Horse 3117 - Hat-Trick and Heartbreak: El Cielo Es El Límite

Argentina 3(4) - France 3(2) AET.

22' Messi (pen)

36' Di Maria

78' Mbappe (pen)

81' Mbappe

FT-2-2

108' Messi

116' Mbappe (pen)

AET 3-3

FRA XooX

ARG XXXX

Sometimes when the stakes are ridiculously high and after the duck has been broken, football ceases to be a match of small differences and instead becomes one of wildly swinging fortunes as the two sides vie for ascendency. Both sides came out swinging in this match; with the organised tiki-taka-triangles of Argentina being able to create space against a very disciplined France who held three solid lines. 

The opening period of play saw Argentina hold the ball and parry it about; while France held firm and when they did get the ball, broke through with alarming speed. Indeed when De Paul brought down Hernandez outside the area and France got an early free-kick, it already looked like this match would be anything but predictable. The first real inkling that this match would not end in a scoreless rabble, was 19 minutes in, when Grizemann made a lightning run up the right hand flank; then delivered a swinging ball which Olivier Giroud couldn't bring down, and the ball sailed tantilisingly close but over the bar.

Two minutes later, when Argentina made a foray deep into French territory, Dembele shoved Di Maria in the back and as he was the last man and Di Maria was in an obvious scoring position inside the box, the referee had no hesitancy in pointing to the spot, despite the protestations of Le Bleus. Lionel Messi who surely must be playing in his last ever match for Argentina and whose biggest contribution to the match thus far was simply to exist, sent the ball calmly to his right while Lloris dove the other way.

It was now having opened their account that Argentina stamped their authority all over the match; with France being unable to even touch the ball for extended periods of time. When France did manage to win the ball, it was easily stolen off them and once again, Argentina did a slow gambeta into boredom. France could hold the ball occasionally and it was on one of those occasions after they'd managed to punt the ball forwards and drive into the Argentine half, that the sky-blue and whites countered.

When Tchoumeni lost the ball, Messi passed the ball to Martinez, who then drove the ball to the sideline, before passing it back inwards to McAllister who himself drew two players before passing it off to Di Maria. Di Maria who had been dangerous before, now had his own chance to score and while Lloris tried to make himself as big as possible, Di Maria's low shot still bobbled over him to double the advantage.

At 2-0 down at half time, France returned to the pitch as deflated as they'd left it before the break. Argentina's dominance on the ball only got stronger and they should have put the match beyond doubt just after the hour mark when McAllister got on the end of another Di Maria attack; only to miss his shot badly.

If anyone was going to step up and try to stop the bleeding, it was Mbappe. Playing just shy of half-way, he became the go to player for France to make attacks on the counter and his 70th minute strike from the edge of the area, being the first time that France even made an attempt that half, was very high and wouldn't trouble the keeper at all. 

It was on one of these runs, in a role-reversed copy of the first half, when Otamendi who was the last defender, brought down Kolo Muani in the area and Mbappe stood up fot the penalty. He drilled it to the left of the Argentine keeper and with 12 minutes to go, suddenly France had a chance of drawing level.

The equaliser would come just three minutes later when Coman swung the ball inwards to find Thuram, who passed the ball off to Mbappe and suddenly with the match sitting at 2-2, this match was destined to be a classic. For ten minutes as the two sides became increasingly desperate, they also became undisciplined and what had been an orderly football match fell into thuggery which was only ended by the final whistle.

The first period of extra time was a very very cautious affair with nobody really wanting to collect a card and risk being sent off. Those first 15 minutes of extra time resulted in no shots that were noteworthy, by either side. Three minutes into the second half though and the French defence broke down; with Martinez breaking free and firing a shot which Lloris managed to spill to the feet of Lionel Messi; who duly tapped home a routine follow-up goal for a striker, for barely 3 yards away. 

Perhaps this match should have been won by Argentina there and then and so they attempted to try and park the bus in front of goal. Unfortunately, Montiel let his arms hanging out of the window, only to have a shot hit his arm in the area. Once again France were given an opportunity to draw level and Mbappe took the penalty, to score his hat-trick and only the second hat-trick in a World Cup final; with the other being Geoff Hursts's hat-trick in 1966. 

Maybe there was a chance for France to unexpectedly win this game in a seven goal thriller but Mbappe's off-load to Kolo Muani just couldn't be converted in the 119th minute. After being 2-2 at the end of regulation time and 3-3 at the end of added time, this match then went to a penalty-shoot out. 

It is fitting that Montiel having conceded the penalty with a handball, should be the one to redeem himself and slot home Argentina's fourth penalty in a row; which gave them an unassailable 4-2 win in the shootout. His penalty sealed the match, which gave Argentina a third star.

I think that I may have finally made peace with penalty shoot-outs. As a wholly unsatisfactory method of deciding a match, it makes some degree of sense if after 120 minutes of football and you still can not find a winner, then this lottery is slightly less unsatisfactory than any other lottery because at least this way adds a sense of tension and some degree of skill. 

This being the last match of the 2022 World Cup, it is worth asking what we've seen. I think that we've seen some rather good football being played, an absolutely amazing final and following a pandemic, a chance for fans from all over the world to attend; which didn't happen at the Tokyo Olympics. We also had our first first African semi finalist; so it can not be all that long until we finally get an African nation in the final. What this World Cup also came with was extreme exploitation of workers (to the point of death in some cases) and bought through the process of corruption, which means that even what does glitter as gold, was tarnished.

I think that we can also finally say that perhaps Lionel Messi is the greatest football player of all time. He was part of a Barcelona side that won the Sextuple and has been part of sides that have won the Copa America and the Copa de Mundial. Arguably in wearing the La Albiceleste No.10, he was wearing the heaviest shirt in the tournament and I am sure that having scored twice in the final that he has claim to being a better player than Diego Maradona.

Horse 3113 - Tout Est Possible : Les Blues Pourraient Ajouter Tne Troisième étoile

England 1 - France 2

18' Tchouameni

51' Kane (pen)

78' Giroud

France started this game as the more positive of the two sides; knowing full well that they had the ability to not only match England man for man on the pitch but that they were also able to open up spaces through better movement off the ball and better movement in transitional play. The opening period of play saw France try to move the ball around at a furious tempo, having seen England ease themselves into every match thus far in the tournament.

The opening scare was given at the ten minute mark when Tchouameni delivered a swinging ball inwards from deep in the England left back corner; which was met with a thrust down header by Olivier Giroud. It was only the hands of Pickford which kept the scoreless deadlock. France were here to make a point and do it quickly.

England should have realised that Tchouameni was dangerous but they seemingly forgot that he existed and gave him way to much space in the last third of the pitch. Tchouameni was rewarded with his persistence in the 18th minute when again he was allowed to roam around in way too much space and gave himself time and space to belt home a shot from 30 yards away.

