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Jurgen Klopp left North America joyous. Pep Guardiola threw a barbecue for his Manchester City players despite the defeat chucked in against Liverpool. The mood at the Etihad and Anfield is conditioned by flatout, unbridled positivity. Meanwhile Jose Mourinho is stuck in a time warp of disruption and agitation. Whatever his perceived grievances at Manchester United his methods and his demeanour are hopelessly yesteryear.

Pre-season is but a fortnight old yet Mourinho’s year-three syndrome is already well established, the face he presents to the world achingly familiar. Like a child trying to emotionally blackmail parents to get the toy he can’t have, or my dog giving me the long face because he can’t have a biscuit, Mourinho is on the wrong end of the power equation. I want doesn’t get. Sulking is never persuasive.

Read more: Jose Mourinho favourite to be first Premier League manager sacked this season

The age of empire is gone. The control and influence wielded by Sir Alex Ferguson, the last of the great dynasty managers, is no longer a feature of the job. Mourinho’s nemesis (real or invented), chief executive Ed Woodward, reports to the Glazers not to the great Jose. This ends only one way. With United looking for a new manager in November as the bookies’ favourite for the chop meets his inevitable end.

Value for money?

What a carry on. If Mourinho thinks he has it hard at Old Trafford he should try a tour at Hull, Burnley or Stoke. He is manager of the richest football club on earth for goodness sake, ranked second only to the Dallas Cowboys in the Forbes list of the richest sporting institutions. Of course the exaggerated ‘woe is me’ schtick is strategic, a propaganda tool designed to shape the public mood in his favour and prompt the board to acquiesce to his demands.

Read more: Fantasy Premier League – tips: 11 players to pick in your team

And the Oscar for best sad face goes to… “I would like two more players. I don’t think I’m going to have two. I think it’s possible I’m going to have one. I gave my club a list of five names a few months ago. I wait to see if it’s possible to have one of these players.” ‘My club’ and ‘a few months ago’ are marked with asterisks. The former suggests genuine attachment, not the sentiment of a mercenary coach who loves his clubs in three-year cycles. The latter informs the world how he is doing his job and if this does go belly up you know where the fault lies.

As if. Mourinho can’t plead poverty having persuaded the same board to part with the readies in the hundreds of millions to bring in the likes of Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku, Eric Bailly, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Victor Lindelof, Nemanja Matic, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Alexis Sanchez, Fred and Diogo Dalot. When that spend produces a team that finishes 19 points adrift of the champions the board is entitled to wonder if they are getting value from the man spending it.

Adverse results

They must also wonder if the divisive and provocative treatment of some players is producing the required results. It was kind of Luke Shaw to speak up for his manager in the US last week, yet you wonder how much quicker he might have reached a positive relationship had Mourinho been more encouraging and less judgmental in his public observations, which Shaw admitted had been difficult to process.

Mourinho’s spiteful defenestration of Anthony Martial is borderline bullying. His peevish acceptance of the player’s decision to leave United’s tour to be at the birth of his second child and his spiteful assessment of his failure to return to participate in matches that even he says he would not attend is so obviously offensive and insulting.

All this with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich to come before Mourinho sends out a ‘team’ to face Leicester at Old Trafford next week in the opening fixture of the Premier League. The Widow Twankey-esque, pantomime dame in distress about working conditions won’t wash. While he is attributing United’s failure to make the grade in the age of Pep and Klopp a matter of playing staff, the board will start to see it, if they don’t already, as a failure of management. United don’t have the wrong players. They have the wrong bloke picking them.

More on Manchester United:

Three ways Jose Mourinho can get the most out of Paul Pogba at Manchester United

Why a player as gifted as Anthony Martial has failed at Manchester United

Manchester United fixtures: Premier League 2018/19 – in full

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Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho has become the bookmakers’ favourite to be the first Premier League boss sacked this season.

The 55-year-old has appeared in an almighty strop all pre-season; hitting out at his players, decrying a lack of transfer spending and even moaning about the quality of refereeing on the club’s tour to the US.

All that has led punters to pile money on Mourinho to be first out the door, cutting his odds of exiting Old Trafford before any other Premier League manager this season from 14/1 to 7/1.

Read more: Fantasy Premier League – tips: 11 players to pick in your team

By comparison, United’s rivals Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal are all 100/1 to be first to sack their manager.

“In total, 82 per cent of all bets in the last 24 hours have been placed on Mourinho leaving before any other gaffer, making Jose the clear and standout favourite to be the first on the manager merry-go-round,” says George Elek, spokesperson for odds comparison website Oddschecker.

Odds – Next Premier League manager to leave post

Jose Mourinho, Manchester United – 7/1

Claude Puel, Leicester – 8/1

Javi Gracia, Watford – 8/1

Rafa Benitez, Newcastle – 8/1

Mark Hughes, Southampton – 12/1

Neil Warnock, Cardiff – 12/1

Manuel Pellegrini, West Ham – 18/1

Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves – 20/1

Marco Silva, Everton – 22/1

Roy Hodgson, Crystal Palace – 40/1

Chris Hughton, Brighton – 50/1

David Wagner, Huddersfield – 50/1

Slavisa Jokanovic, Fulham – 50/1

Eddie Howe, Bournemouth – 66/1

Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham – 66/1

Sean Dyche, Burnley – 66/1

Maurizio Sarri, Chelsea – 80/1

Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool – 100/1

Pep Guardiola, Manchester City – 100/1

Unai Emery, Arsenal – 100/1

More on Manchester United:

Manchester United are at risk of falling further behind their Premier League rivals this season

Time for Manchester United to bin Jose Mourinho – a busted flush of a football coach

Three ways Jose Mourinho can get the most out of Paul Pogba at Manchester United

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On Saturday 5 May, the football world was rocked by the news that Sir Alex Ferguson had undergone surgery for a brain haemorrhage.

Since then, the most successful manager in English football history has battled in a way only he knows how.

Today, we bring you a special message. pic.twitter.com/NgGejgM46e

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) July 26, 2018

Manchester United have released a video message from Sir Alex Ferguson.

The club’s legendary former manager underwent brain surgery in May after suffering a brain hemorrhage.

In a brief statement, the 76-year-old sent thanks to medical staff and fans and wished the club well ahead of the upcoming season.

More follows…

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An English auction is underpinned by the idea of symmetry. All buyers operate under identical conditions. In an auction room, everyone has to play by the same rules; the option of beating the highest bid is always available.

In theory the football transfer market operates on similar principles. There are no auctions, but clubs in the big European leagues have the same time restrictions on when they can buy players – and, though what each team can afford to bid differs hugely, should know what they need to do to beat the highest bid for a particular player.

