World Cup 2022

SON HEUNG-MIN is backing Tottenham team-mate Harry Kane to take home the Golden Boot from the World Cup.Kane landed the goal scoring prize in the last World Cup with his six goals as England fell just short at the semi-final stage in Russia 2018.
Harry Kane has been backed to win the Golden Boot despite a blank against IranCredit: Getty
Son Heung-min knows all about the England captain’s qualitiesCredit: Alamy
He is aiming to get off the mark this evening against the USA having failed to find the target in the Three Lions’ 6-2 group opener victory.
It was feared Kane might miss the game with injury but he is fit and raring to go as Son knows.
Son said: “Obviously, we’re good friends and I’ve spoken to him about what’s been going on.
“He’s one of the best. He should be at the World Cup. He can show everyone that he’s one of the best strikers in the world.
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“I wish him all the best and I hope he wins the Golden Boot.”
Son has had to win his own injury battle just to be at this World Cup having had surgery on an eye socket injury sustained in Spurs’ Champions League game against Marseille on November 1.
It means he had to wear a mask in South Korea’s goalless draw with Uruguay on Thursday.
Son said: “I’m not the only one wearing a mask. I’m comfortable, I’m happy that I could play with the mask on.”
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It was a game of few chances at Education City.
But Son said: “Both sides are probably happy with the result. We could say it was a boring 0-0. But it wasn’t boring.
“It was really intense. Both sides had their chances I think it was a fair point.
“It was a tough game, the Uruguay guys probably thought they should win the game, but we fought, you could see we were fighting and probably we could get three points but they are amazing players.
“But this is a good point and a fair point.”
The best chance for South Korea fell to Hwang Uijo in the first half when he was found unmarked in the centre of the box but scooped the ball over the bar.
Son said: “He’s the best striker for our team. I’ve missed chances, he’s the most disappointed in there. That’s football.
“We don’t get many chances. We have to be ice-cold when we do, we have to finish. He knows that.
“I’m not frustrated. He’s my team-mate, he’s working hard.”
Next up for South Korea it is Ghana then Son will come face-to-face with the player he calls his idol in Cristiano Ronaldo in what could prove to be a crucial third and final group game against Portugal.
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Son said: “He’s still my idol. My role model. That will never change.
“But the most important game for us is Ghana which is the next one. For me, personally and us, we need to look to that first.”
Son played in the 0-0 draw with Uruguay wearing a protective face maskCredit: Getty
Kane won the Golden Boot at Russia 2018Credit: AP:Associated Press More

