Heroes of 2018 England's World Cup Story Vol. 1 PDF

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HEROES 2018 of
ENGLAND S ’
WORLD CUP STORY
Celebrating the young lions who made history and united a nation
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FIRST
S of 2018
HEROE
ENGLAND S ’
WORLD CUP STORY
As tournaments go, the 2018 FIFA World Cup turned out to be a classic. For
a nation that had sufered relentless disappointment and heartache, there
seemed to be very little to get excited about as Gareth Southgate’s young
team headed to Russia. But slowly, steadily, that all changed. It turned out
to be the summer we fell back in love with the national team. Records
were broken, ghosts laid to rest, and a spirit shown that we hadn’t seen for
decades. This was a tournament to remember, one to look back on with joy
and renewed hope. And a young team that made us believe that maybe –
just maybe – football will one day come back home.
HEROES of 2018
ENGLAND S ’
WORLD CUP STORY Future PLC Richmond House, 33 Richmond Hill,
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Heroes of 2018: England’s World Cup Story

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CONTENTS
QUALIFIERS THE FINALS
10 SLOVAKIA V ENGLAND 34 THE DRAW
12 ENGLAND V MALTA 36 THE PREPARATIONS
14 SLOVENIA V ENGLAND 38 THE SQUAD
16 ENGLAND V SCOTLAND 62 TUNISIA V ENGLAND
18 ENGLAND V LITHUANIA 70 ENGLAND V PANAMA
20 SCOTLAND V ENGLAND 78 ENGLAND V BELGIUM
22 MALTA V ENGLAND 86 FINAL TABLES

24 ENGLAND V SLOVAKIA 88 PATH TO THE FINAL
26 ENGLAND V SLOVENIA
90 COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
28 LITHUANIA V ENGLAND
102 PATH TO THE FINAL
30 FINAL QUALIFYING
STANDINGS 104 SWEDEN V ENGLAND
116 CROATIA V ENGLAND
128 THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF
138 A TOURNAMENT TO
REMEMBER
6
7
ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP
Living the dream; Allardyce had made no

secret of his desire to manage England, and
he finally got to realise that dream in 2016
8
ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP
ROAD TO THE
WORLD CUP
A WELCOME DRAW AWAITED NEW
MANAGER SAM ALLARDYCE
ngland headed into 2018 FIFA World Cup qualiication on the
E back of a humiliating elimination at the hands of Iceland at

Euro 2016. Having been in charge since 2012, Roy Hodgson
decided it was time to step down following the defeat and was
replaced by Sunderland manager Sam Allardyce. And Big Sam
couldn’t have asked for a more favourable route to the World Cup
inals. Group F saw England pitted against Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta
Lithuania and traditional rivals Scotland. While they would kick of
their campaign with a tricky away tie against Slovakia, most fans
and pundits saw this as a group England should have little diiculty
in overcoming despite their setback against Iceland.
In the run-up to the campaign, the poor form and advancing
years of England’s all-time leading scorer Wayne Rooney led to
questions over his England future. Days before the game in Slovakia
he announced that he would retire from international football at the
end of the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia, should England make it.
Could Allardyce and Roone

y lead England
to the World Cup finals in
Russia?
9
QUALIFIERS
SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2016

ŠTADIÓN ANTONA MALATINSKÉHO, TRNAVA, SLOVAKIA
SLOVAKIA 0 - 1 ENGLAND
HT 0-0 FT 0-1 Lallana (90+5’)
am Allardyce’s brief reign as England manager got of to in an attempt to control possession. With former Liverpool defender
S a winning start, but it wasn’t plain sailing in England’s irst

qualiier. The big news before the game included a recall to the
squad for Theo Walcott, along with Allardyce’s insistence on playing
Martin Skrtel dismissed after the break for a second yellow card,
England failed to make the numerical advantage count for much of
the second half. It took a low drive from Lallana in the dying embers
captain Wayne Rooney as a striker. Lallana went close, hitting the of the game to clinch the result for the Three Lions, who celebrated
post and forcing a save from Kozácik, but this was an England side another successful opening to a qualifying campaign. The match was
devoid of conidence and vigour. Kane looked a forlorn igure up top, the ninth successive time that an England manager had won their
and Rooney drifted in closer to Dier and Henderson in the middle irst match in charge, but for Allardyce, it was also his last.
1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Stones 3 Rose 8 Henderson (Alli 64')

ENGLAND 4 Dier 10 Rooney 7 Sterling (Walcott 71') 9 Kane (Sturridge 82') 11 Lallana
1 Kozácik 2 Pekarík 3 Skrtel 4 Durica 15 Hubocan 22 Pecovsky (Gyömbér 56')

SLOVAKIA
20 Mak (Kubik 72') 6 Gregus 17 Hamsik 18 Svento (Kiss 78') 21 Duris
10
SLOVAKIA V ENGLAND
Liverpool’s Adam Lallana finds the

back of the net for the late winner,
capping off a solid performance
and his first international goal
Before the encounter, Sam Allardyce Theo Walcott protests, as the referee
sings along to the national anthem for disallows the winger’s goal
the first time as England manager for the Three Lions
11
QUALIFIERS
Sturridge scored his first goal

at Wembley for England since
May 2014 against Peru
England’s interim manager Gareth
Southgate watches his team
control proceedings without ever
really stepping into top gear
12
ENGLAND V MALTA
Spurs midfielder Dele Alli gets
a boot to the ball to score
England’s second goal of the evening
SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER 2016

WEMBLEY STADIUM, LONDON
ENGLAND 2 - 0 MALTA
Sturridge (29') Alli (38') HT 2-0 FT 2-0
he build-up to England's second qualiier was turbulent. After cross to repay the interim manager's faith. It wasn't long before
T one match in charge, Sam Allardyce left the England manager's

job. Under-21s manager Gareth Southgate was thrust into the
hot seat on a temporary basis, and promised bravery. The big news
Tottenham's Dele Alli doubled the tally, who toe-poked the ball into
the top corner after the Malta keeper saved his irst attempt.
England dictated play for much of the second half, with Rooney
was that Southgate led with Daniel Sturridge in attack and retained and Henderson spreading play from deep in the midield, and
Rooney in a midield role, just as he'd played under Allardyce. controlling the match for the hosts. The Three Lions racked up over
England looked positive and made their breakthrough just before 800 passes in what was a comfortable encounter, and it dropped
the half-hour mark, as Sturridge nodded on Jordan Henderson's clues for how Southgate planned to set up England in the long term.
1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Stones 3 Bertrand (Rose 19') 8 Alli 4 Henderson 10 Rooney 7 Walcott
ENGLAND (Rashford 68') 9 Sturridge (Vardy 73') 11 Lingard
1 Hogg 6 Borg 17 Camilleri 5 Agius 20 Muscat 22 Muscat 18 Kristensen 4 Sciberras 13 Schembri

MALTA (Muscatat 86') 8 Fenech 19 Eiong (Mifsud 76')
13
QUALIFIERS
TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

STOŽICE STADIUM, LJUBLJANA
SLOVENIA 0 - 0 ENGLAND
HT 0-0 FT 0-0
espite being the talk of the team for much of the qualifying the better of the play, with Jasmin Kurtić coming closest after hitting
D campaign, it was goalkeeper Joe Hart that earned England a

point away to Slovenia, to continue their unbeaten run.
Hart perhaps had a point to prove after being banished on loan
the post. Both sides were very wasteful, but it was important to
remember that England were between managers, and seemingly
between philosophies.
to Serie A side Torino by Manchester City’s new boss Pep Guardiola This was a side in transition, with older heads of the group Rooney
upon arrival. and Hart playing alongside the younger talents of Stones and
Hart kept England in the Slovenia match with a slew of saves Rashford, the latter of whom came of the bench to impress. While
though, bailing out Eric Dier and Jordan Henderson after the pair England looked lackluster for much of the game, there were positives
both gave the ball away to Josip Ilicic. Jesse Lingard forced a good to be drawn from individual performances, and this display provided
save from Jan Oblak in the hosts’ goal, but it was Slovenia who had a basis for improvements to come.
1 Oblak 23 Struna 4 Samardzic 5 Cesar (Mevlja 68') 13 Jokic 6 Krhin (Omladic 84') 21 Verbic 10 Birsa
SLOVENIA (Kronaveter 59' ) 8 Kurtic 14 Bezjak 7 Ilicic
1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Stones 3 Rose 4 Henderson 8 Dier 7 Walcott (Townsend 62') 10 Alli (Rooney
ENGLAND 73’) 11 Lingard 9 Sturridge (Rashford 81')
14
SLOVENIA V ENGLAND
Tottenham left-back Danny Rose had

been superb in the Premier League
all season, but failed to impose
himself in Ljubljana for England
Despite questions over whether he
was the man to continue as England’s
number one, Joe Hart put in a solid
performance between the sticks
15
QUALIFIERS
Daniel Sturridge’s goal was his fourth

in his last six starts at Wembley, and
his second consecutive header for
England at the national stadium
Scotland’s James Forrest was among

those who missed an opportunity
on goal, as the visitors struggled to
capitalise on a spell of chances
16
ENGLAND V SCOTLAND
Chelsea’s Gary Cahill caps off a solid
win for the England team with a
third header in the second half
FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

ENGLAND 3 - 0 SCOTLAND
Sturridge (23’) Lallana (50’) Cahill (61’) HT 1-0 FT 3-0
t’s the oldest rivalry in international football, and it’s not lost any defence under considerable pressure, with a number of chances
I of its intensity in over 125 years. For Gareth Southgate, this was
a fantastic opportunity to show that he was the right man to
take England forward in the long-term, and a convincing win would
that lacked end product. The victory was sealed a little over ten
minutes later. Chelsea centre back Gary Cahill rose highest to Wayne
Rooney’s corner, and nodded a third header in. Though England were
certainly help that cause. comfortable, with Spurs full backs Walker and Rose both impressing,
England led after just 23 minutes, as Liverpool striker Daniel Scotland looked lackluster and out of their depth, conceding from all
Sturridge met Kyle Walker’s cross to spin a header past Craig Gordon three shots on target. It wasn’t the emphatic performance that some
in the Scotland goal. Sturridge’s club mate Adam Lallana doubled the would have liked, but the result was clinical enough to give Gareth
lead in the second half, but not before Scotland had put the England Southgate reason to be positive.
1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Stones 3 Rose 8 Henderson

ENGLAND 4 Dier 7 Sterling 10 Rooney 11 Lallana 9 Sturridge (Vardy 75')
1 Gordon 2 Anya (Paterson 79') 5 Hanley 4 Berra 3 Wallace 11 Morrison (McArthur 66')
SCOTLAND 8 Brown 7 Fletcher 10 Snodgrass (Ritchie 82') 9 Griiths 6 Forrest
17
QUALIFIERS
It was Jermain Defoe’s first international goal for

four years that broke the deadlock at Wembley
SUNDAY 26 MARCH 2017

ENGLAND 2 - 0 LITHUANIA
Defoe (21’) Vardy (66’) HT 1-0 FT 2-0
efore kick of Wembley was silent, in a minute’s respect to the his twentieth in an England shirt, came four years to the week after
B victims of the previous week's terror attack on London, but

hearts were warmed watching ive-year-old mascot Bradley
Lowery lead out the England team.
Defoe's last goal for the Three Lions and silenced many doubters.
Once ahead, England were in control of the game, save a moment
where Joe Hart's heart was in his mouth, when a defensive mix
With Gareth Southgate at the helm for his irst game at Wembley up nearly led to Lithuania levelling the score. The second half was
since his permanent appointment as England manager, the Three mostly one-way traic, with Jamie Vardy coming on to the pitch and
Lions put in a dominant performance against Lithuania. The game scoring within six minutes. His shot was slotted into the bottom-right
started of fairly slowly and it took a Jermain Defoe shot from a corner from an Adam Lallana through ball. Southgate's men saw out
Raheem Sterling ball across goal to give England the lead. The goal, the victory comfortably to stay top of Group F.
1 Hart 2 Walker 6 Stones 5 Keane 3 Bertrand 8 Oxlade-Chamberlain

ENGLAND 4 Dier 11 Lallana 10 Alli 7 Sterling (Rashford 60' ) 9 Defoe (Vardy 60')
16 Setkus 8 Vaitkunas 4 Kijanskas 2 Klimavicius 3 Slavickas 10 Zulpa 17 Kuklys 22 Cernych

LITHUANIA 14 Slivka (Paulius 87') 11 Novikovas (Grigaravicius 54') 19 Valskis (Matulevicius 73')
18
ENGLAND V LITHUANIA
Manchester City attacker Raheem

Sterling provided mazy runs
throughout, and linked up nicely
with Jermain Defoe in attack
His first match as the permanent manager of

the England national team, Gareth Southgate was
vocal from the touchline to guide his side
19
QUALIFIERS
Striker Harry Kane makes a captain’s

contribution by scoring England’s equaliser
in injury time, saving his side’s blushes
20
SCOTLAND V ENGLAND
Celtic frontman Leigh Griffiths buries
a second free-kick to give Scotland a
2-1 lead, as the home side come from
behind to shock Southgate’s men
SATURDAY 10 JUNE 2017

HAMPDEN PARK, GLASGOW
SCOTLAND 2 - 2 ENGLAND
Griffiths (87’, 90’) HT 0-0 FT 2-2 Oxlade-Chamberlain (70’) Kane (90+3’)
fter late drama in Glasgow, England’s unbeaten run in World minutes, but a quick turnaround towards the end of the game
A Cup qualifying looked set to end, but for a late Kane equaliser
away to Scotland. Set pieces had proved to be a weakness for
England stopper Joe Hart, who infamously conceded weak free-kicks
seemed to have wrapped three points up for Scotland. It was to be
Harry Kane, captaining the England side, who rescued the visitors,
turning the ball into the net three minutes into stoppage time.
from Wales’s Gareth Bale and Iceland’s Kolbeinn Sigþóorsson at Euro It wasn’t the performance that England were hoping for, but Kane
2016. Hart was again questioned as Leigh Griiths dispatched two later claimed that his winner meant this was “a point gained” rather
free-kicks in three minutes, to put Scotland 2-1 up against England. than two lost. It showed a resilience to this young group of players
The game had an air of familiarity about it, as second-half if nothing else, and was only one of two games in which England
substitute Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain tapped in a chance on 70 dropped points on the road to Russia.
1 Gordon 4 Berra 5 Mulgrew 2 Tierney 11 Anya (Martin 81') 6 Morrison (McArthur 45') 8 Brown
SCOTLAND 3 Robertson 10 Snodgrass (Fraser 67') 7 Armstrong 9 Griiths
1 Hart 2 Walker 6 Smalling 5 Cahill 3 Bertrand 8 Livermore (Defoe 90+2') 4 Dier

ENGLAND 7 Rashford (Oxlade-Chamberlain 65') 10 Alli (Sterling 84') 11 Lallana 9 Kane
21
QUALIFIERS
After a goalless August, Harry
Kane started September with a
brace, and scored his tenth England
goal in just 20 appearances
FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2017