Only this year is different. For the first time, the Premier League and Football League voted to move the transfer window forward to the start of the Premier League season, ahead of Fifa’s general Europe-wide deadline. This year the transfer window closes in England at 5pm on Thursday, 9 August, but clubs in Spain, Germany, France, Scotland and beyond will have another 22 days to buy players.

First-mover disadvantage

There are some excellent reasons to move the window forward. Finalising all squads before the season starts encourages forward-planning, and avoids the disruption of players moving between clubs in the same league once the season has begun. England will now be mercifully free of the transfer rumours and madcap spending that the end of August normally brings.

The trouble is, other European leagues have not done the same. English clubs have acted like dud negotiators.

“This season the rest of clubs in Europe do have an advantage,” says Jake Cohen, a sports lawyer who works extensively in the transfer market. “Whereas in a lot of industries there’s a first-mover advantage here there is a disadvantage to being the first to move the transfer window forward.”

When Premier League clubs have been negotiating with European sides this summer, they have done so with a hand that they have voluntarily made weaker, enforcing greater time pressure on themselves than everyone else in Europe. The timing to bring the transfer window forward was particularly unpropitious in a World Cup summer, which stalled the pace of transfer activity.

And so as European clubs know that English sides have less time to conduct transfers, Premier League teams are at risk of being exploited, and pushed into paying too much. “If Arsenal and AC Milan are both interested in a Bayern Munich player, Bayern would be able to exert far more pressure on Arsenal,” Cohen explains. Similarly, for English clubs who need to sell a player before raising the funds to buy anyone else, it could weaken their negotiating position, says Omar Chaudhuri from the football consultancy 21st Club.

Premier League clubs left powerless

The move to bring forward the end of the English transfer window is asymmetric: while Premier League clubs cannot buy players after the end of the window, they can still sell them. So if, say, a footballer suddenly demands to move to a European club, then their Premier League team will have no opportunity to replace them. If Spanish clubs suffer injuries in late August they are free to strengthen their squads by signing players from England, but the reverse does not apply.

Imagine, say, Liverpool want to sign Nabil Fekir from Lyon, as is rumoured, but Lyon declare that Fekir is not for sale for another 12 months, and the English transfer window closes with Fekir still at Lyon. Then, later in August, Real Madrid suffer an injury crisis and make an extravagant offer for Fekir, which Lyon accept, Liverpool have no opportunity to decide if they are prepared to match Real’s price. The player moves, and Liverpool are powerless to intervene.

Moving the transfer window forward has also weakened Premier League clubs in another way, Cohen believes. Players within the European Union or European Economic Area are able to move within the bloc as soon as they turn 16 – which means that European players who turn 16 between 9 and 31 August can move to other European countries, just not England, raising the risk of English clubs missing out on the best young European talent.

Advantage La Liga

There are glimpses that other leagues may follow the Premier League’s example: indeed, Italy has already moved its own transfer window forward, to 17 August, the day before Serie A begins.

Yet there is also recognition that, because the Premier League has acted unilaterally, it has created an opportunity for other leagues to gain a competitive advantage.

La Liga, the Premier League’s greatest global rival, has no intention of following England’s lead.

“We have no plans for any changes to the transfer window. We like it the way it is,” said a La Liga spokesperson. La Liga appears to view sticking to the existing transfer window as a means of getting an edge on the Premier League, however slight.

So Premier League clubs resemble poker players who have shown their hands too early. One of the most ruthless sports leagues in the world has imposed tougher rules on itself, handing its rivals an advantage while getting nothing in return.

More on the Premier League: 

The circus is back at Newcastle – and Rafa Benitez looks tired of being the clown

Manchester United are at risk of falling further behind their Premier League rivals this season

Can Arsenal return to the Premier League top four under Unai Emery? Assessing their pre-season so far

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Mesut Ozil announced that he was quitting the Germany national team in three lengthy and explosive social media posts on Sunday.

The Arsenal midfielder, who is a third generation Turkish-German, says he feels “unwanted” by his country, citing “racism and direspect” he has faced in recent weeks.

The announcement comes in the wake of criticism the 29-year-old has received following a meeting with controversial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the disastrous World Cup in which defending champions Germany crashed out in the group stages.

Here is Ozil’s statement condensed into 10 key points (scroll down for the statement in full):

1. Says he has ‘two hearts’: one German and one Turkish

2. Defends the meeting with Erdogan saying it had ‘no political intentions’ and was ‘about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country’

3. Questions why former Germany captain Lothar Matthaus did not receive the same scrutiny after being pictured with Russian president Vladimir Putin, asking ‘does my Turkish heritage make me a more worthy target?’

4. Says he was ‘really hurt’ and made to feel ‘unwanted and unworthy’ by his former school after it cancelled a recent visit

5. Hits out at national team sponsors Mercedes for removing him from promotional material ahead of the World Cup and asks why the German FA (DFB) did not publicly demand an explanation from the car-maker following its recent emissions scandal

6. Criticises the media for not paying more attention to his charitable work which includes recently helping ’23 young children life-changing surgeries’

7. Saves his most severe criticism for the DFB and its president Reinhard Grindel, who he says belittled and patronised his opinions when the two met before the World Cup, and questions whether he should still hold his post for opinions on Islam which Ozil says are ‘unforgivable and unforgettable’

8. Explains he is choosing to speak now because he will ‘no longer stand for being a scapegoat’ and says that while he used to ‘wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement’ he no longer feels that way

9. Highlights the double standards in treatment of German players with mixed backgrounds, saying Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are never referred to as ‘German-Polish’ and questions whether this is ‘because it is Turkey’, or because ‘I am Muslim’

10. Details the vile abuse he and his family have received on social media, in hate mail and in threatening phone calls, saying it has represented ‘a Germany of the past… and a Germany that I am not proud of’

Full statement

More on football: 

Where next for Germany after their humiliating World Cup exit?

How Germany’s media reacted to their World Cup horror show

Gary Lineker has updated his famous quote after Germany exited the World Cup

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“If England get beaten, so will she.” You might have seen the advert (above) in yesterday’s i. It shows the cross of St George on a woman’s face, made up by blood pouring out of her nose. And it contains the harrowing message: there are spikes in domestic abuse after England football matches.

The link between the two is incontestable. A Lancaster University study of the 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cups showed that domestic abuse reports in Lancashire rose 26 per cent when England won or drew a World Cup match, and 38 per cent when they lost; while over a third of domestic abuse is against men, the spike was overwhelmingly because of violence committed by men against women. Incidents were also 11 per cent higher the day after England played – whatever the result.

