Jordan Pickford joins Rick Edwards and Lloyd Griffith from England camp ahead of their opening game.
Lloyd is reunited with his self-proclaimed mate, while New Zealand goalkeeper Max Crocombe, also joins from his team's training camp to discuss life at the tournament and preparing for their highly anticipated opening game against Iran.
Back in Santa Monica, former Netherlands defender Mario Melchiot joins Rick and Lloyd in Ye Olde King's Head. They reflect on the Netherlands' 2-2 draw with Japan, discuss Germany's 7-1 win over Curaçao and Mario offers some local knowledge as the pair continue to find their feet in Los Angeles.
The former Liverpool and Real Madrid midfielder will expect to bring in several of his own signings in his first transfer window in charge and bolster a Chelsea side that finished just 10th in the Premier League last season.
Chelsea have been linked with several players this summer and ex-manager Di Matteo has urged the Blues to enter the race to sign Newcastle United midfielder Sandro Tonali.
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Tonali has been discussed as a target alongside the likes of Mateus Fernandes, Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton, but Fabrizio Romano reported over the weekend that interest in Tonali was dwindling due to his huge price tag which stands at around £100m.
Di Matteo, who led Chelsea to the Champions League trophy, seemingly views Tonali as an ideal replacement for wantaway Argentina international Fernandez, insisting he would ‘love’ to see his compatriot arrive at Stamford Bridge.
Former Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo (Picture: Getty)
‘If Sandro Tonali is to leave Newcastle this summer… he’s someone I like a lot,’ Di Matteo told Ladbrokes. ‘I think he’s a class player. He’s a good age, too.
‘I’m not sure whether Chelsea need another player in that particular department, I suppose it would depend if someone leaves. You know, they have Enzo [Fernandez], [Moises] Caicedo, Andrey Santos and Romeo Lavia. If one of those was to leave, then maybe.
‘I would love to see him at Chelsea. But, for me, their priorities this summer should be in other areas of the pitch.’
Sandro Tonali could leave Newcastle this summer (Picture: Getty)
Discussing Chelsea’s season and transfer plans more generally, Di Matteo believes a young but talented squad would benefit from the arrival of ‘three or four’ experienced players.
‘It was an inconsistent season for Chelsea, which was certainly been disrupted by the managerial changes,’ Di Matteo added.
‘But let’s not forget there have been a couple of big injuries, too; Cole Palmer missed a big chunk of the season, and I also think Levi Colwill was hard to replace. He’s an important player at the club, and he’d formed a good partnership with Trevor Chalobah.
‘I would keep a lot of the players in this squad though, for sure. There are some very good players in there, so it’s not as if they need to go and completely revolutionise the team this summer.
‘There’s a lot of quality there, I just think they need to add a bit of experience now. I know everybody has talked about it, but that’s what would help this team right now.
‘Especially during the tricky times, because this is a very young group, and they’re learning very quickly that there are lots of ups and downs in a season… you just need three or four players in there who can steady the ship and drag the rest along in those difficult periods.
‘These guys are a little bit vulnerable, and less experienced, which means they don’t know how to handle certain situations.
‘I think the club has even acknowledged this, and suggested they might change their strategy next season. For me, that would be the right decision to make this summer.
‘I wouldn’t necessarily say it has to be proven Premier League players who are coming in, but seasoned international players, for sure.
‘So it doesn’t need to be a Premier League player… they just need three or four players who can come in and navigate those difficult moments.’
Michael Carrick is looking to bolster his Manchester United squad during the transfer window (Picture: Getty)
Manchester United will take a significant step towards completing their first signing of the transfer window with Brazil World Cup start Ederson set to undergo a medical in New York.
The Atalanta midfielder was an unused substitute during Brazil’s opening Group C match against Morocco which finished in a 1-1 draw.
Ederson was only called into the Selecao squad following an injury to Wesley, ahead of which his eagerly anticipated move to United had virtually been agreed.
Michael Carrick is hoping to make significant additions to a squad that currently looks ill-equipped to deal with the rigours of combining domestic and European commitments next season.