NATIONAL STADIUM, TA' QALI
MALTA 0 - 4 ENGLAND
HT 0-0 FT 0-4 Bertrand (85’) Kane (53’, 90+2’)
Welbeck (90+1’)
ith the transfer window recently closed and the start of a in danger of losing this one, and emphasised their superiority in the
W new season just beginning, the 2018 FIFA World Cup was
now irmly in sight for the England team. A win against
Malta would place the Three Lions two points ahead of Slovakia,
closing stages of the game. Southampton left-back Ryan Bertrand’s
long range efort found a way into the back of the net four minutes
from time, before Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck scored his irst England
with the top two meeting on the Monday at Wembley. goal for two years in the irst minute of injury time. Kane added
Malta dug in during the irst half though, with their deep block a fourth goal a minute later to cap of an assured performance.
frustrating the likes of Kane and Sterling, who couldn’t break through. The striker had passed the captaincy over to Liverpool’s Jordan
England’s full backs pushed high to pressurise the home side, but Henderson for this match, following Wayne Rooney’s oicial
it wasn’t until after the break that Harry Kane inished of a nice retirement just weeks earlier, but led from the front throughout,
move from fellow Spurs player Dele Alli. England were never really earning himself the man of the match.
1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Jones 3 Bertrand 8 Livermore 4 Henderson 11 Oxlade-Chamberlain

ENGLAND (Welbeck 76') 10 Alli (Vardy 70') 7 Sterling (Rashford 45') 9 Kane
1 Hogg 4 Borg 3 Magri 5 Agius 13 Muscat 19 Zerafa (Camilleri 75’) 6 Fenech (Fenech 83’) 18 Kristensen 21
MALTA Pisani 14 Farrugia 10 Schembri (Mifsud 86')
22
MALTA V ENGLAND
Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck

celebrates scoring his first international
goal since March 2015 (v Lithuania)
23
QUALIFIERS
Tottenham midfielder Eric Dier gets

a touch on Rashford’s corner to
equalise for the Three Lions eight
minutes before the half time whistle
Rashford’s winner sees

the young Mancunian
seal all three points for England
24
ENGLAND V SLOVAKIA
Stanislav Lobotka capitalises

on Marcus Rashford’s
poor pass to give the
visitors a lead within three minutes
MONDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2017

ENGLAND 2 - 1 SLOVAKIA
Dier (37’) Rashford (59’) HT 1-1 FT 2-1 Lobotka (3’)
top of the table clash between irst-placed England and It was Rashford who became the hero of the night, when he
A second-placed Slovakia didn’t go exactly according to plan

for Gareth Southgate’s men, but once again the Three Lions
showed resilience to come from behind to snatch all three points.
scored the winner just before the hour mark. Despite being at fault
for the irst goal, the Manchester United youngster recovered to
terrorise the Slovakian defence and assist the irst before his winner;
Slovakia were dangerous early on; Stanislav Lobotka grabbed he was greeted with a standing ovation from the Wembley faithful
the opener in the irst ive minutes, and Napoli’s Marek Hamsik when he left the pitch, and more than repaid Gareth Southgate’s faith
continued his excellent club form into this match to control the to start him after a bright performance in Malta.
game early on for the hosts. England fans had to wait over half an It gave Southgate conidence that even his less experienced
hour for a reply, when Eric Dier turned in a near-post corner from players stepped up to the plate for England, and put the team ive
Marcus Rashford. points ahead in the group with just another two games to go.
1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Jones 3 Bertrand 8 Dier 4 Henderson

ENGLAND 7 Rashford (Welbeck 84') 10 Alli (Livermore 90+3') 11 Oxlade-Chamberlain (Sterling 83') 9 Kane
23 Dubravka 2 Pekarík 3 Skrtel 4 Durica 15 Hubocan 14 Skriniar

SLOVAKIA 22 Lobotka 7 Weiss (Rusnák 68') 17 Hamsik (Duda 79') 20 Mak 11 Nemec (Durit 69')
25
QUALIFIERS
On the touchline, the England

players show their relief celebrating
Harry Kane’s last-gasp winner in
stoppage time
THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2017

ENGLAND 1 - 0 SLOVENIA
Kane (90+4') HT 0-0 FT 1-0
he target was achieved, but the fans in Wembley still weren’t replaced in the second half by Jesse Lingard. Marcus Rashford and
T particularly impressed, as at home to a weak Slovenian side,

England qualiied for the 2018 FIFA World Cup with a largely
lifeless performance on the pitch.
Raheem Sterling both had opportunities to open the scoring earlier,
and as the game dragged on, it looked like England were going to
have to settle for a point.
It took until injury time for Spurs striker Harry Kane, becoming Despite the subdued mood after having qualiied, there were huge
ever-reliable up top, to scramble Kyle Walker’s cross into the net. positives to take from the match. Kane’s moment of real quality
Slovenia sat back for swathes of the game looking for a point, and re-emphasised the importance of England having a world-class
were defensively resolute up until the last-minute winner from Kane. striker up front, and winning the group meant that Gareth Southgate
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked particularly colourless, carrying could now start concentrating on the build-up to Russia, and how he
his poor form for new club Liverpool into the game, and being could experiment with the team and potential new formations.
1 Hart 2 Walker 6 Stones 5 Cahill 3 Bertrand 8 Henderson 4 Dier

ENGLAND 11 Oxlade-Chamberlain (Lingard 64') 7 Sterling (Keane 85') 10 Rashford 9 Kane
1 Oblak 23 Struna 17 Mevlja 5 Cesar 13 Jokic 14 Bezjak (Repas 72')

SLOVENIA 6 Krhin 18 Rotman (Matavzat 79') 21 Verbic 7 Ilicic 11 Sporar (Birsa 55' )
26
ENGLAND V SLOVENIA
Captain Kane is overjoyed to have

broken the deadlock with a late winner
that secures automatic qualification
to the World Cup 2018 in Russia
27
QUALIFIERS
Leicester City centre back Harry Maguire

impresses on his international debut
England manager Gareth
Southgate steps out
onto the pitch on a rainy
night in Vilnius
Stoke goalkeeper Jack Butland keeps

a clean sheet on his first start of the
qualifying campaign
28
LITHUANIA V ENGLAND
Kane coolly dispatched the penalty
that was won by his Tottenham colleague
Dele Alli, giving England their winner
within the first half hour of the match
SUNDAY 8 OCTOBER 2017

LFF STADIUM, VILNIUS
LITHUANIA 0 - 1 ENGLAND
HT 0-1 FT 0-1 Kane (27’ pen)
s England closed their World Cup qualifying campaign, fans England. Harry Winks was impressive on his debut, almost scoring
A hoped that they would set a marker and show that they were
a force to be reckoned with in Russia.
Southgate tinkered with the squad, giving debuts to both Harry
in the second half and putting in a Man of the Match performance.
If Lithuania had had a more clinical inisher it may have been a
diferent story, as they had several chances to score. Stoke keeper
Winks and Harry Maguire, but unfortunately this game would fail Jack Butland was called upon in the second half to spare Michael
to inspire the performance that fans were hoping for. The game Keane’s blushes after his miscued clearance.
as a whole was mostly lat and needed Harry Kane to convert a While the result meant that the Three Lions inished their
penalty from a foul on Dele Alli to break the deadlock, ensuring that qualifying campaign with eight wins and two draws, in reality this
Kane had scored in each of the four games that he had captained performance was one that many England fans would quickly forget.
16 Setkus 20 Borovskis 2 Klimavicius 15 Girdvainis 23 Andriuskevicius 7 Zulpa 11 Novikovas

LITHUANIA 18 Verbickas 22 Cernych 14 Slivka (Chvedukas 90+1’) 10 Sernas (Matulevicius 76’)
1 Butland 4 Keane 6 Stones 5 Maguire 2 Trippier 8 Henderson 7 Winks 3 Cresswell

ENGLAND 11 Rashford (Sturridge 72’) 10 Alli (Lingard 81’) 9 Kane
29
FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS
FINAL QUALIFYING
STANDINGS
ENGLAND SECURE A SAFE PASSAGE TO RUSSIA,
BUT AROUND THE WORLD, OTHER BIG NAMES
FAIL TO BOOK THEIR PLACE IN THE FINALS
n unbeaten qualifying campaign saw England safely through
A to the 2018 FIFA World Cup inals, as the memories of defeat

to Iceland in the 2016 European Championships started
to fade, to be replaced by cautious optimism for the tournament
ahead. Elsewhere in Europe, the other Home Nations narrowly
missed out, with Northern Ireland coming closest after a 1-0
aggregate defeat to Switzerland in their qualifying play-of, after a
controversial penalty decision in the irst game dashed their hopes
of a irst inals appearance since 1986. There was also heartbreak at
the play-of stage for Republic of Ireland, who held Denmark to a
goalless draw in Copenhagen, only to be thrashed 5-1 in the return
leg in Dublin. The biggest shock saw Italy lose their play-of 1-0 on
aggregate to Sweden, as the four-time World Cup winners failed to
reach the inals for the irst time in 60 years. Elsewhere in Europe,
the Netherlands’ dismal run of form continued as they missed out
on a second major tournament in a row.
As the inal teams secured their places in the tournament, results
around the world meant there would be a number of other notable
absences. After back-to-back Copa América titles, Chile couldn’t
replicate those performances in qualifying, and wouldn’t be on the
plane to Russia. USA sufered the same fate, failing to qualify for the
irst time since 1986. There was also disappointment for both Ivory
Coast and Ghana, as they failed to qualify for a World Cup inals It was a night to forget for Martin O’Neill’s
for the irst time since 2002. However, there was jubilation for both Republic of Ireland as they lost 5-1 at home to
Denmark in the second leg of their World Cup
Iceland and Panama who qualiied for their irst World Cup inals. qualifying play-off, ending their dreams of a
The 32 teams were now conirmed, and all eyes would be on the first World Cup finals appearance since 2002
draw in Russia on 1 December 2017.
P W D L GF GA GD Pts
England 10 8 2 0 18 3 15 26
Slovakia 10 6 0 4 17 7 10 18
Scotland 10 5 3 2 17 12 5 18
Slovenia 10 4 3 3 12 7 5 15
Lithuania 10 1 3 6 7 20 -13 6
After a 1-0 defeat to Sweden in the first leg of their World Cup qualifying play-off,
Malta 10 0 1 9 3 25 -22 1 Italy could only draw 0-0 in the second leg at the San Siro, meaning the 2006
World Champions wouldn’t be at a World Cup finals for the first time since 1958
30
FINAL QUALIFYING STANDINGS
Román Torres strikes an 88th Iceland forward Jóhann

minute winner to secure a 2-1 Berg Guðmundsson
win over Costa Rica, sending celebrates scoring in their
Panama to their first-ever 2-0 win over Kosovo,
World Cup, sparking to secure top-spot in
incredible scenes their qualifying group –
in the stadium ahead of Croatia –
and their place at the
2018 FIFA World
Cup finals
Joy for Morocco as they celebrate a 2-0 victory over Ivory Coast, which
saw them qualify for the tournament in Russia. However it was heartbreak
for Ivory Coast, who missed out for the first time since 2002
31
RUSSIA 2018
32
RUSSIA 2018
RUSSIA 2018:
Rumours and accusations around vote-
rigging didn’t change the decision – the
World Cup was heading to Russia
A WORLD CUP
OF FIRSTS
THE WORLD CUP MAKES ITS
DEBUT IN EASTERN EUROPE
n 2 December 2010, Sepp Blatter announced Russia as
O the host nation of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Overcoming

a rival bid from England, as well as joint bids from Spain
and Portugal and Belgium and the Netherlands, it was the irst
time Russia had been chosen to host a World Cup – a decision
that was overshadowed by claims of corruption and bribery in the
immediate aftermath of the result.
Twelve venues were chosen across 11 Russian cities, with the
World Cup inal set to take place in Moscow’s 78,011-capacity
Luzhniki Stadium on 15 July 2018.
In a controversial move, it was also announced in the run-up to
the tournament that VAR (video assistant referees) would be used
for the irst time at a FIFA World Cup during the tournament. While
it had been trialled throughout 2016 and 2017, it was not without its
faults and had never been used in such a high-proile tournament
and with quite so much at stake.
Russian President Vladim

ir Putin was said
to have been instrumenta
l in Russia’s
successful bid to host the
World Cup
33
THE DRAW
THE DRAW
THE TOURNAMENT STARTS
TO TAKE SHAPE
ith qualiication over and excitement
W surrounding the 2018 FIFA World

Cup starting to build, it was time for
the teams to ind out what their path to World
Cup glory could look like. The draw took place
on 1 December 2017, conducted at the State
Kremlin Palace in Moscow. Presented by Maria
Komandnaya and England legend Gary Lineker,
the draw saw the 32 teams split into eight
groups. Pot A contained hosts Russia along with
the seven highest-ranked teams, as of October
2017. With footballing icons such as Cafu, Fabio
Cannavaro, Laurent Blanc and Gordon Banks
on hand to pick the teams from the eight pots,
ironically it fell to Diego Maradona to pluck out
England, placing them in Group G along with
Belgium, Tunisia and Panama. It was a group
that gave the nation hope; while Belgium would
provide a stern test, England had never lost to
Tunisia (last playing them in the group stages
of France ’98, a game that ended with a 2-0
win), and Panama were making their very irst
appearance at a World Cup, and were the third
lowest-ranked team in the tournament. The
countdown to Russia had now begun…
GROUP A GROUP B GROUP C GROUP D

Russia Portugal France Argentina
Saudi Arabia Spain Australia Iceland
Egypt Morocco Peru Croatia
Uruguay IR Iran Denmark Nigeria
34
THE DRAW
Argentinian legend Diego

Maradona
will always be remember
ed by English
fans for his ‘Hand of Go
d’ in the 1986
World Cup quarter-final,
but by pulling
out England in Group G,
maybe he had
finally done the country
a favour?
GROUP E GROUP F GROUP G GROUP H

Brazil Germany Belgium Poland
Switzerland Mexico England Senegal
Costa Rica Sweden Tunisia Colombia
Serbia Korea Republic Panama Japan
35
PREPARATIONS
Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek – a

like-for-like replacement for Liverpool’s
Oxlade-Chamberlain – impresses in a
2-1 friendly win over Nigeria
WORLD CUP PREPARATIONS

SOUTHGATE SNUBS SOME BIG NAMES, AS THE
TEAM PREPARE FOR THEIR RUSSIAN ADVENTURE
s the English football season wound down with Manchester
A
Jack Wilshere most notably missed out on a place in the side, with
City storming to a record-breaking Premier League title, Chelsea’s Ruben Loftus-Cheek replacing an injured Alex Oxlade-
excitement grew for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Gareth Chamberlain and Burnley’s Nick Pope taking the place of Joe Hart,
Southgate had just four more games until the plane departed for England’s keeper for the three previous tournaments. Adam Lallana,
Russia, and some tough decisions ahead. Jonjo Shelvey and 17-year-old Ryan Sessegnon were all also omitted,
In the March international break, the Three Lions took on two despite calls and rumours.
heavyweights who would not be partaking in Russia. An away trip to England’s last two matches before the tournament were positive;
Amsterdam in March ended in England beating the Netherlands 1-0, a glittering irst-half performance against Nigeria saw England win
and Jesse Lingard bagging his irst international goal; just a few days 2-1, and days later at Elland Road, Marcus Rashford starred in a 2-0
later at Wembley, England held four-times world champions Italy to dismantling of Costa Rica.
a 1-1 stalemate, with Napoli forward Lorenzo Insigne cancelling out England based the squad in Repino, a 45-minute drive from St.
Jamie Vardy’s opener. Petersburg. The remote camp was chosen as a refreshing change to
The England squad for Russia was announced in mid-May. There more indulgent bases of World Cups gone by, as the team prepared
were surprise inclusions but general acclaim from fans. Arsenal’s for their opening match in Volgograd.
36
PREPARATIONS
England’s Harry Kane, Gary Cahill
and Jack Butland arrive in
Russia in preparation for the
2018 FIFA World Cup
England defeated the Netherlands 1-0 in a friendly in

