World Cup 2022 LIVE: James Maddison misses training as Sven-Goran Eriksson tips England as tournament favourites
England have arrived in Qatar but James Maddison has missed the majority of this morning’s training session as former boss Sven-Goran Eriksson spoke out about their chances at the World Cup. He believes that England are one of the favourites to lift the trophy this year and says that Harry Kane needs to be on top form if the Three Lions are to stand a chance.
Eriksson, who guided England to the quarter-finals of the World Cup in 2002 and 2006, as well as at Euro 2004, believes England are up there with Brazil, Argentina, France and Germany as potential tournament winners saying: “I think this is one of those World Cups where you can’t say whose going to win it. If you asked 100 experts they will come up with different answers.”
Elsewhere, Lionel Messi warmed up for Argentina’s first World Cup fixture versus Saudi Arabia by netting his 91st international goal as the Albicelestes demolished the United Arab Emirates 5-0 in a warm-up match with Manchester City’s Julian Alvarez and Juventus’ Angel Di Maria also on the scoresheet.
Follow all the latest news and squad announcements from the 32 teams below:
World Cup latest news
James Maddison absent from England training
Conor Coady addresses the media
England train ahead of opener versus Iran
Harry Kane is still England’s most important player, says former boss Sven-Goran Eriksson
Lionel Messi scores 91st goal for Argentina in warm-up match
France star Christopher Nkunku ruled out of World Cup after picking up leg injury in training
‘We did the robot all the time’: Mason Mount and Peter Crouch on World Cups past and present
15:55 , Michael Jones
Peter Crouch and Mason Mount are giddily talking about the World Cups that first got them into football when, with the way memory works, thoughts turn to a moment that was a bit more tense.
Crouch starts discussing the 82nd minute of his second appearance in the tournament, which was at that point a frustrating 0-0 draw against Trinidad and Tobago. He’d obviously been in poor performances against weaker teams before but the concentration of a World Cup made it something else altogether.
“You can feel it in the stadium,” Crouch says. “There’s obviously a tremendous pressure on you.”
Mount was a mere seven years old at the time, and can only really remember the colours of the competition in the way kids do, but empathises with the intensity of the situation as a fellow professional; “the blur”.
‘We did the robot all the time’: Mount and Crouch on World Cups past and present
England united by belief ‘football is for absolutely everyone’ amid Qatar controversy, says Conor Coady
15:48 , Michael Jones
Conor Coady has stressed the England team’s belief that “football is for everybody” as they prepare for the World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Qatar’s hosting of the tournament has been overshadowed by numerous controversies, including the country’s human rights record, its treatment of migrant workers and over its LGBTQ+ laws.
Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, defender Coady said: “From our own point of view, we’ve spoken about it as a team. We have come together and had a chat about it in meetings.
England united by belief ‘football is for absolutely everyone’ amid Qatar controversy
Football legend Ali Daei rejects World Cup invitation amid protests in Iran
15:40 , Michael Jones
Iran football legend Ali Daei has said he has rejected an invitation to the World Cup in Qatar in order to stay in his home country, where anti-government protests are taking place.
The 2022 Fifa World Cup begins on Sunday (20 November), as hosts Qatar face Ecuador in the opening game of the first winter edition of the tournament. Daei, however, will not be present as his nation competes in Group B with England, Wales and USA, with the 53-year-old having elected to ‘express sympathy’ with his compatriots instead.
Protests broke out in Iran after Mahsa Amini died in custody on 16 September, after the 22-year-old was arrested by the morality police for allegedly wearing her hijab improperly.
Football legend Ali Daei rejects World Cup invitation amid protests in Iran
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the World Cup stars with one last shot at glory
15:32 , Michael Jones
First there was the Mexican goalkeeper Antonio Carbajal. Then, after a long wait, Lothar Matthaus joined him in an exclusive club. A second Mexican, Rafael Marquez, became a third member. There is a case for saying Gianluigi Buffon had beaten him to that, though an unused squad member in 1998 only actually took the field in four World Cups.
But, after only three footballers played in five World Cups in the tournament’s first 90 years, there could be three in three days. One is Andres Guardado, a reminder never to underestimate Mexico’s capacity to take hardy perennials to multiple World Cups. And, with a certain inevitability, the other two, forever twinned in the imagination, invariably pitted against each other in this team sport’s most enduring individual rivalry, are Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Each first played and first scored in the 2006 World Cup. And while it is not beyond the realms of possibility – each has made a career of being the exception to the norm – that they could be back in 2026, Messi has said that this will “surely” be his final World Cup. He has rescinded his international retirement in the past, whereas the probability is that Ronaldo will have to be dragged screaming from the stage, perhaps complaining to Piers Morgan that he has been betrayed. He has voiced an ambition to play at Euro 2024 but even he may deem the next World Cup, when he will be 41, a tournament too far.
Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and the World Cup stars with one last shot at glory
Team USA applauded for ‘huge’ LGBT+ statement on Qatar World Cup logo design
15:25 , Michael Jones
People are celebrating the United States’ decision to incorporated rainbow colours into their badges while they are in Qatar in an overt message of support to the LGBTQ+ community ahead of the World Cup.
Same-sex relationships are outlawed in the country where the world’s biggest football tournament gets underway on Sunday.
