The Football tourist

There is an old adage well known throughout life and football; Never Go Back. Every rule has it’s exceptions though and Neal Maupay going back to Brentford may well be the exception to this one.

His first spell at the club, 2017-2019, saw him become an integral part of the Bees irrepressible BMW front line that fired them to the brink of promotion to the Premier League. It was only their play-off hoo-doo that kept them from the top table during that spell.

That BMW front line disintegrated after his departure to Brighton after their 2019 promotion to the premier League, his strike team companions following him to Premier League teams the next summer. It is undeniable that his move away from west London has been the least successful of the trio.

Whilst Said Benrahma’s West Ham have made it to European competition and Ollie Watkin’s form in firing Villa to Europe has earned him a call-up into the England squad. On the other side of things, Maupay was considered surplus to requirements at a Brighton team also Europe-bound and spent last season struggling to get into an Everton team that seemed destined for relegation.

No wonder he wanted out of that situation and when a Brentford team in dire need of strikers, with Ivan Toney banned and Kevin Shade injured, he jumped at the chance to return to West London.

His debut came in their first home win of the season last weekend, a 3-0 victory over Burnley, and the fact that both of these events happened in the same game was no mere coincidence.

Back at the centre of a front 3 Maupay seemed at one with the beautiful game once more. From the first set play, where he had the ball in the net with a point-blank header only for it to be ruled out for an offside in the build-up, to his being substituted to rapturous applause in the 88th minute he ran Brentford’s attacking play.

Both his slick interplay with midfielders Mathias Jensen and Frank Onyeka and his telepathic chemistry with new strike partners Bryan Mbuemo and Yoane Wissa were integral to his masterclass in destroying the opposition.

He was at the heart of every move as Brentford overpowered their visitors from Lancashire, even providing the assist for Mbuemo’s screamer of a second for the hosts.

Finding the right pass to cleave open the Burnley defence when there seemed to be nothing on was his signature move on this second Bee’s debut. The only thing missing from his performance was a debut goal.

Chances for him to score this goal were multiple and varied, even carving out a 1-on-1 with James Trafford in the first half after a gut-busting run from midfield that saw him glide past 4 opponents as though they were mere apparitions.

The genius football wizardry that he showed at times was breath-taking to the point that I will never be able to express how impressed I was with just how well he has taken to his new task in West London; Firing Brentford up the table without the talismanic Toney.

He showed no sign of having been withered away by being left out of a team that struggled to score last season on their way to a final-day great escape as he set up every attacking play the Bees had and carved out many personal chances to score.

The only way he can improve on his opening performance, when Brentford visit Stamford Bridge on the 28th, is by scoring a goal or two to help the West Londoners to back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

Welcome back Neal Maupay and thank you for a scintillating second debut!!

As I made my way down to this match, between Brentford and Burnley, there was one thing I knew both teams had in common and that was some seriously poor form.

Neither team had more than a single win to their name this season coming into this match, with only the hosts having secured a clean sheet in the league

I travelled down to this match expecting a glut of goals and at least one team didn’t disappoint.

Brentford were on top from the first whistle as they set to the task of swarming all over their visitors. Barely allowing Burnley a kick it took the swaggering hosts just 2 minutes to get the ball in the net.

Bryan Mbuemo swung a free-kick up to the back post where Nathan Collins was waiting to swing a leg at it and send it looping across to the near post where Neil Maupay headed the ball over the onrushing James Trafford and in off the bar.

It would’ve been a lovely way for Maupay to mark his 2nd debut with the Londoners, but the spoilsport linesman had his flag up before the ball had crossed the line for an offside against Kristoffer Ajer in the build up. How Ajer could be counted as offside when he got nowhere near interfering with play is a question only the officials can answer.

Having had that opener unceremoniously ripped from under them it took the Bees a full 25 minutes of relentless pressure and a string of great chances to finally open their account.

Frank Onyeka pinched the ball in midfield and fed Maupay, who flicked the ball right to Mbuemo. Bryan ghosted past his marker before hitting a teasing ball across the 6 yard box to the back post where Yoane Wissa was steaming in to turn it home from point blank range.

