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Millwall v Hull: Championship playoff semi-final, second leg – live | Championship
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66 min Here he is.
WHAT A GOAL! Millwall (0) 0-1 (1) Hull City (Belloumi 64)
Belloumi’s been the outlet and again, Hull find him. Doughty, just into the fray, isn’t close enough, so a dip outside opens the shooting lane inside, and he opens his body then teases a luscious curler into the far side-netting a third of the way up! His dad would be proud of that, and there’s little finer praise than that.
63 min Two more changes for Millwall, Doughty replacing Sturge at right-back and Bannan on for De Norre in midfield.
61 min Millar burrows forward asnd spreads to Coyle, who finds Belloumi, the outlet, but when Slater crosses, he picks out Crama. The headed clearance, though, finds Egan gambolling into it, and he chests down, then merrily wallops a shot high and wide. He fancies a goal tonight.
60 min The corner goes to the near post and someone puts the ball behind; the ref reckons a Hull player, awarding a goalkick.
59 min Hughes brings it out from the back and finds Belloumi who finds Coyle, but the cross is straight to Crama … who can’t sort out his feet, doing well to concede a corner … which comes to nowt. But Hull soon win another.
58 min Poor Kyle Joseph is back on the bench, with his foot in a boot. Let’s hope he recovers quickly.
56 min Belloumi moves forward down the right, cuts inside, crosses … way beyond the back post. There’s not been much quality on display tonight, another goalless draw looking likely.
57 min Millwall make their change, Ivanovic replacing Ballo and going up front to make a two; Neil wants to get this won.
55 min It was a nice thought while it lasted but, if they hold on, Spurs will be four points ahead of West Ham with two games to go; they’re nearly safe.
54 min There’s been a development at Tottenham…
53 min Coburn, who’s had a quiet night so far, gets away from Hughes, who schleps him down and is booked.
52 min Alex Neil looks ready to make a change, Ivanovic preparing himself.
50 min “135 minutes and more these teams have been at it now,” says Justin Kavanagh, “and neither seem likely to do a goal anytime soon. There, I’ve jinxed it for you now Daniel, so enjoy the two coming along shortly.”
I’m primed for a scruffy late winner, just when we’re readying ourselves for penalties.
49 min The resultant corner comes to nowt.
48 min Oh, but have a look! Slater wins the ball, spreads it right, and takes a return from Coyle, cutting back for McBurnie … whose shot is straight into Crama’s shins.
47 min Hull started the first half quickly but it’s Millwall, who enjoyed 65% possession, into stride first here.
46 min Off we go again. If we’re still level at full time, we’ll enjoy an extra half-hour, followed by penalties if necessary.
The Guardian has kicked off a new chapter in puzzles with the launch of its first daily football game, On the ball. It is now live in the app for both iOS and Android … so what are you waiting for?
Half-time entertainment:
HALF-TIME: Millwall 0-0 Hull City (0-0 agg)
Both sides are going after it, but so far, neither has had the quality to create much in the way of chances. It’s going to get seriously nervy when we resume after the break.
45+4 min And it’s McBurnie with it, his effort a poor one; with room to get the ball up and down, he swipes high, and that’ll be that for the half.
45+3 min Hull win a free-kick 23 yards from goal, left of centre, Belloumi and McBurnie behind it.
45+2 min Now Belloumi comes on and, more of a winger than Joseph, will offer a different threat.
45+1 min Azeez swings in a superb cross from the left and Ballo lunges as Pandur comes out, not quite connecting, and the keeper does well to get rid. Millwall need to get the ball out to their top scorer whenever they can, because he’s clearly their most dangerous player.
45 min Yup, poor Joseph is helped off and, with Belloumi not ready to replace him, Hull have 10 for a brief period; we’ll have four additional minutes.
43 min Oh dear. Joseph looks crook, his left angle caught underneath him in a fair slide tackle. I don’t think he’ll be able to continue; he’s got two weeks before the final, should Hull make it.
