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As someone who has an actual ticket for England v Uruguay at Wembley tonight, I’m looking forward to seeing how Marcelo Bielsa has them playing.
If only Jonathan Wilson had written about it …
A comment from JulesVerne75 on the Czech Republic v Ireland match report:
“As a Czech fan of course I am very pleased about going through after being 0-2 down and Ireland being awarded the softest ever penalty. But to be brutally honest, tonight was a game between two teams that no neutrals would miss at the World Cup. Currently both Ireland and our team are pretty poor … So happy for our boys – the current crop are not blessed with much talent but they did their best, and after facing some very brutal criticism from Czech fans during this qualifying cycle, I am just pleased that they got to experience the joy of a hard fought victory. But Denmark will be a step too far.”
And a reply from FCNordsjaelland:
“Dane here, I am not as confident about a Denmark win on Tuesday as you are. Denmark are the “better” team if both teams play their best, but the Danish side have been inconsistent in qualifying.
“They’ve not been great at home in particular, so the game being in Prague actually makes me a little less nervous.”
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Jack Snape
They are a World Cup fairytale, a footballing nation barely a decade old with fewer people than South Australia. A Balkan West Virginia, but with a fraction of the area, and a checkered past.
Minnows Kosovo are just one game away from their first appearance at a World Cup, and a place beckons in group D alongside Australia, Paraguay and co-hosts the United States.
All that stands in their way is a single, all-or-nothing playoff against Turkey at home in Pristina on Tuesday. It is a marvellous climax to a qualification campaign that has become a rallying cry for national optimism and pride.
The Brazil manager, Carlo Ancelotti, played down fans’ chants for Neymar, who was not selected for the squad, after their 2-1 defeat by France in a warm-up game in Boston on Thursday.
Neymar was left out after the 34-year-old missed a recent Santos match with muscle fatigue – a fixture Ancelotti had planned to watch as part of his assessment before naming the squad.
“Right now we have to talk about those who are here, who played, who gave everything, who showed character, who worked very hard. I am satisfied,” Ancelotti said.
“I think Raphinha played very well. He had some muscle discomfort at the end of the first half and we had to substitute him, but he had many opportunities and very good movement off the ball.
Raphinha of Brazil lines up a shot against France. Photograph: Richard Callis/Sports Press Phot/Shutterstock
“And Vini (Vinícius Júnior) always tries; he always makes the difference. A striker cannot always score but the work done by both of them was good.”
Neymar, Brazil’s leading scorer with 79 goals, has not played for the national team since suffering a serious knee injury in October 2023 and has struggled to maintain a consistent run of matches since returning to Santos last year.
Ancelotti has repeatedly said the forward will be considered if he is fully fit. Despite the defeat and Neymar’s absence, the Italian said the performance reinforced his belief in the squad’s potential.
“I think today’s game makes it very clear to me that we can compete with the best teams in the world. I have no doubt about that,” Ancelotti said.
Brazil will next face Croatia on March 31 in Orlando ahead of the June 11 to July 19 World Cup in North America.
Updated at 06.18 EDT
Jacob Steinberg
Thomas Tuchel has acknowledged that Ben White needs to clear the air with his teammates after returning to the England squad, but the head coach is confident the defender will not be booed by the Wembley crowd during tonight’s friendly against Uruguay.
White has not been part of the setup since exiting the 2022 World Cup in Qatar early for personal reasons and the decision to end his international exile has not gone down well with some people. The Arsenal player has never explained the reasons for his departure and subsequently making himself unavailable for selection for the rest of Gareth Southgate’s time in charge.
England’s Ben White with a blatant handball. Photograph: Andrew Couldridge/Action Images/ReutersShare
Updated at 06.01 EDT
“Surprisingly it doesn’t hurt as much as thought it would,” writes Ross, a Republic of Ireland supporter, of the penalty shootout defeat in Prague.
“Ireland just didn’t deserve to go through, they were passive the whole second half, and let the extremely ordinary Czechs come on to them.”
Ireland supporters reflect on their defeat. Photograph: Ben Brady/INPHO/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 05.51 EDT
Nick Ames
Graham Potter may be in it for the long haul but the immediate outlook looks pretty bright too. This was his third game in charge of Sweden and the biggest compliment to pay is that they looked like themselves. A strong, diligent defensive performance nullified a lightweight Ukraine and it helped that, at the other end, they could call upon a centre-forward head and shoulders above anyone else on view.
Sammie Szmodics, of the Republic of Ireland, was knocked out after coming on as a substitute against the Czech Republic in Prague. He has posted on a well-known social media microblogging website to say he is fine and also thanked medical staff.
“Gutted the way it ended,” wrote Szmodics. “Fans and boys immense all evening !! Appreciate everyone’s messages. And thank you to the medical staff who acted so quickly to help me. On the mend. We go again.”
We certainly do, Sammie, we certainly do.
Ireland’s head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson checks on Sammie Szmodics. Photograph: Ben Brady/INPHO/ShutterstockShare
Updated at 05.42 EDT
Which countries have qualified for the World Cup – and how did they do it?
Andy Martin takes a look:
Australia and Cameroon have just kicked off in a friendly encounter in Sydney.
Martin Pegan has the latest here:
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Ewan Murray
Game seven of Gennaro Gattuso’s Italy tenure eventually delivered comfort. In number eight, he will look to end the painful wait of a nation by returning his country to the World Cup for the first time since 2014. Northern Ireland’s future, a bright one with this young squad, means looking towards Euro 2028. This was a campaign too soon.
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Andy Hunter
A familiar tale of World Cup playoff agony awaited the Republic of Ireland in Prague, but this was no hard luck story. Heimir Hallgrímsson’s team twice had the Czech Republic where they wanted them, in normal time and in a penalty shootout, and twice they let them off the hook. Dreams of a first World Cup in 24 years evaporated as a consequence.
Updated at 05.13 EDT
Ben Fisher
Two years to the day since penalty shootout heartbreak against Poland, more agony from 12 yards for Wales, this time to deny them a shot at reaching this summer’s World Cup. Bosnia and Herzegovina prevailed 4-2 on spot-kicks after a typically absorbing night in the Welsh capital, one that went the distance, more than 133 minutes passed before Brennan Johnson spooned over and Neco Williams saw his penalty saved by Nikola Vasilj.
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The morning after. Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland all fell in the World Cup playoffs last night, so there will be plenty of analysis and reaction to get through.
England host Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay in a friendly at Wembley this evening, and there are plenty of other interesting friendlies, including the Netherlands v Norway and Spain v Serbia.
The Women’s Super League is also back after the midweek action in the Champions League, with three matches each on Saturday and Sunday.
Fixtures are here, results are here, and my email is here if you’re a Wales, Northern Ireland or Republic of Ireland fan and you feel the need to vent.
Updated at 05.01 EDT