James Benge
@jamesbenge
Football Correspondent, CBS Views own
Any resentment between the Emirates Stadium and Bruno Guimaraes had long since gone by the time he took the field yesterday afternoon. He might have infuriated north London but Arsenal fans know they're getting a proper player. Breaking down his game 👇 www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/...
Nwaneri places the ball in the top corner. Five perfect penalties. Dortmund win the Emirates Cup. Arsenal win the shootout. And...
Arsene Wenger says he was "not involved" or aware of the plans to sell off the World Cup and has welcomed their scrapping. "The decision to withdraw the project was absolutely necessary and beyond question". His statement does not mention Gianni Infantino or call for change.
Tzolis confirmed that he was topping fitness tests among those who have already joined up for pre-season. No wonder the fitness coaches have already given him the nickname Leonidas.
Spoke to Christos Tzolis last week, he says the thing that has struck him the most since joining Arsenal is the hunger everyone in the squad is showing to go further. "I see a clear mindset and that everybody is on the same page to win titles here."
In Brazil's last three World Cup eliminations they have put up shots worth 8.48 xG, scoring three goals. They have allowed shots worth 2.02 xG, conceding five goals. (Chuck in 2014 and they're still up 10.1 over 5.17) This is cursed stuff.
"Just rock and roll that please... ok you can go to ball tracking when ready."
It's 1.4 xG to 0.2 Portugal have had 70% of the ball Bruno Fernandes has more penalty box touches than every opposition player combined Everything's coming up Croatia winning a penalty shootout
Absolutely ridiculous that Olise is this aggressive in his passing and this accurate. His 92% pass completion in the attacking third is what your DM gives you. Meanwhile Olise's out here sliding the ball through lines to put it on a platter for his forwards.
Hmmm, quite a lot of metrics there that I don't really know what's going into them. To each their own but not what I'm seeing on more basic stuff.
That is staggering money for the outline of a good midfielder, who probably needs to land in the right environment to develop. Although I suppose a 62nd percentile passing midfielder in Europe's top five leagues is a 100th percentile passing midfielder at Tottenham.
Initially looks like a game where Brazil were dominant on the xG but you have a brief spell up to that Vini chance where their xG skyrockets and then that late opening. Japan fully punished for their bad moments, too gassed to make some good ones later on.
Tomiyasu and his Japan team mates have done a pretty good job so far of forcing Vinicius Junior wide or backwards. There's always a risk he might do something on the byline but with a forward of that talent you've got to pick your poison. It seems like Japan have chosen well.
Went digging back through an interview I did with Xabi Alonso midway through Leverkusen's invincible season, this was quite a telling line on the importance of Granit Xhaka. He would go on to say that the double would have been impossible without Xhaka. www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/...
How can you be the best version of yourself, the team who doesn't do the passing in the midfield, and not have this guy on your roster?
England could have been a fair bit better breaking down that low block but they were trying to do it with their wingers who were arguably least suited to that. Any team what Ghana just did (brilliantly) in the knockouts probably has to keep it up for another 30 mins.
All for Kane dropping into the No.10 position with the right setup (which England have). This isn't that. This is Kane dropping into the No.4 position. I'm not sure that it's ideal when your Ballon d'Or-contender striker has more touches in your half than Croatia's.
France had one shot worth 0.02 xG in the first half against Senegal. That is the lowest xG in any half of a World Cup game since France in the first half of the 2022 final. This does seem to happen to this team with a frequency that you might gently label disproportionate to their talent.
The average La Liga forward pressed 42 times per 90 last season. The second least frequent, Rashford, pressed 22.5. Mbappe? 16.99. He ended the season with fewer interceptions than Joan Garcia. He says he will change. Tonight we might see if that's true. www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/...
Oh wow, fair enough. I was dimmly aware of the name but yeah, this profile would be a handy one for the squad.
Every day of the World Cup I'm going to jot down a few thoughts that vaguely interest me ahead of the upcoming fixtures. I may not know the answers to the questions I ask. Today, I know the pure output has been bad. But has Jonathan David been unlucky? www.cbssports.com/soccer/news/...
Omar Artan is to referee the Super Cup between PSG and Aston Villa, UEFA have announced. "UEFA wants to show its respect to Omar and his outstanding officiating skills," says Aleksander Ceferin.