Never mind the outcome: who SHOULD'VE won that World Cup?

There’s nothing more final than an unjust football result. No appeals process exists to shake off the unpalatable, unacceptable and unfair.

What can Atletico do about Real’s last-gasp leveller in the 2014 Champions League Final? And Smith Won’t Score, Brighton fans. It’s best just not to dwell on it.

But what if you could go back and rewrite history in the name of Justice? And what if that was then accepted as science fact by all?

World Cup fans should ask, did the right team win? And I say no, not always.

The best Brazil team not to win the World Cup?

Take 1982 for example: Italy won it but Brazil should have. It would have ended a 12 year post-Pele drought.  An era of Zico, Socrates and Falcao made more fabulous by the last vestiges of sepia-coloured TV pictures and excitable commentary on the phone.

Of course, Italy will point to Paolo Rossi's stunning hat-trick against them - but it was a defeat to send Brazil into their shell until they exacted revenge over Italy in the worst ever World Cup Final twelve years later. A Final so bad it made Diana Ross’ Opening Ceremony penalty kick look appropriate.

But one solitary ninety minutes stands above as the game that both launched a mighty nation, while chiming a knell for another.

The 1954 Final between West Germany and Hungary was the ninety which changed football's direction the most.  Their status’ are now so completely in contrast today, it’s hard to imagine it came about as a freak result . West Germany’s so-called Miracle of Bern.

Back then, Germany was demoralised, a literally divided nation. What they wanted was a morale boost just nine years after the disaster of World War II.

No one would begrudge Hungary oneWorld title

Their opponents, the marvellous Magyars were - well, marvellous. Imperious, brilliant - and the mantle of world champions would all but confirm an era of magnificence.

Hungary had already humbled the West Germans 8-3 in the group stages and made it to the Final courtesy of victory over 1950 runners-up, Brazil and champions, Uruguay.

Ferenc Puskas fractured his ankle during the Finals – but it’d be disingenuous to his teammates to blame that for Hungary’s shocker.

Instead, West Germany's 3-2 win launched a dynasty while Hungary disappeared from sight by 1962. Add to that Germany being disallowed from the 1950 tournament – this was their first post-war football foray.

By 1990, West Germany's destiny was built on history, self-belief and structure. Those pillars helped push them past a weak Argentina.

But that was when host nation Italy should've won.

Fuelled by the unexpected six-shooter Salvatore Schillaci, Italy powered their way through the group stages with Toto's firebrand goals.

Toto's pumped up goal celebrations were nuclear-fuelled

They were cruelly denied by a semi-final penalty shoot-out loss to defending champions Argentina – but it would have been a travesty if one-man Team Maradona had retained the Cup. Andreas Brehme's clinical penalty booked West Germany's date with destiny again.

And it's not just about the World Cup, it's a European Championship thing too. And that my friends, is all about England.

England are so unlucky. They could've buried the mantle of Least Successful Big Nation before Spain ditched the unwanted title first with consecutive victories in Euro 2008, 2012 and the World Cup in between.

It’s because Euro 96 and 2004 belonged to the Three Lions.

Baddiel and Skinner’s “thirty years of hurt” seems a reasonable tariff for crimes against preparation nowadays. It’s 50 and counting.

The Queen of England too excited by a German win?

With ten goals, England scored more than any other in Portugal, starring the Golden Generation and fearless 18-year-old Wayne Rooney of Everton.

Just as Germany seemingly strut to victory every generation, England’s defeats are magnified by frustration at the sudden failure of well, usually penalty shoot-outs.

And the less we say about Wembley in 1996, the better.  With the Czechs, 80-1 outsiders at the start waiting in the final, it was a gimme for the host nation at Wembley .

Excuse me, I have to leave the keyboard for a couple of minutes.

And while we’re on host-nations, Holland should’ve been crowned European Champions for a second time in 2000. They succumbed to Italy in the semi-final on penalties – Italy in turn, lost to a French Golden Goal despite leading in the Rotterdam Final.

Greece's Plan A gameplan worked perfectly!

