World Cup 2022: England head for quarter-finals as last-16 continues – live | World Cup 2022

I can tell you that at Zagreb Zoo in Croatia, they have been trying to get Kent the gibbon to predict the winner of today’s match.

Kent made a name for himself – well according to the Google search I’ve just done anyway – during the 2018 World Cup with a string of successful predictions, although he came a cropper when he predicted that Russia would beat Croatia in the quarter-finals, which is why I’ve not called him a “psychic gibbon”.

Here is a little bit more detail on that Japan team courtesy of Reuters:

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu brought Takehiro Tomiyasu into his defence in place of the suspended Ko Itakura as one of three changes to his side for the World Cup last-16 game against Croatia on Monday.

Itakura received a second yellow card of the tournament in Japan’s stunning upset of Spain in their final group match, so Tomiyasu, who has made two appearances off the bench as he struggles to shake off an injury, starts.

Moriyasu also brought Wataru Endo and Ritsu Doan back into his midfield at the expense of Takefusa Kubo and Ao Tanaka, who scored against Spain.

Japanese fans have been bring their social media A-game to this tournament and I’m loving this little video of the team all ready to go in a vintage video game style.

Spain coach Luis Enrique is convinced his players can overcome Morocco in the World Cup last 16 on Tuesday and deal with the lottery pressure of a penalty shootout if they need to.

Rohith Nair was at Enrique’s media doo-dah today in Qatar for Reuters, and reports that Enrique actually said penalties shouldn’t be a lottery at all.

Over a year ago, in many national camps we told players, ‘You have homework ahead of the World Cup. You must take at least 1,000 penalties with the club’. You can’t just train them when they’re with the national team’.

I don’t think it’s a lottery. If you train often, then the way you take penalties improves. Obviously, you can’t train the pressure and tension, but you can cope with it.

It doesn’t depend on luck, the goalkeeper is key in the shootout. All three of our keepers are good at them. In our sessions we have players taking penalty kicks, it’s homework we’ve taken into account.

Enrique sounds on paper quite laid back about the whole thing, saying:

I couldn’t care less about the result, I want to control what I can control as a coach. I encourage my players to forget about the result too, the result will come.

Football is not always a fair game. I’m convinced we have more merits than Morocco. If we don’t, I’ll be totally fine.

Our philosophy is the same. We try and entertain the fans so they have fun watching us. We shouldn’t just go and get the victory, we need to entertain the spectators.”

He also had some respectful words for tomorrow’s opposition, telling reporters:

We have a clear idea. We don’t have to dominate all opponents for 90 minutes. In the World Cup you have the best teams, you’re playing against top level coaches and players.

Morocco are in the best mood at the moment, they’re highly motivated after a spectacular group stage, they topped a tricky group.

I’m very satisfied with what I’ve seen in training, I’m convinced we have a great chance to achieve a good result and advance.

Team news: Japan v Croatia

There are some rumblings afoot in the Portugal camp ahead of tomorrow’s clash with Portugal and – imagine my surprise – a Mr C Ronaldo is right at the heart of it.

Coach Fernando Santos has said he was deeply unimpressed with Cristiano Ronaldo’s behaviour as the forward left the pitch against South Korea and refused to guarantee that the striker would captain Portugal in Tuesday’s last-16 tie against Switzerland on Tuesday. The Portugal head coach insists Ronaldo has been dealt with following his latest outburst but considers the case closed.

Ronaldo reacted angrily after being withdrawn midway through the second half of their defeat against South Korea last Friday. Ronaldo put his index finger to his lips as he left the field and later claimed he was irked by the opposition striker Cho Gue-sung for asking him to speed up his exit. “Before my substitution, one of their players was telling me to leave quickly,” Ronaldo said after the shock defeat. “I told him to shut up, he has no authority, he doesn’t have to say anything.”

Asked about Ronaldo’s substitution at a press conference on Tuesday, Santos replied: “Have I seen the images? Yes, I didn’t like it, not at all. I didn’t like it. I really didn’t like it. But from that moment onwards everything is finished regarding that issue. These matters are resolved behind closed doors. It’s resolved. Full stop on this matter and now everyone is focused on tomorrow’s match.”

Santos would not confirm whether Ronaldo would captain Portugal against Switzerland, who are hoping to reach the World Cup quarter-finals for the first time since 1954. “I only decide who is going to be captain when I reach the stadium,” Santos said. “I still don’t know what the lineup will be. That’s what I’ve always done and that’s what I’m always going to do and it’s going to be the same tomorrow. The other topic is solved. We have fixed that in-house and that’s it.”

