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Thomas Tuchel on entertaining England: ‘People in pubs will like this’

Thomas Tuchel wants to keep thrilling fans in pubs up and down the country after England‘s manager thought of the wild scenes at home while stood on the touchline during their World Cup opener. Sir Gareth Southgate’s successor enjoyed a memorable first match at a major tournament as the back-to-back European Championship finalists got this summer’s pursuit of greatness off to a swashbuckling start. Harry Kane twice saw goals cancelled…

Scotland relishing underdog tag against ‘real deal’ Morocco – Steve Clarke

Steve Clarke believes Scotland can use their underdog status to their advantage against “real deal” Morocco on Friday. The Scots are at the World Cup finals for the first time in 28 years and began their campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Haiti at Boston Stadium in Foxborough on Saturday. A point against Morocco, who drew 1-1 with Brazil in their opening Group C game, would all but guarantee…

Real Madrid admire Chelsea’s Enzo Fernández, looking at midfield options – sources

Real Madrid are looking to continue their summer rebuild by signing a midfielder and a center back, a source has told ESPN, with Chelsea‘s Enzo Fernández being one of the options highly rated by the club. This week Madrid have already announced the signings of Marc Cucurella, Bernardo Silva, and Ibrahima Konaté — and will soon to the same for Denzel Dumfries — as they look to strengthen the squad…

Liverpool complete signing of Víctor Muñoz from Osasuna

Liverpool have completed the signing of Spain international Víctor Muñoz from Osasuna. The 22-year-old forward has signed a six-year contract at Anfield and is the club’s first signing under head coach Andoni Iraola. Iraola’s side hijacked Newcastle United‘s move for Munoz, sources told ESPN. He had a €40 million ($46m) release clause. The exit of Mohamed Salah from Anfield meant Liverpool needed reinforcements in wide areas this summer. They have…

Massachusetts ‘legalises’ haggis in nod to Scotland’s World Cup bid

The governor of Massachusetts has “legalised” haggis in the state, as the state continues to welcome Scotland and the team’s fans to its capital city of Boston. The beloved Scottish dish hasn’t really been legalised, rather the governor, Maura Healy, jokingly signed an executive order alongside Scottish podcaster and Tartan Army fan David McIntosh Jr. on Wednesday. Haggis has been illegal in the U.S. since the 1970s, due to federal…

Six arrested at England-Croatia World Cup match, one for criminal trespass

Police arrested six people during England’s 4-2 World Cup win over Croatia — including one for criminal trespass. Arlington Police Department said officers also responded to two reports of fights inside the AT&T Stadium on Wednesday but neither incident resulted in an arrest. Three people were arrested on suspicion of drugs offences, one on suspicion of public intoxication and another on suspicion of trademark counterfeiting involving goods valued at between…

Argentina star Lionel Messi’s father Jorge has health issue, family confirm

The family of Lionel Messi said on Thursday that the Argentina star’s father, Jorge Messi, is experiencing a health issue, and have asked the media to avoid speculation on his situation. “The Messi family wishes to inform that Jorge is currently dealing with a health issue,” the statement sent to ESPN said. “He is under medical supervision and is recovering, showing favorable progress given his condition. “In light of the…

Thursday World Cup matches to have messaging denouncing hate speech

The eight teams playing FIFA World Cup matches on Thursday are taking part in an International Day for Countering Hate Speech commemoration, with a pre-match exchange of pennants denouncing such language. Captains involved in the Czechia–South Africa, Mexico–South Korea, Switzerland–Bosnia-Herzegovina and Canada–Qatar matches will have pennants reading “We Play Together. We Stand Against Hate” with the wording in English on one side and the teams’ native language on the other.…

Neymar won’t play for Brazil vs. Haiti in race to be fit for World Cup knockout stages

Neymar will not play or travel with the Brazil team to Philadelphia for their World Cup Group C match against Haiti, the Brazil federation confirmed on Thursday. “He will remain in New Jersey to optimize the final phase of his recovery process, making use of the excellent facilities at The Ridge hotel and the Columbia Park training center ,” the CBF said of the Red Bull New York facility in…

Joe Hart: Harry Kane stuttered penalty ‘really difficult’ for goalkeepers

Joe Hart has praised Harry Kane for his stuttering run-up which saw Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic come off his line early in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia. Livakovic saved Kane’s initial effort, but referee Clement Turpin ordered the kick to be retaken after VAR concluded that the Croatian had moved too soon. Kane dispatched the retake to open the scoring and went on to add another goal with a header…