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YOU’RE TELLING US THERE’S A CHANCE?

If you haven’t seen the footage of Iliman Ndiaye performing a reverse bouncing nutmeg at Everton’s training ground, it’s worth viewing. By pulling off a move so spectacular that it would have fit right in at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, the skill quickly concluded what was meant to be a informal game to conclude what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how amateur players can get another opportunity after being dropped from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who featured in non-league games directly before being signed by Sheffield United at 19, is ideally suited to speak on this topic. “Don’t focus on the rejection and one day your luck is going to come through,” he told a young player just before deploying said spectacular skill on his teammate, in doing so clearly demonstrating the difference between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been trying to bridge.

Ndiaye joins a list of professional footballer to go slightly overboard. Prime Michael Owen happily embarrassing a teenage keeper in front of a annoyed Neville Southall is undoubtedly the prime example in this particular niche – but the former Liverpool man is far from the only offender. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of merciless tricks, although it’s thought that the latter was at least inspired by the Japanese player’s social media apologetic post – “setbacks build character” – and the related tag of #friendship.

Kagawa’s former Dortmund teammates Lukasz Piszczek, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Nuri Sahin at least had the decency to lose their match against 100 children when the trio played during the mid-game pause of their final match for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that included Cristiano Ronaldo and Xabi Alonso were not so generous when they took on 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 organized youth football in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for toddlers and teenagers across the country.

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Tune in with Scott Murray from 7.45pm GMT for real-time tournament updates of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be monitoring the action for the remaining evening matches.

DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“Football took me but it never left me because I never gave up on my goal. I went from team to team. The love of football drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was leading me. But today I have the understanding” – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic makes time from his planning to share his path.

READER CORRESPONDENCE

“Pleasant to learn that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. With luck, if he travels to the Bigliest Most Peaceful Cup next year, he’ll study how to navigate the venue locations – wouldn’t want him to end up lost in New York” – James Humphries.

“Reports indicate that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been banned due to suspected participation in a betting scandal. It would be wonderful if that number could be bumped up to the same level of usual detail-orientation associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my calculation, that’s about 33 more pedants. If I offer to be suspended from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, ability), are there 32 more folks willing to assist my effort for harmony?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a daily reader and Florida resident, can I in advance protest about the next several days of published letters about which highway one uses to get to various locations in your island nation? I mean, I was stuck in gridlock on I-4 at 2am on a Tuesday night driving through Orlando once, but that’s the complete account. 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 traffic issues at any time)” – Rasteen Nowroozi.

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

“Together with some co-workers and mates, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our oldest player is pushing 80, while the least experienced are in their late-20s. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a straightforward principle regarding the ability standard: you can be quick or talented, but preferably not simultaneously. We periodically have players who violate this rule, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.