Soccer
Thursday’s briefing: Postecoglou backs Spurs survival as Bellamy talks up Wales
Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has had his say on their relegation plight.
The England squad continued their build-up to the World Cup with a visit from a world champion and Manchester United were beaten by Bayern Munich in the first leg of their Women’s Champions League quarter-final.
Postecoglou – Spurs need ‘circuit-breaker’
Postecoglou believes his old club are in “a hell of a fight” to survive in the Premier League, but has backed them to stay up.
Spurs are 17th and only one point above the relegation zone after a run of two league wins in 22 fixtures.
But Postecoglou, who was sacked last June despite guiding the club to a first trophy in 17 years in the Europa League, feels his old team have what it takes to turn things around in their remaining seven matches.
“I still have a really strong attachment to the club,” Postecoglou told Gerard Whateley on Australian broadcaster SEN 1116.
“It was two years and they were by no means easy years, but we invested a lot into them. Second last game we won a European trophy, which was an incredible high.
“The connection there will be there forever. To watch them struggle has not been easy and it’s not the way I thought it would go. They’re in a hell of a fight, relegation is massive for any club but for Tottenham, it’s a pretty big deal.
“They have some fighting to do and they have the quality to get out. They need a circuit-breaker, for sure.”
Littler swaps three darts for Three Lions
Luke Littler gave the England squad a lesson on how to hit the target as he hosted a darts tournament at St George’s Park.
The double world champ had dinner with the players before overseeing the ‘Three Lions Darts Championship’ at their Burton base on Tuesday night.
Despite Phil Foden hitting a 180 in the final, Newcastle goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale became camp champion to leave Littler impressed.
The 19-year-old said: “It was a dream as a football fan to come here to see the facilities, meet all the players and sit down and have dinner and have a laugh with them.
“We played a bit of darts – as they were warming up, Thomas Tuchel told me to teach these boys a lesson! There’s some good potential there in Phil Foden and Aaron Ramsdale.
“James Trafford had a little bit as well. The others not so much! I wished the boys luck this summer – let’s hope they can bring it home.”
Bellamy gets serious
Craig Bellamy insisted Wales would be a “massive asset” to the World Cup if they progressed through the play-offs by beating Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Wales are two wins from appearing at a second successive World Cup and welcome Bosnia to Cardiff City Stadium for a play-off semi-final on Thursday.
The winners will play Italy or Northern Ireland at home on Tuesday for a place at this summer’s 48-team tournament.
“Now we’re going to have to work hard to get there, but I honestly believe we’ll be a massive asset to this World Cup. Our players will be, our fans will be and our coaching team will be. We’ll add to this.
“We’re in the A Nations League and play-offs consistently. We’re a serious football nation and we’ve proved that over the last 12-odd years. We have two games now to keep this marching.”
United edged out by Bayern
Manchester United face an uphill battle to reach the Women’s Champions League semi-finals after being edged out 3-2 by Bayern Munich at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
United twice levelled after falling behind in the first leg of their last-eight tie but were beaten by an 84th-minute strike from Momoko Tanikawa.
A Maya Le Tissier penalty and Hanna Lundkvist’s header cancelled out two breakaway goals from Pernille Harder but the hosts were unable to find a third equaliser after Tanikawa’s fine effort.
The winners of the tie are likely to face Barcelona, who thumped Real Madrid 6-2 in the away leg of Wednesday night’s other quarter-final.
What’s on today?
The World Cup qualification play-offs see Wales hosting Bosnia and Herzegovina, Northern Ireland travel to Italy and the Republic of Ireland are away in the Czech Republic.