France immediately decided to close up up after this and became compact in defence. This became a feature of the rest of the game as France used more than necessary force on repeated occasions, to keep out any English marauders. When Sakr was brought down in the 19th minute, Luke Shaw's free kick was inane and useless. However England, knowing that they had to do something, kept on driving more players forward. England, spurred on by the possibility of a goal continued to press and French tempers flared; as exemplified by when Harry Kane was brought down in the 26th minute in what should have been a penalty but nothing was given.

The half ended 1-0 to France but England came out in the second period, a bit more spritely after the break. French defending again resorted to cynically bringing down English players and the referee would have done nothing when Bellingham was brought down by Tchouameni. Harry Kane stood up to take the spot kick and banged one to Lloris' left hand side; as he probably would have done many many times on the training pitch at Tottenham Hotspur.

With the scores 1-1, England finally looked like they might have a chance but Maguire missed a rather easy header and Shaw's 71st minute pass which found Sakr just outside the 6 yard box was sprayed wide. Against the run of play and after having managed to win a corner off a deflection, a period of French hesitancy was suddenly rewarded with Griezmann floated a ball into the 18 yard box; which found the head of Olivier Giroud and France were back in the lead. 

England looking to bounce back from this, since time was running out, pressed higher up the field and France again reverted to roughhousery. Within a minute of the restart, Mason Mount who while being the last man on goal was shoved in the back by Fernandez, with the Frenchman making no attempt to play for the ball at all. The referee had to give a penalty for such a brazen and blatant foul and Fernandez should have been given a straight red card but the referee was only persuaded to hand out a yellow.

The number that will haunt England fans in this World Cup is 83, for that was the minute in which England's hope melted like snow in a pizza oven. Harry Kane the scorer of the first penalty, stood up to take the second, and put the ball so wide and so high that it may have to be registered as a piece of space debris. 

That was it. England weren't going to be given anything that obvious ever again. Harry Maguire was brought down by Fernandez in the 87th minute; probably because the latter now knew that he was immune from any kind of punishment and the last roll of the dice came in the 90th+10 minute of the game when Sakr became the fifth player to be brought down by the French defence and Marcus Rashford's free kick attempt from 47 yards out, could only ever be optimistic at best.

This England 1 - France 2 game will be remembered for Harry Kane's monumental fluff of a penalty and England couldn't be any more England as they find ever more new and exciting ways to crash out of a World Cup. In this match, England managing to lose on penalties (even in a match that didn’t go to penalties) is comedy gold and shows a simply incredible commitment to the bit.

Now obviously I am disappointed but I can not make disparaging remarks about Gareth Southgate's management of England. To make it through to the semi-finals in Russia, the final in England, and now the quarter-finals in Qatar, shows that England is being managed properly. A knock-out competition demands that whomever the World Champion is, has to have held up four times having escaped the group; with an allowance of one loss in the group stage, that means 6/7. Or to put this another way, that would mean winning 32 games in the Premier League which would give you 96 points, and teams have won for less. At the beginning of the tournament, I predicted that either France, Argentina or Brazil would win all of the marbles but having now seen Brazil crash out and Argentina look fragile, France has solidified as the obvious favourite.

Of course the popular press will inevitably start shouting every which way and say that it's good enough to lose to France or lose in finals and semi-finals butthis is the inherent problem with hope. Hope sets you up for a greater degree of disappointment when it does finally fail. I'd argue if anything that England has to go back to the old ways, which included losing to Iceland and failing to get out of the qualifying rounds because that's understandable and not as sad when it does go bang. As for Gareth Southgate, the chap is a class act. He should be asked to stay on as England manage unless he wants to do something else such as be Prime Minister or UN Secretary General.

Harry Kane needs a knighthood, Jude Bellingham needs a bikkie and a cup of tea, and England generally needs to become more like Australia, Uruguay, Canada, or Japan, and accept that golden generations are allowed to fail and that playing well (which is what England did) still might not be enough to capture lightning in a bottle.

Horse 3111 - Happiness Floats By Before The Inevitable Will Arrive

England 3 - Senegal 0

Henderson 38'

Kane 45+2'

Sakr 57'

Being an England fan is kind of like being a ye olde pirate who has been forced to walk the plank. You have no idea when it will happen but you are certain that it will happen because failure is inevitable. That feeling that "this could be our year" which the fans of some teams might experience, has long been replaced by one of just waiting for the day to happen; waiting with nothing but disaster. In the meantime, watching England matches is like trying to cling onto the fleeting moments of happiness for they too inevitably disappoint.

England started this match cautiously and Senegal came out with the intent to be a threat. England appeared to be confused and dazed and although they were able to control the odd pass, Senegal were here to score early and steal the ball whenever they could. This meant that for the first twenty minutes or so, nobody was really to establish any kind of control; with the ball passing from 18 yard box to 18 yard box, in rapid succession. Harry Kane's half-hearted shot in the 20th minute was met with an unnecessary tip over the line by the Senegalese keeper Mendy, and England won a corner which they duly fluffed. This proves yet again that short corner kicks never ever ever work, ever.

Two minutes later Sarr broke through the England back four and with only the England keeper to beat, he may have been brought down by Maguire at the back. His shot from 3 yards away bobbled off to the side and after demands for VAR to see if there was a possible penalty, this was waved away.

Senegal took a while to build up their second shot, and Dia managed to dink inside the England back four. With only Pickford to beat and from inside the 6 yard box, all that Dia found, was the flailing arms of the England keeper and the ball was parried out for a corner. 

Just before the close of the half and when Senegal were pressing deep into the England half, Bellingham won a ball out wide and upon spotting acres of space, ran into it. The ball that he delivered from out wide, found Foden in the centre and as the Senegalese defence arrived, Foden off-loaded it to Harry Kane who took two small touches and then appeared to manipulate space and time to give himself an eternity to jam the second goal home in the bottom right hand corner of the net. Bellingham ordered it, Foden wrapped it up, Kane put enough postage on it and delivered it.

Kane who had now broken his duck, grew three sizes. Just before the hour mark Kane decided to take a shot. This rocket was met with Mendy; who badly spilled it, and the ball wobbled under him and harmlessly outwards to safety.

England however were not happy with merely missing shots and Bellingham who proved dangerous by drawing defenders everywhere created a massive hole in Senegal's back five. With Bellingham wide, this gave Phil Foden a hallway of calm to walk through. Foden's skipped passed one tackle, popped the ball underneath the defender and the cross was met with the left foot of Bukayo Sakr inside the box, which just lifted ball ever so slightly to pull the ball over Mendy, and to put the game beyond any reasonable doubt.

If Senegal hadn't been deflated by the second goal, the third goal certainly popped the last balloon. Not only did Senegal forget how to party but the tempo of their play just collapsed. Curiously, the Senegalese crowd never once stopped their party in the stands; so I guess that at least someone in green, red and yellow was happy.