How the hosts did not add to this opener before half-time only they know. They were all over Burnley for the rest of the half and created a glut of glorious opportunites to extend their lead.

The most glaring of these fell to the returning Maupay, whose gut busting run from midfield saw him burn past a could of opponents before carving through a gap in the backline to leave him with just Trafford to beat. He unleashed his effort low to the keepers’ left but the under-21 Euros winner was equal to the effort, blocking it with a huge left hand to deny Maupay his debut goal once again.

Despite being at the centre of everything good in an incredible opening half for the hosts Maupay would not get his goal and none of his teammates would add to the hosts tally before half-time either.

Brentford created so many chances in their masterclass first half that in truth they should have been 3 or 4-0 up and out of sight, but they weren’t and as the teams trudged down the tunnel at the break Burnley still harboured hopes of salvaging something from the match.

With those fires of hope still smouldering away, Burnley came out fighting at the start of the second half and it looked like the Bees would return to their early season fragility as they retreated deeper and deeper into their own defensive third.

Having seen the hosts surrender a league high 11 points from winning positions this season many of those in the home ends began to fear the worst but Mbuemo expunged these worries in spectacular fashion just after the hour mark.

Maupay set the ball up for him to run onto just inside the D, after a sweeping team move down the right, for him to run onto and curl a beautiful first time shot into the top left corner of the Burnley goal.

Having watched Mbuemo’s goal from the bench Samman Ghoddos decided he could do even better and proved his point after being brought on with 5 minutes of the 90 left to play.

The Iranian had been on the pitch barely 2 minutes when the ball dropped to him 25 yards out, he brought it under control with his chest then fired a thunderbolt past the stricken Trafford on the half volley. There is not a keeper in the world that would have saved it and as ways to break a 2 year goal drought go… not bad at all.

Conceding the third was enough to convince legions of the vociferous away support to head for the exits as any hopes of a comeback evaporated.

Things could have been so different for the visitors though if half-time substitute Luka Koleosho had converted a tap-in chance at the back post at 2-0. He had terrorised the makeshift Brentford defence since his introduction, but when presented with the easiest finish ever, unmarked 6-yards out at the back post, he fluffed his lines and submitted his application for the miss-of-the-season award.

That was the only presentable chance for the visitors in what was a far more even second half as Brentford secured their second 3-0 win of the season and their first at home. It also moves the Bees into double figures for the season and by holding onto a lead it may even signal the end of the hell times for home fans.

Three goals by three different scorers for Brentford, maybe the bad times are finally over. Chelsea away is next up for the buzzing Bees, where we won 4-1 in our first Premier League visit and 2-0 last season. Anyone fancy a hat-trick?

Saturday 7th October 2023: League 2: Wham Stadium: Accrington Stanley vs Forest Green Rovers

To many people missing out on tickets to watch your team at Old Trafford would be a huge disappointment, but I chose to see it as a huge opportunity instead.

I decided to use this opportunity to dive deep into the Lancashire valleys and explore a team that has left an indelible mark on the English psyche, Accrington Stanley.

They have always been a team I’ve wanted to see in action and when I’ve imagined that day it has always ended in a Stanley victory. So I figured the visit of 2nd from bottom Forest Green Rovers would be a good game to choose.

The Green had a paltry 2 wins to their name from their 11 games this season and the last of those was over Sutton, the only team below them in the table, all the way back on September the 2nd. They have also managed just 10 goals in the league all season, to Accrington’s 15, so I figured the chances of them spoiling today’s script was minimal.

It was the visitors who got us underway, but it would be a full five minutes before Stanley let them have another touch.

The ‘Owd Reds ran their opponents ragged early doors, with Jack Nolan finding the going particularly easy out on the right. It was through Nolan’s mastery of this wing that Stanley took the lead in the 18th minute.