France were already world champions and maybe, the Clairefontaine youth project deserved this outstanding double recognition – but still,the Dutch with Kluivert, Overmars, Davids, Stam and van der Saar deserved to emulate the Gullits and van Bastens of a generation earlier.

On the other hand, England's bad luck aside, no one can argue with Greece winning Euro 2004; Otto Rehhagel’s procession of one-nil wins was a masterclass of gameplan – nor with Denmark’s romp to Euro 92 glory when UEFA pulled them in from summer holiday deckchairs to replace war-torn Yugoslavia.

As for England,’66 made up for the World Cups they carelessly didn't bother with in the thirties.

Our common memories make the thin-line between success and failure an open wound. What a pity there’s no revisionism in football.

Remembering Sir Bobby Robson

One of football's modern managerial legends and great enthusiasts passed away seven years ago today. Sir Bobby Robson's influence still endures to the top of the game today: Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are his direct disciples. I had the privilege of interviewing Sir Bobby at two very different points in his career and here's my affectionate personal tribute to him:

Sir Bobby Robson, who lost his long-term battle with cancer aged 76, was a good player but it was his zeal for management which really marked him out. A life truly fulfilled with Ipswich, England, PSV, Sporting, Porto, Barcelona and of course, Newcastle United.

During his England days.

He nurtured players to greatness from Romario to Ronaldo; from Gazza to Gary. And if that's not enough, Mourinho and Guardiola, two of the most feted coaches in the world game were cultivated by the great man.

I had the pleasure to interview Sir Bobby with both England and Newcastle. He was the man who crafted Gazza into a senior England performer despite having branded him "daft as a brush". Backing Gazza to step up to the plate was a gamble at the time, but the boss was trusting and generous with ability. He was instantly rewarded as Gazza struck twice in a 4-2 win over Czechoslovakia, the first international I covered for radio.

Sir Bobby was already of pensionable age at Newcastle; he had a great contract and with nothing to prove, the pressure was off. The job was a labour of love. His enthusiasm was so infectious, I smiled with him during our live interview on Prem Plus and he increasingly chuckled back at me. His answers were so long, I had to switch from arm to outstretched oxygen-starved arm to keep the mike under his chin!

Sir Bobby was still on the ball in his Newcastle days

Sir Bobby was famed for mix-ups. On England duty, he wished Bryan Robson a cheery "Morning Bobby!", Bryan dutifully replied "You're Bobby, I'm Bryan, boss!". At Newcastle, Shola Ameobi claimed the boss dubbed him "Carl Cort".

But a less well-known story was relayed to me by former Chelsea and Queen's Park Rangers defender, Steve Wicks.

Wicks had just completed the best season of his career at Loftus Road and had been picked for an England B international in Mexico just months before the 1986 World Cup. Bobby was still pondering the 22-man squad he was going to take to the Finals with rumours that 3 or 4 places were still up for grabs. To add tension to the B game, the boss was going to pick the last available places from the best performers. He popped down to the England dressing room before kick-off to prepare the would-be World Cup stars:

His influence still endures today

"Now, I know you might be nervous 'cos I'm here, but just do your best and good luck to each one of you!", said the England boss.

He then went round the dressing room shaking each of the player's hands with a "good luck son". He arrived at Wicks, an imposing 6 foot 2 inches tall with the physical attributes of a goalkeeper as much as the central defender he was:

"I want you to know son, that you've had a brilliant year... yes, I've monitored you all season!". Wicks couldn't believe it. It sounded like Bobby's mind was made up to take him to the World Cup even before the game had started. "Wow, thanks boss!", Wicks choked out.

"Yes son..... your save at Aston Villa was one of the best I've ever seen!"

In a classic Bobby moment, he'd mixed up Wicks with Woods. Norwich City's Chris Woods, so it was the goalkeeper not the centre-half that went to the Finals.

listen to ‘#football remembers Sir Bobby Robson’ on Audioboo

I've spoken with a lot of friends and fellow fans and the tributes have been no more heartfelt than that of my friend, Jamie Gould. A Geordie and lifelong Newcastle United fan, who told me this:

"It was so sad to see him decline, but he still made it to matches regardless of the difficulties. It was great that he got to manage Newcastle but he was treated terribly at the end. He was the perfect ambassador for the game - but he was more than a Toon manager, more than an England manager, more than a Barca manager. He was a great man of football generally and, moreso, a great man, a great human being. The loss is surely felt well outside the confines of the football world; even people who never met him will say, hand on heart, 'I loved Sir Bobby Robson'".