The surge in domestic violence around England World Cup football matches is a microcosm of how sport and violence are linked. In Glasgow, domestic violence ­increases by 36 per cent when Celtic play Rangers, regardless of who wins. Even in Canada, sometimes regarded as a utopian antidote to the tumult in the rest of the globe, domestic violence spikes around the most prominent Canadian Football League games.

Why the spike?

Matches can ­unleash a disturbing cocktail of tribal machismo, bountiful alcohol consumption and anger. “Football ­itself doesn’t cause domestic abuse, but there are factors which could increase existing abuse or act as a catalyst,” says Teresa Parker, from the charity Women’s Aid.

Sport is a walk of life where sexism is often normalised; misogynistic chants can still be regularly heard from football crowds. This is not directly linked to domestic abuse, but creates a climate in which it is more likely to happen.

“Sexism and misogyny underpin violence against women and girls. These damaging attitudes are rife in our society; football is no exception,” explains Katie Ghose, chief executive of Women’s Aid.

Alcohol’s effect

Football games have also been associated with an increase in testosterone levels, which has been linked to greater acts of aggression, the Lancaster University study recently noted.

In supermarkets the land over, World Cups are marked by special offers on alcohol. The surge in domestic violence is due to “increased and heightened emotion and the fact that alcohol levels go through the roof,” says Kathy Coe, chief executive of Pathway Project, a charity which helps victims of domestic abuse. The heatwave may have exacerbated these risks. “This tournament the weather has been really hot and this too has an impact on violence and abuse. People also drink more to keep cool, and tempers are shorter when everyone is hot and uncomfortable.”

Anger caused by a surprise defeat is sometimes channeled into abuse. In the NFL, a study found that upset losses lead to a 10 per cent increase in the rate of ­at-home violence by men against their partners.

What can be done?

Some significant steps have been taken to use sport to fight against domestic abuse. In 2014, Women’s Aid launched the Football United Against Domestic Violence campaign, which has worked with clubs, the Football Association, the Premier League and BT Sport, as well as the parliamentary football team. Yet so far Football United has only linked with 12 clubs in England; just three – Bristol City, Exeter City and Bournemouth – have officially signed up to the scheme.

Parker, who created Football United, hopes that more clubs promote the campaign in their stadiums and online. “We would like domestic abuse and sexism to be seen as an issue that all clubs engage with.” The Football United campaign also lacks proper financial support, of the sort that professional clubs could easily provide with an infinitesimal proportion of their own revenue.

It all creates the impression that football, and sport more broadly, has not truly faced up to its relationship with domestic violence. After uncovering the link between Old Firm matches and abuse, Gary Koop, one of the co-authors of the paper, found “there was not much interest in it from the clubs”.

Yet perhaps one positive legacy of the World Cup – infinitely more important than the restoration of the bond between the England football team and their fans – can be heightened awareness of violence.

Parker hopes that “because people are talking about football and domestic abuse, this is an opportunity to do something positive and really help.”

More on World Cup 2018:

How England’s brilliant World Cup campaign helped a Syrian family feel at home

After such a joyous World Cup all that remains is the question: ‘What do we do now?’

Olivier Giroud increases cult hero cachet at World Cup as the striker who doesn’t score

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Four members of the Russian activist and punk rock group, Pussy Riot, have been jailed for 15 days for running onto a pitch during the World Cup final.

They were accused of illegally donning police uniforms and violating the rules for spectators at a sporting event.

Group protests against human rights abuses in Russia

Pussy Riot – known for speaking out in favour of LGBTQ+ rights, feminism and freedom in Russia – said the display was a protest against human rights abuses in Russia. They called for the release of political prisoners and for more open political competition.

Stewards hauled the four off the pitch.

The incident broke into the second half of the Croatia v France match for roughly 25 seconds. France went on to win 4-2 and win the World Cup.

A court on Monday sentenced them after finding them guilty of violating the law on behaviour of sports events spectators. They were also banned from attending sports events for three years.

The group shared their arrest on Sunday and the fact they were “no conditions to sleep, eat” or “take a shower”.

Current situation: the 4 pussy riot members spent the whole night at the police station (note that there are no conditions to sleep, eat, take a shower etc) and are still there — going to be brought to the court. They are facing charges for administrative offenses so far.

— 𝖕𝖚𝖘𝖘𝖞 𝖗𝖎𝖔𝖙 (@pussyrrriot) July 16, 2018

Three women and a man ran onto the pitch.

One woman high-fived French star Kylian Mbappé before being taken off the pitch.

Croatia defender Dejan Lovren grabbed the male protester in anger. After the incident Lovren told reporters: “I just lost my head and I grabbed the guy and I wished I could throw him away from the stadium.”

Previous protests

Pussy Riot has staged high-profile protests against President Vladimir Putin before. The group initially made headlines in 2012 after they performed an anti-Putin punk song performed in a Moscow cathedral and were jailed as a result.

Additional reporting from the PA.

Read more on Russia:

Pussy Riot claim responsibility for pitch invasion during World Cup final

Inside Pussy Riot: ‘Political art can change the world’

‘I don’t feel fear’: Pussy Riot’s Maria Alyokhina on making her stage debut

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After a tournament that delivered almost everything we could have asked, there was always the danger of an anti-climactic final, the kind that persuades the millions of casual watchers that football is boring after all, and encourages summarisers to say things like ‘you can’t help feeling, Clive, that if only England were here…’ But the scriptwriters, so generous throughout the World Cup, had saved some good stuff for the season finale.

There was a kind of montage of the things that we’ve been thrilled and/or tortured by these past few weeks: wildly, almost inappropriately attacking football; a crucial bit of VAR which involved the ref watching a couple of minutes of TV, in front of three billion people also watching their TVs; a huge surge in the Googling of the phrase ‘Croatian president’. But they threw in some melodrama too. An own goal, a penalty and a goal from a crazy goalkeeping error. A pitch invasion by Pussy Riot. And when it was all over, a presentation ceremony in a biblical flood, with Emmanuel Macron in his sodden suit embracing each of ‘his’ players as if they’d returned from captivity.

Read more: France beat Croatia to win World Cup in brilliant, daft final

It was a sendoff typical of a World Cup that has gone out of its way to make us happy. And it should be said at this point, for legal reasons, that references to ‘scriptwriters’ in the first paragraph are entirely made in jest and not intended to imply that any part of the action was stage-managed by, for example, a sinister crypto-dictatorship. But exhilarating as it was, it’s all over. Almost unbelievably, tonight there will be no tinkling music-box ITV theme, no circular debates about what ‘handball’ means. So how are we meant to fill the silence? Here are a couple of ideas to get you through.

Take an interest in other sports

Many football fans taking an inventory of the rest of their lives today will be startled to find that Wimbledon – which normally kills time very well in football’s off-season – has in fact been and gone.