March 2018, Jesse Lingard scoring the goal
ENGLAND SQUAD
GARETH
SOUTHGATE
ROLE MANAGER ENGLAND MANAGERIAL RECORD
AGE 47 P25 W13 D7 L5 W%52
nitially put in temporary charge following Sam Allardyce’s
I resignation in September 2016, Gareth Southgate’s appointment

as permanent England manager two months later came as
something of a surprise to both fans and the media alike,
mainly due to his lack of experience.
The former Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Middlesbrough
defender was capped 57 times by England, representing the
national side at Euro ’96, the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro
2000. However, his international career is best remembered
for his penalty miss during the Euro ’96 semi-inal against
Germany, which led to England’s elimination.
He took his irst steps into management in 2006 after taking
over at Middlesbrough, but was ired in 2009 following the
club’s relegation to the Championship. In 2013, he became
manager of the England Under-21 side, guiding them to the
inals of the European Under-21 Championship in 2015,
where they were eliminated in the group stages.
England qualiied comfortably for the 2018 FIFA
World Cup, with Southgate’s possession football playing
to the strengths of his young team. Throughout the
tournament, his attitude and approach – along with
his impeccable dress-sense – won him the respect and
plaudits of fans and the media back home, and gave
people faith that the national team was in safe hands.
38
ENGLAND SQUAD
JORDAN
PICKFORD
POSITION GOALKEEPEER AGE 24 CLUB EVERTON
ENGLAND CAPS 10 WC 2018 APPEARANCES 7
ENGLAND CLEAN SHEETS 3 WC 2018 CLEAN SHEETS 1
here was something of a question mark surrounding the
T goalkeeping position prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup, but

Everton’s Jordan Pickford was given the jersey prior to the
start of the tournament and he repaid Gareth Southgate’s faith
with a string of outstanding saves and solid performances.
Signed by Everton for £25 million prior to the start of
the 2017-18 Premier League season, Pickford came with a
big price tag and plenty of potential. His impressive form
for Everton, earning him the club’s Player of the Season
award, caught the eye of Southgate, who gave him his
irst international cap in November 2017 in a 0-0
friendly against Germany at Wembley.
Given the goalkeeper’s jersey by Southgate ahead
of Stoke City's Jack Butland, Pickford started all of
England’s group games, but it was in the knockout
stages that he really began to shine. He was
England’s hero in the win over Colombia, making a
crucial save in the penalty shootout. He also made
a string of vital stops at key moments in both the
quarter-inal win over Sweden and the semi-inal
defeat to Croatia. One of England's star performers,
Pickford proved why he could be the number one
for the forseeable future.
39
ENGLAND SQUAD
JACK
BUTLAND
POSITION GOALKEEPER AGE 25 CLUB STOKE CITY
ne of the biggest talking points before the 2018
O FIFA World Cup started was whether Gareth

Southgate would opt for Stoke’s Jack Butland
or Everton’s Jordan Pickford in goal for England. It was
widely considered that there wasn’t much between the
two keepers, but Pickford got the nod, relegating Butland
to a supportive role during the tournament.
Butland became England’s youngest ever goalkeeper at the age
of 19 and was tipped for a big career for his country. He was well on
course to fulil such promise, but missed the Euro 2016 tournament
after fracturing his ankle in a friendly against Germany in the March
of that year, and was ruled out until the following April.
The 6ft 5” Bristolian bounced back to make 36 appearances for
Stoke during the 2017-18 campaign, reairming his position as
one of the country’s premier keepers, and at the age of 25, he still
has his peak years ahead of him.
Despite not making an appearance in the England goal in
Russia, Jack Butland seemed a close ally of the number one
Pickford, giving the Everton man what looked like a pep talk before
the critical penalty shootout against Colombia. Many onlookers
cited this as an example of England’s excellent team spirit.
ENGLAND SQUAD
NICK POPE
POSITION GOALKEEPER AGE 26 CLUB BURNLEY
t the start of the 2017-18 season, Nick Pope was an unknown
A to many Premier League fans, and the second choice

goalkeeper for Burnley. After a long-term injury to the
Clarets’ number one, Tom Heaton, however, Pope rose to fame for
being a more than competent deputy, helping Burnley to seventh
in the Premier League and a Europa League place.
Pope’s call-up to the England squad was far from assured
despite his impressive season at Turf Moor. In the months leading
up to the World Cup in Russia, Pickford, Butland and West Ham
loanee Joe Hart all put in sterling performances in the league to
play themselves into contention for a spot in Southgate’s squad.
Pope earned the third goalkeeper’s place in the group though after
keeping an incredible 11 clean sheets for Burnley, and being one of
the star keepers of the season.
As expected Pope wasn’t called upon in Russia, and ended up
watching every game from the bench. He won his irst cap for
the national team after coming on as a 65th minute substitute
in the friendly with Costa Rica before the tournament
though, and at the age of 26, he’s certainly young enough
for England to turn to in the next decade.
ENGLAND SQUAD
TRENT
ALEXANDER
-ARNOLD
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 19 CLUB LIVERPOOL
ENGLAND GOALS 0 WC 2018 GOALS 0
ver the last year, Trent Alexander-Arnold has established
O himself as one of the most promising young right-backs

in Europe, holding down a irst-team place for Liverpool
as they reached the Champions League inal. At 19-years-old, he
was the youngest member of England’s World Cup squad.
Alexander-Arnold was thrust into the irst team during the
2017-18 season in place of fellow England right-back Nathaniel
Clyne. The youngster wowed fans immediately, scoring
a stunning free-kick against Hofenheim in a Champions
League play-of. Alexander-Arnold soon became a starter for
Jurgen Klopp’s side thanks to sharp bursts of acceleration and
superlative man-marking ability; he was a standout performer
in the Reds’ emphatic European victories over Roma and Porto,
and was arguably his team’s best player in the irst-leg 3-0 win
over Manchester City. Alexander-Arnold has been named as
Liverpool’s young player of the season the last two years running.
The Liverpudlian was given his England debut by Gareth
Southgate against Costa Rica, and was named as one of three
natural right-backs for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad. Alexander-
Arnold started the match against Belgium in the group stage, but
was substituted for Arsenal’s Danny Welbeck in an attacking move
from Southgate.
ENGLAND SQUAD
GARY
CAHILL
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 32 CLUB CHELSEA
ne of the most senior members of England’s World Cup
O squad, Gary Cahill is an experienced defender and a leader

within the group. He’s also the only member of the England
side with a Champions League winners’ medal, which he picked up
in his irst season at Chelsea, back in 2012.
Cahill made his irst appearance for England back in 2010 when
he played for Bolton, and has been a regular in the international
set-up ever since, bringing grit, and physical prowess in both
penalty boxes to the team. The defender started all three games of
England’s last World Cup campaign in Brazil, in 2014, and he was a
constant in qualiication in 2018.
Gary Cahill won the Premier League as recently as 2017 with
Chelsea as a pivotal member of Antonio Conte’s side, and was
named as the club captain at the start of the 2017-18
season. Despite the Blues failing to qualify for the
Champions League, Cahill still led his side to an FA
Cup win over Manchester United.
The defender was limited to just one start in
Russia, against Belgium in the group stage, where
England lost 1-0.
43
FABIAN
DELPH
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 28 CLUB MAN CITY
hen Pep Guardiola’s big-spending Manchester City
W shelled out for star names in the summer of 2017,

few would’ve predicted that Fabian Delph would’ve
been one of the champions’ most dependable faces in the
campaign; fewer still would’ve guessed that he would ill
in at left-back for City, for most of the season. Delph was
impressive throughout the year, featuring heavily in his
side’s record breaking run of 18 consecutive league wins.
Delph irst played for England back in the Euro 2016
qualiiers and has sporadically appeared for the national
team since. Delph was selected for the provisional Euros
squad by Roy Hodgson but was forced to pull out through
injury. His tireless energy and versatility this season saw him
nominated again for a major tournament, this time included
by Gareth Southgate for the 2018 FIFA World Cup squad, and
the Man City man made his World Cup debut against Panama
as a substitute. Delph travelled home during the tournament
for the birth of his third child, but returned in time for the 2-0
victory against Sweden in the last eight. He mostly illed in as a
midielder, despite his ability to play at full back.
44
PHIL JONES
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 26 CLUB MAN UTD
ompared to the likes of Franco Baresi and Fernando Hierro
C by former England boss Fabio Capello, Phil Jones is a veteran

of the England squad despite still only being 26. Jones irst
appeared for the England under 19s in 2009, kept a clean sheet in
his only start at the 2014 FIFA World Cup against Costa Rica, and
was named in the 23-man squad for Russia on the back of a solid
season with Manchester United.
Jones featured in 25 Manchester United games in the 2017-18
season, helping the club to second in the Premier League, as well as
the inal of the FA Cup. In Eric Bailly’s absence, the Jones showed
his versatility by illing in at centre back, and in the past has played
for United at right-back and in defensive midield. During his time
at United, the Lancastrian has won the Premier League, the Europa
League and the FA Cup.
Jones started two matches at the 2018 FIFA World
Cup, on the right side of the back three against
Belgium both in the group stage and the third place
play-of. In England’s inal game of the tournament,
Jones had the tough task of keeping Eden Hazard at
bay. Back in May, Jones had committed the foul on
Hazard in the FA Cup inal that turned out to be the
diference in Chelsea’s 1-0 win, and Hazard came out on top again
here as he got the better of Jones for Belgium’s second goal.
45
ENGLAND SQUAD
DANNY
ROSE
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 28 CLUB TOTTENHAM
ith nearly 150 appearances at club level for
W Tottenham, Danny Rose is one of England’s most

experienced defenders, and one of Europe’s most
talented and intelligent left-backs.
Rose had a stop-start campaign in the league for
Tottenham making just 11 appearances all season, and
subsequently went into the 2018 FIFA World Cup as
England’s second choice left-back behind Ashley Young.
When he was available for Spurs though, he shone,
developing his game against the likes of Real Madrid in
the Champions League to play a more inverted role, and
consistently putting in the work-rate that fans love.
Rose was a regular for England in qualifying and one
of the irst names on the team sheet during Euro 2016;
he only made his senior international debut that year,
but has represented England at every youth level and
even played for Great Britain during the 2012 Olympic
Games in London. Rose only started two games for
England during the World Cup, but was relied on from
the bench to provide extra energy He was particularly
threatening against Colombia in extra time, and was
brought on against Croatia to try and change the game.
46
ENGLAND SQUAD
HARRY
MAGUIRE
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 25 CLUB LEICESTER CITY
ne of the breakout stars of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Harry
O Maguire had only featured in one competitive England

match before being named in Gareth Southgate’s squad for
Russia. The Yorkshireman was a revelation for Hull City in 2017,
and almost helped the Tigers escape relegation, but was signed
by Leicester City ahead of the 2017-18 season and showed
himself to be dependable, strong in the air and able to break
lines with his passing. He made 38 appearances at club level
for Leicester, and quickly established himself as one their most
important players.
Maguire made his irst appearance for his country away to
Lithuania, in England’s last qualiication match. Having impressed
Southgate suiciently though, he started the opening two group
games of the World Cup in the Three Lions’ back three, and
captured fans’ hearts with his marauding runs and no-nonsense
attitude in defence. He was one of two outield players to appear
in every game, the other being John Stones.
Maguire scored his irst international goal from a corner
against Sweden in the quarter-inal of the World Cup. He was
widely considered to be one of the stars of the tournament,
complementing Stones’s elegant defensive demeanour and Kyle
Walker’s pacey style.
47
ENGLAND SQUAD
JOHN
STONES
espite enduring a diicult start to life following
D his £50 million move from Everton to Manchester

City in 2016, defender John Stones has established
himself as a key member of Pep Guardiola’s squad, earning
Premier League and League Cup winners’ medals during the
2017-18 season.
Stones got his irst England cap as a substitute in May 2014 in a
3-0 friendly win over Peru at Wembley, but missed out on a place
in Roy Hodgson’s inal World Cup squad a month later. He made
his competitive debut in England’s irst match of Euro 2016, but
despite making the 23-man squad he didn’t get any game time as
England crashed out against Iceland in the second round.
While he didn’t feature in all of England’s 2018 FIFA World Cup
qualifying games, he’s become a key part of the team’s defence.
Underlining his importance to the team, the three goals England
conceded during qualiication all came when Stones was absent.
He started the opening game against Tunisia in the centre of
a three-man defence alongside Harry Maguire and Kyle Walker,
and got his irst international goals with a brace in the 6-1 win
over Panama. A dominant performance against Colombia in the
second round was followed by a irst World Cup clean sheet against
Sweden in the quarter-inal.
48
ENGLAND SQUAD
KIERAN
TRIPPIER
POSITION DEFENDER AGE 27 CLUB TOTTENHAM
yle Walker’s £50 million move from Tottenham to Manchester
K City in 2017 was not only a great piece of business for the
North London club, but it also gave Kieran Trippier the
chance to claim a regular irst-team place following his £3.5 million
move from Burnley in 2015.
Renowned for his excellent set-piece delivery, Trippier made his
irst England appearance in June 2017 in a 3-2 friendly defeat to
France. While he only played in the inal group game of England’s
2018 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign – a 1-0 win away to
Lithuania – Trippier featured in both of England’s warm-up matches
in the run-up to the tournament.
With Southgate opting to use Walker on the right of a three-man
defence in England’s opening win against Tunisia, Trippier started
at right wing-back, creating six goalscoring opportunities. In
England’s second game against Panama – a comfortable 6-1 win – he
picked up an assist when his corner was headed in by John Stones
for the opening goal. Rested in the inal group game, he returned to
the team for the knockout stages, scoring a pressure penalty in the
second-round shootout against Colombia, and putting in an assured
performance in the quarter-inal against Sweden. Sadly, his stunning
free kick in the semi-inal against Croatia wasn’t enough to take
England to their irst inal since 1966.
49
ENGLAND SQUAD
KYLE
WALKER
ecoming the most expensive English footballer of all time
B when he moved to Manchester City in 2017, Kyle Walker’s irst

season there earned him Premier League and League Cup
winners’ medals. He won his irst international cap for England as a
substitute in a 1-0 friendly win over Spain in November 2011, with
his irst start coming three days later in another 1-0 friendly win,
this time against Sweden. He missed out on a place in the squads
for both Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup due to injury, but
started three of England’s four matches at Euro 2016.
Walker was a regular at right back throughout England’s 2018
FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign, only missing the inal group
game away to Lithuania with qualiication already guaranteed and
Gareth Southgate looking to experiment with a new system.
In the friendlies leading up to the tournament, Walker was moved
to the right side of a three-man defence and it’s here that he started
in England’s opening game against Tunisia alongside Harry Maguire
and John Stones. He was left out of the inal group game against
Belgium as Southgate looked to rest his key players but he then
returned to England’s back line against Colombia and Sweden in
the knock-out rounds.
50
ENGLAND SQUAD
ASHLEY
YOUNG
POSITION MIDFIELDER AGE 33 CLUB MAN UTD
ngland’s oldest squad member at the 2018 FIFA World Cup,
E Ashley Young irst broke into the England team in 2007 as a

winger at Aston Villa, making his debut for the national team
in a friendly against Austria in November. England failed to qualify
for Euro 2008 and Young missed out on a place in Fabio Capello’s
2010 FIFA World Cup squad, but he played in all four of England’s
matches at Euro 2012, missing a penalty in the shootout defeat to
Italy in the quarter-inal. Following the disappointment of Euro
2012, he spent four years in the international wilderness before
being recalled by Gareth Southgate in November 2017.
Despite starting his career as a winger, in 2014 Louis van Gaal
took over as Manchester United manager and moved Young into
the more defensive role of wing back, a position he now occupies
for both club and country.
He started the opening two group games against Tunisia and
Panama at left wing-back but with England already into the next
round, he was left out against Belgium. Young was recalled for the
penalty shootout win against Colombia and got his irst assist of the
tournament against Sweden in the quarter-inal after Harry Maguire
headed home his corner to give England the lead in the 2-0 win.
51
ENGLAND SQUAD
DELE ALLI
POSITION MIDFIELDER AGE 22 CLUB TOTTENHAM
ele Alli irst cemented his place in England fans’ hearts
D when he scored a long-range efort for the Three

