Will England ever win the World Cup in my lifetime?
In what exactly?Rugby Union - already been achieved in 2003If, as I suppose, you mean Football… well it is possible but England will need to do a few things:Stop the obsession and reverse racism with the ‘foreign players/clubs/managers are better than us’ and apply a ‘we can be as good as them’ attitude.F*ck the media and haters and their dislike of anything patriotic - tell those people who wear the shirt of the three Lions/Leppards that it is an honour and privilege to wear the shirt. Make it worth something.Don’t be afraid to fail, but learn from defeat.Develop the brightest and best English talents and look at all communities - poor council estates, middle class towns and rural Surrey the next World Cup winner could come from any of these places - no barriers, no discrimination.For the manager - do not be afraid to try new things but always look at where each individual player does well. Oh, and play a player where he plays for his club and not out of position UNLESS absolutely necessary and only if the player is happy to play there.Remember the Dunkirk spirit? That needs to come back - 11 warriors determined to die for their country is what we need and not 11 pampered couldn’t-give-a-stuff zillionaires.For the players - it should mean the world to have been chosen to play for your country. It is now up to you to keep the shirt and make it your own - if you don’t care and don’t want it then there is always somebody else who will want it and who will run through a brick wall for it.Once the winning mentality returns, England have a great chance.
What is the closest that mexico has got of winning the world cup?
They have reached the quarterfinals twice - in 1970 and 1986, the two years that Mexico has hosted the World Cup.
After last night’s drama, can England win the World Cup?
I There’s no reason they can’t.Not many other teams so far has stood out as being the best team in the competition.France looked good against Argentina, but Argentina have been dire and France stumbled through the group stages.Uruguay have only conceded one goal- but then they only managed 1–0 wins against Egypt and Saudi Arabia, two of the weakest teams in the Cup, and they’ve not had a performance yet that makes you think “yeah, they look like world beaters”.Russia on the other hand did look good against Saudi Arabia and Egypt- 5–0 and 3–1 respectively- but then lost 3–0 to Uruguay. They’ve done more than expected to beat Spain on penalties, and clearly getting confidence from home support, but that’s not a win that makes the likes of Brazil think “hope we don’t have to play them”.Sweden did well against Mexico and were unfortunate against Germany, but I’d put them at the same level as England right now, which is to say they’re doing well but winning would be far better than expected.England themselves have had some good moments, and look strong from set pieces, but they’ve not come up against anyone really good yet so we can’t get carried away.Croatia have looked good but I put that down to inferior opposition (as I said above, Argentina have been poor) and their match with Denmark shows that they can’t sweep all before them.That leaves Brazil and Belgium, who meet in Friday’s quarterfinal. Both teams have been in good form, and Belgium in particular impressed me against Japan, coming from 2–0 down to win 3–2, and for that reason I’m backing them to beat the five times winners to get to the semis and then the final.Aside from Brazil and Belgium though, every team looks more than capable of defeating the others, and although these two appear a cut above the rest neither look like indisputable champions.This World Cup is anyone’s game and it’s been upset after upset. England have more than just a chance of winning it- but so does everyone else.
Why is England unable to perform well in the World Cup given that the best paid footballers are mostly in English clubs?
Taking your question in terms of the average wages then yes the EPL is the highest and given there are virtually no English players plying their trade outside of England then English players get high wages.Three things impact the national team in EnglandFirst the structure in England is driven by the Premier League's requirements, rather than say Germany who put the national team first. So clubs think of themselves rather than the national team.Secondly the financial strength of the Premier League means that the League is a very cosmopolitan League which means that squads are populated with internationals from all over the world, which has made it hard for English players to gain playing time. Therefore there is less experience, particularly big match experience, available to the England team.Thirdly the fiercely competitive nature of the EPL means clubs are reluctant to blood young players, because any one single match can make the difference to European qualification, relegation, prize money etc. Again making less experience available to the England team.On the positive side the tough environment that young England are facing is starting to bear fruit, particularly at Spurs - through gritted teeth - where Dele Ali, Danny Rose, Harry Kane, Kyle Walker & Eric Dier plus others are playing regularly at the top level and gaining hard fought experience. Ally that to Southampton's willingness to bring young players through and i sense we are starting to see the green shoots of possibility for England. Maybe I am an optimist, but I do feel that. Ifonly a couple of other big teams would do likewise.
