Category Other

Chelsea win Club World Cup’s most absurd game yet

CHARLOTTE — A season that has felt like it could go on forever now has a match that almost did. However much Chelsea feared their Club World Cup campaign could turn into a long slog, nothing could have prepared them for this: a game that finished four hours and 38 minutes after it began. Saturday’s — yes, just checking it is still Saturday — 4-1 win over Benfica set up…

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June 30, 2025

Not even Messi can bridge gap between UCL champs PSG and MLS’ Inter Miami

ATLANTA — As many predicted, Paris Saint-Germain triumphed over Inter Miami CF in the Club World Cup round of 16 to advance to the quarterfinals, winning 4-0 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Sunday. The reigning champions of Europe showcased the elegant style of football played under manager Luis Enrique, breaking through Miami’s lines with precise passing and perfectly positioned players. It took PSG only three minutes to force Inter goalkeeper Oscar…

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June 30, 2025

Klopp: Expanded Club World Cup the worst idea

Former Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp has criticised the introduction of the expanded Club World Cup format, calling it the worst idea ever implemented in football. In an interview with German newspaper Die Welt published late on Friday Klopp said the tournament would put more strain on an already packed calendar for the players. The expanded format features a 32-team event held every four years during the preseason, in the summers…

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June 29, 2025

Dominant on the pitch and in the stands, Palmeiras upend Brazil rivals Botafogo for CWC quarters berth

PHILADELPHIA — When the goal finally came, after 100 long minutes, it was worth the wait. Palmeiras substitute Paulinho stepped inside, into space, and stroked a low shot through the legs of a defender into the Botafogo net. As he ran off toward the corner flag, he gestured for calm. Behind the goal, thousands of Palmeiras fans — who had never stopped singing all game — ignored him, and celebrated…

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June 29, 2025

Ronaldo after new Al Nassr deal: ‘No finish line’

Cristiano Ronaldo has said his ambition has “no finish line” after signing a new contract with Al Nassr. The Portugal captain on Thursday put pen to paper on a two-year deal that will see him remain in the Saudi Pro League (SPL) until June 2027. “The ambition I feel has no finish line,” Ronaldo, 40, told Record. “It is consistency, commitment, and collective work that will make us better. And…

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June 28, 2025

Euro 2025 kit ranking: Which team is Europe’s style champion?

Another summer packed full of international tournament action continues with the UEFA Women’s European Championship in Switzerland, which kicks off in July 2. For the third time since the format was expanded, there are 16 competing nations involved across four groups, with reigning champions England out defend the title they won on home soil in 2022’s pandemic-delayed tournament. Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses are once again among the favorites to lift the…

Other
June 28, 2025

LaLiga to get new refs after Madrid controversy

The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) is making sweeping changes after deciding on Thursday to part company with the head of VAR and the president of the Technical Committee of Referees. Luis Medina Cantalejo had been in charge of Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) since December 2021 while former referee Carlos Clos Gómez was responsible for VAR. “This decision reflects the desire to open a new era in the field…

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June 27, 2025

5 questions the USMNT must answer in Gold Cup knockouts (and before 2026 World Cup)

The Gold Cup group stage is over. And with a team of mostly MLS players and fringe starters from elsewhere, the U.S. men’s national team is perfect through three matches. It has scored eight goals and conceded just one. It beat the only team that beat Argentina at the last World Cup. And a bunch of new players are getting a lot of valuable competitive experience ahead of next summer’s…

Other
June 27, 2025

New Boston coach promises ‘passion,’ press

New Boston Legacy FC head coach Filipa Patão wants to make this known: Her teams play with passion. Patão, who spent the past five years coaching Portuguese side Benfica, was officially announced on Wednesday as the first head coach of Boston’s 2026 NWSL expansion team, as ESPN previously reported. She promised an aggressive style of soccer from the outset. “First of all, they’re going to see that my teams are…

Other
June 26, 2025

Rodri’s return for Man City is just what Pep Guardiola & Co. needed

ATLANTA — If Rodri has come to the Club World Cup to send a message to Pep Guardiola that he’s ready to be thrust back into action, he wasted no time in delivering it. Ahead of Manchester City’s first session on their first day at their Florida training base, it was Rodri who was out on the grass before anyone else. He enlisted one of the many coaches in Guardiola’s…

