“Let’s see if they’re still laughing at the end of the tournament.”
Roy Keane has said that England will need more than team spirit to win the 2022 World Cup, and cracked up his punditry colleagues Ian Wright and Gary Neville with his delivery.
The former Manchester United captain was a pundit on ITV’s coverage of England’s Group B tie against the United States.
Wright and Neville spoke about the importance of England’s excellent team morale ahead of the 0-0 draw.
The ex-England duo said that the spirit in the camp was strong and it will help Gareth Southgate’s side at the business end of the tournament in Qatar.
Keane, however, wasn’t as convinced.
“I’m not into all that team spirit is important nonsense,” the former Republic of Ireland captain said.
“Of course, after England’s first game they’d be laughing around. Let’s see if they’re still laughing at the end of the tournament.”
You can watch the clip below.
Clip via ITV.
"We'll see if they're laughing in a few weeks" 😐
Roy Keane wonders how far team spirit will take England#ThreeLions | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/29pZXjnMMT
— ITV Football (@itvfootball) November 25, 2022
Ultimately, Keane was arguably proven correct as England laboured to a goalless draw against the USA.
After beating Iran 6-2, Southgate’s side went into Friday’s encounter as heavy favourites, but they failed to create any chances of note against the Americans.
England will qualify for the last 16 if they avoid a 4-0 defeat to Wales next week. Yet, as Keane noted, they will need a lot more than team spirit to go all the way.
While you’re here, why not give some of our World Cup quizzes a try?
- The FootballJOE Qatar World Cup 2022 Geography Quiz.
- SportsJOE’s World Cup Quiz: Brazil 2014.
- Teammates XI Quiz: Italy – 2006 World Cup Final.
- QUIZ: Name the all-time leading scorers from each 2022 World Cup country.
- QUIZ: Name the 2018 World Cup Goalscorers
Related links.
- ‘Just a bit of PR’ – Roy Keane and Ian Wright have their final say on OneLove armband U-turn.
- The nine England World Cup footballers who could have played for Ireland
- World Cup 2022 Day Six: All the major action and talking points.
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