British Prime Minister Keir Starmer thinks football is coming home again 58 years after England won the Fifa World Cup as the host nation in 1966.
He said this in Washington, where he met President Joe Biden less than an hour after England defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semi-final at Dortmund, Germany, on Wednesday (July 10).
Asked if football is coming home, he said, “Looks like it.”
England have not lost a game since Labour came to power after the July 4 general election, he said.
England defeated Switzerland on penalties in the Euro quarter-final on July 6.
Now England will face Spain in the final on Sunday.
Starmer watched with Dutch PM
Starmer watched the early part of the semi-final with the new Dutch prime minister , Dick Schoof, who was also in Washington for Nato’s 75th anniversary.
Biden, who played American football in high school, was asked if he watched the game. “I heard,” he said, and joked about England’s progress to the final: “It’s all because of the prime minister.”
Starmer watched the match till Harry Kane equalized for England.
Starmer said: “I began to watch the game with the Netherlands prime minister, but we left at 1-1.”
President Biden laughed and asked Starmer: “And you guys are still talking to one another?”
England went on to win the match with a late goal by super sub Ollie Watkins.
“What a game England and what a winner,” the prime minister wrote on X. “Berlin here we come!”
Starmer will attend the final in Berlin.
Biden, who said “it’s good news” that England won, called the US and UK the “best of allies” and described Britain as “the transatlantic knot” that ties NATO together.
Starmer gifts Biden Arsenal shirt
Starmer, an Arsenal fan, gifted Biden a personalised Arsenal shirt – printed with his surname and the number 46 on the back, a nod to his presidential number.
There was no reference to Biden’s re-election bid marred by concern over his age after his disastrous debate with the Republican rival Donald Trump.
Earlier, Starmer insisted Biden, 81, is not too old to be president.
However, in Britain, Starmer had proposed that peers should retire from the House of Lords at 80.
Starmer said that was a separate issue. He explained that he proposed retirement at 80 to reduce the size of the upper chamber.
“In terms of the age in the House of Lords, the simple fact is that our House of Lords is massive,” he said.
“We’ve got 800-plus members of the House of Lords, it’s simply too big. We need to reduce it.
“So it doesn’t reflect on how other elected representatives are chosen in other countries, it’s to do with the size of the House of Lords.”
‘Football coming home’ history
Starmer’s sentiments prevailed over his habitual caution when he was asked whether football was coming home and he replied, “Looks like it.”
For “football‘s coming home” is a phrase often used but seldom realized in real life. England have been champions only once.
The words are taken from the the Three Lions song sung by England fans.
“Football’s coming home” was a common chant during Euro 2020, but England lost to Italy in the final at Wembley.
Football coming home, says Keir Starmer after England advance to Euro 2024 final
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer thinks football is coming home again 58 years after England won the Fifa World Cup in 1966.
He said this in Washington, where he met President Joe Biden less than an hour after England defeated the Netherlands 2-1 in the Euro 2024 semi-final on Tuesday (July 10).
Asked if football is coming home, he said, “Looks like it.”
England have not lost a game since Labour came to power after the July 4 general election, he said.
England defeated Switzerland on penalties in the Euro quarter-final on July 6.
Now England will face Spain in the final on Sunday.
Starmer watched with Dutch PM
Starmer watched the early part of the semi-final with the new Dutch prime minister , Dick Schoof, who was also in Washington for Nato’s 75th anniversary.
Biden, who played American football in high school, was asked if he watched the game. “I heard,” he said, and joked about England’s progress to the final: “It’s all because of the prime minister.”
Starmer watched the match till Harry Kane equalized for England.
Starmer said: “I began to watch the game with the Netherlands prime minister, but we left at 1-1.”
President Biden laughed and asked Starmer: “And you guys are still talking to one another?”
England went on to win the match with a late goal by super sub Ollie Watkins.
“What a game England and what a winner,” the prime minister wrote on X. “Berlin here we come!”
Starmer will attend the final in Berlin.