Lions against France, and his Spurs teammate Hugo
Lloris in goal. From then onwards he’s been a mainstay
in the England set-up, being a favourite of Roy Hodgson
during the European Championships in 2016, and Gareth
Southgate, who gave him a key role in the side during the
2018 FIFA World Cup.
Alli is known for his bite, his superb movement around
the box and his love of the big occasion. The midielder
is good on the ball but is just as good of; this season has
seen him make darting runs into the penalty area to net
against the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Real
Madrid, and he scored a trademark close-range header
to cement the win against Sweden during the 2018 FIFA
World Cup quarter-inal.
Despite carrying an injury in Russia that saw him miss
the last two group games, Alli was still an integral part
of the squad, getting his goal in the knockouts. One of
the younger members of the squad too, he has a bright
future ahead of him at international level.
ENGLAND SQUAD
ERIC DIER
POSITION MIDFIELDER AGE 24 CLUB TOTTENHAM
ric Dier is one of Tottenham and England’s most trusted utility
E players, performing both as a tough-tackling defender and a

ball-winning midielder when needed. He was a starter for
England at Euro 2016, scoring a free-kick against Russia, and
has been a regular during Gareth Southgate’s reign.
2017-18 saw Dier become even more key for Mauricio
Pochettino and Spurs, as linchpins of the side Victor
Wanyama and Toby Alderweireld both missed a
lot of the campaign through injury. Dier stepped
up and was ever-reliable, proving his worth
as one of the league’s most dependable and
versatile footballers. Dier’s inclusion in the
23-man squad came as little surprise, and
it was expected that he would contest
Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson for the role
of England’s deepest midielder.
Dier made four substitute
appearances to shore up England
defensively and then started in the
game against Belgium in midield.
Despite this, Dier wrote himself into
the history books when he was the
player to dispatch the winning
penalty against Colombia in the last
16 of the tournament.
53
ENGLAND SQUAD
JORDAN
HENDERSON
POSITION MIDFIELDER AGE 28 CLUB LIVERPOOL
t the age of 28, Jordan Henderson has appeared over
A 200 times for Liverpool and is one of England’s most

experienced and all-rounded midielders. He is one of
the few survivors from England’s last World Cup campaign,
having played in two group games in Brazil, and has
represented his nation at four age levels. He was given his
debut by Fabio Capello in 2010 and went to Euro 2012
with the England squad.
Henderson has the typical stamina, pressing ability
and athleticism of a box-to-box midielder, but was
converted by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp into
more of a deep-lying playmaker this season. The
Liverpool captain excelled in the role, leading his club to
the inal of the Champions League and was in contention for the
England captaincy in the run-up to Russia.
Henderson started ive games for England in the deepest
midield role, acting as a “quarter back” for the team; his cross-ield
balls and long-range passing became a familiar sight to England
fans, though his low point came in the penalty shootout against
Colombia. Henderson’s tame efort against Ospina was the only
spot kick missed by an England player, but luckily didn’t matter as
England still progressed.
54
ENGLAND SQUAD
JESSE
LINGARD
POSITION MIDFIELDER AGE 25 CLUB MANCHESTER UNITED
team-mate in the Manchester United academy with the likes
A of Paul Pogba, Jesse Lingard has burst onto the scene in the
last couple of seasons to become a favourite with fans and
coaches alike, for both club and country.
Lingard was a standout star for Manchester United in 2017-18,
scoring eight goals and assisting ive in 33 matches for the Red
Devils as they inished second in the league. His work ethic, drive
and dribbling ability earned him praise from all corners, and
when he was named as Gareth Southgate’s number seven for the
World Cup, he drew comparisons to former England captain and
Manchester United great David Beckham.
The Beckham similarities continued into the World Cup, as
Lingard scored a sumptuous efort from distance against Panama.
Although the midielder failed to convert in the opener against
Tunisia, he was a thorn in the sides of defenders all tournament,
making elusive runs from midield and linking play with Young and
Kane over on the left-hand side.
Lingard also captured attention for being one of the side’s big
characters, with his celebration dances, fun interviews and cheerful
presence; something that club manager Jose Mourinho
remarked on during the season, claiming that he was a
funny member of the Old Traford
dressing room.
ENGLAND SQUAD
RUBEN
LOFTUS-CHEEK
POSITION MIDFIELDER AGE 22 CLUB CHELSEA
espite only being 22-years-old, Ruben Loftus-Cheek has
D experienced a lot of football for club and country; he’s

been a member of two Premier League-winning squads for
Chelsea, and picked up a winners medal for England at the Toulons
tournament alongside the likes of Jack Grealish and Nathan Redmond.
This season the Lewisham-born midielder has been at Crystal
Palace on loan, making 25 appearances for the club. Eagles
fans have admired his leggy, graceful brand of midield play,
which earned him his irst senior England cap under Gareth
Southgate in November 2017 against Germany. Loftus-Cheek
completed a full 90 minutes against the world champions,
being named as the man of match in the 0-0 draw.
Loftus-Cheek gained plenty of new fans in Russia. The
midielder replaced an injured Dele Alli in the opener
against Tunisia, and put in a solid performance, linking
play nicely and adding balance to the midield.
Calls for Southgate to retain him for the Panama
game were heeded; Loftus-Cheek almost got on
the scoresheet in the second half too when his
long-range drive met the heel of Harry Kane, and
looped into the net for England’s sixth of the
afternoon. Loftus-Cheek completed 90 minutes
against Belgium in the group stage, and started
against them in the inal match.
ENGLAND SQUAD
HARRY
KANE
POSITION FORWARD AGE 24 CLUB TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR
fter four loan spells away from parent club Tottenham, Harry
A Kane burst into Mauricio Pochettino’s team in 2015 and has

been scoring goals ever since. Dubbed “One of our own” by
Spurs fans, Kane was the Premier League top scorer in two of
the last three seasons, and scored more goals for England in
qualiication for the 2018 FIFA World Cup than anyone else.
Kane is famous for his lethal inishing, and has established
himself in the last few seasons as one of the world’s deadliest
and most sought-after strikers. The Spurs man scored less
than two minutes into his international debut in 2015 and
featured heavily in Euro 2016, taking set pieces for the
England team – a move criticised by many pundits – and
leading the line up-front for the Three Lions despite very
ierce competition from Jamie Vardy, Daniel Sturridge and
Marcus Rashford.
Kane was named as England’s youngest ever World Cup
captain by Gareth Southgate ahead of the 2018 tournament.
The striker paid of the faith in his manager, scooping
the Golden Boot in Russia and becoming only the third
England player ever to score a hat-trick at a World Cup.
ENGLAND SQUAD
MARCUS
RASHFORD
POSITION FORWARD AGE 20 CLUB MAN UTD
ursting onto the scene in February 2016, 18-year-old
B Marcus Rashford scored two goals on his irst-team debut

for Manchester United against Midtjylland in the UEFA
Europa League and three days later bagged another brace
against Arsenal in the Premier League.
Rashford’s eye-catching performances during his irst
season led to his surprise inclusion in Roy Hodgson’s Euro
2016 squad. He made his England debut in the run-up to the
tournament, scoring against Australia in a 2-1 win and becoming
the youngest English player to score on his international debut
in the process. He made two appearances during England’s
disappointing tournament.
Mostly used as a substitute during England’s World Cup
qualifying campaign, Rashford grabbed his irst competitive goal
for England in a 2-1 win over Slovakia. He went into the World Cup
with calls for him to start in place of Raheem Sterling, but he had
to make do with a place on the bench. He started against Belgium
in England’s inal group game and came on against Colombia in the
second round to score a vital penalty in the shootout win.
58
ENGLAND SQUAD
RAHEEM
STERLING
POSITION FORWARD AGE 23 CLUB MAN CITY
aheem Sterling went into the 2018 FIFA World Cup on
R the back of a hugely successful season at club level. A

key member of Manchester City’s record-breaking 2017-
18 Premier League-winning team, he also picked up a League
Cup winners’ medal and reached the quarter-inals of the UEFA
Champions League before losing out to former club Liverpool.
Sterling started England’s opening World Cup qualifying
victory over Slovakia in Sam Allardyce’s irst and last game as
England manager, but he had to wait to impress new boss Gareth
Southgate. Ruled out of ixtures against Malta and Slovenia
due to injury, he returned for the 3-0 win over rivals
Scotland at Wembley and set up a last-gasp equaliser
for Harry Kane in the return ixture between the
sides at Hampden.
Despite doubts over his place in the team
– thanks to a goal drought stretching back to
October 2015 and the emergence of Marcus
Rashford – Southgate kept faith in Sterling for England’s World
Cup opener against Tunisia and the subsequent 6-1 win over
Panama. Rested for the inal group game, he would play a key
role against Colombia and Sweden in the knockout rounds, but
was unable to get that elusive goal.
59
ENGLAND SQUAD
JAMIE
VARDY
POSITION FORWARD AGE 31 CLUB LEICESTER CITY
amie Vardy’s rise from non-League football to a place in
J England’s 2018 FIFA World Cup squad has been remarkable.

Just seven years ago he was iring Fleetwood Town to their
irst-ever promotion to the Football League, before being snapped
up by then-Championship club Leicester City in 2012.
Leicester’s promotion to the Premier League in 2014 saw Vardy
catch the eye of England manager Roy Hodgson, and he made
his debut for the national side in June 2015. He scored his irst
international goal against Germany in March 2016 and got his
second three days later against the Netherlands.
Leicester shocked the footballing world in 2016 by winning the
Premier League title for the irst time in their history. Vardy inished
the 2015-16 season as joint second highest scorer, just one goal
behind Golden Boot winner Harry Kane. He was called up to Roy
Hodgson’s Euro 2016 squad and got his irst tournament goal to
level the second group match against Wales, a game that England
went on to win 2-1. He scored once during England’s 2018 FIFA
World Cup qualifying campaign in the 2-0 home win over Lithuania.
In the group stages, Vardy was an unused substitute against
Tunisia, made his irst appearance as a sub against Panama and
started the inal group game against Belgium, while he came on for
extra time in the games against Colombia and Croatia.
60
ENGLAND SQUAD
DANNY
WELBECK
POSITION FORWARD AGE 27 CLUB ARSENAL
rsenal’s only English representative at the 2018 FIFA World
A Cup, Danny Welbeck’s career for both club and country has
been hampered by both long-term and short-term injuries
in recent years, impacting his explosive pace and direct style.
While he enjoyed a relatively injury-free 2017-18 season, many of
his appearances for his club came as a sub and he scored just ive
league goals.
He made his international debut in March 2011 against Ghana at
Wembley and came on as a substitute in England’s deciding Euro
2012 qualiier against Montenegro in October of the same year.
He made Roy Hodgson’s inal 23-man squad for the tournament,
scoring the winner in England’s 3-2 win over Sweden.
Welbeck scored four times as England qualiied for the 2014 FIFA
World Cup and made two appearances at the tournament as they
crashed out in the group stages. He was England’s top scorer with
six goals in ive games during their Euro 2016 qualifying campaign,
but missed out on the squad after picking up a serious knee injury
just before the tournament kicked of.
He made his comeback under Gareth Southgate in the 2018 FIFA
World Cup qualifying match against Malta, getting on the scoresheet
in a 4-0 win. He was an unused sub as the World Cup got under
way but came on against Belgium in England’s inal group game.
61
WORLD CUP FINALS
MONDAY 18 JUNE 2018

VOLGOGRAD ARENA, VOLGOGRAD
TUNISIA 1 - 2 ENGLAND
Sassi (35’ pen) HT 1-1 FT 1-2 Kane (11’, 90+1’)
TUNISIA ENGLAND
22 Hassen (Ben 1 Pickford
Mustapha 15’)
2 Walker
11 Bronn
5 Stones
2 S Ben Youssef
6 Maguire
4 Meriah
12 Trippier
12 Maâloul
18 Young
17 Skhiri
8 Henderson
8 F Ben Youssef
7 Lingard (Dier 90+3’)
13 Sassi
20 Alli (Loftus-Cheek 80’)
9 Badri
10 Sterling (Rashford 68’)
23 Sliti (Ben Amor 74’)
9 Kane
10 Khazri (Khalifa 85’)
ome of the most memorable victories often come down to the inest
S of margins, and so it proved here. While England dominated their

opening Group G game – 61 per cent possession and eight shots on
target to Tunisia’s solitary, albeit successful, attempt – it took a late Harry
Kane header for them to ultimately overcome their dogged opponents.
In fairness, judging by the opening scenes you would have been forgiven
for thinking such a scenario unlikely. In contrast to the rather cautious
approach favoured by the majority of teams in the other group games,
Gareth Southgate’s England took the ight to their opponents with a luid
and fast-moving passing game, which Tunisia seemed to have no real
answer to. It was an approach that would swiftly bear fruit.
Having already done well to keep out Jesse Lingard’s early attempt,
John Stones’ header from Ashley Young’s corner was brilliantly clawed
62
TUNISIA V ENGLAND
Harry Kane got England off to

the perfect start, scoring the
opening goal in the 11th minute
63
WORLD CUP FINALS
The England team line-up,

featuring their new-look back three of Kyle
Walker, Harry Maguire and John Stones
Harry Kane taps home to open the Goalscorer Ferjani Sassi

scoring after the goalkeeper palmed celebrates after his penalty
away John Stones’ header put Tunisia level
64
TUNISIA V ENGLAND
Despite giving away a

first-half penalty, Kyle Walker
recovered to help England to
their opening-game victory
away by Mouez Hassen, only for Kane to nod in the rebound, the
captain apparently putting to bed any early nerves that may have
accompanied the team into the Volgograd Arena. England’s early
dominance had paid of.
Despite England being in the ascendancy, Tunisia would get back
into the game against the run of play. While defending against a
rare Tunisia attack, Kyle Walker was adjudged to have impeded
Fakhreddine Ben Youssef (despite replays showing minimal
contact), and the referee pointed to the spot. Jordan Pickford went
the right way, but couldn’t stop Ferjani Sassi’s powerful drive. 1-1.
Game on.
England continued to press forward, with Stones scuing a
promising opportunity brought about by a goalmouth scramble,
and Lingard brilliantly threading Kieran Trippier’s through ball
past the keeper, only to see his shot clip the post. England were
dominant, but it just wasn’t quite happening.
Amid all this, the newly introduced VAR technology turned up
a blind spot, with Kane being bundled over in the penalty area by
goalscorer Sassi via a challenge more akin to something seen on
a rugby pitch, only for the referee to turn a blind eye. Considering
65
WORLD CUP FINALS
Raheem Sterling receives some

close attention from Yassine Meriah
Gareth Southgate talks tactics
with Kieran Trippier and Jordan
Henderson during a break in play
66
TUNISIA V ENGLAND
Harry Maguire nods the ball on for

