On Sunday in front of 65,000 faithful at Estádio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal — needing only a draw to qualify for the World Cup — threw it all away in the 90th minute by allowing Aleksandar Mitrović to convert a back post header that sent Serbia to Qatar instead.
AMSTERDAM — Veteran Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal suffered a hip injury when he fell off his bicycle on Sunday but will be able to coach his team in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier against Norway in Rotterdam.
Van Gaal, who was cycling near the team hotel when he fell and was taken to hospital for tests, used a golf cart to conduct Monday's training before the Group G decider, where the Dutch need a draw to seal a place at next year's finals in Qatar.
When the USMNT welcomes Mexico to TQL Stadium in Cincinnati on Friday night, the Stars and Stripes will boast the emotional and mental edge of having defeated El Tri in their last two meetings — both finals, no less.
But it’s Mexico that holds a three-point advantage over the U.S. at the top of the Octagonal as we hit the halfway point of qualifying, and Tata Martino can rely on a first-choice attack that Gregg Berhalter’s men didn’t see over the summer.
LONDON - Steven Gerrard withstood a period of intense pressure to turn fallen giants Rangers into Scottish champions again and now Aston Villa provides one of the Premier League's all-time great players with a platform to truly prove himself as a manager.
Gerrard, who spent 17 years patrolling Liverpool's midfield and scored 120 Premier League goals in 504 appearances, has been named Villa boss after the Birmingham club sacked Dean Smith on Sunday.
LONDON - Antonio Conte got a crash course in what he can expect as Tottenham Hotspur's new manager after the Italian's first game in charge ended in a 3-2 home victory over Vitesse Arnhem in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.
Conte, who replaced Nuno Espírito Santo this week after the Portuguese was sacked 10 Premier League games into his first season, watched his side tear into a 3-0 lead after 28 minutes with Son Heung-min and Lucas Moura on target plus an own goal.
Manchester United's trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday was billed as the last chance saloon for United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but it turned out it was opposite number Nuno Espírito Santo who was being kicked out of the swinging doors on Monday.
Antonio Conte, the former Juventus and Chelsea manager, who was, according to some media reports, about to take over from Solskjaer at United, is now the favorite to be the new Spurs boss.
Last week, Arsène Wenger — now FIFA’s Chief of Global Football Development — told a refereeing convention in France that refs should give post-match press conferences.
“It would be a good way to avoid controversy and shut them down before they became a public debate,” Wenger said. “We would have to get the support of referees, and I don’t know what kind of state of mind they’re in after games to be able to give an opinion.”
MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer labelled Sunday's 5-0 hammering at home to Liverpool the "darkest day" he has had as manager of the club but said he had no intention of quitting his role.
United were 4-0 down at halftime after woeful defending against the deadly Liverpool attack, led by hat-trick hero Mohamed Salah.
MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjær said Cristiano Ronaldo had answered many critics of his value to the team with his display in the 3-2 Champions League win over Atalanta on Wednesday.
Ronaldo grabbed the 81st minute winner with a superbly executed header to maintain his 100% scoring record in group F after three games.
But Solskjær took aim at those who had questioned whether the Portuguese forward, the Champions League record goalscorer, contributed enough work-rate to his side.
If European football wasn’t as familiar with American manager Jesse Marsch as it should’ve been, it sure as hell is now. On Tuesday, the RB Leipzig boss masterminded a stirring performance at the Parc des Princes that had the German side deservedly ahead 2-1 with just over 20 minutes to play.
But a terrible mistake from American midfielder Tyler Adams allowed Lionel Messi to equalize before a rash challenge in the area gifted PSG another from the spot.