Will the hottest trend win the overheated World Cup? or, long throwing in the USA

It's nothing new to say international breaks have lost their lustre. Lately England have been dull fare, as Thomas Tuchel has taken aim at his target of (checks notes, tries not to laugh) winning the World Cup by rehearsing the sort of dull tournament grinding that afflicts World Cup group games everyone tries to forget. Dan Burn, England star? Gee, thanks.

There are still some interesting elements in the FIFA calendar. To make me feel good there's always Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay. This time around, though, he's taking a squad of seventeen reserves to Malaysia for tour matches against the Dominican Republic and Uzbekistan. This squad is costing the Uruguayan FA a £200,000 fine and journalist Tim Vickery suggests Bielsa isn't happy with their post-qualification fixtures. "This is Bielsa saying: 'If you’re not going to fix up any serious games, I’m not going to fix up any serious players.'"

One serious player will be there, with the Dominican Republic: Junior Firpo. At Leeds Bielsa was, "a little crazy, as his nickname suggests, but in a good way," Firpo told El Observador ahead of their reunion. Saying goodbye when Bielsa was sacked, Firpo adds, was painful.

"It was one of the hardest goodbyes to a manager I’ve ever experienced. All the players who had been with him for several years were crying in the locker room. It was like when you know something is going to collapse, but you’d rather let it collapse with him than save it with someone else. That was the feeling. We miraculously survived in the last game and stayed in the league, but the fans were chanting his name. It was a very difficult decision for the club."

That leads to one of the international break pastimes that makes me feel less good: hate-watching Jesse Marsch's Canada. They're playing Australia and Colombia this time around. I've all the time in the world for Canada as a nation (Kids in the Hall!) and a football team — big ups to Ontario-born Kevin Sharp from our 1993 FA Youth Cup winning side, and the home Vancouver Whitecaps gave to several Revie era players — but I'm morbidly fascinated, every time around, by how Marsch will make the games all about him.

Craig Bellamy was seeking a rematch with Marsch after Canada beat Wales last month. "I see him (Marsch) celebrating at the end," Bellamy said, "I'm thinking, 'I hope I see you at the World Cup. I hope I see you again'. But I have to also be gracious. Jesse was shaking his coaches' hands before the final whistle. I have to get used to that."

He might also need to rethink his desire for playing them again, or playing anyone, after this week's friendly defeat to England. Here's another home for Leeds fans during international breaks, the land of John Charles and Gary Speed, of Steve Morison and Vinnie Jones. Right now it's the land of Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Dan James, Charlie Crew, summer youth signing Jayden Lienou, and Karl Darlow.