Friendly

England, France Unite With Britpop

Leave it to the outspoken Noel Gallagher to bring France and England together.

The Oasis front man’s song "Don’t Look Back In Anger" was played prior to the England-France friendly Tuesday in Paris in a show of solidarity between the two nations following the recent terrorist attacks in England. 

Christen Press Lifts Lackluster USWNT Over Norway

The United States women's national team, ranked No. 2 in the world, failed to really take hold of the game against a strong Norwegian team, ranked No. 11, on Sunday in Sandjeford, Norway. USWNT coach Jill Ellis cotinued her experimentation with personnel and formations — the starting line-up featured just two players that got minutes at the 2015 World Cup. 

USWNT (Kind Of) Avenge Olympic Defeat With Win Over 'Cowardly' Sweden

It wasn't the greatest performance from the USWNT in Gothenburg, but it did the job. The United States was looking for some semblence of revenge after a heartbreaking Olympic exit at the hands of the Scandinavian side last summer in Rio. The misery of the penalty shootout defeat was compounded by some bitter words from notoriously outlandish goalkeeper Hope Solo. After the loss, the U.S. No. 1 called Sweden "a bunch of cowards."

Falcao Back In Form Only Good Thing About Spain vs. Colombia Friendly

Spain and Colombia both scored goals in the first half that shouldn't have been let in. Falcao scored a great header in the 54th minute. After an incredible season, winning the French Ligue 1 with AS Monaco, Falcao's swagger and confidence are reminiscent of his Atletico Madrid days. 

The biggest takeaway from this game is that Radamel Falcao is a testament that 31 is the new 25. Don't hang up your boots anytime soon, Monaco is begging you. 

Irish Left With Nothing To Do But Praise A Rampant Mexico

As far as friendlies go, this was about as productive as they come for both Mexico and the Republic of Ireland. El Tri will now return to Mexico City for two key World Cup qualifiers (against Honduras and the United States) at the Azteca brimming with confidence after thrashing Ireland 3-1.

For Ireland, manager Martin O’Neill got a good hard look at his fringe players before a crucial World Cup qualifier against Austria in Dublin — not many of them would’ve passed this difficult litmus test. 

Xherdan Shaqiri Smashes From Outside the Box During Friendly

Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez Becomes Mexico’s All-Time Leading Goal Scorer

Over 62,000 Mexico supporters bore witness to a bit of El Tri history on Saturday night at the Los Angeles Coliseum as Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez moved clear of Jared Borgetti as the national team’s all-time leading goal scorer with 47.

Remarkably, Chicharito and Borgetti share the same strike rate for Mexico. The Santos Laguna legend scored 46 in 89 matches, and the Bayer Leverkusen striker has scored 47 in 91 — both make for an average of 0.52 goals per game.

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