World Cup

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

ENGLAND put on an exhilarating show in their World Cup opener against Iran.But Gareth Southgate has firmly shifted his focus to game two – the USA.
England got their World Cup 2022 campaign off to a flyer with a 6-2 win over IranCredit: Getty

A win will see the Three Lions progress to the last 16… in fact, a draw might be enough thanks to their goal difference.
But the Americans will no doubt prove to be a sterner test than Iran.
And following their draw against Wales, USA will be itching to bounce back and keep their dream of reaching the knockout stages alive.
SunSport takes a look at what to expect from the big game… including score prediction.
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How are they getting on?
England: After a tricky year to date, the Three Lions came out of the blocks firing in Qatar.
England raced to a 6-2 win over Iran and were unfortunate to even concede a second via a controversial penalty.
Goals came from all over the pitch, with a number of standout performers in the game, especially Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham.
Read the full England vs Iran report…

USA: Dominated the first-half of their match against Wales, leading 1-0 at half-time.
But they didn’t bring the same intensity in the second period, allowing Gareth Bale – largely-anonymous during the match – to slot home a late, equalising penalty.
Read the full USA vs Wales report…
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Any injuries to worry about?
England: James Maddison has already been ruled out of the game as he continues to recover from the knee injury he suffered before the tournament.
Kyle Walker is back in training to put himself in contention for a starting spot against the Americans.
Harry Kane is hoping to lead the line after a scan confirmed no serious damage to his ankle following a knock in the win over Iran.
Harry Maguire is expected to be ready for England’s second game after being taken off against Iran due to illness, having taken part in subsequent training sessions.
USA: Gregg Berhalter has no injury concerns for the game against England.

Who will be the star men?
England: It would be very easy to say Harry Kane, but Jude Bellingham can be Southgate’s No1 player this summer.
The Three Lions have lacked a player like Bellingham in recent years, someone to link the midfield and attack.
Rice and Phillips have always performed admirably together for England, but lacked a certain attacking threat.
Bellingham, alongside Rice and Mount, can be the perfect player to help unlock stubborn defences,
He wasted no time showing the world what he can do with a scintillating performance against Iran.
USA: It’s hard to look past Christian Pulisic.
The Chelsea star knows plenty about this England team thanks to his time in the Premier League and, on his day, he can be unstoppable.
However, Southgate will also have to pay attention to roaming right-back Sergino Dest – on loan at AC Milan from Barcelona – and Juventus midfielder Weston McKennie.
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What’s the head-to-head?
The Three Lions have taken on America 11 TIMES in history, winning eight and losing just twice – in 1950 and 1993.
Most-recently, England won a 2018 friendly 3-0 thanks to goals from Jesse Lingard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Callum Wilson.
In their last World Cup meeting, England famously slipped to a 1-1 draw in the 2010 opener following a Rob Green howler.
Odds
England 4/7
Draw 10/3
USA 26/5
SunSport prediction
England 3 USA 1 More

IT’S clash of the Group A table-toppers to look forward to on Friday afternoon.Holland and Ecuador both secured wins in their first matches to sit level on three points apiece.

Both clubs harbour ambitions of reaching the last 16, being in the same group as Senegal and Qatar.
And while many pundits tipped the hosts to snatch a spot in the knockout stages, Ecuador are in pole position to join Holland in the latter part of this winter’s tournament.
A win for either side would send them through, while a draw could ultimately prove sufficient to see them both progress.
Take a look at SunSport’s in-depth preview of the big game… including scoreline prediction.
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How are they getting on?
Holland: In a nutshell, solid if unspectacular.
The Dutch navigated their way past a tricky Senegal team, but needed two very late goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaassen to snatch all three points.
Read the full Senegal vs Holland report…

Ecuador: Flew out of the gate on the back of a quickfire Enner Valencia double against hosts Qatar.
The South Americans had another goal disallowed early doors and looked lively, although they did – perhaps understandably – take their foot off the accelerator in the second half.
Read the full Qatar vs Ecuador report…
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Any injuries to worry about?
Holland: None for Louis van Gaal… but he’s likely to make changes.
Among them, Memphis Depay is expected to be passed fit to play and will almost-certainly take over from Vincent Janssen in attack.
Ecuador: Worryingly, yes. And it’s a big one.
Valencia is a concern going into the second game after his opening-day heroics, but boss Gustavo Alfaro is confident his leading man will be fit to start.
Who will be the star men?
Holland: A hugely talented squad featuring a host of world-class talent, but Virgil van Dijk will be key in this one.
The giant Liverpool centre-back will be tasked with keeping Valencia quiet, should he be passed fit, and Holland’s success will start at the back.
Ecuador: It’s that man, Valencia.
He looked unstoppable in the first-half against Qatar, but will face a much tougher task in Van Dijk, Matthijs de Ligt and Co.
Moises Caicedo will be vital in keeping Ecuador ticking in this one, too.
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What’s the head-to-head?
These nations have played each other twice before, both in friendlies.
Holland won their 2006 meeting 1-0, before the spoils were shared in a 1-1 draw in the run-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
Odds
Holland 4/5
Draw 10/3
Ecuador 43/10
SunSport prediction
Holland 2 Ecuador 0 More