INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Iran coach Amir Ghalenoei said his team played a “beautiful game” under the worst possible conditions in their 0-0 draw with Belgium at SoFi Stadium on Sunday. Among the reasons Ghalenoei listed that made life difficult on his team were short travel windows, visa complications entering the United States and Mexico in recent weeks, almost no time to properly prepare the team ahead of the tournament and…
Brazil playmaker Lucas Paquetá says he has “great respect” for Scotland ahead of the decisive clash between the teams in Miami on Wednesday. The five-time world champions sit top of Group C after following up their 1-1 draw with Morocco by beating Haiti 3-0 on Friday evening. – How can teams qualify for knockout rounds of World Cup? – Key Scotland trio miss training with injuries – Brazil’s Raphinha (thigh)…
Austria defender Stefan Posch will be available to play Monday against defending champion Argentina after sustaining a broken jaw in his team’s win to open this World Cup. Coach Ralf Rangnick said Sunday that Posch, who went through full training the day before the match, had to go to Los Angeles twice to get fitted for a protective jaw brace that will allow him to play despite the injury. Posch…
BERKELEY, California – Socceroo assistant Mile Jedinak has pushed back on criticisms of the side’s approach in their 2-0 defeat to the United States, believing that a positive second-half has already laid the platform for a bounce-back against Paraguay. Jumped on by a relentless United States straight from the opening kickoff, the Socceroos fell to a 2-0 defeat against the hosts in Seattle last Friday, with Mauricio Pochettino’s side locking…
Bukayo Saka trained on Sunday ahead of England‘s World Cup clash with Ghana on Tuesday. Saka took part in an individual programme on Saturday as he continues to manage an Achilles injury which disrupted the last few months of his domestic campaign with Arsenal. Head coach Thomas Tuchel revealed he does not expect the right winger to be fit to start until the final Group L game against Panama, but…
England striker Ollie Watkins has said he thinks his World Cup moment could be just around the corner. Watkins wrote himself into English football folklore two years ago when he came off the bench to score a last-minute winner against the Netherlands and send his country through to the Euro 2024 final. He is back in familiar territory in North America — on the bench behind Harry Kane in a…
Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw has criticised his federation’s handling of administrative issues related to his own contract and the payment of players’ bonuses during the ongoing World Cup, but insists that the issues are settled and the team are now entirely focused on Monday’s Group I game with Norway. The Teranga Lions are under pressure heading into their second group game after being defeated 3-1 by France in their…
Lamine Yamal needed just 10 minutes of his first start at a World Cup to get his first goal on soccer’s biggest stage. The 18-year-old forward slid in at the far post to opening the scoring for Spain in their 4-0 win over Saudi Arabia in Atlanta on Sunday. – How teams can qualify for knockout round Yamal missed the end of Barcelona‘s season with a hamstring injury and was…
Aaron Hickey, Scott McKenna and Lewis Ferguson missed group training ahead of Scotland‘s final World Cup Group C fixture against Brazil on Wednesday. However, it is understood all three were doing individual work at the Scots’ base in Charlotte, North Carolina. Right-back Hickey came off in the 1-0 win over Haiti and was absent for the 1-0 defeat by Morocco on Friday at the Boston stadium. Centre-back McKenna has been…
William Saliba has said he has been playing through pain for several months but the Arsenal defender has been inspired to keep pushing by the opportunity to make history. Saliba helped Arsenal win the Premier League title for the first time in 22 years this season before they fell narrowly short in their bid to win the Champions League for the first time in their history, losing the final on…