The fate of the rescheduled Euro 2020 soccer tournament will not be decided until March but organizers UEFA are hoping that vaccination efforts will allow them to stick to their original plan for June's pan-European tournament.
The 24-nation, month-long showpiece, a major revenue generator for the continent's soccer governing body UEFA and the national federations across Europe, was postponed by 12 months after last year's COVID-19 outbreak.
When Spain's soccer federation signed a lucrative deal in 2019 to export its rebooted Super Cup to Saudi Arabia, they did not envisage matches in empty stadiums across southern Spain and tired teams negotiating record snowfall in order to get to them.
But that is what they will get when the mini-tournament begins on Wednesday after coronavirus restrictions in Spain and the gulf state forced organizers to overhaul their initial plans and re-think the competition to fit today's unprecedented times.
There’s no telling what records Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will break in any given week — it’s entirely up to statisticians as to how they want to morph it at this point (most goals on a Tuesday, most goals with a common denominator of five scored across three leagues, most goals by a JUST RETWEET THIS POST GODDAMMIT).
It’s a testament to both the consistent longevity of their greatness and the somewhat curious cases of the historical players they rival, namely Josef Bican and Pelé.
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois joined coach Zinedine Zidane in criticizing organizers LaLiga for not postponing his side's game at Osasuna on Saturday due to a snowstorm.
The match finished 0-0, denting Real's title bid, after they were ordered by LaLiga to travel to Pamplona the day before the game due to storm warnings, but had to wait for four hours on the icy runway before taking off.
Gianluca Mancini's late goal earned AS Roma a 2-2 draw at home to Inter Milan on Sunday which left the visitors three points behind leaders AC Milan in the Serie A title race.
Lorenzo Pellegrini’s deflected shot put the hosts in front at halftime, but Inter mustered a spirited response and Milan Škriniar headed in a deserved equalizer after the break. Achraf Hakimi put Inter ahead by curling an outstanding shot in off the bar, but Mancini's glancing header leveled the scores with four minutes remaining to clinch a sixth consecutive league draw between the two teams.
Play soccer long enough and you’ll compete in all sorts of weather. Rain, wind, snow, sleet, sand — I have stories of playing in them all, and I’m sure you do too. One of the best (or worst) conditions to play in was on full display on Friday with this muddy game in Portugal between Nacional and Sporting Lisbon at the Estádio de Madeira.
Unlike youth soccer fields, most top-flight pitches are kept in pristine order throughout the year. But on occasion even the best leagues have matches played in the worst conditions.
Three of English soccer's minor leagues said on Friday they wanted their season halted and declared null and void due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Southern, Northern Premier and Isthmian Leagues — whose clubs form the seventh and eight tiers of the soccer system — issued a joint statement reviewing the implications of the latest government lockdown.
AS Monaco midfielder Aleksandr Golovin almost scored the fastest substitute goal that the sport of soccer has ever seen.
During Wednesday’s Ligue 1 match between Monaco and Lorient, Golovin was substituted onto the field in the 64th minute with the score tied a 1-1. It was the Russian’s first appearance for Monaco since Aug. 30 after suffering a severe hamstring injury. He would score in the 64th minute.
It took Golovin all of 10 SECONDS to find the back of the net and give Monaco the lead. Talk about instant impact.
Weston McKennie helped Juventus hand AC Milan its first league loss of the season on Wednesday after scoring a key goal in a 3-1 victory.
Juventus traveled to Milan to play the league leaders at the famous San Siro. The defending champions struck first in the 18th minute courtesy of a filthy assist from Paulo Dybala to find Federico Chiesa.
This assist from Dybala was unreal pic.twitter.com/ksxkGlRGBf
Maybe you were watching Manchester United vs. Manchester City in the Carabao Cup (why?). Maybe you were watching the fall of the U.S. Capitol (that’s more sensible). Either way, you missed Lionel Messi crafting a staggering monument to his own genius on the San Mamés pitch Wednesday during Barcelona’s 3-2 LaLiga victory over Athletic Club
Twitter rn pic.twitter.com/AL6wGSZQ6K