This Canada goose is ready. Are you? Photograph: Jennifer Gauthier/ReutersView image in fullscreenThis Canada goose is ready. Are you? Photograph: Jennifer Gauthier/ReutersIt’s World Cup week – will the hope, memes and dreams be as good as it gets?#CONTENTGeopolitics World Cup Week is upon us, baby. We stand on the edge of greatness. Who will dream, who will dare to stay up on Friday night for the 3am (BST) kick-off of South Korea v Czechia, and live to tell the tale? Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone. Prevent the dog from barking with a juicy bone. Silence the pianos and, with muffled drum, bring out the television, let the morning come.
Yes, the undercooked boiled eggs at Fifa might have tried to ruin the World Cup with their extortionate ticket prices and other concerns but after nearly four years of waiting, we are now just three days away from the start of football’s greatest spectacle. Everywhere Football Daily looks there is a feast for the eyes. The Côte d’Ivoire squad checked into their hotel in Delaware wearing jackets that would make the Tango Orange Man blush. Brazil were also typically understated in their arrival after the plane carrying the Seleção squad was literally baptised by fire engines on the runway – Carlo Ancelotti’s side arrived safe in the USA USA USA before they beat Egypt in their final warmup match that featured movable corner flags.
The internet is already awash with #content – Big Website’s snazzy player guide and Bracketology game are live live live, glossy pre-tournament adverts from sportswear giants (including one that features Channing Tatum as Erling Haaland) have started doing the rounds, while Edgar Davids and Didier Drogba have been spotted playing cage football with Steve Nash in New York City. And is there a bigger dopamine hit than watching England fans refusing to do the Mexican Wave during the 1-0 warm-up win over New Zealand?
Let’s hope the GWC lives up to the considerable hype. US-based boffins at the Washington University in St Louis have revealed that dopamine can actually peak during anticipation of an event rather than during the event itself – apparently an evolutionary mechanism that helped our ancestors stay motivated during long hunts and gathering expeditions. Which is basically a nerdy way of saying that this week, this small euphoric window before the tournament begins, bursting with hope, memes and dreams, might be as good as it gets before the crushing disappointment of actually watching England/Scotland/Brazil/your favourite team crash out in the first knockout round. Roll on Thursday!
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I consider myself one of the greatest players ever. An 11 out of 10” – there’s gold in this here chat between the ever-modest Romário and Thiago Rabelo.View image in fullscreenStill looks like he could bag a hat-trick in the GWC. Photograph: Lucas Figueiredo/The Guardian
FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS
double quotation markPodcast-wise, I only listen to Football Weekly of course (ahem …) but I did happen to hear an interview with Jürgen Klinsmann. What’s fascinating about him is that whenever he’s interviewed he always trots out a story about Diego Maradona at Napoli doing a famous warm-up with ‘Live is Life’ playing in the background with him and his teammates warming up in the corner of the pitch and looking at him in awe. The problem is, that happened in a game in 1989 between Bayern Munich and Napoli in the semi-final of the old Big Vase but Klinsmann was at Stuttgart at the time. Stuttgart did play Napoli in the final, but Maradona didn’t do that warmup then, so he must have seen footage of the warmup so many times that he’s conflated the two. Memory is a funny old thing” – Noble Francis.
double quotation markRe: Graham Potter’s claim to be the best non-Swede to take the country to the World Cup (Friday’s Quote of the Day). Either he is unaware of the remarkable achievement of the English manager George Rayner who took them to the 1958 final (where they lost to Pelé’s Brazil) or he expects to win the whole damn thing! I’m weighing up whether to put this month’s housekeeping on them at 150-1” – Bob Wilcox
double quotation markImagine my shock when I read Friday’s Football Daily only to find that Neale Redington – whom I’m sure meant nothing by it – suggested that my questioning whether Andoni Iraola really wanted the potentially thankless job of Liverpool gaffer/convenient target meant that I might be a fan of Tottenham. But in the interest of full disclosure: no. I don’t really have a horse in the Premier League race, other than enjoying recent seasons of Manchester City for the sake of watching Erling Haaland turn world-class defenders into so many kanelsnurr. The team of my heart is the San Jose Earthquakes, but while I pull for a club that hasn’t won anything in quite some time, I still do not have the level of masochism necessary to be a Spurs supporter. Sorry. Wishing Iraola luck (he’s likely to need it)” –Ray Anselmo.
double quotation markMay I ask who this Ricardo Lopes is who plays for Cape Verde and ‘Shamrock’? It couldn’t possibly be Roberto “Pico” Lopes of Shamrock Rovers, could it?” – Neill McGowan (and 1,056 others). If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day is … Noble Francis. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here.
SCOTLAND BREAKOUT
Norway have the hump with Scotland and it’s not over fishing rights in the North Sea. No, this is connected to the Scots cancelling a training-ground friendly between the two sides that had been scheduled for Monday. Peeved Norway head coach Ståle Solbakken has branded Scotland boss Steve Clarke “unprofessional” while team manager, Brede Hangeland, has been chuntering away to Norwegian TV about “gentleman’s agreements” being broken. The official line from Scotland is that they have several injury niggles and don’t want to take any risks but Football Daily has two other theories. One, Scotland don’t want to come down from the high of sticking four first-half goals past Bolivia during the friendly win in New Jersey at the weekend. Two, they’ve seen the picture below and decided if Erling Haaland isn’t even one of the taller members of the Norwegian squad, we’ll leave it, thanks.
