Ten-man Republic of Ireland missed the chance to secure Euro 2020 qualification as goals in each half earned Switzerland a 2-0 victory in Geneva.
Haris Seferovic struck after 16 minutes before the Swiss made the points certain in added time courtesy of Edimilson Fernandes on what was a night to forget for the Irish.
Vladimir Petkovic s side also saw a Ricardo Rodriguez penalty superbly tipped onto the post by Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph with 13 minutes remaining after Seamus Coleman saw red following a handball inside the penalty area.
The result throws Group D wide open, with the Swiss moving within one point of Mick McCarthy s team, who remain top, and Denmark, with the latter pair having played a game less.
1 Republic of Ireland have suffered …
Getting the defence of their Premier League crown underway on Sunday afternoon, Manchester City opened up the 2024/25 campaign with a 2-0 victory away at Chelsea.
While Sunday’s showdown at Stamford Bridge might have failed to create the thriller that many were hoping for prior to kick-off, the record-breaking Erling Haaland opened the scoring after just 18 minutes thanks to a smart dinked finish over Robert Sanchez.
Although Enzo Maresca’s new Chelsea squad might have been desperate to spring a heavyweight upset on the opening weekend, the Blues failed to find any real fluidity.
Despite facing what could have been a potential banana skin in west London, it was ex-Chelsea star Mateo Kovacic who wrapped up all three points for City as the Croatian midfielder …
Federico Chiesa is confident Italy will be able to compete with the strongest teams at Euro 2020.
Italy have been drawn alongside Turkey, Wales and Switzerland in Group A and will face each of them at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
The Azzurri won all 10 of their qualifying matches and are unbeaten in 14 games since losing 1-0 to Portugal in the Nations League in September 2018.
Chiesa, who scored his first senior international goal in a 9-1 thrashing of Armenia last November, acknowledged there will be plenty of competition at Euro 2020 but backed Italy to make an impact at the tournament.
There are a lot of strong sides. France who won the 2018 World Cup are really strong, Portugal with Cristiano Ronaldo, so it s going to be really tough to win it, Chies…
Gerard Moreno s penalty condemned Real Madrid to their second LaLiga defeat of the season as Villarreal beat the champions 2-1 on Saturday to do coach Quique Setien s former employers Barcelona a favour.
Madrid had hoped to return to the summit ahead of Barca s tough trip to Atletico Madrid on Sunday, but Villarreal were good value for victory during a thriller at Estadio de la Ceramica.
Villarreal created a host of promising openings during an entertaining first half but had to wait until just after the break to make the breakthrough thanks to Yeremy Pino.
Karim Benzema levelled with a spot-kick conceded by Juan Foyth on the hour mark, but the Argentinian then won one at the other end, with Moreno s confident finish ultimately sealing the win.
93% Since …
According to a recent report from Marca, Karim Benzema may have a plan in place that will end in him heading to Saudi Arabia.
While he may have been at the club since 2009, the last few years have really seen Benzema get his flowers. The Frenchman has been recognised and praised for everything he’s given to the game, largely with Real Madrid.
As per this report, though, the 35-year-old is planning on having one final season with the Spanish giants before leaving.
In doing so, he will make the venture over to Saudi Arabia, joining Cristiano Ronaldo who is currently earning an insane amount to play there.
The ethical side of playing in Saudi is something that has been questioned far and wide within the football community. Alas, while the MLS may also be …
LA Galaxy captain Maya Yoshida says the team are not satisfied with their position at the halfway stage of the MLS season, with Sporting Kansas City next up on Saturday.
The Galaxy s six-match unbeaten streak ended before the mid-season break, with the Chicago Fire coming from behind to beat them 2-1.
They sit fourth in the Western Conference, five points behind leaders Real Salt Lake, but Yoshida believes they should be challenging for the top spot.
It s a big improvement on last season, but I m still not satisfied. I m still not happy enough, Yoshida said.
Maybe, generally, people say the Galaxy are doing well, but I feel like we could play better and get more points. We should be top of the league. I ll always stay hungry and greedy, and I want to do…
Barcelona boss Luis Enrique announced that he will be leaving the Spanish giants in the summer
Paris Saint-Germain sneaked to a 1-0 home victory over Champions League debutants Girona on Wednesday after Paulo Gazzaniga s costly late blunder.
Nuno Mendes harmless low delivery across goal slipped through visiting goalkeeper Gazzaniga s grasp in the 90th minute to hand the hosts an opening victory at Parc des Princes.
Girona s defence effectively neutralised PSG s attack in the first half, causing mounting frustration for the hosts before Michel s side began to waste time, drawing boos from the Parc des Princes crowd.
Randal Kolo Muani and Achraf Hakimi had late chances, but both missed from close range before Gazzinga inexplicably allowed Mendes tame cross…
Spain are free to dream of Euro 2024 glory but must ensure they remain humble after maintaining a perfect record through the group stage, says coach Luis de la Fuente.
La Roja topped Group B – thought by many to be the most difficult group at the tournament – with nine points and no goals conceded, beating Albania 1-0 in their third match on Monday despite resting most of their star players, courtesy of Ferran Torres goal.
They have become just the second team to win all three group-stage matches at a Euros tournament to nil, after eventual champions Italy at the delayed 2020 edition.
It is also the first time La Roja have ever gone through an entire group stage at a major tournament (World Cup or Euros) without conceding.
With his team now being tip…
Barcelona s bid for a third successive LaLiga title and 27th overall will begin and end away from Camp Nou.
Ernesto Valverde s men are set to visit Athletic Bilbao in their opening fixture of the new season on August 18, whil they will conclude the campaign on the road to Deportivo Alaves on May 24.
Barca beat rivals Real Madrid twice last term and will hope to continue their Clasico dominance in 2019-20. Camp Nou plays host to the first encounter on October 27, with the return match scheduled for March 1.
Delivering domestically is certain to again be a priority for head coach Valverde and captain Lionel Messi but the club s increasingly impatient need to claim another Champions League crown will serve as a major subplot throughout the course of the season.
It was an interesting week in international football. World Cup qualifiers all over the world meant so much to so many and for some it was exhilaration, for some it was agony.
The week started with the possibility of France, Portugal and Argentina all in danger of missing out on South Africa 2010. The South Americans have scraped through and the two European sides now face the play-offs.
Big countries missing out
The interesting thing for me is the big countries who won t be at next year s World Cup. The biggest surprise for me has been England s opponents in group six Croatia.
Croatia struggle in qualification
In recent years the Croat s have proved difficult opponents for everybody they have played. They have good technical ability and seemed t…