Fifa president Gianni Infantino has written to all represented nations urging them to “focus on the football”, a message a number, including USA’s Group B rivals England, are set to ignore.
The USA have added the change of colours - in place of the usual red stripes - to the logo that will be present throughout their training base although the version used on their shirt will remain the same.
Team USA applauded for ‘huge’ LGBT+ statement on Qatar World Cup logo design
John Stones: England bonds with Harry Maguire too strong to be broken
15:17 , Michael Jones
John Stones has no doubt both he and England can rely on Harry Maguire at the World Cup, insisting the defensive duo have forged bonds “too strong to be broken”.
The pair have been an integral part of the Gareth Southgate era, helping the Three Lions to the semi-finals four years ago in Russia and then going one step further as they finished runners-up at the European Championship in 2021.
But, while Stones has enjoyed some strong performances for Manchester City this season, Maguire has endured a rockier start to life under Erik ten Hag across town at Manchester United.
With question marks over his form, he has started just three Premier League games all season, but seems likely to retain Southgate’s faith in Qatar.
As for Stones, there is nobody he would rather step out with when the first game against Iran kicks off next Monday.
England bonds with Harry Maguire too strong to be broken, John Stones insists
Nick Pope: I never thought I was good enough to dream of World Cup
15:09 , Michael Jones
Nick Pope admits he did not dream of going to a World Cup as a child because he never believed he was good enough.
Now he is heading for the second of his career in the form of his life and hoping to play a part in ending England’s quest for another major honour.
The 30-year-old Newcastle United goalkeeper travelled to Russia four years ago as Gareth Southgate’s number three, but while Jordan Pickford seemingly remains the man in possession, Pope’s contribution to his club’s unlikely surge into the Premier League’s upper reaches has simply enhanced his reputation.
It is a scenario he did not envisage as a youngster taking his first steps in the game.
Nick Pope: I never thought I was good enough to dream of World Cup
John McGinn still hurting over Scotland missing out on the World Cup
15:01 , Michael Jones
John McGinn admitted that missing out on the 2022 World Cup finals still irks after he scored a superb consolation goal in Scotland’s 2-1 friendly defeat in Turkey.
Goals from defender Ozan Kabak and attacker Cengiz Under had given the slick-moving home side a comfortable lead and it was not until the Aston Villa midfielder reduced the deficit in the 61st minute with an excellent finish after a powerful run that the Scots turned the game around, although there was to be no leveller.
McGinn moved on to 15 Scotland goals, the same as former Scotland attacker James McFadden, but he could not help thinking about the Qatar tournament which begins on Sunday and which will not feature the Scots or, indeed, the Turks.
John McGinn still hurting over Scotland missing out on the World Cup
Callum Wilson ‘over the moon’ about England recall for World Cup
14:53 , Michael Jones
Callum Wilson hailed the timing of his return to form with Newcastle United as he flew out with England for the World Cup following his first call-up in three years.
The 30-year-old earned something of a surprise recall for Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad, beating the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ivan Toney and Tammy Abraham for a spot in the 26-man group.
Wilson has hit six goals in 11 Premier League starts for Newcastle this season, with Eddie Howe’s Magpies sitting third in the table heading into the break for the first winter World Cup.
Callum Wilson ‘over the moon’ about England recall for World Cup
Virgil van Dijk not expecting to play former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane at World Cup
14:45 , Michael Jones
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk admits he feels for former Liverpool teammate Sadio Mane in his battle to be fit for the World Cup.
The Dutch face Senegal in their opening group match on Monday but Van Dijk does not expect to see Mane, who left Anfield for Bayern Munich in the summer, lining up against him as the forward is doubtful with an injury to his right fibula.
Van Dijk knows all about missing major tournaments with injury as a torn anterior cruciate ligament ruled him out of the Covid-delayed Euro 2020.
He has spoken to Mane, who has nevertheless been included in Senegal’s squad despite his injury scare, and has a lot of sympathy with his situation.
Virgil van Dijk not expecting to play former teammate Sadio Mane at World Cup
Will Harry Kane win the golden boot?
14:38 , Michael Jones
England captain Harry Kane was the top scorer at the 2018 World Cup, with five of his six goals coming in the group stages.
No player has ever been top/joint-top scorer at two different World Cup tournaments. Can Kane break that record?
‘A new era of football’: Why the Qatar World Cup may see an erosion of national styles
14:31 , Michael Jones
Over the last few months, Gareth Southgate has been immersing himself in more information than any England manager has ever had going into a World Cup. The breadth is remarkable. Zooming out, there are all of the models and handbooks, that basically distill thousands of minutes of football to tell managers “how World Cups are won”. Zooming in, there are all the individual analyses of each team.
Some elements stand out across so much information. One is that virtually every side at this World Cup counter-presses.
“It’s become a common trend across all teams,” says Dr David Adams, the Welsh FA’s Chief Football Officer. “Even the lower-ranked teams don’t just drop into a defensive block when they lose the ball any more. That’s an idea, from Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, that has gone across all of the football ecosystem.”
