Kosovo 0-4 England: Winks impresses at No8, Rashford explodes off the bench, Kane scores again November 17, 2019 England: making qualifiers fun again. After eight Euro 2020 qualifying matches in Group A Gareth Southgate’s side have ended with 37 goals and 21 points. The shock 2-1 defeat by Czech Republic last month has been followed by a 6-0 win over Bulgaria, a 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro, and today’s 4-0 victory against Kosovo. Read [...]
Ireland face familiar situation in crunch Euro 2020 qualifier with Denmark November 17, 2019 Heading into a play-off match to qualify for a major competition is a feeling that the Republic of Ireland are all too familiar with. The infamous Thierry Henry handball incident in 2009 saw them lose to France in extra-time and miss out on a place at the World Cup in South Africa the following summer. [...]
Manchester City lose financial fair play appeal to prevent Uefa investigating allegations November 15, 2019 Manchester City’s efforts to block a Uefa investigation into financial fair play violations have been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). City had asked CAS to throw out the case brought against the club by Uefa for allegedly breaching financial fair play rules. Read more: Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City: Reds produce their [...]
England 7-0 Montenegro: Kane hits a hat-trick to seal Euro 2020 qualification in style at Wembley November 14, 2019 How quickly the drama of the week was forgotten. The TV cameras may have picked out Raheem Sterling in the stands, but the rate with which the first-half goals flew in meant there was little time to discuss his behaviour and its ramifications. That was exactly how Gareth Southgate would have liked it. Instead of [...]
England v Montenegro: Onus on Harry Kane and Marcus Rashford in absence of influential Raheem Sterling November 13, 2019 Among the reams of column inches and hours of airtime devoted to discussing Raheem Sterling’s scuffle with England team-mate Joe Gomez this week, one consequence has been largely overlooked. Manager Gareth Southgate’s decision to drop Sterling for one game – Thursday’s European Championship qualifier with Montenegro at Wembley – has robbed him of his most [...]
Raheem Sterling-Joe Gomez row: Gareth Southgate’s firm response has ensured this won’t happen again November 12, 2019 It’s rare, but I can’t say I’ve never witnessed two England team-mates coming to blows on international duty, as Raheem Sterling and Joe Gomez did on Monday at St George’s Park. On one occasion, four of us were in a taxi back from an official England team function – including two Scousers who played for [...]
Wales face a battle to qualify for Euro 2020 but will be boosted by Gareth Bale’s and Aaron Ramsey’s return to fitness November 12, 2019 As the final weekend of qualifying matches approaches, Wales’s place at Euro 2020 remains in the balance. Fourth in Group E, the 2016 semi-finalists are four points off second-placed Hungary albeit with a game in hand. They face the Hungarians in the final round of qualifiers next Tuesday where, should Wales first beat Azerbaijan on [...]
Liverpool 3-1 Manchester City: Reds produce their best performance of the season on biggest stage November 10, 2019 This wasn’t so much a passing of the baton as the baton being wrenched away and twirled in celebration while the opposition howled at the moon about perceived injustice. The upshot is the same, though: Liverpool have replaced Manchester City as the best in the country, have a strong claim to being the best in [...]
Unhappy Hammers: West Ham sinking down the table after thrashing by Burnley November 10, 2019 Things are not looking rosy for West Ham United. The problems are mounting for Manuel Pellegrini following their abysmal 3-0 thrashing by Burnley on Saturday. The Hammers have plummeted to 16th place in the Premier League, having taken just one point from their last five games and haven’t tasted victory since 22 September. Read more: [...]
Guardiola and Klopp rivalry ready to combust as Manchester City head to Liverpool after a week of fanning the flames November 7, 2019 Given the unrelenting quality displayed last season by both Manchester City and Liverpool in the Premier League run-in, it seemed likely that head-to-head fixtures between the two would be equally significant in determining the destination of the title again this term. Liverpool lost just once last campaign – at City on 3 January – as [...]