Is football becoming more popular or less popular in england these years?
There is probably a slight ( but noticable ) improvement in the National, and global, popularity of elite English football: since the dominant, former MUFC Manager, Sir Alex Ferguson retired. There can be no doubt that the superiority enjoyed by Manchester United during his reign stifled the enthusiasm of other English Clubs and their fans, many of whom had virtually given up any hopes of winning the English Premier League. However, after a disastrous year under David Moyes and ( at best ) a pedestrian, and barely acceptable, standard of improvement under Louis van Gaal: many other teams have been significantly revitalised. We now see that many Clubs, and their fans, are very optimistic about their chances of successfully challenging for trophies, or at least aiming for lucrative opportunities to compete in the UEFA Champions League. Chelsea, Manchester City, and Arsenal, can now ( quite rightly ) consider themselves to be serious contenders for the FA Cup and Premier League titles: for the foreseeable future. Furthermore, Liverpool, Spurs and Southampton (amongst others) seem to have been rejuvenated by the improved opportunities for success. I am particularly impressed by Liverpool's serious attempts to strengthen their squad, and Southampton's continuing success in developing top class talent with limited expenditure and maximum profitability. As always, I optimistically look forward to Manchester United's return to the pinnacle of English and European football: and with their unrivalled financial resources, there is every reason to do so; ..... but there are now at least SIX teams who are also jostling for glory in the elite English football competitions. I have not bothered to check the recent attendance figures/ gate receipts: for those, top teams; but I would not mind betting that they are all improving rapidly, and that can only be an encouraging indicator of the future dominance of EPL Football in the global sports entertainment market.
In the recently concluded FIFA World Cup 2018, was England really good or lucky to reach the semi-finals?
England were really good in this world cup.The way the young lads took responsibility and their passing and style had improved vastly under Southgate's coaching.They had performed beyond everyone's expectations rather it was being said that they took an easy route towards final(however they were eliminated in semis) but it's all part of game plan.English team will generally take some positives from this world cup and it will be coming home soon.There were many players who made their debuts not so long ago and they performed so well much to the expectations of people.Southgate was questioned for taking a young squad but it paid.The belief that Southgate had in them they paid it by reaching semis.They played really well.
How do Croatians feel about Croatia being in the 2018 World Cup Final?
They, we, are very emotional about it.Mix of togetherness, hope for the better tomorrow, and national pride would describe it the best.We forgot about the France, we love it!If you can inspire and bring millions of people together, like our team just did, you have won the trophy. And the silver.
Are you shocked that Croatia beat England to advance?
Shocked no. Many peope underestimated Croatia but the players play at big clubs like Juventus, Inter Milan, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Liverpool etc. so these are good players and play at a high level week in week out.Coming back to the game, it was a close game and England dominated the first half and could have atleast scored three goals and been home and dry by halftime but sometimes that is what it is. These matches are decided by fine margins and this match was decided by a single goal. It is all about who plays better on the day and apart from the first half Croatia played better overall in the game and deserved the win. It will be an interesting final against France and will be closer than people think.The England team though is one of the youngest squads in Russia and this tournament will be a learning curve for them. They did remarkably well to get to the semis and should be proud of that. These young players will only get better in 4 years and who knows maybe will be among the favourites in Qatar in 4 years time.For Croatia though hopefully this team has shown the path for future success in major tournaments and this is not a false dawn. Many of the players in this squad might not be there for too long so it is a great way to sign off if that is what it is. And it will be sweeter if they beat France on Sunday and lift the trophy.