OFFSIDE: Sir Alex Ferguson’s favourite lieutenant robs England of its roar | Football News
Have you ever wondered why you feel anxious when you face the unknown? The answer lies in evolutionary biology, which dictated that those who maintained a healthy scepticism survived while those who went poking for trouble shuffled off their mortal coil. Familiarity doesn’t breed contempt; it actually gives us a warm feeling. Football fans sadly had lost that warm feeling after England played an attacking brand of football to beat Croatia 4-2 but that familiar feeling of revelling in English mediocrity returned for the second game as England huffed and puffed in a supposed group-stage match against a supposed minnow nation.The Three Lions shirt is a remarkable magical object, one that can turn a world-beater into a mediocre player overnight. Take Wayne Rooney, one of the Premier League’s greatest players, whose performances in an England shirt in every tournament after Euro 2004 left much to be desired. The Man Utd legend only has one World Cup goal to his credit. That means he has stepped on more balls than put them inside the net at World Cups. England’s performance against Ghana, in that sense, was a remarkable throwback to the days of a bygone era, what Don Draper would call the pain of nostalgia and England fans would call utter tosh.But while English fans will ponder whether they are cursed with the albatross of the second-match draw, one man who would have been chuckling is the Godfather of all football managers: Sir Alex Ferguson. A proud Scot, Ferguson refused the England job twice and famously said: “There was no way I could contemplate taking the England job. Can you imagine me doing that? A Scotsman? I always joked that I would take the position and relegate them: make them the 150th rated country in the world, with Scotland 149.”And the fact that it was his former assistant Carlos Queiroz’s Ghana who blanked England would have made him chuckle even more, as would the fact that England had 78.8% of the possession and still failed to find the back of the net, the highest possession figure on record for a scoreless World Cup draw since 1966.For old time’s sake, Queiroz even pulled out some classic Ferguson-esque lines after the match, asking whether VAR was working at the World Cup, whether the VAR referee had gone on vacation in the second half, and whether he had stepped out for a coffee.Before he was delivering Fergie-like repartees in international football, Queiroz was the man who helped build Ferguson’s third great Manchester United side. Ferguson was a huge fan, calling him the assistant who challenged him intellectually and the “closest you could be to being the Manchester United manager without actually holding the title”.
Under Queiroz, United moved away from their swashbuckling 4-4-2 style, with two wingers and two central midfielders, towards a more flexible 4-3-3 that gave them greater balance in midfield, more fluid forwards and a counter-attacking structure that could also defend. It was the shape that helped turn United into a more serious European force. One match that stood out was Manchester United’s Champions League semi-final win over Barcelona in 2008, decided by a classic Paul Scholes goal and a defensive masterclass over two legs in which Barcelona dominated possession and still lost. One wonders if United’s two showdowns with Barcelona in the 2009 and 2011 finals might have been slightly different had Queiroz still been around.He was also instrumental in signing players from Portugal and Brazil, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson, and helped turn Ronaldo from a teenager of touch and tease into an athletic specimen who became the complete footballer, one whose rivalry with Lionel Messi would dominate almost two decades of football.Much like his compatriot and former student Jose Mourinho, Carlos Queiroz’s first goal is to not lose, which leads to what has been dubbed “sufferball”, where both teams suffer but only one does so willingly. Against England, Queiroz had a clear structure: a disciplined mid-block, a narrow back line, Thomas Partey screening the defence, and England being forced into wide possession without becoming a serious goal threat. Ghana had no desire to win the ball high up from England’s centre-backs. Instead, they protected the middle, stifled England’s attack-minded midfielders and prevented Harry Kane from dropping into pockets and combining. As DAZN’s analysis put it, England had “width without penetration”.By half-time, England had 78% of the ball but only one clear sight of goal. By the end of the match, they had 19 attempts but could produce only three shots on target. That was not accidental. Ghana allowed England to circulate possession in harmless areas, then closed the spaces that mattered: the route into Jude Bellingham, the pocket Kane wanted to occupy, and the half-spaces where England’s wide players wanted to cut inside. Once the ball went wide, Ghana’s full-backs held their shape, the centre-backs protected the box, and Partey screened the danger zone in front of them.It was Queiroz-ball in its purest form. You can keep the ball, you can pass it around, you can have all the numbers but you won’t score. It was the sort of performance that would warm the cockles of a Scotsman’s heart, particularly one who detests the English.
GOAT comeback?
From Portuguese managers, it’s time to turn to Portugal’s players. Cristiano Ronaldo, whose failure to score hogged the headlines in the first match scored twice in a 5-0 rout of Uzbekistan and announced to the camera that he was back. The real question, despite his two goals is: Should be he still be around?
Sure, Ronaldo made it 10 goals for Portugal in World Cups to go past Eusebio and become Portugal’s most prolific player but Eusebio only played one World Cup. The fact remains that this was Ronaldo’s first major tournament goals from open play in five years. When asked about Messi in the mixed zone, Ronaldo stayed silent perhaps because, as the Athletic noted, Messi’s five goals have come against teams ranked in the top 30. Uzbekistan meanwhile is ranked 50th in the world.In the day’s other matches, Croatia managed what they usually do in World Cup tournaments to keep their qualification hopes alive as Modric turned the clock back for his 200th international appearance becoming the fourth man to achieve that unique feat. Colombia also beat DR Congo 1-0 which means that they could still dream of topping the group ahead of Portugal. Even more impressive Colombia’s feat came despite DR Congo’s mascot Lumumba Vea standing tall with his raised hand in the stands.
Day 14 Look Ahead
Group B KICKOFF: 1:30AMWe are now in the business end of the group that means that all group matches will now take place at the same time so no one can game the system. Group B matches will have Switzerland vs Canada to decide who controls the group. Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Qatar is effectively a shootout and a draw won’t help either and any team that wins will find themselves in a good position to qualify for a third place finish.Group CKICKOFF: 3:30AMIn Group C, Brazil take on Scotland. Brazil has four points, Scotland has three which means that draw will help both of them qualify. If Brazil win, Scotland could still qualify but that will depend on other matches. Morocco takes on Haiti and like Brazil are on four points and only need a draw to confirm qualification. Haiti on other hand could still stay mathematically alive if they manage to beat Morocco.Group AKICKOFF: 6:30AM Co-hosts Mexico take on Czechia. The former are already through after two wins while Czechia have one point and need to beat Mexico to say alive. Meanwhile, South Korea take on South Africa. The Asian giants have three points and could qualify with both a win or a draw.
Premier League Represent
The Premier League likes to brand itself the greatest show on earth. True football fans insist that’s the World Cup. But how many Premier League players are there in this tournament? According to data from the league, 182 Premier League-linked players (169 current and 13 registered for 2026-27) are appearing the World Cup. Now while Premier League presenters are shocked to find out, there are other leagues in the English’s footballing structure that take the total count to around 200 players at the World Cup. German clubs have 109 players. French clubs have 86. Spain have 86. Italian clubs, despite Italy not qualifying, also have 49 players. Meanwhile, 44 of the players ply their trade in the MLS.
Meme WATCH
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