The men’s final took place during France v Croatia, in fact: such bad timing that the players themselves were seen watching the match on their phones during some of the longer rallies. I won’t reveal here who won either the men’s or ladies’ singles, in case you had the foresight to record the entire Wimbledon fortnight and are now settling down for a catch-up.

Enjoy the certainty of a non-VAR world

One way in which everyday life outperforms the World Cup is that decisions tend to be less reversible in ‘real life’. If you apply for an overdraft extension tomorrow and are successful, the other customers will not draw imaginary TVs in the air until the bank manager wanders over to the corner of the room and reviews the evidence.

If you brush against someone on your way out of a restaurant, they’ll stay on their feet if at all possible rather than dropping to their knees with a scream directed at the maître d’. It’s all a bit less exciting than the football has been, but you can’t live at that level of stress all the time.

Rediscover the world beyond football

Follow us on Facebook: @iPaperSport

There’s a lot of other things you could be doing, you know. A couple of your friends have been having a rough time; maybe time to text them. The weather’s still gloriously warm: why not go for a walk by the river? Radio 4 has some very interesting… I’m sorry, I can’t do this. Life without the World Cup is wretched.

And because Qatar’s too hot for football, the next one doesn’t even start until November 2022. November 21st. It’s in my diary. It’s just a matter of ploughing through the tricky period until then.

More on the World Cup: 

Move over, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The next Ballon D’Or should go to Luka Modric

Don’t listen to the keyboard warriors, Harry Kane is a deserving Golden Boot winner

Gareth Southgate plans ruthless England cull with Gary Cahill first on his list

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In the end the final was a microcosm of Russia 2018, a barn burner of a contest in which both teams went at it like kids in the school yard, and with a dose of VAR thrown in.

Not since 1974 had we seen three goals in the first half of a final. That old terrace staple “attack, attack, attack” could go the way of the Sunday sermon should club football take its cue from the ravishing upgrade in template.

What a pity VAR is not to be rolled out in the Premier League next season. If nothing else it would give the pundits something to sink their incisors into at half-time. Alan Shearer morphed into Buster Bloodvessel, so convinced was he that Nestor Pitana was in error in identifying Ivan Perisic as a basketballer in the box. It will always be divisive since the referee must interpret the act. The point is the offence was interrogated, which is a huge advance.

International football reinvigorated

The introduction of technology and the front-foot football trans­formed the World Cup experience. The real surprise, indeed charm, was the way Russia restated the credentials of an international game thought moribund under the advance of club football.

Like the fans who travelled in great number, draping Red Square and the arteries feeding out of Russia’s capital city in 50 shades of colour, the players too have been fully invested in the tournament.

In a number of ways the World Cup has stripped the game back to fundamentals, and in so doing reminded us why we love it. Talk about the law of unintended consequences. This was a tournament brought to Russia by a regime engaged in the greatest perversion of the sporting ideal in the history of competition (see Sochi Olympic drug scandal), and a governing body, Fifa, riven by corruption on an industrial scale. Yet somehow, between them, they fluked a winner.

Unpredictability

The material circumstances underpinning this rebirth were created by the avaricious march of the club game, super-rich Champions League clubs siphoning off the talent and producing a competition that recycles the same contenders every year. The Premier League likewise. Predictability is death to sport. Here we had 32 teams who had to make do with homegrown talent. There is no buying your way to World Cup nirvana, or out of the World Cup midden.

The shared identity and common interest that once characterised the great metropolitan teams, the sense of belonging and representation, has been reclaimed by the national teams in a way none predicted or thought possible. This is Russia 2018’s great triumph.

We shall have to see how the scene in Europe evolves through Uefa’s new Nations League tournament, should it indeed restore the meaning that had ebbed from friendlies. Whether the party atmosphere engendered in Russia survives is another fascinating question. From a purely anecdotal point of view I can vouch for the commonality of habit and purpose between peoples. The Muscovite men and women I met were engaged in the same mundane slog as we are. Strip away the politicians that stand between us and the world might be a better place.

Will Russia change?

It remains to be seen if the state apparatus applies the same squeeze on liberty and public expression as it did before the many thousands of Mexicans, Colombians, Argentines and Brazilians brought carnival to the streets of Russia. I wonder, too, if the left-field rendition of the Benny Hill Show signature tune will have much of a life in the Moscow Metro now the football music has stopped. It certainly cheered up this traveller on the way back to the Alekseevskaya billet from the Luzhniki.

Finally, Vladimir Putin meets Donald Trump in Helsinki on Monday. It is another measure of the success of Russia 2018 that we can’t identify the bigger bogeyman, the Russian premier or the President of the United States.

That would have been unthinkable had Barack Obama been the leader attending the pow-wow on behalf of the “West”. Sure, Trump is an easy hook on which to hang offence, but he is still the elected president of the biggest democracy on earth.

No wonder Putin was chuckling through the Luzhniki passing-out parade. France believe theirs was the definitive victory at this World Cup. Putin, stroking his cat all the way to Finland, begs to differ.

More on the World Cup final: 

iSport writers select their team of the World Cup

Pussy Riot claim responsibility for pitch invasion during World Cup final

Why Antoine Griezmann was France’s real World Cup star

Two big decisions go against Croatia in World Cup final

Was referee right to give France penalty for Perisic handball? VAR controversy hits World Cup final

The post How Russia and Fifa contrived between them to fluke a winner appeared first on iNews.

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A World Cup final which had it all: from the sublime to the tragic, comedy to calamity, and amidst it all a teenage star with a winners’ medal and a new level of expectation which would paralyse other mere mortals.

France came through a six-goal final in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium that transcended from arguably the best in history to the daftest, and maybe back again. A game in which Kylian Mbappe, the 19-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward who is all legs and limbs and unbelievable ability, became the first teenager to score in a World Cup final since Brazil’s Pele in 1958. If ever there was a sense that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were giving up the GOAT (greatest of all time), two ageing behemoths exiting the tournament early, Mbappe confirmed himself as the player ready to take up the mantle.

France held a first-half lead in controversial circumstances: a dive, an own goal and a hotly disputed penalty awarded by VAR. People were just starting to forget about VAR, when it reared its monstrous head again to award France a 39th-minute penalty. Referee Nestor Pitana called for video assistance when a France corner struck Ivan Perisic’s hand. Seemed harsh, but Griezmann scored the penalty. Somewhere back in England, Harry Kane hid behind a sofa.

VAR confusion

Huge thunder crashed above the Luzhniki Stadium soon after – or was that the sound of 4.5million Croatian boos reaching Moscow? Fifa claimed the World Cup final was watched by more than 1billion people and it could well be that those arguing for and against the penalty were split, 500m to 500m. VAR has left football with the same level of confusion as before, it just takes a little longer.

