Section:GDN 1N PaGe:49 Edition Date:190906 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 5/9/2019 21:53 cYanmaGentaYellowbl
Friday 6 September 2019 The Guardian •49to his hamstring, in the Champions
League semi-fi nal victory over
Roma.
The 26-year-old kept the severity
of the injury from most of the
Liverpool squad and the public to
avoid distracting from the fi nal in
Kiev. It was only after the defeat
by Real Madrid that emotions got
the better of him. Yet missing the
World Cup later that summer,
having also been sidelined from
Euro 2016 and the 2014 World
Cup by knee injuries, has not left
Oxlade-Chamberlain cursing his
misfortune.
He says: “I think it’s written in
the stars for me to score the winner
[at Euro 2020]! I guess I have been
unlucky with the timings of my
injuries but I have been lucky
enough to play 32 times for England
and looking at the squad now I am
one of the longest-serving players.
And both Arsenal and Liverpool
have given me a platform to play for
England, so I consider that lucky
too. The timing of the injuries was
unlucky but boys have injuries that
stop them playing full stop. I have
had the opportunity to come back.”O
xlade-Chamberlain
admits he used to have
his career all mapped
out in stages. “By 24
I wanted to have won
the Champions League
and be scoring 10-15 goals a season,”
he says. “But sometimes things just
don’t go the way you want them
to.” That is not said with any trace
of self-pity. Back in the Liverpool
frame, with a new contract until
2023, and back on the England scene
with a young, exciting squad, this
feels a fresh start rather than a time
to dwell on the past.
“I’ll worry about that when I’m 50
and I’ve got a big belly like my dad,”
he says, laugh ing. “Then I’ll think;
‘What if? I could have done that.’ It
hasn’t all been roses but one thing I
would say and why I remain proud
of myself is that even when things
haven’t gone as I wanted them to I
still make sure I come back with the
same optimism to improve and to
do more.
“I would say I have enjoyed every
minute of my career up until this
point because it has shaped me to be
who I am both on and off the pitch.
By no means I am sat here looking
back at what could have been. For
now I’m just looking forward.”Euro 2020 qualifi erMcGoldrick header earns point
and keeps Swiss at arm’s length
It may have come in his 11th cap but
David McGoldrick can say his fi rst
international goal was well timed, as
it earned a point that sustains Irish
belief in qualifi cation for Euro 2020.
That ambition looked far-fetched after
Fabian Schär shot Switzerland into the
lead, but Ireland, second best for much
of the game, rallied to earn a draw.
Going into this game Mick McCarthy
had not been fooled by his team’s posi-
tion at the top of Group D, knowing
Ireland had benefi t ed from a more
favourable early schedule than their
chief rivals, especially Switzerland.
The Swiss have played fewer qualifi ers
because they spent the summer trying
to reach Euro 2020 through the Nations
League, where they fi nished fourth as
a result of that penalty shootout defeat
by England in June. So the group’s top
seeds arrived in Dublin on a catch-up
mission made all the more necessary
by their recent draw with Denmark.
Handy schedule notwithstanding,
McCarthy had taken heart from his
team’s fi rst four performances so it
was no surprise that he made only
one alteration here to the lineup that
started the home win against Gibraltar,Glenn Whelan coming into midfi eld.
The attack was led by Callum Robinson
and David McGoldrick, two of three
Sheffi eld United players to start, the
other being the left-back Enda Stevens.
That trio have done well in the Pre-
mier League since their club’s promo-
tion and McCarthy hoped that they
and the rest of his team would step
up with similar style to the challenge
posed by Switzerland, ranked 11th in
the world. Could Ireland summon
enough spirit and quality to produce
another entry into their anthology of
great underdog performances?
They mustered the spirit all right
but Switzerland soon began to demon-
strate superior technical skills, tearing
holes in the home midfi eld. But theirfinishing was ropey. Shane Duffy
had to make a hasty recovery tackle
in the fi fth minute to prevent Breel
Embolo from fi ring off a shot from 12
yards after nice work down the right
by Kevin Mbabu. But seven minutes
later it was Mbabu’s turn to rush to his
team’s rescue, as he threw himself in
front of a shot by James McClean.
Moments later Mbabu put himself
in harm’s way again, this time taking
a boot in the head from Stevens as
he challenged for a ball on half way.
The Spanish referee, Carlos Grande,
showed Stevens a yellow card for
raising his foot too high – others
might have opted for a red. As an
exhibit, that tackle alone spoke of a
wider truth: Ireland had boundlessvim but little precision. Ricardo Rod-
ríguez reprieved Ireland by skewing a
volley wide from the edge of the area
before Granit Xhaka had a long-range
free-kick defl ected wide. Ireland’s
tenacity never waned and Seamus
Coleman launched a counter attack
just before the break after winning
possession near half way and releasing
McGoldrick, whose cross was frac-
tionally too long for Robinson.
With neither side sharp when it
mattered most, the game was up for
grabs as the second half got under
way. Ireland began it with con-
fi dence, playing higher, faster and
more tidily. Swiss defenders became
uncomfortable but their forwards
had more space on the counter attack:
Stevens did brilliantly when left to
repel two attackers by himself. Near
the hour, with Switzerland threatening
to dominate again, McCarthy intro-
duced Alan Judge for Robinson. That
was an attempt to improve service to
McGoldrick. But Ireland would have
to get the ball back fi rst.
In the 74th minute the Swiss opened
up Ireland with a move of clockwork
precision, Schär joining in a one-touch
attack to guide a low shot into the net
from 15 yards. That turned out to be
the cue for Ireland to work up a storm.
