FIFA World Cup™ on FOX Programming Highlights: Tuesday, July 3
Today’s Schedule & Results (all times ET):
- Sweden def. Switzerland, 1-0
- England ties Colombia, 1-1, advances 4-3 on penalty kicks
- 7:00 PM – FIFA WORLD CUP NOW (Twitter)
- 8:00 PM – FIFA WORLD CUP Match of the Day: Colombia vs England (FS1)
- 10:00 PM – FIFA WORLD CUP TONIGHT (FS1)
- 12:00 AM – FIFA WORLD CUP TONIGHT (FOX / airs at midnight in all U.S. time zones)
Today’s Top Stories:
ICYMI: Monday on FIFA WORLD CUP TONIGHT
Today’s Top Quotes:
FOX Sports lead studio analyst Alexi Lalas on England’s victory allowing the team move to on from the past:
“This is truly a ‘new’ England team. If they’re going to do it, it had to be penalties, didn’t it?
“It was interesting to hear Pickford talk about the research and the understanding – Falcao was the only one who went a different way. So, he had an understanding of what was going on, and that’s preparation, that’s detail, and this new England team is fun to watch.
“Now they are unburdened, they are unshackled, they can kick on from this. They don’t have to worry about the penalty situation – not that it’s not going to come up again – but this takes a load of weight off their shoulders, and they can go forward, especially being on the right side of that bracket.”
FOX Sports studio analyst and former England women’s international Kelly Smith says England worked hard to get to this point:
“At some point, England’s luck had to change. And finally, after 12 years, they showed all the hard work and preparation that’s gone into it. It’s been amazing. I’ve got goosebumps.”
FOX Sports studio analyst and Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill says it’s hard to prepare for penalty kicks:
“It’s very, very difficult to plan for penalty kicks, because whatever you do in practice, it just never materializes that way. I suppose when Henderson missed, they thought they missed their chance. But when Colombia missed their last two penalties, they were back in. Whatever you say about penalties, agree or not, it’s pure drama.”
Smith believes England has a good chance to move on:
“The burden has been lifted. You see what it meant to those English players – the relief. They’re writing their own history now, and this team has something special – more to come.”
O’Neill believes the English team has exorcised a ghost tonight:
“The penalty kicks shootout might come up again, in the next round, but they’ve exorcised that ghost of failures past, so now they can actually go on. This is a big, big moment, I think, for them. Psychologically, they got past that shootout. Whether they should have ever gotten there is open to debate, but even so, they’ve done it tonight.”
Prior to Colombia vs. England, Lalas said he wouldn’t be surprised if the match came down to set pieces:
“There are no two teams that like set pieces more than these two teams. They live and die by them, though, because both England and Colombia have scored on set pieces, and they use it to their advantage, but they have also let in set piece goals.”
FOX Sports lead game analyst Stu Holden recaps Sweden’s win:
“Do you want to play that team? Because I wouldn’t.
“That is a group and a team that fight you for every inch and every pass and every shot. And they don’t do it for five minutes – they do it for the full 90 minutes.
“It’s not pretty; they’re not going to win style points for the way that they attack, but I’ll give them style points for the way that they defend and the way that they play as a team.”
O’Neill says Sweden plays as more of a team without Zlatan Ibrahimović:
“What is really interesting about this Sweden side – they lost their talisman, their self-promoted best player in the world in Ibrahimović, but there’s a tightness about them. They are really obstinate; they’re durable. They haven’t got any phenomenal technique, but they really are a team.”
Lalas adds:
“No Zlatan, no problem. Addition by subtraction. This is a team in every sense.”
FOX Sports studio analyst and former Dutch player and coach Clarence Seedorf says Sweden’s togetherness makes them dangerous:
“I think this is a dangerous side for everybody to play against, because this team spirit is something special.”
Lalas agrees:
“When they get together, there is something special about this team. They all understand their individual roles, and collectively they understand exactly how they want to play. They know what they are, and they know what they’re not.”
Holden said prior to Sweden vs. Switzerland that Sweden’s ability to play as a team would be a key factor in the match:
“The better teams – the teams that have an identity, a collective approach, that work hard for each other – have succeeded. That is exactly what Sweden are.”
Seedorf praises the sportsmanship in the World Cup:
“Great sportsmanship – I think many times we don’t talk enough about it. I think this is very important, especially for the younger generations. When you get on this stage, it’s easy to go around and celebrate and win, but you need to know how to win and how to behave.
“Know how to lose, know how to win.”
O’Neill thinks there should be significant change when it comes to yellow cards:
“This has been a problem every single time we go into these World Cups. It’s the biggest tournament in the world, and you want people to see the best players playing – not just in the final or semifinal, but in the quarterfinals, if at all possible. My own ruling is, I would change the two yellow cards for the five games into three yellow cards for the five games, so that it gives you a better chance…and I would reset at the quarterfinal. It’s giving the players the best opportunity of participating.”
Seedorf says at this level, players should be disciplined enough to avoid two yellow cards:
“This is the highest stage of football, and we should expect from the players to be able to cope with these rules.
“I think the challenge should also be to play at your best and defend at your best without getting a yellow card.
“I think the use of the VAR could help to make it correct. Correct it in the moment if it’s a wrong yellow card, because that happens often, and it has a great impact.”
Today’s Top Videos:
Friday’s Schedule (all times ET):
- 9:00 AM – FIFA WORLD CUP LIVE (FS1)
- 10:00 AM – Quarterfinals: Uruguay vs. France (FS1)
- 12:00 PM – FIFA WORLD CUP TODAY (FS1)
- 2:00 PM – Quarterfinals: Brazil vs. Belgium (FS1)
- 4:00 PM – FIFA WORLD CUP TODAY (FS1)
- 7:00 PM – FIFA WORLD CUP NOW (Twitter)
- 12:00 AM – FIFA WORLD CUP TONIGHT (FOX / airs at midnight in all U.S. time zones)