He tied his marker in knots to win a free kick and when this was quickly fed to him in space he whipped the ball into the centre for Josh Andrews to fire home past James Belshaw between the Rovers posts. The home defence melted away as the cross came in and Andrews will rarely have had an easier finish.

Rovers initially responded well to going behind but, after a 5 minute renaissance, they were quickly on the back foot again.

Matt Lowe was next to go close for the hosts, after Nolan fed him the ball, but his piledriver from close range was expertly directed over the top by Belshaw’s legs.

Belshaw was by far the busiest of the visitor’s players throughout the half but he was not called into action when Shaun Whalley contrived to balloon the ball over from 15 yards out, when intricate interplay between Nolan and Lowe had delivered it to him in acres of space.

There was precious little in the first 45 to excite the few hundred fans that had travelled the 176 miles north hoping to see their heroes reignite their season with a much needed victory. They barely threatened to break through the Accrington back line once, let alone came close to actually doing so.

A double substitution at the break seems to be just the ticket to re-invigorate the visitors though as they came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half. Till Stanley administered the sucker punch that was..

On their first attack of the half they were heading down a blind alley on the right. The covering Rovers defender decided to commit to an utterly unnecessary body check to concede a needless free-kick.

The hosts took full advantage of this gift by whipping it into the mixer, where Josh Andrews rose highest to nod home his second of the night to double Accrington’s lead just 6 minutes into the half.

Troy Deeney should have pulled The Green level 3 minutes earlier though when he directed his free header wide of the left stick from just 12 yards out.

Coming so close to an early equaliser galvanised Rovers and despite quickly seeing their deficit double they threw everything they had at their hosts to try and salvage at least a point from proceedings.

Despite creating many tempting openings throughout the second half they were unable to score without serious home help, which they only received once and by then it was far too late to affect the outcome.

So Andrews first ever league brace proved enough to condemn Rovers to a club record 6th straight defeat despite the best efforts of the man who replaced him.

Josh Woods had been on the pitch for less than 2 minutes when he chased a ball going out for a home throw, caught up with it and laid it beautifully into the stride of Fankaty Dabo. Who slid it through perfectly for fellow substitute Matty Stevens to stroke home from point blank range.

Even a gift so exquisitely presented to them was not enough to launch a comeback for the southerners to draw themselves level in the 7 minutes of normal time that remained.

This defeat combined with Sutton’s huge 4-0 victory over Walsall sees Rovers sink to the bottom of the 92 on goal difference. Whilst Accrington close the gap to the playoffs to just 3 points.

Brentford vs Arsenal: Wednesday 27th September 2023: League Cup: Gtech Community Stadium

So in the middle of a dreadful week for the Bees I finally made my return to the stands, but watching my injury ravaged heroes gift the high flying gunners one of the softest goals imaginable was not quite how I’d pictured the match going.

Particularly as Arsenal were also dealing with an injury list as long as a giraffe’s neck. There situation was so bad that they turned to a 19-year old debutant, Sagoe Jr. , to lead the line for this league cup showdown. Or Arteta knew how easy his team would have it in the first half.

Brentford barely laid a glove on their assailants as the Gunners swarmed all over their hosts, barely giving them a kick all half. The main surprises of such a one-sided 45 minutes were that it took Arsenal 8 full minutes to open their account and that they failed to increase their lead before the break.

The visitor’s failure to lead more than 1-0 at half-time was made even more surprising given quite how their opener came about.

The Bees were dithering on the ball in midfield and a weak pass back to Pinnock was pounced on by Eddie Nketiah who was able to advance unimpeded to the edge of the box. From there he laid it off to Reiss Nelson to stroke home from 15 yards out.

None of the home players were able to read what was happening or get across to cover, giving Nelson all the time in the world to pick his spot.

When I checked the stats at half-time it was exceedingly disheartening to see that the hosts had failed to register a shot on target. Their whole half was succinctly summed up in the 37th minute when a Flekken goal kick, aimed for an unmarked Yoane Wissa, soars over it’s target and out for an Arsenal throw-in.