Four pitch invaders legged it onto the field early in the second half. Croatia defender Dejan Lovren tackled one of them. Stewards dragged them from the field. Activists Pussy Riot claimed responsibility for it, then the second half ran riot.

As if Will Smith performing live in the closing ceremony and being outdone by Ronaldinho playing bongos was not enough, the game had so much more.

The first half was no less breathless than the second. Ivan Rakitic said there would be 4.5m Croatians on the pitch for the final and while there were, in keeping with Fifa’s rules, only 11, half the country could’ve been in the stand behind goalkeeper Danijel Subasic’s goal for the first 45 minutes. And Croatia started as though they were being physically thrust forward by the support, ensconced in France’s half for the opening stages, the ball seemingly blown back by the collective breath every time their opponents tried to clear.

Croatia on top early on

There was an intensity to Croatia’s play that can only derive from furiously reading English newspapers for anything that might possibly enrage them in the hours before kick-off, as they had done ahead of beating England in the semi-finals. Luka Modric had the outside of his boot oiled and firing. Rakitic hit a perfect 40-yard switch pass. Perisic was at full pelt down the left at any opportunity.

So it was harsh, really, when Mario Mandzukic’s own goal put France in front, 18 minutes in. Griezmann sent a free kick into the area and the towering Croatian striker nodded the ball over his goalkeeper. Even more galling, for Croatia, that Griezmann appeared to dive to win the free kick.

Mandzukic is the footballing equivalent of The Mountain from Game of Thrones; he’s freakish big and freakish strong, and quicker than you’d expect for a man of that size. Defenders would be foolish if they weren’t frightened of him.

He utilised those attributes at the right end for Croatia’s equaliser 11 minutes later, forming an integral part of a clever free-kick swung to the right of France’s penalty area by Modric. Mandzukic headed back across goal, Domagoj Vida touched the ball back to Perisic and though his first touch with his right foot was awkward the second with his left wrapped the ball into the right of goal.

Ferocious France

France held a slender lead at the break after Griezmann’s penalty, but then Mbappe, who had an ineffectual first half, grew into the occasion he was destined for. He began to pressure Croatia’s left with those great loping runs and for France’s third, just before the hour, picked out Griezmann at the end of one. He laid back to Paul Pogba and while his first shot was blocked the second was curled into the left of goal.

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Then it was Mbappe’s turn to stamp his mark on history so ferociously it will have sent shockwaves through football. He was already only the third teenager to play in a World Cup final, after Pele and then Italian Giuseppe ‘Lo Zio’ Bergomi in 1982, but mirrored the Brazilian legend with his long-range strike.

Where was the calamity, you’re thinking? Wait for it. From nowhere France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris received a back pass and then tried to shimmy around Mandzukic, perhaps mistaking the Croatian’s quickness, a few yards from the goal-line. Mandzukic tackled him to score.

Still, it is not what this final will be remembered for; that will be reserved for France lifting the trophy and Mbappe’s moment. As Will Smith famously rapped: this was the moment his life got flipped-turned upside down.

More on the World Cup Final: 

World Cup 2018: iSport writers select their team of the tournament

Here’s what you missed or, er, didn’t, in England’s final game of the World Cup

Why Luka Modric could be key to Croatia stopping France forward Kylian Mbappe in World Cup final

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Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois will hold crunch talks with Chelsea this week, but could follow team-mate Eden Hazard and leave the club before the start of next season.

Hazard admitted after Belgium beat England in the World Cup third-place play-off that he was keen to move after six years at Stamford Bridge, withReal Madrid his preferred desination. The forward was one of the best players at the World Cup and a space has opened up at the Spanish giants with Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Juventus.

And in what would be a huge blow to Chelsea and their new manager Maurizio Sarri, who replaced Antonio Conte on Saturday on a three-year deal, goalkeeper Courtois, another of their key players who starred at the World Cup, has offered no assurances about his own future. Given his standing, Courtois is expecting Chelsea to match his requirements if he is to stay and sign a new deal. Courtois has only one year remaining on his current contract. Real Madrid are also a possible destination.

Meeting with Chelsea board

“I will be coming back, for sure and I will see what they want and how they say it,” Courtois said of meeting Chelsea’s board. “Obviously with this World Cup, I think what was on the table obviously is different than what I can have, maybe. In this World Cup, I have ignored all the speculation, all the rumours.

“But now in the next few days I will have a chat with my agent and see what Chelsea told him, and then we will talk. But I feel happy at Chelsea, it’s not that I neccessarily want to leave.”

Hazard said on Saturday: “After six wonderful years at Chelsea it might be time to discover something different. Certainly after this World Cup. I can decide if I want to stay or go, but Chelsea will make the final decision – if they want me to go. You know my preferred destination.” Chelsea would expect in excess of £200million to let Hazard leave.

More on Chelsea:

How Chelsea could line up under Maurizio Sarri – and the new transfers he may target

How Eden Hazard could fit in at Real Madrid – and how they will line-up if all transfers go through

Chelsea fixtures: Premier League 2018/19 – in full

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Rail passengers face further disruption after Northern announced more than 170 services will be cancelled on Sunday.

It comes after Great Western Railway warned train passengers to expect “significant disruption” due to the World Cup final.

Northern said it is “likely” more services will be scrapped, with Cheshire, Lancashire and Greater Manchester faring the worst, and Yorkshire also affected.

A spokesman said “many Northern staff have made themselves unavailable for work” on Sunday.

Unfortunately we have so far had to cancel more than 170 services across our network and it is likely more will be cancelled as we continue to plan our services.

Northern spokesman

The final takes place on Sunday afternoon, though England will not feature after they lost their semi-final to Croatia earlier in the week.

Staff contracts mean Northern staff do not have to work Sundays if they provide seven days’ notice, the spokesman added.

Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham and his Liverpool counterpart Steve Rotheram recently criticised Northern for causing “extreme chaos” on networks for “far too long”.

Hundreds of services have been cancelled by the operator and Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) since departure schedules were modified in May.

‘Unfortunately, we have had to cancel more than 170 services’

After months of controversy over delays and cancellations, GTR chief executive Charles Horton said he would resign.

The Northern spokesman apologised and said: “Unfortunately we have so far had to cancel more than 170 services across our network and it is likely more will be cancelled as we continue to plan our services.”

Anthony Smith, chief executive of watchdog Transport Focus, said it was “helpful” Northern alerted passengers with some notice.

But he added: “The rail company must make sure it does everything it can to minimise inconvenience on the day and to restore services as soon as possible.”

