Football reporting, Maltese style

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The BBC online football writers are legendary in my books for their use of the word "turgid" to describe some of the football matches they have to sit through and provide live updates for their readers. Today I think the football journalist at The Malta Independent newspaper went one better.

Yes, as you know I follow Maltese football and I don't only check the results; I also find myself reading the reports. Why? I don't have the energy to delve into my subconscious right now to figure out why I bother. Today it was worth it. The Independent reporter wrote this early in his piece about one match:

"The match was balanced and never reached high standards, pathetic at times..."

The second match (yes, the matches are played in one stadium, back to back, and he gets to sit there all afternoon) was not much better:

"There was drama at the death in this shambolic affair....."

I laughed to myself, at first. I don't laugh out loud to myself. It was a silent, internal laugh. But then I realized that I respected the guy for being so brutally honest. He probably thinks, "nobody's going to read this, so why not just write what I think as I sit here on a Saturday afternoon watching this tripe". So good for you Mr. Independent journalist. Tell it as it is.

On a completely different note, I'm in the mood for a good fan-singing football song today. So I leave you with this . Turn it up loud and enjoy. I've shared it previously but it's worth a repeat. As I say....there is nothing better than a full football stadium singing together.

FC Copenhagen fans

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And now for a brief feel-good interlude.......we all need one of these.

The fans of FC Copenhagen are one of three candidates for Fifa's "Fan Award 2017". They are competing with those of Borussia Dortmund (for welcoming Monaco fans into their homes after their postponement of their bomb-attack Champions League match) and Celtic (for their impressive display marking the anniversary of the 1967 "Lisbon Lions" European Cup winners) Their gesture after their team's Danish Cup Final win was touching and well deserving of acclamation. The players should also be recognized for their true, honest acknowledgement of their fans.

I've liked the FC Copenhagen fans for their sense of humour since 2015 and their "We wished for Malta" banner. They were in Wales to play Newtown in a Europa League qualifier. Newtown had narrowly beaten Maltese team, Valletta. in the previous round. Hence the banner displayed by the 50 or so die-hard Danish fans, most of whom with open umbrellas: a dig at the stereotypical Welsh weather as opposed to that of the Mediterranean.

Andre Schembri at Goodison

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Sorry fans, it will be a short one.

Just past ten years to the day that Michael Mifsud, possibly Malta's best export, was terrorizing Man United's defence at Old Trafford, Andre Schembri, Malta's quieter success story, came on as a substitute for Apollon Limassol against Everton. He didn't set Goodison Park alight, but it was another happy moment for Maltese football.

Sunderland: a great club?

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Allow me a football rant. It's not World Cup related, but it is football.

I was following BBC live updates online yesterday, keeping up with Aston Villa's latest win. It was hard with all those goals they were scoring, but more of that in a few months. Too soon to get even remotely excited. As Villa scored, Sunderland conceded again and again and continued their plummet to the bottom three in the standings. BBC published a text from a fan (a viewer? a reader?) who lamented how sad it was to see what is happening to a "great club like Sunderland".

A great club? Great? Just because they were relegated from the Premier League last season after a few, mostly mediocre, years there that makes them great? They spent most of my living memory yo-yoing between the old first and second divisions, and later the Premier League. In 2000 and 2001 they did their equivalent of a Leicester, finishing 7th in the Premier League. Two years later they were relegated, again.

Between 1892 and 1895 they were Champions of England three times, and again in 1902, 1912 and 1936. After that, there wasn't much greatness.

Their 1973 FA Cup final win over Leeds is still talked about as one of the memorable Cup upsets. Great teams are not underdogs. They are the ones upset by the not-great teams.

My other recent memory of Sunderland is watching them play at home in front of numerous empty seats. Hardly the sign of a greatly supported team. When I pointed this out online one Saturday morning, and the boring-ness of watching them play and how the Premier League would not miss them, I got into a n expected social media argument with fans about what a great (there we go again) club it was and what amazing atmosphere there was at the Stadium of Light. Could have fooled me, those pesky TV cameras and their inability to not show the rows of empty seats.

