Key events
Time for some morning reading recommendations for y’all:
Ben Fisher gets his chat on with the evergreen Edin Dzeko, still churning out the hits at 40 as a spearhead of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s World Cup challenge:
Ewan Murray in Charlotte reports on Scotland’s verbal stramash with Norway after they cancelled their training match, citing injury concerns in Steve Clarke’s camp.
Djed Spence talks jaw-breaks, seizing his England chance and bantz with Arsenal players:
Our latest experts’ network team guides feature Jordan and Portugal:
And here’s a great interview by Donald McRae with Kelly Cates, who’ll be presenting from the BBC’s Salford studio in the middle of the night but has got the Tunnocks Caramel Wafers in (other caramel wafers are available). She also talks of the centrality to the tournament of fans, who’ve not been made universally welcome what with one thing and another:
“You don’t get the full World Cup experience unless the fans are there, unless you have fans being able to travel in the first place. Not everybody’s going to be able to, either financially or logistically or because of travel bans. So that’s another issue and I think they’re missing out on what makes a World Cup special. They’re hoping they will be able to put razzmatazz around it and bring the American showbiz factor that’s going to make up for [the missing fans]. But it won’t feel like a traditional World Cup.”
Preamble
Morning (BST) everyone. Two days to go, and the excitement/tension/hype is mounting. We’ll be across as much of it as possible, as the countdown continues. While Europe may have been sleeping, there’s been more friendly action and fitness news, starting with the revelation that Neymar is “recovering well” from the calf injury that had made him a doubt for Brazil’s opener against Morocco.
Brazil’s all-time record scorer underwent an MRI scan on Monday, Reuters reports, which showed he is “making good progress in his treatment” amid hopes that he will be able to play a part for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
“He will continue to follow the recovery schedule and fitness programme as planned by the Brazil team medical staff,” the Brazilian Football Confederation said in a statement on Monday. He did not take to the field with his teammates for Monday’s workout at Brazil’s base, the new training ground of MLS outfit New York Red Bulls, around 30 miles west of Manhattan. Instead he stayed inside to work in the gym.
In last night’s friendly action, Michael Olise again demonstrated why he’s one of the most watchable footballers in the world with a hat-trick in France’s 3-1 win over Northern Ireland in Lille. Didier Deschamps fielded his attacking big guns – Desiré Doue and Kylian Mbappé also featured – in Les Bleus’ final match on home soil before flying out to their Boston base.
“We’ll need a Michel Olise at that level,” Deschamps purred. “Michael stands out because of the season he has had at Bayern and with us. He has achieved some really great things, he is full of confidence. He also has the ability to put in the effort, which is remarkable.” Patrick Kelly scored Northern Ireland’s consolation, a first international goal for the Barnsley midfielder.
Elsewhere, Spain turned it on for a Mexican crowd when they beat Peru 3-1 in Puebla. Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring after two minutes with a fierce shot from the edge of the area before Pedri doubled the lead after half an hour, tapping into an empty net following a cross from Ferran Torres. Spain added a third early in the second half when Yéremy Pino’s delivery forced an error from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, before Jairo Velez pulled one back for Peru with a low finish.
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