Gary Lineker has never been the type to sing his own praises. If anything, his move into broadcasting as the face of Match of the Day has often required him to play down just how accomplished he was as a footballer, particularly when helping shine a light on pundits whose playing careers were far less decorated than his own.

It is understandable, then, especially for anyone born after Lineker last kicked a ball professionally in 1994, that his brilliance as a player may not always be fully appreciated. The former Leicester City, Everton, Barcelona and Tottenham forward was outstanding at his peak.

Lineker is still regarded as one of England’s greatest ever strikers, with his most memorable tournament coming at the 1986 World Cup. He claimed the Golden Boot despite England exiting at the quarter-final stage after Diego Maradona scored two of the most famous goals football has ever seen.

His displays that year were rewarded with a second-place finish in the Ballon d’Or rankings, though Lineker believes he should’ve come first and taken home football’s most prestigious individual honour. Speaking to French outlet L’Equipe in 2023, he said:

Gary Lineker’s 1986 in Detail

Ah, 1986. It was an era when Madonna, Diana Ross and George Michael dominated the charts, England’s old First Division was still simply the First Division, and football had yet to be reshaped by the Bosman ruling, the backpass law or the Premier League. The sport looked very different before it became the enormous commercial machine fans know today.

It was also the year Lineker went from being one of English football’s finest centre-forwards to a striker recognised across the world. The England international arrived at the 1986 World Cup after an extraordinary debut campaign with Everton, having scored 40 goals in all competitions. That included 30 in the league, enough to earn him a second straight Golden Boot.

Lineker then took that form to the World Cup and lit up the tournament, scoring six times in only five matches. After England failed to find the net in either of their first two group fixtures, he responded with a hat-trick against Poland, two more goals against Paraguay and another against Argentina. That effort, though, was eclipsed by Maradona producing arguably the most infamous goal ever – the Hand of God – before adding what many consider the greatest goal of all time, weaving through England’s helpless midfield and defence in the same match.

Even so, Lineker’s performances in Mexico still brought major personal rewards. Barcelona made their move and Everton agreed to sell him for £2.8m. During his time at the Nou Camp, he won the European Cup Winners’ Cup and the Copa del Rey, before later returning to England with Spurs and lifting the FA Cup.

The 1986 Ballon d’Or

Football in 1986 belonged to a very different age, although the wider political backdrop has echoes of the modern world. Today, much of Western Europe remains in conflict with Russian president Vladimir Putin; back then, global politics was shaped by the Cold War, with NATO countries and the Soviet Union on opposing sides as tensions neared their peak.

That situation seems to have had an influence on the 1986 Ballon d’Or vote, as several Eastern European nations threw their support behind Igor Belanov. He had scored a hat-trick in the Soviet Union’s 4-3 quarter-final defeat to Belgium, while also enjoying a strong club campaign with Dynamo Kyiv. They won both the Soviet League and the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup, with Belanov ending the latter tournament as top scorer.

With Maradona ineligible because the Ballon d’Or was limited to European players at the time, Lineker feels he was unfairly denied top spot.

Lineker Praised Belanov for Role in Ukraine

Although Lineker is convinced he should have won the 1986 Ballon d’Or, there does not appear to be any bitterness towards Belanov, who has again found himself connected to major geopolitical events. After Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Belanov joined the Territorial Defence Battalion to help defend his hometown of Odesa.

By 2024, he was still assisting and praising Ukrainian troops, an act Lineker had already commended him for.

The 2026 World Cup was never going to pass by without some refereeing controversy. Perhaps the most remarkable bit of officiating, however, came from Uzbekistan’s Ilgiz Tantashev during the 1-0 France win over Paraguay.

It was a tight game in terms of chances as the South Americans worked extremely hard to keep their European opposition at bay. This worked for the most part, but a VAR review led to a penalty, which was dispatched by Kylian Mbappe in the 70th minute.

This was enough to settle the game, but the French players will feel as though they were not helped by the officiating on the day, with the Paraguayan stars allowed to play an extremely physical game without fair punishment.

Ilgiz Tantashev Sparks World Cup Drama With Refereeing Display

A number of incidents have gone viral from the match, with referee Tantashev – officiating his first World Cup and known for his willingness to let games flow – very much the centre of attention. Remarkably, Paraguay completed the encounter without picking up a single yellow card, while France were handed three bookings.

One moment summed up the issues, with Andres Cubas crunching into Adrien Rabiot without getting a card:

There were also multiple moments where Paraguay players lashed out at France stars such as Mbappe and Jules Kounde, with one instance showing a clear kick on the shins of the star striker. Despite this, no yellow cards were dished out.

Speaking on BBC Sport, Joe Hart called out the Paraguay players, saying:

He also praised Mbappe for keeping his composure during the game. Micah Richards added that it was ’embarrassing to see.’

Paraguay Stars Bend the Rules But Still Lose to France

Referee Tantashev even had to rely on VAR before awarding a penalty after a clear foul on Desire Doue. What’s more, he failed to stop the Paraguay stars from scuffing the spot kick before Mbappe stepped up to score.

The game threatened to boil over on multiple occasions, with players coming together at full-time as well. Fans online were completely shocked by the refereeing, with one noting:

Another added: “Worst referee performance of the tournament this.”While, after one bad foul, a third said:

“Worst refereeing performance of the tournament. I can’t believe there hasn’t been a card awarded for that. It’s not even that he’s lost control over the game it’s just the fact he isn’t giving any of the basic decisions. Extremely poor officiating all over.”

In the end, it was a miracle there were no red cards, with a number of Paraguay stars more than lucky to avoid such punishment – while the French players did well to not lose their tempers.

Newcastle United have held talks with Borussia Dortmund over a deal to sign Felix Nmecha as a replacement for Sandro Tonali, according to Craig Hope.

The Magpies have agreed a £100m deal with Tottenham Hotspur to sell the Italy international in a big-money deal, having already sold Anthony Gordon to Barcelona in a deal worth £70m earlier in the window.

Eddie Howe is now looking for ways to bolster and rebuild his squad ahead of the new season after missing out on European football, and has set his sights on a move for the Germany international.

Newcastle Hold Talks for Nmecha

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Nmecha, who shone at the World Cup for Germany before their surprise elimination against Paraguay in the Round of 32, has emerged as a potential target for a number of clubs after his performances.

Dortmund are understood to value the 25-year-old at a huge €120m (£103m) as they look to keep hold of him, and despite holding talks with Newcastle over a potential move, it’s not expected to progress much further as a result.

Newcastle are also aware of growing interest in captain Bruno Guimaraes from Premier League champions Arsenal, and that has seen them begin to look at potential options to replace him in case they are forced into a sale.

Howe and Newcastle do not want to lose the Brazilian, and are prepared to offer him a new contract to keep him at St James’ Park, but conversations have been had with the Bundesliga side about a potential deal in case they need it.

Nmecha Would Be Top Signing

via Reuters

Newcastle, obviously, don’t want to lose Guimaraes this summer if they can help it – especially after they already sold key players like Tonali and Gordon.

But the Brazil star is 28 and a huge offer could be something they simply can’t ignore, so it’s sensible that they are looking at potential options to replace him this summer, even if they don’t intend to pull the trigger at this stage.

With his physical profile, quality on the ball, and top-level experience, mixed with the fact he counts as homegrown, it would be a terrific signing if they could pull it off, but they’d rather bring him in alongside Bruno than to replace him.