Other
June 26, 2025

Euro 2025 group games draw record crowdsJuly 15, 2025
The group stage of the Women’s European Championship which finished on Sunday had record-breaking attendances with close to half a million fans attending games, and 22 of the 24 of them sold out. As well as 461,582 fans attending matches, there were several individual game records as well, according to European football’s governing body UEFA.… Read more: Euro 2025 group games draw record crowds
Club World Cup triumph shows Chelsea can win the Premier LeagueJuly 15, 2025
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Chelsea have “won it all,” but can the newly crowned world champions now win the Premier League? As Enzo Maresca’s team head back to London with a shiny new cup to place in the Stamford Bridge trophy cabinet, big Club World Cup performers such as Cole Palmer, João Pedro and Moisés… Read more: Club World Cup triumph shows Chelsea can win the Premier League
Wrexham’s Australia-NZ tour diary: Will back-to-back-to-back promotions catch up with them?July 14, 2025
Wrexham are touring Australia and New Zealand for the very first time. While the Championship awaits the Welsh side in 2025-26, they will first have to play three A-League clubs across three cities on their preseason tour. ESPN will be with them every step of the way as Phil Parkinson, Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac &… Read more: Wrexham’s Australia-NZ tour diary: Will back-to-back-to-back promotions catch up with them?
FIFA, players agree to mandatory rest periodsJuly 14, 2025
Football’s player unions have secured an apparent victory in their battle for mandatory rest periods after a meeting in New York between FIFA president Gianni Infantino and senior figures from global player unions resulted in an agreement on the need for standardized player breaks. Amid concerns of player burnout, players’ groups had demanded action on… Read more: FIFA, players agree to mandatory rest periods
Wrexham’s Australia-NZ tour diary: How did they break ‘No Sherrin Rule’, and what is it?July 13, 2025
Wrexham are touring Australia and New Zealand for the very first time. While the Championship awaits the Welsh side in 2025-26, they will first have to play three A-League clubs across three cities on their preseason tour. ESPN will be with them every step of the way as Phil Parkinson, Ryan Reynolds, Rob Mac &… Read more: Wrexham’s Australia-NZ tour diary: How did they break ‘No Sherrin Rule’, and what is it?
Club World Cup final: How Chelsea, PSG compare; who will win?July 13, 2025
It’s the FIFA Club World Cup final on Sunday, and Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea will battle it out at MetLife Stadium for the honor of becoming the first winner of the 32-team tournament. After a monthlong competition in the United States, which has at times been overshadowed by low attendance, weather-enforced delays and extreme heat,… Read more: Club World Cup final: How Chelsea, PSG compare; who will win?
Palace out of Europa League amid Lyon conflictJuly 12, 2025
Crystal Palace have been demoted from the Europa League to the Conference League after UEFA’s Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) ruled the Premier League club was too closely linked to Lyon. Palace are now expected to take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, as has been the case with the other clubs… Read more: Palace out of Europa League amid Lyon conflict
Wenger doesn’t ‘share Klopp’s view’ of CWCJuly 12, 2025
Arsene Wenger has dismissed Jurgen Klopp’s criticism of FIFA’s revamped 32-team Club World Cup, calling the tournament a “fantastic competition” and emphasising the support it has received from participating teams, players, and managers. Klopp, the former Liverpool manager, described the expanded summer competition as “the worst idea ever invented” in an interview with German newspaper… Read more: Wenger doesn’t ‘share Klopp’s view’ of CWC
Source: Smith set for world-record Arsenal transferJuly 11, 2025
Olivia Smith is set to become the first player in the women’s game to command a transfer fee of £1 million ($1.4 million) as Arsenal seek to secure her signature from Liverpool, a source has told ESPN. The news was first reported by The Guardian, and the move is set to establish Canada international Smith,… Read more: Source: Smith set for world-record Arsenal transfer
Madrid target signings as Modrić exits – AlonsoJuly 11, 2025
Xabi Alonso has said Real Madrid are still looking to make additions to their squad for the upcoming season, after their comprehensive 4-0 defeat to Paris-Saint Germain in the Club World Cup semifinal. “We haven’t talked about it during the Club World Cup but from now on we’re open to making improvements,” the Madrid manager… Read more: Madrid target signings as Modrić exits – Alonso