Clinton Morrison's World Cup Preview
The wait is finally over. The FIFA World Cup 2026 kicks off in North America tomorrow evening, and Clinton Morrison is ready for it, even if some of his commentary shifts start at three in the morning.
The former Crystal Palace and Ireland striker joined us ahead of the opening fixtures for a wide ranging World Cup special, covering England's chances, his memories of the 2002 tournament, the Saipan incident, Roy Keane, what it's like to be inside a World Cup camp and his predictions for every opening group game.
Here's what Clinton had to say, and don't forget to check out the best World Cup Betting Sites, courtesy of Freebets.com.
IN FULL: Clinton Morrison's World Cup Special
THE SAIPAN INCIDENT, ALL THESE YEARS ON
Looking back on the whole incident now, I don't think McCarthy was right to question Roy in front of everybody. Roy just wanted everything done up to scratch, that was always what he leaned on. If he had waited another day, FIFA had sorted out what was one of the best facilities ever. The whole situation could have been handled totally differently. Because if it had been handled differently, Roy Keane would have been there playing with his country and helping us progress. We had a good tournament but we would have had an even better one. You do miss a player of that calibre.
What Roy told Clinton all these years on:
Fascinating to get his insight. I asked him, do you have any regrets? I thought he was going to say maybe. But he doesn't really have regrets because he didn't leave, he got sent home. He was disappointed by the way it was handled. He said that if Mick had come to him, knocked on his door and apologized, Roy Keane would have still been at that World Cup. But McCarthy felt he didn't have anything to apologize for. Maybe in hindsight he looks back and thinks maybe I shouldn't have confronted him in front of everyone, maybe I should have done it one on one. But then he might think I'm the manager and I shouldn't have to apologize to players. There's a lot of nuance in it. But the way Roy spoke about it, he was outstanding.
Did it divide the dressing room?
No, not at all. The one thing with that Irish setup, everyone was together. It actually galvanized us. We knew we were losing our best player and everyone thought we were going to struggle. But it motivated us and we did better than people probably expected. We got out of the group stages. With Spain, if Ian Harte scores his penalty in normal time we go through, and I think we would have had a great chance of reaching the quarterfinal and maybe beyond that the way we were playing. But the one thing with Ireland was we had great team spirit. We stuck together and managed to do well.
ROY KEANE, THE LEADER
He set standards really high and was always saying train how you play. If you don't train well during the week, don't expect to turn it on at the weekend. He was always driving standards. A proper leader, led by example. You don't captain that Man United football club if you're not a top player. He's got a very dry sense of humour off the pitch. You never know from his face when he's being serious or not. But I love the man, I get on with him so well. I've got so much respect and admiration for him. When we meet up we always have a laugh. Just a top guy, a top player and now a top pundit. He doesn't say things just for the sake of it. He believes in what he says.
THE 2002 WORLD CUP, ONE OF THE BEST EXPERIENCES OF MY LIFE
It's definitely up there, one of the best things of my life. It's like a family for six weeks. I met a lot of good people. The Irish fans are some of the best fans ever. They get behind their team win, lose or draw and they love a party. That is why I'm desperate for Ireland to get to a major tournament because the fans are missing out and they deserve it. The whole experience of 2002 was one of the best.
WHAT MAKES THE WORLD CUP DIFFERENT, FROM A PLAYER'S PERSPECTIVE
You're in each other's faces for six or seven weeks. It's a long time. If you've got good camaraderie and togetherness, and I think Gareth Southgate installed that and Thomas Tuchel has continued it, then you'll be all right. It's when there's a divide in a country's camp that it's a struggle. Everyone knows they're doing it for their country. It's an honor to play for your country. There are a lot of good players who had outstanding careers and never got to play at a World Cup. When you're honored to put on that shirt, you grab it with both hands.
CAN ENGLAND WIN THE WORLD CUP?
They're not lacking. It's the other good teams in this tournament that are the barrier. England have the opportunity, if they get it right, to win the World Cup. For sure they do. But if England turn up in every game they're good enough to go on and win it. They have talented players and they have one of the best strikers in the world in Harry Kane. He's had a phenomenal season at Bayern Munich. He's the key. If he stays fit England have a great chance. And everyone wants to criticize Harry Kane for dropping deep, but Harry Kane has always dropped deep his whole career. You've got to have other runners in behind him. Him and Jude Bellingham are key for me. Bellingham turns up on the big stage and he has to be playing.
On France as favourites:
France for me are the favourites at the moment. But so do England have talent because you don't know who's going to start and then you could have Ezé coming off the bench, Rashford, Gordon, Madueke. There are a lot of good attacking options for England off the bench too. And a South American team could be in contention, whether that's Brazil or Argentina. You can never rule out Spain or Portugal either because of the talent they've got.
On Brazil under Ancelotti:
They've got a serial winner in Ancelotti, a manager who knows how to win stuff. The squad he's picked has some talented players who've had really good seasons. If Brazil go far in this tournament, they'll be a force to be reckoned with.
CLINTON'S MOST ICONIC WORLD CUP MOMENTS
England fans always recall 1966, Geoff Hurst and the hat trick, that's their moment. Then there's Brazil dominating with Ronaldo, that's my era. Look at the last World Cup, Mbappé scores a hat trick and Argentina still go and win it. What a World Cup that was. Then 2002 because I was out there. And I'd say the World Cup where Cameroon had Roger Milla. Look how old he was, scoring goals and going to the corner flag to celebrate. For how old he was to be involved at that level, that was something special. And the Gascoigne one, Lineker looking over to the bench after the yellow card, that's just a moment. Even Ray Houghton scoring for Ireland in the sweltering conditions in America.
Clinton Morrison's World Cup Predictions: Match Day One
| Match | Clinton's Prediction |
|---|---|
| Mexico vs South Africa | Mexico 2-0 |
| South Korea vs Czech Republic | South Korea 2-1 |
| Canada vs Bosnia | 1-1 |
| USA vs Paraguay | USA 2-1 |
| Qatar vs Switzerland | Switzerland 2-0 |
| Brazil vs Morocco | Brazil 2-1 |
| Haiti vs Scotland | Scotland 1-0 |
| Australia vs Turkey | Turkey 2-1 |
| Germany vs Curaçao | Germany 2-0 |
| Netherlands vs Japan | 1-1 |
| Ivory Coast vs Ecuador | 1-1 |
| Sweden vs Tunisia | Sweden 2-1 |
| Spain vs Cape Verde | Spain 3-0 |
| Belgium vs Egypt | 1-1 |
| Saudi Arabia vs Uruguay | Uruguay 2-1 |
| Iran vs New Zealand | New Zealand 2-1 |
| France vs Senegal | France 2-1 |
| Iraq vs Norway | Norway 2-0 |
| Argentina vs Algeria | Argentina 2-1 |
| Austria vs Jordan | Austria 2-0 |
| Portugal vs DR Congo | Portugal 2-1 |
| England vs Croatia | England 2-1 |
| Ghana vs Panama | Ghana 1-0 |
| Uzbekistan vs Colombia | Colombia 2-1 |
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