While England might have opened Friday s showdown at the Al Bayt Stadium smelling the chance to claim back-to-back Group B victories, the Three Lions put in what was a downbeat display against the USA.
Although Gareth Southgate s men might have got their Qatar adventure underway with a thumping 6-2 romp against Iran earlier in the week, the European giants had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate.
Despite looking to essentially book their spot in the knockout stage as Group B winners here, England flattered to deceive and were second best all over the pitch.
Failing to ask any real questions of the USA and knowing that they will likely come under more scrutiny back home, Southgate s side also missed out on the chance to lay down another World Cup marker.
Crashi…
Lionel Messi says Argentina s World Cup campaign has now truly started after inspiring his side to a 2-0 win over Mexico to prevent an early elimination from the competition.
Following a shock 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in their opening Group C match, Argentina entered Saturday s clash with Mexico knowing defeat would see them unable to advance.
Lionel Scaloni s men struggled to get going in the first hour of the match at Lusail Stadium before Messi found the bottom-right corner from 25 yards.
The Paris Saint-Germain forward then picked out Enzo Fernandez for the substitute to score a delightful late second for Argentina, who join Saudi Arabia on three points.
La Albiceleste meet Poland, who are one point better off at the top, in their final game and will …
Ange Postecoglou does not currently feel worthy of the Tottenham fans’ support but has promised to try bring them joy after being inspired by Australian singer Nick Cave.
It has been a difficult 2023 for Spurs after the club’s trophy drought extended and record goalscorer Harry Kane departed on the eve of the new Premier League season, but there is overwhelming support for Postecoglou.
The new man in the Tottenham hotseat was this week reminded of football’s significance to supporters when he listened to a podcast between Louis Theroux and his compatriot Cave.
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
“It is not about making the fans happy, it is about giving them joy and joy comes from suffering,” Postecoglou said ahead of Manchester U…
Moises Caicedo, who recently joined Chelsea from Brighton and Hove Albion for a British-record fee of £115 million, endured a nightmare on his debut for the new club.
Chelsea were beaten by West Ham at the London Stadium by 3-1, and the 21-year-old Ecuadorian midfielder came off the bench for the last third of the match. He played a poor game in practically every aspect, topping it off with conceding a penalty deep in stoppage time which Lucas Paqueta put away to set the final score.
Moisés Caicedo debut
— United Vybez (@vibezzzzzz)
Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea Debut by numbers:
37 minutes played
8 losses of possession
2 fouls
1 shot off target
1 error leading to shot
1 penalty conceded
Next time…
— Statman …
Lassana Diarra was handed a recall to the France squad on Thursday, more than five years since he made his last appearance.
The midfielder joined Marseille in July and has turned in a number of outstanding performances to catch the eye of Les Bleus boss Didier Deschamps.
The call-up completes a remarkable upturn in former Real Madrid star Diarra s fortunes after he was left without a club last season following a contract dispute at Lokomotiv Moscow. His last France cap came against Norway in August 2010.
The challenge now for the 30-year-old is to force his way into the France squad for next year s European Championship, a tournament they are hosting, and strong performances against Armenia on October 8 and Denmark three days later will certainly help his caus…
AC Milan CEO Adriano Galliani said the reason the club failed to sign Kaka was because Real Madrid asked for an unrealistic transfer fee.
The Brazilian enjoyed immense success during a six-year spell at the Italian side but has struggled to leave a lasting impression in the Spanish capital, leading many to believe there was a possibility he would make a return to Milan.
However, Galliani said it was Madrid s doing as to why a return for Kaka did not realise.
The story about Kaka is a closed chapter for me, he told Corriere dello Sport.
Real Madrid wanted 18 million euros a figure that given his age and salary demands made a deal frankly unthinkable.
While Madrid s asking price may have been steep for a 30-year-old who has had multiple injury…
Luciano Spalletti believes that Mauro Icardi shouldn t be happy despite the Inter captain inspiring the Nerazzurri to a 4-0 win over Cagliari.
Icardi put in a brilliant all-round performance at San Siro on Tuesday, scoring his 25th Serie A goal of the season as Inter strengthened their hopes of a top-four finish.
However, despite the Argentine having now amassed his record goal tally for a single league campaign, Spalletti still wants more from the 25-year-old.
I think a player like him shouldn’t be happy, the Inter boss told Mediaset Premium. It s true 25 goals are a lot and he is learning to track back to tighten up the team, so he got a lot of touches.
Anyone who says he just has to stand there and score goals is hurting him, because if he helps ou…
They remain the benchmark for Manchester United teams but former captain Gary Neville believes the likes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Paul Pogba and David de Gea would be good enough to play in the 1999 treble-winning side.
It was a season to remember for Alex Ferguson s United, who became the first English team to win the treble after claiming the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League 18 years ago.
Still the most successful season in the history of United, full-back Neville, captain Roy Keane, Ryan Giggs, Peter Schmeichel and David Beckham helped the club achieve the ultimate feat.
Now led by manager Jose Mourinho, Ibrahimovic and his team-mates are trying to re-establish United s winning mentality in the Premier League, having not added to their last title i…
Vinicius Junior has been left out of Brazil s squad for November s double-header of World Cup qualifiers, despite impressing for Real Madrid with his recent form.
The 21-year-old has seven goals and three assists in 13 appearances for Madrid this season, including an incredible solo strike in last week s 5-0 Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk.
Vinicius 10 direct goal involvements is the most of any Brazilian player from Europe s top five leagues, but he is not part of Tite s plans for the games with Colombia and Argentina.
Tite has instead recalled Barcelona playmaker Philippe Coutinho, who has one goal and zero assists across 10 outings in all competitions this season.
The most recent of Coutinho s 63 caps for his country came against Peru in Oct…
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde played down reports linking Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar with a move to Real Madrid.
Neymar has been widely linked with a return to Camp Nou, but reports on Wednesday said Madrid were lining up a move for the Brazil star.
But Valverde dismissed the talk as speculation while saying he was unsure what would happen with Neymar.
Now it s Madrid and we ll see what happens tomorrow, he told a news conference after Barca s 2-1 friendly win over Napoli.
Two years ago he was right here and I had to answer questions from many journalists. Now, they ask me again about him.
It seems that Neymar is following me. We have nothing to say about players who are on other teams.
Neymar seems set to leave PSG after …