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Returning to World Cup qualifiers, Wales take on Liechtenstein this evening in a must-win match for Craig Bellamy’s side. Bellamy will not be on the touchline, having been booked for dissent for the second time this campaign during Wales’s 4-2 defeat to Belgium last month. “It’s not ideal but you want to give information to the fourth official and sometimes you overstep the mark,” Bellamy said in his pre-match press conference in Vaduz. “Rightly so, the referee has the option to give you a yellow card. It’s something I’m very conscious of and it’s a suspension I absolutely deserve.
“It’s nice having someone on the side yelling absolute nonsense that no one can understand, because I never did when I was on the pitch. I seem to be that type of person, so I might actually enjoy it more being upstairs where I see more of the game.”
There’s also Women’s Super League action on the cards today in the form of the Manchester derby. City are top of the table going into Andrée Jeglertz’s first derby as manager, while Jess Park and Grace Clinton will be reunited after swapping clubs in September. For more talking points on the match, best to read Sophie Downey’s preview:
How are Scotland fans feeling about this evening? It would be a serious worry if it was all boundless positivity and optimism. Finger crossed, though, they should be OK.
I foresee headlines of "Greek Tragedy" on the cards for tomorrow.
Hopefully not, but having a goalie who we had to call back from his Saga holiday to go between the sticks is worrying.
There’s also a big game coming up for Scotland, who travel to Greece with top spot in World Cup qualifying Group C within reach. The hosts have had an underwhelming qualifying campaign, but it’s still a tricky fixture and Scotland weren’t at their best during the last international break despite grinding out two wins. Ewan Murray has the lowdown from Athens:
Despite recent setbacks, Potter still seems to have a fair amount of goodwill among the neutrals. The Sweden job definitely feels like a more natural fit after he struggled to put the mangled jigsaw pieces together at Stamford Bridge and the London Stadium.
Good luck to Potter. A decent guy, methinks
That said, do we reckon he’s kept his tracksuits from Chelsea and West Ham? I think I’d be quietly putting them on Vinted.
That Graham Potter is beginning to amass quite a collection of tracksuits …
There’s a slate of intriguing international matches to come today, not least Graham Potter’s debut as Sweden head coach. It’s been a bruising few years for Potter after his ill-fitting spells at Chelsea and West Ham but, as Nick Ames points out, he will have a sense of belonging after returning to the country where he built his reputation with Östersund:
Looking for more early morning reading? Here’s a selection, from Barney Ronay on Neymar to David Hytner’s chat with Han Willhoft-King and Suzanne Wrack in conversation with Millie Bright.
What else has been going on, then? Thomas Tuchel has been talking about the rationale behind his team selection for England’s 2-0 win against Serbia at Wembley, urging those on the bench to channel their anger into fighting spirit which can benefit the team. He has also addressed the Bellingham Discourse, albeit reluctantly:
Meanwhile, despite shocking everyone by racking up four wins in qualifying, the Faroe Islands’ 3-1 loss to Croatia has ended their hopes of a World Cup fairytale. Shame, that, as it would have been a lot of fun.
There was bad news and good news for Northern Ireland last night. The bad news: they lost 1-0 to Slovakia in injury time thanks to a goal Michael O’Neill, the manager, felt “should clearly have been disallowed”, ending their hopes of progressing from World Cup qualifying Group A. The good news: they still nabbed a qualifying playoff place via the Nations League after Croatia beat the Faroe Islands. In other words, they may not be going to the World Cup, but they aren’t not going to the World Cup, at least as things stand. Make sense?
Preamble
All right, all right, all right! Welcome to matchday live, where we’ll be building up to the day’s football, running through all the big stories and generally having a Nice Time. Readers, what are your plans for the day? What’s caught your eye during the international break? Anyone planning an epic League One, League Two or non-league away day? Let me know in the comments. Otherwise, let’s get the ball rolling with a look back at last night’s World Cup qualifying action:
