TORONTO — Luka Modric and Cristiano Ronaldo are “two great icons of world football,” Portugal midfielder Vitinha said on Wednesday, but he hopes “tomorrow [Modric] will be a little sadder than I am” following Portugal’s match FIFA World Cup round-of-32 match with Croatia. Both Modric and Ronaldo, 41 and 40 years old, respectively, are very likely playing in their final World Cups, so one is set to play their final…
England midfielder Declan Rice has said he hopes he will not have to fill the problematic right-back slot again after playing the “hardest 12 minutes” of the 2-1 win over Congo DR in the position. The Arsenal star was moved out wide late in the game as head coach Thomas Tuchel made attacking substitutions to help the team turn around a 1-0 deficit with two goals from Harry Kane in…
Harry Kane revelled in having his “hero moment” as he saved England from a humiliating World Cup exit to Congo DR. Thomas Tuchel’s side were heading for one of their worst ever results at the global tournament when they trailed to Brian Cipenga’s seventh-minute opener and struggled to get back into the game in Atlanta. But Kane once again stepped up when his country needed him the most to score…
Thomas Tuchel has described Harry Kane, Kylian Mbappé, Lionel Messi and Erling Haaland as “sharks” after their goalscoring feats at the 2026 World Cup. Kane’s brace in England’s 2-1 win over Congo DR took him to five for the tournament, level with Haaland and one behind top scorers Messi and Mbappé. Messi is the current all-time World Cup top scorer with 19 — one ahead of Mbappé — while Kane…
Full-back Marc Cucurella has said he “understands” criticism of Spain‘s World Cup performances, as the team prepares to play Austria in the round of 32. European champions Spain were unbeaten as they topped Group H, qualifying for Thursday’s game in Los Angeles, but haven’t looked at their brilliant best so far at the tournament. The squad trained at Dignity Health Sports Park — home of LA Galaxy — on Wednesday,…
ATLANTA — Thomas Tuchel has said it is “impossible” for England to adapt to the altitude ahead of Sunday’sround-of-16 World Cup clash with Mexico in Mexico City. The Three Lions set up a meeting with the World Cup co-hosts after coming from behind to beat Congo DR 2-1 in Atlanta on Wednesday. Brian Cipenga’s seventh-minute strike handed Congo DR a shock early lead but Harry Kane struck twice in the…
Wayne Rooney hailed “hero” Harry Kane after the England captain scored twice as the team came from behind to beat Congo DR 2-1 in their round-of-32 World Cup clash. The Bayern Munich striker led from the front in the second half with a header to cancel out Brian Cipenga‘s seventh-minute opener before a brilliant strike in the 86th minute set up a round-of-16 encounter with co-hosts Mexico. “His header was…
ATLANTA — Harry Kane saved England’s World Cup hopes with two late goals against Congo DR and according to his teammate Anthony Gordon, Kane is now playing at Lionel Messi-esque levels. Congo DR were on the verge of a monumental World Cup upset after Brian Cipenga opened the scoring after just seven minutes. England continued to pile pressure on Congo DR’s backline, but had to wait until the 75th minute…
Vitor Pereira said he was taken by “complete surprise and without any warning” after confirming his time as head coach of Nottingham Forest has come to an end effective immediately. Pereira signed an 18-month contract at the City Ground in February and guided Forest to Premier League survival and the Europa League semi-final. There was a break clause in his contract for June, and it is understood Forest informed the…
New Bayern Munich signing Ismael Saibari admits head coach Vincent Kompany played a key role in his decision to join from PSV Eindhoven. The 25-year-old Morocco forward, still at the World Cup, has signed a five-year contract in a deal reported to be worth up to £45 million ($60m). “As a child, you dream of signing a contract with a club like Bayern — everybody knows it’s one of the…