Harry Kane to get the decisive
goal in injury time
the relatively soft nature of the one that had been awarded
against them, the England players were right to feel aggrieved,
and it immediately raised questions about the technology’s
implementation. Half-time came, and the scores remained even.
After the break, England remained on top, although things
continued how they had been in the irst half, with another
challenge on Kane – this time by Yassine Meriah – again going
unpunished. Even so, England’s pressing intensity appeared to have
dropped of, as even when they were dominating they looked far
more laboured, and their chances less clear-cut. The pick of the
opportunities fell to Trippier, who blazed wide, while an attempt
from Young sailed harmlessly over the bar.
As the minutes ticked away the chances became more and more
speculative, the all-too-familiar negativity associated with England’s
performances at major tournaments starting to take root. All the
while, Tunisia were pinned back, but did a commendable job of
restricting their opponents to increasingly frustrated attempts.
67
WORLD CUP FINALS
Harry Kane celebrates after
scoring England’s late winner
Tunisia goalkeeper Mouez Hassen

is consoled after being forced to
Things started to improve with Southgate’s irst substitutions,
come off in the 15th minute
Marcus Rashford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek replacing Raheem
Sterling and Dele Alli. Even so, while they probed and pressed –
Rashford demonstrating a welcome determination to run at the
Tunisian defence, and Loftus-Cheek impressing with his strength
and composure – they rarely truly threatened the opposition goal.
For all their early promise, it was hard not to get the feeling that the
football gods weren’t smiling on them.
Eventually, however, England’s perseverance paid of. In the irst
minute of injury time another Trippier corner was nodded on by
the excellent Harry Maguire, with Kane popping up again right
when he was needed to plant the winner past the despairing Farouk
Ben Mustapha (a 15th-minute replacement for the injured Hassen).
Cue massive celebrations as the inal whistle blew a few minutes
later, conirming England’s opening-game victory.
While the result was all that mattered and no less than England
deserved, they made hard work of a game they were expected to
win comfortably. Tunisia’s stubborn defence proved diicult to
break down, but when it mattered Harry Kane snatched victory
from a game that looked like it was heading towards a frustrating
draw for England. Sure, tougher tests would follow, but three points
from the irst game was always the target, and its importance in
terms of conidence cannot be overstated. England defender John Stones
scuffs his shot after a goalmouth
scramble – a goal would have
put England back into the lead.
68
TUNISIA V ENGLAND
Pickford comes agonisingly
close to saving Ferjani
Sassi’s penalty
MATCH STATS TUNISIA ENGLAND

POSSESSION
39% 61%
SHOTS
6 18
SHOTS ON TARGET
1 8
CORNERS
2 7
FOULS
14 8
69
WORLD CUP FINALS
SUNDAY 24 JUNE 2018

NIZHNY NOVGOROD STADIUM, NIZHNY NOVGOROD
ENGLAND 6 - 1 PANAMA
Stones (8’, 40’) Kane (22’ pen, 45+1’ pen, 62’) HT 5-0 FT 6-1 Baloy (78’)
Lingard (36’)
ENGLAND PANAMA
1 Pickford 1 Penedo
2 Walker 2 Murillo
5 Stones 5 Torres
6 Maguire 4 Escobar
8 Henderson 15 Davis
12 Trippier (Rose 70') 6 Gómez (Baloy 69')
21 Loftus-Cheek 8 Barcenas (Arroyo 69')
7 Lingard (Delph 63') 11 Cooper
18 Young 20 Godoy (Ávila 63')
10 Sterling 21 Rodriguez
9 Kane (Vardy 63') 7 Perez
fter a late winner against Tunisia, England were looking to win their
A opening two World Cup matches – for only the third time ever – in
their second game. Though opponents Panama were making their
World Cup debut in Russia, they posed a real threat; they had qualiied for
the tournament at the expense of the USA, and had shown themselves to
be physical, experienced and tough to break down against Belgium in their
irst match of the tournament.
England were largely unchanged from the irst match, with Gareth
Southgate naming ten of the starters from the opener. Dele Alli, who had
looked like he was struggling with a thigh problem against Tunisia in the
second half, was replaced by Chelsea midielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek in a
like-for-like swap. Loftus-Cheek had impressed with his link-up play after
being brought on against the Tunisians, and conidence was high for the
England side to replicate the result of their 2018 FIFA World Cup opener.
Just like against Tunisia, England got of to a lying start thanks to a
well-worked corner routine. The defence tussled with the likes of Kane and
Sterling in the middle, leaving John Stones in acres of space to nod in from
70
ENGLAND V PANAMA
Harry Kane takes home the match

ball after becoming only the second
England player since 1966 to net
a hat trick in a World Cup game
71
WORLD CUP FINALS
Harry Kane converts the penalty for

England’s second goal, and continues
his record of scoring in every single
game he’s captained England
the penalty spot for his irst England goal. It wasn’t long before the
Three Lions doubled the lead either. Jesse Lingard evaded Torres
and Escobar in the box, only for the Panamanian pair to sandwich
Lingard and pull him down. Emphatically, Harry Kane buried the
resulting spot kick past the keeper’s top-right, almost taking of the
roof of the net.
Things went from bad to worse for Panama shortly after that. The
Central Americans were desperately struggling to stop Lingard from
inding space behind the defence, and were repeatedly fouling the
England number seven as a result. However, the Manchester United
midielder managed to wriggle away from his markers just after the
half-hour mark, adding a third goal as Raheem Sterling teed him up
for a 30-yard curler.
Just six minutes later, England added a fourth in what epitomised
their performance. A 40-yard free kick was played short to Jordan
Henderson, who played a reverse ball over the Panamanian defence;
the ball found its way to John Stones – via Kane and Sterling – who
headed his second goal of the match. It was a clear training ground
72
ENGLAND V PANAMA
Stones nets his second of

the afternoon, capping off a
sumptuous free kick routine
Baloy’s consolation goal

was Panama’s first ever goal in
the competition
73
WORLD CUP FINALS
The Nizhny Novgorod Stadium

was packed to its 45,000 capacity, with both
sets of fans providing a warm, celebratory
atmosphere over the course of the afternoon
74
ENGLAND V PANAMA
Kane is rested just after the

hour mark, and is substituted
for Leicester striker Jamie Vardy
routine that worked to a tee, and it displayed the team ethic that
was rapidly developing in this young group of players.
The goals didn’t stop before half time either. Panama were still
struggling to contain the English players from dead ball situations
and before half time, Aníbal Godoy became the latest defender
in this tournament to rugby tackle Harry Kane to ground in the
penalty area. Again, Egyptian referee Ghead Grisha pointed to the
spot, much to the frustration of Panama. Captain Kane stepped up
for his second penalty of the afternoon, and placed it in the same
corner as the irst, with just as much power. It sent the Three Lions
cruising into the break 5-0 up, and signalled the irst time that
England had scored over four goals in a match since they won the
Jules Rimet trophy back in 1966.
There were more comparisons with England’s World Cup win to
come after the break. Southgate’s men took their foot of the gas
a little in the second half, but not before Kane grabbed his third
before being substituted. A Loftus-Cheek efort from distance
ricocheted of the captain’s heel, and looped over the head of
75
WORLD CUP FINALS
Manager Gareth Southgate

congratulates two-goal hero
John Stones at the final whistle,
as he takes to the pitch to
applaud the England fans
Penedo for England’s sixth. Kane joined Gary Lineker and World
Cup inal scorer Sir Geof Hurst as the only England players to ever
score hat-tricks in World Cup football, but the strike also became
the longest passing sequence for a World Cup goal since 1966.
England passed the ball 25 times before Kane’s inish, one more
than Esteban Cambiasso’s famous 24-pass goal for Argentina back
in 2006.
Despite this, Panama were to have their moment before the
end. In the 78th minute, they found luck from a set-piece of their
own. Ricardo Ávila’s free kick found 37-year-old Felipe Baloy in
space behind England’s defensive line to poke the ball past Jordan
Pickford for a consolation.
The loss of a clean sheet was just a ly in the ointment for
England, though. A 6-1 result marked a record World Cup win for
the Three Lions and as many goals as they’d racked up in their
previous seven World Cup games. But most importantly, it meant
another three points, and guaranteed qualiication to the next
round of the tournament.
76
ENGLAND V PANAMA
Creative spark Jesse Lingard was one of

England’s most dangerous players going
forward, scoring with a fantastic strike
MATCH STATS ENGLAND PANAMA

POSSESSION
59% 41%
SHOTS
11 8
SHOTS ON TARGET
7 2
CORNERS
3 2
FOULS
13 13
77
WORLD CUP FINALS
THURSDAY 28 JUNE 2018

KALININGRAD STADIUM, KALININGRAD
ENGLAND 0 - 1 BELGIUM
HT 0-0 FT 0-1 Januzaj (51)
ENGLAND BELGIUM
1 Pickford 1 Courtois
16 Jones 23 Dendoncker
5 Stones 20 Boyata
(Maguire 45’) 3 Vermaelen
15 Cahill (Kompany 74’)
22 Alexander-Arnold 22 Chadli
(Welbeck 79’)
17 Tielemans
3 Rose
19 Dembélé
4 Dier
16 Hazard
17 Delph
18 Januzaj
21 Loftus-Cheek (Mertens 86’)
11 Vardy 8 Fellaini
19 Rashford 21 Batshuayi
t’s a position England fans likely wouldn’t have been familiar with:
I coming into the inal group stage match with their entry to the last 16
already conirmed. All that remained to be seen was how they would
approach the game against Belgium.
Normally, this kind of game – with irst place in the group up for grabs
– would have still been iercely contested, as the winners tended to get the
‘easiest’ draw. Not here. The victors would be on the side of the draw that
included the likes of Brazil, France, Argentina and Portugal, while second
place’s potential passage to the inal looked much less daunting.
As such, the low-stakes nature of this game resulted in one that will
hardly go down as a classic, a fate that was pre-warned by the two teams’
starting line-ups: just Jordan Pickford, John Stones and Ruben Loftus-Cheek
kept their places as Gareth Southgate made eight changes, while Belgium’s
Roberto Martínez also shuled his pack, making nine switches as the likes
of Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku stayed on the bench.
78
ENGLAND V BELGIUM
Marcus Rashford attempts to find a way

past Youri Tielemans and Mousa Dembélé as
England searched for a foothold in the game
79
WORLD CUP FINALS
Try as he might, Jamie Vardy (in place

of the rested Harry Kane) wasn’t able to
find a way past the Belgium back line
80
ENGLAND V BELGIUM
Substitute Danny Welbeck almost made

an instant impact, coming on to see his
goal-bound shot blocked by Fellaini
The lack of urgency was relected in the action of the irst half,
with England’s replacements often failing to make their case for a
place in the regular starting XI, and Eric Dier especially coming in
for a torrid time against his Tottenham teammate Mousa Dembélé
in midield. What chances there were predominantly fell to Belgium,
with Youri Tielemans making an early attempt at drawing irst
blood via a stinging drive that Pickford got up well to block. This
was soon followed by a heart-in-your-mouth moment as Pickford
spilled Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi’s lick-on from Marouane
Fellaini’s header, with incoming centre-back Gary Cahill’s goal-line
clearance saving his blushes.
At the other end, chances were few and far between, with Jamie
Vardy and Marcus Rashford failing to make up for the absence of
benched captain Harry Kane. England’s only real irst-half chance
of note came as a result of right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold –
arguably their stand-out performer – as the Liverpool youngster’s
corner was headed wide by Loftus-Cheek. From there, the rest
of the game played out with little urgency, punctuated by the
81
WORLD CUP FINALS
Ruben Loftus-Cheek comes up against

Thorgan Hazard – the brother of his Chelsea
teammate Eden, who was rested for this game
occasional – and increasingly speculative – long shot from

Belgium, with Adnan Januzaj and Thorgan Hazard being the most
regular culprits.
The second half began similarly, although supporters of the
Belgian and neutral variety at least didn’t have to wait long
for something to enjoy. On 51 minutes, out of nowhere former
Manchester United and Sunderland midielder Januzaj opened
the scoring with a stunning left-footed strike past Pickford. As the
Belgium team celebrated, a comedic moment was captured when
Batshuayi picked up the ball and attempted to blast it into the
back of the net in celebration, only for it to bounce of the post and
directly into his face.
This spurred England back into life briely, before the game
settled back into its more sedate pace. Even so, it wasn’t long before
England nearly had a right of reply, with Vardy putting Rashford
through, only for the Man Utd youngster’s shot to be palmed away
by Courtois. From then on the two sides exchanged increasingly
tepid punches, substitute Danny Welbeck’s goal-bound shot being
82
ENGLAND V BELGIUM
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-

Arnold became just the fourth teenager
ever to represent England at a World Cup
Adnan Januzaj lines up a shot to put

Belgium one up against England in the
second half at the Kaliningrad Stadium
83
WORLD CUP FINALS
Gary Cahill’s goal-line clearance

kept the score at 0-0
blocked by Fellaini, and Dries Mertens testing Pickford’s alertness

with a long-range drive. Full-time, and Belgium topped the group.
Even so, there wasn’t the critical dissection there usually is when
England slip up. Southgate defended his selection choices, citing
the risk of injuries to key players. Before the game, Martínez was
even more candid, saying “the priority was not to win”. He may
have been referring to resting players in preparation for the more
important matches, the job already done, but it’s hard to imagine
these comments going down well in certain sections of the press
had an England manager made them. Besides, if Southgate was
truly going for the victory, surely he’d have put Kane on?
Regardless, the England manager could rightly view this as
mission accomplished, despite the result. They were through to
the last 16 with no injuries and while Colombia was always going
to be tough opposition, the route beyond that was much kinder
than what they would have faced had they inished top. He had
gambled in ielding a weaker starting XI – now, it would become
clear whether this roll of the dice would pay of…
84
ENGLAND V BELGIUM
After his stunning left-footed strike sends Belgium

into the lead, Adnan Januzaj celebrates with
teammates Marouane Fellaini and Thorgan Hazard
MATCH STATS ENGLAND BELGIUM

