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SANTA CLARA – Qatar were the worst team at their own World Cup, possessing the poorest goal difference of the teams that lost every match. They have avoided that feat already. In the end, 100 or so yards away from goalscorer Boualem Khoukhi, several hundred supporters in national dress thrashed up and down. Many neutrals had already left, desperate to beat the famous post-match traffic. That goal was for the real ones.

For Qatar, this was a match of two distinct hypocrisies. When they were awarded the 2022 tournament, Fifa’s oft-repeated claim was their wish to grow the game globally and facilitate the development of new footballing powers. What better way to do that than by hosting the tournament?
Which, quite frankly, has been proven hogwash. The Qatari Stars League is the natural home of a few players you’ve not thought about in a couple of years – Roberto Firmino, Pablo Sarabia, Marco Verratti, Aleksandar Mitrovic – and has been surpassed for gold-plating by Saudi Arabia.

The national team has declined badly since winning the Asian Cup in 2023. In their last six matches before this tournament, Qatar lost four (Ireland, Tunisia, Palestine, Zimbabwe) and drew two (Syria and El Salvador). They scored two goals in those six games.

Even qualifying for this World Cup was a struggle. Qatar lost half of their 10 matches in the second phase, finishing behind Uzbekistan, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Outside Qatar, they were appalling, drawing in North Korea and losing 3-1 in Kyrgyzstan. In the crucial fourth round, matches were mysteriously changed from neutral venues to being hosted in Qatar.

Qatar’s Supreme Committee might not care so much. Their golden child, Paris Saint-Germain, have become the ninth club in history to defend their European Cup; Nasser El-Khelaifi lifted the trophy himself. Perhaps that is what Fifa meant by “growing the game” – paying ageing footballers lots of money and owning the club that dominates Europe while the national team stumbles and stutters?

That is why Khoukhi’s goal matters: it becomes an antidote to that criticism. At the end of the game, as Switzerland’s players sloped off the pitch in embarrassment, the entire Qatar squad and coaching staff posed for a group photo in front of supporters waving flags. There may be little lasting legacy yet but a first World Cup point can become an embryo.

The other hypocrisy makes Qatar the accuser, not the accused. Speaking to supporters outside Levi’s Stadium before kick-off, several wanted to make a point: where is the criticism here? Why the double standards? They believe that their own nation suffered stinging censure for several years that hasn’t come the way of the USA.

And when that criticism has been delivered, the US have largely avoided having to account for themselves. “Western exceptionalism” was one pointed comment. The conversation was good-natured, but it’s clear that bitterness lingers.

There is some merit to their argument. Never before has a World Cup host engaged in war with a competing nation during the tournament. Never before has a host country leader described nations with representative referees as “s**tholes” and then a referee from one of those countries being blocked from entering that host country. “Imagine if this was Qatar,” is their point.

That said, there are clear differences. In Qatar, the principal point of concern was the kafala system of labour that breached the human rights of migrant workers. Many worked 12-hour days in extreme heat outdoors, housed in squalid, cramped labour camps thousands of miles from home in a desperate attempt to provide for their families. They were encouraged to take on debt to earn low wages and had very little recourse to due process if wages were not forthcoming or conditions worsened. Their rights were signed away to Qatari companies.

And whilst there is state-by-state variation on the treatment of LGBT+ communities, homosexuality is not explicitly illegal in any part of the US, as it is in Qatar, where same-sex sexual acts are criminalised.
I wonder if the other answer surrounds the concept of “sportswashing”, a term that has been applied throughout the World Cup’s history – 1938, 1978 and 2018 in particular – but went stratospheric in the buildup to Qatar 2022. The accusation (with overwhelming evidence) was that Qatar were using their host status to forge a reputation that distracted from their human rights breaches.

Here, sportswashing doesn’t really apply because there is a blatancy and lack of apology for everything the Trump administration does. He will say that he wouldn’t pay the ticket prices in New York City. He will tell journalists that the Iranian team probably shouldn’t come to the US. He will offend countries on a regular basis.

