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12.58pm BST
Something to do at lunch
As suggested to me by my close personal friend Jihong Lee, Professor of Economics at Seoul National University, here is my team of the group stage. What is yours? Post in the comments or email me
12.40pm BST
I see that the England ‘debate’ is still going strong – in the comments, my inbox and on Twitter.
My tuppence worth: England didn’t play to lose that game last night, but they made the result an order of second importance to resting players. Most coaches having one their first two group games would opt to do the same. Our opponents did the same. The reason for doing it was in order to give us the best chance of winning our first knockout game. I don’t think anyone in the England camp has said anything about this tie other than that it would be a real challenge, whoever we played. England, as Gareth Southgate keeps saying, have not won a knockout round game in 12 years. There is no doubt that Colombia will post a real challenge for England, and that we are not favourites to win. Creating a narrative that, if we do lose, it would be because we chucked away momentum is great because it could never be disproved. It’s also pretty arrogant. And yet it seems like the argument against resting is that it was arrogant!
Paul Mariner reveals his grades for England's starting XI vs. Panama and explains why they can't let up despite having already advanced.
Free-Kick: Race for Golden Boot heats up as Kane overtakes Ronaldo and Lukaku
Group G's winners will be decided on Thursday, but considering the benefits of finishing second, it promises to be an intriguing clash in Kaliningrad.
A potentially smoother draw as well as a longer rest could be on offer for the runners-up, but you can't put a price on momentum ahead of the knockout rounds.
Liam Twomey (England) and Sven Claes (Belgium) take a look at the match as the final games in the group stage come to a close.
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What's at stake?
Liam Twomey: Top spot...12.53pm BST
I wonder what will happen to Lingard next season, though. If Mourinho is desperate to include Matic every game, with Fred and Pogba also around, there’s no midfield space, so he might need to play from the right. He’s capable of it, but a decent right-back would make it much easier.
12.46pm BST
Jesseh Lingard, then. There’s still plenty of work to do - he has a tendency to disappear from games, and needs more consistency in his finishing of easy chances. But he makes the players around him play better, has excellent pace and movement, can do special things, and isn’t scared. Alex Ferguson, Louis van Gaal, Rio Ferdinand, Paul Scholes, Jose Mourhino and Gareth Southgate all rate him - it might not matter so much that your da/boyfriend/you don’t.
Continue reading...12.03pm BST
Those confirmed teams, and the launch of Rob Smyth’s England v Panama live coverage, with the match kicking off at 1pm BST concludes this blog for the day. Thanks for joining us. We’ll be back tomorrow.
Related: World Cup 2018: England v Panama – live!
12.00pm BST
England team confirmed: Pickford, Walker, Stones, Maguire, Lingard, Henderson, Trippier, Young, Loftus-Cheek, Sterling, Kane.
Panama meanwhile: Penedo, Murillo, Roman Torres, Escobar, Davis, Barcenas, Cooper, Gomez, Godoy, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Perez.
Southampton midfielder Dusan Tadic has hailed the quality of Serbia teammate Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.
The Lazio midfielder is being linked with Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus.
Read more on Tribal Football12.14pm BST
Costa Rica (a devastating 5-4-1): Navas; Calvo, Acosta, Gonzalez, Duarte, Gamboa; Bryan, Guzman, Borges, Venegas; Urena.
Serbia (a third quarter-heavy 4-2-3-1): Stojkovic; Ivanovic, Milenkovic, Tosic, Kolarov; Matic, Milivojevic; Tadic, Sergej, Ljajic; Mitrovic.
11.47am BST
Everyone deserves to be spoilt once in a quadrennial period, and as such, I have no compunction whatsoever in saying I want an Oompah-Loompah Daddy it’s about bloody time we were served a decent game. Because, brilliant though Spain-Portugal was, it was all of 36 hours ago. I mean.
And we’ve decent reason to hope that today’s first attempt might just be the thing. Costa Rica have a proud tradition of attacking football, they need the points, and they might not want to invite Serbia onto them. That’s because Serbia scored 20 times in 10 qualifiers and, particularly in midfield, have players with skill, imagination and wit.