I get the illusion of greatness because the club is based in the North East of England, a passionate hotbed of English football. But let's not get all romantic.

Next we'll be hearing about the uber-greatness of Newcastle United.

Michael Mifsud, a memory; Russia 2018 alternative slogan

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.....and Toronto Heatwave Fall 2017: Day 3...4?...5? Way too long. It's just odd. Questions of schools closing, people warned not to exercise, days taken off school to go swimming (that was us). And it's almost October.

And somebody, or many people, decided to hold a World Cup in Qatar. Good luck to the players. Well trained athletes or not, it's going to be brutally hot.

Ten years ago today Malta's biggest football star of recent years, Michael Mifsud, scored twice for Coventry in a 2-0 win over Man United at Old Trafford. It was a proud day for all Maltese fans. One of the defenders he tormented that night was Gerard Pique. He was never very highly rated at United. While Mifsud quickly fell out of favour at Coventry, had a transfer to Bristol City fall through, went to Australia for a disastrous short spell and ended up back in Malta, Pique went on to Barcelona and won a couple of Champions Leagues and World Cups. Ah well, we'll always have "our Michael" and that magical night.

World Cup tickets went on sale on September 14th. The cheapest ticket for a first round match, for foreigners, is $105, a 16% increase over the Brazil 2014 price. Russian residents can buy group match tickets for $15. That's an incredible and welcome benefit for Russian fans to have a World Cup in their country. But for foreigners, just as at any World Cup, it really is something for people with lots of money to spare or fans who consider it worth being is serious debt for.

But my guess is that it will be cheaper than Qatar. And not as hot. And not as difficult a country to get into. And you'll be able to have a drink. And go with your same sex partner. So go to Russia! That should be their slogan:"Come now, while you can. It'll be better than Qatar."

Heatwave

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It's a short one today. It's Day 2, or 3, of "Toronto Heatwave Fall 2017"

Bring on October 5th, the first day of the last two regular days of qualifying. It'll be a good few days. Later.....

Saudi Arabia and heat in Toronto

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The Saudi Arabian football federation have the website with the coolest ring to it: thesaff.com. It's even cooler when you think it's Saudi Arabia. What's not on is that I can't go and read their latest news and how they are preparing for Russia. Unlike Iran, and many other non-English speaking countries, they don't have an English version website. But then again, they are Saudi Arabia. If they don't want any non-Arabic speaker reading their website, one cannot argue. And should I have complemented Iran in the same paragraph in which I may have been perceived to be criticizing Saudi Arabia? Ah, it's football. Simple.

So what's going on in Saudi Arabian football now that they have qualified for Russia? I don't know. My Algerian ancestry didn't have any effect on me. And they were French speaking anyway. Instant memories of Saudi Arabia at the World Cup are the 8-0 hammering by Germany in 2002, and the incredible (only) goal against Belgium in 1994. They were either spectacular or abysmal.

For the record (my record of looking back at what happened over the 1000 days) today it was 32 degrees in Toronto and felt like a lot more with the humidity. It was middle-of-the-summer-in-Malta hot. It was a deserted city kind of day, except for by the lake shore with crowds of people sitting under the shade of trees, hoping for the nonexistent cool breeze to blow. And the highways were clogged with car loads of hot beach seekers. Its the 24th of September. It was the same yesterday and is going to last for another four days. So well after next year's World Cup when the football arguments stop and summer abruptly turns to winter in September and I am listening to somebody go on about how it's normal, I can pull this up and say, no, it was scorching last year.

Celtic, yawn

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This morning was pretty good football watching. It was a pleasant surprise to have Celtic-Rangers on TV, which then overlapped with West Ham-Spurs. There were five goals in that second match, but as luck would have it I saw only the first one. I was very good at switching channels or going to get a coffee and coming back to see another goal had been scored.