The lack of apology undercuts the hope of accountability. At previous tournaments, the World Cup created a Potemkin village, a grand distraction. Trump is not attempting a distraction. You cannot embarrass him and you cannot shame him.

It leaves Qataris feeling resentful on two fronts. They waited for a World Cup and the legacy has largely been lost. They feel victimised by the perceived imbalance in the scrutiny over two controversial World Cup hosts. At least they will always have Santa Clara. In the press centre after full-time, journalists were watching the equaliser on a regular loop. We have our first World Cup upset.

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Fifty questions on the best of the World Cup. Answers at the bottom of the page – no peeking!

Questions

1. In which year did the first competition take place?

2. Which fellow South American country lost to hosts Uruguay in that first final?

3. Brazil were the first team to win the trophy outside of their continent, true or false?

4. Which Russian scored five goals in a single match against Cameroon in 1994?

5. Carlos Alberto Parreira managed sides in how many different tournaments?

6. Which country has lost the most finals, beaten four times?

7. Just Fontaine holds the record for most goals in a single tournament. How many, in 1958?

8. Which two European goalkeepers hold the record for most clean sheets?

9. Germany thrashed which side 8-0 at the start of the 2002 tournament?

10. When was the first final to involve a team keeping a clean sheet?

11. Which side have drawn the most matches (including games going to shoot-outs)?

12. Which North American side have lost the most matches in total at the World Cup finals?

13. Miroslav Klose has the most tournament goals with 16 – one clear of who?

14. Italy’s success in 1982 ended a title drought of how many years for the Azzurri?

15. How many World Cup holders have gone out at the group stage this century?

16. Whose missed penalty cost their side the title in 1994 (clue – not Diana Ross)?

17. Who were the last host country to win the title?

18. How many of Harry Kane’s eight finals goals have been penalties?

19. Who scored England’s 100th finals goal, vs Wales in Qatar?

20. Brazil and which side are the only teams to retain the World Cup?

21. Austria beat which neighbouring country 7-5 in the highest-scoring game, on their own patch in 1954?

22. Honduras hold the record for most matches without a single win. How many?

23. Which European side lost successive finals in the 1970s?

24. Which side scored nine and eight in matches in 1954 and 10 in another match in 1982?

25. Who, in 2010, was the last Golden Ball (best player) winner without the initials LM?

26. Zinedine Zidane and which former Liverpool player are the only players to be shown two red cards at the tournament?

27. In which year did Brazil win their most recent title?

28. Whose four goals make him the leading overall goalscorer in World Cup finals?

29. Which defender is the only player to play in three World Cup finals?

30. Vittorio Pozzo is the only manager with multiple wins. Who did he lead to glory twice?

31. Whose 11-second strike for Turkey in 2002 remains the fastest goal (prior to this year)?

32. Brazil were the most recent non-European third-place play-off winners. When?

33. How many Argentina players were sent off in their 1990 final defeat?

34. Which Celtic player scored Scotland’s most recent finals goal, a lob against Norway in 1998?

35. Lionel Messi holds the record for most matches played, with how many?

36. Which 40-year old lifted the trophy in 1982?

37. Whose scissor kick against Serbia in 2022 won Goal of the Tournament?

38. Which side have featured in all three finals to have been won by three goals?

39. Which side ended a record 64-year wait between tournament appearances in 2022?

40. At 17 years and 41 days old in 1982, who became the youngest player to appear at the tournament?

41. Which side have made four of the last seven World Cup finals?

42. Which Croat was booked three times in a game by Graham Poll in the pre-VAR days of 2002?

43. How many of the last five World Cup finals have gone to extra time?

44. How many red cards were shown in Portugal’s win over the Netherlands in 2006?

45. How many of England’s last eight knockout stage goals were scored by Tottenham Hotspur players?

46. Kylian Mbappe’s eight goals in Qatar was the most by a Golden Boot/Shoe winner since who hit the same amount in 2002?

