Arsenal and Tottenham are not two teams known for their defensive solidity over the years. Yet three center backs who came to prominence at those two clubs just shut down Cristiano Ronaldo, Diogo Jota, Bernardo Silva, Bruno Fernandes, João Félix and Portugal.
Not so Spursy after all.
A lot of pundits jumped on Julie Foudy’s Italy bandwagon after the Azzurri looked like a free-flowing, attacking side with seven goals in Group A action. But in case you have forgotten how Italians love to play football, Saturday’s win over Austria was another reminder they’re a defense-first team, as they set record for longest streak without conceding a goal.
With less than a minute left in the season, Diego Simeone's Atlético Madrid was within touching distance of the league title.
Atlético Madrid had held on to first place in LaLiga for 29 of the previous 30 match weeks and was leading Valladolid 2-1 in a must-win match. Anything less than three points and Atlético's hated crosstown rival Real Madrid would take the title.
In the immediate aftermath of Christian Eriksen’s collapse after suffering cardiac arrest in Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland, Danish captain Simon Kjær earned admiration around the globe for his actions.
MUNICH, Germany - Four German players nursing injuries from their 4-2 victory over Portugal skipped training on Monday, the team said, with attacking midfielder Thomas Müller's availability in doubt for their next Euro 2020 game against Hungary.
Müller, recalled for the tournament after more than two years out of the team, suffered a capsule injury in his right knee towards the end of Saturday's Group F win over Portugal as he attempted to clear a ball.
For the first time in European Championship history, a nation has won all three of its group stage matches without conceding a goal. Italy defeated Wales 1-0 on Sunday to finish top of Group A and book a Round of 16 trip to Wembley Stadium, where they’ll likely meet either Ukraine or Austria.
Italy manager Roberto Mancini made eight changes to the side that hammered Switzerland on Wednesday, but the Azzurri looked no different in how they went about dominating the opposition.
Turkey’s Caglar Soyuncu scored a goal in training that I had to watch about three times to understand what I'd just seen. Soyuncu could be in serious trouble for performing such wizardry outside of Howgarts.
If this Soyuncu training goal was pulled off in the upcoming Euros, it would surely break the internet, the fishing nets and any other forms of nets.
"El Partido Que Nadie Quiere Perder", hoy tiene un nuevo capítulo. En Denver, Colorado, México y Estados Unidos vuelven a enfrentarse, esta vez para decidir al campeón de la Nations League de la Concacaf.
The excitement around the USMNT is warranted. The quality of our young core is evident in the roll call of clubs they play for: Barcelona, Juventus, Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund among them.
But the expectations have to be tempered. These players are still developing, which is also evident in the roles they play for those teams. Gio Reyna started the highest percentage of league games with BVB at 67.6%, followed by Dest with Barça (60.5%) and then Pulisic with the Blues (47.4%) and McKennie with the Old Lady (47.4%).
As the world heals from the pandemic, pick-up matches are on their way back as well. Pick-up matches exemplify all the best parts of soccer: intense rivalries, healthy competition and the opportunity to sharpen your skills.