Poland legend Jan Tomaszewski says that Southampton keeper Artur Boruc cannot stop England reaching the World Cup. Inspired by Tomaszewski's goalkeeping, Poland famously held England to a draw forty years ago when - just like this week - the hosts needed a win to reach the finals. 'Artur is one of the best keepers in the world,' said Tomaszewski. 'But can he stop England on his own? No. I made mistakes in 1973, but my team-mates saved us. Our defence isn't so good now. Artur must rely on himself.' On his first visit to Wembley, Tomaszewski was famously dubbed a 'clown' during TV analysis by Brian Clough, but made a series of superb saves as Poland clinched a 1-1 draw which saw them qualify at England's expense. At the finals in West Germany the following year, Tomaszewski, then twenty six, saved two penalties and his nation beat Brazil in the third-place play-off in their joint-best showing in the tournament. Poland are no longer in contention to make the 2014 finals, but with top-class players in Borussia Dortmund duo Robert Lewandowski and captain Jakub Blaszczykowski, they still pose a threat as England bid for the victory that would guarantee a place in Brazil next summer - albeit, their record against England since 1973 is dreadful. 
Tomaszewski, now sixty five and a politician and broadcaster in Poland, will be at Tuesday's game and told BBC Sport: 'I wish there was more riding on it for Poland so it was a big game for both of us. But we still need to perform well at Wembley because we are building a team for Euro 2016. A good performance would really motivate us. There is no pressure on Poland and England will be very stressed because they have to win, otherwise their supporters won't forgive them. If England don't win, Poland will be famous again,' added Tomaszewski, who will be among about eighteen thousand Poles at Wembley on Tuesday. Boruc has been in fine form for Saints this season, keeping five clean sheets in seven Premier League games. In contrast, England keeper Joe Hart has been criticised after making some costly errors for Sheikh Yer Man City. But England manager Roy Hodgson stuck by Hart for Friday's crucial 4-1 win over Montenegro, and Tomaszewski is sure he will keep his place against Poland too. 'Joe Hart is a top keeper, and even the very best make the occasional mistake,' he said. 'The most important thing for England is that he knows the defenders who play in front of him. They trust him, and he trusts them. Putting a new goalkeeper in at this stage would be extremely risky. I think he will play well against Poland and I am convinced that, if England do go to Brazil, he will be one of the best goalkeepers at the tournament.'
Côte d'Ivoire took a large step towards qualifying for their third World Cup in a row by beating Senegal 3-1 in the opening leg of their play-off. A Didier Drogba penalty and an own goal from Lamine Sane gave the Elephants a commanding first-half lead. Salomon Kalou added a third in the second half but Papiss Demba Cisse pulled one back deep in stoppage time. The second leg will be played in Morocco next month, because Senegal are barred from playing matches at home. The ban results from their last competitive meeting with the Ivorians, who were leading an African Cup of Nations qualifier 6-2 on aggregate when rioting inside the Leopold Senghor Stadium forced the game's cancellation. If Senegalese fans found that scoreline hard to swallow, they would have been similarly unimpressed with their side in Abidjan as Drogba fired the home side into a fifth-minute lead. After Gervinho was fouled by Cheikh Kouyate, the talismanic striker sent Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul the wrong way from the spot. Worse was to come for the visitors just nine minutes later when Gervinho cut in from the flank and fired a shot that was helped in by a massive deflection off defender Lamine Sane, leaving Coundoul with no chance.
