristol City, developing into a fine all-round forward in the Championship.
Impressive performances across 2022 saw Ghana swoop in and pip England to the post before securing a Premier League move to Bournemouth. Had he emerged as more of an obvious talent earlier, the Black Stars may have had more of a fight to contend for his loyalties.
(Graphic: The i Paper)
Folarin Balogun – forward
There’s been a lot of hullabaloo about Folarin Balogun of late, and you can’t really blame him for that. His red card for the USMNT against Bosnia was accidental, and the furore started by Donald Trump to suspend his ban to face Belgium was out of his hands.
Even despite that humiliating exit to Belgium, Balogun has become a favourite in the States for his other contributions at this World Cup, ending the tournament with three goals.
But Balogun could have very easily represented another nation, while it’s down to a row over flights that he was even able to play for the US in the first place. His Nigerian parents visited New York while his mother was seven months pregnant, and she was not able to board a return flight to their home in London. Balogun earned American citizenship by birthright, and in 2023, he switched allegiances from England to the US. Given there is no clear successor to Kane, the FA may well regret not tying the Arsenal academy graduate down to their regime.
You probably already know that Erling Haaland was eligible to represent England, given the topic has been discussed ad nauseum ever since he returned to the country in 2023 when signing for Manchester City.
Indeed, Haaland was born in Leeds while his father, Alf-Inge, still played for the Elland Road side, and the future striker was raised as a fan of the Whites. Thus, there was a possibility that Haaland and Harry Kane could have joined forces at international level, though he insists he always had his sights set on representing Norway instead.
“It was natural for me to choose Norway,” Haaland said. “You never know how it would be if maybe my father played longer in England or whatever. Maybe I would be English, I don’t know. But yeah, I’m Norwegian and I’m proud of it.”
from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/XSCUVfQ