Qatar's winter debacle might prove a tonic for the Premier League

As FIFA's Qatar World Cup Final gets set for Christmas week, perhaps our shock horror reaction at the disruption, set in winter stone for 150 years, may thaw after all?

How many times have England fans lamented our biannual failure because Rooney & Co were too pooped from the rigours of a 60-game season?

How much of a chorus has there been for a winter break after Boxing Day to give players the vital rest required?

Sportsmedia's dream for the Golden Generation

Every other year, that’s how much! But the chorus can’t be ignored forever.

So this enforced abruption could prove the blueprint for future Premier League seasons if our disparate interest groups can unify.

And as English clubs wither in the Champions League, perhaps a winter break might aid performance.

Richard Scudamore and his member Premier League clubs usually display a lack of will to embrace change in the face of external influences – but FIFA edicts are too big even for them to resist.

Maybe now, they’ll act on the relative benefits to keep the winter break into season 2022/23.

Don't hold your breath, mind - it might freeze!

England's immigrant generation could change it all for Greg Dyke's FA.

Without knocking Greg Dyke's FA Commission too much, the chances it becomes a talking shop from the outset are rather large.

The Commission's aim of England winning the World Cup in Qatar just can't be legislated for seven years off. 

Some of those who'll win it for us are 13 and don't live in England yet! 

The Golden Generation, hung, drawn & quarter-finalled

Because just as much as this is about getting organized for a trophy push - it's also about what society may throw up in the next decade.

Yes, friends. As responsible as Premier League academies may prove, England will win the World Cup due to mass immigration to the UK. And what do Dyke, Danny Mills and Ritchie Humphreys know about that?

The acknowledgement from football's highest office that we've an England problem is positive, but pro-acting on the unknown and unforeseen is no solution.

No amount of Beckhams, Lampards and Terrys have propelled us to glory. I argue the Golden Generation were too English to succeed. Too conditioned by the Baddiel & Skinner zeitgeist, the Danny Baker colonization of football banter and other hangovers of persistent failure.

We'll win it with: 

* talent unencumbered by generations of home-grown failure
* talent unbaked by the racket of tabloid sniping
* talent with a desire to do well for their adopted country ...
* talent beyond the radar

A new immigrant consensus will subvert the flatline of failure.

Can Greg get more England players to start Premier League games?

There are families living on the twelfth floor in tower blocks, grateful of free education, hospital treatment and jobs. They won't be neighbours to the so-called benefit generation for long either.

Gael Bigirimana, the Burundi kid from Coventry, naive to barriers, walked past the Sky Blues training ground one day, popped in and asked to play. He's now a Premier League midfielder at Newcastle United. His countryman, Saido Berahino already has England honours. 

Romanians and Bulgarians have arrived in every major city looking for a new life unaffected by 48 years of hurt.

Belgium has a class of players from all corners of the world. Did the Brussels Howard Wilkinson sit down and construct this national team? If he did, it was entirely reactive, the private sector's built the careers of those individuals.

And what did Greece do apart from hire Otto Rehhagel? 

I know what we did at Euro 2004: the FA brought WAG's, an army of blazers and an overpaid Swedish boss with the other eye on the FA's female staff. The Greeks won with a procession of one-nil wins.

Yes, I know these rough diamonds would require professional coaching from early teens, to be included in academies of the kind I've mentioned and to be known by the FA's Burton boys.

But it's what they carry with them in their upbringing that could break the spell for England. 

It's essential that the FA Commission has a well-publicized set of objectives - and as importantly, no definitive timeline for delivery. Football, even society it feeds from, is changing too fast for fixed policies to be made in the here and now.

It would be best if the Commission acted more like a Prime Minister's Cabinet, meeting periodically and with each "minister" responsible for reporting back for a collective decision to be made.

Also that they are elected - or serve a term and can be replaced by another person from football - or beyond as needs must.

