Blog (Page 43)

Not many things that have been in constant use since the 18th century can still catch people by surprise. The piano produces the same notes it always has, carbonated water still has its bubbles and a flushed toilet – when working – carries out the desired effect. However, England’s national anthem caught many people out after the lyrics were tweaked following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022. For the first time in seven decades, England’s patriots would have to pray for the saviour of the King, rather than the Queen. England and Chelsea midfielder Mason Mount was not alone in overlooking thisRead More →

The Houston Dynamo continue to strengthen their roster, signing Danish international defender Erik Sviatchenko from FC Midtjylland. He joins through the 2024 Major League Soccer season with an option for 2025. The deal was completed using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).  “We entered this offseason looking to add more players with a winning pedigree and Erik has won at every stop in his career. He adds valuable experience to the spine of our team and provides another veteran presence in our locker room,” Dynamo general manager Pat Onstad said in a release. “He was excited by the vision of the club and the opportunity to contributeRead More →

The United States men’s national team triumphed 7-1 over Grenada on Friday at Kirani James National Stadium, inspiring interim manager Anthony Hudson to his first competitive win with the American side.  The USMNT dominated from the get-go, opening up the scoring in the fourth minute with a strike by Ricardo Pepi. After failing to make Gregg Berhalter’s roster for the World Cup, Pepi returned to international action with a desire to prove his worth.  And he did just that, doubling his tally in the second half and inspiring two of the seven goals while also playing an integral part of the offensive action throughout theRead More →

Bayern Munich head coach Thomas Tuchel has revealed he wants to add Chelsea coach Anthony Barry to his backroom staff. The German champions surprisingly and swiftly parted company with Julian Nagelsmann at the end of this week, replacing him with Tuchel following a quick round of negotiations. Tuchel was unveiled as Bayern’s newest boss on Saturday, where he revealed that he plans on reuniting with Chelsea coach Barry in the near future. “The timing was surprising, I didn’t expect it and there was no contact beforehand. I assumed that I would continue my career abroad. The first interview was on Tuesday evening. The size ofRead More →

Tottenham Hotspur would be interested in speaking to Julian Nagelsmann to replace Antonio Conte as head coach but they have not made a concrete decision on their next move, sources have confirmed to 90min. Conte was already set to leave Spurs when his contract expires at the end of this season with talks over a new deal collapsing. However, following an extremely poor run of results which culminated in Conte labelling his players as ‘selfish’ and questioning ownership over the club’s record of one trophy in 20 years, the Italian had been expected to be given his marching orders this week. Seven days on fromRead More →

Barcelona are said to be ‘confident’ that they will avoid a ban from the UEFA Champions League amid their ongoing corruption case. Barça have been charged with ‘continuous sporting corruption’ by Spanish courts, with it alleged that they made several payments to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira – the former vice-president of Spain’s refereeing committee – over information and analysis of match officials which could benefit them. It had previously been speculated that any wrongdoing could result in Barcelona being barred from entering the Champions League, with UEFA confirming on Thursday they are launching their own investigation into the scandal. UEFA’s statement read: “In accordance withRead More →

England defender Harry Maguire has revealed he will head to Euro 2024 with the mindset that anything less than winning the competition will be a failure. The Three Lions have cemented their status as a strong tournament team over the last half-decade under the guidance of Gareth Southgate. After reaching the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in 2018, England were only denied victory at Euro 2020 on penalties against Italy in the final. There were high hopes that they could go all the way at the 2022 World Cup over the winter, but were narrowly beaten by reigning champions France in a hard-fought quarter-final. England kickedRead More →

The giant air-conditioning units have only just finished whirring in Qatar but the grind towards the next major international tournament has already begun. For the European nations that failed to succeed on the global stage and those that didn’t get anywhere near Lionel Messi’s Bisht, qualification for the 2024 European Championship kicks off this weekend. Saturday’s round of qualifying matches has everything from lofty clashes between glittering casts and scraps among sides greater than the sum of their parts, as the continent begins its surge towards Germany in 15 months’ time. Steve Clarke has been in charge of Scotland since May 2019, winning more thanRead More →

There were quite a few eyebrows raised with some of the results from Euro 2024 qualifying on Friday night. International football returned on Thursday with a bang and Friday’s action did not disappoint. Here’s your roundup from Euros qualifying on March 24. France 4-0 Netherlands Friends again / Anadolu Agency/GettyImages Ronald Koeman got off to the worst possible start back in charge of the Netherlands after falling to a 4-0 defeat at France. Antoine Griezmann – in the headlines this week after he was snubbed to succeed Hugo Lloris as captain – opened the scoring just two minutes in at the Stade de France, withRead More →

Manchester United defender Raphael Varane has revealed how he plans to end his playing career. The France World Cup winner has been playing senior football on a consistent basis since he was 17, making his debut for boyhood club Lens all the way back in 2010. After just one season in Lens’ senior setup, Varane was snapped up by Real Madrid. He went on to make 336 appearances for Los Blancos, helping them to three La Liga titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues, four FIFA Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups and one Copa del Rey. He brought down the curtain on a 10-year stayRead More →