
Monsieur Salut writes: now we know. In County Durham, Pete Sixsmith has retreated into the GCSE marking part of his year and declares that he will be paying little attention to the World Cup in Russia.
Here in France, the physio trying to repair my dodgy knee cannot wait for Les Bleus’ first game against Australia. As for England, a French pal at badminton told me the other night our problem was we’re too small a nation to be able to compete (maybe beyond quarter finals, maybe an earlier exit). A follow-the-wind friend from the Middle East used to support Brazil, now she roots for Argentina, bless her (mind she also manages to support both Arsenal and Barca and has had a soft spot for not only AC Milan but, ever since she borrowed a book from A Love Supreme in which I had a chapter, SAFC).
And plenty of Sunderland fans will be glued to the screen as the tournament unfolds, and not just because of the two Jordans who both still support SAFC. If you fancy a flutter or two, the place to go may be btts tips.
Back in 2010, Sixer wrote an outstanding series of World Cup memories. In this edition, he looked at the famous French campaign on home territory in 1998, culminating in that famous un-deux-trois-zéro victory over Brazil in the final at the Stade de France, roughly the French equivalent of England’s win against Germany in 1966. Here, from another dip into the Salut! Sunderland archives, he remembers when France were the cultured giants of European football