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Andyouwillknowme says: “That must be the 100th article Barney Ronay has written about the genius of Neymar and 99 are about the sad decline of Neymar. His peak was arguably in the undeniably amazing Barcelona MSN front three with Suarez and Messi, both of whom outshined him really, overall.”
The melodrama of the 2014 World Cup – the standout group-stage performances, the home pressure, the back injury – is what I’ll remember most from Neymar’s career. That and his reaction on the touchline at Manchester United winning a late penalty in that Champions League tie in 2019.
World Cup 2014. Peak Neymar? Photograph: Sergey Dolzhenko/EPAShare
Please don’t let me know your darkest secrets. It’s too early.
Now seems like a convenient time to point you towards the minute-by-minute report we have coming up for the Manchester derby in the WSL between City and United at the Etihad, partly because these two teams often produce goals but mainly because I will be helming it.
City have won seven in a row in the league, United six in a row in all competitions. Something’s got to give – it’s a 1.30pm (GMT) kick-off.
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I’m going to grab a quick coffee – I’m out raving later – so Billy Munday is your man for the next half an hour or so. More emails! More feverish conversing below the line! Let Billy know your darkest secrets! (Not really!)
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Another plug: if you haven’t played our new daily puzzle, On the ball, now is your chance. The premise is beautiful in its simplicity: guess the Premier League player, past or present, with the fewest clues possible, earning massive social kudos (possibly) or at least some personal satisfaction.
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In the week’s other big managerial news, Celtic seem to be edging closer to appointing Wilfried Nancy as the successor to Brendan Rodgers. Any thoughts, Celts?
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On top of all the competitive action, there’s a glamour friendly on the way today: Brazil take on Senegal at the Emirates this evening. Anyone going to be in attendance?
It’s been a mixed bag for the Seleçao under Carlo Ancelotti so far with three wins, a draw and two defeats – including a surprise 3-2 loss to Japan in a friendly last month – and this is one of precious few opportunities for him to fine tune things before the World Cup next year. Whatever happens, there should be a lively atmosphere. It will be Brazil’s ninth game at the Emirates since it opened in 2006, making Arsenal’s home ground a home away from home, while there will be a familiar face among Ancelotti’s players in the form of Gabriel Magalhães.
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Updated at 05.23 EST
Done with your first tranche of morning reading? Here’s another feature from Suzanne Wrack on Alessia Russo’s new foundation designed to boost girls’ participation in sport and promote female health.
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To pose another question: looking back at one of the big news stories of the week, what do we reckon about Rob Edwards’s chances of keeping up Wolves? There’s been a lot of chatter about the wisdom of swapping a Championship promotion push with Boro for a seriously steep uphill relegation slog in the Premier League. Let’s get some hot takes cooking.
Rob Edwards puts pen to paper. Photograph: Brett Patzke/WWFC/Wolves/Getty ImagesShare
Updated at 05.07 EST
Anyone planning to use the international break as an excuse for a bit of groundhopping? Always an excellent time to watch your local club, or strike out on a lower-league adventure, even if you have “big club” corporate-ball loyalties.
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Oh, come now. As if we would forget about non-league. Bath v Bracknell? Chester v Clitheroe? FC United of Manchester v Darlington? An embarrassment of riches.
In proper football its FA Trophy 2nd round day when the 2nd tier sides enter the competition.
(The mighty) Tonbridge Angels welcome Worthing and their two ex-angels – one of whom Nicky Wheeler hangs up his boots at the end of the month after a distinguished career with a number of clubs at this level
All the best Nicky.
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Let’s revisit World Cup qualifying, given we have rightly been called out on our anti-Group H bias. A comprehensive summary here, though Romania’s late goal against Austria was actually the winner:
Since the G won’t tell you, let me.
Crucial games in Group H today.
Bosnia conceded a very, very late equaliser to Cyprus which, in my now nine years of supporting them, still doesn’t hurt any lesser.
That pretty much made me wanna play safe and get the playoff spot, but Romania equalised late against Austria. Quite late.
Austria face a tricky trip to Cyprus while Bosnia host Romania.
Defeat for Bosnia today would pretty much end all hopes of qualifying, which sounds crazy because of how long we were actually at the top.
A victory for Bosnia and Austria dropping points in Cyprus would however set up a Bosnia V Austria finale on the last matchday. Strap in.
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And now to League One and League Two. There are a few postponements in the former, with Wimbledon v Stockport, Barnsley v Northampton, Mansfield v Peterborough, Stevenage v Bolton and Wigan v Reading all pushed back owing to international callups. There are still some spicy plotlines, however: can Jack Wilshere keep up Luton’s mini-revival with a win against Rotherham? Can Lincoln go top, albeit temporarily, with victory over Doncaster? Can Exeter emerge from their 425-mile round trip to Leyton Orient triumphant, with the pair level on points and uncomfortably close to the relegation zone?
