Gareth Southgate admits France pose biggest test England could possibly face at the World Cup; Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka give England 3-0 win over Senegal; holders France await in quarter-final – and statisticians aren’t hopeful.
This is a news blog, so for live match updates on the Japan vs Croatia game follow the blog below.
While one Neymar was about to make his return at the World Cup, another was going home after a short stint in Qatar.
Eigon Oliveira, who calls himself “Ney’s Lookalike”, was busy during his time in the Middle East, where he attracted a lot of attention by impersonating Neymar.
It has been hard to spot the difference whenever Oliveira has put on Brazil’s training kit, and he has also donned similar sunglasses, hat and beard as the Brazil star.
He makes money out of his appearances and by acting as the player’s double in commercial shoots.
He told Brazilian media it all started while he worked as a waiter at a restaurant in Brazil and people started to talk about his resemblance with the real Neymar, which led to him getting hired by an agency.
During his World Cup visit, he caused a Puma store in Doha to temporarily close due to hundreds of fans coming to visit, and there was also trouble when he made it to one of Brazil’s games and fans clamoured to get autographs and a photo.
Before one of the matches, Oliveira managed to make it all the way to the field, as some security guards apparently thought he actually was Neymar.
In the post below, captioned “comment what NJ must have thought like this when he saw me”, he appears to show a moment the real Neymar spotted him in the stands.
Stepping away from the World Cup slightly, and Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr have made the best offer so far to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, Sky Sports News has been told.
But, contrary to reports, the Portugal star has not completed a deal to sign for the club.
The high-profile reporter of transfer news Fabrizio Romano has the deal would be worth almost €200m a season.
Ronaldo is currently a free agent after leaving Manchester United late last month.
He’s still in action at the World Cup, with his focus likely to be on overcoming Switzerland in the round of 16.
During this year’s competition, Ronaldo has become the second player to captain a country at the World Cup without being attached to a club team. The first was Bruce Wilson for Canada in 1986.
Bukayo Saka has been speaking to the media in the last few moments, discussing the team’s performance ahead of their battle against France on Saturday.
The 21-year-old was responsible for England’s third goal against Senegal last night, and has played well throughout the World Cup so far.
He said it has been a “great experience” and he is “happy” with his performance so far.
“There is no doubt in the quality we have in our team,” he added.
“We are blessed with an amazing front line with so much quality and attacking players.”
He added that the team has a lot of “tournament experience” and they “just need to prepare the best gameplan” ahead of Saturday’s match against France.
Saka was one of the England players who failed to score a penalty during the Euro 2020 final against Italy, ultimately losing the game.
Asked about the prospect of having to take another one, he said: “Obviously I have matured and progressed a lot as a player and I wouldn’t have stepped up in times for Arsenal if I wasn’t confident.
“So, if the moment comes, and I’m selected to take it, I’ll be more than happy to.”
He added that he has tried to “move on” from the Euros moment, and scoring three goals for England in the World Cup so far has “lifted” him up.
Japan’s match against Croatia is due to kick off in less than an hour.
Here’s who will be playing for each team:
Japan
Croatia
England forward Marcus Rashford has shared a picture of him and his mum sat in the stands of Al Bayt Stadium in Qatar.
The photo was taken after Gareth Southgate’s side defeated Senegal 3-0 on Sunday night.
The game marked a “special moment” for Rashford as it was his 50th cap for the national team.
The 25-year-old is in the race for this competition’s Golden Boot award, having netted three goals in four appearances.
France’s Kylian Mbappe currently leads the list with five goals.
Brazil are still the favourites to win the tournament, according to Stats Perform’s artificial intelligence model, which estimates the probability of every match outcome using team rankings and betting odds based on historical team performance.
The model then uses match outcome probabilities to factor in the strength of the opposing teams and the difficulty of their path to the final to come up with the likelihood that each team will win.
Select your team below to see how likely they are to lift the trophy this year.
Declan Rice believes England’s World Cup performances have not been given the credit they deserve, but the side have “silenced the critics” ahead of a quarter-final against holders France.
A comfortable 3-0 victory over Senegal in the last 16 has set Gareth Southgate’s side up for a clash against the reigning champions at Al Bayt Stadium on Saturday night.
Having boasted the best goalscoring record in the group stages – including a 6-2 victory over Iran and a 3-0 win against Wales – England have caught the eye in Qatar.
But Rice feels other nations have earned more plaudits than the Euro 2020 runners-up, and insists England have earned the right to be feared.
“I don’t think we get the credit we deserve in our performances,” said the West Ham skipper.
“I think if you look at other teams, like Holland and Argentina, they win their games comfortably, and they get called masterclasses.
“With us, it always gets picked off. The negative things always come that way. If you look at the last couple of games, it’s been faultless.
“I think countries, like I said the other day, should be starting to fear us now because we’re a great team.
“We’re silencing the critics.”
England midfielder Jude Bellingham is emerging as a household name during the World Cup.
The 19-year-old has become the first player to score a goal and provide an assist at a World Cup before turning 20 since Lionel Messi in 2006.
And he is the youngest player to provide two assists in one World Cup game since Ronaldo in 1998.
Former England player Jamie Carragher has joined the chorus of admirers by saying he could surpass football legend Paul Gascoigne, who as a 23-year-old lit up the 1990 World Cup in Italy.
Writing in The Telegraph, Carragher said: “Like Owen and Rooney, Bellingham has established himself in the England team as a fearless teenager, his goals, and assists one of the key reasons Gareth Southgate has led his side to another quarter-final in relative comfort.
“The echoes of Gazza 32 years ago are unavoidable. With every performance in this tournament, Bellingham has oozed the same confidence, transforming the team and catching the public imagination.
“But with all due respect to Gazza, what is exciting is Bellingham has the potential to go way beyond him and achieve what no England midfielder has done since 1966 – to become a world superstar on the basis of his achievements for both club and country.”
Several records have already been set during this World Cup, and another one could be made this afternoon.
Japan face Croatia at 3pm and, if they win, it would be the first time the Samurai Blue have made a World Cup quarter-final.
Croatia have not looked convincing so far, making into the last 16 with two 0-0 draws and a win over Canada, so the game could be a close one.
Japan have already set records in Qatar, beating Spain in their final group game with just 17% possession – no team has seen so little of the ball in a World Cup match since 1966.
Here are some of the other records from Qatar:
In their sixth World Cup appearance, Tunisia beat a European team for the first time
Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a men’s World Cup match when Germany took on Costa Rica
Ronaldo became the second player to captain a country at the World Cup without being attached to a club team – the other was Bruce Wilson for Canada in 1986
Germany failed to win any of their opening two matches at a World Cup for the first time since 1938 and did not qualify for the last 16 for the second consecutive tournament for the first time ever
Marcus Rashford scored England’s 100th World Cup goal during the match against Wales
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