jogging, bonito
The year is 2002. It's only 9am and you've already downed two pints of industrial-grade lager. In his commentary for the BBC, John Motson mentions cornflakes at least three times. Ronaldinho stands on a free-kick moments after Rivaldo scores a clinical equalizer as England and Brazil settle 1-1 in the World Cup quarter-finals. This shouldn't be a problem for goal manager David Seaman, right? Wrong. The seemingly innocuous ball arced from Ronaldinho's boot, over the statuesque Seaman and into the far corner of the goal. Cafu, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho jump for joy by the corner flag. The history of England's attempts to defeat Brazil in football can be summed up in a few strange seconds.
Ronaldinho was soon sent off for a stud tackle on Danny Mills, but his fate was sealed. England's deep lack of belief when it comes to playing against the world's most famous footballing nation was once again exposed. Of course, there were occasional moments of brilliance. John Barnes' dribble at the Maracanã in 1984 and Graham Le Saux's belted half-volley in 1995 come to mind. There were also some iconic moments. The most famous are Bobby Moore and Pele. In 1970, they exchanged uniforms, shook hands, took off their jackets and smiled. Overall, however, England's record against Brazil was unremarkable, with 26 wins, 4 wins, 11 draws and 11 losses. Brazil has won three of the four World Cups (1962, 1970 and 2002), including a goalless draw in 1958.
With Euro 2024 just around the corner, Gareth Southgate's side have a chance to reach five of 27 games, but the weight of history has never meant much to these players. We're talking about the team that won the penalty shootout at the World Cup, never mind that they also beat Germany in an actual knockout tie. A piece of relevant history is that Joe Gomez, who returned to the England squad for the first time since 2020, made his second appearance for his country in the most recent match (scoreless draw) against Brazil at Wembley in November 2017. He was named Man of the Match.
Back in 2013, Le Saux recalled the famous hit conducted by Terry Venables at Wembley. England lost 1-3. His most important memory? “Kit was terrible.” Don’t mention Kit, Graham, please…
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quote of the day
“We have to fit in Saturday, Tuesday, Friday, Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, oh and somewhere in the Eastbourne game which was abandoned from Tuesday night.” – Boss of Truro City craig david Paul Wotton explains the disruption to the fixture schedule that awaits National League South teams, who have to play 13 games in 28 days as the season draws to a close.
The social media shame story about England's new football shirt being 'woke' (Football Daily yesterday) is so depressing that it makes me look forward to the annual 'Why doesn't James McClain wear a poppy' debate? He said he tried to watch “The Sopranos,'' which reminded him of that guy, but the first words he heard were “I woke up,'' so he immediately turned it off.'' – Noble Francis.
Typical of a complete left-wing woke cobbler, your “article” shows how indifferent you are about the patriotism, yes, patriotism, surrounding the cherished St. George's flag. If you need me to “explain” this, you're more vague than I thought. If paper was free, I'd use it just to wipe my butt. Have a nice day” – Laurie Turner.
If Nike really wanted to get the blood pumping, they should have put the European Union flag on the collar. By the way, Da Iawn Cymru” – Anthony Salisbury.
Am I the only one who thinks Harry Kane's statue (as seen in yesterday's Football Daily) resembles 1980s pop star ABC frontman Martin Fry? It looks like it’s made of chocolate, so it’s really appropriate” – Richard Morganstern (and none other than).
Even if we can't find a place for a statue of Kane in north London, we're sure we can find a place for it off Carrow Road. That would be very fitting given that most of his loan spell at fantastic City was spent on the bench. Add in the banjo as he stares wistfully into the distance at a cow's butt, and the picture of his time spent there is complete. ” – David Branch.
Send your letter to the.boss@theguardian.com. The winner of today's letter is…David Branch, who has acquired the last copy of Too Good to be Forgotten, published by Pitch Publishing.Visit our bookstore here.