‘A new era of football’: How the World Cup may see an erosion of national styles
World Cup 2022 squads: Latest news on all 831 players heading to Qatar
14:24 , Michael Jones
The World Cup 2022 in Qatar is upon us and all 32 teams are in the process of naming their squads, with each country allowed to select a 26-man group for the first time.
It means there will be 831 players heading to the first winter World Cup (with Iran electing to name just 25), with a deadline of Monday 14 November to submit the squads - just seven days before the tournament begins with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador.
Gareth Southgate will name his England group on Thursday afternoon, with debate currently ongoing over a number of the spots, while other countries’ announcements will filter through across the week.
The race to succeed France as world champions is about to heat up. Here’s a full list of the players heading to Qatar and all the info you need about each team:
World Cup 2022 squads: Latest news on all 831 players heading to Qatar
Football didn’t do enough to stop Qatar World Cup, Norway boss claims
14:17 , Michael Jones
Norway boss Stale Solbakken has accused football of not doing enough to prevent Qatar hosting the World Cup finals.
Lise Klaveness, president of the Norwegian Football Federation, spoke out strongly about the award of the tournament to the Gulf state at the Fifa Congress in March, and the nation will be sending only one member of staff - an analyst to run the rule over Euro 2024 qualifying opponents Spain.
Asked about Norway’s opposition as he prepared for Thursday night’s friendly against the Republic Ireland in Dublin, Solbakken said: “I think that first of all Fifa has the biggest failing, given the circumstances back when Qatar was given the tournament (in 2010). That is obviously the biggest mistake.
Football didn’t do enough to stop Qatar World Cup, Norway boss claims
Security in Qatar halt Danish presenter live on TV ahead of World Cup
14:09 , Michael Jones
The Qatar World Cup organisers have apologised after footage of a Danish camera crew being “mistakenly interrupted” on a live broadcast went viral.
A group confronted Danish network TV2 on Tuesday night while they were producing a piece to camera and ordered them to stop filming.
The Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, who are the local organisers of the tournament, have now released a statement and conceded that the Danish crew did indeed have the correct permits to film and issued an apology.
“Tournament organisers are aware of an incident where a Danish broadcast crew were mistakenly interrupted during a live broadcast in one of Qatar’s tourist destinations,” the statement read.
Security in Qatar halt Danish presenter live on TV ahead of World Cup
Qatar World Cup ambassador says homosexuality is ‘damage in the mind’
14:01 , Michael Jones
A Qatar World Cup ambassador has told German television broadcaster ZDF that homosexuality was “damage in the mind”, as the Gulf state prepares to host the global tournament in less than two weeks.
In an interview filmed in Doha and to be screened later on Tuesday, former Qatari international Khalid Salman addressed the issue of homosexuality, which is illegal in the conservative Muslim country.
Some football players have raised concerns over the rights of fans travelling to the event, especially LGBT+ individuals and women, whom rights groups say Qatari laws discriminate against.
The country expects more than one million visitors for the World Cup.
“They have to accept our rules here,” Salman said, in an excerpt of the interview. “[Homosexuality] is haram. You know what haram [forbidden] means?” he said.
Qatar World Cup ambassador says homosexuality is ‘damage in the mind’
A political World Cup is nothing new
13:53 , Michael Jones
For Omar Larrosa, an Argentine forward who got on the pitch in the 1978 World Cup final, a complicated question has a simple response. He is asked whether his winner’s medal is sullied by how the country’s brutal ruling junta exploited that victory. He is, however, one of the few to discuss it.
“Nobody knew anything,” Larrosa tells The Independent. “We played for the people, for the Argentine shirt.
“If the World Cup is authorised by Fifa, with all the federations playing, I had to do my work. My work is football. It’s like a doctor or journalist. You do your work. Fifa ordered this World Cup, so we played.
“It was what I dedicated my life to. It was the best, because I was in the middle of the pitch, hearing the entire public support us, so many blue and white flags. The best, the best that football gave me, to be champion, and lift the trophy.”
A political World Cup is nothing new
Everything wrong with the Qatar World Cup
13:46 , Michael Jones
Out of the many facts and figures circulated about Qatar’s problems, there is one realisation that should stand above everything. It is a disgrace that, in 2022, a country can host a World Cup where it has lured millions of people from the poorest countries on earth - often under false pretences - and then forced them into what many call “modern slavery”.
And yet this has just been accepted. The World Cup carries on, an end product of a structure that is at once Orwellian and Kafkaesque. A huge underclass of people work in an autocratic surveillance state, amid an interconnected network of issues that make it almost impossible to escape. “It’s all so embedded,” says Michael Page of Human Rights Watch.
Many will point to similar problems in the west but this isn’t the failure of a system. It is the system, global inequality taken to an extreme. “The bottom line is that these human rights abuses are not normal for a World Cup host,” says Minky Worden, also of Human Rights Watch.
Everything wrong with the Qatar World Cup
John Barnes: The banana skins don’t come for everyone equally
13:40 , Michael Jones
“In today’s Britain, it is easy to forget that we are all the children of our imperial past. I was born in Jamaica, to a Jamaican mother and a Trinidadian father. Mine was a politically elite household – my father was a colonel in the British army, who trained at Sandhurst with Andrew Parker Bowles, the Queen Consort’s ex-husband.