And Ivorian players and fans might have started to permit themselves thoughts of Brazil as the Elephants went 3-0 up just minutes into the second half. Gervinho, who now plays at Roma after an underwhelming spell at The Arse, was involved again, breaking free from a crowd of players before teeing up Kalou, who took a touch before tucking home. Minutes later, it was the turn of reigning African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure to try his luck but his effort was blocked out by some committed Senegalese defending. That could yet prove a crucial intervention because instead of being four goals down going into the second leg, Senegal will only trail by two after Cisse scored with the last kick of the match. In the ninety sixth minute the hosts failed to clear a corner, allowing the Newcastle striker to poach a goal which prompted the Ivorian players to collapse to the turf in frustration at the final whistle seconds later. If the late goal was disappointing for the hosts, so was the booking for Cisse's club colleague Cheick Tiote - a second caution of the qualifying campaign which rules him out of the away leg on 16 November. Even so Côte d'Ivoire , frequently described as the strongest side on the continent, take a healthy advantage into the game in Casablanca, where Senegal will need to deliver one of their best performances of recent years if they are to qualify for their first World Cup since reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. 'We showed today that we can be a team,' Kalou told BBC Sport. 'We scored early, which gave us the confidence to go forward and score more. I think it's a good victory. We can be positive about the next round because there is one more game to go, but we did one step and we have to fight to get the second one.'
The grumpy and odious ITV presenter, breakfast TV flop and greed bucket, horrorshow (and drag) Adrian Chiles was at the centre of a Twitter storm on Friday night after making what some viewers considered to be 'potentially offensive' remarks about Polish supporters live on-air. Chiles, who has anchored ITV's coverage of England's World Cup qualifying 4-1 victory over Montenegro at Wembley - badly, as usual - was discussing Tuesday's final group game against Poland with the pundit and former England defender Lee Dixon. After Dixon said that he was sure Poland fans would be 'crying at the end' of Tuesday's game, Chiles added that he hoped they would not be too upset as 'I am trying to get some building work done at the moment.'
Okay, it's a bit stereotypical and obvious but, as 'offensive' jokes go it's hardly Jim Davidson. And, this blogger says that as someone who - genuinely - loathes Chiles as both a broadcasters and a human being. Chiles had already called the game 'practically a home game' for Poland, referring to the large number of Poles currently living and working in and around London. And, you know, paying their taxes and getting on with life and contributing to British society far more than many British people. Just for a bit of context. England must beat Poland on Tuesday to be sure of automatically qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil. In a statement, Chiles later said: 'I made the remark in relation to the nice Polish builders currently working at my place, who I knew would already be fed up having watched their team lose to Ukraine. No offence was intended – apart from anything else I could hardly be prouder of my own East European background. But to anyone who thought what I said constituted some kind of lazy stereotyping, and was offended by it, I certainly apologise.'
Hapless Harry Knobcheese has been accused of 'disrespecting' the England manager Roy Hodgson by former Football Association chairman David Bernstein. In his autobiography, Knobcheese claims that English football was being 'run by people who really haven't got a clue' after he lost out to Hodgson for the job of succeeding Fabio Capello in 2012. But Bernstein rejected the criticism and told BBC Sport that the timing of Knobcheese's comments - just a few days ahead of two key World Cup qualifiers for England - was both 'disrespectful' and 'unhelpful'. England, who top Group H, face Montenegro at Wembley on Friday and then Poland away on Tuesday and will secure a place at next year's World Cup in Brazil with two victories. 'To come out and effectively criticise a process and another manager - because that is what he did - at this particular time where we had two crucial international matches coming up was something that I thought someone like Harry would think better of,' said Bernstein, who stepped down from his FA role earlier this year. Knobcheese also wrote: 'Everyone said I was the people's choice, the only choice.'
Although what he actually means by 'everyone' is a bunch of his friends in the London-based sports press and no one actually seems to have asked 'the people' if they agreed with their - alleged - 'choice.' Knobcheese went on to claim that: 'All the senior players seemed to be up for me to get the job. But the FA went for Roy Hodgson to be the England manager - a man who is more their cup of tea.' However, Bernstein insisted that the FA had done 'a very thorough job' when choosing Capello's successor in May last year and defended the four-man selection panel. That panel, chaired by Bernstein, also included Sir Trevor Brooking - a former team mate of Knobcheese at West Ham United and someone who, unlike Knobcheese, also played at an international level - FA general secretary Alex Horne and Adrian Bevington, managing director of Club England. 'First of all, it's quite simply inaccurate,' said Bernstein, addressing the Queens Park Strangers manager's claims that the FA was 'clueless.' He added: 'There were four people who made this decision. One of them was myself - and I've been involved with running Manchester City for ten years and chairman of that club for five years. [There was also] Sir Trevor Brooking, who has a lifetime in football; Adrian Bevington, who has huge football knowledge, amazing football knowledge and Alex Horne, the general secretary. We spoke to up to twenty people within the game: other managers, players, all sorts of people with great, great knowledge. I was very proud of the way we did it. It was done discreetly and professionally and I believe we ended up with the right choice.' When asked if Knobcheese was a contender for the job, Bernstein said: 'I won't answer that question.' So, that'd be a 'no' then.
