Alan Shearer World Cup
Home  »    »    »    »    »  Alan Shearer: “The World Cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity – just give it your best”

Alan Shearer: “The World Cup is a once in a lifetime opportunity – just give it your best”

| 12.06.2018
SPORTSBOOK ODDS

Premier League legend gives his thoughts ahead of the tournament opener…

I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t a slight sense of trepidation ahead of this World Cup, with everything that’s happening with Russia and the wider world…

But there’s no question I am looking forward to it for football reasons, and everyone who is out in Russia already said everything is great and the welcome has been warm.

The end of the Premier League season petered out a bit, the FA Cup final was easily forgettable, and it seems a while since the Champions League final, so it will be great to see some competitive football again.  

Player or pundit?

This will be my fourth World Cup as a pundit for the BBC, and I am really looking forward to it.

There’s no comparison between playing in a World Cup and covering it for TV.  

Yes there will be a few butterflies as we’re on live and we’ll know how many people will be watching back home and we don’t just turn up, watch the match and start talking.

We do our homework, look at every team, every player, be as prepared as we can be.

As a player however, you just turn up, and you have everything, and I mean everything, done for you!  

Every single aspect of the trip is taken care of, from socks to visas!  And that means that as an England player, all you have to do is go out and perform, although as we know with England that is easier said than done.

A cheeky 18 or two

I’m in Russia for the duration of the tournament, and for the first couple of weeks, with so many games taking place, we’re on air most days, so there won’t be much downtime.  

When it reaches the knockout stage we’ll get a day off here and there. It’s too far to pop home so I’m there for the five weeks, which does mean the golf clubs will be coming. Wherever I go the golf clubs come with me!  

The ITV team are close by us in Moscow, so I’m sure I’ll get Ian Wright, Lee Dixon, my BBC colleague Dan Walker out for a game!

Happy England

This does seem to be a happy group of England players, and I just hope that whatever happens in this tournament, they come away from it having enjoyed it, because for some of these players might never play in a World Cup again.

It can be a once in a lifetime opportunity, you’re playing for your country in a World Cup, it can’t get any better than that as a player, can it?  

If and when they get knocked out, I just want them to come away thinking we gave everything we could to the cause, we gave it our best, and I think the fans would be happy with that.

Brazilian redemption?

It looks a wide-open tournament, but I just favour Brazil.  After the embarrassment of that defeat to Germany four years ago I think they’ll be on a mission to put that right.

Neymar is back and scoring goals and he has plenty of quality around him.  I can’t wait for it to begin!

«
»

Author

Alan Shearer

Alan Shearer played his entire career at the top level of English football, winning the Premier League title with Blackburn in 1994-95. The following summer he signed for his hometown club, Newcastle United, for a then world record £15 million fee.

He ended his playing career with a record 260 Premier League goals, which still stands today. He also won 63 caps for England, including 34 as captain, and among his 30 international goals were five scored at Euro 96, a total that won him the Golden Boot at that tournament.

Now the chief pundit on Match Of The Day, Alan was one of the first two players inducted into the Premier League Hall Of Fame this year.