Biden, who said “it’s good news” that England won, called the US and UK the “best of allies” and described Britain as “the transatlantic knot” that ties NATO together.
Starmer gifts Biden Arsenal shirt
Starmer, an Arsenal fan, gifted Biden a personalised Arsenal shirt – printed with his surname and the number 46 on the back, a nod to his presidential number.
There was no reference to Biden’s re-election bid marred by concern over his age after his disastrous debate with the Republican rival Donald Trump.
Earlier, Starmer insisted Biden, 81, is not too old to be president.
However, in Britain, Starmer had proposed that peers should retire from the House of Lords at 80.
Starmer said that was a separate issue. He explained that he proposed retirement at 80 to reduce the size of the upper chamber.
“In terms of the age in the House of Lords, the simple fact is that our House of Lords is massive,” he said.
“We’ve got 800-plus members of the House of Lords, it’s simply too big. We need to reduce it.
“So it doesn’t reflect on how other elected representatives are chosen in other countries, it’s to do with the size of the House of Lords.”
‘Football coming home’ history
Starmer’s sentiments prevailed over his habitual caution when he was asked whether football was coming home and he replied, “Looks like it.”
For “football‘s coming home” is a phrase often used but seldom realized in real life. England have been champions only once.
The words are taken from the the Three Lions song sung by England fans.
“Football’s coming home” was a common chant during Euro 2020, but England lost to Italy in the final at Wembley.
England went through humiliations in the Nations League, getting relegated after poor performances under the leadership of Gareth Southgate.
England and Germany shared the spoils at Wembley in a 3-3 draw but the results left both sides frustrated with their runs ahead of the World Cup.
Nevertheless, some in the UK are not shocked with the ‘Nation’s League’ performances, saying the England squad is one of the favourites to win the biggest global football tournament in Qatar.
While that is comforting, that is people still see the England squad as the best in the world ahead of the World Cup, there are concerns about the team.
The England squad had to fight against racist remarks online after it failed to win the EURO 2020, with three of its players missing the penalties at the end, giving Italy victory.
The Italians made it to the final stage of the Nations League in what can be seen as a performance filled with consistency, unlike the England squad. They should be one of the favourites to lift the World Cup coming November.
Russia and Qatar
Now, what is the difference between the England team that was fielded in Russia and the one that will defend their chances in Qatar?
England meets the USA, Wales and Iran in what can be said is an easy qualifying group that should see both the English side and the Americans go through the first stage.
Gregg Berhalter, the American coach, praised Gareth Southgate and backed the Three Lions to win the World Cup.
He says Southgate transformed the English players into a squad of superheroes.
He also says the performances of the England’s Women squad in the recent Women’s World Cup will also boost the morale of the English side in Qatar.
In Russia, England blew a chance to end their memorable World Cup adventure on a high note and become the best team to leave English shores when they were defeated 2-0 by Belgium in the third-place play-off.
This time around, they have a relatively easy (on paper) run in the first round of the W. Cup. WIll they disappoint the supporters?
England’s performance in Russia was one of their best showing in a World Cup after their 1966 controversial win against Germany by 4-2.
It was a Harry Maguire header that sent England on its way to the semi-finals after they beat Sweden 2-0.
Kieran Trippier’s superb fifth-minute free-kick put England ahead in the Luzhniki Stadium.
With this goal, they were on course for only their second World Cup final appearance. But Ivan Perisic’s second-half equaliser was well deserved as Croatia began to show their worth as the game progressed.
Another period of extra-time stood in the way of the Three Lions reaching the final against France, only for Mario Mandzukic to tuck away the winning goal after some static England defending allowed him to beat Pickford.
England and USA
In Qatar, England has to face the Americans and with the World Cup history between these two nations, it is hard to say whether the English side will come out the winner this time.
England has played the USA twice in the World Cup. The first time was way back in history when the USA team surprised the entire world by beating England 1-0 in 1950 and a terrible 1-1 draw in Rustenburg (South Africa) in 2010.
While the USA seems to be the bigger thorn in England’s side in this tournament, it still has to end up first in the group to face a lesser performing side in the next round. That is if England qualifies.