Tomaszewski, now sixty five and a politician and broadcaster in Poland, will be at Tuesday's game and told BBC Sport: 'I wish there was more riding on it for Poland so it was a big game for both of us. But we still need to perform well at Wembley because we are building a team for Euro 2016. A good performance would really motivate us. There is no pressure on Poland and England will be very stressed because they have to win, otherwise their supporters won't forgive them. If England don't win, Poland will be famous again,' added Tomaszewski, who will be among about eighteen thousand Poles at Wembley on Tuesday. Boruc has been in fine form for Saints this season, keeping five clean sheets in seven Premier League games. In contrast, England keeper Joe Hart has been criticised after making some costly errors for Sheikh Yer Man City. But England manager Roy Hodgson stuck by Hart for Friday's crucial 4-1 win over Montenegro, and Tomaszewski is sure he will keep his place against Poland too. 'Joe Hart is a top keeper, and even the very best make the occasional mistake,' he said. 'The most important thing for England is that he knows the defenders who play in front of him. They trust him, and he trusts them. Putting a new goalkeeper in at this stage would be extremely risky. I think he will play well against Poland and I am convinced that, if England do go to Brazil, he will be one of the best goalkeepers at the tournament.' Côte d'Ivoire took a large step towards qualifying for their third World Cup in a row by beating Senegal 3-1 in the opening leg of their play-off. A Didier Drogba penalty and an own goal from Lamine Sane gave the Elephants a commanding first-half lead. Salomon Kalou added a third in the second half but Papiss Demba Cisse pulled one back deep in stoppage time. The second leg will be played in Morocco next month, because Senegal are barred from playing matches at home. The ban results from their last competitive meeting with the Ivorians, who were leading an African Cup of Nations qualifier 6-2 on aggregate when rioting inside the Leopold Senghor Stadium forced the game's cancellation. If Senegalese fans found that scoreline hard to swallow, they would have been similarly unimpressed with their side in Abidjan as Drogba fired the home side into a fifth-minute lead. After Gervinho was fouled by Cheikh Kouyate, the talismanic striker sent Senegal goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul the wrong way from the spot. Worse was to come for the visitors just nine minutes later when Gervinho cut in from the flank and fired a shot that was helped in by a massive deflection off defender Lamine Sane, leaving Coundoul with no chance.
And Ivorian players and fans might have started to permit themselves thoughts of Brazil as the Elephants went 3-0 up just minutes into the second half. Gervinho, who now plays at Roma after an underwhelming spell at The Arse, was involved again, breaking free from a crowd of players before teeing up Kalou, who took a touch before tucking home. Minutes later, it was the turn of reigning African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure to try his luck but his effort was blocked out by some committed Senegalese defending. That could yet prove a crucial intervention because instead of being four goals down going into the second leg, Senegal will only trail by two after Cisse scored with the last kick of the match. In the ninety sixth minute the hosts failed to clear a corner, allowing the Newcastle striker to poach a goal which prompted the Ivorian players to collapse to the turf in frustration at the final whistle seconds later. If the late goal was disappointing for the hosts, so was the booking for Cisse's club colleague Cheick Tiote - a second caution of the qualifying campaign which rules him out of the away leg on 16 November. Even so Côte d'Ivoire , frequently described as the strongest side on the continent, take a healthy advantage into the game in Casablanca, where Senegal will need to deliver one of their best performances of recent years if they are to qualify for their first World Cup since reaching the quarter-finals in 2002. 'We showed today that we can be a team,' Kalou told BBC Sport. 'We scored early, which gave us the confidence to go forward and score more. I think it's a good victory. We can be positive about the next round because there is one more game to go, but we did one step and we have to fight to get the second one.'The grumpy and odious ITV presenter, breakfast TV flop and greed bucket, horrorshow (and drag) Adrian Chiles was at the centre of a Twitter storm on Friday night after making what some viewers considered to be 'potentially offensive' remarks about Polish supporters live on-air. Chiles, who has anchored ITV's coverage of England's World Cup qualifying 4-1 victory over Montenegro at Wembley - badly, as usual - was discussing Tuesday's final group game against Poland with the pundit and former England defender Lee Dixon. After Dixon said that he was sure Poland fans would be 'crying at the end' of Tuesday's game, Chiles added that he hoped they would not be too upset as 'I am trying to get some building work done at the moment.'
