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IS THERE REALLY A POSSIBILITY?

Should you have overlooked the clip of Iliman Ndiaye executing a reverse bouncing nutmeg at Everton’s training ground, it’s a good watch. In executing a move so impressive that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a lighthearted kickabout to conclude what had been – up to that point – an informative discussion about how Sunday league footballers can get another opportunity after being released by professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being recruited by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to discuss this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he told a young player immediately prior to deploying said impressive trick on his teammate, in doing so vividly showing the gap between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to go slightly overboard. Peak Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a 13-year-old goalkeeper in front of a smouldering Neville Southall is clearly the benchmark in this particular niche – but the former Liverpool man is just one of many culprits. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have made young children cry with a series of merciless tricks, although it’s believed that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “this frustration makes a person stronger” – and the accompanying hashtag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s previous Borussia partners Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to lose their match against 100 children when the group played during the interval of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they faced 109 Chinese kids in a like situation. But coming full circle, it’s calculated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing structured junior soccer in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a harsh truth for toddlers and teenagers across the country.

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Tune in with Scott Murray from evening UK time for real-time tournament updates of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be tracking events for the other games happening later.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“Soccer carried me but it never abandoned me because I never stopped believing. I went from place to place. The devotion to the game carries you. I couldn’t always see where it was directing me. But today I have the answer” – head coach Veljko Paunovic pauses briefly from his preparations to share his journey.

FOOTBALL DAILY LETTERS

“Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Hopefully, if he travels to the major tournament next year, he’ll study how to get about the venue locations – let’s avoid him being disoriented in New York” – James Humphries.

“Reports indicate that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to suspected participation in a betting scandal. It would be fantastic if that number could be bumped up to the same level of typical pedantry associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my calculation, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I offer to be suspended from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, talent), are there 32 more folks willing to participate in my quest for balance?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a regular follower and Florida resident, can I preemptively object about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which road one uses to get to various locations in your country? I mean, I was stuck in gridlock on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the entire tale. There’s no rewarding moral to the tale. (I-4 joins Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have congestion problems at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Apropos Wythenshawe FC, I remember many years ago playing for a Sunday, very recreational club, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke presented as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who recruited him. Apparently he was an actor; he had a good left side. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some colleagues and friends, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our oldest player is pushing 80, while the most junior are in their twenties. To ensure a positive atmosphere for everyone, we have a simple rule of thumb regarding the ability standard: you can be speedy or technical, but ideally not both. We periodically have players who break this guideline, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.