World Cup: Final Group Round

Last Monday saw the start of the final group games. With all four teams in a group playing at the same time it gave the chance for drama. Although this World Cup has managed to generate quite a bit of that in the first two match day.

Did we expect Russia to do what they did in the first two games? How about Germany and Argentina stinking up their groups. Some of the worlds best sides were facing elimination, while other smaller nations were beginning to dream.

Belgium Top Group As England Settle For Second

Before I begin I just want to say that I am not one of these people who will get on the back of Gareth Southgate because he made wholesale changes. In the end his job is to give the side the best opportunity in this tournament to progress, and I think he did that.

Resting the likes of Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and others was always going to be a gamble. Yes we may lose the game, but the journey is still very much on. What I would have criticized the English manager for, however, would have been to then bring on Harry Kane and others to try to salvage the points. If your goal was to rest key players, and therefore reduce their risk of injury, then I am not sure why you would then bring them on in the final twenty minutes to chase a game.

Raheem Sterling: The Unfair Razzing Of Raz

It was the second game for England, and a 6-1 defeat of Panama. The England press and fans back home were excited by the victory, and rightly so. The only negative story I saw from the aftermath and analysis of the game again targeted Raheem Sterling.

World Cup: Week Two

With week two of the 2018 World Cup now in the books, the tables are now starting to look a bit more as expected. With a game to go, every side you'd expect to qualify easily can still make it, although some have made a difficult job of it.

England On Fire In The Heat Of Nizhny Novgorod

Okay, so it wasn't ever going to be anything else than an England win, right? Panama, the Central American country with a population of 4 million, at their first World Cup against the founders of the game? If this World Cup has taught us anything so far, and England's own recent history, it's to expect the unexpected.

Russia 2018: Week One In The Books

What an eventful and bizarre first week we have had to the World Cup. Sides we thought should cruise to easy victories found it tough going and sides we thought would struggle set themselves up for a good World Cup.

Week two began just as week one was finishing off. With that result it looks as if week two will be just as good as the first.

Southgates First World Cup Game: Kane Brace

It was a hot debate as to how Gareth Southgates side would stand up to the test of being in a World Cup. Very few of the selected 23 man squad had huge numbers of International caps at senior level. In fact, most were still quite young.

The debate, prior to the World Cup was, do they have enough about them to give a good performance? Certainly in recent International tournaments have not gone along the 'experience to success' ratio many pundits have been blinded by.

In fact, in 2014 two defeats and a draw against Costa Rica saw the Three Lions come home with tails between their legs. This, despite boasting names such as Wayne Rooney, Steven Gerrard et al.

Russia 2018: Groups E - H

The World Cup is only a matter of days away now. Will Russia 2018 just see the same sides progress through to the latter stages? Who will struggle and be disappointing? And who will exceed expectations? Over the next couple of days I will look at the groups to see who will progress, and who will go home.

After that I will move to the knockout stages before giving you my winner, of it all, before the World Cup kicks off. Yesterday we looked at Groups, A- D, today it's the turn of E-H.

Russia 2018: Groups A - D

The World Cup is only a matter of days away now. Will Russia 2018 just see the same sides progress through to the latter stages? Who will struggle and be disappointing? And who will exceed expectations? Over the next couple of days I will look at the groups to see who will progress, and who will go home.

After that I will move to the knockout stages before giving you my winner, of it all, before the World Cup kicks off. Lets start with the first set of Groups, A- D.