Being a slightly, ok very, superstitious TLF I am a great believer in never jinxing your team. Say your striker is having a blinder and he’ll miss an open goal, say your centre half is immense and next minute he’ll trip over the ball, giving the opposition a clear route to goal and because their striker is having a blinder you will concede. So the minute the BBC commentator said, “So far Ingurland have played the best football of the tournament,” I knew it was probably the kiss of death. Mind you that would have been quite apt seeing as Martin Keown had provided us with the medical insight that, “Dele Ali is alive isn’t he?’ Sorry Martin I hadn’t realised that Southgate had been contemplating a member of the undead to bring a bit of creativity to the midfield.
Still it would be churlish not to breathe a huge sigh of relief at last night’s result and acknowledge that for once an Ingurland team showed some resilience and didn’t resort to punting long balls forward all the time. There were certainly no flies on Harry Kane…apart from the Volgograd midges. It looked like a holiday in the Scottish highlands (two days, two mentions….). And while I know some might prefer the impassive managerial response to a goal I liked Gareth Southgate even more for his very exuberant celebration at the winner.
Southgate dare I say it, comes across like a man who might have a plan (jinxed but it is for a segue so it doesn’t count). Unlike TLF who had been spoilt with a weekend of largely uninterrupted football viewing and forgotten about planning the delicate art of managing fixtures around that four letter word; work. By the sounds of it missing Sweden/South Korea wasn’t something to get too upset about but it was a school cub error to have no means of listening to the second half of Belgium/Panama on the train home due to a flat phone battery. TLF burst into TLF Towers at 6pm asking for an update to which Mr TLF raised an eyebrow as if to say, “And you actually think that’s a question worth asking me?” He has a point.
Still nice to be home from work early, although 24 hours earlier I had missed the open goal opportunity to suggest I wanted to spend quality time with him when in response to the question, why are you leaving work bang on 5? My reply went, “Because it’s the ingurland game and I want to get in the pre-match….to spend more time with you darling.”
An epic failure in the brownie points winning stakes, unlike Belgium who after a frustrating first half beat Paraguay convincingly, although there still remain question marks, accordingly to the supremely grumpy but very likeable Barry Glendenning on the Guardian podcast, as to whether all is happy dans Camp Belgique.
Today sees the final Group get up and running and while it might not have any star nations in it, don’t let that put you off. Probably the most open group there is, with four teams from four different continents and Lesta’s irrepressible Shinzi Okazaki upfront for Japan. Importantly Columbia are TLF’s sweepstake team and while they have some gifted players I can’t see them winning the whole shebang and so am crossing fingers for a red card so I win the monies associated with first red card of the tournament.
And the second games start in Group A with Russia looking to Dzyuba their points tally today and qualify for the knock out stages which would certainly shut up their domestic critics; nothing like being said to be the worst team to ever come out of your nation to motivate you I guess. But perhaps Mo Salah will have something to say about that, if as expected he gets to start for Egypt.
Let’s get ready to rouble!
Gorbachov Fox
Dish of the day: Poland
Apparently these bad boys are usually served on Fat Tuesday; one last blow out before Lent starts. Well it’s the World Cup…treat yourselves
https://www.thespruceeats.com/polish-paczki-doughnuts-recipe-1136411
Chant of the day: Russian
You’re not singing anymore
Вы не поете больше
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