FIFA has opened an official investigation after reports of England fans’ alleged discriminatory chants during the semifinal with Croatia on July 11. The governing body of football received reports from its anti-discrimination monitoring system, which kept an eye on unruly behavior during the match in Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium.
After just over two years as manager of Chelsea FC, Antonio Conte has been officially fired from the English club and is to be replaced by former Napoli FC coach Maurizio Sarri. Conte now joins Carlo Ancelotti (who'll actually replace Sarri at Napoli), Claudio Ranieri and Roberto Di Matteo as the fourth Italian manager at Chelsea to be, how do you say, relieved of his duties.
The common refrain throughout the 2018 World Cup from England fans is: It’s coming home. Well, the Three Lions are coming home — empty handed.
Legendary right-sided midfielder David Beckham had some hugely memorable moments for England, including the free kick that sent the nation to the 2002 World Cup and the free kick that sent England to the quarterfinals in ’06. But the “Bury Beckham,” Kieran Trippier, has perhaps already eclipsed Golden Balls on the world’s biggest stage.
This might not come as a shock to anyone, but Loris Karius is not OK, guys. He has not recovered from his TWO blunders in the Champions League final vs. Real Madrid. And quite frankly, I'm wondering what the hell Liverpool is doing with this guy on the team. Really quickly, let's go relive that historic day that Loris Karius will never live down.
What are you doing #1
Immigrant players and sons of immigrants largely make up World Cup rosters. Welcoming immigration has proven to be the secret to having success at the World Cup. Out of the four teams still remaining in the tournament, France, Belgium and England feature squads composed of players from very diverse origins.
In the early ’90s, pre-Wengerian Arsenal earned a reputation for playing a brand of football that was effective but far from entertaining, resulting in chants of “Boring, Boring Arsenal.” It was a refrain that easily could have been repeated throughout the Three Lions’ campaign in Russia, including at the England vs Sweden match on Saturday in Samara, Russia.
After England broke its penalty curse against Colombia, coach Gareth Southgate and the Three Lions are rejuvenated with a new hope. Though England goes against Sweden on Saturday at the Samara Stadium in Russia, there is a question that begs itself to be echoed in the ears of all who cheer for England:
Historians call the Swinging Sixties the decade that shook Britain. England and its commonwealth had only just begun a greater recovery period after a post-WWII world, the nation’s youth was a rejuvenated generation of a high-spirited character and British rock was redefining music in a way never before seen in history.
All the conditions were met for a recently Blitzkrieged nation to thrive once again — and the very same stars were aligned in the world of the beautiful game.
HAO is coming home. This past week, the North Carolina Courage announced that they had made the move for Heather O'Reilly, who has been in England with Arsenal for the past year and a half.