The Glasgow derby was all passion and noise. It was one of those times when you turn a match on and think "this must be good", based on the buzz from the fans. Both ends were rocking. But then as my brain tuned into the actual football, I wondered how much passion and a full blooded battle can I take without very little skill and anything of any note happening around the goals. The Celtic players seemed to think the same. They allowed Rangers to get their fans all fired up over meaningless 50-50 balls won in midfield and some useless long balls to a forward player who was constantly offside, but when they'd had enough they showed the difference in class and put together a few good moves of proper skill and organised football which almost led to a goal. Celtic's first goal came from Malta-style defending on on Rangers' part. One, two...three? How many defenders took a swipe, and missed, that ball. The second goal was a lesson for Rangers in one-two, wham-bam, Bob's your Uncle, that's how you get the ball in the net on a quick counter attack.

It made me think. Is watching a match like this (non-stop, edge of one penalty box to the other, crowd baying for blood) any better than my ultimate benchmark of World Cup turgid-ness, Costa Rica-Greece, decided on penalties. I'm not sure. In the latter there is very little threat of any excitement breaking out and I can deal with that. In Glasgow there was the frustration of expectation.

So Celtic have gone and done it again. They have pretty much wrapped up the most boring league in Europe before many fans across the continent have settled into their seats for the long season ahead. They are still getting a beer from the fridge, putting the kettle on, cleaning up after dinner (enjoying the end of summer, getting the kids ready for the school year, switching over to the winter work schedule). Celtic are eight points ahead of Rangers and, sure, the second placed team are only five points behind. But that's St. Johnstone. Aberdeen could get within two if they win their game in hand but what bookmaker is not offering to pay out already to anybody who bet that Celtic will have the league mathematically won by soon after Valentine's Day?

It's good news for Scottish fans though because the many Celtic players who play for Scotland will be able to take it easy long before next June and the Scotland players on the other teams will have given up on really being competitive. So Scotland's team for the World Cup will be physically and mentally fresh.

What's that? Oh. Right. England, Slovenia, Slovakia.

What's to come in next round of qualifying

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My standards are slipping. Or I'm running out of brain power on my last few miles of the marathon. This morning I could not remember what I wrote last night. I remember what I was thinking but did I write it? It almost felt like I was sleep 1000-day-world-cup-countdowning. And I had to do some editing. How did I post that?

On October 5th, if I had it on TV or if I happen to come across a live online stream with no knowledge of whether it is illegal or not (if I click on a link that opens up a new window with a live football match that I want to watch, who am I to judge the morality of it?) then there are two matches I would love to watch: Argentina-Peru and Nigeria-Zambia.

Argentina are level on points with Peru in the South American qualifying group but Peru are in the automatic qualifying 4th spot on goal difference. Peru have sort of come from nowhere to all of a sudden have a very good chance of making it to Russia ahead of Argentina and Chile. A win in Argentina could put them in second place. A defeat for Argentina and a win for Chile could leave Messi and co. in a very, very tough position. On the other hand, if Argentina and Chile win it would leave Peru on the outside. That's how close it is.

The last time Peru were in a World Cup was 1982, the first one in my memory. I heard they were amongst the favourites. I had no opinion about that label but I loved their white shirts with the red sash. On the pitch all I know was that they were in the group of draws, where Italy qualified for the second round with three draws our of three and only because they scored one more goal than Cameroon. There was only one win in the group. Poland beat the favourites, Peru, 5-1. And right there is probably where I sub-consciously learned my lesson that "favourites" means nothing until you get to the World Cup and start winning matches.

Nigeria and Zambia. Cameroon have, over the years, been the neutral's favourite African team. A "neutral" here can mean people who only follow football when the Word Cup is on and Cameroon are cool, and disgruntled England supporters. I like Nigeria because they have the flair but always seemed to have a bit more organized substance. And they had Jay-Jay Okocha. It's incredible to me when I realize that Nigeria first qualified for a World Cup in 1994. I feel like they've been around forever.

