Exceptional England and the armband row that won’t disappear at Qatar World Cup – The Warm-Up
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Updated 22/11/2022 at 09:01 GMT
We know we say this every two years, and every two years something happens to make us truly hate football, but this time it really feels like it might happen. Sure, it’s only Iran and England still contrived to concede twice, but the signs are overwhelmingly promising. Elsewhere, the One Love armband saga refuses to go away quietly, plus there was drama involving the Welsh in Group B.
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TUESDAY’S BIG STORIES
Give them the trophy now
It’s over. Go home everyone. Even you, Lionel.
We thought it wasn’t possible to win the World Cup inside 45 minutes – especially after arriving in the worst possible form – but there was no doubting it when Raheem Sterling danced onto a delicious Harry Kane cross to make it 3-0 before half-time.
For all the pessimism, for all the times England have grabbed us by the hand and led us across the world, only to suddenly punch us in the face for no reason, this time there can be no denying it. Football’s Comin…
...actually, how about we don’t get too carried away this time? Jude Bellingham might be Prime Zidane but maybe a sprinkle of caution wouldn’t be such a bad thing. Why don’t we wait until after the United States game on Friday before putting up the bunting.
Everyone in favour? Good. There’s much more important ground to cover this morning…
To protest, or not to protest?
We’re torn about the One Love armband row. On the one hand, it seems awfully silly to rock up for a World Cup match wearing something you know will get you an immediate booking. On the other, if you’ve committed to a protest, and a pretty low key one at that, the least you can do is follow through until the end, right?
FIFA’s bizarre directive to instantly yellow card players who wore the rainbow-hearted armbands gave what was initially a mediocre ‘protest’ some serious significance. Seven nations, including England and Wales, had the chance to call FIFA's bluff and make a real statement.
So what if the captains were booked? It's irritating, sure, but they didn't have to wear it for every game – that one act of the referee apologetically dishing out a yellow card at kick-off would have been enough, as Roy Keane said.
"I think the players could have done it for the first game and taken the punishment, whatever that might be," Keane said on ITV.
"[Harry] Kane you’re obviously risking getting a yellow card. That would have been a great statement. Do it for the first game, if you get your yellow card what a message that would have been from Kane or [Gareth] Bale.
"Take your medicine and then the next game you move on and you don’t wear it because you don’t want to get suspended. I think it was a big mistake."
And we're not blaming the players. Harry Kane came out after the 6-2 win over Iran and said he wanted to wear it.
"Yeah, I think we’re disappointed," he said. "I think I said [on Sunday] we wanted to wear it. That decision was taken out of my hands today. I turned up to the stadium with the armband that I wore and I was told I had to wear that. Look, it’s out of our control as players.”
It all feels like a massive missed opportunity to make a meaningful statement.
They may have played a pretty filthy match – Jack Grealish got more kicks than he had minutes on the pitch – but Iran showed tremendous bravery by refusing to acknowledge their national anthem, likewise those in the stands loudly jeering, as their compatriots back home fight for human rights amid a terribly sad political situation.
Given yellow cards will be wiped after the quarter-finals, can we at least request every player pulls on a One Love armband in the final moments of these games, just to see the unavoidably juicy spectacle of a referee running around booking all 22 players at the same time.
Wales belatedly show up
We can only assume that someone smuggled Michael Sheen into the Wales dressing room at half-time. Or perhaps showed footage of the new Prince of Wales handing out football shirts to the England team and not, as his job title might suggest, the Welsh (yep, that seriously happened).
Either way, Wales belatedly showed up in Qatar after a disastrous first half to grab a 1-1 draw with the United States. And while Gareth Bale and Aaron Ramsey look like they’ve lost their ‘it’ factor, second place in Group B is still there for the taking if they can ship a few past Iran and hope for a favour from the English against the US.
Senegal were awful
Senegal’s 2-0 defeat to the Netherlands was a bit awkward for anyone who backed them to go all the way to the final in Qatar… which, humiliatingly, includes yours truly.
It turns out that the “strong spine” we spoke so highly about in the build-up to the tournament isn’t only missing a crucial vertebrae at the top in Sadio Mane, but it’s constructed from papier-mâché after Edouard Mendy dropped a horror show for both Dutch goals.
Still, while the team may not have been up to scratch, at least the fans certainly made an impression. And we’re sure we’ll be back on the bandwagon by the time Ismaila Sarr completes his hat-trick against Qatar on Friday.
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Senegal fans make a big impression
Image credit: Getty Images
HEROES AND ZEROES
Hero: Jack Grealish
Every fibre of our being wants to dislike a man who cost £100 million and has, let’s be honest, done very little to justify that price tag. But it’s impossible not to smile when learning of the backstory to his latest celebration.
The midfielder, who bagged the sixth goal against Iran after selfless work from Callum Wilson, was asked to do his celebration dance after meeting Manchester City supporter Finlay, who has cerebral palsy like Grealish’s younger sister.
In a letter to Grealish, Finlay said: "It makes me really happy when I see that you, a famous footballer, knows what it’s like to live with people with cerebral palsy.
"You’re my hero and the best big brother to your sister."
Lovely, lovely scenes.
Zero: Callum Wilson
…despite all that, Grealish should never have had the chance to score.
Callum, man. You’re 30 years old, playing at the only World Cup you’ll ever play it. Your team is 5-1 to the good. Take the damn shot, you’re making the rest of us look selfish.
IN THE CHANNELS
“…and the audience for today’s Warm-Up has just come in and, my word, 2,000,000 is a testament to our hard work’.
COMING UP
Not one. Not two. Not even three. But FOUR GAMES. Argentina v Saudi Arabia (10am GMT), Denmark v Tunisia (1pm), Mexico v Poland (4pm) and France v Australia (7pm).
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