Thomas Tuchel swapped the dugout for the mound as the England boss threw the first pitch for the Kansas City Royals the night after opening the World Cup with an impressive win. Just over 24 hours after watching his side open their campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia, Tuchel went to Kauffman Stadium to perform the ceremonial act. Captain Harry Kane and defenders Dan Burn and Djed Spence were…
SEATTLE — United States manager Mauricio Pochettino said his team is wary of Australia‘s mentality and aggression, as well as the the team’s speed up front to attack in transition. The U.S. will attempt to make it two World Cup wins in a row for just the second time in its history in the game against the Socceroos at Lumen Field on Friday. The only other the U.S. won two…
ATLANTA — Teboho Mokoena‘s emotional response to South Africa‘s anthem ahead of their 1-1 draw against Czechia in Atlanta on Thursday was because he was overcome thinking about his late grandfather, the only person who believed in him early in his career. The 29-year-old was caught with tears rolling down his face as Bafana Bafana lined up to sing ‘Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika’ ahead of their Group A showdown, with Mokoena’s…
INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Some teams at this year’s World Cup have blamed FIFA’s new hydration breaks for killing momentum. Switzerland used the break to seize it. – World Cup clinching scenarios for every group – David hat-trick sees Canada thrash Qatar for first World Cup win Coach Murat Yakin said he timed a triple substitution of speedy players for the second-half pause Thursday, betting that plucky Bosnia-Herzegovina couldn’t handle an…
Spain coach Luis de la Fuente has described criticism of captain Rodri as “insulting” after their shock draw with Cape Verde, while insisting that the team will improve in their second World Cup game with Saudi Arabia. European champions Spain were held 0-0 by World Cup debutants Cape Verde, and will now go into Sunday’s matches with all four teams in Group H level on one point each. The Spanish…
New Zealand defender Tim Payne, who achieved viral fame after being singled out by a soccer influencer ahead of the World Cup, has confirmed he will play for Club Olimpia in Paraguay. Payne’s following on Instagram rocketed from 4,700 to 5.8 million after the influencer El Scarso, whose real name is Valen Scarsini, identified him as the World Cup player with the smallest social media following. Sudden fame meant that…
Jonathan David‘s hat trick propelled Canada to a historic 6-0 rout of Qatar in Vancouver on Thursday to go top of their World Cup group. It was not only Canada’s first-ever victory at a World Cup but equaled the record margin of victory for a tournament host, matching the the six-goal wins for Italy in 1934, Brazil in 1950 and Argentina in 1978. Canada’s tally against Qatar also doubled the…
Morgan Rogers, Marc Guéhi and Djed Spence featured for England in a behind-closed-doors friendly with Sporting KC on Thursday. The trio came off the bench in Wednesday’s World Cup opening win against Croatia, but got more game time against the MLS side at the Swope Soccer Village on Thursday. With England not back in action again until Tuesday’s clash with Ghana, boss Thomas Tuchel wanted to give his fringe players…
Morocco but head coach Mohamed Ouahbi is calling on his Premier League players to step up and help the Atlas Lions cope with the physical challenge from Scotland in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Friday. Morocco may be among the revelations of the World Cup so far after their confident, technically adroit opening 1-1 draw with Brazil, but it promises to be a different kind of threat posed by Scotland. -Hamilton: Can…
VANCOUVER — Canada midfielder Ismaël Koné was stretchered off the field in the second half of the host nation’s match against Qatar on Thursday at BC Place in Vancouver. The 24-year-old looked to have suffered a serious injury after a challenge from Qatar midfielder Assim Madibo in the second half and was applauded off the pitch by supporters at BC Place after receiving medical attention on the field. Koné went…