The contrast between the Club World Cup and Euro 2025 is stark for Johnny Nic, who couldn’t care less whether Chelsea lift the gold toilet trophy.
Denmark played Sweden on ITV last Friday. A tight game, in which the Danes were very much the underdogs, was won 1-0 by the latter because the former couldn’t create or take chances in front of goal.
Eni Aluko (in heavy-looking leather) and Caroline Weir were in the studio with Seema Jaswal but the big game was Germany v Poland. I like that they’re using foreign nationals as pundits and not only English ex-players – presumably they pick excellent English speakers as you’d not know any of them are speaking in at least a second tongue. It brings perspectives from different angles.
There was a gold-plated toilet of a CWC game between blah blah blah and someone someone someone, largely just for money, that only they cared much about, but I’d be surprised if anyone ignored real football to watch it. Fluminense won 2-1 v Al-Hilal.
There are a few different adverts featuring English players now, an illustration of a changing cultural landscape.
Nice compact 16,000 capacity ground at St. Gallen with the corners filled in. I like Emma Byrne, former Irish captain who played 459 times for Arsenal over 16 years. She is the co-comm and comes across as particularly astute.
Poland played a good first half on the break and defended resolutely. Germany were a different class on the transition but underperformed in front of goal. Star striker Giulia Gwinn was hurt and went off.
It was different in the second half. Germany’s class shone through with two excellent goals but Poland still looked good. Germany will have to up their game. Then my 9mbps broadband broke, unable to cope with streaming and downloading a big file. You’d think it was 2001. Disgraceful telecoms, they’re worse than a developing nation’s on the west coast of Scotland. And there’s nothing you can do. No-one cares.
On Saturday, Wales just about held their own v Netherlands, just conceding to a great Viv Miedema goal but being well-beaten in the second, losing 3-0.
Back in the CWC, Real Madrid were playing Dortmund. Kelly was out of the studio for this quarter final, so it must be important, mustn’t it? She’s pitchside with Andros and Callum from the MetLife Stadium in New York. There’s still no concession to the fact the tournament isn’t regarded well, especially in Europe. I suppose they can’t really open with ‘Welcome to something that doesn’t matter’. It isn’t a good selling point. So on they plough, pretending.
I think Xabi Alonso looks like a healthier, more successful Steven Gerrard. Commentator Dan O’Hagan sounds disconcertingly like Peter Drury at times. Loads of people in attendance for this one. “He’s a rapid player, he was the 11th quickest in the Bundesliga last season,” was a heavily-researched contribution from comms.
Meanwhile England lost to France. How serious it’ll be we’ll see. They just woke up too late. They started well and VAR made a poindexter’s wet dream but senseless decision to disallow their goal, then they seemed to lose their way and became sloppy. When they’re on it, they can beat anyone but they weren’t cohesive enough and lacked belief until the end when they scored and France suddenly looked fragile – but it was too late.
Hopefully, this is a shock they needed and can respond to but it looks really hard. Bad news for TV execs who were relying on them to progress for viewing figures and advertisers who had bought space for ads that feature some of the players.
I had some tedious database work that had to be done on Sunday, so I missed the games and reaction. Life does occasionally get in the way of football.
Monday’s Spain v Belgium was the best performance of the tournament so far. 2-1 to Spain at half time, both sides looked dangerous throughout. But Spain are easily the best team in the whole thing and it’ll be a surprise if they don’t win it. Their work in the final third is superb and they always looked like scoring, overpowering Belgium 6-2 in the end, scoring some great goals.
The Portugal v Italy game was also superb; a pathetic anti-football VAR check disallowing a Portuguese equaliser almost ruined it, of course. Are you happy now? Their victory makes us all worse off. I can’t believe these w*nkers still have agency in the game despite being an obvious malign force. Tw*ts. It finished 1-1. Good attacking game.
Germany v Denmark was another VAR hell but Germany came from one down to win 2-1; the idea that VAR makes the game more fair was exposed as a lie again. I don’t even want to discuss it anymore, it sickens me.
I enjoyed Sweden v Poland with Jonno Pearce, who if you want facts and details is the man, even identifying a Polish player who comes from a village of 14 houses. Like a lot of sides, Poland had quality but not enough of it upfront which Sweden absolutely did with Stina Blackstenius. Did you know she, her father and her brother are the only ones who have that name in Sweden? Ask Jonno. Sweden were relentlessly superior.
Fluminense played Chelsea in the CWC semi-final. They lowered ticket prices to $13. How irrelevant does it seem to us? I couldn’t be bothered to watch a playback of it. I think Chelsea won, but I honestly don’t care and I’d be surprised if they do, except that it’ll give Todd more money to waste on players.
England v Netherlands was a total joy. On top from start to finish, they effortlessly put the Dutch away and at times looked hard to play against, stifling nearly every Dutch move and dominating a good team. Hannah Hampton’s pass for the first was a thing of beauty and she effectively made the third too. Georgia Stanway’s second was a superb 20-yard hit.
I must say, I do enjoy Robyn Cowen’s commentary. She always sounds like she’s trying to suppress her delight at England scoring but just can’t manage it. It makes you smile.
Of course VAR was ridiculous over a Russo goal but you expect the pathetics to have to get in the way in every game. Dutch and former Manchester City player Tessel Middag was rather good, though could’ve been given more time. It all properly lifted the spirits.
Wales made a good effort and France looked vulnerable even in a 4-1 win. Meanwhile at the gold toilet trophy PSG beat Madrid 4-0 to ‘play’ Chelsea in the final for who picks up £100m to give them more money to waste on half-assed tattooed talent. The very opposite of the Euros. Thoroughly enervating.
The contrast between how both tournaments are presented to us is vast. On one hand you’ve got a channel pretending to be covering something important that isn’t, with players coming out onto the pitch one at a time rather shamefacedly and pundits in on the pretence. On the other the terrestrial channels are bringing us a real tournament that is quickly arriving at the quarters, full of drama and excitement with an array of pundits and co-comms that don’t have to pretend.
The CWC final is this weekend but will soon be forgotten except when players get injured in January because they’re knackered. And on it goes.