Senegal has a glimmer of hope to at least put one on the board when Jack Grealish brought down Kalidou Koulibaly in the 71st minute and Senegal won a free kick from about 35 yards away. England set up a three man wall and the question would be whether or not Sarr could hit the ball hard enough. Papp Sarr tried to go around the outside of the wall but Pickford who saw the ball at every stage on the way through, didn't even have to lay a finger on it as it curled around everything and about ten yards beyond the far post.

Deep into extra time Senegal did manage to scramble through the England defence and Sarr took a shot from on top of the ring at the 18 yard box; which Pickford punched forcefully out for a corner. Senegal's last roll of the dice was the corner kick which managed float over the top of everything and curl back over the goal line.

Admittedly England have only played teams ranked in the lower teens so far this tournament and their first real opposition will be France but at least this match proves that they can put a match to bed. England who were accused of playing with the handbrake on in the press, during the qualifiers, surely have proved by now that they can rip apart opposing teams for fun. What we've learned from this tournament, is that Gareth Southgate has selected an England side with no obvious superstar with the possible exception of Harry Kane but even then, goals have come from everywhere. It is likely that unlike the matches thus far which have been 4-3-3, that England will need to move someone from the front back into midfield to play 4-4-2 against France.

England have taken one more step closer towards the crushing inevitability of failure but for the moment, they have managed to cling onto the fleeting moments of happiness that floats by. 

Horse 3110 - ARRG! Aus...

Argentina 2 - Australia 1

Messi 35'

Álvarez 57'

Goodwin 76'

For sixteen glorious minutes Australia looked to be confident and ebullient as they not only were able to win balls but keep the ball for extended periods of time. Argentina, looking to play their way into the match, patiently pushed forward until this initial period of Australian competence subsided. At the 16th minute, Gomez finally took the first shot of the match from 45 yards out and it was equally rewarded by being 45 yards high and 45 yards wide of the goal. Nevertheless, then fact that he had simply walked in and stolen the ball from Behich, proved that this Argentina side saw Australia as a bug that needed to be crushed.

Again Australia were able regain control of the ball, but they were contained in their own half; being forced to tiki-taka the ball between the back four. By the time of Riley McGree's 22nd minute strike, Australia had managed to hold the ball for six uninterrupted minutes from the goal-kick and also gained an Australian national football record of 37 consecutive touches. His shot which was Australia's first reply in a match when strikes were rare, was also sprayed into the far reaches of Row K.

Argentina then decided to assert themselves, after finally waking up. Their ball skills are sharper and quicker than anything else that Australia has seen in this tournament, including France, but their tactics are mind-numblingly dim. Argentina's tactics must surely continue to be the most sophisticated in the history of football. Their innovative strategy of "getting the ball to Messi" and "having Messi do stuff once he has the ball" may prove revolutionary, if other nations learn to build their own Messi.

35 minutes in, their strategy of "getting the ball to Messi" and "having Messi do stuff once he has the ball", worked. Lionel Messi, self-proclaimed greatest player in the history of the world from all-past to all-future, wandered around the park like a small boy lost in a forest; then after receiving the ball, he took three touches and banged in a scorcher from 16 yards away; in his 1000th appearance as a professional football player.

Australia was stunned. 

They remained stunned going into half-time and the deficit looked insurmountable. The second half began the way that they first half ended; with Australia remaining scared and small in front of an Argentinian side that continued to play the game at not much more than walking pace.

It got worse.

57 minutes into the match and after Australia was playing the ball around the back four in an effort to play keep away, a pass back to goalkeeper Matty Ryan, led to an absolute horrorshow. Ryan, trying to play the ball short, had it stolen away from him by Julián Álvarez from inside the six yard box and he tapped home the easiest of goals, to try to kill off any remaining hope that Australia had. It was as if 26 million voices cried out in terror, and were suddenly silenced. We all feared that something terrible had happened.

From here, Australian hearts sank. It wasn't until Craig Goodwin who had come on as a late substitute for Mitchell Duke, took a shot which didn't deserve anything, took a wicked deflection off the back of Enzo Fernández, that any semblance of hope returned.

For 20 minutes, Argentina parked the bus; while Australia attempted to mount challenge after challenge; only to have them all fail. On the one occasion when Australia did break through the blue and white wall, Garang Kuol at the age of just 18 years and 79 days, very nearly wrote his name into immortality in the 90+7th minute of the match; only to have the very stretchy arms of Emiliano Martínez be a very very big barrier. The goal kick which followed was all that would be played and Argentina walk away with a routing victory, after proving that one goal is never enough.

Australia scored one goal in every match that they played, against sides ranked 4, 10, 30, and 3. If you'd asked me before the tournament who'd I thought would win, I'd have said France, Argentina or Brazil but all of them have proven to be leaky. Australia being knocked out at the Round of 16 is as about as good as they should have hoped for. 

This Australian squad tried and failed. They failed in the most glorious way; having fought in every match they played and having scored in every match they played. Better yet, as far as the long game of Australian football goes: fail, fail again, fail better. They have failed better than ever before and in doing so, they have made a nation happy.

Horse 3107 - Five Scares And A Smashed Biscuit Tin - AUS 1 - Den 0

Australia 1 - Denmark 0

Leckie 60'

The best option for this fixture (and indeed any fixture) was for Australia to go out and win it. In winning the match, the results of the France v Tunisia match would be irrelevant. For Denmark, their only option for this fixture was to go out and win it. Even then, they would have to hope that Tunisia won and that they could put a sufficient number of goals past Australia, so that they would have the better goal difference. Of that match, France had already won the luxury of losing that match and elected to play an eleven who hadn't had any game time at all; which also meant that Tunisia's only option for their fixture was to go out and win it.

Given the multi-way shooting match with guns drawn, both matches started off with an intense sense of nervousness and Australia doubled-down on this by being shocked into having to defend really quickly from the outset. In just the third minute of the match, McGree found himself in space and in front of goal with an open shot but the excellence of Kaspar Schmeichel soon shut him down. When Denmark regrouped on the counter attack, Behich brought down Eriksen and also got a yellow card and gave away a free kick in a dangerous area in the process. The shot by Braithwaite was high, wide and ugly, and was so far off-target that it is now considered to be a violation of the 1959 Outer Space Treaty.

It was this kind of attack that Australia repeatedly weathered time and time again for the first half. Thirteen minutes in, and Braithwaite dragged three players with him on the edge of the 18 yard box, before passing it off to Scott-Olsen who took a left footed shot that would have beaten Matt Ryan, had it not hit the deck and spun violently away from the goal.

The third scare of the first half came at 41 minutes, when off of a corner Braithwaite in playing the pest, took a worm burner of a shot that passes underneath the Australian defence and it was only the gloves of Matt Ryan which tipped the ball outwards for another corner. That corner kick like so many of the match, was sent long over the far post and into nothingness. Going scoreless in the first half was probably the best result that Australia could have hoped for. It meant that the game was still winnable and that would be important. Had Denmark scored in that first half, then I am sure that Australia would not have been able to break them apart twice.

