Monday’s match against Tunisia was England’s best performance at a major international tournament for close to a decade. After trying and failing and trying even more desperately and then failing even more stupendously than ever before, the Three Lions finally have an opening game in which they can take great pride.
No event escalates individuals to the status of national hero or global villain as dramatically as the World Cup. The idolatry that follows success and the stigma that follows failure are woven into the fabric of history, and the repercussions will typically follow footballers for the rest of their lives. Daily, we’ll take a look at who played the role of hero and who played the role of villain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
Day five saw two heavyweights, Belgium and England, secure victories but not without some nervy moments. Twitter was on call for reactions to all of the day's action.
This definitely wasn't the most exciting game of the tournament, and there wasn't much flow to the game. The internet took note of that.
When people start tweeting about the Sweden vs South Korea game pic.twitter.com/LEB2bUp7KM
There's a reason he's wearing the captain's armband. The Harry Kane goal in stoppage time could be looked back on as the turning point for England in this World Cup. Plagued by a recent history of underperforming on the sport's biggest stage, it looked like England was destined for a disappointing draw against Tunisia.
After a second half played almost entirely in the Tunisia half, Kane broke a 1-1 deadlock in stoppage time with a back post header off a corner.
The matchups on day 5 of the 2018 World Cup may not get you excited but with the way games have gone at this World, it may be wise to not write off the "cupcakes" on the schedule. Tunisia and Panama will face off against England and Belgium to kick off Group G action. Wiil England do Enlgish things? Will Belgium explode out of the gates?
Sweden and Republic of Korea will also look to lock up some inmportant points in Group F after Germany's loss to Mexico.
While World Cup expectations can vary from country to country and player to player, every individual who puts on his national team jersey feels pressure to perform for his country.
In spite of this, there are some generational talents who will be responsible for carrying the hopes of an entire nation this summer. Here's a list of the players under the most pressure for Russia 2018.
The 2018-19 Premier League fixtures have been released, and boy oh boy has it thrown up some crackers. We’ve scientifically analysed (and by that we mean taken a quick glance at every fixture and formed a baseless prediction) every fixture and come up with the games you absolutely need to watch, along with when they're taking place.