47. At what age did Roger Milla become the oldest tournament scorer, netting for Cameroon in 1994?

48. Before Mbappe in 2018, who was the last teenager to win the Young Player award, in 1998?

49. How many countries have scored more tournament goals than England’s 104?

50. Which country won the Fair Play Trophy in Qatar?

Read more

• Daniel Storey: Fifa’s biggest World Cup lie is already in tatters
• Analysis: The England twist Gareth Southgate would never have dreamed of

Answers

How did you get on?

Which England manager are you by your score?

• 45+ = Sir Alf – Immortality awaits
• 31-44 = Sir Bobby – National treasure
• 21-30 = Sir Gareth – You’ve fallen slightly short
• 11-20 = Roy Hodgson – Like losing to Iceland
• 0-10 = Steve McClaren – Wally with the Brolly

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Even the kilts have been left at home this time.

Twenty-eight years after a bleached-blonde Ally McCoist and an aviator-wearing Colin Hendry danced around the Stade de France ahead of their World Cup opener against Brazil, Scotland have got serious as they make their long-awaited return to the big time.

In a remarkable twist of fate, Scotland will face two of the same group opponents as they did in 1998 across the Pond this summer, but that is where the similarities end, as Steve Clarke and the Tartan Army look to do something they have never done in their history.

While breaking their World Cup finals qualification hoodoo is a mighty monkey off their backs, Clarke and his men want more, given they have reached three of the last four majors under his tutelage.

The expanded format made qualification easier, while also giving more opportunities to go that step further and reach those previously elusive knockout rounds.

“I have done seven of these as a commentator,” former Scotland international Pat Nevin tells The i Paper. “The first was in 1998. I thought ‘oh, this will be good, we’ll enjoy doing this every four years.’ And all these years later, finally, Scotland are here.

“I’m therefore looking forward to this tournament slightly differently. If we win the first game, beat Haiti, and maybe score a few goals, that’s probably enough. As long as you’re not daft and get hammered against Morocco or Brazil. So three or four points might be enough to get you through. And for Scotland, that would mean more than the world.”

Is Clarke out of his depth on the world stage?

Clarke is seven years into the job, but the jury is still out on the manager.

Three tournaments in four, while only just missing out on the last World Cup, is an impressive return. But in those showpiece events, Scotland have not won a single game, going home every time with the meekest of whimpers.

Naysayers suggest Clarke is too loyal to particular players and lacks the tactical masterplan on the biggest stage. Those who know him best don’t share the sentiment.

“It is hard to criticise when he has brought so much success,” Motherwell full-back Stephen O’Donnell, who played for Clarke at Kilmarnock and Scotland at Euro 2020, tells The i Paper.

“The loyalty he has is towards players who have performed for him consistently. I don’t really see how criticism can be put to him for that, given the success. When you look at the squad, have we had good squads? Yes. World-beating squads? No. So there has to be some tactical astuteness.

“He built a belief that we could qualify for these tournaments from very early on. You see that in the amazing nights in Serbia (in 2020) and then against Denmark, who are a top side with tournament experience. Those nights come about as a result of having belief. He does it by touching on the emotions of what it would mean for a country like Scotland. He draws on your families, being away from them, so make it all worth it.”

Clarke’s CV speaks for itself, when you consider the calibre of coach he has worked with.

“He’s not flamboyant, so it doesn’t light the fire of a lot of people,” Nevin adds. “As a football person, he’s exactly the sort of person I’d like to work under. He is clearly incredibly knowledgeable and very, very good tactically.

“You have to remember his background. You don’t get to work with José Mourinho, Ruud Gulitt, Kenny Dalglish, Sir Bobby Robson, absolutely phenomenal people in football, without being something. They all loved him. They all thought he was a fantastic coach.

“But tell me who, on social media, other than David Attenborough, that’s kind of just generally loved. So that’s the deal.”

Inside Scotland’s 2026 masterplan

Another winless summer would only give those doubters fuel for the fire. Despite penning a long-term deal that would see him through to the next World Cup, three defeats could still signal the end.