The fourth scare of the match happened miles away when Tunisia went 1-0 against France. There were audible gasps of exasperation in this match as everyone suddenly realised that unless they won, this would be a dead rubber by default. I do not know if this news reached the pitch, for with 30 seconds of that news, Matt Leckie broke away from the Danish defence who were just shy of half-way and being the last man, he did break apart the score with only having Kaspar Schmeichel to beat. 

Denmark immediately made three substitutes; knowing that they had to do something or else just back out of the campaign in a dribbling heap and Australia followed suit, knowing that they had to defend their 1-0 win. 

Most of the rest of this match saw Denmark playing in front of the Australian back four but being unable to break through and on the rare occasions where they did get through, the Australian defence was apt to slide across and plug the holes which were immediately found. Thus, what was only 33 minutes, simultaneously dragged on for an eternity and yet at the same time, spun faster than a ballerina on a compact disc which had fallen beyond the event horizon of a black hole. 

A fifth scare happened deep into extra time when Braithwaite was able to convince the referee that he had been brought down by Aaron Mooy as the last man and in the penalty area, but the linesman holding his flag aloft had correctly seen that Braithwaite was already offside and no such contact had been made at all. A goal kick, a counter attack, another corner and a subsequent corner kcik which again flew long over the far post and into nothingness, was what the six minutes had to deliver and the final whistle and subsequent news that France had in fact overcome the deficit and then beaten Tunisia, meant that the group ended up:

7 France

6 Australia

4 Tunisia

1 Denmark

...proving again that 4 points isn't necessarily enough to a team to escape the group.

What can we take away from this?

Firstly, that France is very possible to be taken apart and scored against.

Secondly, that all the teams in this group played well, even though the final table doesn't really demonstrate this. Australia will now go on to play Argentina in the Round of 16 (because Argentina have played both really well and really gumby this tournament.

Thirdly, that the Australian defence which was made to look foolish by a French side that ripped them apart by scoring four times, has now held together and let nothing through for more than three hours of football. That's really impressive.

Fourthly, that Australia which had a problem by repeatedly being unable to score against lesser opposition in the qualification stages, has now scored in three consecutive matches in the World Cup proper.

Fifthly, that winning 2/3rds of the time, is actually surprisingly hard to do. If this was the English premier league, that would equate to 25 wins and 13 losses, and 75 points; which might be enough to win the league in some years and will put you into the Champions League on every occasion.

Sixthly, that Australia should feel that it has more than a fighting chance against Argentina. France ran rampant on the night but Australia never looked silly. Tunisia were organised but Australia's organisation at the back was their equal. Denmark had to play with desperation and Australia looked composed. Argentina is probably the equal of Tunisia and Denmark because in reviewing their matches, I find nothing particularly dangerous that Australia hasn't already seen. 

Seventhly, maybe 1-0 is actually enough. Australia can and will fight to defend a 1-0 lead and do it successfully. I wish Australia had more firepower up front and perhaps Graham Arnold may be prepared to unleash more strikers against Argentina but the character of this Australian side is one of calm and playing like workhorses. 

Eighthly, getting up at stupid o'clock after going to be at 9pm is easy to do. Getting up at 5:40 am which is 7 minutes earlier than I would have normally done, is also easy to do. I do not hate the idea of 2am or 3am fixtures. Making the whole nation of us gold and green supporters live on a timetable when it is stlll dark-time outside, makes a World Cup seem exotic.

Ninthly, nine things on a list is hilarious.

Eleventhly, so is missing out numbers on a list.

Twelfthly, now we're just being ridiculous.

Horse 3106 - Cachu Hwch! - Pob Sais a Twmffat

Wales 0 - England 3

Rashford 50' 68'

Foden 51'

England started the match relatively positively by firstly asserting control of the ball and then pressing the Welsh further and further back. Welsh attention was mainly directed at Harry Kane who has been somewhat quiet this tournament but with attention on him, this has opened up space for his teammates. By Kane drawing out the Welsh defence in the fourth minute of the game, Rice was given the ball and was able to chip over the top of the Welsh back four. Marcus Rashford was then left with a one on one situation with Danny Ward but the English striker was not able to lift the ball over the Welsh keeper.

England then pushed the ball closer and closer to the Welsh goal and tried to encamp at about 30 yards away from the Welsh by-line. As Wales became compact, England found that there wasn't even a way through the defence and it wasn't until the 37th minute that any kind of crack started to appear. After a passage of play in which England dinked the ball around the back four who were playing very very high up the pitch indeed, Phil Foden fired a shot from the edge of the penalty area from almost the corner of the area itself. It sprayed high but this appeared to make Wales shudder and close. 

An outsider might look at this match and think it uninspiring but what we've seen is a Wales wide who looked at the experience of the United States and have applied and executed similar tactics. England wants to press towards the centre of the pitch but both the United States and now Wales, have been able to put bodies in the centre of the park and force England to drive to the sides of the park. This has forced England to go to the air and swing balls inwards but as with the United States, no chariot has swung low to carry England home.

It must be said that the Welsh Goalkeeper Danny Ward has made himself sufficiently big enough at the right times to completely frustrate any and all England attacks. Bellingham's attack in added time swung left and Kane's shot which he only really got because he happened to be on the end of it, was the right height but spewed the the right. Three minutes later Joe Allen took a shot to the top right of the goal, after he was allowed to drift into a hole and was unmarked.

The sides went into the half-time break scoreless; so Wales decided to replace Gareth Bale, which seems like a daft choice until you realise that he barely touched the ball and even then managed to complete exactly 0% of all passes. 

England took the lead from a Marcus Rashford free kick very early in the first half after Trippier was brought down. The hit was really quite hard and flat with a lot of top-spin and I have no idea if Ward saw the ball at all. If you're going to set up a wall, then you need to cover the space and Wales obviously should have done better but they would have no idea what would come next.

Phil Foden doubled the advantage almost in seconds after the restart after a cross from Harry Kane and before the Welsh even woke up, Foden had a simple tap-in. In 29 seconds, all hopes of Wales escaping the group more or less evaporated. Foden had to make a lot of ground before he made that tap-in; which means that he must have had the awareness and understanding to know that Kane might or could pass the ball onwards. Even if Kane isn't scoring, he creates chances for others.

After that second goal went in, the Welsh Manager Rob Page made three substitutes because even he knew that scoring three goals against England at this point and hoping that Iran would win against the United States in the other group match, would be a hope forever unfulfilled. At this point, thoughts have to turn about bedding in new players and getting experience because the Welsh Euro 2024 and World Cup 2026 campaigns effectively begin now.

