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THIS IS FOOTBALL HERITAGE

The Geopolitics World Cup has its North Korea 1966, its Cameroon 1990, rank outsiders to revive hearts hardened by relentless cynicism. For Pak Doo-ik and Roger Milla, read Vozinha, and all his Cape Verde teammates, including Pico Lopes, a defender recruited while playing for Shamrock Rovers from the diaspora via LinkedChat. An archipelago nation with a population smaller than Bradford has negotiated a tough group including two former winners in Spain and Uruguay. They will next meet Argentina in Miami, the adopted city of Lionel Messi, where the fairytale likely ends. Though if not, then they would become the greatest World Cup story of all. “We are small but we have big hearts,” sobbed Vozinha following a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia and a quick check on the other Group H result from Guadalajara.

Talking of football heritage, Uruguay exiting in a flurry of filth and fury during their 1-0 loss to Spain showed off something else not yet commodified and flogged to the highest bidder. Marcelo Bielsa’s tournament legacy is mixed. His Argentina team of all the talents were dumped out at the group stage in 2002 amid floods of woe. Chile in 2010 played some of the loveliest soccer on show in South Africa before exiting to Brazil in the last 16. A third stab with Uruguay has been a self-confessed disaster. Such true confessions were made most publicly. Bielsa’s guttural demand that the flash interviewer hurry the bleep up was followed by a paint-stripping mea culpa. “I haven’t left anything to Uruguayan football,” he sniffed, hurling himself through the door marked DO ONE.

The warnings had been there pre-tournament, Bielsa declaring he had been “toxic” with his players. Following drab draws with Saudi Arabia and Cape Verde, against a Spain team grinding through the motions themselves, a first-half mistake by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera gifted the winner. A distraught Muslera did not return after half-time. Both teams kicked merry lumps out of the other, though it was colliding with a teammate that caused serious knee-knack for Manuel Ugarte, the midfielder Manchester United are looking to ship out for their annual rebuild. Agustín Canobbio’s late red card for a “tackle” launched towards Pau Cubarsí put the cap on it. “Clearly I didn’t go in with the studs,” Cannobbio wailed after refusing to leave the field in full “hold me back” mode, his challenge having echoed José Batista on Gordon Strachan in 1986.

If Bielsa made his own emotions clear, how might his Uruguayan players react? Hopefully better than Argentina’s Juan Sebastián Verón in 2002, who admitted he spent the rest of that summer tearfully pounding the streets near his Cheshire home by night. Sobbed Seba: “I seemed like a lunatic but in this time I had chance to think a lot about what has happened … like knowing who is on my side and who is supporting me.” Anyone residing near a Uruguayan GWC player knows what to look out for.

LIVE ON BIG WEBSITE

The last games of the GWC group stage, completing the marathon, 72-game epic, starting with Scott Murray’s Panama 0-4 England MBM report, concurrently with Croatia 0-0 Ghana from Will Unwin, as Group L concludes with a pair of 5pm EDT/10pm BST kick-offs. After that comes Beau Dure’s coverage of Colombia 3-3 Portugal, with a 7.30pm EDT/12.30am BST kick-off shared with Bryan Armen Graham’s MBM of DR Congo 2-1 Uzbekistan in Group K. The final showing is a Group J double bill of Samantha Lewis covering the Algeria 0-0 Austria “shame” the world awaits, while Rob Smyth covers Jordan 0-7 Argentina (Messi hat-trick) at 10pm EDT/3am BST.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“What happened today in training, this is a normal situation. I would’ve liked to see these situations more often, that means the team is alive. They are willing to do a good effort … to be in the first XI for the game. If this happens another time, it’s a good sign that they are alive” – the Panama coach, Thomas Christiansen, welcomes the training-ground confrontation between Cecilio Waterman and José Luis Rodríguez, hailing these as scenes everyone wants to see, before tackling England in New York on Saturday night.

ON THE BALL

Big Website’s app now features a special edition of On the Ball for the GWC. On the Ball: World Stage invites you to guess the World Cup player in five attempts – and it’s pretty tricky. You can have a go right now – and there are loads of other good puzzles to take up your time, too. 

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

Having sat through the first group games and fumed at the obvious lack of jeopardy, I decided my GWC experience would be significantly enhanced if I ignored some games and played walking football for the 60-plus generation instead. To my amazement, there is an entire new football language waiting to be discovered by anybody prepared to play the beautiful game at a sedate pace. For example, the walking football term used when a player scores three goals is ‘a gerihat-trick’. Come to think of it, this all isn’t far removed from descriptions of England’s performance against Ghana. Does anybody else have any walking football terms?” – Mike Towers.