Zambia are one of those teams that I have a footballing soft spot for. I was half watching their Olympic team beat Italy 4-0 in the Seoul Olympics in 1988. By the end of the match, which I came across by chance early one morning, I was fully engrossed by what I remember as a very different kind of football that completely un-did their tactical polar opposites, Italy. And in 1993, I was saddened to hear of the loss of most of that team, and almost all their current team, in a plane crash. They didn't make it to the the 1994 and with the loss of probably their most talented team ever, the World Cup seemed like a very distant dream. Now they are two wins away. A win in Nigeria would see them possibly needing a healthy win and a boost to their goal difference against Cameroon in their final match.

In Europe there are a lot of close battles but the one that I am looking at now is the France/Sweden/Netherlands group. When the last round of matches are played on October 10th, Sweden could be very well be in first place, 2 points ahead of France and the Dutch might be a point behind France. On Oct 7th France are in Bulgaria, where nobody French is allowed to mention David Ginola, and Sweden and Holland have the two easier matches against Luxembourg and Belarus respectively. If the worst possible scenario for France plays out then they will have to hope for a Dutch win against Sweden in a huge match on the 10th. France will then grab first place with a home win over Belarus. All suppositions and guesses, but a real possibility.

And just because I'm feeling in a fun mood here's another look at one of the most memorable David Ginola, and French football, moments. I never said it was something Ginola wants to remember, or French fans. (Ginola, in his defence, has received a lot of his stick for his terrible giveaway in the last minute, but what about the actual French defence?)

Preparations for Russia 2018

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I got an email from Fifa today: "the countdown to France 2019 (women's World Cup) starts today." Amateurs.

There has been very little chatter about how the preparations for Russia 2018 are coming along. At this time four years ago, we were inundated with stories of incomplete stadiums in Brazil. The four stadiums that were used for the Confederations Cup are completely ready. A few more are under construction but should be done by December. There is concern over two or three more, but the worry is not that they won't be ready in June 2018, but that they won't be completed by December 2017. Russia seems to be doing ok.

Fans who have match tickets will need to apply for a Fan ID. This will get them a free visa for Russia plus free public transport. Anybody who doesn't have a ticket will have to apply and pay for a visa. There will most likely be very few supporters who turn up just to be part of the atmosphere.
Russia is a big country. I knew that but as my mind always thinks in football terms it's incredible to think what would happen if your team played one match in Sochi and the next in St. Petersburg. That would be a 46 hour bus ride, or a 39 hour train ride. You really must fly. It's only 5 hours and 45 minutes.

I can see the England excuses already....

More Mexico

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I'm still watching this horrible news out of Mexico. Again, as I said yesterday, it really is incredible that 31 years ago, less than a year after a massive earthquake that killed thousands, Mexico hosted a World Cup. Today it was announced that two paralympic events, swimming and power lifting, due to be held in Mexico City, have been postponed. Maybe, thankfully, priorities are in order these days.
The 1986 World Cup was originally awarded to Colombia but political and financial turmoil in the country forced Colombia to give up on hosting and Mexico was chosen by Fifa as a replacement, three and a half years before the start of the World Cup.

World Cups or not, let's hope that deadly earthquakes and hurricanes are done for a while and that these people can recover.

Mexico

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In 1986 I was so happy to be watching my second World Cup, my first one that I was fully aware of. It was exciting, the late nights in the summer heat. Somewhere in my consciousness I was aware that Mexico had been hit by an earthquake a year earlier. It was only years later that I realized how devastating that 1985 earthquake was. And I'm amazed that the country managed to put on a World Cup. At what cost to it's own citizens who needed help, though?

And today, on the anniversary of that tragic day Mexico gets hit again. Earthquakes, Hurricane Irma and now Maria devastating all those poor people in the Caribbean. It's a cliche but it really has made me think how lucky we are who have never suffered through anything like that. I can sit here and find my solace in football, but they can't. Going to the local stadium or watching on TV is probably not only impossible but also the very last things on their mind. Survival is all they crave now.