His squad selection suggests a formation switch is upon us, to a 3-5-2 system that has brought about great success in the past. In the main, for one particular combination.

“A classic one people forget with Clarke is that he had to find a way to get Kieran Tierney and Andy Robertson into the team together,” Nevin adds. “Because they are two of our best players. Nobody thought he could, given they play in the same position, but he did.

“He changed it to a 3-5-2. One left centre-back, one left wing-back. And Scotland, for a period under them, those two were absolutely unstoppable on the left-hand side.

“And there’s been other things like the Scott McTominay one. Man United had him for years and didn’t quite figure out whether he was a number eight or 10. Well, Clarke did. So much so that Napoli take him on and he has two staggering years in Naples. He’s a God-like figure there.”

Scotland cannot rely on McTominay overhead kicks this summer. It appears that 3-5-2 could again be Clarke’s weapon of choice. It caters for Robertson to get forward while not leaving them over exposed, with the cavalry option of an underlapping Tierney to pose even more threat.

That added defensive cover can free up their two leading lights in midfield, John McGinn and McTominay, too. Which is important, given their options further upfield, as is often been the case with Scotland, are limited.

Fletcher the Clarke curveball?

The squad selection was very anti-Thomas Tuchel, with few surprises.

Billy Gilmour’s heartbreaking withdrawal through injury, however, has got people talking over the border. It was assumed Lennon Miller, a regular in Clarke squads and someone who only just missed out on a World Cup spot, would come in.

Instead, the unproven Tyler Fletcher is the replacement. Son of Scotland and Manchester United great Darren Fletcher, the 19-year-old impressed in a recent friendly against Curaçao.

In training, McGinn was said to have been wowed by the youngster’s ability. He may just be there to make up the numbers, but several insiders believe Fletcher has gone over Miller to bring an additional X-Factor.

The question is, is the teenager, whose twin brother also plays for United and, bizarrely, represents England at youth level, ready for such a pressurised environment?

“Think about how many tournaments he’s played in, how many finals he’s played, how many pressured situations that he’s been through in his journey, I know that number to be quite large,” head of United’s academy, Stephen Torpey, telld The i Paper.

“As a young person, going through the academy system in England and succeeding at many levels, you get drip-fed huge moments from being very young. At a U10 tournament, when you get to the final against Europe’s elite, you might feel a similar kind of pressure. Now it’s just on a different scale but he’s older and wiser. He’s been in preparation for this moment.

“Training with Manchester United’s first team every day for the last six months, the intensity of that training, you could argue is more than playing in certain leagues.”

Whoever it is who steps up, there has never been a greater opportunity for Scotland to really do something for the Tartan Army to cherish on the global stage.

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My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, we speak to Harry Redknapp, one of English football’s longest-serving managers, about his sadness watching the decline of West Ham and Tottenham, his stint in the I’m a Celebrity jungle, and the England job that never was.

I’ve got to know some of the homeless people where I live

It’s scary isn’t it, sleeping on the street? One boy’s an ex-soldier, just the nicest person you could ever meet, needs a bit of help in his life.

I wouldn’t have picked this England World Cup squad

They’ve got a chance, got some good players, good team. The manager, I hope he picks the right team. We’d all pick different teams. I’d have Cole Palmer in my squad any day. Foden, unlucky not to go, Harry Maguire. We’ve all got different opinions.

The worst bit of I’m a Celeb trials

I just get on with it, they’re not going to make you eat anything that’s gonna kill you. I thought, ‘I hope I’m not really in a coffin with rats running over, am I alive? Or is this what happens when you’re dead?’

Managing who?!

The favourite bit of my career? Playing with Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, who played in the World Cup-winning team. Playing was the best days. Managing was great, Bournemouth for 10 years, West Ham, QPR, Portsmouth, Tottenham. When they said, “Could you manage Jordan?” I thought they meant Katie Price. I said, “No I couldn’t manage her, I’d probably have a heart attack, it would be too much for me.”

