The first weekend of the World Cup is now in the history books. Momentum is building nicely. Stories already written, managers already sacked. England suffering injury woe before a ball is even kicked. Typical. Issue 107. Go.

It’s bad news for Tino Livramento as his World Cup mission has come to a premature end. The Newcastle defender has suffered a calf injury and as a consequence will no longer be part of England’s 26-man panel in North America.

Livramento on the plane back, Trevoh Chalobah on the next plane out. An interesting move from England boss Thomas Tuchel when you consider this is not a like for like replacement.

A full back for a centre back but with both Nico O’Reilly and Djed Spence able to play on the left, it could mean that Chalobah becomes the extra central defender as Ezri Konsa can also function on the right.

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Not the first head scratcher when it comes to Tuchel’s England squad selections these past few weeks but someone’s heartbreak has become another player’s salvation - the only saving grace for the Three Lions is the timing.

With England not opening their World Cup bid until Wednesday, they still have the luxury of being able to change personnel in a scenario such as this - an inadvertent benefit of a 48-team tournament and having to wait a little longer to get going.

The enforced removal of Newcastle’s Livramento will put the spotlight on who starts at left back against Croatia. Manchester City’s O’Reilly started in the recent win over Costa Rica, Tottenham’s Spence in the prior win over New Zealand.

That of course, will not be the only selection dilemma for England’s manager to choose from before facing Croatia. The 26-man squad has been kicking its heels for nearly a week, it will soon be time to get to work.

16 games of the tournament already completed in this year’s edition of the World Cup, the first major story written on Tuesday evening as tournament holders Spain were held by Cape Verde.

A sluggish performance by the European Champions of 2024, the performance of their lives by the debutant counterparts. It may have been a 0-0 final score that was recorded but there was no shortage of entertainment across 90 enthralling minutes.

Cape Verde’s 40-year-old goalkeeper Vozinha was equal to everything that Spain threw in his direction, the same can be said for teammate Roberto Lopes in defence as both players resembled the attributes of a brick wall.

Two heroes of this or any other World Cup but it would be unfair to simply single them out for how well the African outfit played and after witnessing that performance, the case for 48 teams in the tournament has certainly been strengthened.

Admittedly, I was not too keen on the enlargement of participants before the tournament got underway but on the evidence of what we have seen so far, everyone has held their own on the field bar one nation (more on that later)

Of course, Curacao got hammered 7-1 by Germany - not the first time the Germans have beaten World Cup opposition by that margin but even their ability to find parity on Sunday is something to be celebrated.

That heavy defeat serving as the outlier when looking at the performances and by extension results that we have witnessed thus far and you get the feeling that international football is actually in rude health.

48 teams duking it out to be the very best, not a number that offers a perfect format but there is one thing that you have to remember in all of this:

The number of participants is never going to get smaller.

If anything, it is only going to get bigger.

64 would certainly be the most logical, a doubling in size from what we saw at Qatar 2022 but it would at least remove the pet hate of teams finishing third and sneaking through and that brings me to my next point.

Scotland get their World Cup campaign off to a winning start after their 1-0 win over Haiti in the small hours of Sunday morning (UK time). Celebrations going on into the following day thanks to their Bank Holiday at the start of the week. A hangover to follow?

Maybe, maybe not. A lot will depend on what, if anything they can get in their remaining two group games with Morocco and Brazil. A +1 GD looks ok now, it could be wiped out across the 180 minutes of action that follows.

Another point for Steve Clarke’s men would certainly strengthen their case and all but assure them progress to the Round of 32. If they can pick that up against 2022 semi-finalists Morocco, they can all but relax against Brazil.

Should they fail to get anything against the side that held Carlo Ancelotti’s men at the weekend, then it is not only a case of nerves potentially being shredded but if they then go on to lose, it is also a case of looking at results elsewhere.

Their first World Cup win since 1990 will not be forgotten for some time, if at all but it may be tinged with sadness if the Tartan Army then go on to fall on the sword from this point onwards.

I mentioned that everyone has held their own bar one. No, not Curacao after their demolition at the weekend but Tunisia after their rank-bad performance against Sweden on Monday.

A performance so bad that Sabri Lamouchi has been given his marching orders mid-tournament. Not even mid-tournament if we are being honest, the sack coming after 90 minutes of endeavour on the technical area.

Dreadful squad selection, even worse tactics against Graham Potter’s Sweden and with the Tunisian Football Federation having seen enough, there is only one man that they could answer the call.

That man is Herve Renard.

A man that should have been at the World Cup anyway, the tournament is not the tournament until a cameraman pans to the touchline and shows a picture of the Frenchman in a crisp white shirt.

An image as old as time, an image that thankfully we will see again in 2026.

Is Herve Renard a good manager?

Well, he has won AFCON twice, with two different nations it must be said and you do not get this career without being half decent:

Look at all those passport stamps as he has bounced around Africa with some other random outposts added for good measure - Cambridge 2004 anyone?