Wales tried to regroup and play the ball forwards but in doing so, brought about even more of their undoing. Calvin Phillips chipped the ball over the top of the back four, to find Marcus Rashford who again hit the ball with so much power that it clipped Danny Ward's heel. This is actually only the 2nd start that Marcus Rashford has had, in 15 appearances for England; so I think that on a night like this, he must have thought that he needed to take the opportunity to write his name all over the score sheet.

Wales's ability to press into the opposition half exists but like previous matches in the group, it just leaves them awfully exposed at the back. As England surged forward, the Welsh ability to backpedal was simply non-existent. 

England clearly weren't done with inflicting damage to the score line and after yet another Welsh attempt to push the ball out of their half, Trent Alexander-Arnold stole the ball away and found Callum Wilson who suddenly found himself in an oasis of space. Wilson thought he'd have a drive forward and brough Bellingham with him and after tapping the ball forward through for Phil Foden to tap in yet another, Foden struck the ball with outside of his boot and managed to put so much spin on it, that it spun outwards beyond the right-hand post. Having watched him play at Newcastle United, you can tell that Wilson has a very direct mindset; which is useful in an England side which really does need to push forward because when it does, it is successful.

England appeared to relax after the third goal went and justifiably so. 1-0 is never enough. 2-0 is routine performance. 3-0 is a confident result and having topped the group and never going behind at any point, the knockout phase of the campaign has been set up nicely. England will play Senegal in the next round; who can be deadly on occasion. Tonight though, after playing a first half of satisfactory stodge, England had and found more to give and did it well.

Horse 3105 - The Path Out Of Group D

Tunisia 0 - Australia 1

Duke 23'

Australia bouncing back after going down 4-1 against World Champions, France, is the sign of a side that saw the importance of every game and as a result, regrouped effectively. For Australia to stun France by going 1-0 up in the first instance, showed that they were for a while, fearless, and that they are not really prepared to be overcome by the imagined size of the opposition.

Against Tunisia, Australia looked as least as big as the African giants; making them both appear normal-sized. Apart from a few frantic minutes at the beginning, when Australia did take possession of the ball, they were able to control it and effect a passing game which was effectual. Also against Tunisia they were able to on occasion, win the ball from the opposition; which shows that maybe for the first time since the qualification for the tournament that Australia finally gelled and grew up. 

The only goal of that match which saw a Craig Goodwin delivery be banged home by Mitchell Duke, was then back up by 23 minutes of getting either behind the ball, or being organised in defence, or turning defence into attack with the possibility of scoring again. Even when Tunsia attacked late in the game with two very credible attempts by Issam Jebali and Wahbi Khazri, Australia defended well and goalkeeper Matt Ryan showed that he is at least equal of the best of the world in this tournament.

Can I say that I unreservedly take back any Negatives I said about Harry Kewell's commentary? His repeatedly and unashamedly saying "come on Australia" in the final 10 minutes was amazing. We were repeatedly reminded that football is only a game infused with meaning because we choose to infuse it with that meaning. Kewell up in the commentary box empathetically demonstrated that he was one of us and just happened to be the one with a microphone in front of him. He like the rest of us, was wishing and hoping that the lads in obsidian would take home the three points.

Australia is going to need all of the pluck and ticker that they'd displayed thus far against Denmark because having scored 1 against France and and lost, and 1 against Tunisia and won, then this is proof that 1 goal is enough to turn and win a match but not enough to make it secure. 1-0 up is never really enough until that final whistle blows.

WARNING MATHS AHEAD:

As it currently stands, Group D looks like:

6 - France

3 - Australia

1 - Denmark

1 - Tunisia

If Australia wins, then they move to 6 points and it doesn't matter what happens in the other match. In any group stage like this, 5 points and up is guaranteed qualification. If this match is a draw, then Australia's destiny is in the hands of France and Tunisia. 

There are three possible outcomes if Australia and Denmark draw. If France win, Group D looks like:

9 - France

4 - Australia

2 - Denmark

1 - Tunisia

If Australia and Denmark draw and France and Tunisia draw, Group D looks like:

7 - France

4 - Australia

2 - Denmark

2 - Tunisia

If Australia and Denmark draw and Tunisia wins, Group D looks like:

6 - France

4 - Tunisia

4 - Australia

1 - Denmark

If Australia loses, then they stay on 3 points, Denmark moves to 4 points, and the result of the France and Tunisia game is irrelevant as far as Australia is concerned. In any group stage like this, 3 points and below is almost guaranteed disappointment. There is only one possible combinations of points tallies in which 3 points is enough to escape any group. 3 points either comes from drawing all three matches; the only possible way that any team escapes a group on 3 points is if all of the matches in a group were draws. That already was impossible in this group when Australia lost to France. The only example of this that I can think of ever, was when Italy just scraped out of the group stage in 1982 and then went on to win everything.

Basically from that opening match of the tournament, losing was never an option for Australia. Really in any World Cup tournament losing is only allowed after a side has won twice and after that, never again. All of this means to say that Australia, absolutely needs to play to win the match against Denmark. Given that Australia gave France a scare, there is no reason in principle why they can not do the same against Denmark. 

The big problem is the spectre hanging over this Australian side since well before this tournament began. The basic problem that Australia had right through the qualification stage was an inability to score. It became so dire that Australia failed to win enough for automatic qualification and had to play out a last-chance playoff match against the United Arab Emirates. Someone like Mabil, Goddard, MacLaren or Leckie needs to step up and shake the rag. 

Deep down, the unspoken thing about football (and indeed any sport) is that it is a game to be played and all games should be played to win. Sure, you get a consolation point for a draw but ultimately, a win is the thing which is the purpose. Football is even more blatant by telling you form the outset what the goal of football is.

In any given World Cup Tournament, you are given the 'luxury' of losing exactly one game and it has to be a Group fixture. If you win your opening match and then score a point, your have at least a good chance of getting through and if you win both opening games, you then basically get a match in which you can test out an entirely different eleven than you put out in either of the first two matches. France gets that luxury by virtue of having beaten Australia and then Denmark. Lose that opening match and the path that you are immediately put on is actually the same path that everyone has after they leave the group stage anyway. 

Denmark need to win because there is a possibility that they might escape the group stage. Australia needs to win because that way they ensure that they leave the group stage. I expect that both sides can and should be playing this game with a sense of desperation because blinking away like a neon sign shimmering into the night on a dark highway, hope shines on. 

Horse 3104 - England 0 - USA 0: The Battle For James Corden

England 0 - USA 0

This was a match which had one very strange statistic hanging over it. England has never beaten the United States in a football match. In 1950 the USA beat England 1-0. In 2010 they played out a 1-1 draw. Yet again in 2022 they have played out another 0-0 draw. So what gives? How is it that England can beat Iran 6-2 on day and then fail to score on another? How is it that the USA can look so spritely on the pitch and yet so inept with the final delivery?