“A quintessential child of the empire, descended from two former colonies, I was brought up to believe in a Churchillian attitude toward Britain’s past. Black and from the Caribbean, I was raised to believe in the glory of an empire where the sun never set.
“Moving from Jamaica to the UK at the age of 12, I grew up with an intimate understanding of racial hierarchy. My world was one of John Wayne films on the one hand – and Tarzan on the other. The uncivilised (and often unclothed) African savage appeared constantly in the background of my cultural consciousness...”
John Barnes: The banana skins don’t come for everyone equally
Fantasy World Cup: 30 best players to pick for your team
13:30 , Michael Jones
Between now and Boxing Day, fans of the Premier League and Fantasy Premier League will have to bide their time and wait for domestic action’s return - but in their place, the sport’s biggest stage has its own equivalent offering.
The World Cup 2022 starts in Qatar on Sunday and the official World Cup Fantasy (WCF) game offers supporters the chance to combine some of the global stars from other leagues alongside favourites from this season’s FPL team, should they so wish.
There are some differences in rules, points scoring and boosts to be aware of, but the fundamentals apply: pick players you back to perform well inividually, and whose team you feel could go far.
Below we’ve identified 30 players who should be given serious consideration, depending on how you plan to set up your team and your own predictions for the group stage and beyond.
Fantasy World Cup: 30 best players to pick for your team
Ghana beat Switzerland in final World Cup warm-up
13:23 , Michael Jones
Ghana scored twice in the space of four second-half minutes to secure a convincing 2-0 win over Switzerland in their World Cup 2022 warm-up friendly in Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Defender Mohammed Salisu broke the deadlock with a looping header from a poorly defended corner as Ghana took a 70th-minute lead.
A storming run from Kamaldeen Sulemana four minutes later was blocked by Swiss goalkeeper Yann Sommer but the ball popped up for Antoine Semenyo to fire home from close range.
Both countries were using the match to prepare for their opening game at the World Cup in Qatar.
Ghana beat Switzerland in final World Cup warm-up
Cristiano Ronaldo ‘close’ to joining Man City before change of heart talk with Sir Alex Ferguson
13:15 , Michael Jones
Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he almost joined his current club’s closest rivals before rejoining Manchester United 18 months ago, while also criticising the application and desire of young players in the game.
Despite plenty of fanfare over his return to Old Trafford at the time, matters have not gone well for the 37-year-old who has this season been sidelined by new manager Erik ten Hag.
And while he did end up with the Red Devils for a second stint, it took a conversation with former manager Sir Alex Ferguson for that to happen instead of a reported switch to Manchester City instead.
“Honestly, it was close,” he said an in interview with Piers Morgan. “As you know, my history in Manchester United, your heart, you’re feeling the way that you did before, makes the difference. And of course, Sir Alex Ferguson.”
Cristiano Ronaldo ‘close’ to joining Man City before talk with Sir Alex Ferguson
Luiz Felipe Scolari interview: ‘If Brazil could play Germany again, I wouldn’t change a thing’
13:08 , Michael Jones
Luiz Felipe Scolari says he wouldn’t change a thing about the night he entered World Cup folklore. Watching on from the touchline in front of a baying home crowd as Germany crushed Brazil 7-1 in the 2014 semi-finals, the Selecao boss was helpless to stop the maelstrom of chaos in front of him.
Scolari had led Brazil to World Cup glory 12 years earlier when a team packed with stars including Ronaldo, Cafu and Ronaldinho beat the same opposition 2-0 to lift the famous gold trophy in Japan. But it’s the image of him standing on the edge of his technical area in Belo Horizonte that is more striking – the captain of a sinking ship as Germany’s forwards blew a torrent across his team’s bows.
It’s a moment that must have played out in the former Brazil boss’s mind thousands of times. Thoughts of how he’d do things differently if he had his time again – or so you’d think.
Luiz Felipe Scolari: ‘If Brazil could play Germany again, I wouldn’t change a thing’
Who are England’s best penalty takers? Shootout records and predicting order for World Cup
13:00 , Michael Jones
Remember the last time that we were on the eve of a major international tournament, England had learned how to do penalty shootouts? They had finally won one at a World Cup – beating Colombia in the last-16 in 2018 – then another in the Nations League a year later. Not only that, they had overcome this long-held hang-up thanks to the man responsible for the most painful penalty miss in English football’s history.
Correction: the most painful penalty miss in English football history up to that point. If Gareth Southgate’s failure to convert from the spot in a European Championship semi-final back in 1996 prolonged the many years of hurt, then Bukayo Saka’s miss in last year’s final was perhaps their most heartbreaking moment – particularly for such a young player, particularly when so close to winning a first major tournament in 55 years.
Southgate had enjoyed success in shootouts thanks to an approach based around practice, planning and research but defeat to Italy was a reminder that this is neither a game of pure skill or pure luck. You need both. And if Marcus Rashford’s spot-kick had been a couple of inches to the right, putting England 3-2 up with two to take, that night may have gone differently.
Who are England’s best penalty takers?
Kick It Out chief slams ‘deluded’ Fifa president Gianni Infantino over World Cup stance
12:53 , Michael Jones
Fifa president Gianni Infantino is “deluded” to expect World Cup 2022 participants to be silent on human rights issues during the tournament in Qatar, the chief executive of Kick It Out has said.