Glen Whelan hit a thunderous shot
against the bar in the 84th minute
and then, a minute later, McGoldrick
leapt high to head a defl ected cross by
McCLean into the net from eight yards.Bale ‘very happy’ with his
‘golfer’ nickname at Real
Gareth Bale has admitted he is more
than happy to be nicknamed the
“golfer” at Real Madrid, following
a comment Thibaut Courtois made
about him this year, and has defended
his passion for the sport he was photo-
graphed playing while his club were
competing in a pre-season tournament.
The Welshman, speaking before
to night’s Euro 2020 qualifi er at home
against Azerbaijan, gave the impres-
sion that he wastes no energy thinking
about his critics and said that those
seeking the reasons behind the bitter
breakdown in relations at his club this
summer “need to ask Real Madrid ”.
Asked about the “golfer” moniker,
Bale smiled and replied: “I am a golfer.
Have you not seen the pictures? I spoke
to him [Courtois] about it and he said it
as a joke. People took it out of context
but I’m very happy with the nickname,
to be honest. It’s a great one. Football
is my No 1 sport. I’m paid to do it and
I always give my best.
“Golf is a hobby like anyone else
would have a hobby. There is nothing
wrong with having a round. Peoplemake a lot of it but a lot of footballers
play it and it’s one thing I really enjoy.
It keeps me calmer off the pitch and
gives me time away from football,
which is nice.”
Bale, however, has had more time
away from football than he would
have liked since Zinedine Zidane
returned to take charge of Real Madrid
for a second time in March. Bale was
marginalised almost immediately andeverything pointed to him leaving
in the summer, only for a lucrative
move to the Chinese club Jiangsu
Suning to collapse.
“Coming back to pre-season I just
kept my head down,” said Bale, who is
back in the Real team and scored twice
against Villarreal on Sunday before
being sent off. “I know there was a lot
of talk with everybody saying good,
bad, whatever they wanted. I just
worked hard in training and got myself
ready. The things that happened will
stay private with the club. If you want
answers, maybe you need to ask Real
Madrid.”
Pressed on his critics – and plenty
have had their say over the summer,
whether about his football, his fail-
ure to learn Spanish or his fi nancial
demands – Bale was dismissive. “I
don’t listen to them because they
don’t really know what they are on
about. I don’t read anything, I don’t
listen to anyone. I know most people
don’t know the situation, don’t under-
stand the situation. What they write
means nothing.”
Bale was also quick to provide some
context when quizzed on whether this
ranked as the worst time of his career.
The 30-year-old referenced his early
days at Tottenham Hotspur, when
he came close to joining Nottingham
Forest. “It’s obviously not been great
[this summer],” he said. “I wouldn’t
say it’s the worst time of my career. I
remember not playing for a year under
Harry Redknapp.”Paul Doyle
Aviva StadiumRepublic of Ireland 1
McGoldrick 85Switzerland 1
Schär 74Republic of Ireland
4-2-3-1
Randolph; Coleman,
Keogh, Duffy•,
Stevens•; Whelan,
Hourihane (Hogan 82);
Robinson (Judge• 58),
Hendrick, McClean;
McGoldrick
(Browne 90)Switzerland
3-5-2
Sommer; Elvedi, Akanji,
Schär•; Mbabu•
(Fernandes 90), Zakaria,
Xhaka, Rodríguez,
Freuler (Mehmedi 90);
Embolo (Ajeti 86),
SeferovicReferee C Grande (Sp)▲ Ireland’s hopes of reaching Euro 2020 are alive thanks to David McGoldrick
RYAN BYRNE/INPHO/SHUTTERSTOCKStuart James▲ ‘I am a golfer,’ says Gareth Bale.
‘Have you not seen the pictures?’McBurnie urged
to make amends
by hitting the net
Steve Clarke has challenged Oli
McBurnie to demonstrate his dedica-
tion to Scotland with performances.
The Sheffi eld United striker caused a
storm last week among Scotland fans
by making apparently disparaging
comments about the international
setup that were inadvertently picked
up on a club video.
“I’m sure the supporters will get
right behind the team,” said Clarke,
who is likely to start McBurnie against
Russia at Hampden to night. “ The best
thing he can do is go out , play really
well and show everybody how com-
mitted he is. If he wants, he could score
a goal. That would be nice as well.”
McBurnie had off ered an expla-
nation to his Scotland team mates in
full public view before training on
Monday. “We could have done it inside
but it was better to do it outside,” the
manager said. “Clarifi ed and clear. We
have moved on and we urge everyone
else to move on from it. Finished.
“ He had never worked with me
before. He has no reason to say: ‘I don’t
want to go,’ because he didn’t know
what it was like. After the game you
can quiz him and he will tell you he
enjoyed it.” Ewan MurrayApr 2018 Oxlade-Chamberlain
is substituted early on during
Liverpool’s 5-2 victory over Roma
with a serious-looking knee injury
Jun 2018 It is confi rmed that the
midfi elder will miss the whole
of the 2018-19 season after scans
show he has suff ered multiple
knee ligament damage
Apr 2019 Oxlade-Chamb erlain
returns to fi rst-team action during
Liverpool’s 5-o victory over
Hudddersfi eld at Anfi eld
Aug 2019 The 26-year-old is named
in England’s squad for the games
against Bulgaria and Kosovo –
the fi rst time he has been selected
by his country since March 2018From pain to pleasure
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