41 min Millwall knock it about with Joseph down following a challenge with Ballo. So McBurnie nauses the ref to stop the game, which he won’t, then Neghli sends a cross behind and the physio comes on.
40 min We cut to Phil Brown, on comms for someone or other. He’s wearing a leather jacket with a cravat, of course he is.
39 min “My school scarf was blue and black stripes, so I wore it to an Anglo-Italian cup match between Crystal Palace and Inter Milan,” returns Richards Hirst. “My school friends were Palace supporters so of course I had to support Inter.”
School scarf! Alright, Jennings!
37 min Millwall attack again, De Norre crossing into Hughes, who bares his chest and, though his arm takes some of the impact, it was by his side and from close by, so never a penalty. The corner comes to nowt, Pandur sends it long, and Sturge anticipates well, taking the ball from Millar.
36 min Then, from the corner, McBurnie thinks he’s been fouled, but the ref says not and Millwall clear.
36 min Coyle pings a crossfield pass to the wing-back on the other side, GIles controlling and whipping in a fine cross, McBurnie is up, he heads powerfully … and Patterson tips over the top.
35 min Mazou0-Sacko looks to pick a pass into the box but, when Hull close all the gaps, he opts to shoot, failing to catch properly an effort which trickles through to Pandur.
33 min The free-kick is an aimless one, lacking pace, and Azeez heads into touch then, when the ball comes back, Egan, 15 yards out, goes for goal with little chance of scoring, the effort flying over the top.
31 min Cooper catches Joseph with an outstretched arm, so Hull have a free-kick out on the right, 45 yards from goal.
31 min This time, Joseph floats his kick to the far post, where Pandur claims confidently.
30 min Millwall win a throw deep inside the Hull half and Sturge’s delivery is headed clear, but Hughes then misses his kick, forcing McBurnie to block a shot behind.
28 min Another decent shade of football blue. Funnily enough, my school uniform was this colour, ish, and they’ve since changed to a more Millwall hue. Makes you think.
26 min From the opposite side, Joseph tries an outswinger and, at the near post, Crama makes first contact, but the ball flies off his head, across the face, and away.
25 min Momentum in this game has switched, Millwall dominating midfield with Mazoou-Sacko to the fore and Neghli taking up good positions in the pocket. They win another corner…
23 min Joseph swings the corner in to the near post, so Pandur flies out to punch clear, picking out Neghli on the edge. He opts to shoot first time … but drags wide of the near post.
22 min Neghli runs at the heart of the Hull defence, rolling studs over the ball while on the move, before it makes its way over to Azeez, who leathers another shot … blocked behind for a corner.
20 min Millwall are into this now, knocking it about at the back and probing up front.
18 min First bit of serious Millwall pressure, a ball in from the right causing consternation as Neghli head back across, but it won’t quite drop for any of the various attackers on hand, the three defenders on the line eventually contriving to clear the immediate danger. But Millwall sustain the attack, Azeez cutting in off the right and, from a narrow angle, springing into a shot with Pandur tips away.
16 min The delivery from the corner is excellent, Hughes winning the flick-on and, at the back post, Crooks is there, looking to flick a shot from behind his standing leg, but he misses the ball completely. Had he connected, he’d almost definitely have scored.
15 min Hull get it wide and Coyle takes a touch to get the ball out of his feet, then swings over a terrific cross, Copper doing really well to thunk a header behind under pressure from Joseph.
15 min Like this, for example
13 min “As a Chelsea fan from South London,” says Julian Merz, “I’m not particularly fond of Millwall as you might imagine, but their kit is awesome, that perfect shade of blue. As for Hull? Meh. If you’re tigers, then wear the stripes with pride!”
I was contemplating the shade of blue myself. I like it as one one would feel comfortable wearing, but think I prefer brighter hues in my football kits.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
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Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
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