Once you have subscribed we will use the email you provided to send you the newsletter. You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the newsletter email. Jose Mourinho predicted that England would get knocked out of the quarter-finals of this summer’s World Cup finals before the tournament got underway. The Manchester United boss, speaking on Russia Today, thought Brazil would eliminate Gareth Southgate’s side in the knockout stages. However, in a separate interview with Sky Sports last month, Mourinho said that he felt England did have the potential to win the 2018 World Cup. “They have a good group of young but experienced players,” he said. “All of them play in the best domestic competition in the world, the Premiership, all of them playing for the best teams, all of them with experience of playing Champions League, which is a high level of football, obviously. So I think yes, I think they can do it.” England are now just three games away from winning the World Cup after defeating Colombia on penalties in the Round of 16 on Tuesday evening. The Three Lions will now aim to seal their place in a World Cup semi-final for the first time 1990. Standing in their way are Sweden, who saw off Switzerland earlier on Tuesday. Mourinho: Neymar isn't the only player in the wrong “For many years England is not reaching this stage of the competition, so being in the quarter-finals, playing against Sweden, having for the semi-final the winner of Russia versus Croatia, I would say England has a golden chance to be in the World Cup final,” Mourinho told RT after England’ latest victory. But even though Mourinho was largely impressed with what he saw from England in Moscow, he was disappointed to see Harry Maguire dive inside the Colombian penalty area. “People are focusing on Neymar, but if it was only Neymar, I’d be happy, but it’s not only Neymar," Mourinho added. “Every team has lots of diving, lots of pretending, lots of putting pressure on the referee… the game loses quality… and for me that was the negative point. Mourinho was surprised by what he saw from Maguire “It’s not about England and Colombia, it’s almost every match… [The players] are creating such a difficult job for the referees in every match, even with VAR the players are creating problems. “I was surprised to see central defenders like Harry Maguire, normally he is a very honest guy, diving in the attacking box asking the referee for VAR. “The players should feel the responsibility of playing in the World Cup in front of billions of spectators.” You can watch the incident involving Maguire that Mourinho is referring to here… In fairness to the revered Portuguese coach, he makes a perfectly valid point. No team at this World Cup is completely innocent when it comes to gamesmanship or, if you’d prefer, cheating. Neymar has been heavily criticised for his playacting in recent days but he’s far from the only player who has deliberately attempted to deceive the referee in order to gain his team an advantage. News Now - Sport News<doc-sep>Get the FREE Mirror Football newsletter by email with the day's key headlines and transfer news Invalid Email Something went wrong, please try again later. Sign up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Jose Mourinho has hit out at England for ‘theatrical’ antics during their World Cup last 16 win over Colombia, with the Manchester United boss singling out Harry Maguire for individual criticism. The Three Lions booked a quarter-final spot against Sweden after defeating their South American opponents on penalties in Moscow on Tuesday night. The match was a tempestuous one however, with a number of flashpoints involving players from both sides, and a referee, American Mark Geiger, who was appeared unable to exert control. Eight players were booked - six Colombians - while Jordan Henderson appeared to be on the receiving end of a headbutt from Wilmar Barrios during the first half, as a stormy clash descended into a battle of tit for tat. (Image: Getty) (Image: REUTERS) Jose Pekerman, the Colombia coach, has hit out at what he termed England’s antics, while Diego Maradona astonishingly called on FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina to apologise to the Colombian people following their exit. Three Lions chief Gareth Southgate says he was proud of how his players handled the volatile atmosphere, but Mourinho had his own thoughts, in particular regarding one moment early in the second half, when Maguire appeared to go down without any contact. (Image: PA) “The negative thing for me was the fact…I think there is exaggeration on theatre by the players,” said Mourinho, who was working as a pundit for Russia Today. “I was surprised to see central defenders like Harry Maguire, normally he is a very honest guy, diving in the attacking box asking the referee for VAR. "Every team has lots of diving, lots of pretending, lots of putting pressure on the referee. The game loses quality…and for me that was the negative point." (Image: TASS) Maguire himself was very unhappy with the incident involving Barrios and Henderson, which saw the Colombian issued with just a yellow card. The Leicester centre-half admitted the official’s decision left him surprised. (Image: Getty Images Europe) “From what I saw he [Barrios] moved his head towards his face and Jordan got a cut on his lip. “I don’t know how they reviewed it,” he added. “If he has shown him a yellow card for it, it has to be a red. "From my view, he moved his head towards Jordan’s face, he definitely made a connection and cut his lip.”<doc-sep>
Leicester City defender Harry Maguire has been criticised for diving during England’s World Cup win over Colombia by Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho. Mourinho criticised both teams for their antics during the last 16 clash, with referee Mark Geiger struggling to retain control of the game. The Colombians had six players booked while England had just two, but Mourinho picked out an incident in the second half when City defender Maguire appeared to go down without being touched - although he seemed to immediately wave to the referee to indicate it was not a penalty. "The negative thing for me was the fact, once more, it wasn't for the first game, and I don't think it will be the last game, I think there is exaggeration on theatre by the players," Mourinho told Russia Today. "Every team has lots of diving, lots of pretending, lots of putting pressure on the referee. "The game loses quality… and for me that was the negative point. It's not about England and Colombia, it's almost every match. "[The players] are creating such a difficult job for the referees in every match, even with VAR the players are creating problems. "I was surprised to see central defenders like Harry Maguire, normally he is a very honest guy, diving in the attacking box asking the referee for VAR. "The players should feel the responsibility of playing in the World Cup in front of billions of spectators." - We've launched our very own app for Android and Apple devices to deliver all your Leicester City news and sport that you're interested in straight to your mobile. To download the IOS app click here. To download the Android app click here.