And it's vital they acknowledge England will win the World Cup, not by their initiatives - but by the individual enthusiasms of boys who started playing in the street - not in expensive replica kits.

The World Cup is amazing so far - enjoy it and don't worry too much about England

The biggest prize

If you like your team to compete but ultimately lose "Eddie Edwards-style", England will fit you like a Cup Final suit.

We've never quite shaken off that "it's the taking part that counts" hint of amateurism that enabled us to export our Beautiful Game to the world.

"We have Barkley, Sturridge, Sterling, Henderson and the Ox for the future", they say. Fearless, talented and if not millionaires already, the Premier League will take care of that within months.

England's future looked bright with Gazza too as we watched the semifinal defeat to Germany at Italia 90. Remember that? It was the last time Daft-As-A-Brush shone on the world stage. 

As for the Liverpool players, let's see how good they are competing in the Champions League. 

They're our England backbone because Fergie retired and Manchester United's youngsters lost their father figure at the same time as Rodgers created his. 

I'm too long in the tooth to worry about England's inevitable defeats. We've sacrificed our national team in favour of the Premier League for two decades, so enjoy your club, whatever its division.

And support England with the same approach English football treats it - as a bit of summer fun.

For all the attention foisted on Roy's boys, club football is the focus in England for the foreseeable future. 

England head to Miami with more to prove

So what did we learn from Peru? They're among South America's weakest teams, haven't won for a year and from time-to-time looked a bit Arthur Daley with some questionable behaviour. 

Certainly more thought should be given to our friendly opposition. England public are too football-sophisticated to be soft soaped with such poor fare laid on at Wembley.

But there was no shortage of endeavour on our side. Daniel Sturridge, with his fourth goal in eleven internationals opened up a game in need of a goal and Leighton Baines is a real weapon from set pieces. He took the corner for the other two goals scored by Cahill and Jagielka. 

Joe Hart looked assured when needed keeping Peru out in the first half. 

But while defence seemed able, a question mark hangs over Glen Johnson, again found short against pretty ordinary opposition.

Roy Hodgson likes Johnson's ability to attack but is that a price too large to pay for his defensive inadequacies?

Wayne Rooney, who flatters to deceive in major tournaments wasn't short of application and commitment, but his lack of key match fitness reduced his ability to really make a difference. 

When substituted during the second half to give Roy a look at others, it was to disguise the fact he needed to be replaced. 

He needs match fitness after injury to realise his true potential.

Adam Lallana showed touches of class and his element of surprise could reap huge dividends in Brazil. 

When Raheem Sterling came on, his direct running at Peru gave England an attacking impetus and dimension missing up till then. 

But international football is too tactical for that kind of game.

I'd love to be proved wrong but we could be found wanting at this World Cup. Italy, Uruguay look weighty opposition. By the time we face Costa Rica in the final qualifying game, will it be too late?

Yes, there'll be a spirit of adventure about new young players given a first opportunity but if we're gung ho in Brazil, we'll be mopped up and eaten for breakfast by more experienced opposition. 

England qualify for Brazil but no one expects

Podcast (with Roy Hodgson audio)

We may have secured our place among the world's elite by beating Poland but there'll be no "England Expects" fanfare before next summer's World Cup finals.

For what we lack in world class we certainly make up for in passion. It's a commodity more than good enough to beat Moldova but has a tinge of amateurish hopelessness as prep for Argentina or Spain next summer.

As we head to Brazil, even the most ardent England fan must take a reality check.

We're thin on the ground when it comes to elite players. Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard carried us through the decisive Polish win, but Cole didn't play and Lampard jogs through the closing stages of a glorious career. What's left of the golden generation won't scare the contenders.

Andros Townsend is taking his chance in an England shirt. His first caps against Montenegro and Poland were marked with a goal and bags of running. He was totally unfazed by the step up to international level.

But he runs with gay abandon with little more responsibility than that, akin to a privateer with a government licence to snaffle up any opportunities. Tactics aren't important for a player whose task is merely to dribble and shoot on sight - that is until the opposition demands greater respect.