LIVERPOOL hero Danny Murphy is confident England can win the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.But Murphy insists manager Gareth Southgate must maintain the belief in how good his forwards are and let them play the same way they do in the Premier League.
Danny Murphy insists England can win the 2022 World Cup in QatarCredit: Getty
The Three Lions enjoyed a flying start in Qatar with a 6-2 mauling of Iran in their opening match and are now looking to keep the ball rolling when they meet USA tonight.
Murphy, who amassed nine England caps, was a little sceptical before the start of the tournament after the national team’s winless run of six matches and relegation from the Nations League’s top flight.
But the former midfielder insists there is nothing to fear, especially after favourites like Argentina and Germany’s shock losses to Saudi Arabia and Japan respectively.
However, the ex-Liverpool, Tottenham and Fulham ace believes Southgate has to let his attackers unlock their full potential like they do for the likes of Manchester City, Arsenal and Manchester United.
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Speaking to Lord Ping, Murphy said: “Before the tournament, I was a little bit sceptical because of our recent form and the fact that we had a few injuries to key players, players in the squad that haven’t been playing that much. When I say sceptical, I didn’t think we would go out in the group, I wasn’t convinced we had enough quality to win it.
“Looking at what I’ve already seen, there’s nothing to fear. We are capable of winning this World Cup, that’s for sure, and I didn’t believe that until the last few days after seeing some of the teams that have been built up as favourites. How many Argentina players would get in our team? Maybe two, three at the most. There’s nothing to fear.
“I think Southgate needs to maintain the belief in how good we are. If he maintains the belief with our forward players, our energy and ability to be creative, play on the front foot, the way our players like to play, like most of them do at club level, then I think we might be able to do it. I think if we become too cautious or pragmatic, I think it plays into the hands of whoever we come up against.
“The players in the team don’t play like that for their club teams. City don’t play that way. Liverpool and Arsenal don’t play that way, United don’t play that way now under [Erik] Ten Hag.
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“I don’t think we should play any other way. Why play in a manner the players are not used to playing for their clubs? Why send a message to your opponent that says we’re showing you too much respect by playing five at the back?
“There’s no one really that I’ve seen that we should be scared of. Don’t get me wrong, watching [Kylian] Mbappe vs Australia, wow, wow, wow, what a player he is, but he is only one player. I actually thought that Australia created quite a few opportunities against France, they were caught wide open at times, but maybe that’s because the French team took its foot of the gas, who knows.
“The reality is that this group of England players is super talented and looks really confident. You need a bit of luck along the way, in tournament football, the best teams don’t always win the tournament.
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Danny Murphy says England boss Gareth Soutgate has to let his attackers play their gameCredit: The Sun
“In fact, rarely does the best team win the tournament because somewhere along the line, something will go against you. In a one off game, you can’t recover. Tournament football at international level is one off games in a knock out format, it’s different from the Champions League where a lot of teams get to the latter stages because they have two games and can correct any mistakes.
“Looking back at international tournaments, there are always moments that change games – [Wayne] Rooney getting sent off against Portugal, [David] Beckham getting sent off. I think England win those games without those incidents.
“We will know a lot more about England’s chances after the second round of games, but I am more confident with this England team now than I have been in a long time. Everything looks good.” More

WE know taking on the USA will be a different proposition to Iran.They have players who can cause England plenty of problems on their day.
The USA’s Chelsea attacker Christian Pulisic can be a real menace when he’s on his game but England should have enough answers to land their second winCredit: AP
Weston McKennie, seen sorting out a mane problem for team-mate Tyler Adams, has the flair to match his colourful hair for the USACredit: AP
Christian Pulisic may not have been a huge success at Chelsea but there are times when he can turn it on.
He’s been a bit unlucky at Stamford Bridge. He was signed under Maurizio Sarri — but never played for him because he was loaned straight back to Dortmund.
Then, when he moved, he had a new manager in Frank Lampard, then it was Thomas Tuchel, who he had at Dortmund.
But they never seemed to click at Chelsea — and now he’s got Graham Potter.

So he’s had four bosses, and we’ve had Covid in that time too, so he has never had a chance to settle.
I’ve got a few mates who are Chelsea fans, they were excited when he signed — and they still believe he can come good. He  has the talent.
I was very impressed with the USA’s Juventus star Weston McKennie. In the draw against Wales.
He was a key man in their midfield and England will have to be on their toes.

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He’s strong on the ball and also has a few tricks up his sleeve.
There is also young Yunus Musah in midfield, who really looks the part even though he does not turn 20 until next week.
We had him at Arsenal from the age of nine until he was 16, when he moved to Spain for family reasons and joined Valencia.
He is a well-travelled lad, having lived in the USA and Italy too — that helped his football education.
My assistant coach with the Arsenal Under-18s, Adam Birchall, always tells me what a good player he was in our academy — and how they were disappointed to lose him. But that’s life.
We’re delighted that our academy has turned out such a talented player and wish him all the best, though perhaps he can take it easy tonight!
The shock defeats for Argentina against Saudi Arabia and Germany to Japan have made England’s start against Iran look even better — and the fact they were right on it straight away.
Argentina and Germany were tipped as possible winners and now they are struggling just to make the last 16.
Yunus Musah was another of the US midfielders to shine against WalesCredit: Getty
England will have no such worries if they can do the business tonight — as I believe they will.
I’m a big Lionel Messi fan. If I was down to my last £100 and you gave me the choice of spending it on  watching him or Ronaldo I would take Messi, I could talk about him all day.
That’s not because I don’t rate Ronaldo, he’s brilliant.
But, for me, Messi is the ultimate footballer.
I’ve played against him and never tire of watching him.
Part of me was even disappointed to see him on the losing side, though it was an exciting result.
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I hope Argentina can get through and we don’t lose Messi too early in what is probably his last World Cup.
A superstar like him should not be going home so fast. More

