Jonathan Liew's Blog

Tuchel may scorn politics, but his England team cannot escape their symbolism | Jonathan Liew

As toxic nationalism spills over into our shared spaces, the England shirt is freighted with meaning for better or worse

The crosses of St George are flying all around me. Fair to say the opening line of Three Lions ’98 hits a little differently in 2025. The crosses of St George are being daubed on an Islamic centre in Basildon. The crosses of St George are being used to deface a Chinese takeaway in York. The crosses of St George are draped over men shouting at a three-star hotel from a mini-roundabout. The crosses of St George are retailing for about £2.36 on Temu, depending on whether you want them car-window sized, or big enough to write the words “GET OFF MY LAND” in the white spaces.

Keir Starmer has declared that he is “a supporter of flags”. Alas, at the time of writing the prime minister’s position on other items of tactile fabric remains unclear. What does he think about blankets? Does he endorse or condemn the dishcloth? Not to be outdone, the home secretary, Yvette Cooper, disclosed that she has St George’s bunting on display at home. “I would put them up anywhere,” she confirmed, which – anatomically speaking – is not an image any of us needed right now.

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Grimsby deepen ridicule for Ruben Amorim as he ploughs on with flawed, final stand | Jonathan Liew

Carabao Cup humiliation is the latest setback for a coach who may actually be the last real thing at Manchester United

Further and deeper into the jungle. Taunted by the quivering vines, mocked by the rubber trees, bitten and bruised by the asphyxiating vileness of nature. Ropes groaning, extras muttering, mud and rock resisting. Rasmus Højlund to Napoli, maybe tomorrow, maybe not. Alejandro Garnacho to Chelsea, maybe this week, maybe next.

Grimsby in the evening. Grim faces in the morning. Kobbie Mainoo wants out. Carlos Baleba wants in but is not going to go on strike or down tools; plenty of time for that once he actually gets to Old Trafford.

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Rio’s teenage kick caps a thriller at St James’ Park – Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by John Brewin, Lucy Ward and Jonathan Liew as Liverpool beat Newcastle 3-2 away from home thanks to a debut goal in the 100th minute from teenager Rio Ngumoha

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today; the game looked over when Hugo Ekitiké made it 2-0 to Liverpool against 10-man Newcastle early in the second half but what resilience they showed and how heartbreaking to concede in the 100th minute and somehow leave the game with nothing.

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Michael Johnson’s Grand Slam Track misses the vital village-fete feel of athletics | Jonathan Liew

Shearing off extraneous matter is how the featherless chicken was hatched. But ditching field events is too much plucking

You don’t hear much about the featherless chicken any more, which on reflection is probably for the best. The idea was simple enough: for poultry-rearing purposes feathers are a nuisance, bearing significant costs in labour and industrial plant, so by breeding genetically modified feather-free chickens you could save the industry billions. Just imagine if you could also convince the chicken to eat sage and onion stuffing. Perhaps even baste itself in lemon butter at regular intervals.

Alas, when it was unveiled in 2002 by scientists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the featherless chicken failed to take flight for one simple reason: it looked freaky as hell. It turned out that the feather layer, while gastronomically extrinsic, provided vastly underrated context. Above all, people did not want to see their Sunday dinner walking around in front of them. “It’s a normal chicken,” pleaded the geneticist Avigdor Cahaner, “except for the fact it has no feathers.”

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Triumph and disaster for you, soft power for the Premier League: fantasy football is back | Jonathan Liew

Celebrities play it. Footballers play it. Gradually, insidiously, fantasy football has seeped into the way we consume the game

Perhaps you’re a template kind of guy. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re spurning the triple Liverpool consensus and stacking your team with handy differentials like Jarrod Bowen and Donyell Malen. Perhaps even Erling Haaland could be considered a differential given his historically low current ownership stats. Perhaps you’re feeling a cheeky BB GW1, followed by a FH GW2. Perhaps, by contrast, you’re furiously stabbing at the “close tab” button on your browser in the hope of purging these words from your eyes as expeditiously as possible.

In which case, relax. This is actually a column about sport: what it is, what it isn’t, how we watch it, where it’s going. Most important, you can rest assured I shall not be relating any details of my Fantasy Premier League exploits, for the same reason I will not be sharing my dreams, my Wordle stats or the contents of my belly button. However fascinating you may find your own, it is genuinely no excuse for wasting anybody else’s time.

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Premier League season preview: Arsenal to Fulham: Football Weekly - podcast

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Jonathan Liew and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan for the first of our Premier League preview podcasts

Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.

On the podcast today: after finishing second for the third consecutive season, will Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal go one better and be crowned Premier League champions? They have their striker at long last.

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‘Proper England’: perfect unity that shows how Lionesses triumphed over the odds | Jonathan Liew

Playing an entire tournament with a fractured tibia is the type of undiluted commitment and individual sacrifice which carried team to glory

For some reason, as Chloe Kelly’s penalty hits the net and the England players explode across the pitch like streaks of white light, as Sarina Wiegman and Arjan Veurink embrace on the touchline, as England fans clutch each other in the stands, the eye is drawn to Khiara Keating of Manchester City.

Keating has not played a minute for England at this tournament. In fact, she has never played a minute for England at all. In fact, there was not the remotest possibility that she would play a minute for England at this tournament, and she knew this all along. Her entire Euros has consisted of training, travel and watching football from a hard bench. And yet at the moment of victory, nobody celebrates harder than England’s third goalkeeper.

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Euros win one of the most magnificent heists in the history of English sport | Jonathan Liew

Lionesses are escapologists who have secured what no other football team from these islands have before: a dynasty

They thought it was all over. Quite a few times, in fact. Written off after their opening game against France; knocked to the canvas in their quarter-final against Sweden; behind with seconds remaining of their semi-final against Italy; a goal down against the world champions in the final. England have cheated death so many times in Switzerland this month to have become basically uninsurable.

But these Lionesses are also escapologists. And on a breezy night in Basel it was once again the strains of Sweet Caroline playing over the stadium sound system. Once again Leah Williamson holding aloft the European Championship trophy. Victory was secured on penalties against Spain, the final plot twist of what will surely be remembered as one of the most magnificent heists in the history of English sport.

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Women’s Euro 2025: England v Spain news and buildup to the final showdown – as it happened

England and Spain arrived in Basel for the Euro 2025 final as thousands of fans took to the streets before kick-off

While retaining their title is the big aim for the Lionesses this summer, their run to the Euro 2025 final in Switzerland has already delivered a broader success – another huge uplift in visibility for the women’s game, at elite and grassroots level.

England and Spain will both wear their home kits today in the final. Spain are set to wear red shorts.

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Women’s Euro 2025: England v Spain news and buildup to the final showdown – live

Keep up with all the latest news, 5pm BST kick-off

Euros top scorers | Player guide | And email Emillia

While retaining their title is the big aim for the Lionesses this summer, their run to the Euro 2025 final in Switzerland has already delivered a broader success – another huge uplift in visibility for the women’s game, at elite and grassroots level.

England and Spain will both wear their home kits today in the final. Spain are set to wear red shorts.

Continue reading...