Nevertheless, in this year’s edition of the FIFA World Cup, Brazil is the 9/2 favourite to win, followed by France at 6/1 and England and Argentina at 7/1. This is based on the Bet365 predictions.
Poor results lately means England has drifted from the hot favourites to a lesser one but it is still among the countries that could end up as the top four in the competition.
Gareth Southgate’s England are 7/1 third favourites to win the World Cup in Qatar this winter, according to the bookies, after their poor run continued during the recent international break.
Southgate’s team was defeated 1-0 at the San Siro on Friday before drawing 3-3 with Germany at Wembley on Monday. These results bring their winless streak to six games.
For Behalter, the number of Premier League players (the best league in the world says many) means England is a hot favourite.
‘I don’t know if the expectations have always been in line with the quality of the squad. So back in 2010, realistically, I didn’t think they had the squad that could win the World Cup, right? But now it’s different. Now I think we all agree they have a squad that can win the World Cup.
‘And Gareth, in my opinion, has done a great job of helping the players cope with that pressure and actually using the jersey as a cape rather than a straitjacket and really giving them the freedom to play on the field, giving them the idea that they can represent their country in a positive way and make the country proud,’ he adds from an MLS event in Minneapolis last month.
The US begin their campaign against Wales, with the sides meeting in October 2020 for a 0-0 draw in Cardiff.
‘They were a good team, a very hard team to score on, a physical team, a lot of Premier League players, some real high quality in the attack, quality defenders,’ Behalter says.
Southgate’s squad
While the controversial and error-prone Harry Maguire is getting the backing of coach Southgate, it is undoubted that Harry Kane remains the top English player on the list of selected players or those who will be on the plane for the World Cup.
Harry Kane remains at the top of the table, with Declan Rice (2nd), Jordan Pickford (3rd), and Raheem Sterling (4th), but there is a change below that, with Jude Bellingham climbing four places to fifth after strong performances against Italy and Germany.
In the absence of Kalvin Phillips, who was already struggling for playing time at Manchester City before his injury, Bellingham appeared set to partner Rice. In the rankings, the Borussia Dortmund teenager leapfrogs Reece James (6th), Phil Foden (7th), Mason Mount (8th), Bukayo Saka (9th), and John Stones (10th).
The biggest movers, however, are Eric Dier (11th) and Luke Shaw (12th), who have risen 10 and 16 places respectively after returning to the squad and seizing their opportunity.
They suddenly look like sure bets for Qatar, and possibly Southgate’s starting lineup as well.
Despite a chorus of supporters and pundits criticising England manager Gareth Southgate for not playing Liverpool defender Kieran Tripper, Southgate believes Tripper is ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the England pecking order.
Alexander-Arnold, who was on the substitutes bench but did not play against Italy, was left out of the squad that drew 3-3 with Germany at Wembley on Monday night in the Nations League.
Reece James, England’s standout right-sided defender, played the entire match and is set to play in the World Cup in Qatar.
AT 3.00am Wednesday, in the first-ever British home nations clash in the World Cup, in the so-called “Battle of Britain”, one of England or Wales will seriously stake it out.
Wales are confident of turning the tables at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in this crucial clash to decide the final positionings in Group ‘B’.
“The dragon on my shirt; that’s all I need,” Wales star Gareth Bale said, looking down at the Wales crest on his red polo shirt.
On paper, it’s England as they are top of the group and need just a point to secure their passage to the knockout stages, while Wales are on the verge of elimination.
CHANGES IN LINEUP
They must beat England for the first time since 1984 in order to advance, along with hoping that Iran and the USA draw.
England boss Gareth Southgate may make changes to the lineup that started both against Iran and Wales, amid widespread clamour for Phil Foden to be introduced.
But Bale is confident they are capable of shocking England in World Cup showdown.
“There’s been a few shocks in the tournament already and there’s no reason why we can’t do the same,” the 33-year-old said. “Everyone has weaknesses. We’ve done our homework and had meetings, and I’m sure they’ve done the same with us.
