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IS THERE REALLY A POSSIBILITY?

If you haven’t seen the video of Iliman Ndiaye pulling off a unusual dribbling move at Everton’s training ground, you should check it out. Through performing a move so impressive that it would have been appropriate at a Harlem Globetrotters show game, the skill instantly ended what was meant to be a informal game to finish what had been – up to that point – an illuminating interview about how amateur players can secure a fresh start after being dropped from professional academies.

Ndiaye, who competed in amateur leagues directly before being picked up by Sheffield United at 19, is expertly placed to speak on this topic. “Don’t concentrate on the rejection and one day your luck is going to arrive,” he advised a young player immediately prior to using said spectacular skill on his victim, in doing so vividly showing the gap between Premier League and amateur footballers he had been working to minimize.

Ndiaye is far from the only professional footballer to take things that little bit too far. A younger Michael Owen happily embarrassing a 13-year-old goalkeeper in front of a annoyed Neville Southall is obviously the gold standard in this unique area – but the one-time Reds forward is not alone in this. Both Christian Eriksen and Shinji Kagawa have caused kids to weep with a series of merciless tricks, although it’s believed that the latter was at least motivated 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 manners to lose their match against 100 children when the three lined up during the interval of their farewell game for BVB. A Real Madrid XI that contained 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 competitive youth leagues in England will ever feature in the Premier League, a sobering statistic for aspiring footballers across the country.

BROADCAST ON MAJOR PLATFORM

Tune in with Scott Murray from 7.45pm GMT for live international football action of England versus Serbia, while Luke McLaughlin will be tracking events for the remaining evening matches.

DAILY HIGHLIGHT

“Football took me but it never left me because I never abandoned my dream. I went from location to location. The love of football drives you. I couldn’t always see where it was taking me. But today I have the answer” – Serbia coach Veljko Paunovic pauses briefly from his preparations to reflect on his career.

FAN FEEDBACK

“Good to know that Kevin Mac Allister won’t be excluded by Argentina. Ideally, if he participates in the major tournament next year, he’ll read up on how to get about the tournament sites – hopefully he won’t get confused in New York” – James Humphries.

“Information shows that 1,024 players in the Turkish league have been prohibited due to suspected participation in a gambling controversy. It would be amazing if that number could be raised to the same level of typical pedantry associated with Football Daily – that is, 1,057 readers. By my calculation, that’s about 33 more detail-oriented individuals. If I agree to be excluded from playing professionally in Turkey (hardly a difficult decision at my age and, um, ability), are there 32 more folks willing to participate in my quest for symmetry?” – Mike Wilner.

“As a regular follower and Florida resident, can I preemptively object about the upcoming week-plus of published letters about which route one uses to get to various locations in your homeland? 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 recollect many years ago playing for a Sunday, very casual team, Turnpike Lane Hibs, on Clapham Common. One morning a bloke introduced as ‘Danny’ turned up to play. I have no idea who invited him. Apparently he was an actor; he had a good left side. (Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis)” – Jason Steger.

“Together with some colleagues and friends, I play a game of football each Friday afternoon. Our oldest player is pushing 80, while the youngest are in their twenties. To ensure a good time for everyone, we have a basic guideline regarding the skill level: you can be speedy or technical, but ideally not both. We periodically have players who break this guideline, but usually typically reduce them to our quality over time” – Lars Esbjerg.