In fairness to my beloved Bees they came out swinging for the second half and forced the visitors onto the back foot. The contrast with the utterly insipid first-half performance was as stark as the difference between a midsummer Saharan day and an everlasting polar night.

Arsenal were being so overrun in midfield that Arteta was forced to drag the big guns off the bench. Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko and Martin Odegaard were all introduced in the second half as the visitors struggled to stem the tide of chances raining down on them as the free-flowing hosts threw the entire kitchen into dragging themselves level.

In spite of this herculean effort the hosts were unable to smuggle the ball past Aaron Ramsdale, though Wissa came close, and they slumped out of the cup thanks to their own mistakes.

The amount of chances Brentford produced in the second half was truly brilliant, but their finishing far less so. Wissa showed the most promise of the team’s current strikers, with Mbuemo not even managing his traditional woodwork bonanza to keep the home fans on the edge of our seats.

Whilst the despicable defending of the first half shows just how much the Bees are struggling to replace the departed duo of David Raya and Pontus Jansson, whilst also compensating for the loss of the talismanic Rico Henry to injury, it was the gaping hole left in their attacking line by the banned Ivan Toney that was on full display in the second half.

Unless the return of the prodigal Neil Maupay, who came on for the final fifteen of the draw against 10-man Nottingham Forest, hoovers up a ton of goals between now and Christmas, my beloved Bees could be deep in a hole that even Ivan Toney can’t pull us out of once he returns in January.

Whatever happens over the rest of the season it has been a dreadful start to the season for Brentford, the only bright moment of which has been the derby victory at Craven Cottage.

It’s comforting to know that no matter how bad our form and abysmal our performances may be, we can still defeat the Cottagers in their own home.

I have been working on new posts ever since my most recent one was published, over a month ago, but there have been many issues getting in the way of completing and publishing any new material.

My work shifts have been falling far more on game days and it has become far more difficult to switch with colleagues to free myself up to get to matches.

Even when I have managed to get the day off for games it has become exceedingly difficult to get tickets, with even Brentford’s ticketing site having problems when I have recently tried to book tickets for upcoming away games.

I have the days off for the back to back away games in Nottingham and Manchester this week, but the website would not allow me to purchase tickets, even though I am above the required TAP’s level.

I was attempting to purchase them as soon as they became available, so there is a vanishingly small chance that they had sold out.

Another issue that has been slowing down my writing of a blog about the League Cup game that Brentford lost 1-0 to Arsenal this Wednesday just gone is my recorder has run into technical difficulties picking up my voice. It has worked perfectly for the last 2 seasons and worked fine for the games last month, but this month it has given up the ghost.

Far above and beyond these issues is the big one, my motivation and joy for the beautiful game has evaporated since I took the break over the summer.

There are lots of important things happening within the game: The Saudi summer spending spree controversy, Brentford’s gutted spine, Luton’s first Premier League win ever and Manchester City losing back-to-back matches to name but a few….
The issue for me right now though is that every time I go to write about any of them the words just won’t come, I have managed no more than a sentence on each.

This post, on the other hand has poured from my fingertips in the timespan of half an episode of Strictly Come Dancing.

I have managed to secure tickets to matches on 3 of the next 4 weekends though and hopefully they can get this blog back on track, but as things stand right now I can make no promises

When their beloved Magpies qualified for this season’s Champions League even the most ambitious of the Toon Army could scarcely have envisioned that their return to the top table would see them dropped into the group of death.

Sure they avoided either of the Spanish juggernauts or the rulers of Germany, but even without trips to the Camp Nou, Santiago Bernabeu or Allianz arena in their travel plans the North East’s greatest still have a scary schedule on their hands.

From Pot A they drew the French Emperors, Paris Saint-Germain, who have won a staggering 9 of the past 11 Ligue 1 titles. This trip to Princes Park was swiftly joined by a trip to the Borussia Dortmund’s Westfalenstadion, with it’s intimidating Yellow Wall and finished off by a trip to the legendary San Siro to take on AC Milan.