Daniel Sturridge is another example of England's deficiency. Good enough for both Liverpool and England - but not the Champions League. Playing at Wembley in a qualifier is akin to the Europa League but it's no longer football's highest level.

As if to prove my point, the latest FIFA Rankings saw England jump back into the top ten, but two places short of being seeded for the Finals.

"You need a ticket to be in the lottery. We've got a ticket", cheered Roy Hodgson as his angst ridden husk relieved itself on the media after Poland. He got good press too.

And he deserves much credit for his mix of pragmatism and adventure, but his gung-ho optimism must disguise private thoughts that he's got to make the most of what he's given.

Look, I don't want be too down on England. We've qualified and rightly the popular press and media chirped and tweeted amid the feelgood factor qualifying brings.

But I'm also a paying customer. We're a football nation of the first water with a world class league, so I dream of an England with more than just a punchers chance of coping in finals.

Let's hope we don't do the Scotland Shuffle and last just three games.

England misfire but it's Mission Accomplished in Ukraine

It wasn't pretty, it wasn't even particularly exciting - but a goalless draw against one of our biggest rivals for qualification to next summer's World Cup Finals does represent good business for Roy Hodgson. 

Here's Jonny's assessment from his Smooth Radio bulletin the morning after the night before. 

New Wembley builds a new legend

Keep your eye on the prize!

Believe me, they give off some heat!

It was a momentous week even for Wembley standards. The Venue of Legends staged the world's two biggest club games in three days, then an international.

Nothing, not even the World Cup beats the Champions League Final for quality and now probably, glory as the pride of the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund squared up.

A winner now, contrast to a year ago

Dortmund togetherness in defeat

The other big game, measured by sheer prize money was Crystal Palace against Watford for the keys to the Premier League and a £145m boost to the balance sheet.

The Champions League Final gets bigger every year. The switch from midweek to Saturday night takes it into the cultural mainstream. From Saint and Greavsie to Ant and Dec, if you like.

The moment the new champions were crowned

The opening ceremony starring a fully-fledged medieval battle between the red forces of Munich and yellow of Dortmund complete with bow and arrows, was kicked off with West End star, the War Horse.

Honestly, ITV missed a huge trick not broadcasting it in their Saturday night output.

Live flares from Bayern fall on fans below

Instead, they stuck with the foursome of drony Philistines pontificating on the irrelevant "could happen" points. While Adrian Chiles and Roy Keane swapped soundings, the choreography outside was literally marvellous. 

And the game didn't disappoint either. Bayern took their chances where Dortmund didn't and the master unlocker, Arjen Robben set one up and scored the other in the 2-1 win.

So often, this was a textbook demonstration of how to attack against how to defend.

Medieval warfare: the opening ceremony

But in Bayern's win, we're witnessing a change of guard at the top of European football. To win it a year after the disappointment of losing to Chelsea in their own stadium is a mark of a mighty setup. Follow that Pep Guardiola! 

War Horse from the West End 

Palace's win over Watford was more cagey. No one was going to be responsble for triggering tears in the boardroom. As it was, the headlines made were more romantic than the match.

39-year-old Kevin Phillips came off the bench to score the most valuable of his 280 career goals against the club where he made his name in his last game before retirement.

Wilfried Zaha was so often the difference for Palace, with his clever touches on the floor and even brainier short-passing. But Manchester United will observe he needs to build on his game, just as Cristiano Ronaldo needed to in his first days at Old Trafford. 

The semi-final vanquished were Real & Barca

England v Republic of Ireland rounded off the crowded fixture list as the FA's 150th anniversary game commemorated darker days between the two countries. It was the first fixture between the two since that ill-fated night in Dublin where crowd trouble brought the game to a premature end.

Frank Lampard's goal-trail continued. His 29th international strike puts him just one behind Alan Shearer in the all-time scoring parade. Who says the Chelsea midfielder can't go on and score half a dozen more for his country? 

New Wembley is building its legend slowly but surely. It's just seven years old, but the atmosphere, particularly in the two club games was noisy, excitable and befitting the occasions. 

For a modern building, it has a soul.

England deserve win amid cautious optimism

Lampard netted his 27th international goal.

When the older, more experienced players are in the mood, England tick.

