Republic of Ireland coach Vera Pauw admits her players “feared for their bodies” in their abandoned Women’s World Cup warm-up match against Colombia on Friday.
Midfielder Denise O’Sullivan was taken to hospital with a shin injury and the game was halted after just 20 minutes following a number of rough challenges, with the Football Association of Ireland describing it as “overly physical”.
Scans have revealed the North Carolina Courage captain has not sustained any fractures but the extent of a soft tissue injury has still to be discovered.
“It was something I had never experienced before in my 47 years being involved in football, not as a player, not as a coach,” Pauw told Sky Sports.
“It started lively, a good game, normal, and then th…
Ben Barclay earned Carlisle a thrilling 3-2 aggregate victory over Bradford but is will miss the Sky Bet League Two play-off final against Stockport.
Defender Barclay, on loan from County, headed United’s third and semi-final clinching goal in the second period of extra time after Mark Hughes’ Bantams threatened to take the game to penalties.
The final whistle produced a mass pitch invasion with thousands of jubilant home supporters celebrating victory.
Carlisle trailed 1-0 from the first leg at Valley Parade but levelled the tie when defender Brad Halliday put through his own goal after 21 minutes.
That is the way it stayed for the rest of normal time with Bradford offering little in response up front.
Callum Guy, a former Bradford loanee, th…
With under a month until the summer transfer window slams shut, many are expecting what could be a frantic final few weeks.
While a host of clubs might be working within some tight financial resections, plenty of big-name stars remain linked with blockbuster moves ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Watching Manchester United really break the bank as they welcomed both Bologna striker and Lena Yoro, some Premier League giants have been practically non-existent this summer.
As the clock ticks away until the summer transfer window slams shut on September 1st, we have taken a look at some of the Premier League heavyweights that really need to get a move on.
Liverpool
With fans around Anfield left heartbroken back in January as Jurgen Klopp announced that he w…
With the EFL Cup getting back underway on Tuesday night, we are treated to another stacked schedule from across the continent.
Watching the likes of Barcelona trying and extend their buffer at the top of the La Liga table when they travel to Mallorca, we have taken a look at a pair of intriguing fixtures that are worth keeping an eye out for.
19:45 Ipswich vs Wolves
While Ipswich might have only made their Championship return this season, the Blues find themselves in the midst of what has quickly become a real fairytale. Continuing on a remarkable rise since they welcomed Kieran McKenna to Portman Road, Tuesday’s hosts will be smelling the chance to spring an EFL Cup upset here.
Already battling it out in the automatic promotion places and tipped as…
The semi-finals of the Women’s Champions League get under way this weekend, with Saturday seeing Chelsea play at Barcelona in their first leg and Lyon host Paris St Germain.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the four remaining sides bidding for a place in the May 25 final in Bilbao.
Chelsea
Emma Hayes’ Blues take on Barcelona again having been beaten by them 2-1 on aggregate in last season’s semis, and 4-0 in the 2021 final. That is the only time an English side has featured in the final apart from when Arsenal won it in 2007, with Hayes on the coaching staff. Chelsea are seeking a glorious conclusion to the 47-year-old’s trophy-laden tenure before she departs this summer to take charge of the United States – but have recently seen quadruple and …
Declan Rice admits Arsenal need to find their Champions League “savvy” as Mikel Arteta’s young side continue to learn on the job.
The Gunners lost the first leg of their last 16 tie away to Porto on Wednesday night as Galeno’s brilliant last-gasp strike earned the hosts a 1-0 victory.
It extends Arsenal’s wretched record in Champions League knockout games – they still have not won outside of the group stages since 2010, having exited at the last-16 stage for seven consecutive years under Arsene Wenger.
Arteta secured a return to the top table of European football for the first time since 2017 but Arsenal’s hopes of progressing further suffered a blow at the Estadio do Dragao.
From their starting XI in Porto, only Kai Havertz had any previous…
Competition: Euro 2016
Market: England to win against Iceland
Odds:
England lock horns against Iceland at the Allianz Riviera in the last-16 of the European Championships tonight, and are big favourites to book their place in the quarter-finals with a win.
The Three Lions have performed well in the tournament this summer without getting the results they’ve deserved, but they should be better prepared to come out on top this time round.
England made the last-16 of the European Championships after finish second in Group B with five points from a possible nine. They drew against the likes of Russia and Slovakia, while beating Wales. Goals have been a problem for Roy Hodgson’s side, but Iceland’s deficiency in quality might see them opened up.
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Gareth Southgate has signed a contract extension that will see him remain as England manager until after the 2022 World Cup.
Despite still having two years to run on the deal he agreed upon stepping up from the Under-21 side to take over from Sam Allardyce in November 2016, Southgate has been rewarded with fresh terms for leading the Three Lions to the World Cup semi-finals in Russia.
England reached the last four of the competition for the first time since 1990 but were beaten by Croatia and finished fourth following a 2-0 loss to Belgium.
Southgate oversaw two wins and as many draws after being named interim manager in the wake of Allardyce s exit, which earned him the right to take on the job permanently. The 48-year-old has since won 13, drawn four and lost …
Gerard Pique is confident Rafael Nadal will play in the revamped Davis Cup next year and says he has not closed any doors on Roger Federer being involved.
The Barcelona and Spain defender is the president and founder of Kosmos, the company promoting the new format to the competition.
Under the much-changed structure for 2019, an 18-team event will be condensed into one week in November, featuring six groups of three, with the pool winners and two best runners-up advancing to a knockout phase.
Rather than ties consisting of four singles and one doubles match, played over five sets, the truncated version will see only three-set affairs, each tie comprising two singles and one doubles contest.
November is traditionally the month when top players begi…
Romelu Lukaku continued his fine start to life at Napoli as the Belgian notched a goal and two assists in his side s 3-1 win over Como on Friday.
The hosts found themselves ahead with just 26 seconds on the clock when Scott McTominay was picked out by Lukaku, with the Scotland international firing home his first goal for Gli Azzurri off the post.
But Como would draw themselves level two minutes before the break when Gabriel Strefezza s strike from distance rifled into the bottom corner.
However, Antonio Conte s side needed just eight minutes after the interval to restore their advantage when Sergi Roberto brought down Mathias Olivera in the box, with Lukaku stepping up from 12 yards to net his fourth Serie A goal of the season.
Napoli continued to pus…