Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill was probably pretty happy with his goalkeeping situation to begin the season. Adam Davies won the starting job at the end of last season and was impressive. Jack Butland, though not the talent he was once prophesized to be, was as good of a backup keeper as you'll find in the Championship. Below them was a couple of promising keepers for the future.
National team stadiums are something of a foreign concept in the United States, where both the men’s and women’s sides play matches from Carson, California, to Foxborough, Massachusetts, and everywhere in-between. Other national teams have a similar approach — Germany, Brazil and Spain among them — but there’s something magical about a fixed location, be it the glamor of England at Wembley, the history of Mexico at the Azteca or the ferocity of Argentina at El Monumental.
Soccer hasn't been the same without fans. The emotion just isn't there. The fake crowd noise is mediocre but matches without fan chatter (even the artificial kind) lack the sense of importance that the game is supposed to carry. It is tough to watch at times.
The one positive to empty stadiums? We have unprecedented access to the vocal expressions of the players on the pitch. Every bit of banter, every plea to the referee and every frustrated proclamation is audible to viewers at home.
Hatem Ben Arfa should be gone but not forgotten by now. More precisely, he should be remembered by old heads around the block under the guise of “the streets will never forget” accompanied by video highlights of the two seasons in which he was entirely unplayable: 2011-12 with Newcastle United and 2015-16 with Nice.
The adrenaline after scoring a goal is something indescribable, whether it be at your local park or on football's biggest stage. Celebrations have become part of the game now — they get as much coverage as games do nowadays.
Some celebrations have become a staple in a player’s game, such as Cristiano Ronaldo’s emphatic “SIII!” followed by the iconic jump.
What’s more important: A statement in support of human rights, or a tribute to a fallen star? According to ESPN, it’s the latter.
The USWNT returned to the pitch for the first time in 261 days by beating the Netherlands 2-0 in a friendly on Friday. The replication of the USWNT’s historic win in the 2019 Women’s World Cup final showed that even having not played in eight months, this team is still the best in the world.
Thanksgiving is fast approaching, meaning it’s time to gather around the virtual zoom table with Grandma and Grandpa while also making sure everyone tests negative for COVID prior to entry into the annual Turkey Derby.
There are times when you’re watching an incredible match and at a total loss as to how you’d explain the breathless spirit of the performance when it outweighs any one particular action like a line-splitting pass or must-watch goal.
Tottenham versus Manchester City on Saturday perfectly encapsulated that feeling. The easiest take was to label it a vintage José Mourinho master class, but that’s the most banal and hackneyed angle imaginable.
When Barcelona forward Antoine Griezmann returns to face his former club Atlético Madrid in LaLiga on Saturday the Frenchman could be forgiven for wondering how things might have been different had he stayed at the Wanda Metropolitano.
First of all, the chances are that Griezmann will be on the bench as his current and former employers battle. After leaving Atléti, where he was the star man, for the Camp Nou in 2019 few things have gone right for Griezmann. He has struggled to find the form that persuaded the Catalans to pay his $141.98 million release clause.