POSSESSION
47% 53%
SHOTS
11 14
SHOTS ON TARGET
2 4
CORNERS
7 2
FOULS
11 14
85
FINAL GROUP TABLES
FINAL GROUP
TABLES
ENGLAND PROGRESS, BUT THE
REIGNING CHAMPIONS CRASH OUT
he group stages of the 2018 FIFA World Cup were packed
T with memorable moments. The tournament opened with a

5-0 win for hosts Russia, as they swept aside Saudi Arabia in
clinical fashion. Day two saw heavyweights Spain and Portugal go
toe-to-toe in an incredible encounter that ended with a trademark
Cristiano Ronaldo free kick in the 88th minute to rescue the
European champions and secure a dramatic 3-3 draw. In Group D,
Croatia set a marker by thoroughly outplaying Argentina in a 3-0
win, but Messi and co scraped through as group runners up.
Group H saw drama in the inal round of games, as Senegal
became the irst team in World Cup history to lose out on a place
in the next round because of a poorer Fair Play record than Japan.
Both teams ended up with identical records from their three games,
but with Senegal picking up six yellow cards to Japan’s four, the
African nation were eliminated. However, the biggest shock of the
tournament came in Group F. After a poor display saw them lose
2-0 in their opening game, reigning World Champions Germany
had to rely on a 95th minute wonder strike from Toni Kroos to
beat Sweden 2-1, and keep their hopes alive. But the dream came
A dejected Germany crashed out in the group
crashing down in their inal game as they sufered a shock 2-0 stages after a shock 2-0 loss to South Korea.
defeat to South Korea, which saw them inish bottom of their group, The reigning World Champions were dumped out
after scoring just two goals in their three group
and fail to qualify from the group stages for the irst time since 1938. games, and looked like a team in disarray
GROUP A P W D L GF GA GD Pts GROUP C P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Uruguay 3 3 0 0 5 0 5 9 France 3 2 1 0 3 1 2 7
Russia 3 2 0 1 8 4 4 6 Denmark 3 1 2 0 2 1 1 5
Saudi Arabia 3 1 0 2 2 7 -5 3 Peru 3 1 0 2 2 2 0 3
Egypt 3 0 0 3 2 6 -4 0 Australia 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1
GROUP B P W D L GF GA GD Pts GROUP D P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Spain 3 1 2 0 6 5 1 5 Croatia 3 3 0 0 7 1 6 9
Portugal 3 1 2 0 5 4 1 5 Argentina 3 1 1 1 3 5 -2 4
IR Iran 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4 Nigeria 3 1 0 2 3 4 -1 3
Morocco 3 0 1 2 2 4 -2 1 Iceland 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1
86
FINAL GROUP TABLES
There’s no stopping that

man Cristiano Ronaldo.
After a hat-trick against
Spain, he took his tally of
to four with an unstoppab goals
le header against Moroc
co
GROUP E P W D L GF GA GD Pts GROUP G P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Brazil 3 2 1 0 5 1 4 7 Belgium 3 3 0 0 9 2 7 9
Switzerland 3 1 2 0 5 4 1 5 England 3 2 0 1 8 3 5 6
Serbia 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3 Tunisia 3 1 0 2 5 8 -3 3
Costa Rica 3 0 1 2 2 5 -3 1 Panama 3 0 0 3 2 11 -9 0
GROUP F P W D L GF GA GD Pts GROUP H P W D L GF GA GD Pts
Sweden 3 2 0 1 5 2 3 6 Colombia 3 2 0 1 5 2 3 6
Mexico 3 2 0 1 3 4 -1 6 Japan 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
Korea Rep. 3 1 0 2 3 3 0 3 Senegal 3 1 1 1 4 4 0 4
Germany 3 1 0 2 2 4 -2 3 Poland 3 1 0 2 2 5 -3 3
87
PATH TO THE FINAL
PATH TO THE FINAL

HOW THE LAST 16 SHAPED UP
he line-up for the last 16 threw up some interesting ties, guaranteeing that some big names would
T exit the tournament before the quarter-inals. England’s defeat against Belgium – coupled with
Germany’s shock exit – meant they ended up in the more favourable side of the draw, causing
expectations at home and in the media to rise. The pick of the round would see France take on Argentina, Brazil’s Neymar struggled
to light up the
becoming known
as two previous World Cup winners square of. Hosts Russia would have to take on 2014 winners Spain, group stages as hoped,
her than his flair
more for his theatrics rat
while European Champions Portugal would face a tough test against Luis Suárez and company. The
potential of a quarter-inal clash between Brazil and Belgium could be on the cards, meaning one of the
pre-tournament favourites would be exiting the tournament before the semi-inals at least.
LAST 16
Uruguay
Portugal
France
Argentina
Brazil
Mexico
Belgium
Japan
88
PATH TO THE FINAL
Eventual
Golden B
helped Cro all winne
r Luka Mo
atia swee dric
and top th p a s ide Argen
eir group tina
with three
wins
After coming so close to

upsetting Germany,
Sweden gathered thems
elves and comfortably
dispatched Mexico to qua
lify for the last 16 LAST 16
Spain
Russia
Croatia
Denmark
Sweden
Switzerland
Colombia
England
89
WORLD CUP FINALS
TUESDAY 3 JULY 2018

SPARTAK STADIUM, MOSCOW
COLOMBIA 1 - 1 ENGLAND
ENGLAND WIN 4-3 ON PENALTIES
Yerry Mina (90+3’) HT 0-0 FT 1-1 Harry Kane (57’ pen)
AET 1-1
ENGLAND COLOMBIA
1 Pickford 1 Ospina
2 Walker 4 Arias
(Rashford 113') (Zapata 116')
5 Stones 13 Mina
6 Maguire 23 Sánchez
12 Trippier 17 Mojica
18 Young 6 Sánchez
(Rose 102') (Uribe 79')
8 Henderson 5 Barrios
7 Lingard 16 Lerma
20 Alli (Bacca 62' )
(Dier 81') 20 Quintero
10 Sterling (Muriel 88')
(Vardy 88') 11 Cuadrado
9 Kane 9 Falcao
ith England, penalty shootouts generally aren’t welcome occasions
W – unsurprising considering that the last time they won one was
against Spain in Euro ’96, and that they have lost all ive they've
been involved in in the 22 years since. Thankfully, sixth time proved to be
the charm, as they banished their ghosts with a thrilling shootout victory
against Colombia. Even so, this match proved to be both challenging and
character-forming in a number of regards.
The regular starting 11 reinstated (the returning Dele Alli preferred to
Ruben Loftus-Cheek), they steamed into Colombia and Harry Kane came
close on 16 minutes with a header. Colombia, missing of the presence of
talismanic Real Madrid midielder James Rodríguez through injury, showed
substantial feistiness, an early of-the-ball exchange between Juan Cuadrado
and Harry Maguire a sign of things to come.
90
COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
A moment to savour for Gareth

Southgate, as the joy and relief of
emerging from a penalty shootout
victorious was a feeling
he shared with the nation
91
WORLD CUP FINALS
The Colombia players

vent their frustration at
the referee… a scene
that became all too
familiar in the game
Eric Dier reels away in celebration

after scoring his spot kick to put
England through to the quarter finals
92
COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
In truth, the irst half didn’t produce much action of note, with
the standout incident being yet another of-the-ball one. While
waiting for a free kick, some jostling in the wall culminated in
Colombia’s Wílmar Barrios head-butting Jordan Henderson, the
Liverpool skipper going to ground. It was certainly an over-reaction,
but somehow only resulted in a booking from referee Mark Geiger.
It was a moment of leniency that inluenced the rest of the game.
Even the half-time break wasn’t free from controversy, with a
member of the Colombia backroom staf appearing to deliberately
shove Raheem Sterling as he left the pitch. And viewers didn’t have
to wait very long for more, as ten minutes into the second half,
Carlos Sánchez wrestled Harry Kane to the ground in the area as
England whipped in a corner.
Remarkably, Colombia contested the decision, holding up the
game for a couple of minutes as they surrounded the referee,
with one player even scuing up the penalty spot. It didn’t work
however; Kane coolly stepped up to open the scoring with his third
penalty of the tournament.
Yerry Mina (right) celebrates

with teammate Juan Cuadrado
after his late equaliser sends
the match into extra time
93
WORLD CUP FINALS
Despite the histrionics of the

Colombian players, Harry Kane
kept his cool to score his penalty
and put England ahead
Colombia had proved themselves a decent footballing side in

their group-stage matches, but for lack of a better phrase, they
appeared to totally lose their heads in the wake of conceding,
contesting numerous decisions and at times appearing more intent
on going for the player than the ball and subsequently mobbing the
referee, ultimately resulting in six bookings.
For their part, England displayed a cynical edge not previously
seen from them at major tournaments. John Stones appeared to
drag his heel over the top of Radamel Falcao’s head after a foul
on the Monaco striker; Jesse Lingard went in the book for a late
challenge, and Harry Maguire was accused of diving after appearing
to jump out of a tackle.
Amid all this, Colombia were slowly getting a foothold in the
game, with Falcao especially looking dangerous. Their pressure was
rewarded when substitute Mateus Uribe let ly from distance, only
for Pickford to tip it over for one of the saves of the tournament.
If the game had inished there then all talk would have been of
the save, but fate had a diferent idea. From the corner, Barcelona
Mateus Uribe holds his head in his hands after

his spot kick cannons back off the crossbar,
allowing England back into the game
94
COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
Jordan Henderson goes down after

receiving a headbutt to the chin from
Wílmar Barrios, who managed
to escape with a booking
Dier enjoys a moment with manager

Gareth Southgate– who himself was able to
lay to rest the memory of his spot-kick
miss against Germany during Euro ’96
95
WORLD CUP FINALS
96
COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
Jordan Pickford made himself a hero

among England fans – not to mention
his teammates – after his penalty
shootout save from Carlos Bacca
97
WORLD CUP FINALS
Jordan Henderson walks away after

seeing his spot kick saved
Jesse Lingard and Kane celebrate

after the shootout
98
COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
Pickford and Trippier try in vain to keep
out Yerry Mina’s goal-bound effort in
the final moments of normal time
centre back Yerry Mina beat Maguire to power a header goalwards,

leaving Pickford stranded as Trippier, guarding the post, could only
direct it to the underside of the bar, and into the net. Moments later,
the full-time whistle blew.
Shell-shocked, and facing a newly energised Colombia side
buoyed by the majority support of the mostly yellow Spartak
Stadium, England began the irst half of injury time on the back
foot, inviting pressure on themselves. Mina and Falcao both
threatened as England inished the irst half on the ropes. In the
second half things looked up for them slightly, with substitutes
Jamie Vardy and Danny Rose both having decent attempts, but the
method of resolution seemed inevitable – and so with the whistle,
came the moment every England fan had been dreading.
The shootout proceeded without hitch for either side: Falcao
stepped up irst and made no mistake, and Kane followed suit. Next
was Cuadrado, followed by Marcus Rashford for England and then
Muriel for Colombia. It appeared that history was repeating itself
when Henderson’s low drive was saved by David Ospina, but a twist
was in store.
99
WORLD CUP FINALS
Instead of putting his side ahead, Mateus Uribe hit the crossbar, Even so, recriminations rumbled on: Colombia manager Jose
and Kieran Trippier emphatically slotted home to settle England’s Pekerman accused England’s players of diving and criticised Geiger,
nerves. Through all this, Pickford kept his nerve, and brilliantly saved who Falcao also accused of favouring England. Even Diego Maradona
from Carlos Bacca, silencing his critics from the Belgium game. He got involved, saying England had “committed robbery”, and
later revealed that he had hidden notes about Colombia’s penalty slammed FIFA for appointing an American referee (comments he
takers on the side of his water bottle. Finally, up stepped Eric Dier, later apologised for). England fought back, Stones calling Colombia
who sent England through to the quarter inals, reeling away to be “probably the dirtiest team that I’ve ever come up against”, and
mobbed by his teammates and Southgate himself. Southgate deiantly declaring, “Maybe we’re now playing by the rules
Scrappy it may have been, but its importance beyond merely the rest of the world are playing by”, before accurately pointing out
progressing to the next round cannot be understated. Penalties were that Colombia had committed more fouls (23 to England’s 13).
one of the great hoodoos hanging over the English national team, In the end, it doesn’t matter. Faced with their irst real test of the
and to inally banish this represented a gargantuan weight of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, England passed, even if they didn’t quite ace it.
players’ backs. More than anything else, ‘Coming home’ became far Nonetheless, it was exactly the galvanising moment they needed to
more than a semi-ironic meme; people began to truly believe. propel forward.
100
COLOMBIA V ENGLAND
MATCH STATS COLOMBIA ENGLAND

POSSESSION
48% 52%
SHOTS
14 16
SHOTS ON TARGET
4 2
CORNERS
2 7
FOULS
23 13
101
PATH TO THE FINAL
PATH TO THE FINAL

BIG NAMES TUMBLE AS 16 BECOME EIGHT…
s Sweden dug deep to overcome Switzerland and secure their place in the quarter-inals against
A England, elsewhere the 2018 FIFA World Cup really came to life. Brazil were unconvincing in their
2-0 win over Mexico, and Croatia squeezed past Denmark via a penalty shootout, with both Kasper
Schmeichel and Danijel Subašić proving hard to beat from 12 yards. The tournament also waved goodbye
th-minute winner as Belgiu
m
Nacer Chadli scored a 94
to both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as Portugal were beaten 2-1, and Argentina were outplayed came from 2-0 down to
scrape past Japan
by France in a thrilling game, which saw Kylian Mbappé show why PSG were willing to part with €180
million to secure the services of the teenager. Elsewhere, Belgium staged a stunning comeback to break
Japanese hearts, while hosts Russia shocked Spain with an incredible victory courtesy of penalties.
Uruguay 2
QUARTER-FINALS
Uruguay
France
France 4
Brazil 2
Brazil
Belgium
Belgium 3
102
PATH TO THE FINAL
Defeat to
France m
Cup was eant Arge
over. At 3 ntina’s W
Lionel Me 1, would orld
ssi at a W we ever s
orld Cup ee
finals aga
in?
Russian keeper Igor Aki

nfeev was the hero of
their penalty shootout vic
tory over Spain,
as the host nation march
ed on
QUARTER-FINALS
1 (4) Russia
Russia
Croatia
1 (3) Croatia
1 Sweden
Sweden
England
1 (4) England
103
WORLD CUP FINALS
SATURDAY 7 JULY 2018