England when in possession spent their time gaining control at the back and then quietly building up to a scoring opportunity. The United States who on occasion were explosive on the counter could flood the England half to force 5v7 situations but then were quite scattergun in their approach to shooting. The telling stat of this match was that England had 7 shots, of which 3 were on target; the United States had 11 shots, only 1 of which was on target. Jordan Pickford was made to work at the back of the England side but not really called upon to make a critical save; whereas Matt Turner was made to make saves on all three occasions that England took shots. 

The only time that the United States had any shot which was actually on target was Jordan Morris' header in the 16th minute; whereas Harry Kane, Mason Mount and Bukayo Saka all made attempts that troubled the American goalkeeper.

The biggest difference between the two sides in this match was not a colossal gulf in quality because the United States and England cancelled each other out all over the place. No, the biggest difference between the two sides was a colossal gulf in confidence. All over the park, the American players believed they could win. and a team with belief is always dangerous. However, merely believing you can win is very different to the nagging thought that you can not afford to lose; which is why Enlgland were more circumspect in trying to secure 1 point, than playing all out to win 3.

I also have to say that as a self-appointed armchair pundit who has as much authority to comment as a bin collector, I can safely say that every time England play badly the actual pundits who are paid many many dollarpounds, will invariably say that the solution would have been to bring on the players England didn’t bring on. I think that someone who has played the game and knows what the rigours and difficulties of running as much as 9km in an hour and a half, is better poised at doing personnel management than I. Nevertheless, both the commentary that I was listening to and I who was watching from my front parlour, were as confused as if you'd ordered milk and bread from the supermarket online, and they delivered a pack of AAA Batteries and a can of Roma Tomatoes. The substitutions were baffling. Grealish and Henderson for Sterling and Bellingham and the Rashford for Saka are like for like but don't really change the composition or the formation of the XI. Plus, you've still got two in hand. I am a big fan of the five for five substitution late in the game to break a deadlock; which is what this match played out to.

As far as England is concerned, the result was excellent. There are no injuries, there have been no cards of any colour received, they are top of the group; and as long as they don’t lose by four goals to bottom of the table Wales they’re through to the next round.  As far as England is concerned, the result only okay. A win against Iran will likely put them through to the next round; assuming that they can pull that off. Iran are likely to be less technically good than England but more aggressive and I do not know enough about this American squad to know if that's enough to make or break them.

The funniest comment that I read before the beginning of the match is that whoever lost between England and the United States should have to take James Corden. Seeing that this result ended with a scoreless draw, then we have no choice but to apply the wisdom of Solomon and slice him in two, and send each of the halves to the two countries.

Horse 3101 - Australia Beaten Blue and Blue

Australia 1 - France 4

Goodwin 9'

Rabiot 27'

Giroud 32' 71'

Mbappe 68'

Lune bleue

Je t'ai vu debout seul.

Sans un rêve dans mon cœur.

Sans espoir personnel.

Going into this match, France's posts 4-3-3 showed that they want to replicate the same sort of tactics which won them the World Cup four years ago. I honestly though that Australia should have played 4-2-4 against this or even 6-0-4 because they only way on paper to overwhelm the French attack would be to counter and flood them. 

From the kickoff ot was evident that France not only assumed that they would take away all three points but they would do it easily. There was a kind of lazy arrogance and superbia from les Bleus as they not only tika-taka'd the ball around the centre circle but progressively moved the ball forwards at nit much more than walking speed; which is a stance and style of play that they could easily adopt for the whole 90 minutes. In contrast les Jaune, looked like little yellow bugs who were just waiting to be crushed by a big blue boot. Crushed, they were.

There was one strange passage of play when Australia realised that the blue people in front of them weren't all that different from any other team that they might face and a drive forwards saw Leckie run deep into the right hand corner before eluding Lucas Hernandez who fell badly and injured his ankle and firing a switch way over the box and for Goodwin who banged home Australia's opening (and only) goal.

For Australia to go 1-nil up meant that for a brief period, the nation down under was allowed to dream for a bit. Those dreams were shattered like a porcelain kangaroo being dropped on the pavement from nine storeys up when Rabiot opened up the back four and the score was all square. 

For most of the rest of the first half, France were able to dink the ball around seemingly at will and although Australia tried to hold off, France could pretty much hold court from about 25 yards out. France's second goal was duly scored after Matt Ryan sent the ball a very long way out and after a few taps of the ball, Olivier Giroud fired home a corker from maybe 35 yards out.

Having finally taken the lead, France sent Mbappe on scout runs up the left wing and either by turning the ball aerial or by hanging around the top of the box, simply started raining down shots in the hope of playing the law of large numbers. If you repeat an action often enough, then through sheer act of will, an action has to happen at least once.

Maybe Australia could have been allowed to dream again in the 45+5th minute when an impotent parry up field from Matt Ryan was received by Behich who suddenly found himself in space and France who'd encamped in the Australian half, now were open at the back. Behich flicked a pass off to Jackson Irvine who duly took a shot which was more hopeful than good but somehow it managed to bruise the right hand post of the French goal and the half ended 1-2 to France.

France started the second half in a similar fashion to how they'd started the first; with a sense of supreme arrogance and gave up an early corner and perhaps that's as far as Australian hopes and dreams should have run dead. They actually did die in the 68th minute when after period when Behich handily stopped a shot from Greizmann, France worked the ball from left to right and Mbappe turned in a bullet of a header from a swinging delivery from Dembele. At 1-3 down the hopes of Australia were over, for there was no way they were going to score three against the World Champions.

Giroud smashed home another one just two minutes later after yet another Mbappe delivery. Atkinson may as well not have been there and Giroud scored a routine header from only 7 yards away. With that brace Giroud equalled Thierry Henry's tally of 51 goals for les Bleus to top France's all-time scoring list. He was replaced late in the match and would not assume the top of the list in this match.

Maybe Australia went into the match hoping to have taken away a point after Saudi Arabia stunned Argentina by coming behind and winning 2-1 but apart from that opening passage of play before France woke up, the hope of a win was only ever a fleeting dream. Every single player in the French side has had European Champions League experience and many of these players stood on the top step of the world stage four years ago.

Despite showing grit and endeavour, Australia simply couldn't deal with the likes of Mbappe who kept on showing glimpses of brillance, Griezmann who looked lethargic and swanned about the box and then snapped into action, and Giroud who could put the ball about at will. Perhaps there is some hope for Australia against either Denmark and Tunisia but they really need to take home six points from those encounters if they want to escape the group. As for France, this should send a message to everyone else in the tournament that they are vulnerable and can be scored against but that they can find extra gears and if they want to, can run rampant to the point of humiliation. 

Horse 3100 - England SIX?! Hey Jude! Jack in the box.