FAVOURITES TO WIN
“We know how difficult it will be. England are a very good team, They’re one of the favourites to win the tournament. We are under no illusions it will be hard, we’re going to give everything like we always do.”
Even then, mathematically, unless England are beaten by a four-goal margin, Wales need Iran and the United States to draw their final match to make the round of 16 in Qatar.
It is a very tall order for a Wales side who have won only once in 10 games. But Bale says they can draw on respective underdog victories for Japan, Morocco and Saudi Arabia over Germany, Belgium and Argentina.
So, who’s your pick for this “Battle of Britain”?
Keep your fingers crossed for a surprise, perhaps.
* Suresh Nair is an award-winning sports journalist who is also a qualified international coach and international referee instructor.
HARRY Kane is ina mind-blowing mood. The England skipper looked broken, already haunted.
His lips moved and there were words, completely monotone, but it was as if he was not there, it was not him.
You just cannot describe it in words. It was just so sad because Kane did not deserve this.
As England trailed France 1-0 in the World Cup quarter-final, he had led the revival, carrying the physical fight to Dayot Upamecano, going close on a couple of occasions, giving his team hope. He scored the equaliser in the second half with a penalty but, at 2-1, it all fell apart for him when he blazed a second spotkick high. It was the 84th minute.
The first thing to say is that had Kane scored, England would still have had a lot to do to beat the defending champions, most likely in extra time or on penalties. Nobody knows what would have happened.
CRUCIAL TIME
But in the moment, everyone thought they knew. England would have had the momentum at a crucial time. They were already playing well; now they would sweep to a statement victory and a semi-final against Morocco.
Poor Kane. He has been left to carry a heavy burden and it is uncharted territory for him. The 29yearold has experienced setbacks in his career, beginning with the notorious release by Arsenal as an eight-year-old. There were the difficult loans at Norwich and especially Leicester, tough questions about whether he would make the grade at Tottenham.
Kane tweeted on Sunday that he would not hide from his penalty miss. “It hurts and it’ll take some time to get over it,” he wrote.
Kane had the one-season wonder jibes in 2014-15. He has endured three Cup final defeats (League Cup 2015 and 2021, Champions League 2019); injuries; the failed push to get a move to Manchester City in the summer of last year. But it is very difficult to remember him making an error on the pitch that has so obviously cost his team.
TOP-LEVEL CAREER
Since the 90th-minute deflected winner for Spurs at Aston Villa in November 2014 that ignited his toplevel career, there has been the sense of his stars aligning, of seasononseason progress, the development of his game.
In the Euro 2020 semi-final against Denmark, he had an extra-time penalty to give England a 2-1 lead and he fluffed it, shooting weakly at Kasper Schmeichel. Yet the goalkeeper made an even bigger mistake.
Schmeichel ought to have caught the ball. At the very least, he should have pushed it away from goal. Instead, he patted it back to Kane, who gobbled up the rebound. It seems strange to criticise a goalkeeper for saving a penalty but Schmeichel had to do more.
All eyes will be on how Kane reacts.
MIND-BLOWING MOOD
He is famously singleminded and resilient and there is no doubt he will want to get back on the pitch as soon as possible. At least that will happen in relatively short order – the winter World Cup has this upside for him.
Spurs’ next game is at Brentford on Boxing Day, which was where Bukayo Saka played in his first competitive fixture for Arsenal after his penalty miss in the Euro 2020 final shootout defeat against Italy. Back then, the Brentford fans applauded him. Saka’s situation had an extra, appalling dimension. He had been racially abused on social media and the crowd wanted to rally round him.
For Kane the outofbody experience has happened. He’s absolutely in a mind-blowing mood. He looked broken, already haunted.
The longer-term recovery starts here.
* Suresh Nair is an award-winning sports journalist who is also a qualified international coach and international referee instructor.
The FIFA World Cup has been around for almost a century. The cup has brought the spotlight on numerous players such as Pele, Ronaldo, Neymar and many more. It is a rarity as it only occurs every four years.