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Having lost Casemiro, strengthening in midfield represents a priority for Carrick and the addition of Ederson, assuming he passes his medical as per corrieredellosport represents a solid start to United’s transfer business at a cost of £35m.
A number of other midfielders, including the likes of Carlos Baleba, Adam Wharton and Alex Scott, remain on United’s radar but, according to Fabrizio Romano, the club are likely to drop their interest in Newcastle United’s Sandro Tonali.
Brazil’s midfielder Ederson was a late call-up to Carlo Ancelotti’s squad (Picture: Getty)
The Italy international, who is also coveted by Arsenal and Juventus, and his Newcastle teammate Lewis Hall, also a primary Untied target, would cost a combined fee of between £120 – £130m which is deemed too expensive, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Whether United get a glimpse of Ederson in action at the World Cup remains to be seen, but the prospect of him featuring may well have been enhanced after Brazil’s lacklustre start to the tournament.
Ancelotti’s side were left with questions to answer after a disjointed display in which they were repeatedly stretched by their opponents’ pace and movement.
‘I don’t think we started the match well, the team was a bit nervous, we lost possession too often and lost too many challenges. The first half wasn’t good,” said Ancelotti, who noted that his sidegot better after the break.
Manchester United lost Ederson’s Brazil teammate Casemiro at the end of last season (Picture: Getty)
‘It improved in the second half; it’s a tough match because Morocco are a good side.
‘I think there was a bit of nervousness. In the first half they were breaking out of our press and making dangerous counter-attacks.’
His Morocco counterpart Mohamed Ouahbi added: ‘If you’re asking me if I want to have the same trajectory (as in 2022), no, I want to go beyond the semi-finals this time.
‘This was one point but we hoped to have more. One point is good enough and we will improve.’
Gary Neville was fuming that FIFA did not show a replay (Picture: ITV)
FIFA have explained the controversial VAR decision in Switzerland’s draw with Qatar, which sparked a furious rant from ITV pundit Gary Neville.
In an early shock result at the World Cup, Switzerland were held to a 1-1 draw by Qatar, having taken the lead through a 17th minute penalty.
That penalty was won after Breel Embolo headed the ball down to Remo Freuler who got to the ball before the goalkeeper and was taken out.
There was immediate controversy, though, as Freuler appeared to be marginally offside on the replays shown on television.
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No offside was given and a replay with the lines drawn on to prove why that decision was made was now shown.
Neville was on punditry duty and was baffled as to why the evidence was not being produced.
‘FIFA are the host broadcaster, they’ve got the evidence of the automatic decision which they can show us,’ he said on ITV. ‘Why are they not showing us?
Remo Freuler was felled by Qatar goalkeeper Mahmoud Abunada (Picture: Getty Images)
‘They did this in the last tournament, fans are already distrusting of FIFA and technology to start with.
‘There is a massive question mark over that, because that is offside in my eyes, until they prove me different.’
He went further, adding: ‘It’s like a dictator. Honestly, it’s a dictatorship, this. The idea that they hold this evidence internally and don’t show fans of countries that are playing in tournaments. It’s absolutely ridiculous.
‘Honestly to not show the evidence of an offside… Prove to us it’s offside. Show it straight away. Why not the transparency?’
During the Qatar vs. Switzerland match in the San Francisco Bay Area, a brief technical outage prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated ahead of the penalty awarded to Switzerland in the 14th minute. The issue was quickly resolved.
FIFA have since explained that the failure to show the replay was due to a technical error, but the VAR process was carried out as normal.
A statement posted on social media read: ‘During the Qatar vs. Switzerland match in the San Francisco Bay Area, a brief technical outage prevented the onside animation graphic from being generated ahead of the penalty awarded to Switzerland in the 14th minute. The issue was quickly resolved.
‘The workflow of the VAR was not affected by this issue and followed the normal procedure in checking the on-field decision.
‘The lines used by the VAR to check the position of the relevant players did not show the attacking player to be in an offside position in either of the two situations immediately before the penalty decision.’
Qatar snatched a dramatic late equaliser (Picture: Getty Images)
Switzerland finished the game with 68 per cent possession and 26 shots to Qatar’s six, but the spoils were shared.
