John Coulson
@northerneater
Traveller, Eater & Digital Marketer (in that order). Shouting into the void, mainly about #LUFC. YouTube: @eatexploreetc 🏠: Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife.
Yellow, white & blue (plus purple). Still... probably less ugly than last year's sleeve though #lufc
Potentially good news. But I hope it's not a part-ex deal for Diouf (who's not starting today btw). From what little I've seen of him, I don't rate him at all - especially not for £30m. #lufc
Yep but this is the tweet that started the rumour. This isn't a parody account, just misinformation from some sad incel-type. I see it's also been picked up by Google's AI.
Two Premier League clubs were in for Sleepy Julian Brandt. Wonder who the other one was...
Tell you what... I would NOT swap DF for this other bloke. Didn't think I'd be posting that a few months ago. #lufc
Morocco 🇲🇦 Morocco pulled off a 3-1 win against Portugal to become the surprise winners of Group F. They then ran into Germany in R16, who ground out a 1-0 win to send the Moroccans home. Top Scorer ⚽ Abderrazad Khairi (2) (End) 🧵 Originally posted in "the other place".
England 🏴 Defeat against Portugal and a draw with Morocco left England staring elimination in the face. Then up stepped Gary Lineker, with a hat trick against Poland and a brace against Paraguay - only to be undone by Maradona in the QF. Top Scorer ⚽ @GaryLineker (6) 🪙👢
Portugal 🇵🇹 The 1-0 win against England failed to spur on Portugal. Defeats against Poland, then Morocco sent them home at the first hurdle.
Poland 🇵🇱 Poland made it through Group F, despite Gary Lineker's first half hat-trick in England's 3-0 win. Sadly for them, their next opponents were Brazil, who ran out 4-0 winners in R16. Some truly great moustaches on show though.
Denmark 🇩🇰 The Danes were on fire in R1, winning Group D, with Preben Elkjær bagging a hat-trick in the 6-1 thrashing of Uruguay. Then it all went wrong in R16, going down 5-1 against Spain. Top Scorer ⚽ Preben Elkjær (4)
Scotland 🏴 As so often in the 70's and 80's, Scotland had no shortage of talent at Mexico '86, but results didn't go their way. Defeats against West Germany and Denmark and a draw with Uruguay ensured another disappointing early exit for Alex Ferguson's team.
Uruguay 🇺🇾 Defender José Batista's sending-off in the first minute of the 0-0 draw with Scotland remains the fastest red card in World Cup history. Two draws and a 6-1 loss to Denmark saw Uruguay through to the R16, where they were beaten 1-0 by Argentina.
West Germany 🇩🇪 They didn't light up the World Cup, but West Germany shrugged off a 2-0 defeat to Denmark in R1 and made it all the way to the final - where they lost 3-2 to Argentina. Four years later, of course, their roles were reversed. Top Scorer ⚽ Rudi Völler (3)
Northern Ireland 🇬🇧🇮🇪 The team couldn't repeat their heroics from the 1982 World Cup, albeit in a tough group. A draw with Algeria was followed by defeat to Spain and a 3-0 reverse against Brazil. Qualification, though, was a great achievement in itself.
Spain 🇪🇸 Their highlight was a 5-1 demolition of Denmark in the last 16, with Emilio Butragueño scoring four times. But he and Andoni Goikoetxea, "The Butcher of Bilbao", couldn't prevent their QF exit, on penalties against Belgium. Top Scorer ⚽ Emilio Butragueño (5)
Brazil 🇧🇷 What a team - Zico, Socrates, Falcao, Careca. They had the ability to go all the way, and end their 16 year wait for World Cup glory. But it wasn't to be, and they were unfortunate to lose, on penalties, to a strong France in the quarters. Top Scorer: Careca (5)
Canada 🇨🇦 // Algeria 🇩🇿 Canada lost all three of their matches and did not qualify again until 2022 - a 36 year gap. Algeria's solitary point at the tournament came in a 1-1 draw against Northern Ireland.
Hungary 🇭🇺 It was a tournament to forget for the Magyars. They began with a disastrous 6-0 hammering against the USSR and a win against Canada couldn't save them from an early exit. But... This album taught an 8 year old me the Hungarian word for Hungary... Magyarorszag!
Soviet Union 🔴☭ The USSR finished top of their group, ahead of France, before losing 4-3 to Belgium in R16, despite a hat-trick from striker Igor Belanov. Some brutal '80s eastern-bloc styling on show here too. Top Scorer ⚽ Igor Belanov (4)
France 🇫🇷 The reigning European champions had a great tournament and the quarter final win against Brazil was a true classic. But it all went wrong in the SF, going down 2-0 to a dogged West Germany. Top Scorers ⚽ Jean-Pierre Papin, Michel Platini, Yannick Stopyra (2)
Paraguay 🇵🇾 A win and two draws got Paraguay out of Group B but then they ran into England, and an in-form Gary Lineker, who dumped them out, 3-0, in the last 16. Top Scorers ⚽ Roberto Cabañas, Julio César Romero (2)
Belgium 🇧🇪 Belgium had a strong team in '86, eventually falling to Argentina and a Maradona worldie in the semis. Enzo Scifo won young player of the tournament and Belgium finished fourth, losing to France in the play-off. Top Scorers ⚽ Jan Ceulemans, Nico Claesen (3)
Mexico 🇲🇽 The hosts, inspired by @realmadrid legend Hugo Sánchez, made it all the way to the quarter finals, where they fell to West Germany on penalties. Now we all know how that feels... Top Scorer ⚽ Fernando Quirarte (2)