Tweet
[LIST][*]Florencia Pe
-
-
Gary Lineker is set to make a surprise appearance on ITV as a World Cup pundit, just over a year after cutting ties with the BBC
More...Comment
-
-
Comment
-
With Declan Rice nursing a knock, his midfield partner is the reliable rock to which team’s fate is inescapably yoked
Elliot Anderson is running. It’s the 88th minute against Croatia, and the game is won, and the game is done, and this is the 60th game of his season and there are deeper challenges to come. But as long as the ball is loose, he’s going to chase it down: first Josip Sutalo and then Josko Gvardiol, a simple recycling of defensive possession rapidly mutating into an unpleasant ordeal. As the ball is worked across defence, Anderson single-handedly follows it all the way across the pitch, over to the far touchline, where he eventually forces a rushed pass and a turnover of possession.
And in an opening win defined by mood swings and tectonic shifts, in a team savouring the wealth of options and contingencies at its disposal, it’s worth dwelling on just how quickly Anderson has become indispensable. Declan Rice is carrying a knock and looks a little short of gas. Harry Kane will almost certainly not have the legs to play eight full games plus extra time. The wingers, the centre-half pairing, the full-backs are not yet set in stone. Beyond Jordan Pickford, virtually every area of this team is operating in a kind of managed flux.
Continue reading...
More...Comment
-
Canada midfielder Ismael Kone suffered a serious leg break during his side's 6-0 win over Qatar in the early hours of Friday morning.
More...Comment
-
The winger was born in Kenya to South Sudanese parents who had escaped civil war. He moved to Australia aged 10
More...Comment
-
Scotland would have taken this outcome after 70 seconds. Ismael Saibiri had fired this highly-rated Moroccan team ahead. Men in kilts gulped under the blazing Massachusetts sun. Scotland may even privately have taken this outcome before a ball was kicked. Avoidance of a comprehensive defeat against Brazil will leave them with at least a fighting chance of becoming the first Scotland team to progress to the knockout phase of a major tournament.
Easier said than done, of course, but a scenario where history remains within the grasp of Steve Clarke and his players. Onwards to Miami, for what promises to be quite the spectacle. The value in beating Haiti by a goal or only losing this by the same will all be apparent by full-time on Wednesday. The Tartan Army need calculators in hand.
Continue reading...
More...Comment
-
⚽️ Kick-off time: 8.30pm local/10.30am AEST/1.30am BST
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Jonathan
Neymar would probably not even be in North America this summer had Rodrygo been fit. Instead the Real Madrid winger is recuperating from an ACL injury by penning thoughtful columns.
The pressure of wearing the Brazil shirt can be heavy but also creates a positive kind of responsibility. That pressure exists solely because of the greatness of our football, the titles we’ve won, and our historic standing in the sport. The fans’ mood often hinges on the result, which is only natural in a country so used to winning regularly.
So, as a player you have to realise that a barrage of criticism isn’t the end of the world, just as a massive wave of praise doesn’t mean everything is sorted out and that you will win the tournament. It is crucial to distinguish facts and balanced analysis from comments born of raw emotion and frustration.
If VinComment
-
⚽️ Kick-off time: 8pm local/1pm AEST/4am BST/11pm EDT
⚽️ Player guide | Bracketology | Golden Boot | Mail Sam
A surprise start for attacker Isidro Pitta, who was so certain he wouldn’t be called up to Paraguay’s squad for the World Cup that he had already booked a holiday to Spain with his family during the tournament.
Nicknamed ‘Viking’ due to his long hair and big ginger beard, he’s found form at Red Bull Bragantino and is described as “a fighter, a tireless worker and a constant nuisance for opposition defences” in the Guardian’s World Cup player guide.
Continue reading...
More...Comment
-
Whatever the result, soccer was always going to win. But on a hot and bright Friday afternoon in the pacific north-west, the word had an American accent.
The United States’ 2-0 World Cup win over Australia was a rare meeting between sides that could agree not just on terminology, but on the weighty significance of a good result. Both seemingly play every men’s World Cup with the weight of the future of the sport on their shoulders, both facing intense competition from other sports for the country’s hearts and minds.
Continue reading...
More...Comment
-
[LIST][*]Former Match of the Day presenter left BBC last year[*]Lineker to feature in coverage of Germany v CComment
-
- 43-year-old led French side to Conference League semis
- Burnley pushing to bring in Craig Bellamy as head coach
There are only minor details to sort with O’Neil primed to succeed Kieran McKenna, who announced his wish to depart Ipswich after leading them to the top flight for a second time.
Continue reading...
More...Comment
-
Cristiano Ronaldo is at the centre of what could become a 'civil war' within the Portugal squad after their 1-1 draw with the Democratic Republic of the Congo
More...Comment
-
Scotland were dealt a disappointing World Cup defeat, but they were convinced they should have been given a penalty
More...Comment
Comment