Great Western blamed “a number of factors” including the World Cup final between France and Croatia, as well as the”continuing good weather and the start of the school holidays”.

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On Wednesday, England were knocked out of the World Cup. A rare mix of pride and despair reverberated about the country in the days that followed.

Now the dust has settled, the overarching sentiment in fans is one of thanks to manager Gareth Southgate. He not only exceeding expectations, but solidified a new style of football and a new positive mentality in his young squad.

It’s an England side that has helped to unify a divided country during the course of the competition. The team didn’t quite make the final – but, in the words of its stars: “We go again”.

That is not only the message of the players, but of supporters. The togetherness is perhaps no more evident than in Ahmad Al-Rashid and his two daughters, two and four, whom he asked to remain unnamed.

Two new England fans

Yes England lost this match but they already won the hearts and minds of my little angles who came to the England 2 years ago from #Syria and made England their new HOME. They kept shouting #ComeOnEnglnd even after the game was over. Thank you #England #threelions #WorldCup18 pic.twitter.com/46aGnnMWhK

— Ahmad Al-Rashid (@jackahmed12) July 11, 2018

Mr Al-Rashid, at the time not long out of university, was was forced to leave Syria in 2013. He first moved to Iraq, but arrived in the UK seeking asylum in 2015. His wife, a teacher, followed. Mr Al-Rashid earned a place on a masters scholarship at SOAS, University of London. He graduated last year.

Now, Mr Al-Rashid works for an aid charity in London and he and his wife – who he also asked to keep anonymous – have two daughters who are “growing up English”. And they “really, really love the England team”, their dad explained.

“My daughters cheered every goal”, Mr Al-Rashid told i. “They were so excited – so happy. It was amazing to see. I loved every moment.

Read more: World Cup: How a nation’s mood switched from lethargy to excitement at a multicultural England team (who can play a bit)

“My youngest, I’m not sure she understands fully – she celebrates all the goals. But she knows England are the team. My eldest was so nervous watching. She is a passionate fan.”

While these emotions are common, Mr Al-Rashid posted a tweet following the match that moved many on social media.

It is indeed the past a few weeks have been mental

— Ahmad Al-Rashid (@jackahmed12) July 11, 2018

Thank you very much for the warm welcome:)

— Ahmad Al-Rashid (@jackahmed12) July 11, 2018

“Yes England lost this match but they already won the hearts and minds of my little angels, who came to the England two years ago from #Syria and made England their new HOME,” the doting  father wrote.

“They kept shouting #ComeOnEnglnd even after the game was over. Thank you #England #threelions #WorldCup18”

The message from Mr Al-Rashid is one echoed by England defender Kyle Walker. Much of the team has been vocal on social media during the World Cup, Walker in particular.

Passion for the beautiful game

We might live in a time where sometimes it’s easier to be negative than positive, or to divide than to unite, but England: let’s keep this unity alive. I love you.

— Kyle Walker (@kylewalker2) July 12, 2018

There have been problems too of course. People jumping on ambulances and spates of violence.

But Mr Al-Rashid is simply pleased his daughters have found such joy in football. Just as he has done throughout his life (he wrote about football in Syria and moving to the UK in a blog post for the FA).

“I came over a refugee and of course it was hard,” he told i. “Leaving war and home wasn’t easy. Then having to move from another country was also difficult. There’s been a lot of uncertainty and worry.

“But I feel we [he and his family] have been welcomed here and we now feel it is home. England, the UK is our home.

“My daughters have really connected with football and especially this new national team. Whenever I come in from work, we greet each other with ‘It’s Coming Home’. It’s special.

“I think now even I would support England over anyone. Even Syria. I love Syria and I want the team to do well, but I feel real passion for England now.”

Mr Al-Rashid said his daughters both enjoy playing football at nursery. His eldest is soon to start school.

He said both have settled in London – and he’s trying to steer them towards choosing a club team now in readiness for the coming Premier League season.

“I think they will go for Arsenal,” he said. “Though I like Manchester United. In Syria, we always followed the English teams.”

Read more on the World Cup: 

Gareth Southgate has a lot to answer for this World Cup – all of it good

How World Cup goodwill can be prolonged despite agony of England’s exit

World Cup 2018 has excited, angered and amused – will it be best ever?

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The best England can hope for in the World Cup is third place, but the national team’s unofficial theme tune has made it to No 1 – and set a new record in the process.

Comic duo David Baddiel and Frank Skinner‘s football song Three Lions has shot to the top of the UK singles chart for a fourth time.

The comedians’ collaboration with band The Lightning Seeds is now the first song in the charts’ 66-year history to have four spells at number one with the same line-up of artists.

The track previously topped the charts twice in 1996, the year it was originally released to coincide with the European Championships in England.

Read more

Three Lions lyrics: what the words mean in England’s favourite football song

It later spent three weeks at the top when it was re-released for the 1998 World Cup.

This week, Three Lions netted 80,000 combined sales this week to exceed its hat-trick.

According to the Official Charts Company this tally was made up of 43,000 sales, 6.8 million audio streams and 5.2 million video streams.

Awkward…

Joking about the unfortunate timing of their number one, Baddiel, 54, said: “Well, this is awkward.”

Skinner, 61, added: “I must say, as consolation prizes go…”

After counting down this week’s chart, BBC Radio 1 Official Chart host Scott Mills said: “England gave us everything at this World Cup.

“The whole country got swept away with it, and Thee Lions being the official number one shows how we really got behind our amazing team.”

Why is it a record?

Other songs such as Do They Know It’s Christmas? and Unchained Melody have reached number one four times before, but they were performed by different artists or groups on different occasions.

Three Lions, with its chorus of “Football’s coming home”, has been a anthem among England fans at every major tournament the team has competed in since its release.

Its revival has been sparked by England’s run at this year’s World Cup in Russia, which ended when they lost 2-1 to Croatia on Wednesday.

‘Knock me off’

Three Lions rose 23 places to bump last week’s chart-topper Shotgun by George Ezra down a place to number two.

England fan Ezra had urged fans to buy and stream Three Lions to knock his own song from the top of the charts.

Following a Facebook campaign to get punk band Green Day’s American Idiot back into the charts in time for US President Donald Trump’s UK visit, the song is at number 25.

Read more on the World Cup

England v Croatia: 5 things we learned as Three Lions suffer World Cup heartbreak

Brexit split our country apart. Who knew Three Lions memes could bring us back together?

Touching video of children with Down’s syndrome singing Three Lions brings David Baddiel to tears

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England manager Gareth Southgate will decide on Saturday morning on whether striker Harry Kane is fit enough to face Belgium in the World Cup third-place play-off, to potentially score the goals to secure him the Golden Boot.

