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COULD IT ACTUALLY HAPPEN?

Should you have overlooked the clip of Iliman Ndiaye performing a backwards bouncing trick at Everton’s training ground, it’s a good watch. Through performing a move so nasty that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters exhibition match, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a lighthearted kickabout to finish what had been – up to that point – an revealing conversation about how non-professionals can get another opportunity after being let go from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who played Sunday League football directly before being signed by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to speak on this topic. “Avoid dwelling on the rejection and one day your luck is going to materialize,” he told a young player shortly before deploying said spectacular skill on his opponent, in doing so perfectly illustrating the gulf between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to go slightly overboard. Peak Michael Owen cheerfully overwhelming a 13-year-old goalkeeper in front of a fuming Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this unique area – but the one-time Reds forward is far from the only offender. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have reduced toddlers to actual tears with a series of brutal nutmegs, although it’s thought that the latter was at least motivated by the Japanese player’s social media regretful message – “difficulty breeds resilience” – and the related tag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the good grace to lose their match against 100 children when the group competed during the interval of their last appearance for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were more competitive when they faced 109 Chinese kids in a similar experiment. But back to the start, it’s estimated that only 180 of the 1.5 million boys currently playing competitive youth leagues in England will ever play in the Premier League, a stark reality for aspiring footballers across the country.

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Join Scott Murray from 19:45 Greenwich Mean Time for real-time tournament updates of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be on clockwatch duty for the remaining evening matches.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“The game guided me but it never abandoned me because I never stopped believing. I went from team to team. The devotion to the game drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the answer” – head coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his planning to discuss his career.

FAN FEEDBACK

“Nice to hear that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. With luck, if he goes to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll study how to navigate the host cities – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Reports indicate that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to alleged involvement in a wagering issue. It would be fantastic if that number could be raised to the same level of usual detail-orientation associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my math, that’s about 33 more perfectionists. If I volunteer to be banned from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, talent), are there 32 more folks willing to join in my search for balance?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I proactively complain about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your homeland? I mean, I was caught in a traffic jam on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the whole story. There’s no rewarding moral to the tale. (I-4 links Tampa on the Gulf Coast to Daytona on the Atlantic via Orlando/Walt Disney World, and can have congestion problems at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

“Concerning Wythenshawe FC, I remember many years ago playing for a Sunday, very recreational club, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke known as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who recruited him. Supposedly he was an actor; he had a decent left foot. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some associates and companions, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our most senior member is approaching eighty, while the youngest are in their late-20s. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the quality of player: you can be speedy or technical, but preferably not both. We periodically have players who violate this rule, but usually manage to drag them down to our level over time” – Lars Esbjerg.