Nick Ames is online now
After a late comeback from Argentina led to heartbreak for England in last night’s World Cup semi-final, Guardian football reporter Nick Ames is online now answering your questions
Key events
What made you decide to report on the Aramco refinery?
Will D asks: Nick, can you tell us a bit more about why you decided to report on the Aramco refinery and what the attitude was there from locals towards Fifa/the World Cup?
Nick says:
Thanks for raising this. As soon as I realised the Port Arthur refinery in Texas was located two hours from a World Cup venue, and learned more about the public health and economic situations there, I felt it was essential to visit. FIFA take a gargantuan amount of money from Aramco – and others of course – and should have to account for it. They have a “sustainable sourcing code” for sponsors and a sustainability/human rights strategy for the World Cup? Are the targets – often very vague, you’ll be shocked to hear – being hit? And should FIFA’s “major worldwide partner” not be engaging firmly with the community it looms over … even if it’s something laughably small like plastering its name on a local football pitch? There was nothing of the sort in Port Arthur, where people are struggling to stay healthy and get by.
In Port Arthur there was barely any interest in the World Cup. People just want to know when their lives are going to get better. The stadium countdown clock in Houston, 100 miles away, was “powered by Aramco”. The economy in Port Arthur certainly didn’t seem to be.
Why did Bellingham and Kane have so little influence?
uncle_Rico asks: Why did Bellingham and Kane have so little influence over the game last night? All the talk had been about how they were carrying England forward with the worry being what would happen in a game where they couldn’t do that.
Nick says:
I thought Bellingham could run amok yesterday. It felt as if he’d have a lot of fun running off, and behind, a labouring Argentina midfield. Back to football-watching school for me! It’s a great point. I watched the game back yesterday on my flight to New York and could not believe how minimal England’s goal threat had been. It was even worse on second viewing. Can you think of another scoring chance they created? The short answer here is that Bellingham and Kane need people around who can get the ball to them and it just did not happen. I think a lot of that comes down to the way England started the game. Argentina were very happy to let that opening period go by without anything happening and England played along.
Does England’s past failures affect team psychology?
Eternalsceptic asks: How much do you think the weight of history, of past England failures, play into the psychology of the team? We always hear with each new incarnation of the England side that this current generation will not carry the baggage of the past yet here we are again not being able to get past an elite side when it counts?
Nick says:
It’s quite often a mistake to pick people’s words apart but I did think Anthony Barry was interesting at half-time when he said “we wanted to show our players that there was no inferiority complex”. Why would they have thought there was? I guess the answer has something to do with Argentina’s title-winning pedigree and a certain Lionel Messi. But it suggests there were concerns about at least some kind of external pressure filtering through. Coaches can never control exactly how much players see and hear from outside; the expectation is always gigantic. It’s not quantifiable, in fact it’s totally nebulous, but you’d have to think it has some sort of effect.
Did Tuchel know Declan Rice wasn’t on top form?
BrightonPeer asks: Did Tuchel know how injured Saka and (especially) Rice were when he picked his squad? My sense is that he can’t have known about Rice, because if he had known surely he takes one or two spare central midfielders who weren’t just there for the vibes or, well, whatever Mainoo was there for given Tuchel clearly doesn’t trust him?
Nick says:
Afraid he did! Both players’ issues have been well known for a long time – Rice in particular goes back to the start of the year. And there’s too much information around nowadays for anything like this to fly under the radar. Managers have to choose whether to take calculated gambles or not, just as Lionel Scaloni did with a couple of his full-backs. But the situation with midfield cover is, I agree, utterly exasperating. It is where matches are won and lost. Tuchel’s squad selection had a strong emphasis on being “good tourists”, which explains the Henderson call-up, and I sympathise with that to some extent. But would he have brought Adam Wharton if he had his time again? Maybe he’ll tell us one day.
Would long throw-ins have thrown opponents?
BrianFantana asks: Aside from the obvious squad omissions, do you think England should have incorporated more long throw-ins? They aren’t pretty but they were the story of the PL this year and would have taken a lot of countries by surprise.
Nicks says:
Do they have anyone who can chuck it far enough? Maybe Declan Rice. It’s a decent point but to be honest I’ve rather enjoyed a World Cup light on them. Perhaps the long throw can be England’s answer to the Spanish football identity in future!
Would a final against Spain have left us red faced?
Mentalfloss asks: On the basis of last night’s performance did we narrowly avoid being completely embarrassed by Spain on Sunday?
Nick says:
Look, it’s a distinct possibility. But – and I know this is the most terrible cliche – every game is its own universe. Perhaps England would have played their own game against Spain, rather than getting sucked into the snarl and niggle Argentina wanted during the first half. It would have been a fascinating clash between one consistent idea and another that appears to change on the hoof.
Nick Ames is online now
After a late comeback from Argentina led to heartbreak for England in last night’s World Cup semi-final, Guardian football reporter Nick Ames is online now answering your questions
Welcome to the Conversation
It’s been a morning of dejection for England fans after their defeat by Argentina last night in Atlanta. But, from Mendoza to Malaga, there is huge excitement for Sunday’s final. Of course, there’s also the third/fourth place playoff between England and France in Miami on Saturday still to come.
Over the past few weeks Nick has seen Spain canter to the final against France in Dallas, Argentina come back to life against Switzerland in Kansas City, England’s heroics in Mexico City and, importantly, reported away from the sporting action: his piece on the impact that a refinery owned by Aramco (one of Fifa’s most lucrative sponsors) has had on locals in Port Arthur, 100 miles away from host city Houston is a must read.
Nick is online online now answering your questions.
Sign in or create your Guardian account to join the discussion
And here’s something to read in the meantime.
