The Lowe-Down

Post-Group Stage Review - World Cup 2026 How do the favourites look? Starting with my pre-tournament pick, France, and it must be said Les Bleues look ominous. Scary. The attacking talent all seem to be producing, whether it’s goals, assists or general cohesion. They’ve seen off tough tests in Senegal and Norway and look strong, exciting and like champions. The other team with a 100% record so far are the holders, Argentina, having won three from three. The little man is showing us just exactly how much he has to offer, which, from scoring six goals in three games, is clearly quite a lot. Argentina look very solid and are relying on moments from Messi and their other attackers. They’ve grown into tournaments before, as they did at the 2022 World Cup, but have, this time, clicked into gear much earlier. Can they stay the course? Time will tell. The three others, England, Spain and Brazil, all won two and drew one of their group matches. Brazil, yesterday, left it very late to squeeze pa...

World Cup 2026 - Preview and Predictions The greatest show on earth returns. It doesn’t quite feel real that it’s that time again. It’s been (almost) four years since Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar, and now we do it all over again. It’s about as open a World Cup as I can remember. We’re going to undertake the very easy task of previewing the favourites and predicting a winner. One thing’s for certain: the world will watch, and we will feast on a summer of football. Argentina The world champions are seeking to do what no team has done since Brazil in 1962 and retain the World Cup. Since Qatar 2022, Argentina have retained the Copa América and stormed the South American qualifying stage, cementing themselves as South America’s leading nation. Just like Spain, Argentina’s team is settled, with each player knowing exactly what they’re doing. Angel Di Maria is the only absentee from four years ago; however, it’s pretty much as you were for the rest of the squad. And yes, that little...

Liverpool’s Loss of Identity - The Slot Dilemma Burying your head in the sand when there’s a live problem is a natural reaction. It’s a human reaction. However, as humans, we all know it’s not the correct reaction. Those outside of the situation clearly see the problem needs resolving, whereas those involved are blinded. In the absence of data, facts and statistics, those involved are more likely to stay blinded by loyalty, sunken fallacy and most certainly ego. Whichever of the three reasons it might be, I would suggest ego, Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes and FSG head of football, Michael Edwards, have buried their heads in the sand regarding the future of Arne Slot.   Amidst the public pressure on Arne Slot, the party line from Liverpool, which has been toed and re-iterated by Liverpool reporting journalists, has been that Slot’s position is not under review or threat. A show of faith and backing for a head-coach who won the Premier League 12 months ago is admirabl...

  Chaos at Chelsea New year, same old Chelsea. The ultimate chaos club strikes again, despite Manchester United's best efforts to take usurp them. The new year has started off with a bang. A marriage of inconvenience came to an end. Enzo Maresca left Chelsea football club. The recent results were far from perfect but not solely warranting of a dismissal of the Italian. This situation, however, is different with it becoming clear that background tension between the head-coach and the club’s hierarchy came to a boil. Tension over what though? And how did it lead to both parties simply wanting to get rid of the other? Chelsea have been inconsistent under Maresca. True, but it was also a trait of Pochettino’s Chelsea before. Perhaps having a young and inexperienced squad leads to inconsistent performances and results. Who knew? Highs include a top five finish last season (qualifying for the Champions League), the Club World Cup triumph in the States and a fantastic performance and 3-...