They were bright from the get-go recording a first win over the 5-times world champions in 23 years, 2-1 at Wembley.

Despite some early defensive flurries and the mistake by Gary Cahill which led to Brazil’s goal, England deserved it.

The Roy Hodgson and Steven Gerrard regime has given England a spring in its step, a desire to do well.

It was a friendly, so it wasn’t as frantic as per, but there was definitely a competitive edge to the challenges.

Wayne Rooney took his most recent Manchester United form to the Three Lions shirt to give us the half time advantage. But the Brazilians came out after the interval. Right Said Fred! he equalized.

Right said Fred, let's get back into this game

Then Frank Lampard exquisitely placed the ball into the net and restored the lead for his 27th international strike.

All this after Ronaldinho had a penalty saved by the imposing Joe Hart.

Theo Walcott skinned the defence with frequency, Jack Wilshere’s long, long England absence is water under the bridge, he's such a talent and Tom Cleverley is unfazed at this level.

Chris Smalling and Gary Cahill are the latest defensive partnership to be tried out. It wasn’t glorious – but they’re the most likely duo that Roy will go with.

Composed calm opportunism from Rooney to open the scoring

But what of the Samba Boys? The truth is they're totally demystified. Gone are the days of the faraway fantasy football which captivated worldwide audiences.

We’re totally used to the players and personalities of Brazil in 2013.

Hark back to the 70’s and 80’s and the Samba Boys with their free-wheeling, flowing football captivated the world.

With honourable exceptions, Brazil have the look of a built for purpose group of European stars, so many ply their trade in our Premier League - at Chelsea, QPR and the like.

I’m not saying the Brazilians don’t have a shout of winning the World Cup in their own backyard next year, but they’re definitely not the best team going into the tournament – and I’m wondering whether home advantage will be a hindrance rather than help.

Football's eleventh hour bid to save Gazza

Gazza's appearance shocked football

Paul Gascoigne's last public appearance in Northampton shocked everyone. He's losing his battle with booze and pills. Sleb fans have rushed to his aid and England's players want to offer support too. But Jonny argues that he needs more than that. He needs a reason to live. Someone in football should give him a job.
 
listen to ‘Football's eleventh hour bid to save Gazza’ on Audioboo

 

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of Wazza

The kick that disrupted EURO 2012

They might’ve won the FA Cup more than anyone else but the insatiable Manchester United winning machine’s been without it in the trophy cabinet for eight years.

If they’re to break Chelsea’s recent dominance, they’ll need Wayne Rooney bang in form, in match winning mood.

United beat West Ham 1-nil to reach the fourth round this week, but the story might’ve been different story if the Hammers had taken their chances.


Hammering in the advantage

Wazza scored the winner – but also missed a penalty.

He’s missed ten spotkicks as a United player. Okay, he scored too but for a world-class performer, he’s quite a complicated soul.

Whatever they say, a succession of injuries indicates a certain lack of core fitness.

Elbow are also from Greater Manchester

There’s an old maxim that fit players don’t get injured.

Rooney said recently that Robin Van Persie – not him, was now Manchester United’s talisman.

This is a snapshot of his state of mind. With recent injuries, perhaps they explain why his career hasn’t taken off in the same way as Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

Rooney was definitely a peer of the pair after his sensational EURO 2004 show, but layoffs, disciplinary tangles and bad headlines in the press have left him battle-scarred.

Even if he's got the appetite for playing, does he still have the confidence in his own ability to perform?

There’s still more to come from Wayne Rooney, but fans of both United and England will look to him for a sustained period of consistent match-fitness and personal discipline.

4-Star General Zlatan confirms his genius to England

The dust may already be settling on a mere friendly which will record a Swedish win over England by four-goals-to-two in Stockholm.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic salutes the home crowd.

But what'll live long in the memory was the individual brilliance and performance of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. Scorer of all four of Sweden’s goals, the final one being so exquisite commentators reached for their thesaurus to describe it adequately.

Having already scored a hat-trick, Zlatan granted himself freedom of the city of Stockholm.

Great players play with freedom when the game is won but even by his lofty standards, his final strike was special.