Away from the World Cup there is still plenty of domestic football – men’s and women’s – going on in the UK. On Saturday I was at Brisbane Road to watch top of the table Leyton Orient beat Bradford City in League Two. You won’t regret watching this goal from Tom James.

On Sunday I was at an FA Women’s National League cup game, which pitched my local team London Seaward against Plymouth Argyle from the division above, who ran out 4-0 winners in a game that was more closely fought than the score ultimately suggested.

The top flight is still in action in the women’s game too, and Suzanne Wrack, Sophie Downey and Renuka Odedra have got six talking points from the Women’s Super League weekend action for you here …

From the pictures, it seems like the atmosphere is already building up on the way to the Al Janoub Stadium in Al Wakrah, where Japan will be facing Croatia at 3pm GMT. We should have team news in just under an hour.

Croatia are getting set.

PA report that Callum Wilson did not join England’s other non-starters at training on Monday due to a minor muscle strain.

The Newcastle striker has made two substitute appears in Qatar and was an unused substitute in Sunday’s 3-0 World Cup last-16 win against Senegal.

England’s starters worked inside the following day at their Al Wakrah Sports Complex base, where the rest of the group worked outside with Gareth Southgate and his coaches.

Wilson was the only absentee from the session for non-starters, with a slight niggle meaning the striker sat out as a precaution. England are set to have a day off on Tuesday.

I should imagine that the Spanish autonomous city of Ceuta has not crossed your mind recently. The exclave sits right at the tip of northern Morocco, and is the kind of place you could be forgiven for not putting much thought into until, say, Spain and Morocco are facing each other in a World Cup round of 16 match. At which point it is an absolute magnet for journalists looking for a bit of colour to add to their coverage.

Antonio Sempere and Joseph Wilson for AP have been doing just that, with a piece talking to the people who live there, and finding out where their loyalties lie. The long and complex relationship between Morocco and Spain will no doubt be part of the backdrop to the game in Al Rayyan.

Sulaika Hosain, a 26-year-old Ceuta native, feels “100% Spanish,” yet when the game kicks off on Tuesday in Qatar, her sympathies will tilt toward Morocco, the land of her grandfather.

“I am a Spaniard and want Spain to win, but I am rooting for Morocco. When Morocco plays, something moves inside me,” she said at the indoor playground where she works. “Let them win something, so people can say, look, Morocco is not just a poor place.’”

Mohamed Laarbi, 28, manages a bar in Ceuta that is showing all the World Cup matches. He is a third-generation Spaniard and is fully backing Spain. Regardless of the result, he does not expect the game to lead to any serious problems like the riots in Belgium and the Netherlands after Morocco beat Belgium in the group phase.

“Morocco is playing well, but when they meet Spain they will hit a wall,” he joked. “And then the game is over. That is it.”

Even so, Laarbi acknowledged that he and other Muslims from Ceuta or the other Spanish territory of Melilla further east on the coast are caught in an no man’s land.

“Moroccans say that we are not Moroccan, that we are sons of Spaniards, while Spaniards from the Iberian Peninsula say that we are not Spaniards,” he said. “There are people from the peninsula who when you say you are from Ceuta, you have to show them where it is, and they say that is Africa.’”

Ceuta has been a Spanish possession since 1580 – although it is not formally recognised as Spanish territory. It has a mixed population of Christians and Muslims, Spanish and Moroccan residents and day workers, and has become a political flashpoint over border controls.

For Mohamed Et Touzani, a 35-year-old hairdresser in Ceuta, the message is clear: just enjoy the game. Originally from central Morocco, Et Touzani has lived in different parts of Spain for 15 years and said it is “like my home.”

He has a house, like many people with Moroccan roots, across the border. He plans to watch the game with Spanish friends at what he called a “Christian” bar in Ceuta. He will cheer for Morocco.

“Soccer is soccer, and politics are politics. So we are going to play a soccer game and have a good time, but with respect. That is the most important thing,” he said. “Morocco has red and green (in its flag), Spain has red and yellow. We have this in common. We are neighbours, and we must live like we were brothers.”

Bless him, Marcus Rashford has just posted up a proud picture of him with his mother in the stands in Qatar last night.

Here is an update on the latest situation surrounding Raheem Sterling, via PA Media:

Surrey police have confirmed they are investigating a burglary in which jewellery and watches were stolen after reports of a break-in at the home of the England footballer Raheem Sterling.

In a statement, the force said: “We are currently investigating a report of a burglary at an address in Oxshott, Leatherhead.

“Police were contacted just before 9pm on Saturday 3 December after the occupants of the property came home and discovered a number of items including jewellery and watches had been stolen.