THERE can’t have been many better places to watch Jude Bellingham’s emergence as a World Cup star than the canteen at Birmingham City’s training ground.At the club where England’s new midfield sensation started his career — and with some of the players who helped to mould him.
Jude Bellingham takes on Harry Kane in training as England rev up for taking on the USA in their second World Cup group on Friday eveningCredit: Getty
Midfielder Bellingham was a roaring success for Birmingham after becoming their youngest player ever with his debut aged 16 years and 38 daysCredit: PA
Myself and the rest of the Blues players had just finished our first day back at work after a nine-day break when England kicked off their campaign against Iran on Monday.
Although I’m a lifelong Bluenose, I didn’t join the club until after Jude left but it was an education to listen to those lads who knew him well, talking about his development.
I was watching the game with senior pros like Harlee Dean and Lukas Jutkiewicz, who played alongside young Jude during his one full season as a first-teamer at St Andrew’s.
And when Bellingham powered home that header to open the scoring and went on to produce a phenomenal all-round performance, there wasn’t a hint of surprise from any of those players who knew Jude well.

They did not just think ­Bellingham was going to be good, they simply KNEW he was going to be great.
This was a kid who used to train with the first team either side of school lessons.
At the age of 15, he was  making hard-nosed professionals look stupid with his talent in training.
He’d routinely take the p*** out of them in a way that few kids would get away with — and then casually say, ‘Right, back to school . . . I’ve got science next’.
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But there was something about young Jude’s character that meant those senior pros did not resent him being the best player in training before he’d even made his first-team debut.
There was a humility, an intelligence, a respect and a thirst for knowledge which made him stand out.
We’ve all seen very talented kids but talent is not enough. Even at 15 or 16, this boy had an incredible maturity.
When Jude won a thunderous tackle en route to England’s sixth goal — finished off by another Brummie, Jack Grealish — there were a few comments in the Blues canteen about that.
Jude was always going to win that 50-50 challenge because he’d played in a struggling team in a relegation battle.
 And some of those players around me had told him in no uncertain terms that you win every tackle or you won’t be in the team next week — and that this club could have been relegated to League One.
Guys like Harlee and Lukas helped to make Jude the player he is.He has got more natural talent than any of us, of course.
But without that remarkable will-to-win,  instilled in him at Birmingham,  he would not have bulldozed his way into the England starting line-up the way he has done.
One of the few Blues players who wasn’t watching the Iran match at the training ground was Jude’s younger brother Jobe, who’d gone straight home after training to watch with his family.
Jobe has come off the bench in the majority of our matches this season and made his first start against Sunderland recently.
Jude Bellingham has the world at his feet and goes into his second World Cup game having broken his England goal duck against QatarCredit: Getty
He has a similar stature to his brother — he’s only just turned 17 and he’s 6ft 3in and still developing physically.
Jobe is very proud of Jude but he has his own journey ahead.
For me, as his captain, and the rest of the team, we go out of our way not to mention Jude too much. Jobe’s got to be his own man and I believe he will be a very fine player.
On Monday, I was in the canteen, while some of my team-mates were in the gym watching and their TV screen was a few seconds ahead of ours — so they all erupted before we’d actually seen Jude’s header go in.
At the moment, though, it felt as if the shackles had come off for Jude as an England player.
It was his first goal for his country, and the first goal of England’s campaign in Qatar.
He just seemed to say, ‘Right, I’ve arrived’ and he grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck.
One of my team-mates said Jude’s goal reminded him of Michael Owen scoring against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup — one of those ‘wow’ moments when a young player announces himself.
Jude is going to be England’s main man for a decade or more… He is in the Kylian Mbappe bracket — as good as that.Troy Deeney
I disagreed. I think it will be more significant than that. Owen was a wonderful player as a youngster, a Ballon d’Or winner no less, but once he started  having hamstring injuries, he was never quite the same player.
Jude is going to be England’s main man for a decade or more.
Because he is playing for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, there’s been an element of Jude travelling under the radar with a lot of England fans.
But this season, he has developed into a proper goalscoring box-to-box midfielder, scoring nine times for Dortmund.
When Jude leaves Dortmund, quite possibly next summer, most of the world’s biggest clubs are going to be interested and, for me, the bidding can start at £150million.
He is in the Kylian Mbappe bracket — as good as that.
You might remember that when Jude left Birmingham for Dortmund in 2020, the club retired his No 22 shirt.
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Many scoffed at that, and I thought, ‘Hang on, that’s a bit much’.But then I wasn’t at the club when Jude was emerging.
Those who were there just knew how special he was going to be. More

