England should make only FIVE changes in call for calm after World Cup ‘reality check’

In partnership with

Football365

·24 Juni 2026

England should make only FIVE changes in call for calm after World Cup ‘reality check’

For the first time ever, England’s second game at a major tournament has ended in a lacklustre draw, with even the calmest and most rational now demanding wholesale changes for the final game of a group Thomas Tuchel’s team remain in control of.

There’s other nonsense as well, though. We’ve got the end of a 40-year beef, in a way.

Video OneFootball

And a mention in big 2026 for 1990s legend Uri Geller. So that’s good.

Keep it up

Some good news for England fans on a difficult morning after the night before. The Sun bring glad tidings.

Peter Shilton has finally made peace with Maradona’s Hand of God goal

That is genuinely good news, and we’re happy for him. And he sounds like he means it, too.

‘It’s been 40 years since the event. And, you know, I’ve met Argentinian people that have been very warm and friendly towards me. ‘I met some of the Argentinian players not so long back making a documentary, and it was very emotional really. They were really great towards me. ‘And I think maybe it’s time to put my beef to bed. Those are the reasons why I’ve decided to do it.’

That’s probably for the best. Long time ago now, wasn’t it. Healthier for everyone if we just move on and… oh, sorry, Peter, you weren’t finished? Do carry on.

‘If it (VAR) was around, both goals wouldn’t have been allowed. It’s as simple as that,’ he said. ‘You never know what’s going to happen in the game. So, who knows what the score would have been. ‘But certainly, you know, the two goals scored wouldn’t have been allowed. ‘VAR does take quite a while sometimes to decide a decision. So, in that respect, it does slow the game down a little bit. ‘But obviously in the instance of the quarter final game in Mexico, I definitely think that both goals we conceded wouldn’t have been allowed.’

Ah! Well. Nevertheless,

Bait and wish

Regular readers will know Mediawatch is partial to yelling at clouds about clickbait in its various forms.

But we do concede that when it’s about football – which is, of course, only the most important of the unimportant things – it really isn’t that big of a deal. Worse things happen at sea than a slightly deceptive headline about stuff that, ultimately, doesn’t really matter.

We do get genuinely rattled, though, when those same click-harvesting tactics are deployed in instances where the subject veers away from the tish and fipsy of football to the real world that matters. There’s just a moral vacuum at play when clickbaiting real life that simply doesn’t exist when it’s ‘only’ football.

So yeah, this Mirror headline can get in the bin, and the sea, and be fired directly into the sun.

Head coach leaves tournament as Scotland fans descend on Miami for Brazil clash

We don’t even know or care whether they’re trying to make the ‘as’ imply that it’s Steve Clarke who’s left the tournament. What we do know is that the head coach who has actually (and temporarily) left the tournament is France’s Didier Deschamps following the death of his mother.

We’re sure it will be some comfort to the Deschamps family at this awful time that the Mirror managed to sh*thouse some extra clicks out of their tragedy. Every cloud.

Check yourself

Everybody just breathe. The words ‘shocker’ and ‘reality check’ have been used to sum up England’s performance during their 0-0 draw against Ghana on Tuesday night. To say that is an insult to Ghana and undermines just how well the Black Stars played against Thomas Tuchel’s men.

So begins a Daily Mirror opinion piece calling for calm and cool heads to prevail before demanding five – sorry, FIVE – changes to the team for the final game against Panama.

But who exactly has issued such grave insults? Well, there’s this…

REALITY CHECK! Lacklustre England frustrated by robust Ghana in World Cup snoozefest as Three Lions fail to replicate thrilling opener

Which, as we’re certain you’ve already guessed by now, is from… the Daily Mirror.

Headlines to which the answer is no

Always a fun game, this. Almost always, any headline that poses a question can be met with a brusque ‘No’ and everyone can move on with their lives. It’s rarely as easy as the Daily Mail make it here, though.

Did notorious Ghanaian witch doctor CURSE Harry Kane? England captain suffers World Cup horror show with awful miss after voodoo hex – and even Uri Geller couldn’t save him!

Great to hear a mention for spoon-bending, Scotland-penalty-moving 90s legend Uri Geller in big 2026, though. And it means this sentence exists.

Unfortunately, Geller’s efforts to create a metaphysical shield for Kane proved futile, as the England captain not only missed a glorious late chance but also failed to have a meaningful impact on the game.

Almost makes it all worth it. Almost.

Singles in your area

This is a question we’ve asked before, but never got a satisfactory answer. How many people can you mention before it stops being acceptable to describe them as being ‘singled out’? We really think the correct answer is, by definition, ‘any more than one’.

We certainly aren’t having this Express effort.

International media single out three England stars after World Cup draw – ‘Cursed’

That can’t be singling out, can it? That would be tripling out, surely. And that’s not a thing.

Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Harry Kane if you’re interested.

The Sun Headline of the Day

Georgina Rodriguez forgets to wear trousers as Cristiano Ronaldo’s Wag watches World Cup clash vs Uzbekistan

We’re almost certain she did it on purpose, lads.

The Sun are slightly losing their touch, though, with the accompanying 216-word ‘story’ finding room for a mere four pictures of ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’s Wag’ to accompany such memorable prose as ‘But her most eye-catching piece of attire was a red No7 Portugal shirt – Ronaldo’s number – which she wore with no bottoms.’