A Boualem Khoukhi header deep into stoppage time saw the underdogs grab a point against the run of play and give them hope of making it out of the group stage.
It is the second 1-1 draw in this group after Canada vs Bosnia-Herzegovina ended in the same scoreline.
Scotland's first World Cup match in 28 years ends with a win.
Rick Edwards and Lloyd Griffith react to a huge 1-0 victory over Haiti alongside former Scotland international Charlie Adam, who talks about what the result means and whether Steve Clarke's side can build on a dream start to the tournament.
They also look back on Brazil's opening match against Morocco and ask whether Brazil still carry the same aura they once did. Who are the stars carrying this team and where do they sit among the tournament favourites?
And Qatar pick up their first ever World Cup point, Switzerland benefit from a major offside controversy after the semi-automated system failed, and Rick and Lloyd report back from a trip to the legendary Gold's Gym in Los Angeles.
Casemiro had a tough day out against Morocco (Picture: Getty Images)
Carlo Ancelotti, Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta were among those under fire after Brazil’s 1-1 draw with Morocco in their World Cup opener.
There is always great expectation on the Brazilian side at a major tournament and this year’s World Cup is no different.
It may not be a classic Brazil team, but they have brought in one of the world’s greatest managers to try and win their sixth World Cup, but their first since 2002.
Their campaign got off to an underwhelming start, though, as they were held to a draw by Morocco in New Jersey.
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Ismael Saibari put the underdogs ahead after 21 minutes, with Vinicius Junior equalising just 11 minutes later, which proved to be the final goal of the game.
Morocco are highly-rated and reached the semi-finals in Qatar in 2022, so Brazil were not taking on minnows, but the African side largely dominated the first half.
Ancelotti’s side improved after the break, but former Brazil midfielder Neto was not impressed at all and took aim at the manager and a string of his players.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team did not fire in their World Cup opener (Picture: Getty Images)
The 59-year-old, who won 16 caps from 1988-93, said, via ESPN: ‘This Ancelotti is a joke. He picks the team badly.
‘How long have I been saying that Casemiro isn’t fit to play football? [Lucas] Paqueta? Paqueta’s little dance? He’s useless.
‘[Roger] Ibañez? Igor Thiago? No. Let’s change things up, put in Danilo Santos, Luiz Henrique, Rayan. Put in Endrick.’
19-year-old Endrick remained an unused substitute, to the surprise of many Brazil fans.
‘What did Endrick do to these people?’ Neto asked. ‘I can’t understand why he’s not playing and isn’t coming on. It’s amazing how Ancelotti didn’t have any vision regarding substitutions.’
Vinicius Jr earned a point for Brazil (Picture: Getty Images)
Former Liverpool and Brazil midfielder Lucas Leiva took aim at Casemiro’s performance as well, saying he is the player to dictate play from central midfield, but was unable to do so.
‘I think Casemiro is the player, but I think today he looked always late in the challenge, he never looked controlled,’ Leiva told CBS. ‘Sometimes he was ahead of Bruno [Guimaraes] in the build-up, which should be different, it should be Casemiro a little bit deeper and Bruno higher up.
‘They couldn’t find themselves in these spaces and this is why they never looked like controlling the midfield.
‘Fabinho gave them a little bit more stability when he came on. But overall the team didn’t play well and the midfield especially didn’t control, which I think is the key for the team.’
The criticism did not end there, with another Brazil midfielder Felipe Melo hitting out at Ancelotti for picking Roger Ibanez at right-back in place of the injured Wesley.
‘Ancelotti is one of the greatest in history, but you can’t let this slide; he started with the wrong starting eleven,’ the former Juventus player told SporTV.
‘Ibañez shouldn’t have started the game at all. He comes off and improves the team. He’s a very good player, but poor guy, he’s not a full-back. First World Cup game and he puts in a guy who’s a centre-back and doesn’t even have the knack for playing as a full-back? There’s Danilo . I didn’t like how Brazil behaved. He needs to be criticised.
‘Individually, Vinicius Jr. made all the difference for Brazil; he was the best player on the field. But Morocco’s team performance was much better. Even the defensive organization that I talked so much about, the organised team, that organization wasn’t seen today.’