Infantino wrote to all 32 competing nations earlier this month urging them to focus on the on-field action and “not allow football to be dragged into every ideological or political battle that exists”.
The 12-year run-in to the finals in Qatar has been beset by controversy over the country’s treatment of migrant workers and the safety of local and visiting members of the LGBTQ+ community in a country where same-sex relationships are criminalised.
Tony Burnett, who has previously likened awarding the finals to Qatar to giving the tournament to apartheid-era South Africa, was unimpressed by Infantino’s move and believes LGBTQ+ players would be within their rights to question Fifa’s fitness to govern football.
Kick It Out chief slams ‘deluded’ Gianni Infantino over World Cup stance
Darts tournament helping England relax at ‘absolutely brilliant’ Qatar training base
12:45 , Michael Jones
England’s first training session in Qatar took place against the backdrop of a setting sun as the local call to prayer brought an end to the section open to the media.
All of Gareth Southgate’s 26-man squad took to the training pitch at the Al Wakrah Sports Complex to the south of Doha, a finely-manicured surface perfected by the Football Association’s own groundsman, who arrived in the country over the weekend to prepare.
Having been greeted by several hundred fans on their arrival at their nearby hotel base the previous night, England ran out in the 12,000-seater stadium which they hope will be their training location for the next few weeks.
Midfielder James Maddison described the temperatures as giving the day “a pre-season feel” but England get down to the serious business when they play their opening game against Iran on Monday.
Darts tournament helping England relax at ‘absolutely brilliant’ Qatar training base
Coady enjoying the World Cup atmosphere
12:38 , Michael Jones
Just like James Maddison yesterday, Conor Coady enjoyed a game of darts before today’s England press conference and the defender seems to be relishing the aura and atmosphere of the World Cup.
‘We are massively excited’ says Coady
12:32 , Michael Jones
During his press conference today England defender Conor Coady was asked how it feels to play in a winter World Cup and whether a major tournament during the season was a problem.
“We are massively excited - there hasn’t been a World Cup like this before,” replied the Everton defender, "We don’t want to look at disadvantages as a team.
"We are in the middle of a season. The Premier League is tough and we are right in the middle of it. The lads are as fit as anything. We’re so excited for it to get started."
Coady added that England’s recent Nations League relegation hasn’t affected the confidence inside the camp saying: ”I don’t think it has affected the confidence.
“We’ve bounced back [from the Euros final defeat] in the qualifying stages. It has been about building up to where we want to be. It’s not affected confidence. We didn’t get to where we wanted but we know where we want to go now.”
Coady on human rights issues in Qatar
12:26 , Michael Jones
Conor Coady didn’t shy away from the controversial subjects surrounding this World Cup and addressed the human rights issues that have dominated the conversation around Qatar.
“We’ve come together and spoke about it as a team.” he told the media, “We really believe football is for everyone. That is what we believe as footballers and as people.
"We want every England supporter to come and support us and drive us. We will keep on believing to try and help but at the minute we are in this situation.
"We will stand for what we stand for"
Migrant workers in Qatar have been subject to some terrible treatment as they prepared the country to host the tournament and England have invited some of them to their training base later this afternoon.
“It’s something we are looking forward to. It’s something we want to do. It’s important.” Coady explained, “It’s a chance to speak to them and for us to open up to them a bit and see how the last few months have been.
“Going in with an open mind to chat to them as much as we can. The boys are really looking forward to it.”
Conor Coady speaks to the media
12:20 , Michael Jones
England’s Conor Coady was on presss duties this morning and touched on subjects such as training in the Qatar heat and the controveries surrounding this World Cup.
Coady started by saying how excited he is to be a part of the World Cup squad and is relishing the spirit within the team saying:
“In terms of every camp of we look at it as an opportunity to play together and enjoy meeting up. The quality of the team we all know about. The spirit is incredible. It’s the same as the Euros.
“We’re loving every minute. It’s only just started and we cant wait for the tournament to come around now.”
Coady also explaining what training has been like since arriving in Qatar adding: "It was hard this morning [training in the heat]. It was something we needed to get used to it. It’s tough. It’s a different environment for us. It’s something we want to enjoy. It’s a World Cup. Going out there thinking it’s too hot won’t get us anywhere."
James Maddison used England rejections as motivation to make World Cup squad
12:16 , Michael Jones
James Maddison says he used his repeated England rejections as fuel to force his way into Gareth Southgate’s World Cup squad.
Despite the clamour for the in-form midfielder to be included in the squad heading to the Arabian Gulf, many expected the 25-year-old to be watching on from afar.
Maddison himself was braced to miss out having been overlooked during previous purple patches at Leicester, meaning he has yet to add to his debut cap as a substitute against Montenegro in November 2019.
However, the England boss admitted Maddison’s form was too good to ignore upon surprisingly ending his three-year international absence when naming his 26-man squad for Qatar last Thursday.
James Maddison used England rejections as motivation to make World Cup squad
James Maddison reveals his father cried over England World Cup call-up
12:09 , Michael Jones
James Maddison has revealed his father cried when he told him he had been included in the England squad for the 2022 football World Cup.