England keeper Joe Hart came way off his line - off his line? off his line?? he was virtually playing centre-half – but the clearance bounced a mere few yards, so with his back to goal from 30 yards, Ibrahimovic launched himself in the air with a bicycle-kick of such looping precision and accuracy that even Shawcross, England’s last line of defence right on the line, could do nothing about.

VIDEO: This is the goal in Swedish!
AUDIO: Smooth Radio bulletin describing the goal.

As Steven Gerrard celebrating his 100^th cap conceded, “an overhead kick from that distance when the ball is six-feet in the air – only certain players can do that, and he is a special player”.

As for Zlatan, “Magic, magic… haha! How can I do that in a friendly? I just enjoyed it”.

It ranks as one of the great goals scored in recent decades - right up there with David Beckham's last-ditch free-kick against Greece to secure England's place at the World Cup, Rooney's bicycle kick in the Manchester derby and Di Canio's scissor kick for West Ham in the Premier League.

Gracious Gerrard confirmed he'd held on to his England shirt. Instead of giving it away to an opposing player, he's giving it to his father, Paul.

Ibrahimovic has often struggled to perform at club level against English sides - but that's to ignore his overall record and the who's who array of clubs he's played for. Both Milan clubs, Barcelona and Ajax to name but four.

It's a shame he never played in the Premier League and Paris St. Germain's gain is someone like Tottenham or Manchester City's loss.

England home and hosed after Warsaw rain!

What it's all about. Oh hang on, it's Terry again!

When qualification for the next World Cup is complete, England may well look back at their 1-all draw in Poland as a good point earned.

Because the rain-delayed match proved very difficult - as did our ability to capture our best form. Jonny looks back at that plus the sometimes excruciating, but mostly entertaining television coverage!

listen to ‘England home and hosed after Warsaw rain!’ on Audioboo

Pole-axed England grab rain-delayed draw

The doubtful chemistry between Keano and Adrian

England's World Cup qualifier in Poland descended into farce as the match in Warsaw was delayed by one very big waterlogged day.

It was totally avoidable too as the Poles decided not to close the stadium roof before it was too late.

For most England fans who couldn't travel, ITV1 was our link to the action. And considering it was four men over the age of 40 looking out the window at a rainy day, the coverage wasn't entirely boring!

As it became more and more apparent the game was a wash out, Gabriel Clarke brought us the politicking behind closed doors, as the two FA's fought over when exactly the game should be played.

At one point, the Poles continued to want to play on the night, determinedly keeping their kits on despite the rain. Then when that was done, November was the fallback position.

England said, "No, we’ve got a friendly in Sweden then."

Here's one we prepared earlier. How the roof shoulda been!

In the end, the game was rescheduled for 4 o'clock the following day.

Lee Dixon joked he'd be wearing approximately the same suit, shirt and tie as before! But the thing we all waited to see was the simmering volcano that is - Roy Keane!

I longed for one more joke where Adrian Chiles used human landmine Keane as its butt. It was raining, Keane was bored, Keane was steaming.

I love watching Keane's punditry. There's that tension while he's listening to the others and a Joe Pesci Goodfellas crackle when he delivers his.

At one point, Chiles ran out of things to say. "Where shall we take the discussion now?". If Adrian had used his radio experience, he could've plugged viewers for rain-based footballers, Ally McCLOUD, Pepe RAINA!

So the game went on (along with the roof, coinciding with the sunniest day in Warsaw) and we had to work very hard for a point.

England top Group H as Wayne Rooney gave us a half-time advantage before a Polish onslaught resulted in a second-period leveller.

Hodgson's men lead Montenegro by a point, but by the time we play them away, they could top the group as they play both Moldova and San Marino leading upto England's game.

Not plain-sailing - an appropriate metaphor for the rain, but England can look back at Warsaw as a good point.

No sweat England ease past San Marino

Rooney's penalty

Oxlade-Chamberlain's 1st goal

Jonny Gould reports live from Wembley as England made easy work of San Marino.

But could they have scored more against the joint worst team in world football?

Jonny reports at the final whistle.

listen to ‘No sweat England ease past San Marino ’ on Audioboo

San Marino want a piece of Wazza too.