Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer has praised his side’s resilience in coming back from a poor run of results to go five games unbeaten in the MLS.
The Sounders travel to the Q2 Stadium this weekend to face Austin FC, hoping to continue their unbeaten streak and move further up the Western Conference table.
Schmetzer’s side currently sit in seventh place in the standings and booked their place in the semi-finals of the US Open Cup following a 2-1 victory over Sacramento Republic last time out.
The head coach was able to detail the reasoning behind his side’s upturn in fortunes in recent weeks, going on to say the players within the group have changed their mindset as part of their newfound success.
Schmetzer said: “I have seen goal produ…
Jordan Pickford has urged England to embrace the pressure of being one of the favourites to win Euro 2024.
England made it to the final of Euro 2020, ultimately losing on penalties to Italy, as well as reaching the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the last two World Cups under Gareth Southgate.
According to the Opta supercomputer, England are the slight favourites going into Euro 2024, with a 19.9 per cent chance of lifting the trophy for the first time, narrowly ahead of France (19.1 per cent).
Pickford has faith that the squad, despite being quite young, will be able to cope with the expectations placed on them due to the favourites tag.
Apart from Russia in 2018 [World Cup], where there was no pressure on us, to be a top, elite team you have got to h…
Jaap Stam has signed a new contract with Reading, tying him to the Championship club until 2019.
The Dutchman guided the Royals to the play-off final last season, where they were beaten on penalties by Huddersfield Town.
Stam was linked with West Ham in March to underline the former Manchester United defender s growing reputation as a coach, and chief executive Nigel Howe was delighted to secure his signature for another two years, along with retaining coaches Andries Ulderink and Said Bakkati.
Jaap, Andries and Said signing new contracts is momentous for this football club and a clear demonstration that Reading football club is a great place to be right now, Howe told the club s official website.
Akin to the manager, we are a club with fierce ambition …
Luciano Spalletti is expecting to make up to five changes for Italy s Nations League clash with Israel owing to the tight turnaround between matches.
Italy produced a shock 3-1 victory over France on Friday, just three days before they face Israel in Hungary.
But their opening three points in Group A2 took their toll, with starters Riccardo Calafiori and Lorenzo Pellegrini both leaving the squad after sustaining injuries in the match against France.
As such, Spalletti feels it is necessary to rotate for their upcoming match.
It s difficult to put the same team out as Friday. It s not possible to get over the fatigue after just two days. Let s see how the guys are, but it s not unusual to change three, four, five players, the Italy boss told the press.
Gareth Taylor insists Manchester City know exactly what we have to do to win the Women s Super League, as he urged his players to really push on after last season s disappointment.
City came agonisingly close to landing their second WSL title last term, losing out to Emma Hayes Chelsea on goal difference.
Taylor s side were in the driving seat with a three-point cushion heading into the final two games. However, a 2-1 defeat by Arsenal in their penultimate match proved costly, with the Blues going on to claim their seventh crown in eight seasons.
That marked a seventh second-place WSL finish since 2015 for City, who begin their quest to go the extra step against the Gunners on Sunday, when they will come face to face with former forward Vivianne Miedema.
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Lionel Messi scored what could prove to be his last World Cup goal on a night of unforgettable drama in St Petersburg this week.
The raucous din supplied throughout by the Argentina fans and Marcos Rojo s thrilling late winner made the Group D match against Nigeria the unquestionable highlight of the past seven days.
Elsewhere, Omnisport took in a museum exhibition presenting football heroes as royalty and military men of the Renaissance era, while England remained in high spirits up the road in Repino – arguably because they keep beating the media at darts.
Locals here enjoyed Russia s shock penalty shoot-out win over Spain as you might expect, but a power cut nearly stopped the party before it had begun.
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South Africa s first newly-built 2010 World Cup stadium officially opened on Sunday in the coastal city of Port Elizabeth a year before kick-off next June.
For us today?s first opening of a newly-built 2010 FIFA World Cup stadium is a huge boost, said local organising committee chief Danny Jordaan.
It demonstrates the capacity of SA s (South Africa) construction industry and our commitment to deliver on all our 2010 FIFA World Cup promises, Jordaan said in a statement.
Eight 2010 games, including a quarter final and a third and fourth place play-off, will be hosted at the city s 48,000 seater Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.
The new ground hosts the touring British and Irish Lions rugby team on Tuesday when they will play a local Southern Kings Invitational…
Giorgio Chiellini quipped Italy s squad believed Roberto Mancini to be crazy when the Azzurri boss initially laid out his plans to win Euro 2020.
Mancini was appointed Italy coach in May 2018, after the Azzurri s failure to qualify for that year s World Cup.
After an indifferent start to his tenure, Italy have gone on a record-setting 33-match unbeaten run, leading them to the Euro 2020 final, in which they will face England at Wembley.
Along with their opponents on Sunday, Italy have been the standout performers in the competition, and saw off fellow heavyweights Belgium and Spain en route to the final.
Juventus Chiellini has been a key figure, with the veteran campaigner making four appearances.
And though Italy will be full of confidence hea…
The 30-man shortlist for the 2017 Ballon d Or has been announced and the ceremony to announce the winners of this prestigious award will take place in London later this month. In Part 1 of the shortlist analysis we take a look at 15 of the nominees and what they did to justify their inclusion.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Borussia Dortmund + Gabon)
Not even dodgy orange juice could derail the Dortmund striker’s incredible goal-scoring season. The Gabonese international banged in 31 goals in 32 Bundesliga games last season, finishing as the league’s top scorer, and has already bagged eight in seven games to start off this campaign. Sadly his goal-scoring form couldn’t help Gabon qualify for the World Cup, but at club level Aubameyang is a monster.
Karim Benzema (Real M…
English star midfielder Davis Beckham and the Los Angeles Galaxy will visit the Seattle Sounders on March 15 in the opening game of the 2011 Major League Soccer season, the US-based league said Monday.
The 16th MLS season will feature a record 18 clubs, with expansion teams in Portland and Vancouver, which becomes the second Canadian squad in MLS after Toronto. A third Canadian club, Montreal, will begin operations in 2012.
The Galaxy eliminated the Sounders from last season s MLS playoffs.
Beckham, who had said he was not planning on playing outside of MLS during the off-season, revealed Sunday that he does intend to play in Europe before MLS teams gather for pre-season workouts, although not at AC Milan, his loan home the past two MLS off-seasons.
Each…