The attacker took questions from the press as Gareth Southgate’s squad trained in Qatar for the first time on Wednesday afternoon.
“My dad actually cried, and he’s not a crier,” Maddison said, recalling the phone call he made to his parents with the news. “Happy tears, of course, because your family and your parents are on this journey with you.”
England’s Thursday training session
12:02 , Michael Jones
Here’s a look at England’s training camp in Qatar. James Maddison sat out this morning’s session as the Three Lions look to manage his workload following a knee issue.
Son Heung-min back in training
11:55 , Michael Jones
South Korea’s talisman Son Heung-min is back on the pitch after having surgery on a fractured eye socket which he picked up on duty with Tottenham earlier this month.
Son said he is unsure if he can play every match at the World Cup but he was pictured sporting a mask in training on Wednesday.
Saman Ghoddos on Iran, the World Cup and ‘playing for the people’
11:48 , Michael Jones
Saman Ghoddos visibly considers his words, but he has clearly thought about what he is going to say. The Brentford forward does not want to stay silent on an issue of such importance. The stakes for Ghoddos, however, are much greater than just offering a statement on Qatar’s issues in the way most other World Cup players might.
The 29-year-old knows he is going to be asked about the political strife in Iran, where the state security forces have killed hundreds in shutting down nationwide protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, who was beaten in police custody after allegedly breaking rules on mandatory head coverings. He has agreed to an interview because of it, though, and shows considerable courage with his comments.
“Everybody wants to see a change,” Ghoddos says. “It’s a change that is very easy. What the people want is nothing special. It’s just freedom and I don’t want to say ‘Yeah, go fight for it’ because I don’t think violence is the right way. But something has to change and this has been going on for too long.”
Saman Ghoddos on Iran, the World Cup and ‘playing for the people’
James Maddison delighted to shelve holiday plans for World Cup trip to Qatar
11:41 , Michael Jones
James Maddison is delighted to be gearing up for a World Cup 2022 rather than reclining on a sun lounger after his repeated England football team rejections helped fuel his return to Gareth Southgate’s squad.
The 25-year-old’s only cap to date came in 2019 and the midfielder was braced to miss out on the 26-man selection for Qatar having been overlooked during previous purple patches at Leicester City.
But Southgate admitted Maddison’s form was too good to ignore upon surprisingly ending his three-year international absence when naming his World Cup squad last Thursday.
The midfielder said he never felt like the door was closed on him during that period and harnessed that disappointment “as motivation to try and get back in and force my way back in”.
James Maddison delighted to shelve holiday plans for World Cup trip to Qatar
Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey reveals ‘ultimate hero’ World Cup wish
11:33 , Michael Jones
Wales goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey admits that he would love to have seen his “ultimate hero” Neville Southall play in a World Cup.
Despite Southall’s sustained brilliance during a 92-cap international career that spanned 15 years, Wales did not make it to the global showcase, highlighted by agonising near-misses for the 1986 and 1994 tournaments.
That 64-year wait has now ended, with Nottingham Forest stopper Hennessey, capped 106 times, set to battle it out with Leicester’s Danny Ward for the keeper’s shirt in Qatar.
“I always wanted Wales to get to a World Cup, and I would have loved to see Neville Southall on the big stage like this,” said Hennessey, who is third on Wales’ all-time appearance list behind Chris Gunter and Gareth Bale.
Wales goalkeeper Hennessey reveals ‘ultimate hero’ World Cup wish
From Montrose to Mbappe: Meet the Scottish Socceroo aiming to help Australia down France
11:26 , Michael Jones
It is a journey from Montrose to Mbappe. While Martin Boyle will begin his first global tournament against Kylian Mbappe, Karim Benzema, Antoine Griezmann and the rest of a France team defending the World Cup, his first-team career started in humbler surroundings, of Scottish Division 3.
Figuratively, the Australia winger has come a long way. Geographically, too. Not everyone represents the country of their birth but perhaps no one in Qatar comes from further away from their adopted nation. “I am a little boy from Aberdeen playing in a World Cup,” he tells The Independent. “Sometimes I still pinch myself. My family are still incredibly proud of where we came from. I started from the bottom of Scottish football and worked my way up and if you had told me this four years ago, I would probably have laughed in your face.”
But whereas Scotland need few reminders their last World Cup was in 1998, they will have representation of sorts in Doha. Boyle is the Socceroo from Aberdeen, not Adelaide; he comes from closer to the Cairngorms than Canberra, nearer Brechin than Brisbane. “My accent doesn’t really fit the Aussie culture,” he admitted. But his father, Graeme, was born in Sydney, after his grandparents had emigrated and before they returned to Scotland.
Meet the Scottish Socceroo aiming to help Australia down France
Connor Roberts grateful for World Cup chance with Wales after health scare
11:19 , Michael Jones
Wales defender Connor Roberts will fulfil his World Cup 2022 ambition less than a year after fearing he would not survive a severe bout of pneumonia.
Roberts was hospitalised last December and the situation was so grave that his wife Georgina was given no guarantee that the 27-year-old would pull through.
“I had pneumonia and I was in hospital for a few days, I was really struggling,” said Roberts, who will start as right wing-back in Wales’ World Cup opener against the United States on Monday.