“Inquiries to establish the circumstances are under way and the investigation is ongoing. No threat of violence was involved as the items were discovered stolen retrospectively. Inquiries into the circumstances are ongoing.”

Morocco will be playing only their second ever World Cup finals knockout match tomorrow. They last reached the round of 16 in Mexico in 1986. They drew 0-0 with Poland, and then England – that was the Ray Wilkins’ match – and then beat Portugal 3-1 in the final group match to book a slot against West Germany. Here’s how that went down …

Achraf Hakimi, who was born in Madrid, has been speaking to Spain’s Marca newspaper in the build-up to Tuesday’s clash between Morocco and their European neighbours. He told the paper:

Spain are a top five team and always come to the World Cup to win. But our coach has also taught us to have a winning mentality; it doesn’t matter who we are up against. We are going to try to play our way and try to beat them.

We finished first in the group and I think we deserve a little respect. I think that Spain knows that and that they have to be a little afraid of us. And why can’t we pull off a surprise again?

It is something unique, playing for your country. And especially now that we are making history. It’s incredible to see how people are living it with us, and that energy transmits a lot to us and gives us strength to continue and look to do great things.

Morocco met Spain in their final group game in Russia, where a 91st minute equaliser by Iago Aspas denied Morocco a win, levelling the match at 2-2.

France’s Antoine Griezmann has yet to score as he toils away at this World Cup, but Julien Pretot writes for Reuters in Doha that the attacking midfielder could not care less, as he is enjoying his comeback at the highest level with the defending champions.

While Kylian Mbappé has scored five goals in Qatar to take his overall World Cup tally to nine and Olivier Giroud has surpassed Thierry Henry to become France’s all-time top scorer with 52 goals, Griezmann has been working away tirelessly in the engine room behind them without reward.

“I had chances to score against Dennmark but I missed them. Maybe I’m not as close to the box as I used to be. I’m playing good games,” Griezmann, who has played a record 71 consecutive games with Les Bleus, told reporters.

“I’m still missing a goal but I don’t shoot 50 times a game and I’m not obsessing about it. The team need me in midfield to make the link between the defence and the attack. I’m very proud and happy.”

“I owe Didier Deschamps everything, so when I play, I play for France, my teammates, but also for the coach,” said Griezmann.

“Being well physically helps me a lot. There are no problems in my private life,” said Griezmann. “In my head I had tough moments at Barca and last year when I came back to Atletico. It was complicated, I had to make myself very small, I had to find myself, on and off the pitch.”

If you enjoy seeing people’s faces while they talk on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, then have I got the video clip for you. Here are Max Rushden, Philippe Auclair, Barry Glendenning and Mark Langdon talking about England last night, saying that Jude Bellingham had evoked memories of Gazza.

Southgate on France game: ‘the biggest test that we can face’

Kevin Rawlinson

World Cup diplomacy latest: AP reports that the leader of the United Arab Emirates made a surprise visit today to Qatar – his first since leading a yearslong four-nation boycott of Doha over a political dispute that poisoned regional relations.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who also serves as the ruler of Abu Dhabi, made the trip at the invitation of Qatar’s ruling emir, sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the state-run WAM news agency reported.

Here are some vox pops from fans after the England v Senegal game yesterday, many of which seem a little bit nervous at the prospect of facing France next.

Aaron Timms has written for the Guardian on how Fox Sports’ US World Cup coverage is an unmissable abomination, with the broadcaster offering up “a feast of gaffes, stupidity, and unconquerable on-air awkwardness” which, frankly, sounds unmissable:

Insults to our collective intelligence have come from all angles: the constant, tedious analogies to American sports (stepovers and feints described as “dekes” and “hesis”, corners constantly compared to “pick and rolls”); the neverending quest to “contextualize” the world game by comparing whole countries to American states (“Qatar is the size of Connecticut,” we were told repeatedly on the opening day); the network’s embrace and promotion of the interminable “it’s called soccer” cause (who cares?); the strange extended segment in the run-up to USA v England about how much Harry Kane likes American football (ditto); the employment of Piers Morgan as a special guest pundit (no thanks).

On the field things may be developing nicely, but off it US football – or the version of it that Fox Sports serves up to us every four years – seems destined to remain stuck in a permanent 1994, forever on the brink of becoming America’s next big thing, forever hostage to a cabal of C-suite cable bros intent on translating this exotic, bewildering sport into the language of touchdowns, home runs, and alley oops for what they see as the country’s blinking, insular Yankee Doodle millions. This bizarre cultural parochialism does a disservice to both America’s players, now a sizeable constituency in European club football, and the legions of fans on these shores whose understanding of the sport is every bit as sophisticated as anything you’ll find on the terraces of Camp Nou, Anfield, or La Bombonera.