I have no regrets about not getting the England job

I’d like to have done it if I’d have been offered it, I think I could have done OK. So many good teams over the years, England should have done a lot better. Since ’66, we should have won tournaments with them players. Gerrard, Lampard, people saying they can’t play together. Why can’t they play together? We didn’t get the best out of great players in my opinion, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Ashley Cole, the best left-back in the world at one time. We should have won trophies.

Half these managers don’t know what they’re doing

At Tottenham, I moved Gareth Bale from left-back to left-wing, Luke Modric from left-wing to central. It ain’t rocket science. Half these managers try to be too clever. Either that or they don’t know what they’re doing – and I think a lot of them really don’t know what they’re doing. It’s all this jargon now, low block, high block, transitions. They’ve all learned it reading a book somewhere – that is what’s happening with the game now.

What bothers me most about football

Where are the kids? You look at West Ham, that was a club that everybody came through the youth policy. Homegrown players. They haven’t got anyone there in that team. Tottenham haven’t got one player out the youth team. What’s happening? We should be producing players in this country.

I wonder what Bobby Moore would think looking at West Ham now

I felt sad watching it [West Ham go down]. It’s been a bad year for West Ham. It’s a great club, great tradition. I wonder what Bobby would think seeing the club now. It’s not the club we grew up in. We played at Upton Park, great atmosphere, traditional football ground. It was a tough place for opposing teams, intimidating. Now there’s a running track. The atmosphere creates nothing.

The worst footballer at Soccer Aid

A lot of the celebrities think they could play football, but they can’t. The worst player I ever seen at Soccer Aid was Tommy Fury. He looks great, but Tommy is a boxer, he’d never kicked a football in his life. The ball went out of play and he rolled it in underarm. He didn’t know what a throw-in was. We had GK Barry – she was scared the ball was gonna hit her. She was terrible. Keir Starmer was there [at the training session], I don’t know if he’s a good footballer, I didn’t see him – I shouldn’t say that, in case it stops me getting a knighthood!

I’m never going to get a knighthood or MBE anyway

I’ve never been given nothing like that. I wouldn’t say no but I wouldn’t be offered it. If I’d have got the England job and failed to win anything, I might have got it. If I’d got to the quarters and lost I probably would have got a knighthood. Perhaps if I’d have won Soccer Aid, I’d have got it.

I don’t even know who half the Spurs players are now

It’s been disastrous. De Zerbi ain’t no fool, he’ll start having a big say in the players that come in, he won’t leave it to other people who have really made a mess of it. The recruitment’s been shocking, wasting money on average players. I don’t even know who half the players are.

Who I blame for the mess at Spurs this season

It’s the players on the pitch – they’ve not performed. They’ve not been good enough. They’ve been poor. The training ground’s the best in the world, the stadium’s the best in the world, but the players are not the best. That’s the most important thing, you need good players. And they’ve recruited badly, gone for middle-of-the-road rather than going for top players.

When a top player becomes available, you never see Tottenham getting him. That’s got to change. They’ve got to get some of them out. There’s a lot of players here who don’t deserve to be playing for a good club like Tottenham. Loads that don’t want to be there, get rid of them quick, get them out of the dressing room. A manager comes and goes, another manager comes and goes, and the players are still there.

London Heritage Quarter’s city-wide lion trail, unveiled by Harry Redknapp and Fara Williams MBE to celebrate England’s summer of international football, will run until 10th August 2026. Visit http://www.london-hq.co.uk/for more information.

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Newcastle United intend to hand William Osula a central role in their re-shaped attack next season, with the Denmark striker having convinced Eddie Howe that he should not be sacrificed in the club’s close season overhaul.

Newcastle are looking to move quickly in the transfer market and could have a second signing of the summer confirmed within days after the arrival of France under-21 goalkeeper Ewen Jaouen.

The club hope to fast-track their move for exciting Spain winger Victor Munoz after an encouraging round of talks with Osasuna over the £30m winger.

While sources played down talk of a bid – Newcastle’s more strategic approach this summer means they are maintaining a detailed dialogue with club and player before formalising their interest – there is optimism that a move can be finalised.

