KEIR RADNEDGE in KALININGRAD —- England, perversely in defeat, wrapped up the World Cup groups by becoming the sixth former champions to reach the knockout phase. They duly followed Argentina, Brazil, France, Spain and Uruguay, albeit amid a confusion of mindset, selection and performance.
England manager Gareth Southgate made eight changes from the team who had beaten Panama 6-1, resting his tried and tested starters for the knockout challenge ahead. He made a solid case for chopping and changing but Roy Hodgson’s England demonstrated at Euro 2016 the dangers of disrespecting not only the tournament, the opposition and your fans but your own evolution.
England qualified as runners-up from Group G after losing 1-0 to Belgium who also progress and delighted in Adnan Janizaj’s first goal in his ninth internatonal.
But it was a match England did not need to lose, a group leadership they did not need to toss away, a break in momentum for which they may pay a high price when they face Colombia in Moscow next Tuesday (Belgium play Japan in Rostov-on-Don on Monday).
The only champions to fall short of the second round were holders Germany but, for all the wailing and gnashing of teeth, at least they did reach the finals unlike Italy, the only ‘absent friends’ from among the elite.
Missing out
The majority of European and South American traditionalists play on but depressingly absent from the second round altogether will be Africa. None of the five CAF nations made it beyond the first group stage for the first time since 1982 and Tunisia’s departing ‘achievement’ of a first win at the finals since 1978 (over Panama) was hardly the stuff of legends.
In the past Africa has been betrayed at the finals by abysmal administration and financial wrangling but those excuses appeared absent this time.
Egypt will believe their World Cup return would have been different had Mohamed Salah been fully fit but the World Cup is about playing with the available resources on the day, whether Pharoaohs or favourites.
Asia has progressed only one of its five teams in the shape of Japan despite their group-concluding defeat by Poland in Volgograd.
Again, as with Africa, it is frustrating to see neither confederation making significant progress from one tournament to another. This is not a matter of high-speed competition, year on year. World Cups are four years apart. Time exists for a reason.
FIFA might ponder why significant development monies sprinkled among the national associations – assuming it reaches the right destinations – is not being used productively. This World Cup suggests the gap between the haves and the have-nots has barely altered since Brazil in 2014 or even South Africa in 2010.
While the standard of Europe’s elite club game continues to escalate the national team improvement graph is falling away. The World Cup is a great party and Russia 2018 has been a lot of fun but, when it comes to quality football, the national team game does not deliver and has not done so for a long time.
Same for CONCACAF. Mexico have started to run down like a clockwork toy, Costa Rica were a disappointment by comparison with 2014 and Panama were newcomers and looked it. How poor were the US to fail the qualifying challenge? That is worrying, thinking ahead to the need to create a head of popular for 2026 in a complex commercial market and competitive sporting region.
2018 FIFA World Cup Russia – second round:
Sat, Jun 30: France v Argentina (Kazan); Uruguay v Portugal (Sotchi).
Sun, Jul 01: Spain v Russia (Moscow); Croatia v Denmark (Nizhny Novgorod).
Mon, Jul 02: Brazil v Mexico (Samara); Belgium v Japan (Rostov-on-Don) .
Tue, Jul 03: Sweden v Switzerland (St Petersburg); Colombia v England (Moscow Spartak).
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