Key events
Show key events only
Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature
And, 12 years on, hereâ€s the second best World Cup draw – Alan Partridge and his signposts. “Shit, did you see that!â€
The goalie has got football pie all over his shirt.Share
This is a great clip – chaos at the 1982 World Cup draw. Features Jimmy Hill, Tony Gubba, boos from the crowd, perplexed looks from Graeme Souness, Alan Hansen and Pat Jennings, a lottery cage that stops spinning and a broken ball. Barry Davies is your commentator.
Wait for Jimmy Hillâ€s punchline at the end.Share
Another World Cup draw email. Steven Grundy writes: “As a Scot, I still cannot believe that we are going to the World Cup! I am still waiting for the Danes to score in the 95th minute. The best draw we could get would probably be Canada, Australia, and Curaco. So… I canâ€t wait for us to get smashed by France, Uruguay and Italy (still to qualify, obviously).â€
Share
An email from David Estherby. “Wow that Ciao mascot [09.58] has just sent a pile of memories flooding back. 1990 was my first World Cup (I was 7 so Mexico 86 was missed due to [probably] being more interested in destroying various parts of the house/my parents†mental health than watching football). the football was crap but I still think it was the best one in spectacle. Best mascot by a mile too. Lovely stuff.â€
Share
Letâ€s segue from Slot to a now former Liverpool player, goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher. The Brentford stopper has been speaking on the Ben Foster podcast, the Fozcast.
“[On how much of the Moneyball side of Brentford he sees] We see a little bit of it, with the goalkeeping coaches, where they are showing us our kicking, target areas, maybe the height of your call. When Iâ€m practising kicking, I can get live feedback from the iPad. Weâ€re using earphones in training – it might be a passing game, you put on big, noise-cancelling headphones. They play music or simulate crowd noise. Then youâ€ll do a passing drill. Itâ€s to take one of your senses away, so you have to scan a bit more. Theyâ€re pushing boundaries in that kind of stuff.â€
Caoimhin Kelleher on the Fozcast.Share
Slot was also asked about Alexander Isakâ€s lack of involvement in games. The stats show that the striker has averaged just 14 touches of the ball in the last three matches although he did score his first Premier League goal in the win over West Ham.
Slot likes his stats it seems. “No, itâ€s not ideal for me, but do you know how many he [Isak] had at Newcastle on average? Twenty-two. In this league, strikers donâ€t touch the ball that much but the few times they do touch it, itâ€s quite nice if they then finish it off. I have no clue what the stats of [Erling] Haaland are, but I wouldnâ€t be surprised – I have no clue – if he maybe doesnâ€t touch it 100 times a game, but he does score a lot. Itâ€s more important for them to touch the ball in the right time than to touch it so many times. We have to make sure, because thatâ€s a complete difference from Haaland and Alex that Haaland touches it much more in moments where it matters and there we have to improve. Thatâ€s clear and obvious – we and he as well.â€
Share
Updated at 05.48 EST
Slot: Liverpool aiming for ‘top four’ return
Arne Slot has been speaking ahead of Liverpoolâ€s trip to Leeds on Saturday evening. The Reds will hope to make it seven points out of nine after following up a 2-0 win at West Ham with a 1-1 home draw against Sunderland. In truth, nine points would have been the expectation from these three games although Slot is putting a positive spin on events.
“Four points out of two games is different from the last two home games weâ€ve played, in which we lost both and conceded seven goals [3-0 v Nottingham Forest and 4-1 v PSV].
“In the last two games, we were one deflection away from keeping two clean sheets. Thatâ€s a step forward if you compare it to seven goals conceded in two games. We did not concede from a set-piece, which is also important, and we got two results.
“There are positives to take, but of course we are still not where we want to be. Let that be obvious and clear. It is definitely our aim to come back to the top four because weâ€re obviously not happy with the position we are in at the moment.â€
Share
Updated at 06.20 EST
Back to domestic matters and last nightâ€s Premier League clash at Old Trafford. Despite looking absolutely woeful against Liverpool, West Ham managed to nick a point with a late equaliser against Manchester United. Ruben Amorim was pretty miffed itâ€s fair to say.