My mind does invariably, unfortunately go back to football. When I think of Mexico I'd like to thing of happier times.

1986. Hugo Sanchez. One of the greatest.

The Caltex Socceroos

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Before the last World Cup I wrote something about national football teams and nicknames, the most obvious being Team Melli (Iran) and the Socceroos (Australia).

Today I was on the Japanese federation's website, looking for interesting stories about one of the Russia 2018 finalists. I didn't get beyond finding out the Japan's men's team is known as the Samurai Blue. Excuse my ignorance if I didn't know this, but am I ignorant for not knowing this?

So I felt the need to check what the Socceroos are now known as. I was not disappointed: the Caltex Socceroos may be in Russia. Is this the first national team that has sold naming rights to a sponsor? Caltex are a petroleum company.

Fifa don't allow branding on national team shirts, so if the Caltex Socceroos do make it to the Adidas Wanda Gazprom Coca Cola Kia/Hyundai Qatar Airways Visa Fifa World Cup in Russia, they may not be able to get the name out much. The Caltex Socceroos might be out in the first round after the Caltex Socceroos play three matches listed as the Caltex Socceroos versus opponent x,y and z. But the Caltex Socceroos might make it to the last 16. Then who knows how far the Caltex Socceroos will make it? And who will know if we are still taking about football?

Africa update

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It hit me today that when I did my qualifying update last week I did not mention Africa. It was probably because there was so much to say that I was leaving it for the end but then I go distracted by my own jokes and digs at Messi and David Ginola. Africa, I'm sorry.

The five group winners from the final round of qualifying make it to Russia. It feels like the most competitive of all the confederations, the polar opposite to Oceania. With two matches left to go these are the teams that are not or probably not going to be in Russia:

Cameroon: always a fan favourite

Algeria: my "other team", calling on my small Algerian ancestry. And they were such a wonderful team to watch in 2014.

South Africa: you always think they are going to be good even though they were pretty bad at their own World Cup in 2010.

Ghana; they still have an outside chance but it's not looking good. They are 4 points behind leaders Egypt. Ghana play second placed Uganda in their penultimate match and Egypt in the last match. In the 2014 qualifying Ghana beat Egypt 5-1 in the first leg of their play-off so there is precedent. However, Egypt play bottom placed Congo before Ghana. A win for Egypt and it could all be over, or come down to goal difference. Ghana have been one of the more consistent and stronger African teams in recent years. They were a Luis Suarez hand away from being the first African World Cup semi-finalist on 2010. On the other hand, Egypt have been the most under-performing African teams for a while so maybe their time to shine has come.

Libya: huh? I don't know. I just thought it would be pretty cool if they made it, but they won't and can't.

The five teams most likely to qualify:

Tunisia

Nigeria, but they play second placed Zambia in their penultimate match who are three points back. What a match that will be and what a story if Zambia were to qualify for the first time. After their very exciting team was wiped out in the tragic plane crash of 1993 the country is still waiting for the ultimate memorial to those players.

Ivory Coast, Morocco, Gabon are separated by two points. Too close.

Burkino Faso and Cape Verde Islands are level on points withe Senegal are one point back. But Senegal have "played" a match less. Their loss against South Africa was declared null by Fifa after the referee of that match was found to have awarded a penalty to South Africa for an nonexistent handball and has been banned for life. The match will be replayed in November after all the other matches are complete so it could be meaningless or hugely decisive.

Egypt, probably.

Does that answer the question as to who will qualify? Obviously not. That's how competitive it is.

One of those quiet days

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It's getting so close, relatively speaking. From 1000 days to 270 this feels like the home straight (final straight? Home stretch?) I'll have to start putting together some interesting stuff about the finalists and by the time I get through the already qualified teams, all the final spots might be filled. More tomorrow.

Carlos Queiroz

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Carlos Queiroz. Four years ago when I was looking for stories about each team that had qualified for Brazil '14, Iran was one of my first ones, if not my first.