View image in fullscreenYou don’t want to mess with these lads. Photograph: David Yarrow/Herrelandslaget
RECOMMENDED WATCHING
The New York City mayor, Zohran Mamdani, briefly stepped away from City Hall to tackle the ultimate football challenge: predicting the entire Geopolitics World Cup bracket in Big Website’s exclusive interactive game. From shocking early exits to his definitive pick for the final, see how Mamdani maps out the world’s biggest tournament. Spoiler alert: Curaçao don’t win his GWC.
9:34Zohran Mamdani plays the Guardian’s Bracketology to predict World Cup winner – video
RECOMMENDED LISTENING
It’s the Football Weekly pod squad with the first of their Geopolitics World Cup previews featuring Groups A-D.
RECOMMENDED FOLLOWING
How do you do fellow kids? Yes, there’s now a TikBook account with all things of a Big Website sporting focus. So, if you’re there, you know what to do.
NEWS, BITS AND BOBS
Christian Eriksen is expected to be discharged from hospital soon after he collapsed during Denmark’s friendly with Ukraine on Sunday. Television images showed Eriksen clutching his chest in the 65th minute; the match was quickly halted and abandoned shortly afterwards. “He is with his family and in good spirits,” said Denmark team doctor Morten Boesen.
Iran’s ambassador to Mexico said on Saturday the squad had been notified that, under their visa conditions, the team must enter and leave US soil on the same day as their matches. Iran’s latest kick-off time is their final group stage match against Egypt at 8pm local time in Seattle.
Mexico is planning to increase the police and security presence around Zócalo plaza in Mexico City to ensure the GWC fan festival can go ahead amid growing social unrest and public protests.
View image in fullscreenWorld Cup statues in Mexico have been hacked down by protesters. Photograph: Madla Hartz/EPA
Thomas Tuchel has named Declan Rice as England’s brave and loyal vice-captain at the Geopolitics World Cup, downplaying the significance of Jude Bellingham wearing the armband during the second half of the 1-0 victory against New Zealand.
Tom Garry exclusively reveals that Alexia Putellas has agreed personal terms with London City Lionesses, making her one of the biggest signings in Women’s Super League history.
Fifa has reached a settlement with former France midfielder Lassana Diarra in a player transfer rights case. Diarra had been seeking a cool €65m in damages from Fifa and the Belgian FA after the European Union’s top court ruled in October that some rules breached EU laws.
Bournemouth have appointed former player Matt Ritchie as technical director to replace Simon Francis. He’ll be busy this summer. Florentino Pérez has been re-elected chief suit of Real Madrid by an overwhelming majority, paving the way for José Mourinho to return as manager. Meanwhile Jürgen Klopp’s Mr 15% dismissed talk of the former Liverpool manager filling the vacant Bernabéu post had Enrique Riquelme become the club’s next president. “It’s annoying!” he tooted.
Kieron Dyer is the new Southend head coach. “[We’re] one of the biggest clubs in the National League and deserve to be a league club – I’m really excited to get started and hopefully get this club into the Football League, where it belongs,” he trilled.
And Divock Origi has retired at just 31.
STILL WANT MORE?
Here’s Barney Ronay’s big preview on the upcoming GWC: 10 years in the making, the greatest show on Earth is set for a six-week sprint through Trump’s America.
In her first column for this summer’s GWC, Emma Hayes warns that teams must be prepared for challenging travel and a cauldron of heat but will also encounter fantastic fans and a beautiful football culture.
Confused by all the new rules implemented by Fifa? Of course you are! Paul MacInnes explains all.
Jonathan Wilson ponders whether Lionel Messi is still capable of a final glorious chapter after living in Diego Maradona’s shadow.
View image in fullscreen Illustration: Nathan Daniels/The Guardian
From Donnarumma to Kvaratskhelia, Yara El-Shaboury picks an all-star team, with a maximum of two players per country, that all have the summer off.
Jacob Steinberg on how David Sullivan hoped football would legitimise him after claims about historical conduct have led to his resignation from West Ham.
Suzanne Wrack calls for calm, arguing that England’s heaviest defeat for decades does not signal the end for Sarina Wiegman’s European champions.
“This may be our last chance”: rising sea levels threaten Kiribati’s World Cup dream, reports Will Unwin in the latest edition of The Hotspot.
And Guardian readers share their mixed emotions – unease and apathy, but also excitement and optimism for the GWC.
MEMORY LANE
9 July 1994: Boston was no tea party for Spain and Luis Enrique in 1994. The now three-time Bigger-Cup-winning manager with Barcelona and PSG was a Real Madrid player back then, and against Italy in the quarter-finals at Foxboro Stadium, the then home of the New England Patriots, his nose copped for Mauro Tassotti’s elbow. It should have been a game-equalising penalty and a red card, but it was neither. Tassotti was later banned for eight games, but Italy went through as 2-1 winners. “I wanted to kill Tassotti,” Enrique later reminisced, not completely unreasonably.
View image in fullscreen Photograph: Henri Szwarc/Bongarts/Getty Images
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