Share
Ashes news. Quick plug for our other live blog. It was looking a bit grim for England but then two quick wickets! What a catch by Will Jacks! Rob Smyth has the details.
Share
More World Cup draw content and Will Unwin has been looking at worst-case scenarios, the big misery guts. Then again, it would surely be massive fun for England to be grouped with Erling Haalandâ€s Norway.
Share
Hereâ€s England boss Thomas Tuchel talking about the prospect of being drawn against Scotland. Yes, such a group could happen.
“If it happens, it happens and we make the most of it. It will be a nice story. I have no wishes on opponents. I think if you wish for something and think you are superior, itâ€s close to arrogance and you donâ€t want to be arrogant. We want to respect everyone.â€
More Tuchel pre-draw quotes here.
Share
Youâ€ll see the current crop of World Cup mascots at the top of the page. Iâ€ll also list them below in case it changes. Anyways, this is a nice graphic. Personal favourites and the ones that have resonated are Willie (England 1966), Juanito (Mexico 1970), Naranjito (Spain 1982) and Ciao (Italy 1990).
Graphic of the different mascots at World Cups. Photograph: Keystone
The trio for 2026…
The official mascots of the 2026 World Cup: Maple the Moose of Canada, Zayu the Jaguar of Mexico, and Clutch the Bald Eagle of the United States. Photograph: Julio César Aguilar/AFP/Getty ImagesShare
The Village People are playing at the World Cup draw today. Yep, Iâ€ve even seen a full ‘Who are the Village People?†Explainer piece on another website. We wonâ€t go that far but I couldnâ€t help but wonder if any of the originals are performing. Turns out, founder Victor Willis – either the policeman or the naval officer – is still part of the line-up despite now being 74. Todayâ€s current Village People are now a six-piece and, according to Wiki, there have been 21 previous members. This reminds me of a time I stayed in an Airbnb in Liverpool and the owner told me she was married to a former member of Kool & The Gang. This was very exciting news until finding out that about 1 in 8 people had also been in the band.
The Village People. Victor is top middle. Photograph: Michael Ochs Archives/Getty ImagesShare
Our David Hytner is in Washington for the World Cup draw. And he has an important message in this analysis piece: amid all the hoopla, Fridayâ€s event must be all about firing the starting gun on footballâ€s biggest show.
Share
As in every World Cup, thereâ€ll be a clamour to coin a ‘Group of Deathâ€. In theory, we could have one for 2026 comprising Argentina, Morocco, Italy and Norway.
But, remember kids, never rule out the least chilling member of the quartet. How about 2014 when Costa Rica won a Group D featuring England, Italy and Uruguay. Lest we forget, Roy Hodgsonâ€s side were killed off after just two games.
Share
Itâ€s 188 days until World Cup 2026 but precisely zero days until the World Cup draw! Letâ€s start with the basics and this highly entertaining Explainer piece from Tom Lutz.
Before you go in depth, a quick note that the 12 groups for the World Cup will be formed by one team from each pot.
Pot 1: Canada, Mexico, USA, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany.
Pot 2: Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria, Australia.
Pot 3: Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Côte dâ€Ivoire, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa.
Pot 4: Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curaçao, Haiti, New Zealand, four European playoff teams, two intercontinental playoff teams.
Share
Updated at 04.20 EST
Preamble
Itâ€s World Cup draw day! Beyond the overbloated nonsense and political posturing, this is still must-watch TV/radio/live blog as theoretical games we play on FIFA actually become wallchart reality. The whole shebang starts at around 5pm although itâ€ll be a while after that before any names are actually drawn.
Beyond that, just two days after the last one was completed, thereâ€s another round of Premier League matches. This is Matchweek 15 and yet the table still looks a bit weird and unsettled. As The Anfield Wrapâ€s Phil Blundell wrote on X: “Really funny how the Premier League season is basically everyone bar Wolves fans, Arsenal fans and City fans going ‘how are we below them?â€
Righty, while keeping one eye on the Ashes, keep the other one on here where weâ€ll have loads of team news, manager press conferences, World Cup draw buildup and much, much more!
Share
Discover more from 6up.net
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.