FourFourTwo UK December 2022

Four years and four months on from Hugo Lloris lifting the World Cup as France triumphed in Moscow, we are back but this time in the desert. There are plenty of firsts for this edition: first time an Arab country has hosted the tournament, first one held in the winter, and the first time female referees have officiated at a men’s tournament. But it could also be the final time we see some of the game’s greats. Qatar will give Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo one last shot at winning the World Cup, and in this issue we assess their chances of signing off on a high. Four years ago, Germany arrived in Russia as defending champions but crashed out at the group phase, and in these pages Bayern Munich’s…

The time is 12.04pm, and Micah Richards is apologising profusely. He really doesn’t need to. Over the years, FourFourTwo has been kept waiting by many a footballer – on one occasion, we sat at a training ground for three hours past the scheduled interview time, most of it spent staring at a door in case our interviewee walked through it at any moment. Today, the delay is a mere four minutes: no drama whatsoever, but enough for Richards to tell us, “I’m never late – I’m so sorry!” We tell him not to worry; after all, he’s a busy man. When he isn’t winding up Roy Keane on Sky Sports, he’s entertaining fans on Match of the Day or Five Live, jetting to Singapore to drive cars around an F1…

1 “AND NOW, WE COME TO POT TWO” If his time at UEFA was anything to go by, Gianni Infantino loves a draw ceremony – but his trip to Auckland for the Women’s World Cup event nearly went badly wrong. The ex-Champions League drawmeister has been FIFA president for six years, and jetted Down Under to see the shindig for the 2023 female tournament, which will be held in Australia and New Zealand. Before the draw could take place though, Infantino just happened to be strolling along the riverside in a traditional Maori cloak when he dropped his keys and looked up to see a topless warrior bearing down on him, carrying a spear. OK, not really: he was taking part in a Maori challenge called the Wero, where the…

“IT SET THE WHEELS IN MOTION FOR CHELSEA TO BECOME THE SUCCESSFUL CLUB THEY ARE TODAY” Charlton 1-0 Everton May 2, 2005 FA Cup final “I’ll never forget the first time I won the FA Cup and lifted the famous trophy. I’d joined Charlton from Birmingham in January 2004 and was a substitute in the FA Cup final later that season as a 17-year-old, when we lost to Arsenal at Loftus Road. Twelve months on we faced Everton in the final at Upton Park, and I scored the only goal of the game just before the hour mark. That was the moment I thought to myself, ‘All right, I can do this, I’m a pretty good player, I can carry a team on my back and win a final’. That…

01 Rene Higuita, one of the stars of Italia 90 thanks to his eccentric goalkeeping, represented which South American country? 02 Spain and Portugal are sharing a bid to host the 2030 World Cup with which other nation? 03 Which famous actor delivered a jaw-droppingly inspirational speech to Wales’ squad on TV ahead of this year’s World Cup? 04 How many World Cup goals did Wayne Rooney score during his England career? 05 Who collected the Golden Ball for being the best player at the 2018 World Cup? 06 The original World Cup trophy paid tribute to the Frenchman who created the tournament. What was his name? 07 Which ex-Italy shot-stopper is still the oldest person to feature in a World Cup final, at the age of 40 in 1982? 08 Which former Argentina midfield…

THE TRIGGER Ireland qualify for the 2002 World Cup and decide to visit the random Pacific Ocean island of Saipan – pretty much halfway between Papua New Guinea and Japan – for their pre-tournament camp. Roy Keane isn’t impressed with the facilities – we’re sure he’ll express his thoughts diplomatically, though. THE FEUD Roy gives a not-massively-diplomatic interview (who could have predicted it?), criticising facilities and the Irish setup’s mentality. McCarthy confronts him in a meeting, and Keane explodes – fitting, given they were on a volcanic archipelago. “You’re a f**king w**ker – the only reason I have any dealings with you is that somehow you’re the manager of my country, you can stick it up your bollocks,” is Keano’s calm, considered opinion, before McCarthy quickly sends him home. THE…