England 6 - Iran 2

Bellingham 35'

Saka 43', 62'

Kane 45+1'

Taremi 65', 90+13'(pen)

Rashford 71'

Grealish 89'

As an England fan I have seen a lot of false dawns and bad daydreams. The English press will paint every new England side as finally being the one to deliver and every single time, the England national team finds new ways to disappoint people. This 6-2 match might very well be the latest in a very very long line of sweetness which eventually turns sour. Expect nothing - that way when you do get something, you can be very thankful indeed.

At no point did England look troubled by Iran and the scoreline itself is flatteringly deceptive. Iran's two goals came while England was napping and then under dubious circumstances. England's 4-3-3 kept and maintained possession of the ball for 70% of the time, frequently won challenges to get it back and mostly kept the ball just proud of the halfway line. 

The match looked like it was going to be a quiet affair with England putting in minimal effort and securing a 2-0 win. Having lost or drawn their last six encounters, this was not a side which on paper was brimming with confidence or form. However unlike previous World Cups which have been held in the dead period of the year between June and August, as this is in late-November, what we saw was a side which was match fit and sharp; with every single player in the 26 having played first team football within the previous 9 days.

The first and most critical event of the match was after an England drive forward when the Iranian goalkeeper Beiranvand clashed with his own defender and fell to the floor. As I have seen a lot of Iran play in the Asian Cup and the qualification matches, this looked like Iran trying to milk the referee's favour for all they could get and what we got was the training staff faff about for 14 minutes before Beiranvand was allowed to continue. However something clearly wasn't right because less than two minutes later, he put the ball out and asked to be replaced with a suspected concussion.

And so with a replacement keeper, we got another period where not much happened, before England broke out of their malaise and a Raheem Sterling delivery was turned goalbound by Maguire before clattering into the woodwork. This was the point where England realised that Iran weren't as good as they had made out and the gulf in class between the two teams widened to the point of no return. Four minutes later and after a push down the left hand side of the field, a Luke Shaw turn in was deftly headed into the top right of the goal by Jude Bellingham and England's account had been opened.

Eight minutes later, on anther England offensive which saw the Iran defence scrambling, a bobbling corner found the head of Saka and the advantage was doubled. 

Two-nil up in any match is usually the safe point for at least a point to be secured because this means that the opposition has to put at least three beyond you and the third goal is often the decisive one which finally closes out all hope. It was Harry Kane (destroyer of worlds) who met with a second Sterling pass, to bang home the goal which killed this game off. It came on a counter attack after an Iran player fell about 30 yards away from the England goal and tried to argue for a free kick but this was waved away and even when Saka himself was brought down, the Brazilian referee waved on advantage which was proven and made good on.

Iran looked like they might be able to counter when Jahanbaksh manage to win a ball and break away from the centre circle before his 45+8th minute shot while added time tried to create its own pocket universe, managed to miss the goal, miss the 18 yard box, and miss all resemblance of common sense. Even thought this was 8 minutes into added time, 6 more minutes would be played out before even sanity had had enough and wanted a cup of tea; leaving England 3-0 up at the half.

I do not know what kind of team talk that a manager can give a side at half-time when they are 3-0 up other than to tell them to keep on doing what they're already doing. England returned to the pitch to do exactly that and kept on pressing forward. Just after the hour mark, Saka had sufficient space and time to casually change direction and the angle of attack, to defy four defenders who were on time, to drive home England's fourth goal and bag his own brace.

With the match as good as buried, England sort of fell asleep. After a period of pressing, Iran scrambled a ball forwards and were able to put Taremi in acres of space, to score a consolation goal which ended up being one-on-one with the keeper and the England defence nowhere to be seen.

Perhaps this woke up England and Gareth Southgate decided to make some changes; which included brining on Marcus Rashford. After an Iran poke over the line which was hideously ineffectual, Pickford thumped a ball up the park, which was then parried on, and Rashford who had only been on the pitch for two minutes, played super-sub and banged home England's fifth.

I should mention Grealish's 89th minute goal which came after a passage of play which saw the Iranian defence part like the red sea but really England's sixth goal appears as something of a footnote to a match which by that stage was well and truly dead.

However, that put into context Iran's second goal and why I do not understand the circumstances as to why the penalty which caused it was given. Deep into the period of added time, Iran managed to win a very late corner. The ball was punched away by Pickford and Taremi who had scored Iran's other goal, appeared to push forward and deliberately fall over. Had I been the Video Assistant Referee and been referred this by the man in black on the pitch, then my recommendation would not to have awarded a penalty but to have handed out a card to Taremi for simulation. As it was, I suspect that the penalty was awarded because as England were 6-1 up at the time, it was of practically zero consequence. Taremi duly scored his penalty goal but it wasn't really cheered on by the crowd.

The next and last kick of the game was the kick off; when immediately afterwards came the final whistle. Thus, the two halves of the match were 45+14 and 45+13 minutes long; which makes up a grand total of 117. To play out a 90 minute match where another 30% is tacked onto the end as added time, is absurd. I have never seen a regular football match which is this long and by the same token, I have never seen England score six. 

To be honest, a 6-2 scoreline does highlight a potential problem for this England side. That is, they might be prone to losing focus. 

Horse 3099 - Qatar Asks The Question: "Why Are We Here"? - QATvECU

Qatar 0 - Ecuador 2

Valencia - 16' (pen), 31'

Can someone please explain to me what the jinkies happened this morning?

The 2022 FIFA World Cup which is being played in Qatar, a nation so unsuited to playing football that the stadiums have had to be air-conditioned, and even after adjusting for inflation cost more than that last ten World Cups combined to stage, has given us an opening match that will not last long in the memory at all.

The traditional opening match for a World Cup tournament features the home nation against someone else in the group. In Group A, this meant that Qatar got to play Columbia. We have to go all the way back to USA 1994 before we find that an opening match which featured the home nation who was this clearly out of their depth but Qatar very much proved that they're unlikely to even score a goal at this tournament.

One of the benefits of hosting a World Cup is that the home nation is exempt from having to qualify. This is fine if you are a nation like Russia, Germany or even Korea who all rose to the occasion and put in a decent showing but if you are a so-called minnow like Qatar, then this perhaps isn't advisable. When South Africa hosted the World Cup in 2010, they also weren't particularly all that great but they showed loads of pluck and ticker during the tournament and with the whole of South Africa behind them, Bafana Bafana rode the wave of good feelings and national togetherness. Qatar played to a crowd that made less noise than a morgue and to a crowd that mostly couldn't even be bothered to see the second half. My garden shed is fuller than this, it's got a rake and a mower, my kitchen fridge is fuller than this, it's got a spud and an onion. Qatar demonstrated that them having an exemption from having to qualify, left them less prepared than a steak dinner for five where the ingredients consist of a cow standing in a field.