Okay, it's a bit stereotypical and obvious but, as 'offensive' jokes go it's hardly Jim Davidson. And, this blogger says that as someone who - genuinely - loathes Chiles as both a broadcasters and a human being. Chiles had already called the game 'practically a home game' for Poland, referring to the large number of Poles currently living and working in and around London. And, you know, paying their taxes and getting on with life and contributing to British society far more than many British people. Just for a bit of context. England must beat Poland on Tuesday to be sure of automatically qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil. In a statement, Chiles later said: 'I made the remark in relation to the nice Polish builders currently working at my place, who I knew would already be fed up having watched their team lose to Ukraine. No offence was intended – apart from anything else I could hardly be prouder of my own East European background. But to anyone who thought what I said constituted some kind of lazy stereotyping, and was offended by it, I certainly apologise.' Hapless Harry Knobcheese has been accused of 'disrespecting' the England manager Roy Hodgson by former Football Association chairman David Bernstein. In his autobiography, Knobcheese claims that English football was being 'run by people who really haven't got a clue' after he lost out to Hodgson for the job of succeeding Fabio Capello in 2012. But Bernstein rejected the criticism and told BBC Sport that the timing of Knobcheese's comments - just a few days ahead of two key World Cup qualifiers for England - was both 'disrespectful' and 'unhelpful'. England, who top Group H, face Montenegro at Wembley on Friday and then Poland away on Tuesday and will secure a place at next year's World Cup in Brazil with two victories. 'To come out and effectively criticise a process and another manager - because that is what he did - at this particular time where we had two crucial international matches coming up was something that I thought someone like Harry would think better of,' said Bernstein, who stepped down from his FA role earlier this year. Knobcheese also wrote: 'Everyone said I was the people's choice, the only choice.'
Although what he actually means by 'everyone' is a bunch of his friends in the London-based sports press and no one actually seems to have asked 'the people' if they agreed with their - alleged - 'choice.' Knobcheese went on to claim that: 'All the senior players seemed to be up for me to get the job. But the FA went for Roy Hodgson to be the England manager - a man who is more their cup of tea.' However, Bernstein insisted that the FA had done 'a very thorough job' when choosing Capello's successor in May last year and defended the four-man selection panel. That panel, chaired by Bernstein, also included Sir Trevor Brooking - a former team mate of Knobcheese at West Ham United and someone who, unlike Knobcheese, also played at an international level - FA general secretary Alex Horne and Adrian Bevington, managing director of Club England. 'First of all, it's quite simply inaccurate,' said Bernstein, addressing the Queens Park Strangers manager's claims that the FA was 'clueless.' He added: 'There were four people who made this decision. One of them was myself - and I've been involved with running Manchester City for ten years and chairman of that club for five years. [There was also] Sir Trevor Brooking, who has a lifetime in football; Adrian Bevington, who has huge football knowledge, amazing football knowledge and Alex Horne, the general secretary. We spoke to up to twenty people within the game: other managers, players, all sorts of people with great, great knowledge. I was very proud of the way we did it. It was done discreetly and professionally and I believe we ended up with the right choice.' When asked if Knobcheese was a contender for the job, Bernstein said: 'I won't answer that question.' So, that'd be a 'no' then.
