Today’s news summary – Paper Talk
The last games of Group B – England vs Wales and USA vs Iran kick off today, with the England vs Wales game making most of Tuesday’s front pages. Many of the papers describe it as a “Battle of Britain.” England will be looking for a confident win after a lacklustre game against the USA, whilst a win for Wales is a must if they have any hope of making it to the Round of 16. Iran will be looking to draw with the USA to make it out of the group stages, whilst the USA need to win to progress.
Qatar World Cup 2022 – ‘Battle of Britain’
The Mirror says the UK will come to a standstill tonight (kickoff at 19:00) to watch the “fierce rivals” meeting in Qatar.
Pictures of both captains, England’s Harry Kane and Wales’s Gareth Bale, make the front pages of The Sun and the Metro along with the headline ‘Do or Dai’ – a pun on the popular Welsh name.
“Pride and Passion,” says the Daily Mirror which reports on England boss Gareth Southgate’s promise to match the “spirit” and “energy” of the Welsh team.
The Times leads with a warning to employers to ensure banter between English and Welsh fans at work doesn’t turn into racial discrimination.
Companies could face legal action if the rivalry between staff becomes too strong, legal experts have said.
‘Golden era’ of relations over
Away from football, PM Rishi Sunak has said the “golden era” of relations between Britain and China has ended.
The Guardian says the PM used his first foreign policy speech to warn of the creeping authoritarianism of Xi Jinping’s regime. The PM has thrown his support behind the Covid protesters in China and condemned the attack on the BBC journalist. The paper says the comments mark an “abrupt change” from his more hardline stance while running for the Conservative leadership, when he called China the biggest long-term threat to Britain.
That story is also on the front page of the Financial Times – which notes too that the prime minister stopped short of using the word “threat”.
The FT also reports on the latest on the crackdown against protesters in China on its front page.
