by ONLY TWO CONVERTED TRY, GUYS
Well done France, ranked 198. If France is impersonating Michael Owen in this slightly exaggerated analogy, then Football Daily is very much channeling Neville Southall after watching France’s record 14-0 win. [FOURTEEN – Football Daily Vidiprinter] over Gibraltar, the biggest victory in the history of the men’s qualification for the Euro Cup. Consider the minnows, with a population the size of the 3rd District, living in a two-and-a-half square mile mountainous territory, who were reduced to 10 men after Ethan Santos’ early red card. Glory to France, which has reached the last two World Cup finals and has among its ranks some of the best and most expensive players on the planet.
For anyone who felt even the slightest bit of joy when Olivier Giroud leaped into the air to deliver a scissor kick in the fourteenth and final blow to Gibraltar’s cause, shame on you. [that’s us told – Football Daily Ed]. The result is bad for football, bad for competitiveness, bad for class, decorum and the spirit of the game. It’s of no use to almost anyone, unless it’s Giroud (who extended his record as The Blues‘ top scorer of all time with 56 goals with two late goals) and Kylian Mbappé (who scored a hat-trick and is now third with 46 goals, five behind Thierry Henry). Both celebrated their latest goals as if they were the winners of a Grand Cup final.
Some will defend France, arguing that showing mercy in football is a kind of loser mentality. Those people probably like Donald Trump and like putting cats in dumpsters, and they shouldn’t be listened to. At least coach Didier Deschamps kept things in perspective at halftime, with his team leading 7-0. “Guys, top scorers in the first half,” he said slowly toward the locker room. “Let’s have more of the same in the second. Keep things as simple as possible and score whenever we can. There are no limits. I want the same determination from everyone. Don’t stop, guys.” Reader, they didn’t.
“Although we could have been more effective, it is as much about respecting the opponent as it is about scoring goals,” Deschamps continued after the beating. “Fourteen isn’t bad. It’s also about setting higher goals and not settling for what we have. This team is competitive, they always want more.” Meanwhile, Gibraltar decided not to speak to the press, but a senior source told the Gibraltar Chronicle that “it was like a morgue” in the away dressing room, adding that “the players were crying, quiet, with their heads sunken and no one was saying anything. a word”. spoken”. The next step for Julio Ribas’ team, which has not yet scored in the classification: the visit of other minnows… Holland. Who knows what could happen at the Estádio Algarve? Hooray for the current format of the International football! Bring more 2026 World Cup qualifiers and 48-team tournaments!
LIVE ON A GREAT WEBSITE
Join Rob Smyth from 7:45pm GMT for MBM’s coverage of Ukraine 1-1 Italy’s Euro 2024 qualification. Scott Murray will be here for the North Macedonia 1-2 England match.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I have protected people for too long. Too much time when I see things happening this season. Sometimes games are flat and I wonder what’s going on. So much so that I have been reviewing every session we have done since I arrived at this football club. I understand that people go out of here but I need them to be professional in what they do, because the sessions are set up as if they were going to rest. Get your proper rest and hydration and eat at the right times. I found that players are on their computers for eight hours before games. I had to go and pay to talk to someone and tell them this is what is happening to my players. Just this week they came back with: “They’re playing.” I was like: ‘They play in training.’ I thought he meant that, but no, they play on their Xbox and PlayStation. I talk to children and they spend six or seven hours sitting in the same position, with their eyes fixed (glued) to a television. Then they try to go play a game the next day. And you wonder why you can’t concentrate? Let’s go” – after a 3-1 home defeat to Kelty Hearts left his team eighth in Scottish League One, Queen of the South coach Marvin Bartley criticizes the players’ playing habits.
LETTERS FROM THE FOOTBALL DIARY
As for clubs with inappropriate names (Football Daily lyrics, passim), I have to mention the Chilean team Santiago Wanderers, which currently plays in the second level of that country’s league. Being the oldest club in Chile, they have been in the same city since 1892 and on the same ground since 1931, so the ‘Wanderers’ nickname doesn’t really fit. The most surprising thing is that ‘Santiago’ is not part of its nickname either, since the team has been based since its founding in Valparaíso, Chile’s second city, about 134 kilometers from the capital” – Jonathan Jucker.
We are used to stories of riot police and fan violence in South America (the Football Daily letters are passim), but not so in posh Switzerland. In 2006, my wife took a new job in Basel and, while I was still in the UK managing the moves and house rental, she was invited to a Sunday afternoon match at St Jakob-Park, the Basel- FC Zurich. What he didn’t know was that it was the last game of the season, Basel only needed to avoid defeat to take the title from their opponents. Oh, and fans of these two teams don’t like each other. Zurich won 2-1, Basel fans stormed the field and fought with the police, who used water cannons and rubber bullets. Outside, away fans did not have enough police protection and there were more violent scenes and clashes with police. In the end, 100 people were injured, the stadium suffered £350,000 worth of damage and, two years later, a trial was held against 26 Basel fans. Welcome to Switzerland!” –Mark Bennett.
If, as Scott McTominay insists, “running around crying like babies all the time is not football” (Friday’s News, Bits and Bobs, full e-mail edition), how does Bruno Fernandes explain it? – Ed Taylor (and others).
Send any letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s card of the day winner is… Jonathan Jucker, who picks up a copy of Arsène Who? by Ryan Baldi. We have more to give away all week, so he starts writing.
