Blog (Page 163)

[ad_1] Portland Thorns owner Merrit Paulson announced he plans to sell the NWSL club, but maintain control of the Major League Soccer side Portland Timbers.  Paulson has owned the Thorns since its founding in 2012, and felt no need to relinquish control until the club stood at the center of the NWSL abuse scandal.  Subsequently, NWSL launched an independent investigation led by Sally Q. Yates into several league-wide allegations. The findings proved that Paulson hid the reasons of former head coach Paul Riley’s dismissal from the team in 2015, allowing him to continue working in the league despite several sexual harassment and coercion allegations.  PaulRead More →

[ad_1] Rayados de Monterrey have signed midfielder Jordi Cortizo from Club Puebla, ahead of the 2023 Liga MX Clausura.  He joins the Guadalajara team on a four-season contract, according to Diego Armando Medina of TUDN. “I have been delighted since the opportunity to come here was given, I always knew that I had to make a leap to these big leagues with one of the biggest clubs in Mexico,” Cortizo said of his transfer.  Cortizo kicked off his professional career with Queretaro in 2017, recording four goals in 76 appearances over the course of three years before seeing stints with Tijuana and Puebla. He managedRead More →

[ad_1] Club America has finally signed defender Israel Reyes from Club Puebla. He stands as the team’s first reinforcement ahead of the 2023 Liga MX Clausura, joining on a four-year contract.  The Mexico City team reportedly paid $4.5M for Reyes, after he established himself as one of the most promising defenders in the Mexican league. Israel Reyes es nuevo refuerzo 🦅 de cara al Clausura 2023.¡Bienvenido a las Águilas! 🇲🇽#IsraelEsÁguila #SomosAmérica pic.twitter.com/VbY0RmvjV5 — Club América (@ClubAmerica) December 1, 2022 Reyes kicked off his professional career with Atlas in 2019, before quickly securing a loan deal to Puebla. After 19 games with the Franja, the team exercisedRead More →

[ad_1] US men’s national team players took to social media to apologize to fans following their elimination from the 2022 World Cup.   After failing to qualify for the 2018 edition of the tournament, the American side entered Qatar with high hopes. The team kicked off with draws against England and Wales, before triumphing 1-0 over Iran to make the knockout round as second place of Group B.  Gregg Berhalter’s side was forced to face the Netherlands on Saturday at Khalifa International Stadium for the highly anticipated match up. Despite an energetic start to the game, the USMNT ultimately lost 3-1, with goals from Memphis Depay,Read More →

[ad_1] Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus is set to miss up to three months with a knee injury sustained on international duty at the World Cup. Having been called into the starting XI as Brazil head coach Tite rotated for the dead rubber against Cameroon, Jesus is now set to miss the rest of the competition as well as a sizeable portion of the remaining Premier League season. This will come as terrible news for fans of the Gunners, who have been repeatedly wowed by Jesus’ prowess in leading the line which has helped Arsenal soar to the top of the league in the early monthsRead More →

[ad_1] They say penalty shootouts are a lottery, but a lot of World Cup teams won’t agree. More often than not, the sting of a side’s elimination on spot kicks makes more of a media dent than the successful team’s progression. For every Fabio Grosso, there’s a Roberto Baggio. For every Giazka Mendieta, there’s an Eloy. For every Eric Dier, there’s a Stuart Pearce, Chris Waddle, David Batty, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard – you get the idea. When the pressure piles on, these teams crumble time and time again in men’s World Cup penalty shootouts. European heavyweights England, Italy and Spain share the ignominious honourRead More →

[ad_1] Penalty shootouts and World Cups go hand in hand. Most sides practice their spot kicks for years on end in the build-up to the global tournament, but preparation can go out the window when crunch time comes. While not certain – Spain and France have won the World Cup in recent memory without being involved in a shootout – the likelihood of teams needing to win at spot kicks to reach the final is large enough. Here are the sides with the best penalty shootout records at men’s World Cups. Argentina and Germany have the best records in penalty shootouts at the World CupRead More →

[ad_1] Virgil van Dijk has claimed Liverpool will remain one of the biggest clubs in the world regardless of FSG’s potential sale. The centre-back is currently on international duty with the Netherlands at the World Cup in Qatar, helping his side safely navigate a round of 16 clash with USMNT to book a place in the quarter-finals. Speaking at the press conference after that 3-1 win over the USA, Van Dijk was asked about the news that Liverpool’s owners FSG are preparing to sell the club. “I have full trust in Liverpool that they will be fine. We are a very established club, one ofRead More →

[ad_1] Pele has issued a statement following his move to palliative care, stating that he is ‘strong with a lot of hope’. The legendary footballer was moved to receive end-of-life care on Saturday after failing to respond to chemotherapy – a treatment he has been receiving since being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2021. Many had feared the worst after this news broke, but fears were tempered slightly by a statement from the hospital Pele is currently in which said: “Edson Arantes do Nascimento was admitted to the Hospital Israelita Albert Einstein last Tuesday for a reassessment of chemotherapy therapy of the colon tumour, identifiedRead More →

[ad_1] Switzerland go head-to-head with Portugal in their World Cup round of 16 tie on Tuesday evening. When Murat Yakin announced his squad, he was so satisfied with the wealth of talent at his disposal that he said: “We were spoiled for choice.” The 26 which made the cut are now tasked with becoming the first Swiss side since 1938 to win a knockout match at the men’s World Cup. Here’s the XI Yakin may select with history on the horizon. Granit Xhaka was voted player of the match in a typically combative display against Serbia in Switzerland’s final group-stage game / Marvin Ibo GuengoerRead More →