Connor Roberts grateful for World Cup chance with Wales after health scare
World Cup 2022 kits: Every shirt ranked and rated
11:12 , Michael Jones
The Qatar World Cup is nearly upon us, and that means an array of delightful/grotesque international football shirts for us to enjoy/convulse over.
What do we think of Portugal’s bold diagonal stripe? Who has picked a mesmerising shade of red? Why have Argentina dressed like they need 144 off 20 overs? Is that... is that Jafar? Please do share your opinions in the comments below.
Here are the World Cup 2022 kits, ranked and rated from worst to best:
World Cup 2022 kits: Every shirt ranked and rated
World Cup stadiums: The eight venues hosting games in Qatar
11:05 , Michael Jones
The World Cup in Qatar is upon us and runs from November 20 to December 18.
Eight stadiums in the Gulf state will host 64 matches at the World Cup and the unique nature of the tournament, which is largely being held in and around the capital city of Doha, allows fans to attend more than one game a day - with the venues no more than an hour’s drive from each other.
Here’s all the info you need about the eight host grounds:
World Cup stadiums: The eight venues hosting games in Qatar
‘We did the robot all the time’: Mason Mount and Peter Crouch on World Cups past and present
10:57 , Michael Jones
Peter Crouch and Mason Mount are giddily talking about the World Cups that first got them into football when, with the way memory works, thoughts turn to a moment that was a bit more tense.
Crouch starts discussing the 82nd minute of his second appearance in the tournament, which was at that point a frustrating 0-0 draw against Trinidad and Tobago. He’d obviously been in poor performances against weaker teams before but the concentration of a World Cup made it something else altogether.
“You can feel it in the stadium,” Crouch says. “There’s obviously a tremendous pressure on you.”
Mount was a mere seven years old at the time, and can only really remember the colours of the competition in the way kids do, but empathises with the intensity of the situation as a fellow professional; “the blur”.
‘We did the robot all the time’: Mount and Crouch on World Cups past and present
Kyle Walker ‘good and ready to go’ after England World Cup opener against Iran
10:50 , Michael Jones
Kyle Walker has confirmed he will miss England’s World Cup opener against Iran but he will be fit to face United States next Friday.
The Manchester City defender has been battling a groin injury having undergone surgery six weeks ago, but he has won a race against time to be selected by Gareth Southgate.
But while the first match against Iran on Monday comes too soon for the 32-year-old, Walker has given the Three Lions a boost by confirming his availability to face the Stars and Stripes in their second match of Group B on Friday evening.
Kyle Walker hands England fitness boost ahead of World Cup opener
Gareth Southgate takes considered yet significant risk with James Maddison selection
10:42 , Michael Jones
Strangely, the headline from this World Cup squad announcement was always likely to be the inclusion or non-inclusion of a player with a grand total of one international cap. James Maddison has become the type of English cause celebre that always seems to emerge on the eve of a major tournament, his unpredictable, mercurial abilities providing a skeleton key to unlock defences in Qatar. Given Gareth Southgate’s supposed safety-first nature, many expected that he would be overlooked. Instead, he will go to the World Cup.
Southgate’s inclusion of Maddison is the biggest surprise in his 26-man selection and appears to belie a reputation for standing by trusted, familiar faces. The Leicester City playmaker was the only fully fit player included in this squad to receive a call from Southgate on the morning of the announcement. The England manager wanted to reassure him that, despite speculation that he would miss out, he was in. “We’d decided a couple of weeks ago but weren’t going to tell him then,” Southgate revealed.
It would be unfair to suggest that this represents a sudden change of heart on Southgate’s part. “He’s a good player. We’ve always said he’s a good player,” he insisted, adding that fitness troubles and tactical set-ups have prevented Maddison being called up in the past, but there is no doubt that the biggest difference now is that his performances are too good to ignore. “He’s earned the right,” said the England manager. “I think he’s playing as well as any of the attacking players in this country.”
Gareth Southgate takes considered yet significant risk with James Maddison selection
‘It’s down to him’: Daniel James reveals emotional story behind Wales journey
10:35 , Michael Jones
Daniel James says he owes his World Cup place to his late father Kevan and will be thinking about him when Wales start their tournament on Monday.
James’ father Kevan died suddenly at the age of 60 in May 2019, just as the winger was on the verge of joining Manchester United from Swansea in a £15million transfer.
“It’s down to him that I’m playing here today,” said James, whose father came from Aberdare in the Cynon Valley. “Whenever I pull that Wales shirt on I always think of him.
“He took me to north Wales camp when I was 12 years old. He emailed the person there to say I was eligible to play for Wales.”
‘It’s down to him’: Daniel James reveals emotional story behind Wales journey
World Cup tipped to be ‘game-changer’ for Welsh football and the nation
10:27 , Michael Jones
Football Association of Wales boss Noel Mooney has declared the World Cup a “game-changer” for Welsh football and the country itself.
Skipper Gareth Bale and company arrived in Qatar in the early hours of Wednesday morning for Wales’ first appearance at a World Cup since 1958.
Wales were the smallest nation to qualify for the 32-team tournament, with its 3.1million population marginally larger than that of Qatar who had automatic entry to the finals as hosts.