Crucially, Victor Munoz – who has a £34.5m release clause – is understood to be keen to make the switch. He is currently with the rest of the Spain camp in Tennessee, preparing for the World Cup.

If a move proceeds as planned, he will join Osula as part of a youthful and re-invigorated forward line, with Newcastle not actively looking to sell the forward despite – in the words of one source – “clubs across Europe willing to throw cash at us for him”.

Osula’s profile, potential and age mean he stands out in a striker market that feels much more tepid than last season, when Alexander Isak, Benjamin Sesko and Victor Gyokeres all made big moves. Aston Villa and Everton have been credited with interest in Osula – along with a clutch of clubs in Germany – but only “silly money” would open the door for a move.

He scored six goals in an end-of-season run in which he made seven starts but it was increased maturity and tactical acumen that impressed Newcastle’s coaches who had previously pondered whether he could fulfil that potential.

Osula is now arguably in front of Nick Woltemade and Yoane Wissa, who Newcastle would be prepared to listen to offers for this season. Both are currently out at the World Cup but sources did not rule out a move away for the DR Congo striker.

Newcastle’s position in relation to the financial rules means it is effectively one in, one out this summer – so any move for a striker would require an outgoing.

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In a further sign of Newcastle’s proactive approach this summer they are also understood to have made enquiries with Manchester City about James Trafford – although any move would probably require the price to be right and for the player to show willingness to move after a knockback last year.

They would also need to find a buyer for Nick Pope. But the interest is real and a further sign of the scope of the overhaul.

The Magpies continue to “spin plates” in the transfer market with moves for a No 6 and right-back the next priorities after securing Anthony Gordon’s replacement. As revealed by The i Paper back in March, Monaco’s Lamine Camara is high up on their transfer wishlist.

But the situation is regarded as fluid, with another big sale a distinct possibility. Manchester United have an interest in Lewis Hall and Sandro Tonali, who has also been linked with Manchester City, but both would command big money.

Newcastle sources were mystified by talk of Hall wanting out of St James’ Park that circulated on Thursday. Part of the new approach is a more straightforward approach to outgoings, as was witnessed with Gordon’s move to Barcelona, to avoid any repeat of the Isak mess that polluted the entire 2025-26 campaign.

If a player is seeking an exit route, there will be “honesty” around what that looks like and what it would take for any move to happen. But neither Hall nor Tonali have had that conversation with Newcastle.

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Even Fifa’s president can’t bluster his way out of empty seats. No manner of artistic licence or that creepy smile-speak-nod move can magic a person into an empty space and then do the same trick several hundred more times. After the first match of the World Cup not involving a host nation, Fifa has been embarrassed.

Gianni Infantino was in Guadalajara and presumably winced. On the opposite side to where the television cameras were based, on the halfway line, a block barely half full and with entire rows of red seats empty. On US TV, Fox did its best not to scan and reveal the whole truth. You can’t pull the wool over reality forever.

Each empty seat represents one of two things: a choice not to be there or an inability to afford it. Both are unacceptable. We may never know the exact attendance, for this has been an opaque dance rolling on for months.

Back in February, Infantino was busy telling us that every match at this tournament would be a sellout, alongside his claim that there had been 508 million requests for seven million seats.

“Obviously the price is a consequence of that,” said Fifa’s president. “77 out of these 104 matches have received requests for over one million tickets. Every match is already sold out. We keep some tickets back for some last-minute sales, of course, but every match is sold out.”

Perhaps this was one of those matches without one million ticket demands – a mere 600,000 for the 45,664-seater Estadio Akron, do we think? Maybe hundreds of supporters were on the same badly delayed train or merely came in fancy dress as red seats? Or perhaps Infantino was wrong.

What Fifa actually meant is that the current batch of tickets had sold out. To generate a perception of fever, there were staggered releases. The problem with that? People who might travel to this tournament from abroad have to make plans early. And clearly many locals had been priced out. That empty area on the halfway line, the conspicuous red void, was a high-priced section.

