Gregg Berhalter believes his United States team will capture the imagination of viewers at home after drawing on the American spirit to reach the World Cup s last 16 at Iran s expense.
Christian Pulisic s close-range finish fired the USA to a 1-0 win over Iran at the Al Thumama Stadium on Tuesday, ensuring the Stars and Stripes leapfrogged their opponents to finish second in Group B, behind England.
Pulisic was forced out of the contest after colliding with Iran goalkeeper Alireza Beyranvand as he scored the goal, but that blow was not enough to dampen Berhalter s spirits.
With the 2026 tournament taking place across the USA, Mexico and Canada, much of the talk around Berhalter s team has focused on their ability to win over new fans at home, and the head coach b…
Declan Rice’s ambition to play “at the very highest level” was behind his “tough” decision to leave West Ham.
The 24-year-old’s departure from the club he joined a decade ago in a club-record £105million deal – making him the most expensive English player in history – was confirmed by the Hammers ahead of his imminent move to Arsenal.
Rice’s last act as a West Ham player was to become only the third captain in their history, behind Bobby Moore and Billy Bonds, to lift a major trophy after last month’s Europa Conference League victory over Fiorentina.
Declan Rice has penned an open letter to West Ham fans.
— West Ham United (@WestHam)
But the England international wants to play in the Champions League and that is something A…
Scotland midfielder John McGinn felt Georgia were “at it” when showing reluctance to get their Euro 2024 qualifier resumed at a sodden Hampden.
McGinn was full of praise for the team of ground staff, ball boys, stewards and Scottish Football Association officials who helped sweep the pitch of excess water following a heavy downpour in the hour before kick-off on Tuesday.
The game was suspended immediately after Callum McGregor fired Scotland into a sixth-minute lead and only resumed close to two hours later following extensive work on the pitch, several pitch inspections and false dawns.
Georgia did not appear ahead of one scheduled restart time before the game eventually got back under way at 9.33pm before Scotland went on to win 2-0.
McGinn said: �…
Brahim Diaz s first goal since October gave Milan a 1-0 victory over Tottenham in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
Diaz had gone 12 games without a goal for the Serie A champions but stunned Spurs with an early header on Tuesday.
Tottenham saw plenty of the ball but were unable to come up with an equaliser on former Inter boss Antonio Conte s return to San Siro.
Milan had been without a win in seven matches before beating Torino last Friday, but Diaz gave them back-to-back victories and a slender advantage to take into the second leg at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on March 8.
— AC Milan (@acmilan)
San Siro erupted when Diaz opened the scoring in the seventh minute, diving to nod in on the goal-line after Fraser…
UEFA president Michel Platini on Thursday vowed to ask authorities in Kiev why Ukraine s preparations to co-host the 2012 European Championship with Poland have been delayed.
We ll see if there is political stability (in Ukraine), said Platini after the UEFA Congress meeting here.
I ll go to Kiev in April and I will have a frank and serious conversation with the new government to see the situation, and also maybe bang my fist on the table a bit.
We are confident (that Ukraine will be able to co-host the tournament) but I ve seen photos of the stadium and I m not completely reassured. We can t change the date. It will be Euro 2012, not 2014.
Ukraine s preparations to organise the quadrennial football showpiece have been hit by political turmoil and se…
Antonio Conte believes he witnessed a turning point for his Napoli side as they strolled to a 3-0 win over Bologna in their Serie A home opener on Sunday.
Napoli were trounced 3-0 at Verona in Conte s first league game at the helm last week, but they bounced back with a comfortable win over the Rossoblu on Sunday.
The Partenopei s victory was their first on home soil without conceding since they beat Sassuolo 2-0 in August 2023, and Conte feels it was an important moment in his team s development.
Today we had a great responsibility, that of giving a great response after the second half in Verona, Conte told reporters.
I had no doubts, these guys are good guys. I see them working and I got important answers.
These are three points that are the …
Former Manchester City playmaker David Silva has said his goodbyes to football as the World Cup winner and four-time Premier League champion announced his retirement.
The 37-year-old played 436 games across 10 seasons at the Etihad Stadium, helping to turn City into the best team in England and winning a total of 11 major honours with the club.
Silva started his career in the youth ranks at Valencia, making his senior debut in 2004 and spending six years in LaLiga before signing for City.
Muchas gracias…fútbol
— David Silva (@21LVA)
He was capped 125 times by Spain, scoring 35 goals and winning the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2008 and 2012.
“Today is a sad day for me,” he said in a message posted on his Twitter account.
“Toda…
“It will be interesting to see what effect the (new independent football) regulator has. I think none of us are too sure quite how it is going to work and there are certainly grey areas there.
“I read clubs are going to be need to be licenced annually and if they can’t prove they are financially OK then they wont get that licence. Well, what happens to that football club then?
“New owners are not like apples from trees – it is really tough to find someone to back your football club.
“But on the positive side, if there is control over what (money) the Premier League give to the EFL and thereby the entire pyramid, then that has got to be a good thing.”
Stelling, who has been honorary president of Hartlepool since 2015, accepts facing up to the…
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Hoping to find a route back to the top of the Premier League table, Manchester City will welcome Tottenham to the Etihad on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester City
Starting with the hosts, mounting a stellar Champions League comeback earlier in the week as they secured a thrilling 3-2 victory at the Etihad, Manchester City have breezed their way to the knockout stage. Making real history last season as they became the first English club since 1999 to be crowned treble champions, Pep Guardiola’s men will know the importance of making a domestic statement here. Dropping points against Liverpool and Chelsea on either side of November’s international break, the Sky Blues have also lost their top at the top of the Premier League table. Howeve…
Chris Coleman maintains his only focus with his homeland in the throws of Brexit is to ensure Wales stay in Europe through their Euro 2016 campaign for as long as possible.
Voters in the UK decided by a margin of 52 to 48 per cent to leave the European Union on Thursday, with the majority of Welsh voters also in favour of that course of action that prompted Prime Minister David Cameron to announce he will step down.
Ahead of the all-British last-16 tie against Northern Ireland at the Parc des Princes on Saturday, Coleman was understandably forced to field questions at his pre-match news conference over a subject he feels his side simply cannot afford to be concerned with at this stage.
Talking about being in or out of Europe we re still in [Euro 2016] and that s…