“Every day feels like a new step in the development of Welsh football,” FAW chief executive Mooney told the PA news agency.
World Cup tipped to be ‘game-changer’ for Welsh football and the nation
Wales forced to change training time due to excessive Qatar heat
10:20 , Michael Jones
Wales team have had to reschedule their World Cup training plans because of the excessive Doha heat.
Robert Page’s squad had been due to start daily training sessions at 1.30pm local time in Qatar ahead of their tournament opener with the United States on Monday.
But, even though it is mid-November, early-afternoon temperatures have been above average at over 30 degrees Celsius.
Wales will now train at 4pm local time on Thursday, and it is likely that all future training sessions will now be held later in the day.
Wales forced to change training time due to excessive Qatar heat
USA warned Gareth Bale will be ‘ready to go’ in World Cup opener
10:12 , Michael Jones
Robert Earnshaw has told the United States to beware a wounded Gareth Bale in their World Cup opener with Wales.
Wales’ first game at a World Cup for 64 years on Monday will see Bale come up against the country where he now plays his club football for Los Angeles FC.
Bale came off the bench to help LAFC to their first MLS Cup triumph, scoring a dramatic injury-time equaliser against Philadelphia Union to set up a successful penalty shootout.
But the start of the 33-year-old’s career in California has been hampered by injuries and the lack of game-time that marked his final years at Real Madrid.
USA warned Gareth Bale will be ‘ready to go’ in World Cup opener
Everything wrong with the Qatar World Cup
10:04 , Michael Jones
Out of the many facts and figures circulated about Qatar’s problems, there is one realisation that should stand above everything. It is a disgrace that, in 2022, a country can host a World Cup where it has lured millions of people from the poorest countries on earth - often under false pretences - and then forced them into what many call “modern slavery”.
And yet this has just been accepted. The World Cup carries on, an end product of a structure that is at once Orwellian and Kafkaesque. A huge underclass of people work in an autocratic surveillance state, amid an interconnected network of issues that make it almost impossible to escape. “It’s all so embedded,” says Michael Page of Human Rights Watch.
Many will point to similar problems in the west but this isn’t the failure of a system. It is the system, global inequality taken to an extreme. “The bottom line is that these human rights abuses are not normal for a World Cup host,” says Minky Worden, also of Human Rights Watch.
Everything wrong with the Qatar World Cup
Nkunku out for eight weeks
09:56 , Michael Jones
French media outlet L’Équipe are reporting that striker Christopher Nkunku is set to be sidelined for between six-eight weeks with the knee sprain that forced him to withdraw from France’s World Cup squad.
The RB Leipzig forward will undergo further medical tests will give an exact indication of the length of time he is out for after minor injuries to the ligaments in his leg.
Nkunku has been replaced by Randal Kolo Muani, who received the last-minute call-up from Didier Deschamps while on a tour of Japan with his club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Nkunku is said to be optimistic over the nature of the injury, with a cruciate ligament ruled out for the time being. Leipzig next play on January 20th, against Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, and Nkunku is hopeful he’ll be fit for the game.
France forward Christopher Nkunku out of World Cup after training injury
09:49 , Michael Jones
France have been dealt another injury blow after Christopher Nkunku was ruled out of the World Cup in Qatar.
The RB Leipzig forward limped out of training on Tuesday and tests have confirmed he will play no part in the tournament.
The World Cup holders were already without Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante due to injury while Raphael Varane is trying to recover from an issue in time to be fit to play.
Nkunku had enjoyed a fine first half of the campaign, scoring 12 goals to sit top of the scoring charts in Germany.
Christopher Nkunku out of World Cup after training injury
Maddison misses England training
09:42 , Michael Jones
England’s James Maddison was absent for this morning’s training session for Gareth Southgate’s squad.
The news coming out of the camp says that Maddison sat out the session as a precautionary measure to manage his workload following a knee issue but there are no major concerns over the midfielder.
Lionel Messi scores 91st Argentina goal ahead of World Cup in 5-0 friendly rout of UAE
09:38 , Michael Jones
Lionel Messi was on target as Argentina warmed up for the World Cup 2022 with a 5-0 rout of the United Arab Emirates.
Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez opened the scoring after being teed-up by Messi in the 17th minute before Angel Di Maria netted a quick-fire brace.
Messi then struck his 91st goal for his country and Joaquin Correa added a fifth on the hour mark as one of the favourites for the tournament in Qatar played their final match before the Group C opener against Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Messi scores 91st Argentina goal ahead of World Cup in 5-0 rout of UAE
Harry Kane is still England’s most important player, says former boss Sven-Goran Eriksson
09:31 , Michael Jones
Former England boss Sven-Goran Eriksson believes Harry Kane is still the key to their chances of World Cup 2022 success.
Much is expected of Gareth Southgate’s young, dynamic attacking options such as Phil Foden, James Maddison, Bukayo Saka and Jack Grealish in Qatar.
But Eriksson says skipper and Three Lions stalwart Kane is the one player England need to be on top of his game if they are to lift the trophy next month.
“It’s Harry Kane, for sure,” Eriksson told the PA news agency. “He is the one who will score the goals and if he is in good shape England can do it.
Kane still England’s most important player, says former boss Sven