NEYMAR was left with a worryingly swollen ankle after going off injured during Brazil’s World Cup win over Serbia.The 30-year-old forward was chopped down several times during his side’s 2-0 victory on Thursday evening – most notably by Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic.
Neymar was brought down several times against SerbiaCredit: Rex
He was in a great deal of pain as he made his way off the pitchCredit: Rex
It was clear when he took off his sock that his ankle was badly swollenCredit: AFP
And he was forced off with an issue in the 80th minute as Manchester United’s Antony replaced him.
He then appeared to break down in tears on the bench, before images showed just how bad his ankle looked.
Now Brazil’s team doctor has issued a rather concerning statement following the injury.
He claims they will need “24 to 48 hours” to assess the problem but that he has suffered “trauma” to his ankle.
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However, Brazil manager Tite offered an alternative view on Neymar’s condition.
He seemed much more upbeat about the severity of the injury, saying: “Don’t worry, Neymar will play the World Cup.
“He will keep playing, you can be sure about that.”
Tournament favourites Brazil have two more group stage matches before entering the knockout rounds.
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They come against Switzerland on Monday and Cameroon four days later.
Neymar is just three goals away from overtaking Pele as Brazil’s all-time top scorer.
He currently has a sensational tally of 75 in 122 appearances for his country.
But if he is ruled out at any stage of the World Cup, the likes of Antony, Gabriel Jesus and Gabriel Martinelli are waiting in the wings. More

LIVERPOOL keeper Alisson has debuted a superb moustache at the World Cup.The 30-year-old Brazilian No1 kept a clean sheet for the South Americans in their tournament opener against Serbia on Thursday evening.
Alisson shaved off his beard before the World CupCredit: AP
His beard began to grow back as he headed for international dutyCredit: Twitter
And Alisson is now donning a new moustache look at the World CupCredit: Rex
A brilliant brace from Richarlison was enough to settle the match for the five-time champions in a 2-0 victory.
And while Alisson was not forced to make any eye-catching saves, his new look did get people talking.
The Reds shot-stopper is known for his full beard, but shaved that off a few weeks before the World Cup.
Yet now he has gone halfway between the two with a wonderful-looking moustache.
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And those on social media gave Alisson’s new style a host of rave reviews.
One person said: “A moustache Alisson Becker means a clean sheet. Viva Brazil.”
While another added: “Can we all just admit that Alisson is absolutely rocking that moustache!”
A third said: “Alisson’s moustache is a thing of beauty.”
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And a fourth added: “I would like to be the first to congratulate Alisson Becker on his moustache. That’s a beauty.”
Alisson has been Brazil’s first choice keeper for six year – fending off competition from Manchester City’s Ederson.
But World Cup glory has eluded him – a trophy Brazil have not won since 2002.
However, they are the favourites to win the competition in Qatar and made a perfect start on Thursday. More