England are through to a World Cup semi-final, but Harry Kane was an ’embarrassment’ and Noni Madueke was ‘spectacularly bad’ vs Norway.
Jude needs to ‘shut the f*** up’ and Madueke is ‘spectacularly bad’
That game was weird in massively diverse ways. I’m slightly hazy given the heat, the hour, and the libation intake, so bear with, but did England not spend a couple of fairly lengthy spells making Norway look like Barcelona? And did I not also have a VERY strange experience for a man whose first proper world cup memories are from ’86: a calm and secure certainty that Norway wouldn’t look remotely like scoring for the last 10 of a knock out game we were winning by a nose in extra time?
All that said, wtf was Sorloth playing at there? There were a whole series of instants within the space of about 5 seconds when he could and should have squared it to Haaland. He absolutely must have seen him, which points to a level of selfishness that would make Mo Salah blush.
Speaking of which, Bellingham picking a public fight with his manager straight after a game like that at this stage of a world cup is either unbelievable stupidity or Jude’s competitive spirit extending to having to top Sorloth’s self-indulgence. Seriously Jude, just shut the fuck up and play football, you’re quite good at it.
Oh, and that Spence penalty call was another example of VAR subtly changing the fabric of the game for the worse. Spence put his leg in just about the only place he could do to legitimately try to shield the ball, their player went through it as a result. That’s a clear penalty, and Turpin was as right as he was emphatic when he gave it on-field. It definitely wasn’t a clear and obvious error, and there was nothing in the replays that merited it being overturned. Spence didn’t dive. He still put his leg in the only place it could go to shield the ball. The fact that this place was also exactly where it needed to be in order to be kicked means nothing. I believe you are still allowed, and in many cases encouraged, to put yourself between your opponent and the football.
Another England match, another night (day) where we had to dig in. We were not at our best but fair play to the lads, some of them were incredible.
None more so than Jude Bellingham. This guy is my favourite England player by a country mile. He always delivers. I just want to give him the accolade he deserves.
The header at the 2022 World Cup, the overhead kick at the 2024 Euros, and the hold up play to let Cole Palmer score in that final. This World Cup: the goal against Croatia, the two against Mexico, the two against Norway.
Jude rises to the challenge. He’s just one of those players. He’s so talented but more than that, he has an extraordinary competitive edge that nudges him in front of the rest.
To be honest, he looks like he would rather die than win. He’s confident, full throttle, arrogant even. He’s the man you need (alongside Kane) to tip the balance in your favour. To me, he epitomises everything that is good about England right now.
We are in a World Cup semi final for only the second time in my life. When I was 16 and first writing in, it was at the tail end of the 2010 World Cup/2012 euros/2014 World Cup debacle. I remember thinking at that time: we’ll never make it past the quarters.