Re: tournament wording in different languages (Football Daily letters passim). I’d love to be the first of 1,057 Scots to tell you what ‘knockout stage’, ‘quarter-final’, ‘semi-final’, ‘final’ and the like are in our national tongue, but I don’t think any of us knows” – Peter Storch (and no other Scots).

Leaving aside the £116m for Elliot Anderson (yesterday’s Beyond The GWC, full email edition), I’m concerned about a midfielder called Odysseas Vlachodimos being mentioned in passing. Is he the kind of player who gets lost in the middle of games, or does he tease the opposition till they lose control?” – Kev The Poet.

If you have any, please send letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. Today’s prizeless letter o’ the day is … Peter Storch. Terms and conditions for our competitions, when we run them, are here. 

RECOMMENDED LISTENING

The World Cup Daily pod squad pick over the latest action, including France flexing their considerable muscles and Cape Verde reaching the last 32. You can watch it too.

RECOMMENDED BUYING

We have some Football Weekly Live events coming, folks. If you want to see Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning and other top, top pod squad members in the flesh, you can do so in Dublin on 1 September or in that there London on 9 September. And on 16 July, Football Weekly: Live in New York City is sold out, but livestream tickets are still available.

NEWS, BITS AND BOBS

Iran’s head coach, Amir Ghalenoei, says Gianni Infantino must “stand up” to the US after reiterating his complaint that the co-hosts have treated his team “very unfairly”, following a drama-packed finale to their 1-1 draw against Egypt. While Iran sweat on a best third-place finish to progress, a flamin’ date with the Socceroos awaits Egypt, pipped to top spot by Belgium, who whacked New Zealand 5-1.

Ousmane Dembélé has entered the Golden Boot chat, scoring a hat-trick as France put Norway’s second-string to the sword in Group I, where Senegal did their chances of qualifying for the last 32 no harm with a 5-0 thumping of Iraq.

You want more Cape Verde, don’t you? Their head coach Bubista has spoken of his pride at the example they have set for football’s supposed minnows. “We have shown that nothing is impossible,” he roared. “We have represented our country but we also represent Africa and small countries around the world.”

England’s Reece James has been ruled out for at least two games with hamstring knack. Meanwhile, head coach Thomas Tuchel says he doesn’t fear anyone at the GWC. “I’m not scared in general,” he growled. “We feel confident enough to be ready and compete on any level.”

And US Soccer have offered Mauricio Pochettino a contract extension through to the 2030 World Cup.

STILL WANT MORE?

Who has qualified? Who needs what? Which third-placed teams are going through? WHY HAVE THEY DONE THIS TO US? It’s all here in this handy explainer.

England fans appear to have chosen the Big Fish over the other delights of the Big Apple, writes Paul MacInnes.

Ivan Toney gets his chat on with David Hytner and co.

How do England unlock Panama’s low block? It’s a puzzle, writes Jacob Steinberg.

Australia’s flamin’ draw with Paraguay may have verged on the old biscotto but one Socceroo stood out: Jordy Bos was electrifying, writes Jack Snape.

Speaking of biscotto, Austria were knee-deep in perhaps the most famous one of all in 1982, when, along with West Germany, they did for Algeria in “the shame of Gijon”. Maher Mezahi on a chance for revenge on Saturday.

And here’s Yara El-Shaboury on the content creators bringing fans around the world an added dimension to this tournament.

MEMORY LANE

The last 16 of the 2002 World Cup, and a famous win for one 2026 co-host over another. USA USA USA beat Mexico 2-0 in Jeonju, South Korea, with Landon Donovan seen here knocking in a second for the team coached by Bruce Arena. Reaching the quarter-finals, where they lost to Germany, was the furthest the national team had gone since the semi-finals of 1930. This was the North American rivals’ sole meeting at a World Cup finals.

BEYOND THE GWC

The Ligue 1 side Brest have named Julien Lachuer as their head coach, fulfilling the wish of Éric Roy, who died earlier this month. “Julien has accepted the responsibility of carrying on the work of Éric Roy,” said the club. “He approaches this mission, which feels like a natural legacy, with a deep understanding.”

Fulham have signed the teenage Swedish forward Jonah Kusi-Asare after a loan spell last season. “I’m very happy to be a permanent Fulham player,” he cheered. “From my first week here, it was very good – I felt like I was a part of the family.”

And farewell to Wrexham: Paul Mullin has taken his leave after five years.

TAKE US OUT TO THE BALL GAME