Columbia entered the match knowing that they really wouldn't have to work for their three points. I do not think that it mattered which eleven they out out on the pitch, or which formation they used. As it was, they were able to play the match at barely above walking speed and for the most part, play keep-away from the home-side who looked vastly inept. Their two goals from Valencia were functional and I don't know if they saw the game as a rest before they played proper opposition, or if knowing that they were never going to be challenged from the outset, they did the bare minimum. Two goals and three points in most circumstances would be a good start to the tournament but given that the whole group is likely to walk away with three points from Qatar, maybe this was just about punching the ticket.

I have seen some nil-nil games which have been more exciting than this. A nil-nil match where both sides are going at it like mad things, can be quite entertaining as the two sides become ever more desperate to take home all three points. Columbia never looked desperate. The match already looked to be killed off in the third minute when Valencia's header from bang in front was ruled ruled for offside by VAR. He got his chance 13 minutes later when he was brought down in the box by the Qatari goalkeeper Al Sheeb. Ecuador were all over Qatar until the 31st minute when Valencia doubled the advantage with another header, off of a curler from 29 yards away.

Suffice to say, the highlight reel for this match doesn't do this match justice. The mere existence of a highlight reel suggests that there were any. This was a dour affair, played in front of a disinterested crowd, by apathetic players. The biggest highlight of this match was the referee's final whistle which told everyone that it was over. 

It is reported that the Qatar side spent six months training for this World Cup against Qatari club sides. Clearly the standard of that opposition was inadequate if the national side was as undercooked as this. What this should demonstrate to the world is that a home nation should be allowed to participate in the qualifying tournament, even if their qualification is secure. I'm not going to say that the total lack of demonstrated skill by the Qataris was unacceptable but it was incredibly silly. 

Given Qatar's appalling human rights abuses in building the stadia for this tournament, their bait and switch by refusing an official sponsor to sell their product at the matches (these matches will be completely surrounded by no beer), and the fact that money spoke for money and yelled louder than all sense and reason, then perhaps Qatar going on to score zero points in the group and get knocked out without scoring a goal, is 1% of justice being served. I do not know it it was the Qatari Government's intent to look foolish on the world stage but they will absolutely do so.

Horse 3097 - I Do Not Understand Arnold's 26

The insanically warm republic of Qatar which is so hideously unsuited to hose a World Cup of football it isn't funny, was awarded the World Cup in spite of the fact that not only playing a football tournament three-quarters of a mile away from the sun was a bad idea; and in spite of the fact that awarding a country with only one football stadium was a bad idea; and in spite of the fact that everyone in the world knew beforehand that there would be human rights abuses and actual slavery to build said stadiums was a bad idea, because just like awarding the 2018 World Cup to Russia; and in spite of the fact that we knew that Vladimir Putin was a murderous knave, money spoke for money and FIFA was able to wash itself in a giant vat of Shekeleurodollarpounds like Scrooge McDuck. 

However, I will be watching this multi-coloured gladiatorial tournament of ball booting like a hypocrite; also in spite of the three bad ideas above.

The Australian squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar has finally been announced. I have no idea what Coach Graham Arnold is doing. For the first time since Guus Hiddink, he was given free reign to pick his 26 players and so he has picked his players according to some kind of philosophy; it's just that I do not understand it.

There are 26 players in a squad. To me this suggests that the best option is to build two complete squads of 13; play them both for the opening two group matches; then pick either the best squad to help you escape the group stage for the third game or pick the worst squad so that you give everyone else a rest before the knockout phase. In this way, you make full use of all 26 players because in my mind at least, if you never use a player at a World Cup, then you have wasted their place in principle.

If we then analyse this 26 player squad from this perspective, what we find are 3 goalkeepers (G), 9 defenders (D), 6 midfielders (M), 8 forwards (F). If we split this in twain to make two squads then we get: 1G, 4D, 3M, 4F, with two left over. A goalkeeper is a given. That means that the resultant formation in principle is best expressed as either 4-3-3 or 4-2-4.

This is what puzzles me. We are playing France who are the World Champions, Denmark who on occasion can be very dangerous, and Tunisia who explosively ripped other teams to shreds in the Africa Cup of Nations. Of course you should expect that being at a World Cup means that you are playing the best teams in the world but any serious examination of the results which led the teams to the tournament in Qatar should tell you that Australia is likely the weakest team of the group.

Building a squad which naturally plays 4-3-3 is unusual at a World Cup. The mentality of so many teams since about 1994 has been to not lose. Not losing means that you have to be able to shut down any attack and hopeful score. 0-0 is a result which pays a point in the group stage and is therefore still valuable. 4-3-3 though says that you're going to surrender the middle of the park to a squad playing 4-4-2, 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 because football is as much a game of covering the opposition as it is scoring. There is only one ball on the pitch and you can not score unless you have it.

Building a squad which naturally plays 4-2-4 is even more unusual at a World Cup. It means that you're more than likely to lose every single challenge in the centre of the park and that what you intend to do is ignore the centre third and hoof it to the forwards. Your 4F meet with their 4D in most cases but that assumes that you can get it there. Such a mentality might work at a council ground like Telopea Park which is just 68 yards long (and where the combined distance of the two boxes is more than half the field) and where even I have scored a goal from my own 18 yard box but at a World Cup field which is a regulation 100m long, that seems a bit silly. Your 2M meets with their 4M or 5M which means that you midfield must play against two players each at least.

It could be that Graham Arnold is expecting to play 4-4-2 but with a replaceable back four and high rotation on the forwards but that assumes that the middle four will be on the pitch for most of the tournament. That seems like a very big ask. It could also be that he expects to be playing forwards out of their natural position and further back down the pitch, such that they can explode forwards if need be. Whilst it is true that football players are not automata who can not be plugged into places that they do not naturally fit, there is a good reason why formations exist and if you have been playing in broadly the same position over many years, then specialisation tends to occur.

I can see the sense in playing combinations of players up front such as Mathew Leckie and Jamie Maclaren who play together at Melbourne City and Awer Mabil and Craig Goodwin who played together at Adelaide United because you would hope that some innate understanding of how players play, would occur. Knowing things like which foot a player tends to favour when they want to receive a ball, what the shape of their general arcs and sweep of passing looks like, where they tend to slide to in terms of positional play, are all things that can be acquiesced to in theory but far harder to know and execute.

I can say that a squad which generally maps to 4-4-3 or 4-2-4 will tend not to play particularly wide or in the instance of the latter, have a heat map which looks like an hourglass. Not that this is a terrible idea either, as the Magic Magyars of 1954 played a W-M or M-W which looks like 2-3-3-2 or 3-2-2-3 and compressed to 5-5-0 in defence. We know that Australia's group contains mostly 4-5-1 teams; which says to me that on paper it will be disasterous for our midfield. Our 2M and 3M against 5M is like posting a white flag above our door, which means we're in trouble and always will be. The only redeeming thing about this is that football is not played on paper but with 22 players, green grass, and a football.