Querioz, the coach, was in the news because he threatened to resign because of the lack of funds for his team and the lack of organization in the Iranian Federation. There were no friendlies planned, a training camp in South Africa had to be cancelled because only 11 players were available and the players were told they could not swap shirts in Brazil because there weren't enough for all their matches. Querioz seemed to be at his wit's end and not looking like he would stick around for much longer.

Now here he is leading Iran to Russia after a very impressive qualifying campaign. They were the second team to qualify after Brazil.And Queiroz is still there and quite the hero. What didn't work for Portugal and Real Madrid is working like a charm for Iran.

Querioz is still complaining that the federation aren't doing enough to plan for the future, and that training camps and friendlies are hard to come by. But when you have just led your team to consecutive World Cups for the first time in their history I think you are allowed to act like you know what you are talking about. The next challenge is for Iran to make it past the first round for the first time.

Idiots!

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I very nearly yelled "idiot" out my car window at a cyclist bombing down the middle of our quiet one-way street this evening, the wrong way right through a 4-way-stop intersection (but of course he didn't see the stop sign because it's facing the other way) like he was Greg van Avermaet on the descent of the Col de la Madelaine. But I didn't bother, because the bearded hipster millennial would have probably felt even cooler than he already thought he was if he was admonished by the old guy, driving the station wagon with his young daughter in the back. So I put it down to "not worth it".

However, I will yell an online "idiots", and it will be worth it, at the Cologne fans who decided to act like real dumb, well, idiots, at Arsenal's Emirates stadium today. Three thousand of them had tickets, 20,000 showed up and many of them attempted to fight their way into the stadium. Instead of happily celebrating their return to European competition after 25 years, they made any proper football fan hope they never qualify again. The BBC posted a text message from an Arsenal fan inside the stadium with his 11 year old son who said he was surrounded by Cologne supporters and it was a very scary atmosphere.

I have absolutely no time for football "supporters" who go to a football stadium to fight. I like passion, I enjoy passionate support. But there losers are idiots. Or the idiots are losers, the whole lot of them. And your team lost. Karma.

Excuse my google German: "ihr Idioten!"

Super Dortmund....better Spurs

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There must be reasons why I love reading the English newspapers or websites for football reports. Maybe one of them is their wonderful impartiality.

Tottenham finally won a match at Wembley, their temporary home. And it was a fantastic result, 3-1 against Borussia Dortmund. While the BBC did heap praise on Harry Kane and his two goal performance, the reporter also waxed lyrical about Dortmund, the "impressive German side who dominated territory and possession."

"Dortmund are a modern marvel of a club...."

".....they were able to produce a highly impressive display...." (despite injuries to some key players).

Impressive, a marvel.....but they lost 3-1. So what were Spurs?

Aston Villa moment

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Next summer when I'm watching the World Cup, wondering what players will be snapped up for ridiculous amounts of money by English Premier League teams in July I'll know that Aston Villa wont be in the market because none of these players will want to go to a second division team.

I resolved to not include my unfortunate fandom of Aston Villa this season but this just has to be shared. This moment may best sum up the comedy that this club has become, the club of Morley, Withe and Shaw and European Cup glory so many years ago. You really, really do have to laugh. Really. When this happens you (I) are sort of resigned to another season in the wilderness.

0-0 against Middlesbrough who had 10 players for the majority of the match.

Qualifying update

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What's going on with World Cup qualifying, I hear you ask. Oh, hold on. What? Before I get to that you want to know about Aston Villa and their unstoppable march to promotion to the Premier League? Well, in their first match of the season they brought on their journeyman, club-less (until Villa signed him in desperation) veteran defender Chris Samba as a late substitute....and played him as a centre forward. So back to the World Cup.....

Come October we'll be down to the nitty gritty of qualifying. Those final two matches for each team are almost as exciting as the World Cup itself. Teams and supporters will be watching other teams' results. There will be last minute standings-changing goals. One minute one team will be in, the next some previously unknown, 80th minute substitute from Croatia will become an instant hero and that other team will be out. (reference: Heidi Klum. Project Runway is on in the background)

Apart from the hosts, Russia, seven teams have qualified: Brazil, Iran, Belgium, Mexico, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Japan. Others are very close, or close to being very close.

