Why Pep Guardiola holds the key to England's World Cup success
- Published
The group stage is OVER. So here are some tweets from it to tide you over until the next batch of games
OK the England v Belgium game was - if we're perfectly honest - boring. But if you're cheering on the Three Lions don't despair, Pep's stats mean it's all going to be OK.
Regardless of who you support or if the quality in some games isn't great (Denmark v France, we're looking at you), the main thing is there have been top-quality World Cup-themed tweets over the past week and, really, that's the whole point of the competition isn't it?...
1) Pep talk for England
Who needs in-depth performance analysis or even a game plan. It looks like the results are going to be written in the stars anyway.
2) The Golden Boot race hots up...
John Stones found Panama in an accommodating mood – once they'd stopped wrestling at corners – and suddenly he was on a hat-trick. That might have been one step too far, even for this World Cup.
3) The World Cup in a nutshell, pt. 1,724
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We'd love to know how this conversation went, but perhaps it's best left to the imagination.
4) Nice guys finish last
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Japan proving that old chestnut wrong.
5) Name game
Poland made a quiet exit from the World Cup, just as commentators were finally getting to grips with all those consonants.
6) Senegal? FUNEGAL, more like
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Senegal finish top of the Group of Dance, just ahead of Colombia, who are only just rediscovering their moves from 2014 but are in fine form. England are going to have some work to do on the training ground ready for their next match...
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7) Unimpress conference
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Going to feel sorry for Kasper Schmeichel's kid when they're at a press conference at World Cup 2038.
8) Age is just a number
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45-year-old Essam El-Hadary – a man older than several of the World Cup coaches and six weeks older than Peter Andre – became the oldest World Cup player of all time in Egypt's final game against Saudi Arabia. Time to put your feet up now, mate.
9) The Misery in Moscow
Without even a hint of conspiracy to give it some life, the already-qualified Denmark and France gave this World Cup its first goalless draw. Don't think we'll forget this, you two.
10) True Lionel
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A record the USA's Mia Hamm already holds but the first time a male player has completed this feat. It's one of the more niche records of this World Cup, but who better to claim it? Doing it in his forties might be tricky, but perhaps Essam El-Hadary can give him some tips.
Meanwhile, as Argentine TV gave us the business news, their national team finally produced the goals in Russia...
11) Zlatanfreude
Maybe they didn't need you all this time after all, big man.
12) The last word
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What better way to mark Germany's historic early World Cup departure than Sol Campbell getting Kenneth Wolstenholme's famous words excellently wrong? This is exquisite.
