Hugo Malim 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Italia 90.

Be honest, Which world Cup did you watch first?

30 years ago, Terry Venables could leave out Ian Wright for Euro 96 because he had Alan Shearer, Teddy Sheringham, Les Ferdinand and Robbie Fowler at centre-forward. Elite options at No 9 now? Basically, Harry Kane. Ollie Watkins, Dominic Solanke, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Danny Welbeck are below Kane’s level. Liam Delap needs to get the upward trajectory of his career back on track again. A “minor issue” benching/resting Kane will always be a major problem for England. FA coaches at St George’s Park debate why there are so few 9s emerging. Focus on 10s and wide attackers in academies, more teams playing only one centre-forward in a 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 and cage styles leading to “ballers” not poachers are all reasons discussed. Line-leading skills, back-to-goal expertise, finishing prowess need re-developing. Because Kane is 32 and succession planning is required. #ENG

Wembley DJ now playing "Things can only get better". D-Ream on. Rising sun and a sinking feeling: Japan beat a disappointing England 1-0. Seven thoughts on the whistle from Wembley… Harry 1. Wrap Kane in cotton wool. Hope he enjoys a prolific, niggle-free end of season at Bayern. England lack leadership, focus and goals without their captain and record scorer. England also missed Rice and Saka. Harry 2. Believe in Maguire. How on earth is Maguire sixth choice centre-back, according to Tuchel? Brings authority, passing from the back and a threat at corners (and pens). Header cleared off line by Sugawara. Must go to the World Cup. Play with more width, more freedom. Get the wingers to take on their full-backs, not cut inside all the time. England painfully narrow for an hour. Rashford and Bowen brought some width. Some. Express yourself. Believe in Bellingham. Injured but let’s dispel the doubts: he has to start at 10. Bellingham would have taken responsibility, imposing himself. He’s world class. If England are to progress far at the World Cup, they'll need their best players. And Bellingham is one. No more Ben White. Decent player but a divisive figure amongst England fans. Booed on, booed off. England’s hard core crowd in the Block 109 particularly vocal. England have enough alternatives at right-back (even with Tuchel’s damaging snubbing of Alexander-Arnold). Perspective. England swept through an easy qualifying campaign. But up against decent teams, Senegal (ranked 19th at the time), Uruguay (17th) and Japan (19th) they struggled. LDL. You cannot lose possession cheaply. And this was 13C, not the 23C+ across the pond. Japan looked a real team, well-organised. England didn't. Positive. Don’t panic. England lost 1-0 at Wembley (to Iceland) in their warm-up before Euro 2024 - and reached the final. #ENG

It's happened again, first outing in a new home @nikefootball shirt. Another defeat... 2013 - Draw v Eire 2014 - Win v Peru 2016 - Lost v Dutch 2018 - Win v Dutch 2020 - Win v Iceland 2022 - Lost v Italy 2024 - Lost v Brazil 2026 - Lost v Japan

Ok let's not overreact. It wasn't great - but we've been here before. See you in Florida 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🛬

It is 28 years since 24 year-old Fulham fan, Matthew Fox, tragically lost his life at Priestfield. Nobody should go to a football match and not come home. fulhamsupporterstrust.com/news/2026/03/i…

Unless we win a major comp, I don’t think I’ll ever be part of celebrations like that night in Dortmund ever again. One of the best nights of my life. Ollie Watkins you beauty

Meet the ‘top cappers’, the most dedicated members of an England supporters loyalty scheme. They follow the national team all over the world to win ‘caps’ and maintain their access to the best tickets. But this summer, some are thinking of skipping the World Cup. @PJBuckingham finds out why. 🔗 nytimes.com/athletic/71562…

Italy 2021 - By far the most painful defeat. I still think about it France 2022 - That penalty miss was brutal Croatia 2018 - Painful but our squad wasn’t that good and we were never beating France Spain 2024 - Not as painful. We sucked all tournament & Spain spanked us

What the hell is this? 😆

England v Japan, second game of the "Send-off Series" at Wembley, is sold out. Some players are out. Fans are all in. Game a mix of the familiar and the fringe. Jordan Pickford's 82nd cap takes him into the top 20 of England's all-time appearance-makers. Pickford goes past Rio Ferdinand and alongside Raheem Sterling as joint 19th. Pickford so important, probably not fully appreciated, but definitely one of Tuchel's untouchables. (Dean Henderson and James Trafford good 2 and 3, though Trafford needs to address his lack of many club minutes over the summer). Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi surely return in central defence, flanked by Tino Livramento on the right and Nico O'Reilly on the left. (Lewis Hall deserves some more minutes from the bench to show what he can do at left-back). In central midfield, James Garner did well on his debut against Uruguay and is surely worth another look. Elliot Anderson first choice now so worth assessing Garner with him in absence of Declan Rice, who has returned to Arsenal. Garner offers plenty in and out of possession, also versatile, can cover at right-back, too. (Kobbie Mainoo will also be pushing for involvement). Upfront of the likely 4-2-3-1, absentees on the right surely leads to a start for Jarrod Bowen. Morgan Rogers at 10 (and Jude Bellingham coming on) and Anthony Gordon left. Harry Kane returns up top looking for his 79th goal in his 113rd appearance. Ahead of Kane are Steven Gerrard (114), David Beckham (115), Wayne Rooney (120) and Peter Shilton (125). 16: max numbers of games England could play this year after Japan, inc run to final (*) and 6x Nations League games. Kane could match or pass Shilton this year. Remarkable player. #ENG *ambitious.

BACK TO BACK. 🏆

@henrywinter A bit harsh for Tomori. He was very solid last night.

Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka have left England camp to return to Arsenal for “medical assessment”, FA says. Rice and Saka reported to England on Friday after being given time off by Thomas Tuchel. Their Arsenal club-mate, Noni Madueke, and Crystal Palace’s Adam Wharton have returned to their clubs “with knocks picked up” against Uruguay on Friday. John Stones has returned to Manchester City “for assessment after picking up an issue in training” before the friendly with Uruguay. Aaron Ramsdale, Fikayo Tomori and Dominic Calvert-Lewin also leaving camp, suggesting their World Cup dreams are over. Is Dominic Solanke the back-up No 9 to Harry Kane? Tuchel’s squad now a revised 27 to prepare for Tuesday’s game against Japan. Dean Henderson, Nico O’Reilly, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guéhi, Dan Burn, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Rogers, Anthony Gordon and Kane reported on Friday. #ENG

@FulhamKosova He is a decent ref. Good luck on Tuesday mate 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🤝🇽🇰

Michael Oliver is the referee of our historic game (Kosovo vs Türkiye). Your thoughts about this referee? I need an opinion from Fulham fans.

Hahahahaha

Everyone remembers their first matchday. A special surprise for 30 lucky fans experiencing the Cottage for the first time. 🤍

Lol

My colleague Günther tried to wealth mog me yesterday during lunch. He threw his Deutsche Bank Silver Card onto the table in front of our really hot secretary. "They do not give this to people like you, Wolfgang" he said. "That may be true, Günther, but I don't have hemorrhoids nor did I have to go to Thailand to get a wife". Günther became quiet and embarrassed. This is where I went in for the kill. "You know, Günther, everyone here at the office talks about how your daughter is evading taxes". He started crying and left the office. Maybe I went too far. Have a wonderful day, Wolfgang

It pains me to write this but Scotland's kit is amazing. Nike did a terrible job with ours!