World Cup 2022

BERNARDO SILVA revealed he has been making bets with Portugal team-mates on how many free-kicks Jack Grealish will win in England games.The Manchester City maestro does not want his Portuguese to face the Three Lions in a World Cup semi-final that could feature as many as EIGHT of Pep Guardiola’s squad.
Jack Grealish is always a target for opposition defendersCredit: Getty
City’s £100million man Grealish last week claimed Bernardo is one of the best he has played with.
Bernardo is also a big fan of Grealish, who typically wins a lot of free-kicks for City.
The Portugal ace, whose side beat Switzerland 6-1 on Tuesday, said: “I keep sending messages to Jack.
“I told him when he came on against Senegal, I was filming Ruben Dias and asked, ‘How many fouls do you think Jack Grealish is going to win in these 25 minutes?’
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“Ruben said nine, I said seven, I was closer as he didn’t win that many.
“I’m very happy for Jack and for Phil Foden as well, all City’s England players, they’ve been doing well.
“I wish them all the best but I honestly don’t want to play against them in the semi-final.”
If England dethrone France and Portugal beat underdogs Morocco on Saturday, they would meet in a Wednesday semi-final.
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And Bernardo is only too aware of what Grealish might bring to such a game.
He said: “He works for the team, the way he attracts players to create spaces for other players.
“I think he is going to be great for Man City in the next few years.”
Bernardo Silva does not want come up against his Man City palCredit: Getty More

MARCUS RASHFORD is relishing the support of England fans — after once feeling they did not mind if the team lost.And the Manchester United forward, 25, praised boss Gareth Southgate for rebuilding the relationship between players and supporters.
Marcus Rashford feels England’s support is better than everCredit: PA
Rashford, whose first tournament was the disastrous Euro 2016 under Roy Hodgson, said: “When Gareth took over it was something he was really focused on.
“He just wanted us to try to grow a connection with the fans.
“The support we feel now is different to the support we felt in my first camp, which was 2016.
“It was a completely different atmosphere.
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“I feel like . . . not like people wanted us to lose but that people didn’t mind us losing so they could kind of pull us down.”
The squad are feeling the love in Qatar.
He explained: “Sometimes you’re tired on the pitch and honestly it’s the fans that keep you going.
“The adrenaline that they give us is what just keeps us running.”
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Rashford earned his 50th cap as a sub against Senegal in the last 16 — and has his sights set on joining the century club.
He added: “These achievements are special but everything moves so fast, you don’t get the chance to celebrate them.
“I’m still quite young so I’ve definitely got an opportunity to reach 100 caps for my country. That would be unbelievable.” More

HARRY MAGUIRE has received some good luck texts from Manchester United’s management team — including Erik ten Hag — during this World Cup.Ironic, really, when you consider Maguire’s problems at Old Trafford have increased tenfold since Ten Hag took over.
Harry Maguire is showing his best form for England at the World CupCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
Erik ten Hag is enjoying what he is seeing from his centre-backCredit: Getty
Despite just THREE Premier League starts this season, and major concerns over his lack of game time going into this tournament, the defender has been one of Gareth Southgate’s best players.
During those first four games for the Three Lions, he has shown some cojones to shrug off the worst spell of his career and hit the ground running as England reach for the stars.
Maguire, preparing for Saturday’s quarter-final against France, said: “I’m 29 years old, the captain of Man Utd and have made 52 appearances for my country, so when I look back on my career, I put everything into perspective.
“I’m living the dream. I’m doing everything I always wanted to do. So for the next stage of my career, I want to start winning trophies.
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“The last year has been difficult and I haven’t played as well as I’ve done in the previous five years at the top level.
“But during a career, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are probably the only two who’ve not had a dip.
“It’s a 15-year career, if you’re lucky. There’s no way, especially with all the scrutiny that’s on defences these days, you’re not going to have dips.
“As a player, you want to play. I’ve been used to playing throughout my career.
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“This is the first year that I’ve really sat on a bench in a few games.“I obviously got an injury as well, a thigh injury that kept me out for four weeks. But I’ll fight to get my place back at United.”
For Maguire, though, it has not been about silencing his critics — just performing for his country.
He added: “I don’t think that I’ve proved a point out here.
“I was in the Euros team of the tournament so I know what I’m capable of.
“I’ve not hid away from the last year. It’s been difficult, but I always knew and had great belief in myself that I’d find my form and regain my confidence and my focus.
“I’m really happy it’s happened at the biggest tournament.
“Now, I feel in a good place. I feel good mentally, I feel good physically. I feel fresh and I’m just looking forward to a big game on Saturday.”
Maguire has been showcasing his mental toughness in the Werewolf deception-based card games the Three Lions stars are hooked on playing in Qatar.