SAMARA, SAMARA ARENA
SWEDEN 0 - 2 ENGLAND
HT 0-1 FT 0-2 Maguire (30’) Alli (58’)
SWEDEN ENGLAND
1 Olsen 1 Pickford
16 Krafth 2 Walker
(Jansson 85’) 5 Stones
3 Lindelöf 6 Maguire
4 Granqvist 12 Trippier
6 Augustinsson 20 Alli
17 Claesson (Delph 77’)
7 Larsson 8 Henderson
8 Ekdal (Dier 85’)
10 Forsberg 7 Lingard
(Olsson 65’) 18 Young
9 Berg 10 Sterling
20 Toivonen (Rashford 90+1’)
(Guidettiat 65’) 9 Kane
he piercing screech of the inal whistle was almost immediately
T drowned out by the adulation in the stands. Fewer than 3,000 England
supporters dared travel the distance to Samara, a remote city in Russia
that was once – as recently, in fact, as 1990 – entirely inaccessible to the
wider world. The fans may have been outnumbered, but they certainly
made their presence known in amongst the 36,991 patrons of rival nations
that enveloped them. Combine that with the 20 million cheering on from
home and the energy was palpable, to say the least. And as it should
have been. England had, against all odds, earned themselves a spot in
a World Cup semi-inal for the irst time in 28 years. For everybody and
anybody that has ever found themselves gazing longingly at three lions on
a shirt and dared to dream – even for a second – of football coming home
understood what this moment meant in the pantheon of World Cup history.
104
SWEDEN V ENGLAND
Dele Alli’s performances had raised

some questions over his fitness, but his
goal against Sweden showed the
unquestionable potential he has
105
WORLD CUP FINALS
Harry Maguire’s first international goal

was a just reward for his commanding
displays throughout the tournament
106
SWEDEN V ENGLAND
While Pickford didn’t have a great deal

to do in the game, he made a number
of impressive stops to ensure
England progressed to the semi-finals
Were you to look at the players, however, you’d ind that their
faces told a diferent story. They remained composed and calm,
quietly celebrating amongst themselves before approaching the
chaos that was threatening to erupt out of the stands and onto the
pitch of the Samara Arena. This is an England side that we haven’t
seen before in years past, professional in all that it does – aware of
the enormity of its plight, treating every aspect of it with the gravity
that it deserves. It wasn’t just the minutes after the match that
relected this shift in attitude, but the 93 that preceded them too.
Were we to be purposefully demanding of our young, and
relatively inexperienced, national squad perhaps we’d argue that
England needed to be a touch more aggressive in maintaining
possession or more clinical in its passing – more willing to take risks
in front of goal without allowing the rigid 3-5-2 structure to fall apart
behind the leading line. If we’re being too critical it all stems from a
good place, a desire to see this team succeed as it looked ahead to a
semi-inal tie versus a tireless Croatian squad.
In many respects, this game, against a belligerent Swedish
team, would prove to be another integral test for manager Gareth
107
WORLD CUP FINALS
England’s Jesse Lingard stepped up his game

inside of the Samara Stadium, providing
the assist for Dele Alli’s goal
Southgate and the players that follow him. Sweden aren’t prone to
making mistakes, ensuring that the opening minutes of this game
felt like a test of England’s will and spirit more so than anything
else. By the half-hour mark England were cutting a sluggish igure;
passes were misplaced and runs misjudged. Was this England
struggling to adapt to the pace of the game – an element of play
it had no trouble controlling when facing Tunisia, Panama and
Colombia – or were the nerves inally starting to set in, the weight
of the occasion baring down on weary shoulders? It’s a question
England quickly answered as Sweden made its irst miscalculation
of the game, one of only a handful.
While it might not be surprising for fans of Leicester City, there
are no other players in the 2018 FIFA World Cup that have won
more aerial challenges than Harry Maguire – making only his tenth
appearance for his country here. Why Sweden thought it best
for Emil Forsberg to cover Maguire remains to be seen; England’s
irst corner of the game was met with a powerful header from the
young central defender, with Maguire using his seven-inch height
108
SWEDEN V ENGLAND
Jordan Pickford picked up a man-of-
the-match award for his efforts, his
diving leap to deny Marcus Berg a
particular highlight
109
WORLD CUP FINALS
England march on, showing class and

composure to secure their first World
Cup semi-final appearance since 1990
110
SWEDEN V ENGLAND
Dele Alli's goal meant England had

the comfort of a two-goal lead, and
they never looked like surrendering it
advantage to climb above Forsberg and reach the ball uncontested

with ease. Goalkeeper Robin Olsen didn’t stand a chance, though
he should have been prepared for this particular set-piece play:
England has worked four of its 11 tournament goals out from the
corner lag now.
If the game could be considered a little laboured before this,
England quickly settled into a comfortable rhythm following the
goal. Sweden will, of course, rue missed opportunities thanks to
the impeccable work ethic and skill displayed from England keeper
Jordan Pickford. The 24-year old has proven that he is more than
capable of handling the pressure of the occasion, pulling of two
spellbinding saves to deny a Marcus Berg header at the beginning
of the second half and, later, denied Viktor Claesson just as Sweden
were threatening to mount a counter-ofensive. He wasn’t kept all
that busy throughout the game, but he was there when it mattered
most – a reliable pair of hands that earned his irst clean sheet of
the campaign in style.
That was made possible by some phenomenal work across the
pitch. The conidence emanating from this team was rejuvenating,
111
WORLD CUP FINALS
England’s defensive line of Walker,

Stones and Maguire recorded
their first – and only – clean
sheet of the tournament
to say the least. Jordan Henderson, Kieran Trippier and Jesse

Lingard took control of the midield in the second half, shuttering
any hope of a Sweden revival. That was made only too clear as
Trippier quickly pulled the ball back from the wing and into the
feet of Lingard who had worked himself plenty of space, giving him
the freedom to loft a ball into the head of Deli Alli at the far post to
secure England’s second goal. It was a clinical manoeuvre, straight
from the training ground, but it worked to quell the notion that this
England squad is incapable of scoring from open play.
For fans at home, a two-goal cushion in a World Cup quarter-inal
was almost incomprehensible. In the biggest match of these players’
lives, they were putting on a commanding display, dominating
possession where it matter and giving very little away. Sweden
rarely threatened, and looked like a team struggling to ind a way
back into the match. As the minutes ticked by, it became clear
that England would see this one out, and book their spot in the
semi-inals.
112
SWEDEN V ENGLAND
MATCH STATS SWEDEN ENGLAND

POSSESSION
43% 57%
SHOTS
7 11
SHOTS ON TARGET
4 6
CORNERS
1 6
FOULS
8 7
113
PATH TO THE FINAL
PATH TO THE FINAL

ONE STEP CLOSER AS THE SEMIS LOOM LARGE…
ith England’s place in the semi-inals secured through a dominant display against Sweden, all
W eyes were on who they’d face for a place in the World Cup inal. Croatia’s quality was matched
by Russia’s tireless passion, and after a fascinating game inished 1-1 after 90 minutes, Croatia
thought they had the game won thanks to an extra time header from Domagoj Vida, only for Figueira Russia’s dreams of a sem
i-final were
baš ic kept out
dashed by Croatia, as Su
Fernandes to send the game to penalties as he equalised for the hosts with ive minutes left. A tense penalties from Smolov and
Fer nandes
shoot-out ended with euphoria for Croatia, as Russia’s incredible run ultimately came up short. On the
other side of the draw, France dispatched Uruguay with a mature performance, while Brazil failed to show
the quality their team of stars are capable of, as a Kevin De Bruyne wonder-strike saw Belgium progress.
France 2 SEMI-FINALS
France 4
France
Belgium
Belgium 2
Belgium 3
114
PATH TO THE FINAL
It was a m
Fernando oment to
Muslera, forget for
w ho fumble Uruguay
effort and d an Anto keeper
couldn’t p ine Griezm
revent the ann
ball cross
ing the lin
e
A Kevin De Bruyne thunde

rbolt was enough
to give Belgium the edge
over Brazil
SEMI-FINALS 2 (4) Croatia

1 (3) Croatia
Croatia
England
2 England
1 (4) England
115
WORLD CUP FINALS
WEDNESDAY 11 JULY 2018

LUZHNIKI STADIUM, MOSCOW
CROATIA 2 - 1 ENGLAND
Perišic (68’) Mandzukic (109’) HT 0-1 FT 1-1 Trippier (5’)
AET 2-1
CROATIA ENGLAND
23 Subašić 1 Pickford
2 Vrsaljko 2 Walker
6 Lovren (Vardy 112’)
21 Vida 5 Stones
3 Strinić 6 Maguire
(Pivarić 95’) 8 Henderson
11 Brozović (Dier 97’)
18 Rebić 12 Trippier
(Kramarić 101’) 7 Lingard
10 Modrić 20 Alli
(Badelj 119’) 18 Young
7 Rakitić (Rose 90’)
4 Perišić 9 Kane
17 Mandžukić 10 Sterling
(Ćorluka 115’) (Rashford 74’)
n the end, football didn’t come home. Not this time. But for 45 minutes
I of England’s irst World Cup semi-inal since 1990, it seemed like it might.
When England last reached this stage, their opponents in Moscow,
Croatia, were still a year away from becoming an independent nation.
But despite the years of hurt, and the quality of the opposition, Gareth
Southgate’s team entered their penultimate match of an unforgettable
World Cup riding a wave of, if not expectation, then hope.
England, as ever, began brightly and purposefully. Kyle Walker and Jordan
Henderson probed the Croatia defence with a couple of early, searching
balls, looking for a breakthrough. It came after just ive minutes.
A lofted pass was headed clear by Ivan Strinić, but taken down deftly by
Jesse Lingard, who nudged it into the path of the onrushing Dele Alli. The
Spurs midielder took a couple of touches before he was bundled over by
116
CROATIA V ENGLAND
Mandžukic’s strike in extra time was

his 32nd goal for Croatia. Only
Davor Suker (45) has scored more
117
WORLD CUP FINALS
England players pile on an ecstatic Trippier in

celebration. The last man to score for England in
a World Cup semi-final was Gary Lineker in 1990
Trippier’s strike was England’s ninth set piece goal of

the World Cup, but their first from a direct free kick
since David Beckham scored against Ecuador in 2006
118
CROATIA V ENGLAND
The teams take to the pitch for the

national anthems, and the stage is set for
the second World Cup semi-final of 2018
a recovering Luka Modrić, and the Croatia captain conceded a free

kick just outside his team’s penalty area.
England’s set piece prowess was thrust to the fore throughout
their run in this tournament – just three of their 11 goals had come
from open play leading up to the semi-inal. This time it was Kieran
Trippier who stood over the ball, roughly 25 yards from goal. A short
run-up, a curving, dipping strike past an unsighted Danijel Subašić,
and England led. Cue pandemonium among the players, and the
sizeable English contingent inside the Luzhniki Stadium.
Trippier’s irst international goal added an even greater sense
of urgency to England’s play. Minutes later, the right back’s out-
swinging corner met the head of Harry Maguire – not for the irst
time – but the Leicester City defender’s attempt lew wide.
In response, Ivan Perišić cut in from the left and lashed a long-
range shot past Jordan Pickford’s post, but Croatia looked rattled.
Two marathon games in the previous rounds that had both gone
to extra time and penalties seemed to be taking their toll. Even the
usually unlappable Modrić and Ivan Rakitić were struggling to exert
119
WORLD CUP FINALS
Kieran Trippier’s free kick flies towards the top
corner, on the way to giving England an early lead.
It was the Spurs full back’s first international goal
their inluence, with Henderson, Alli and Lingard applying constant

pressure, and Harry Kane dropping deep to ind space.
Soon after, Alli found Lingard in a pocket of space inside the
Croatia D. After a quick look up, he slipped a pass through to Kane.
His touch was good, but a weak shot was bundled away by Subašić
towards the goal line. Alive to it, Kane managed to drag the ball
back and swung a right-footed shot towards goal from all of two
yards. Subašić somehow managed to get a foot on the ball, diverting
it onto the post before it ricocheted back of his shin and looped
over the bar. The angle was tight, but for a striker of Kane’s ability,
he really should have scored. At the time, it seemed like a golden
opportunity wasted. In retrospect, it seems like a turning point.
Kane’s miss emboldened Croatia, and they began to work the ball
more dangerously, shifting play from lank to lank and exposing
the space behind the England wing backs. A izzing cross from Ante
Rebić was cleared by John Stones, but the winger ired the rebound
back towards goal – though straight at Pickford. Then it was Perišić’s
turn to test the England back line. Another low cross eluded Walker,
Perišic celebrates his equaliser. This was his sixth

goal at a major tournament, having previously
netted at Euro 2016 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup
120
CROATIA V ENGLAND
Only a goal-line clearance prevented John

Stones from scoring his third World Cup goal,
and giving England the lead in extra time
Luka Modric embarks on yet another scampering
run away from Jordan Henderson. The Real Madrid
midfielder gave an exceptional display of the talents
that make him arguably the world’s best midfielder
121
WORLD CUP FINALS
Jordan Pickford’s outstanding save in the first

half of extra time helped cement his status as
one of England’s breakout World Cup stars
With tensions running high, tempers flared A tearful Kieran Trippier leaves the field
late on between Ivan Rakitic and Dele Alli. with an injury, which forced England to
The referee was quick to separate the pair play out the final minutes with ten men
122
CROATIA V ENGLAND
Stones and Maguire, and only the faintest of touches from Ashley
Young prevented Rebić from connecting at the back post.
At the other end, Kane and Raheem Sterling were becoming
increasingly isolated, but a quick break saw them joined by Lingard
who, following a lay-of, stroked a shot wide from just outside the
penalty area. It was a positive end to the irst half, but it was also
the last time England truly threatened.
After half time, Croatia’s dominance continued to grow. Perišić
had a goal-bound efort blocked, while Rebić and Šime Vrsaljko
attacked a visibly tired Young with cross after cross. With 68
minutes gone, the pressure inally told. Vrsaljko swung a deep
ball in towards the back post, and Perišić darted in front of Walker
to prod home with the base of his boot – a move that combined
technical excellence and stunning improvisation.
The score line was equal, but momentum was irmly with Croatia.
Soon after, a mix-up at the back gifted the ball to Perišić outside
the area. The winger shifted left and ired a shot across Pickford
and onto the post. Rebić could only delect the rebound into the
England goalkeeper’s grateful arms.
There was no let up from there – ferocious pressure from Modrić
and Marcelo Brozović ensured that, while Mario Mandžukić began
to bring his considerable frame to bear against the England defence.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford replaced Sterling to try and regain
some of England’s earlier menace on the counter, but his runs were
continually snufed out by the imposing Croatia back line. When
the full-time whistle came, it was a relief.
Ivan Perišic diverts the ball past Jordan Pickford

in the England goal. The Inter Milan winger deservedly picked
up the Man of the Match award for his performance
123
WORLD CUP FINALS
Dejan Lovren celebrates passionately at the final

whistle. The Liverpool defender had endured
a tough season domestically but put in an
outstanding performance in the semi-final
Extra time arrived, and brought with it the irst England chance
in what felt like an age. As ever, it came from a set piece. Another
Trippier corner was met by a thundering header from Stones, but it
was cleared of the goal line by Vrsaljko, with Subašić left stranded.
Soon after, Perišić raced clear once again, and his teasing cross
was met by Mandžukić six yards out – only to be stopped by a
sensational, point-blank save from Pickford.
As huge as those moments felt, however, they were quickly
forgotten. With 109 minutes on the clock, Perišić beat Trippier in
the air to win a knockdown into the box. As Stones and Maguire
watched, Mandžukić stole between them. A quick stutter-step
helped align his run, before he hit a irst-time shot, left-footed past
Pickford. It was emphatic, it was heartbreaking, but it was deserved.
England had some time, but they could do nothing with it. This
wasn’t their night, it was Croatia’s, but they left the ield to rapturous
applause nonetheless. The most successful English side in a
generation ultimately came up short, but they made us believe. Just
for a moment.
Gareth Southgate thanks the travelling England

fans for their support. They reciprocate – the
England manager has achieved more at
this tournament than they dared hope
124
CROATIA V ENGLAND
Southgate consoles his players as

the realisation of a possible missed
opportunity begins to sink in
MATCH STATS CROATIA ENGLAND

