Chris Waddle Exclusive Interview (Part 2) | NewBettingSites.uk

Former England winger Chris Waddle believes the Three Lions will reach the latter stages of the World Cup under Thomas Tuchel’s tutelage. Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Waddle also reflected on the 40^th anniversary of the 1986 World Cup, where he came up against Diego Maradona in the infamous quarter-final tie in Mexico.

Speaking to NewBettingSites.uk, Waddle said: “I would expect England to reach the quarter-finals, and anything beyond that can be marked down as a good tournament.

“Up front, they have Harry Kane, one of the best in the business and a leading Golden Boot contender, so there are no issues there. There’s a good mix of attacking talent too, with the likes of Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham who are both now very experienced at international level.

“In midfield, Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice can run all day – they have no problems there – and there are some good options off the bench. But the back four looks a bit hit and miss, Reece James is a very good right-back but always seems to have injury concerns. Marc Guehi and John Stones will likely be the two centre-backs, unless Ezri Konsa starts, and Thomas Tuchel will need to find the right balance there.

“At left-back, I would have selected Lewis Hall or Tyrick Mitchell. There’s a question mark there with Nico O’Reilly and Djed Spence. Dan Burn was picked, but I’m not sure if he’ll see any game time.

“I like Thomas Tuchel and he’s got a squad that can do well in the tournament. I like the fact that he hasn’t selected a group based on individual talent – players like Cole Palmer. He’s taken a squad he thinks is going to do well, and big names have missed out as a result.”

In 1986, Maradona was the best player on the planet

Waddle was part of the England squad that faced Argentina in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final, a game remembered for Diego Maradona’s Hand of God, as well as his Goal of the Century.

Waddle said: “People may talk about Diego Maradona and criticise him for the Hand of God, but I’ve always said that if Gary Lineker had done the same, we would have had no complaints. It wasn’t Maradona’s fault, it was pure instinct, it’s more the fault of the officials. The referee or the linesman should have seen it, but they didn’t. It was cheating, but Maradona got away with it.

“The Goal of the Century was great of course, but I’d actually say Maradona’s goal in the semi-final against Belgium was even better. He was the difference for Argentina that year and the reason why they won the tournament. Sometimes you just need one player to win you a game, and Maradona could do that. Without Diego, Argentina would not have won that World Cup.

“He was just a world-class footballer. I can’t say he was the greatest ever because you can’t compare players across different generations – Pele, George Best, Maradona, Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo… the list goes on. But at that time, and at that World Cup, Maradona was the great player on the planet, without a shadow of a doubt.”