Continue reading...1.04pm BST
Argentina Caballero; Salvio, Otamendi, Rojo, Tagliafico; Biglia, Mascherano; Meza, Messi, Di Maria; Aguero.
Iceland Halldorsson, Saevarsson, R. Sigurdsson, Arnason, Magnusson, Gudmundsson, Bjarnason, G. Sigurdsson, Gunnarsson, Hallfredsson, Finnbogason.
1.02pm BST
This happened a minute ago at the precise moment Phil Neville started talking about VAR
BBC World Cup coverage has peaked. pic.twitter.com/Fl08hPlX5U
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New Arsenal coach Unai Emery faces a tough start to life at the Emirates after the Premier League fixture list handed him games against Manchester
Former Chelsea star Eidur Gudjohnsen doubts Roman Abramovich will sell the club.
There have been murmurs the Russian billionaire is looking to sell the club after he shelved plans to build a new stadium.
Read more on Tribal Football
Australia's 2-1 win over Hungary will be a big confidence-boost ahead of the World Cup. The Socceroos' performance also raised a number of fascinating questions in the lead-up to the clash with France on June 16. Rob Brooks »From the Iran winger who could upset Spain and Portugal to the man who has the power to make Peru smile again, we pick six lesser-known names to watch
The whipped free-kick that flew past Petr Cech during Arsenal’s 4-1 victory over CSKA Moscow in April proved little more than a footnote, but its provider looks destined for headlines. What little positivity Russians are able to muster about their team’s prospects tends to centre on the drive and vision that Golovin, who only turned 22 in May, brings to the midfield. He is that rarity among the host nation’s fairly staid current vintage: a genuine game-changer who makes those around him perform better. Premier League clubs are watching closely and if Golovin, who was born in the Siberian town of Kaltan and primarily played futsal growing up, can inspire Russia to some semblance of success he may be able to take his pick.
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Cape Town City chairman John Comitis has taken a philosophical view to losing coach Benni McCarthy amid reports that newly-promoted Scottish Premier League side St Mirren have short-listed him for their managerial vacancy.
McCarthy has been linked to the post along with the likes of former Netherlands international Patrick Kluivert, ex-Wigan manager Gary Caldwell and former Hibernian coach Alan Stubbs.
McCarthy has just completed the first year of a three-year contract at City, and also...Arsenal have signed the 17-year-old midfield prospect Yacine Adli from Paris St-Germain. They have secured him to an initial three-year contract, although it contains options, after he rejected the offer of professional terms at PSG – much to the French club’s dismay.
Unai Emery, the new Arsenal manager, has helped to get the deal over the line. Emery left PSG at the end of this past season and one of his final acts was to give Adli his first-team debut. He brought him on as an 83rd-minute substitute in the last game against Caen. Emery, together with Arsenal’s head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, has convinced Adli that his development will be best served at Arsenal.
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The transfer window is open, and Transfer Talk has the latest rumours making the rounds. Follow live with our daily blog
In an exclusive interview with ESPN FC, Ryan Giggs recounts his Man United memories and reveals what the current squad can learn from his success. Ryan Giggs has told ESPN FC that Manchester United's flair players to do more to excite the Old Trafford crowd.
Manager Jose Mourinho guided United to second in the Premier League, their best finish since Sir Alex Ferguson retired in 2013, but his team were at times criticised for their approach.
Giggs was a key part of United's attacking style during a career that saw him win 13 Premier League titles, and the 44-year-old wants to see similar flair from players such as Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial...
The transfer window is open, and Transfer Talk has the latest rumours making the rounds. Follow live with our daily blog throughout the
Frank Lampard says his completely focused on his first managerial job at Derby County.
The Chelsea icon doesn't see his new role as a stepping stone for a future job as the Blues' manager however, and is adamant he's completely dedicated to success with the Rams.
Read more on Tribal Football