Kane has looked tired towards the end of England’s knockout matches but six goals in six games have made him the World Cup’s leading scorer, two ahead of Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku and three in front of France forward Antoine Griezmann. Both rivals can add to their tally and overtake Kane and he is desperate to play in England’s final match of the tournament on Saturday afternoon to prevent them doing so.

England camp sources believe that while Southgate will make several changes for the game, with many players struggling with injury and illness, he will give captain Kane the nod to help him finish the World Cup as the competition’s leading scorer.

Late calls

Due to the quick turnaround from the semi-final defeat to Croatia on Wednesday, Southgate, who had all 23 of his squad train on Friday at their Spartak Zelenogorsk base, will make late calls on his final starting line-up.

“We need to check them all,” he said, “because we have trained a little but we need to check four or five illness and muscular [injuries]. We don’t want to give Belgium any help frankly.

“Ashley Young had a bit of illness going into the last game and the game has taken a lot of out him. Jesse Lingard – we have to check on him. Kieran Trippier is an obvious one with muscular for the other day.

“There are a couple of other minor ones 48 hours from the game and see how serious they are. I would like to make as few a changes as possible but in some instances a fresher player will help us get to the performance level.”

More on World Cup 2018: 

Why the World Cup third-place play-off should be scrapped

Why Luka Modric could be key to Croatia stopping France forward Kylian Mbappe in World Cup final

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It has been a while since a defence locked down France‘s Kylian Mbappé. The teenage sensation, who has been tearing up Ligue 1 for a few seasons already, truly announced himself on the world stage with a mesmerising performance against Argentina in which his brace and incredible sprint through that creaky defence decided the game.

Croatia will have looked at that game, as well as his trickery and raw pace against Belgium, and thought to themselves, “How do we keep this boy of unbound talent and speed in a box?”

Mbappé is incredibly hard to restrain. Uruguay are probably the side that has given it the best effort this tournament, and that had been touted as the best defence in the competition – an accolade Croatia are very far from indeed.

Read more: France through to quarter-finals as magnificent Mbappe slays Argentina

The France forward has lightning pace, making a high defensive line a very high risk indeed. He also has an exceptional touch and is a precocious dribbler, meaning he can both run and pass through sides. If you question his ability to navigate tight spaces, you are a fool – his heel flick to Giroud in the Belgian box and the space he found in the box for his second goal against Argentina show there’s no such thing as a tight space for the teenager.

Dejan Lovren and Domagoj Vida stuggled to keep Raheem Sterling under wraps in their semi-final against England. Mbappé will represent a new challenge entirely.

Take Real Madrid’s lead

The only side that have kept France goalless this World Cup were Denmark, and Mbappé only played 12 minutes of that fixture. To go back to the last time that Mbappé was truly kept under lock and key, and didn’t just flat out underperform, you would have to go back to Real Madrid‘s performance against his club side, Paris Saint-Germain, in the Champions League.

PSG lost the last 16 tie 5-2 on aggregate, and Mbappé spoke of a gap in quality between his side and Madrid: “Mentally, we wanted to face the game against Madrid as best as possible. Nobody can say that we didn’t try, but this is football and although we have great players, Madrid showed the difference between having great players and champions.”

He showed a frustration with his midfield throughout the home second leg for the relatively poor service he received, and at his defence’s ability to contain the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, who scored three goals over the two legs. That frustration came to the boil when he passed up an opportunity to square a ball to Edinson Cavani for a goal and decided to go himself. An immature decision.

Mbappé can try to do too much, and although he’s dangerous, if you cut off passing lanes to him and shut down service from midfield, he can start to make bad decisions. Luka Modric will have seen this during that 1-2 loss in Paris and will be encouraging precisely that tactic – by Croatia retaining possession and frustrating the French. Keep ball, make calm decisions, make them pump hopeful long balls to Mbappé from defence and win the headers.

Uruguay also contained him best because France had issues of their own to deal with. Cristhian Stuani and Luis Suarez caused problems in the French backline, assisted by Rodrigo Bentancur – which kept wing-backs Benjamin Pavard and Lucas Hernandez a little more withdrawn. As a result he found himself isolated at times.

Give him a horrible day

Read more: Youth, sacrifice and a sprinkling of Mbappé magic make this France side World Cup favourites

His cynical timewasting against Belgium was a thought-through professional foul executed perfectly – his head was entirely calm during the offence. But Mbappé can also be guilty of poor discipline on occassion, as well as dissent. He got a booking against Uruguay for a blatant dive, borne of complete frustration.

Croatia need to summon all their powers of shithousery and attempt to get Mbappé booked early, feeling up against it from the off. Early goals. Physical aerial challenges. Stick knees into him as he receives the ball. Anger him to the point he does something exceedingly befitting his young years. Make him see rouge.

Beyond this, there’s not much you can do. Mbappé is an intense competitor on a world-class level already and will only get better. The international stage, which Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo seem likely to exit before 2022, is set for a new lead, and Mbappé seems every bit the understudy.

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Croatia are a strong collective but they will not outshine his individual talents – so their best chance is to ensure he’s the villain of the piece, not the hero.

@LouisAlexDore

More on the World Cup Final:

Fifa tells broadcasters to stop zooming in on attractive women in World Cup crowds

Quiz: Can you name the third-placed team from every World Cup

Why even England fans should get behind Croatia for the World Cup final

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Fifa has ordered broadcasters to stop zooming in on attractive women in the stands at World Cup matches, to help tackle sexism in football.

Before the tournament kicked off there were concerns that Russia 2018 could be tarnished by homophobia and racism – but sexism has arguably been the biggest issue.

Asked about the cameras focusing on telegenic female fans, Fifa’s diversity boss Federico Addiechi said: “Some cases arose and they were pretty evident.”

Sexism crackdown

He defended the stance by football’s governing body, saying it wants to stamp out sexism.

Addiechi stopped short of saying it was now official policy to outlaw the telly practice, but he admitted: “This is one of the activities that we definitely will have in the future. It’s a normal evolution.”

He said it was not yet part of a “proactive campaign” but added: “We’ll take action against things that are wrong.”

Harassment

The anti-discrimination group Fare Network has been working with Fifa to monitor behaviour at and around World Cup matches and its executive director Piara Powar said sexism has been a real problem at Russia 2018.

Speaking to reporters before England’s semi-final against Croatia, Powar said his team have “documented more than 30 cases” of mainly Russian women being “accosted in the streets” by male fans, and believes the real number of incidents is likely to be “ten times this”.

Powar also said there have been several cases of female reporters being grabbed or kissed whilst on air.