Whilst this draw looks like it’s throwing the magpies to pack after pack of Lions it’s also a dream return to European competition for Newcastle, after a full 2 decades confined to domestic fights. Eddie Howe will be the first manager to lead the Toon Army on a European crusade since the late, great Sir Bobby Robson.

With Howe at the helm, Europe will be descended upon by a delirious Toon Army ravenous for success after so many lean years and with this support the Magpies will hold out hope of swooping into these Lion’s dens to steal the shiny 3 points on offer in each and return the treasure to the frigid North East.

It is the fans who hold the key to Newcastle’s successful reintegration to the top table of European football. Whilst their away games will cause some trepidation amongst their ranks no fans will spark more fear into travelling fans than the Toon Army themselves.

The fear factor of their army is the biggest ace in Howe’s pack and his team have to make the most of it to deliver the full set of 3 home wins if they hope to progress to the knockout stages. Nine points from their home games added to perhaps a point or 2 on the road could be enough to see them ride into the knockout stages having finished as victors over the group of death.

Drop any points at home however, and they will face the equivalent of climbing Everest, K2 and the north face of the Eiger on consecutive days in order to qualify.

Good Luck with that….

Tuesday 15th August 2023: League One: The Valley: Charlton Athletic vs Bristol Rovers

Between watching this incredible spectacle yesterday and writing about it today my phone has gone haywire and is currently utterly unusable. Due to these untimely technical difficulties I had a look at the official statistics from the game to help refresh my memory of events. Never has a set of numbers caused me more confusion, the only things that tallies with my recollections are the final score and the timing of the goals.

From my vantage point in the home stands I saw Charlton dominate the full 98 minutes of play, from the first whistle to the last they played Bristol Rovers off the park the only problem they had was an inability to turn their glut of chances into goals. I thought the official possession stats would be at least 80-20 in the hosts favour but they came out at just 53%-47% to the hosts instead.

Charlton created a ton of chances in the first half thanks to their brilliant interplay down each flank that the Rovers full backs just couldn’t live with. Corey Blackett-Taylor, on the left, Nathan Asimwe and Karoy Anderson, both on the right, were turning their opposite numbers inside out at every opportunity and then laying on a sumptuous variety of balls for strikers Jack Payne and Alfie May in the centre.

How they failed to truly test Matthew Cox in the visitor’s goal only they will know, but even when the wingers took on the task themselves they failed to beat the Brentford loannee.

Even though Rovers had managed to limp to half-time with the match all square at 0-0 it felt like only a matter of time till Charlton took the lead they deserved. With the amount of chances Alfie May in particular was getting, and his form at previous club Cheltenham Town, I would have bet my house on him being the man to break the deadlock.

It was not to be however, as Scott Sinclair fired the visitors into the lead completely against the run of play in the 58th minute. Rovers had barely threatened the home goal up to this point but when a free-kick from the left was parried into his path by Charlton keeper Ashley Maynard-Brewer he made no mistake in firing it home to give the Gas a lead they scarcely deserved.

When substitute Daniel Kanu finally restored a well-deserved parity to proceedings in the 72nd minute it felt, once again, like it was only a matter of time before Charlton secured the 3 points their performance deserved. It was not to be….

The ultimate sucker punch would be delivered by another substitute, Luke McCormick, deep into injury time at the end of the 90. However, before it arrived it looked like Alfie May would provide me, and all the home fans, with the goal we all expected him to provide.

Twice teammates put him clear through on goal with just Cox standing in the way of the winner. On the first occasion he was cynically chopped down by recovering defender Josh Grant, a tackle for which he was extremely luckily to be shown only a yellow card.

On the second he held off all defenders and even managed to slide the ball past the onrushing Cox… only to see it cannon off the post.

Having seen both these chances added to all the others that went begging for the hosts it should have come as little surprise when McCormick punished the hosts with a clinical finish of his own minutes later.

To see a Rovers team who had been completely absent for large periods of the match walk off at the final whistle with all 3 points left me utterly shell-shocked.