POSSESSION
56% 44%
SHOTS
22 11
SHOTS ON TARGET
7 2
CORNERS
8 4
FOULS
23 14
125
PATH TO THE FINAL
PATH TO THE FINAL

THE LAST HURDLE, FOR A SHOT AT IMMORTALITY
t was semi-inal heartbreak again for England, as Croatia secured their place in their irst ever World
I Cup inal, leaving England to settle for the dreaded third-place play-of against Belgium. The much-
fancied Belgians had put in some impressive displays during the tournament, showing both quality
and resilience to dispatch the likes of Brazil and Japan. But they came up against a well-drilled French side
for Belgium, who were
It proved a game too far
who were getting stronger as the tournament went on. The game was ultimately decided by a set-piece, as t-ever World Cup final
hoping to reach their firs
Samuel Umtiti’s near-post header from a corner was enough to send France to their third World Cup inal.
As for Belgium, their golden generation came up short once more, leaving many to question whether a
team with the likes of Lukaku, Hazard, De Bruyne, Courtois, and Kompany, would ever lift a major trophy.
France 2
France 4
France 1
WORLD CUP FINAL
France
THIRD PLACE Belgium
126
PATH TO THE FINAL
Heartbrea
k for Engla
nd as the
on what c y reflect
ould have
been
Umtiti’s header was eno

ugh to send Les
Bleus into their third Wo
rld Cup final
WORLD CUP FINALS
SATURDAY 14 JULY 2018

KRESTOVSKY STADIUM, SAINT PETERSBURG
BELGIUM 2 - 0 ENGLAND
Meunier (4’) Hazard (82’ pen) HT 1-0 FT 2-0
BELGIUM ENGLAND
1 Courtois 1 Pickford
15 Meunier 12 Trippier
2 Alderweireld 16 Jones
4 Kompany 5 Stones
5 Vertonghan 6 Maguire
22 Chadli (Vermaelen 39’) 3 Rose
17 Tielemans (Dembele 78’) 4 Dier
6 Witsel 21 Loftus Cheek (Alli 84’)
7 De Bruyne 17 Delph
10 Hazard 10 Sterling (Rashford 45’)
9 Lukaku (Mertens 60’) 9 Kane
t just wasn’t meant to be for England’s young Lions in Russia, but just
I three days after Mario Mandžukić’s crushing winner to send Croatia into
their irst ever World Cup inal, Gareth Southgate had to haul his men
together for one inal battle.
The prize was a consolation one. England’s best inish at a World Cup
since the illustrious 1966 tournament was fourth in 1990, while the Belgians
reached the same milestone four years before in Mexico; a win for Belgium
would cap a best ever World Cup performance, while England were playing
for their best result since winning it. On the pitch and out of the history
books too, two strikers in the form of Kane and Lukaku were both shooting
for the Golden Boot: the Englishman leading the tally with six strikes, and
the Belgian playing catch-up on four.
The build-up to this game had hints of the irst meeting between
England and Belgium at this tournament. Both managers ielded a rotated
side, with Gareth Southgate opting to hand starts to his usual substitutes
128
BELGIUM V ENGLAND
129
WORLD CUP FINALS
Harry Maguire capped off a superb debut World

Cup with a solid performance, despite being
unable to keep a clean sheet for England
130
BELGIUM V ENGLAND
of the last four weeks Dier, Loftus-Cheek and Delph; Belgium’s

Roberto Martinez also tweaked his team, recalling Thomas Meunier
from suspension and giving a game to Monaco youngster Youri
Tielemans. Just like the original encounter from the group stage, the
competitive edge was slightly blunter than expected. It is perhaps
the irst time in World Cup history that two sides have met twice in
the same tournament with neither game being of much signiicance
to either side.
Despite the obviously dampened spirits of both camps though,
Belgium were quick out of the blocks. Martinez’s side had shown
throughout the competition that they were deadly from a counter
attack and the opening moments of this play-of only illustrated
the point. After four minutes, Meunier tapped home a Nacer Chadli
cross, after Romelu Lukaku had split the English defence. The
Three Lions were caught far too narrow at the back, with Danny
Rose being beaten to the ball by Belgium’s right-back; it was a case
of the PSG man simply wanting the ball more, and set the tone for
the afternoon.
Romelu Lukaku had a couple of opportunities

to add to his goal tally, but Pickford – and
his touch – thwarted him each time
131
WORLD CUP FINALS
England began to carve out opportunities and grew into the

irst half, albeit still sufering the hangover from their semi-inal.
Raheem Sterling stretched the play nicely at times, and England’s
best chance of the irst period came from the Man City attacker
doing just that; after a looping ball from Eric Dier was controlled
by Sterling, he set up Harry Kane, who slipped as he sent the ball
narrowly wide. England had struggled to create those kinds of
chances in their match against Croatia, so it was an improvement in
that sense, at least.
The opposition pinned England back at times, with Belgian
centre-back Toby Alderweireld spinning a ball narrowly over the
bar from a corner. As the second half beckoned, Southgate threw
on Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard to chase the game, and
immediately England looked a little more positive. After a spell in
which England looked conident, Dier broke forward, combined
with Rashford for a one-two, and beat the Belgian defence. The
Spurs man dinked it over Courtois superbly, but was denied in
the last minute by his club colleague Alderweireld, who stretched
Manchester United teammates Romelu Lukaku

and Marcus Rashford share a handshake
132
BELGIUM V ENGLAND
Paris Saint-Germain full-back Thomas Meunier gets

the game off to a flying start, meeting Nacer Chadli’s
cross to open the scoring in the first five minutes
133
WORLD CUP FINALS
Fabian Delph was typically versatile,
playing the first half in midfield, and the second at
left-back following Danny Rose’s substitution
134
BELGIUM V ENGLAND
Captain Eden Hazard coolly slots

home Belgium’s second goal
a leg to clear a certain goal from the line. It typiied both sides in
the latter stages of the tournament; Dier hit the ball with good
technique but was just unlucky, as Belgium’s team mentality came
to the rescue to bail Courtois out. Despite some mazy runs from
Loftus-Cheek and a couple of textbook Trippier crosses during
England’s dominant period of the second half, the Dier dink was as
good an opportunity as the English had all game.
Napoli’s Dries Mertens replaced Romelu Lukaku on the hour,
marking an end to the Man United striker’s pursuit of a World Cup
Golden Boot. Mertens gave the Red Devils a little more luidity
though, and in one particular move, used Hazard and De Bruyne
to lick the ball through England’s midield before receiving back,
and delivering another pinpoint cross to Thomas Meunier. Meunier
met it sweetly and the shot produced a stunning save from Jordan
Pickford, emphasising how dependable the number one had been
to England all summer.
Belgium eventually doubled their lead though with only ten
minutes to go. The lethal duo of Eden Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne
135
WORLD CUP FINALS
Eric Dier came closest to scoring for

England, but his chip over Courtois was
superbly cleared off the line by Alderweireld
again prevailed, as they had done so often in Russia, when De

Bruyne fed a glorious ball through to his captain to put him one on
one with Pickford. Hazard dropped a shoulder and slid the ball to
Pickford’s right, giving him a third goal of the tournament. Gareth
Southgate sent on Dele Alli almost immediately in search of a reply,
but England were unable to trouble Belgium.
Despite being two games away from immortality after beating
Sweden, the 2018 FIFA World Cup ended for England in two
defeats. The last two games of the tournament really highlighted
that however promising the signs of this young team were, there
was still a long way to go. It was a sentiment echoed by Gareth
Southgate when he admitted that the squad hadn’t shown nearly
what they’re capable of in the future.
Defeat against Belgium didn’t dampen the tournament for the
English faithful either. It was a welcome change for those who
remembered the Euro 2016 humiliation at the hands of Iceland.
Football may not have been coming home this time, but England
had at least done the country proud.
136
BELGIUM V ENGLAND
The Belgian players celebrate their win in the

third place play-off, which marks the best
performance of any Belgian side at a World Cup
MATCH STATS BELGIUM ENGLAND

POSSESSION
42% 58%
SHOTS
12 15
SHOTS ON TARGET
4 6
CORNERS
4 5
FOULS
11 4
137
WORLD CUP FINALS
A TOURNAMENT
TO REMEMBER
HOW A YOUNG TEAM RESTORED OUR FAITH IN FOOTBALL,
GAVE US HOPE AND BROUGHT A NATION TOGETHER
lthough in the end, football didn’t come home, there was
A
shootout win against Colombia brought relief and ecstasy to millions
a lot to be positive about in the 2018 FIFA World Cup. An of people whose only experience of English football up to that point
exit at the group stages back in 2014, followed by a shock had been heartbreak and disappointment. Not since Euro ’96 had
defeat to Iceland in Euro 2016, had left England fans frustrated, with football brought people together like this, as tens of millions tuned in
little hope or cause for optimism. It had been a long time since the to watch the games on TV, and fan parks saw huge crowds gather to
national team realised their potential, meeting – or even exceeding watch the team make history.
– expectations. But led by a manager who it was impossible not to Pride in the team – and the nation – was higher than it had been
like, the squad of 23 players restored hope to a nation. For the irst for a long time. It brought an escape from a period of economic
time in a long time, they played with hunger and commitment, with uncertainty, and it gave the country something to feel excited about;
moments of lair and quality that made people believe that we could something that brought everyone together, no matter your sex, race,
go all the way. religion or political views. And although ultimately it didn’t deliver
As victories against Tunisia and Panama secured England’s place in the fairytale ending we had all dared to dream of, it provided glorious
the next round, excitement back home started to build. Three Lions memories of a summer where for a few weeks, the country was
could be heard playing up and down the country, and the penalty united and hope for the future was restored.
France capped off a memorable tournament

with a thrilling 4-2 win against Croatia
in the final – the second time
they’ve won the trophy
138
A TOURNAMENT TO REMEMBER
Fans of all ages could enjoy the

atmosphere at home and abroad,
giving a whole new generation of fans
hope that they'll see success in the future
So close yet so far – another It was a summer to remember,

semi-final defeat left the as the glorious sunshine
country wondering if it'll ever added to the positivity
be England's time again… surrounding the tournament
139
WORLD CUP FINALS
Flags of the St George's Many fans watched the games

Cross adorned houses, shops, on big screens set up across
bars and restaurants, as the the country, soaking up the
country got behind the team carnival-esque atmosphere
140
The evening games gave

people a chance to forget about
work and enjoy the match
with friends and family
Three Lions once again

became the soundtrack for the
tournament, epitomising the
belief that this time, football
really was coming home
141
WORLD CUP FINALS
People from all walks of

life embraced the hype
and showed their support
A scene that became
commonplace during the
World Cup, as emotions –
and drinks – spilled over
142
Fans celebrate England's

second goal against Sweden
on a big screen in
Millennium Square, Leeds
There was a party atmosphere in

Hyde Park as fans prepared for
the semi-final against Croatia
143

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S of 2018
HEROE
ENGLAND S ’
WORLD CUP STORY
From glorious highs to agonising lows, take a look back at a tournament
that exceeded expectations and restored the faith of a nation
ROAD TO THE WORLD CUP THE SQUAD

Relive the highlights of the qualifying campaign, Meet the young lions who made us all believe and
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and see how England booked their place in Russia gave us hope for the future
ENGLAND MATCH REPORTS RELIVE THE MEMORIES

Every moment of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Celebrate a tournament that broke records and
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100% UNOFFICIAL

EVERY GAME COVERED m ALL THE KEY STATS m PLAYER PROFILES

Heroes of 2018: England’s World Cup Story

Future plc is a public Chief executive Zillah Byng-Thorne

12 ENGLAND V MALTA 36 THE PREPARATIONS

14 SLOVENIA V ENGLAND 38 THE SQUAD

16 ENGLAND V SCOTLAND 62 TUNISIA V ENGLAND

18 ENGLAND V LITHUANIA 70 ENGLAND V PANAMA

20 SCOTLAND V ENGLAND 78 ENGLAND V BELGIUM

22 MALTA V ENGLAND 86 FINAL TABLES

114 PATH TO THE FINAL

116 CROATIA V ENGLAND

126 PATH TO THE FINAL

128 THIRD PLACE PLAY-OFF

Living the dream; Allardyce had made no

E back of a humiliating elimination at the hands of Iceland at

Could Allardyce and Roone

SUNDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2016

S a winning start, but it wasn’t plain sailing in England’s irst

1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Stones 3 Rose 8 Henderson (Alli 64')

1 Kozácik 2 Pekarík 3 Skrtel 4 Durica 15 Hubocan 22 Pecovsky (Gyömbér 56')

Liverpool’s Adam Lallana ﬁnds the

Sturridge scored his ﬁrst goal

SATURDAY 8 OCTOBER 2016

T one match in charge, Sam Allardyce left the England manager's

1 Hogg 6 Borg 17 Camilleri 5 Agius 20 Muscat 22 Muscat 18 Kristensen 4 Sciberras 13 Schembri

TUESDAY 11 OCTOBER 2016

D campaign, it was goalkeeper Joe Hart that earned England a

Tottenham left-back Danny Rose had

Daniel Sturridge’s goal was his fourth

Scotland’s James Forrest was among

FRIDAY 11 NOVEMBER 2016

1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Stones 3 Rose 8 Henderson

It was Jermain Defoe’s ﬁrst international goal for

SUNDAY 26 MARCH 2017

B victims of the previous week's terror attack on London, but

1 Hart 2 Walker 6 Stones 5 Keane 3 Bertrand 8 Oxlade-Chamberlain

16 Setkus 8 Vaitkunas 4 Kijanskas 2 Klimavicius 3 Slavickas 10 Zulpa 17 Kuklys 22 Cernych

Manchester City attacker Raheem

His ﬁrst match as the permanent manager of

Striker Harry Kane makes a captain’s

SATURDAY 10 JUNE 2017

1 Hart 2 Walker 6 Smalling 5 Cahill 3 Bertrand 8 Livermore (Defoe 90+2') 4 Dier

FRIDAY 1 SEPTEMBER 2017

1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Jones 3 Bertrand 8 Livermore 4 Henderson 11 Oxlade-Chamberlain

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck

Tottenham midﬁelder Eric Dier gets

Rashford’s winner sees

Stanislav Lobotka capitalises

MONDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2017

A second-placed Slovakia didn’t go exactly according to plan

1 Hart 2 Walker 5 Cahill 6 Jones 3 Bertrand 8 Dier 4 Henderson

23 Dubravka 2 Pekarík 3 Skrtel 4 Durica 15 Hubocan 14 Skriniar

On the touchline, the England

THURSDAY 5 OCTOBER 2017

T particularly impressed, as at home to a weak Slovenian side,

1 Hart 2 Walker 6 Stones 5 Cahill 3 Bertrand 8 Henderson 4 Dier

1 Oblak 23 Struna 17 Mevlja 5 Cesar 13 Jokic 14 Bezjak (Repas 72')

Captain Kane is overjoyed to have