Read more here: Aaron Timms – Fox Sports’ US World Cup coverage is an unmissable abomination

Declan Rice: other countries should fear ‘great team’ England

I’m going to confess that my Japanese isn’t all that, but some things about football transcend language. The Japanese team social media accounts have just put out an epic six minute supercut of Japan’s highs and lows at World Cups, as well as what it has all meant for the development of the sport in Japan. If you want old people playing football, kids playing football on the beach, blind football, disability football, interspersed with clips of the Samauri Blue looking dejected after various round of 16 matches, this is the supercut for you.

Whack the sound up, because it is all soundtracked by Syori No Emi Wo Kimi To from Ukasuka-G which the Guardian has previously described as “bombastic indie from J-pop’s answer to the Killers” which “builds to a climax so relentlessly silly that, by the six minute mark, you are somehow won over.”

Just a quick note here that Saudi Arabia, who have been touted as potential World Cup co-hosts in 2030, look set to host the 2027 Asian Cup, after India, the other country bidding for the event, has withdrawn.

AP reports that the bids from India and Saudi Arabia had been shortlisted by the AFC’s executive committee in October and the final decision was expected to be made at a regional congress in February. Saudi Arabia is now the only candidate.

The 2023 edition will be played in Qatar after China was replaced as host because of the complications around China’s zero-Covid policy. Qatar are the current champions, having won the event when it was last staged, pre-pandemic, in the UAE in 2019.

Juninho Pernambucano’s point there about Brazil being just expected to go through against what are perceived to be weaker sides did ring a little bit of a bell, having lived in England for quite some time.

Here is how the English newspapers reacted to yesterday’s victory for the Three Lions over the Lions of Teranga, which you suspect has merely postponed the gnashing and wailing of teeth about “Why didn’t Southgate pick Grealish / Foden / Rashford / Saka / Mount / Maddison” [Delete as appropriate depending on who he does pick against France]

Speaking of Brazil, Juninho Pernambucano writes for the Guardian this morning to say that Brazil are the best team in the world but pressure weighs heavily on the players:

For a football team to be successful, just in a developed society, you need its people – ie, players – to work together to achieve something special. In real life you need people to collaborate to evolve. That goes for every country. But in Brazil we have something different that I cannot see in other countries.

There is an enormous amount of passion around football in Brazil and the way everyone in the country analyses the national team is radical, at times simplistic and often overwhelming when it comes to criticising the players and the coach, making it seem as if football is very easy for those who play, especially if they are professional players. In Brazil it seems to be difficult to accept that football, as well as life, evolves.

And so Brazil are under enormous pressure before their last-16 game against South Korea after losing their third group game against Cameroon. They also lost two more players to injury, Alex Telles and Gabriel Jesus, but Neymar should be fit again. The fact that they are playing South Korea, who everyone thinks they should beat, only adds to the expectation, the pressure and the sense that Brazil have to go through. It would have been different if they were facing Portugal or Uruguay from that group.

Read more here: Juninho Pernambucano – Brazil are the best team in the world but pressure weighs heavily on the players

Away from the World Cup for a minute, overnight AP have been carrying an update on the condition of Brazilian legend Pelé.

Mauricio Savarese writes that two of his daughters and one of his grandsons has said the three-time World Cup winner has been hospitalised since Tuesday to treat a respiratory infection aggravated by Covid-19. They added that the 82-year-old is under no imminent risk of death.

Kely and Flavia Nascimento and Arthur Arantes do Nascimento said in an interview that aired Sunday night in Brazil that Pelé, who is also undergoing chemotherapy in his fight against cancer, is expected to leave the Albert Einstein hospital in São Paulo once he fully recovers from the respiratory infection. Neither the family nor the hospital have any predictions in that regard.

The hospital said Saturday that Pelé is responding well to treatment for the infection and his health condition had not worsened over the previous 24 hours. The hospital did not issue any statements on the former footballer’s health Sunday.

“He is sick, he is old. But at the moment, he is there because of the lung infection. And once he feels better, he will go home again,” Kely Nascimento told TV Globo. She lives in the United States and spoke on video. “He is not saying goodbye in a hospital at the moment,” she added.

You know the drill by now. Overnight Max and the gang have been producing more podcast goodness for your delight. Barry Glendenning, Mark Langdon and Philippe Auclair joined Max Rushden, and it says here “the panel spend most of part one waxing lyrical about Jude Bellingham. And who could blame them?”

Get it in your ears here …

Preamble