Key events40m agoManchester City close on appointing Maresca52m ago'Everybody's crying': Turkey come to terms with shock exit1h agoPreambleIt’s been a star striker’s tournament so far – aside from the immobile slab of monetised wax playing at No 7 for Portugal – and that’s reflected in the big names already nestled in Golden Boot top 10. Here’s the current hit parade:A first dive into the old mailbag produces this, from Gerry Scott, with which I heartily concur:
double quotation markIf best placed third placed teams are going to be able to advance from the group then goal difference should be preferred to head to head as a way of ranking teams. Türkiye should at least have the prospect of beating the US and overtaking one of Paraguay or Australia rather than already being out of the tournament.
I’m sure Gianni will be on it soon.
Football Daily has landed. Listen in as Max Rushden, Barry Glendenning, Lars Sivertsen, Jack Snape, Ewan Murray, Seb Hutchinson and Alex Abnos digest what they’ve just seen.Manchester City close on appointing MarescaMatt HughesSome non-World Cup news now, from the ever-busy Matt Hughes:Manchester City are close to reaching a financial settlement with Chelsea that will enable them to appoint Enzo Maresca as their new manager.Chelsea are demanding compensation from City to release Maresca as they believe they have evidence that the Spaniard breached his contract at Stamford Bridge by talking to the club’s Premier League rivals when he was still their manager last season.It has been widely reported that Maresca informed Chelsea he had been approached by both City and Napoli last winter in the chaotic weeks that led to his surprise resignation on New Year’s Day, a claim that has never been disputed.Chelsea are adamant they deserve to be compensated for the loss of Maresca, whose departure destabilised a season that ended with them finishing 10th in the Premier League and missing out on European qualification, but they have a good relationship with City and have confidence an amicable agreement can be reached.What do you think of it so far? It’s basically almost impossible to have a bad time at a World Cup, for all the oppressive politics and commercialism that seek to suffocate the spectacle. And here’s our writers’ verdicts on how they’ve found the first week and a bit.
