WE’RE GETTING THERE AGAIN
As a supporter of Liechtenstein and Basingstoke Town, the Fiver cannot comprehend the magnitude and scale of what Ireland and Manchester United fans experienced last night. But United’s new Portuguese signing CR((TBC) certainly put them through an emotional pace, you can appreciate that at least. He missed a penalty. He reduced Bruno Fernandes to… well, he reduced Bruno Fernandes. He scored a magnificent last-minute equaliser. He scored an even better injury-time winner. He made headlines for himself, for better or for worse, as usual. Bah for Ireland! Hooray for United! But also bah for United! Let’s see how it goes: at least we already know that the Republic’s World Cup hopes are dashed; it will take at least another five or six weeks to assess whether his inevitable 36 goals at Old Trafford this season will be worth all the tactical disruption and sensationalist hype.
No worries for Euro 2004 quarter-finalists England, who travel to Hungary tonight full of confidence. And no wonder! They maintained their momentum over the next 17 years, failing at various points which, if you marked them on a horizontal axis with three pencils and put them to a soundtrack of trumpet and vibraphone, would not seem entirely different from the old London Weekend Television identity that appeared before Weekend World. The Nantucket Sleigh Ride Earworm too, right? That’s right! Hey, we’re introducing these pop culture references to hot topics for kids.
But these allusions to the early 80s also have their uses, because England face the Hungarians in a Qualified for the World Cup for the first time since 1981. That’s when an early Paul Mariner goal ended a tough affair at Wembley to send Ron’s 22 to Spain by the skin of their teeth, a feat commemorated on The Road To Spain, lead track on the B-side of This Time: The Album (K-Tel), by beat poet Ray Clemence’s rousing rap: “I know we didn’t qualify the way we wanted to, but I hope that’s in the past.” Here’s Gareth Southgate sending the boys out on to the pitch tonight with a similar call to arms ringing in their ears, as another barely memorable qualifying campaign begins to take shape.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I didn’t give a damn about Manchester United’s number 7. At first, people talked to me about it a lot. It was just a shirt. My problem at Manchester was the coach. Van Gaal was the worst of my career. I would score, I would make assists and the next day he would show me my misplaced passes. He would replace me from one day to the next, he didn’t like players to be more than him” – Ángel Di María, the little rascal, confides in Sports TyC.
FIVE LETTERS
“Fiver’s recent series of “bah humbug” over Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer (Friday Emailand then another piss on the United fans’ chips in Tuesday’s Email) reminded me of the day I got a Manchester United shirt for my seventh birthday and my uncle Keith made a big deal about it being overpriced polyester made by child slaves half my age. My response to Fiver’s ‘satirical’ review of United is similar to my response to my uncle Keith “I don’t care what you think, you poor guy, it’s brilliant! Well done Steve Thomas” – Frank.
Steve (Fiver fan) Allen, in criticising Steve (bitter) Thomas, left the goal wide open for a cynical Fiver – oops, sorry, satirical – tap-in. What price for a pun on “only Singh when they win?” in tomorrow’s edition? – Bernard Murray-Gates (and 1,056 others).
Send your letters to [email protected]. And you can always tweet The Fiver via @guardian_sport. Today’s winner of our precious Letter of the Day is… Frank.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
“Is it over, or do we start again?” Gareth Southgate shouted at his England players, who will face Hungary tonight in a World Cup qualifier.
Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka made a “personal decision” not to get vaccinatedthe Swiss Football Association said. He now has Covid-19 and will miss Switzerland’s match against Greece.
Icelandic Football Association board resigns after accusations he had tried to cover up an allegation of sexual abuse against a player.
Someone who may care about the No.7 shirt, Cristiano Ronaldo, celebrated his return to Manchester United by breaking Irish hearts with Two late goals for Portugal in World Cup qualifier.
Scotland paid the price for disrupted preparations in their own qualifier in Denmark, loses 2-0 in Copenhagen.
Harry Wilson missed a penalty for Wales in a 0-0 friendly draw with Finland. “There were a lot of positives,” applauded interim director Robert Page.
After being the subject of many rumours during the transfer window, Jules Koundé was expelled while France was held to a 1-1 draw by Bosnia-Herzegovina.
I WANT MORE
The WSL is back with its biggest broadcast deal to date. Suzanne Wrack wonders if this season will be decisive for the women’s game.
The only way to overcome the defeat against Italy in the Euro 2020 final would be to win a major tournament, thunders English defender Harry Maguire.
The last time England travelled to Budapest for a World Cup qualifier was 40 years ago. They desperately need a win to save their manager’s jobwrites Steven Pye.
Jonathan Wilson Remembers Edward Shiresthe man who paved the way for Jimmy Hogan’s transformative impact on football in Hungary and beyond.
On this day in 1913, legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly was born. He is featured in today’s YouTube recapas well as some classic WSL clips.
Talented young players and a new coach were game-changers for the U.S. men’s teamwrites Caitlin Murray.
It’s transfer deadline day for women’s leagues across Europe: check out the latest moves our interactive.
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