World Cup Warm-Up: It's business time, while Ronaldo makes sensational move
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Updated 06/07/2018 at 08:43 GMT+1
The last eight is upon us at the 2018 World Cup. Are you ready?
Paul Pogba and Kylian Mbappe in training
Image credit: Getty Images
FRIDAY’S BIG HEADLINES
Welcome to the World Cup quarter-finals!
This is when it gets serious, then. We all enjoyed the group stages – three VAR controversies a day, hilarious own goals, rubbish teams like Panama and Germany getting a rare moment in the sun before fading back into obscurity. And yes, the last-16 delivered in spades too with plenty of penalty drama. But this is when the quality really starts to refine, when genuine potential winners start butting heads.
What has been one of the great World Cups in memory could yet crash down the all-time rankings if it turns crap now. But there’s no reason to expect that – not with Brazil taking on Belgium at 7pm in Kazan in what could be one of the most entertaining affairs of the whole tournament. Belgium are well aware of the gravity of the situation. After coming from 2-0 down to Japan in the last-16 to win in such thrilling fashion courtesy of that deadly counter-attack in injury time, Vincent Kompany says the Brazil match is, “a defining game for our generation”.
It is, though, hard to see past Brazil, who have kept 19 clean sheets in 25 games under Tite and look an incredibly well-oiled machine. Even the attendant diving controversies swirling round Neymar haven’t been enough to knock them off their stride – which is lucky, as if they had, Neymar would still be rolling along the floor clutching his shin. The man who has spent longer on the deck than Captain Ahab has a message for all the haters though.
“Now is the time to stop talking,” he said. “I have heard a lot of talking from teams this World Cup that were not able to back up what they were saying. This is a World Cup quarter-final - the only place to do your talking now is on the field.”
We’ve still got another 600-odd words to fill though, so we’ll have to put aside Neymar’s advice for just a second.
The first of the day’s quarter-finals sees France take on Uruguay in Nizhny Novgorod at 3pm, pitting arguably the World Cup’s most extravagant attack against the most robust defence. Another fascinating match – even if it’s likely to be rather less chaotic than the 4-3 win over Argentina which which got France this far. Kylian Mbappe will be the focus of everyone’s attention as he hurtles towards another South American back four like a comet. Lovely stuff.
England’s date with destiny
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Gareth Southgate, Marcus Rashford
Image credit: Getty Images
The other half of the draw has its quarter-finals on Saturday, of course, when Croatia take on Russia at 7pm and England play Sweden at 3pm. The tantalising prospect of a first World Cup semi-final in 28 years - and beyond that, a first final in 52 years - is working the nation into a fervour.
Gareth Southgate has instructed his players not to try and play in the match in Samara by any means though, warning that if players are injured and feeling the effects of a draining last-16 win over Colombia, they shouldn’t try and deceive him.
The lads would always be prepared to risk injury for these games but that can’t be to the detriment of the performance level. When it gets to these games, they’re not as honest as they might be about how fit they are. So you need a racehorse trainer’s eye at times to really try and sort that out. It’s not straightforward, we won’t see everything but we’ll have a feel from what they’re reporting and the way they’re running and try to make the best decisions we can.
Ashley Young picked up ankle and thigh problems against Colombia while Kyle Walker famously cramped up in painful style, with John Stones and Harry Kane also struggling on the night. Jamie Vardy, though, could be the only absentee after failing to train yesterday due to a groin complaint.
Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus… is actually happening?
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Cristiano Ronaldo bei der WM
Image credit: Getty Images
The World Cup Warm-Up will be honest, when we first heard suggestions that Cristiano Ronaldo could be signing for Juventus for £88m or so, we were sceptical.
Ronaldo, we imagined, was probably fed up with all the big names who are still in the World Cup getting all the headlines, and spotted a chance to try and leverage another huge contract out of Real Madrid while getting his face on a few front pages in the process.
But the way super-agent and super-ego-fluffer Jorge Mendes is speaking, this might actually happen. Mendes told Portuguese paper Record last night:
If that happens it'll be a new chapter and a new challenge in his brilliant career. If Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid, he'll be eternally grateful to the club, the president, everyone who works there; the medical staff, every one of the players without any exceptions, the fans and all the Madridistas found across the world.
Just so you know, Ronaldo could even be presented as a Juventus player on Saturday. Wow.
IT’S COMING HOME CORNER
It’s become the clarion call of the English summer. An expression of national yearning, hope and, probably, self-delusion – acoustically at its best while at least 20% of the pint glasses in the local area are hurtling up in the air. ‘It’s coming home’.
Three Lions is riding high at the top of the iTunes charts (with Three Lions 98 doing pretty nicely too), and the memes have completely overtaken Twitter (thanks to Thursday’s Warm-Upper Jack Lang for compiling the best of those yesterday).
And now Eurosport’s very own Commissioner of Football, Eric Cantona, has given the movement his own seal of approval. Tremendous.
WORLD CUP SHORTS
Poor Neymar, will the jokes ever end?
And who would have thought this would be the case?
WORLD CUP MEMORIES
Eight years ago today, Giovanni van Bronckhorst did this for Netherlands as they beat Uruguay 3-2 in the third-place play-off in South Africa. Oof.
COMING UP
This base has probably been covered already – but just a reminder that it’s France 2-1 Uruguay and Brazil 3-1 Belgium later today. We will have live commentary on both games – and plenty of reaction too.
Adam Hurrey is here on Saturday to preview the big one as England take on Sweden. He’s under strict instruction to use at least three Ikea puns.
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