London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Oct 07, 2025

What is this strange feeling? Good football problems

What is this strange feeling? Good football problems

It is a well-worn tradition for the travelling press pack to complain about England but as Gareth Southgate’s side head into the World Cup knockouts, there is relatively little to protest. Yes, the 0-0 draw with the US was uninspiring, if a decent enough result, while the first half of last night’s 3-0 win over Wales was not much better.

But that is about it for the downsides.

As it stands, England are progressing to a last-16 game against Senegal as the highest scorers at the tournament and with a defence which has been faultless since the understandable late lapses in the second half of the thrashing of Iran.


England's Marcus Rashford, right, is greeted by England's head coach Gareth Southgate as he leaves the pitch during the World Cup group B soccer match between England and Wales, at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium in Al Rayyan , Qatar, Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2022.

Those saying it was “only” Iran or “only” Wales forget the state of the national team when Southgate took over six years ago. It was “only” Iceland, too, but that did not prevent England from being dumped out of Euro 2016 in humiliating fashion.

As England prepare for the serious business of knockout football, Southgate’s problems are all of a wildly positive nature: namely, which of his in-form players to select for a first-ever meeting with Senegal (who will be without two stars in injured forward Sadio Mane and suspended Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye).

Two goals from Marcus Rashford and one for Phil Foden last night vindicated Southgate’s decision to start the pair, and he will be hard-pressed to drop either against the African champions.

And yet, Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling has never missed a knockout game under Southgate and was England’s best player on their run to the final at Euro 2020, while Bukayo Saka of Arsenal scored twice against Iran, and has always played well for his country.

Raheem Sterling pictured during an England training session

Experienced pair Jordan Henderson and Kyle Walker also made their cases for inclusion last night, while Southgate’s side have already been successful in two different systems in the Middle East. Decisions, decisions, decisions.

But it is about to get significantly tougher for England in Qatar. Senegal are not to be underestimated. Like England they are tournament specialists but unlike England they have experience in getting over the line.

If England navigate another knockout game this weekend, holders France most likely await in the quarter-finals. For now, though, there is every reason to be optimistic.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×