New Zealand were the winners of Oceania qualifying and now await confirmation that they will play Argentina (my long ago prediction), the 5th placed South American team for a spot in Russia.
Australia and Syria will play a two-legged playoff in October to determine who plays the fourth best CONCACAF team in the inter-continental play-off.

In CONCACAF, Costa Rica are pretty much in. The battle for the third automatic spot is tight between Panama, USA and Honduras. Panama are 1 point ahead of USA and Honduras who are level.

Brazil are probably having a great old time looking down the table at all the teams fighting for the 3 remaining spots, plus the playoff place. Second placed Uruguay have one more point than Colombia in third, who have two more points than both Peru and Argentina, who have one more point than sixth placed Chile. And Paraguay are only three points behind Argentina and Ecuador are only one point further back. With only two matches left for each team, it may almost be safe to discount Paraguay and Ecuador. But Ecuador do play Argentina in their last match and this after Argentina will have played Peru in a massive encounter five days earlier. There's going to be some high emotions across South America on October 5th and 10th.

Europe needs it's own post. Briefly, Germany, Spain and England need miracles not to qualify. Northern Ireland are probably in the playoffs. Switzerland look like they are going to keep European Champions Portugal in the playoffs. Serbia are enjoying themselves having Wales and the Republic of Ireland chasing them. France should have been up there with Germany, Spain and England but after their draw against Luxembourg they look to be calling, unwittingly, on the spirit of David Ginola. Poland, Montenegro and Denmark have made Group E very exciting. And Group I, with Croatia, Iceland, Turkey and Ukraine really does need it's own post to try figuring out all the possible permutations. All four have an equal chance of finishing first or fourth.

Irma

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Hurricane Irma, you've done enough. Now go away quietly.

Late night

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Good night day -278, wherever you are. Premier League football in England is back tomorrow morning. What better than to wake up to some Man City-Liverpool?

Peru in 1982

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You know that day when you think somewhere deep in your head you have some great story to share but you can't get it out. Yep, today's that day. Although I don't think I even have a great story. All I can think of is Peru are currently in a better position to qualify for the World Cup than Chile and Argentina. Peru. In 1982, my first World Cup, I thought they were good as I watched them draw against Italy. Apparently, they were expected to be one of the stronger teams at that World Cup. Now I think: Peru? Better than Chile and Argentina? Ah well, there's still a couple of matches left for Messi to turn it around. Ha!

Del Potro....bigger than Messi?

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There is so much Argentinian support for Juan Martin Del Potro in New York. It sounds like a football crowd at times. But then I guess the football supporters need something to cheer for when their national football team, with Messi et al, is going to be pipped to the World Cup by.....Peru.

Syria: not your happy football story

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Syria scored an injury time equalizer to qualify for the playoff to make the playoff to secure a World Cup spot. It's a romantic story, the closest they've ever been to a World Cup and, now, when the country is in physical and political ruins. It's quite the story and an easy one to buy into if you ignore the many players who are not part of this team because they are not on the right side of the Syrian regime. I'm not a fan and I hope their journey ends here.

A Malta rant

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What do I think about Malta and their World Cup qualifying campaign? I have given up investing any more emotional effort into caring about the team. I will still follow. I will still hope. But this is dismal. Played 8. Lost 8.

Cyprus have 10 points. The MFA can spin it any way they want: "the bigger teams", "we can not compete with their size", "we have our limitations (how I hate that negative attitude, defeatist word)". Who believes any of this anymore? Cyprus have 10 points. Malta have 0. Andorra have 4 points. Faroe Islands have 8. Eight points. Malta have 0. Iceland could still be included in this list. They have 13 points. Results, MFA. Not performances. Let me say it in Maltese: 'wirijiet tajbin" mean nothing. They don't bring points.As a former coach of the Malta team once said, "you have to score more goals then your opponents to win."