And he added: “I’m quite good at psychology to be honest. I’ve needed to be over the last year or so!”
For Maguire has been forced to deal with some pretty vicious criticism.
Many people — including former players — claimed he should not even have been allowed on the England plane, let alone in the starting line-up.
He added: “I listen to people around me like my family and friends. My team-mates, the staff here.
“I know how valued they see me and I feel it within the camp and squad.
“So that gives me great belief and confidence. I go back to my past memories and performances at tournaments.
“When there is a squad decided or team picked for England, there are always players who ‘shouldn’t be playing’.
“That’s why Gareth has such a hard job, because there’s a lot of talent who could play. It’s about my belief and listening to those around me.”
A quarter-final against France – the world champions, some the favourites… these are the games we play forHarry Maguire
Maguire, revealing his texts from Manchester, said: “While I am away, they want me to focus fully on England.
“But I have had a couple of nice texts from them saying how well I’ve performed and congratulations on reaching the quarter-finals. It’s nice.
“I am sure they’ll be watching the games but Erik will be supporting the Oranje army. It is good to feel the support of them.”
The central defender has excelled for England out here.
And despite being caught out for the first Iranian goal he was immediately substituted as he felt unwell.
Against Senegal, both he and John Stones were guilty of some stray passes but their team’s attacking strength took the opposition apart.
Clearly, France’s 23-year-old superstar Kylian Mbappe will be a different prospect.
Maguire, who will be bursting with pride when the national anthem begins on Saturday, said: “Mbappe is a wonderful player.
Maguire has been one of the standout performers in QatarCredit: Richard Pelham / The Sun
France have an embarrassment of riches in attackCredit: Reuters
“He’s had an amazing tournament, he’s one of the best in the world. But we’d be naive to just focus on one player.
“He is a big player for the team but they also have so many different talents as well.
“I think Olivier Giroud is the top goalscorer, Ousmane Dembele is playing really well on the other wing.
“You’ve got Antoine Griezmann, too, so there’s so many different players they can bring in and affect the game.
“But we come into these big tournaments and our defensive record is always good. It’s three clean sheets so far, so we’ve got to take great belief in what we’ve done as a defence so far.
“It is a huge game. I am just super proud every time I sing that anthem.
“It is one of the proudest moments of my life. You just can’t really explain the feeling.
“You are focused, nervous and excited. You have butterflies but, for sure, I’ll be ready to go.
“A quarter-final against France — the world champions. Some people say the favourites to win the competition.
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“But these are the games we play for. These are the games growing up that you want to be involved in.
“They are huge pressure games but this is the pressure you want. This is where we need to deliver.” More

WHEN we held our Sun panel night ahead of this World Cup the verdict was clear.Myself, Harry Redknapp, Jack Wilshere and Ledley King were all of the opinion that if we got to the quarter-finals against France it would be: “Thanks for having us, this is where we get off, it’s the end of the line.”
Kylian Mbappe is the man England have to stopCredit: AP
Kyle Walker and Jordan Henderson will be key to countering Mbappe’s threatCredit: Getty
Gareth Southgate could place his trust in the same team that beat SenegalCredit: Getty
I’m not feeling like that any more. There’s a shaft of light and it’s not just my heart either that’s taken over from my head.
For I can see weaknesses in this French team.
While we all know their threats going forward, with the lightning-fast Kylian Mbappe, the strength of Olivier Giroud and the guile of Antoine Griezmann, we have plenty of attacking threat, too.
But the defence will have the biggest influence on this game. Which four-man unit works best with the keeper?
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It will probably be even more nuanced than that. For I see this match being the battle of the full-backs and I am convinced our two are better than theirs.
France haven’t kept a clean sheet in the tournament and if I was French coach Didier Deschamps, I’d be stressing to them to work defensively and get the first shutout as their priority.
They have inexperience at full-back where one of them, Theo Hernandez, has only played ten times and Jules Kounde 15.
Compare that to Luke Shaw on 27 caps, and Kyle Walker’s 72, and it’s they who should be worrying about us exploiting their wide areas rather than us panicking about their attack.
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Understandably, everyone is now looking at Mbappe but Griezmann is opening up doors for fun.
He’s a bit of a Lionel Messi, he’s scary. But we’ve a few like that as well in Bukayo Saka, Phil Foden and Jack Grealish.
People are saying if Mbappe gets a run on Harry Maguire it’s all over but if he gets a run on any of them one-on-one it could be all over.
He’s going to be on Walker’s side and potentially he should be quick enough to deal with Mbappe. John Stones is on that side too which helps.
If he wanders to Maguire’s side then we’ve got problems.
England will have to double up on Mbappe, which will put pressure on Jordan Henderson, whose job will be to help Walker.
Mbappe’s good, but I’m not sure he’s a Maradona or a Pele yet, although he’s definitely working towards it and, at 23, what a player he is. But we don’t need to do any more than double up on him.
I doubt England will go man for man on him. Gareth Southgate will just be telling Jordan that for this one there’ll be no breaking forward to score like against Senegal.
His job will be to stop the ball getting to Mbappe or giving him space and not letting the ball in the box for Giroud to attack.
Stay as a unit, stay tight and don’t allow any one-on-one situations. But the French will be telling their team not to let the ball get into Harry Kane.
We would have extra insurance if Gareth switched to a three but I doubt he’ll do that.
He’s going to trust those who have got him there so far, match them up, and go 4-3-3.
If we need an example, the team I’ve seen work best defensively are Holland. They are the boring, boring Arsenal of this World Cup.
They are so well drilled by Louis van Gaal and I can see them beating Argentina in the quarters.
Holland have used a three and become really defensive but I believe they will do a job on Messi.
If they do it, would Gareth change his tactics and think: “We should do it that way,” and play with a back five to plug holes? Probably not but it’s worth considering.
I do want us to avoid trying to pass through them, there’s no joy there, you get blocked off too easily.
Against Senegal it was only when we started to go longer and pinged balls out wide that we stretched the play and turned the game. We need Maguire to hit those diagonals not slipping short balls into central midfield where we can be counter-attacked.
It will be a magnificent game and I can’t wait. I’m very excited about it.
We all know it will be very close — one goal either way and could even go to penalties.
I do still wonder if we’re missing that special ingredient that makes you World Cup winners.
France won it in 1998 with that extra magic in Zinedine Zidane. When Italy won it you go, “Wow, best defence in the world”. I can’t see that with us yet.
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We need to be special in one area and I don’t know what it is yet. Is it the best at set-plays, defence, or best penalty-takers — or Bellingham scoring more goals to go from a good player to a magnificent player?
We’ve got to raise the bar because this French game will be on another level. There’s no messing about now, we’re in with the big boys. More