In League Two, the leaders, Walsall, host Colchester, while second-place Swindon – level on points with Walsall but with a marginally inferior goal difference – travel to Fleetwood. There are razor-thin margins at the other end of the table, too: rock-bottom Newport travel to second-bottom Shrewsbury, two points above them, in dire need of a win.
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Returning to World Cup qualifiers, Wales take on Liechtenstein this evening in a must-win match for Craig Bellamy’s side. Bellamy will not be on the touchline, having been booked for dissent for the second time this campaign during Wales’s 4-2 defeat to Belgium last month. “It’s not ideal but you want to give information to the fourth official and sometimes you overstep the mark,” Bellamy said in his pre-match press conference in Vaduz. “Rightly so, the referee has the option to give you a yellow card. It’s something I’m very conscious of and it’s a suspension I absolutely deserve.
“It’s nice having someone on the side yelling absolute nonsense that no one can understand, because I never did when I was on the pitch. I seem to be that type of person, so I might actually enjoy it more being upstairs where I see more of the game.”
Craig Bellamy is all smiles before Wales’s game against Liechtenstein. Photograph: Ben Birchall/PAShare
Updated at 04.20 EST
There’s also Women’s Super League action on the cards today in the form of the Manchester derby. City are top of the table going into Andrée Jeglertz’s first derby as manager, while Jess Park and Grace Clinton will be reunited after swapping clubs in September. For more talking points on the match, best to read Sophie Downey’s preview:
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How are Scotland fans feeling about this evening? It would be a serious worry if it was all boundless positivity and optimism. Finger crossed, though, they should be OK.
I foresee headlines of “Greek Tragedy” on the cards for tomorrow.
Hopefully not, but having a goalie who we had to call back from his Saga holiday to go between the sticks is worrying.
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There’s also a big game coming up for Scotland, who travel to Greece with top spot in World Cup qualifying Group C within reach. The hosts have had an underwhelming qualifying campaign, but it’s still a tricky fixture and Scotland weren’t at their best during the last international break despite grinding out two wins. Ewan Murray has the lowdown from Athens:
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Despite recent setbacks, Potter still seems to have a fair amount of goodwill among the neutrals. The Sweden job definitely feels like a more natural fit after he struggled to put the mangled jigsaw pieces together at Stamford Bridge and the London Stadium.
Good luck to Potter. A decent guy, methinks
That said, do we reckon he’s kept his tracksuits from Chelsea and West Ham? I think I’d be quietly putting them on Vinted.
That Graham Potter is beginning to amass quite a collection of tracksuits …
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There’s a slate of intriguing international matches to come today, not least Graham Potter’s debut as Sweden head coach. It’s been a bruising few years for Potter after his ill-fitting spells at Chelsea and West Ham but, as Nick Ames points out, he will have a sense of belonging after returning to the country where he built his reputation with Östersund:
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Looking for more early morning reading? Here’s a selection, from Barney Ronay on Neymar to David Hytner’s chat with Han Willhoft-King and Suzanne Wrack in conversation with Millie Bright.
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What else has been going on, then? Thomas Tuchel has been talking about the rationale behind his team selection for England’s 2-0 win against Serbia at Wembley, urging those on the bench to channel their anger into fighting spirit which can benefit the team. He has also addressed the Bellingham Discourse, albeit reluctantly:
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Meanwhile, despite shocking everyone by racking up four wins in qualifying, the Faroe Islands’ 3-1 loss to Croatia has ended their hopes of a World Cup fairytale. Shame, that, as it would have been a lot of fun.
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There was bad news and good news for Northern Ireland last night. The bad news: they lost 1-0 to Slovakia in injury time thanks to a goal Michael O’Neill, the manager, felt “should clearly have been disallowed”, ending their hopes of progressing from World Cup qualifying Group A. The good news: they still nabbed a qualifying playoff place via the Nations League after Croatia beat the Faroe Islands. In other words, they may not be going to the World Cup, but they aren’t not going to the World Cup, at least as things stand. Make sense?
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Preamble
All right, all right, all right! Welcome to matchday live, where we’ll be building up to the day’s football, running through all the big stories and generally having a Nice Time. Readers, what are your plans for the day? What’s caught your eye during the international break? Anyone planning an epic League One, League Two or non-league away day? Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, let’s get the ball rolling with a look back at last night’s World Cup qualifying action:
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Updated at 03.13 EST
