The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup will begin on Friday, June 7, with France, the host nation, opening play against South Korea at the Parc des Princes in Paris. Almost 50,000 will be in attendance to watch the opening ceremony followed by the first fixture from Group A, and just like when Russia opened the 2018 Men’s World Cup against Saudi Arabia, it’ll be the only match of the day.
For the first time in the club’s 119-year history, FC Barcelona is adopting a checkerboard print on the home kit. Is it in homage to Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitić and the famous jerseys of his national team? No.
A promotion/relegation playoff between Le Mans (third-place finishers in the Championnat National, France’s third division) and Gazélec Ajaccio (18th-place in Ligue 2, France’s second division) was decided in the most extraordinary of circumstances on Sunday.
The first leg, played at MMArena in Le Mans last Friday, finished 2-1 in favor of Gazélec. Accordingly, the Ligue 2 side was heavily favored to retain its division two status ahead of today’s return leg at Stade Ange Casanova.
Liverpool FC returned home on Sunday to present its sixth European Cup on an open-top bus parade through the city’s streets. It’s the club’s first major title since the 2006 FA Cup (no, we don’t count the 2012 League Cup), and a massive crowd turned out to greet the players and staff as they made their way around the city before finishing near Strand Street, where the River Mersey empties into Liverpool Bay.
Football is the world’s game, the beautiful game. Whether you call it football or soccer, it is the most egalitarian sport in the world, one that doesn’t care if you’re rich or poor, black or white, male or female, straight or gay or anywhere on the spectrum of these categories. So it should be of no surprise there are plenty of Muslim football players all over the world.
One’s personal beliefs have no effect on how one plays the game of football. Likewise, fans should never discriminate players based on his or her religious beliefs.
Apart from the match itself, last night’s most anticipated action in Madrid was I̶m̶a̶g̶i̶n̶e̶ ̶D̶r̶a̶g̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶i̶l̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶o̶n̶ ̶s̶o̶m̶e̶ ̶d̶r̶u̶m̶s̶ taking place inside the beIN Sports studio at the Wanda Metropolitano, where longtime Premier League rivals José Mourinho and Arsène Wenger sat side-by-side for pregame, halftime and post-game analysis of the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final.
Unless you have the eyes of a Liverpool supporter, the 2019 UEFA Champions League Final wasn’t the prettiest spectacle. But that suited Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson just fine.
Tottenham Hotspurs’ first trip to a Champions League final was not exactly one for the ages.
Liverpool was awarded a penalty in the first 30 seconds and Mohamed Salah converted to give the Reds a lead it would not relinquish. Divock Origi clinched the win with a goal in the 87th minute, because all the big Belgian did was score big goals this season as Liverpool won 2-0.
Jose Antonio Reyes, a fan favorite wherever he went, died in a car crash on Saturday morning at the age of 35.
The crash occurred in Reyes’ hometown of Utrera outside Seville, Marca reported.
We couldn't be confirming worse news. Beloved Sevilla star José Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/qeGl2nsi3c
Being a referee is a thankless, difficult job. No matter how well referees officiate a match, they will almost always be scorned by players and fans of both sides. But being a Croatian referee? That’s not so bad, apparently.
During a recent lower-league playoff semifinal match between Petrovije and Momjan 1947, a referee was seen lighting up cigarettes and drinking beer at halftime.
If there’s a better way to deal with divas who complain about every little call, I’d like to see it.