Blog (Page 157)

[ad_1] For a world-class striker with the stature and clinical edge of Harry Kane, penalties are usually a gimme. The Tottenham and England superstar is as unflappable and reliable as they come from 12 yards, but this is football we’re talking about; if there was ever an occasion to epitomise the cruelty of the beautiful game it was England’s crushing World Cup quarter-final defeat to France, where Kane equalised from the spot to join Wayne Rooney as England’s all-time leading goalscorer, before missing a second penalty which eventually proved fatal in Les Bleus’ 2-1 victory. With that tale of two penalties in mind, let’s takeRead More →

[ad_1] With the quarter-finals of the World Cup now consigned to the history books, it’s hard to imagine this tournament throwing any more drama our way. We were treated to four of the most nail-biting quarter-final matches you could ever hope to see, with two going all the way to penalties. But which players really made the difference for their countries in this round? Here’s 90min’s team of the quarter-finals. Harry Symeou hosts Andy Headspeath, Quentin Gesp and Jack Gallagher to look back on the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia – join us! If you can’t see the podcast embed, click here to download or listenRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool’s mid-season fitness drive ramps up with Sunday’s Dubai Super Cup clash with Lyon. Jurgen Klopp’s side are preparing to return to Premier League action on Boxing Day, with a six-week hiatus because of the World Cup nearing a conclusion. “It’s great for us to get the chance to get some minutes out here,” Joe Gomez told Liverpool’s official website ahead of the game. “The warm weather obviously adds to the fitness and great opposition [Lyon and AC Milan] as well. I think it’ll stand us in good stead and hopefully everyone comes through it OK, and we can use that momentum. “Obviously justRead More →

[ad_1] Gary Neville labelled Wilton Sampaio ‘a joke of a referee’ after a number of key decisions went against England in their 2-1 World Cup quarter-final defeat to France on Saturday. The Three Lions were eliminated from the tournament thanks to goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud, but there was plenty of attention on the performance of referee Sampaio rather than the game itself. The Brazilian official failed to award Bukayo Saka a free-kick in the lead up to Tchouameni’s opening goal for France – despite replays suggesting that Dayot Upamecano had caught him and not won the ball cleanly – before he laterRead More →

[ad_1] Adrien Rabiot said justice was served when Harry Kane missed a penalty in France’s 2-1 victory over England in the World Cup semi finals. The Three Lions were gifted the chance to draw level again from the spot, having done so in the first half through Kane after Aurelien Tchouameni opened the scoring. Olivier Giroud’s header had France 2-1 up when Kane stepped up again, this time shooting over Hugo Lloris bar. The penalty was given for Theo Hernandez’s barge into the back of substitute Mason Mount, though Rabiot did not feel there was enough in the altercation to warrant a foul. He said:Read More →

[ad_1] The last quarter final at the 2022 World Cup provided incredible drama as France triumphed over England on Saturday night. Aurelien Tchouameni’s strike from distance put France 1-0 up early on but the match was decidedly even and England drew level from the penalty spot through Harry Kane when Bukayo Saka was brought down. Olivier Giroud headed in what proved to be the winner but Kane had the opportunity to square the game and take it to extra time. However, his shot cleared Tottenham teammate Hugo Lloris’ bar and Les Bleus held on for a 2-1 win. The Three Lions had the chances toRead More →

[ad_1] France continued their dominant World Cup title defence by beating England in the quarter finals. Les Bleus edged a frantic encounter thanks to goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud. Harry Kane scored one penalty but missed another chance to level from the spot as the Three Lions bowed at the quarter final stage. France march on to the semi finals and now know who stands between them and a spot in the final. France’s victory over England has set up a last four clash with Morocco. Morocco became the first African side ever to reach the semi finals when they beat Portugal inRead More →

[ad_1] Portugal stars Bruno Fernandes, Ruben Dias and Pepe all made their fury with referee Facundo Tello clear after their defeat to Morocco in the World Cup quarter finals. Youssef En-Nesyri headed in after a defensive mix-up for the game’s only goal, though the Selecao were adamant they were due a penalty when Fernandes went down in the box under the challenge of Achraf Hakimi. Portuguese players subsequently surrounded Tello to protest the decision before a VAR check was completed with no further action. The Argentine referee was then confronted on his way through the tunnel at half time before more antics in the secondRead More →

[ad_1] England and France have both named unchanged starting lineups as they prepare to face off in a highly-anticipated World Cup quarter-final on Saturday night. With England comfortably dispatching Senegal in a 3-0 win and Les Bleus seeing off Poland courtesy of some Kylian Mbappe magic, it would seem neither manager felt the need to reinvent the wheel ahead of this match – and with the form their sides are in, you can see why. There had been some speculation over whether or not Gareth Southgate would revert to a back five against France in order to counteract the threat of Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele,Read More →

[ad_1] Wow. Wow. Wow. They’ve done it. The Atlas Lions keep marching on – Morocco are the first African team in history to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup, beating Portugal 1-0. A lot of the focus heading into Saturday’s quarter-final was on their opponents, and in particular whether Cristiano Ronaldo would be recalled to the starting lineup. He was not. Me when I wake up to the news that Ronaldo’s on the bench again for this quarterfinal pic.twitter.com/ASdAFQKS2U — Jesse Hawken (@jessehawken) December 10, 2022 Cristiano Ronaldo in the changing room to Fernando Santos knowing that the game is all set up forRead More →