It felt like a travesty to see the hosts dominate the whole match and yet come away with nothing, but I spose that’s what can happen when you don’t take your chances; someone else will take theirs and you end up leaving empty handed.

Whilst there are many positives for the hosts to take from the manner of the performance, but without goals to back up those performances they will struggle to secure the points they require to reach the heights they look capable of hitting.

Sunday 13th August 2023: Gtech Community Stadium: Premier League: Brentford vs Tottenham Hotspur

My 2023/24 football season began where everything good always does, back home. Returning to church for the third season, after taking an extended summer break away from all things football (Women’s World Cup excepted), felt unsettling though as so much has changed since May.

My break has coincided with a serious drop in my passion for the game. All the drama around the newly minted Saudi league has added to my push to find a new angle to take this blog to reignite my passion for the game.

It seems that a lot of players at both Spurs and my beloved Bees have had similar summer struggles pulling them to pastures new.

Obviously Kane’s move to Bavaria is the big one that springs immediately to mind, but since their last showdown, in their penultimate match of last season, both teams have also had enforced changes between the sticks.

Lloris’ departure had been telegraphed for months beforehand, but Raya’s move was still mid saga as this game kicked off (he has since completed a season long loan to Arsenal). Without these stalwarts both teams would have to adapt and improvise, which is never the best way to start a season, and the team that could adapt quickest would win today’s showdown.

Both managers will have taken a lot of positives from an enthralling first-half, during which both teams adapted well to their new realities. Flowing attacking play was the order of the day in the first half and this meant goals for the fans to enjoy, once play finally got underway.

Yeah, kick-off was delayed by around 10 minutes without any explanation (at half-time a water flow issue would be announced over the tannoy), but this delay failed to unsettle either team.

Honours even at 2-2 as the teams sprinted in for the break was a fair reflection of a half where neither team could be said to have gained a decisive upper hand. Though Thomas Frank, in the home dugout, has reason to be slightly unhappy at half-time though as the free-kick James Maddison won that lead to Spurs’ opener was unbelievably soft.

Once it was whipped into the back post Christian Romero made no mistake smashing it home to fire Spurs ahead, after an indeterminately long VAR check to confirm he wasn’t offside.

What happened in the aftermath was a clear sign of progress made over the summer. Romero was summarily whipped off the pitch as a precaution against a presumed concussion he picked up whilst scoring. He was apoplectic to be hooked in the midst of his crowning moment, but it’s great to see Ange Postecoglou setting out his store early as the new Spurs boss. He will not take chances with player’s health.

Brentford adapted well to going behind and after Bryan Mbeumo equalised from the penalty spot, Mathias Jensen having been felled by Heung-Min-Son, Yoane Wissa fired the Bees into the lead 8 minutes before the break.

All the VAR checks had added up to a ridiculous eleven minutes of added time at the end of the half Emerson Royal drew the visitors level with a delicious finish from 20 yards out.

Having conceded so late at the end of the half the Bees utterly failed to adapt to this body blow and came out for the second half as shells of their first half buzzing selves.

Throughout the second half they dropped deeper and deeper into their defensive third and invited the expansive attacking Spurs to crash in a 3rd goal that would have secured the full 3 points for the North Londoners.

Thankfully for the hosts and their multitude of devoted fans Spurs had also failed to adapt to their new circumstances. They created a glut of incredible chances, helped by a Bees back line missing the calming forces of both the departed Pontus Jansson and injured Ben Mee, but had no-one with the capability to finish them off.

Son was stuck out wide creating a heaping helping of the chances and with the creation of new boy James Maddison in midfield they served up plenty on a plate for ex-toffee Richarlison, now charged with filling Kane’s huge boots, but he lacked the quality and composure to gobble up the gifts.

If Spurs had held onto Kane they would have run riot in the second half against their extremely lacklustre hosts and I could have seen the final score running up to easily 7 or 8-2. As it was though I was able to breathe a huge sigh of relief at the full time whistle as Spurs ineptitude in the final third without their record Premier League goal-scorer eclipsed Brentford’s inability to adapt to the gaping hole left in their defence without three of last season’s stalwarts.