Read more on World Cup sexism

Female sports reporter sexually harassed at World Cup while on air

A man tried to kiss a female World Cup reporter so she put him in his place

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Chelsea have sacked manager Antonio Conte with fellow Italian Maurizio Sarri lined up as his successor at Stamford Bridge.

Conte equalled the Premier League record for for consecutive wins (13), and the record number of wins in a season (30) when leading Chelsea to the title in 2016/17 season. The club also recorded the second-highest points tally in a Premier League season.

During his time with Chelsea, Conte was in charge of 106 games, winning 69, drawing 17, and losing 20. His win percentage was 65 per cent, making him – by that metric – one of Chelsea’s most successful managers of all time.

Chelsea’s statement announcing Conte’s departure totalled just 52 words.

The club’s statement read as follows:

Chelsea Football Club and Antonio Conte have parted company.

During Antonio’s time at the club, we won our sixth league title and eighth FA Cup. In the title winning season, the club set a then-record 30 wins in a 38-game Premier League season, as well as a club-record 13 consecutive league victories.

We wish Antonio every success in his future career.

Curt.

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Conte has not yet addressed his departure from the club.

Sarri is now expected to take control having left his role at Napoli.

More on Chelsea: 

How Chelsea could line up under Maurizio Sarri

Chelsea fixtures: Premier League 2018/19 – in full

Roman Abramovich shelves £1bn Chelsea stadium plans in wake of UK visa delays

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Not all that long ago, I wrote a column for i claiming that half the country cared more about their fantasy football teams than they did about the national one. It’s fair to say that opinion has weathered about as well as my 1988 opinion piece ‘The Berlin Wall Is Here To Stay’.

The past couple of weeks have seen a bold, youthful England team win tributes from a spectrum of opinion-makers: Geoff Hurst and his ’66 teammates, Justin Timberlake, the bloke in your HR department who’s never been to a game of football but now has opinions on ‘needing to score more from open play’.

Despite the banging hangover of defeat that the country woke up with on Thursday, the relationship between England and their supporters is at its highest point since at least Euro 96.

So what do we do now? How can this unexpected wave of goodwill be prolonged? Here are some recommendations:

Stop bad-mouthing internationals

Premier League bosses tend to act as if their players are their personal possessions, and having them called up by England is like an untrustworthy neighbour asking to borrow the car.

There have also been more than a couple of players with mysterious chronic hamstring conditions that only flare up moments after they’re named in the squad for a trip to Kazakhstan.

Maybe now that international football has regained some of its magic, we can go back to a world where kids grow up saying ‘I want to play for England one day’, rather than ‘I’m looking for 80 to 100k a week and then we’ll take it from there’.

Football is for life, not just for Christmas

Huge numbers of people have been sold on football these past weeks: kids for whom this is the first World Cup, jaded ex-fans who were driven away by the adverts where Liverpool players shave and clown around with deodorants – even that bloke from HR, who’s now moved on to say that ‘the media underestimated Croatia all along’.

This is a huge opportunity for clubs to re-connect with their communities.

The smart ones will try more bring-a-kid-for-free schemes, stop charging away fans £42, get their players engaging in the sort of PR England’s squad pulled off so well this summer.

Some clubs already do all this, but others have long taken their fan bases, their homes, for granted.

England have shown how quickly that loveless relationship can come alive again. (Of course, a few wins really help the process along.)

Establish consensus on ‘coming home’ situation

As a public, we haven’t had a completely clear position on whether football is coming home. In the original 1996 single, the sentiment referred to the fact that the tournament was being held in England, and tapped into our vague but persistent sense that we invented football and in some way own it.

Over the course of this World Cup, ‘it’ started to mean the trophy itself, and we all accept now that we’re not getting it this time after all.

But various people on my social media feed this week suggested that, with all this optimism, with the public in love with their team once again, ‘it’ has come home after all.

We need some clarity on this issue before 2020 rolls around and the song gets wheeled out yet again.

Do we actually need to win a tournament before ‘it’ is deemed to have come home, or is it more of a conceptual, feelgood thing?

This might seem a small point, but – as we saw, once more, on Wednesday night – international football can be about tiny margins.

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For the majority of my life, I have lived in ignorant bliss over football.

Despite my dad’s best efforts to entice me to be anything more than a passive Aston Villa supporter – he’s tried shirts, season tickets with fancy dinners and name-dropping that Prince William is a fan – the beautiful game generally bores me to tears.

Even previous World Cups have passed me by. Although I did once use an England match as an excuse to take a break from my homework, convincing myself maths could wait while the Three Lions roared. They didn’t and I fell asleep on the sofa.

Loving the World Cup

But the 2018 World Cup has had an effect on me I didn’t expect – I’m enjoying it, watching the games off my own back and seeking out the reaction the following day.

There is still a lot I don’t understand, such as why people seem to be incapable of watching football without incessantly wincing, groaning, half rising from their chairs before clasping their hands around their face, resuming their seat when the goal is missed, dejected. The offside rule is hazy and what the hell does “scrappy” playing mean?

“At a time when it seems our differences often define us and people take great pleasure in being contrary, the joy of everyone enjoying the same thing was immeasurable.”

But the national pride the World Cup has triggered I do very much understand. The crying kids, the smudged face paint and the sense that their whole lives depend on this game. Put simply, the emotion of the tournament has finally won me over.

I love the the shared outrage over childish diving (a term I learned just before the tournament started) and the jubilation when, against the odds, the ball gets in the net.

The emotions playing out on the pitch are gripping: indignation, tension, disappointment, pride, achievement and relief as the whistle blows.

Heartbreaking loss

And it was all going so well until England lost against Croatia in a 2-1 semi-final finish. It was heartbreaking and devastating. Regardless of whether the team played well – I’ve been told on good authority they could have been better – it feels like something greater than just the match was lost: the sense of unity we enjoyed for these few weeks.

Everyone including myself, a less than half-hearted football fan with less than half-baked knowledge, was behind these 23 men, their coach Gareth Southgate and his waistcoat.  

At a time when it seems our differences often define us and people take great pleasure in being contrary, the joy of everyone enjoying the same thing was immeasurable.

In the past there seems to have been only one way to support football and that was to be a die-hard fan. Anyone else was part of the I-couldn’t-care-less brigade. As a formerly loyal member of this club, I was at first hesitant to go to a pub to watch a World Cup match. I soon realised there were many more like myself – less a fan of the sport, more a fan of the spirit and the excitement.

It would be nice to see that spirit come home again before 2022.

Read more World Cup 2018 news:

How David Baddiel and Frank Skinner helped England fans cope with disappointment at Euro 96

Why are Croatia so good at football with only a population of 4 million? 

Selfless Raheem Sterling proves his worth to England despite semi-final defeat 

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