Of course, Tunisia are not going to win the World Cup, after their defeat to Sweden they are unlikely to get out of the group stage but with Herve Renard now at the wheel, a missing piece of tournament folklore has been restored.

That’s one man coming in mid-tournament, another has just announced he is definitely at the end of it.

As the title alludes to, Roberto Martinez is going to stand down as Portugal manager regardless of how the side performs in North America. His contract ends next month, he has opted against signing a new one.

The belief being that he has reached the end of the road in terms of Portugal’s managerial cycle and the lure of club football is still seemingly strong for the former Wigan, Swansea and Everton boss.

He may not be in charge of a club at the start of next season but if things do not improve for the next club in question, he would surely be on the shortlist as a replacement.

Who is that club? Keep on reading.

After releasing their new 2026/27 shirt to little fanfare and no sponsor, Newcastle have now announced that KNOX Hydration will be the brand that will replace Sela as their main partner.

Newcastle’s new sponsorship agreement highlights a decline in shirt sponsorship value despite operating in what remains a relatively flat Premier League sponsorship market - the thinking perhaps that some deal is better than none at all.

The club's previous front-of-shirt deal with Sela was worth around £22.5 million per season. Under the new arrangement with KNOX Hydration, Newcastle will receive up to £10 million for the 2026-27 campaign, rising to a maximum of £25 million per season thereafter if performance-related bonuses are achieved.

While Newcastle have packaged the agreement alongside a separate £6 million-per-year training ground naming rights deal and a planned club-branded drinks venture, the core shirt sponsorship component appears to represent a reduction in value compared to the Sela agreement.

However, the broader commercial package may eventually exceed the previous deal on paper, but only if all bonus targets are met. Which means there is scope for a potential financial uplift.

The agreement is also notable because KNOX is not linked to Newcastle's Saudi-backed ownership, making it one of the club's first major commercial deals secured from an independent partner since the takeover.

Then again, that’s not the only news coming out of Newcastle in the past few days. In fact, there is quite a bit. Their head of recruitment Steve Nickson has announced his departure, West Ham the rumoured destination.

While one of their midfield stars has also been rumoured with a move to London. Sandro Tonali linked with a move to Tottenham. A move that makes no sense when comparing league positions but when you look past that there may be no smoke without fire.

From a player’s perspective there is the lure of London life, there is also the potential to work under Roberto De Zerbi - obviously not something that every player desires but a lack of language barrier would help the transition that comes with a move.

From a sceptic’s point of view, embittered Newcastle fans could surmise that Tonali has used Newcastle as a stepping stone. A convenient bridge while dealing with his lengthy ban, a potential stepping stone for a move elsewhere.

Then again, if Tonali was to move and he simply wanted London life, then you would not rule Arsenal or Chelsea out when it comes to lodging their interest in the Italian international.

Ultimately, his potential departure is nothing more than conjecture but if he was to join a new club in the next month or so, it would once again ask another question of Newcastle’s own project under their Saudi owners.

Not to say that it has at best paused or at worst, their owners have lost interest but the more you read about departure and displeasure on Tyneside, the more difficult job that Eddie Howe has at the start of next season.

Russell Martin has been announced as the new Leicester boss. Out of work since his questionable tenure at Rangers, his appointment at the now-League One outfit could be the perfect return if all goes right for him.

Will the third tier of English football allow him to stick to his footballing methods? That is perhaps the most important question but if he can answer that properly, the Foxes should be playing in the Championship for 2027/28

Danny Rohl’s time at Ibrox is reportedly not going to be all that long either, the German has been touted to become the new RB Leipzig manager. News that Rangers fans are likely happy with, not so if you support Hearts.

Reason being is that Derek McInnes has been in talks to take over the reins in the blue half of Glasgow. Not long after the Jam Tarts had lost Lawrence Shankland, they could soon be losing the man who nearly led them to the Scottish Premiership next month.

Then again, I’m sure Tony Bloom’s database will be ready to get into action at Tynecastle.

More managerial news as Ruben Amorim is in at AC Milan after the sacking of Max Allegri at the end of the season. At least it is someone outside the same six or seven men that seem to monopolise the biggest jobs in Italy.

No Champions League football to contend with next season but a tilt in the Europa League could enhance the Portuguese coach’s stock if they manage to go deep in the competition. Watch this space.

Ole Gunnar Solksjaer has been linked with the now vacant Ipswich job, if you were someone with a keen eye on what happens at Portman Road, I am not sure this would be an appointment that would fill you with too much confidence.

If I had some smart money (a fiver), I’d be more inclined to go with Gary O’Neil.
If I had someone else’s money, I’d be more inclined to go with Liam Rosenior.

As hinted at in the previous issue, Wolves have named Cesar Peixoto as their new manager. Will it be a smart decision? The only way to answer this is by returning the Molineux men to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

That’s the end of Issue 107 as the World Cup moves into full swing.

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Issue 108 lands Friday. Another round of distortions as football does what it always does: speeds up and makes less sense.

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