Both managers will have left this match knowing they have a lot to work on to ensure their team has a successful season. Thomas Frank will hope both new keeper Mark Flekken and new defender Nathan Collins can adapt quickly to life in the Premier League and that Ben Mee is fit to return to first team duty as soon as possible. He also has to find a way to keep his team mentally focused on the task at hand no matter what body blows come their way.

For new Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou the task is even simpler, just find a new 20 to 30 goal a season forward to replace the world class attacker who now plays his domestic football in Bavaria…easy

Success for both teams this season will hinge on how quick the answers to these problems can be found.

Now, if you’ll excuse me I have to get moving to South London for a midweek game between two League One teams adapting to life under new ownership.

So the Women’s World Cup Group Stage and a few things happened in it that I fancied writing about.

The sheer humiliation of the double-defending champions, The United States, limping into the knockouts and the brilliance of England finally kicking their campaign into top gear with a 6-1 drubbing of China to fire themselves through will be the big stories in most of the media.

The Lionesses’ Lauren James inspired victory that saw them waltz into the round of 16 as one of just 3 teams with a 100% record, the other 2 being Japan and Sweden, was a huge improvement in performance on the stuttering wins over Haiti and Denmark. It was also a sign of a team hitting their stride at just the right time.

What I wish to write about today is the 3 major teams, who everyone had as bankers to advance, that missed out on progression into the knockouts.

Lets start in Group B with reigning Olympic Champions Canada, the team that never got out of the starting blocks. It took them until the 53rd minute of their second match, against debutants the Republic of Ireland, for them to score their only goal of the whole tournament from their own boots.

The Irish had already opened the scoring for the match with an own goal in stoppage time at the end of the first half. Fans of the Canucks will have been filled with relief when those goals bulged the net, having seen their team miss a penalty in their opener against Nigeria.

Unfortunately, this was not the herald of the arrival of a Canadian team ready to push on and take the tournament by storm. In their final group game they collapsed at the first sign of aggression from their opponents, an Australian team fighting for their own survival, and ended up being destroyed 4-0.

At least their fans weren’t given the false hope of a swashbuckling opening victory before seeing their team fade into ignominy. Fans of Brazil and beaten Euro 2022 finalists Germany were not so lucky.

Brazil started their tournament by pummelling debutants Panama 4-0 in a exhibition of attacking football that few teams could have lived with. Despite this brilliant beginning they followed it up with a narrow 2-1 loss to the French in their next game, before failing to secure the win they needed against a Jamaican team that have scored once in 3 games.

The disappointing 0-0 draw was enough for the Reggae Girlz to sneak through at As Canarinhas’ expense.

German fans had the worst experience of the lot though. Starting off by obliterating debutants Morocco 6-0 was a tremendous start for one of the tournament favourites but it was all downhill from there.

Next up was the big test against a Colombian team that had started with an excellent 2-0 win over South Korea. Sure, that was a brilliant result for the South Americans but no-one really gave them a hope in hell of overcoming the Germans.

Proving people wrong seems to be the Colombian’s favourite past time though as a 97th minute Vanegas winner saw them pull of the biggest upset of the tournament so far.

No worries for the Germans really though as they just had to get a better result against pointless South Korea than the Moroccans they had trounced could get against their conquerors Colombia. Easy right?

Wrong, very wrong… the Germans could only manage a comeback 1-1 draw, despite creating a hatful of chances, which wasn’t enough to stop the Lionesses of Atlas securing the final knockout place with a 1-0 win over Colombia.

With the Americans in disarray, Germany, Canada and Brazil all out of the tournament and Sweden or the USA falling to the other in the round of 16 the tournament looks far more open than it did just a few short days ago.

The Lionesses are hitting top form at just the right time and, with Nigeria next up, I’m starting to tentatively believe that they could be about to add the World title to the European one they won so brilliantly at Wembley just over a year ago.

Bring on the knockouts and GO ON LIONESSES, bring football home again.