There are many speculations on this year’s World Cup, but due to the scandal about Qatar’s human rights issues and the splitting of the Champions/Premier League is making it look rushed.
Numerous important players were unable to join this year’s World Cup due to injuries from the Premier League. Furthermore, it is still unclear if Son Heung-Min is able to play in it after his eye socket injury.
Fans have already begun making memes about the 2022 World Cup and claimed that Spain will pass the ball until they “die.” Portugal will pass the ball to Ronaldo constantly for him to strike, Brazil will constantly dribble the ball to confuse other players and jokingly claim that for Argentina, if another team hurts him, they will die.
Now, the list of the 5 best World Cups was made by shortlist.com and it has quite a number of interesting facts to it.
Number 5, South Korea/Japan
Image of the 2002 World Cup logo, from Wikipedia.
The 2002 World Cup, 20 years ago, is listed as the fifth best in this list. Brazilian Ronaldo led Brazil to be the best team of the cup. 2002 was the year that Brazil beat Germany in a 2-0 final match.
In the list, they mentioned the most shocking things that happened in the year. Namely, the questionable refereeing that was done in the South Korea vs Italy match where South Korea saw an advantage over the latter. The United States also managed to beat Portugal and send them home. This is only for them to be sent home by Germany.
Number 4, England
The Queen presenting the World Cup to England captain, Bobby Moore. Image from Wikipedia.
The 1966 World Cup, which was hosted by England and was brought up by numerous Qatar defenders when it came to the LGBT rights issue the Middle East country had. Again, Italy lost to Korea, but this time it was North Korea. It appears that the Italians have a weakness for Koreans.
England had a third goal in the 1966 finals and it is considered to be one of the most memorable moments in FIFA’s history as it is the most contested goal in any World Cup Final. Furthermore, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from the exhibition and it caused panic right before the cup started but it was later found wrapped in paper under some bushes in London.
Number 3, Mexico
Image of Maradona holding the World Cup trophy. From Wikipedia.
The 1986 World Cup was listed as the third best. Argentina was listed as the best team for the year and the centre of attention was Maradona. Argentina, under Maradona’s amazing skills, managed to beat West Germany in a shocking 3-2 final. It was dubbed the victory of the ‘poor countries’ by some.
Morocco was considered to be one of the biggest shocks of the 1986 Cup as they managed to beat England, Portugal and Poland. However, in the end they were beaten by West Germany. Furthermore, Maradona’s goal was regarded as “the goal of the century.”
Number 2, Italy
Image of an ongoing match in the 1990 Italy World Cup. From Wikipedia.
The 1990 tournament was held by Italy. West Germany won the match and Argentina was a close runner up. It appears that Cameroon also made the list of one of the notable countries of that year’s World Cup.
Cameroon beat Argentina in a 1-0 match and it was said to be a tough game but Cameroon deserved the win. Roger Milla was the ultimate star for Cameroon. Their tackle against Argentina was said to be one of the greatest of all time. Costa Rica then humiliated Scotland and Ireland had an amazing quarter final.
Number 1, Mexico (again)
Image of Pele in the 1970 Mexico World Cup. From Wikipedia.
Not to be confused with the 1986 Cup as this one is the 1970 Finals. Apparently, Mexico is good at hosting the World Cup as they appeared on the list twice. Brazil won the cup that year and it’s mostly thanks to Pele, Carlos Alberto, Gerson, Tostao, Rivelino and Jairzinho. They are called the ‘Giants of Brazil’ until today.
The biggest shock was that England was leading their match against West Germany with a 2-0 scoreboard. However, West Germany fought back and whacked them with a 3-2 scoreline at the end of the game.
Brazil destroyed Italy that year with a remarkable 4-1 result. This specific event was ranked as the best due to the fact that the highest score per game ratio was seen in 1970. Apparently it has not been beaten ever since.
What will happen in the next World Cup?
Will the 2022 World Cup measure up with these five best cups? We will have to wait and see when the games commence next week.