I coach, and even though at a younger age I will reward my players for effort, there comes a time when all that matters are results. What are you competing for if the winning or losing is not important? And if the results don't come than a change is needed.

On to a more positive, heartwarming story for a football fan, the biggest surprise team of Russia 2018 qualifying won their fifth consecutive match today. Northern Ireland beat the Czech Republic 2-0 and are now only second in their group because they are unlucky to be the same one as Germany. They are pretty much assured of a play-off spot but could be up against the likes of Italy, Portugal or Holland.

At the US Open

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I should be writing about tennis today with all the US Open I watched over the last two days. But I won't, except to say it's such a great feeling to be at such a big event like this enjoying it with thousands of other people all going one from court to another looking for the best match to watch.

My only football mention today is that as I was leaving the tennis I checked the World Cup qualifying results and France drew 0-0 against Luxembourg. They did? What? Did I read that right? If France aren't in Russia next summer it will be because on September 3rd they couldn't beat a team they have not not beaten since 1914. And this only 4 days after thrashing Holland 4-0. But maybe that 4-0 will be their saving grace. It would have been expected today but not against Holland.

Soccer in New Jersey

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In all the excitement yesterday of not knowing Malta's result against England as I drove to New York I forgot to mention the post script to my story.

As we got close to New York and I listened to my phone beeping away with messages about Malta, our arrival was slowed by traffic around New Jersey. At one point an electronic sign asked "soccer traffic" to use a certain exit. "Soccer" was definitely on my brain and I wondered if the US were playing their qualifier against Costa Rica in New Jersey. Once in the hotel I turned the TV to the US-Costa Rica game and there it was in Harrison, NJ. The Americans lost and are now in a tight battle with Honduras for the third qualifying spot. Mexico have qualified and Costa Rica are very close.

Back to the soccer traffic, I believed there was some irony in me driving past fans going to watch their country play while I was desperately trying to follow my country's fortunes from thousands of miles away. And that's my story.

Malta-England: as "watched" on a US highway

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"Oh dear and we were doing so well."

"All in the last 5 minutes.... "

"As dad predicted...."

"It was all going so well...."

In the end it wasn't the BBC website or The Times of Malta that gave me the headline as to what happened to Malta today against England. As I drove to New York I had my phone on and listened to it ding and dong as message after message came through from my brothers and sisters as they watched on TV in England and Malta. They started about a half hour before kick-off but it was one ding that got my attention. I looked at the car clock as I sped down the highway and it was 2.47pm, 8.47pm in Malta. That's it, I thought. First goal. Definitely England. And then another ding, and another. More goals. No. A quick coffee break just before half time and it was still 0-0.

And then silence until about 4.25. But at 4.26: "Oh dear...." And by then I needed my back seat passenger to pull herself away from her music listening and read the messages for me. That message was followed by "how embarrassing". Now I knew it was all falling apart. And the "as Dad predicted" confirmed it. I'd seen an much earlier message that his prediction was a 4-0 win for England. They just did it though. "Plucky" Malta held out for the first half, conceded a Harry Kane goal in the 53rd minute but then fell apart in the last 6 minutes. A goal in the 85th plus two in injury time made it an "Oh dear" night for Malta and a "flattering win" for England (the BBC).

After all that excitement, and the late collapse, I tried to imagine being a Maltese player having to go home after that and get ready to get on a plane to play Scotland on Monday. They'd better have a good motivator on the coaching team.

I'm still waiting for a report from Casa Mifsud in Malta as to who, according to Dad, was more useless: Malta for giving up at the end, or England for almost not managing to win convincingly and only being able to do it when the Maltese players ran out of steam.

What I do know is that the Maltese commentator didn't pass the "uselessness" test as the match was watched in TV silence.

Here's to hoping that Malta draw England in the Euro 2020 qualifying so that "next time" is not too far away