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The retort from some will be thus: it’s a lower-value group game. The Czech Republic have not taken a large travelling support. Lots of local supporters will have watched the Mexico game earlier in the day and will likely have blocked out the whole day for that purpose.

Which, fine. But that’s the point: if you consider that certain matches will be less popular than others, why on Earth wouldn’t your prices reflect that? Why would you continue to parrot a message of “sold out, move on” when the empty spaces in the stadium were clearly going to prove you wrong. This is either a failure in pricing – blocking out locals – or a failure in process (if Fifa believe these tickets really were sold).

And for all the caveats, Guadalajara is in the most football-adjacent host country and this is the second smallest stadium by capacity at the World Cup, ahead of only Toronto. There is no excuse for the second match of the tournament to not be full in a football-mad nation of 133 million people. There is no excuse for us to be having this conversation now.

Now focus must switch to other non-premier group matches, particularly those in the largest US stadia – New York-New Jersey, Los Angeles, Dallas, Kansas City. Make no mistake: each empty seat is a small defeat for Fifa’s pricing and sales strategy and the rhetoric of its leader.

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With 51 shots in 180 minutes, 12 on target and just four goals, England shook off the rust in Florida – but for a team with so much attacking heft, they lack cutting edge.

Harry Kane remains the exception to the rule of a squad light on goals. They need a Plan B that doesn’t rely on rolling the dice on battering ram Ivan Toney or a change of pace with Ollie Watkins.

Enter Jude Bellingham? That seemed to be the suggestion coming out of England’s Florida series, a gentle introduction to a month when the verdict will be delivered on the “go-big-or-go-home” appointment of Thomas Tuchel.

England’s reasoning with Tuchel is sound enough. Unlike his predecessor Gareth Southgate, who was big on vibes but had tactical shortcomings when it mattered, Tuchel has already delivered in the big moments. He’s the finisher in a tournament that demands one.

If you screwed your eyes tight enough against a fairly feeble Costa Rican challenge, you could see signs – and none was more intriguing than Bellingham getting a run at No 9, first alongside Kane before eight bright minutes in tandem with his mate Morgan Rogers.

Could Bellingham play as a No 9?

“Maybe we’ll see it at the tournament,” Tuchel said after the 3-0 win, wearing a trademark mischevious grin.

The idea is simple: Bellingham becomes the No 9 and plays it as a free role. He drops deep, he dribbles, he occupies the half spaces that cause organised defences problems. And he gives Kane space to reprise the quarter-back role that he’s been playing for Bayern Munich.

There’s also another intriguing possibility here. Tuchel loves Rogers but his idea is to have two players battling for every position in his England squad. So, if Bellingham gets the nod – and that seems now to be the very strong suggestion for Croatia – it means Rogers is on the bench.

Bellingham as a No 9 gives him the chance to get both on the pitch, perhaps when Kane is tiring in the heat or needs preserving for future assignments.

Two things spring to mind: Would Bellingham have happily accepted this role under Southgate at Euro 2024? For all the “who else” swagger in Germany, Bellingham cut a frustrated figure in that tournament. Something wasn’t right.

That he’s prepared to do it under Tuchel suggests he has been – partly at least – humbled by some of the tough-talking of last year. Bellingham has played there for Real Madrid but he’s a No 10 really, especially for England where he likes to conduct.

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Secondly, it exhibits the sort of creative thinking that is going to be needed to win the strangest World Cup of all. Anyone else still shudder at the Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard debate from 20 years ago? That kind of binary thinking was still a “thing” two years ago when Southgate shoehorned Phil Foden into the team and briefly experimented with Trent Alexander-Arnold as a No 6.

Tuchel represents a different way and Bellingham looks like a different animal these days.

“Jude has the personality to score, to be decisive and to arrive in the box so it is an option,” he said.

Given England’s challenge for the next fortnight is to unlock low blocks and crack tournament veterans Croatia, he will need a few different combinations. Bellingham’s proposed new gig feels full of promise.

from Football - The i Paper https://ift.tt/JgnQ0ar