Robert Lewandowski’s wait for a World Cup finals goal goes on after he had his penalty against Mexico saved, but he might not just have (a minimum of) two games left in Qatar to break his duck, he could have the 2026 finals too.
Despite presumptions that this would be the Polish captain’s World Cup swansong, the 34-year-old hasn’t ruled out the possibility of still being around in 2026.
His famed fitness levels, and gobsmacking ability to speedily recover from injuries, make that a distinct possibility, his former gaffer at Bayern Munich, Pep Guardiola, once describing him as “the most professional player I’ve ever met”.
His secret? Who knows, but some reckon it’s down to his ‘reverse’ meal habits – he starts with a dessert, and finishes with a starter, like soup. “I get some funny looks,” he said of his then Bayern team-mates’ reaction to his eating habits, and you couldn’t but share their mystification.
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But the now Barcelona man’s efforts to stimulate himself off the pitch have also been credited with his liveliness, not least his acquirement of a degree in Physical Education at Warsaw’s School of Education in 2017.
And this most excellent factoid can never be repeated enough: the title of his thesis was ‘RL 9: Path to Glory’.
Yes, his thesis was about himself. So, you’d guess, not a whole heap of research had to be done.
But, as was noted at the time, they say you should always write about what you know.
Word of mouth
“If it were for my heart, he would still be here, but I have to make decisions with my head. I’m sorry in my soul, I have to put the team before my feelings.”
Spanish coach Luis Enrique having a fair few of his organs impacted by leaving Valencia full-back Jose Gaya out of his World Cup squad.
“You can come to the hotel. Just to my room. To get laid.”
Dutch gaffer Louis van Gaal on meeting his wife Truus during a training session on Tuesday. Romantic, um, divil.
“It is directed that tomorrow, Wednesday, be a holiday for all employees in all sectors of the state and the private sector, and male and female students in all educational stages. The directive came in agreement with what was proposed by his highness on the occasion of the Saudi national team’s victory over the Argentina national team in the World Cup.”
How chuffed were Saudi Arabia about beating Argentina? National-holiday-declaring chuffed.
Baddiel and Skinner at it again
We are choosing to say nothing at all about the lyrics of David Baddiel and Frank Skinner’s new Christmas version of that Three Lions tune, we’re just going to leave some extracts here:
“Loving that Lionesses win,
But thoughts of last year’s final kick in,
And Moscow and Turin ...
The blokes seem cursed whatever they try,
And I think I know why,
they’re just jinxed in July,
But in December ...
Three Lions on a sleigh,
with she-lion inspiration,
Santa says let’s play,
The Christmas tree formation.
Three Lions on a shirt,
Jules Rimet still gleaming,
20 weeks of hurt,
(for the women’s game obviously),
Never stop me dreaming….”.
Okay then, two words: Oh [and] Lord.
Beers on the Sheikh’s son
Best talkSPORT chat with an England fan in Qatar: Maybe this one?
“We’ve just been having a good time, having a mooch and trying to get our bearings.”
“Last night we met one of the Sheikh’s sons and he took us back to his palace.”
“Basically we were on a bit of a hunt for some beers and he was like ‘yeah, we sort beers, we sort beers’, so we jumped into the back of his Toyota Landcruiser, ended up at a big palace. He showed us his monkeys and his exotic birds.”
And which one of us had never had a similar experience?
Quote
“From what I saw during England v Iran, nothing would worry me from Wales or the USA ... in fact, I’d be rubbing my hands together about facing them.”
Alan Shearer. Altogether now: when will they learn?
NUMBER: 8.7
The percentage chance Saudi Arabia had of beating Argentina, according to Gracenote, making it the biggest shock result in the history of the World Cup. No, we have no clue how they work these things out either.
