ESPN FC News | Ecency

Pique laments Barca's closed-door victory

Gerard Pique said Sunday's win was "my worst experience as a professional." He spoke after Barcelona's 3-0 victory over Las Palmas, which was played in an empty Camp Nou due to the political climate in Catalonia. Read »
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/barcelona/story/3218703/tearful-gerard-pique-after-barcelonas-closed-door-win-over-las-palmas-my-worst-experience-as-a-professional

WATCH: How the Catalan referendum affected Barcelona

ESPN FC's Barcelona correspondent Samuel Marsden checks in from the Camp Nou after the club decided to play behind closed doors amid political tension in
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/spanish-primera-division/15/video/3218679/watch-how-the-catalan-referendum-affected-barcelona

Liverpool's familiar failings lead to frustrating 1-1 draw at Newcastle

NEWCASTLE, England -- Three points on Liverpool's frustrating draw against former boss Rafa Benitez at St. James'
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/blog/the-match/60/post/3216961/liverpool-familiar-failings-in-attack-defence-lead-to-draw-at-newcastle

Spurs showing interest in teenage starlets; Conte heading back to Italy?

Deadline day has come and gone, and all the latest deals and potential deals can be found here,
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/blog/transfer-talk/79/post/3218254/tottenham-hotspur-showing-interest-in-teenage-starlets-antonio-conte-heading-back-to-italy

Messi brace as Barca cruise in empty Camp Nou; Real Madrid win at home

Lionel Messi scored a brace as Barcelona eased past Las Palmas <a href="/report?gameId=490646"
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/spanish-primera-division/story/3218555/la-liga-lionel-messi-scores-brace-as-barcelona-defeat-las-palmas-in-empty-camp-nou-real-madrid-win-second-straight

Real's Zidane hails Isco: 'He plays as you play in the street, and I like that'

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane hailed "street player" Isco after the playmaker's double strike in Sunday evening's 2-0 La Liga win over
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/3218877/real-madrids-isco-plays-as-you-play-in-the-street-zinedine-zidane

Jose Mourinho: It's too early to tell if Man United are Prem contenders

MANCHESTER -- Jose Mourinho insists it is "too early" to tell if Manchester United are capable of winning the Premier League title this
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-united/story/3218765/jose-mourinho-its-too-early-to-tell-if-manchester-united-are-premier-league-title-contenders

Antonio Conte: Retaining PL title harder than retaining Serie A

LONDON -- Antonio Conte admitted that winning the Premier League title again with Chelsea this season will be harder than retaining Serie
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/chelsea/story/3218747/antonio-conte-says-harder-to-retain-premier-league-title-than-serie-a

Liverpool held to draw by Newcastle, Arsenal see off Brighton, Everton lose

Liverpool could only come away from Newcastle with a 1-1 draw despite Philippe Coutinho netting a superb
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/story/3218486/liverpool-held-to-draw-by-newcastle-arsenal-see-off-brighton-everton-lose-to-burnley

Jurgen Klopp won't shy away from Liverpool's wastefulness in attack

Jurgen Klopp insists he will not "avoid" Liverpool's wastefulness in front of goal after his team <a href="/report?gameId=480840"
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/liverpool/story/3218729/jurgen-klopp-wont-shy-away-from-liverpools-wastefulness-in-attack

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger wants to get 10 goals from Alex Iwobi

LONDON -- Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger challenged Alex Iwobi to provide 10 goals and 10 assists this season after the forward scored his
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/arsenal/story/3218460/arsenal-manager-arsene-wenger-wants-to-get-10-goals-from-alex-iwobi

Bayern Munich 'no longer the strongest team in Germany' - Sagnol

BERLIN -- Bayern Munich interim coach Willy Sagnol said the
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/bayern-munich/story/3218651/bayern-munich-no-longer-the-strongest-team-in-germany-interim-boss-willy-sagnol

Napoli alone in first after Juve held; Roma beat AC Milan; Inter in second

Napoli
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/italian-serie-a/story/3218457/napoli-alone-in-first-after-juve-held-roma-beat-ac-milan-inter-in-third

Marseille beat Nice behind Ocampos double; Marcelo sent off in Lyon draw

Lucas Ocampos scored twice as Marseille recovered from a terrible start to beat Nice 4-2 in the
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/french-ligue-1/story/3218856/marseille-beat-nice-behind-ocampos-double-marcelo-sent-off-in-lyon-draw

CONCACAF World Cup qualifying - how United States can make Russia 2018

Taylor Twellman reacts to Fabian Johnson's exclusion from Arena's roster for the U.S.'s crucial final matches in the Hex.

        On Christian Pulisic's 19th birthday, Brian McBride says the teenager is on the path to becoming the best U.S. player ever. 
            
        The FC crew mark Christian Pulisic's 19th birthday by evaluating his progress and his ceiling for both club and country.

The final rounds of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup take place on Oct. 6 and 10, with only one of the 3.5 available places currently confirmed after Mexico secured safe passage in September.
Already qualified: Mexico
Places to be decided: 2 automatic, 1 intercontinental playoff
Here, we take a look at which nations can still make it to Russia, and how they can get there.
The top three teams qualify directly, with the nation that finishes in fifth facing a two-legged playoff against either Australia...
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-concacaf/64/blog/post/3210022/concacaf-world-cup-qualifying-how-united-states-can-make-russia-2018

African World Cup qualifying - how each nation can still make Russia 2018

The final two rounds of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup take place first between Oct. 6 and 8, and then the week of Nov. 6. None of the five available places have been confirmed as yet, but some should be settled in the next set of matches.
Already qualified: None
Places yet to be decided: 5 automatic
Here, we take a look at which nations can still make it to Russia, and how they can get there.
The five winners of the four-nation groups qualify automatically for the finals. There is no other route...
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-caf/63/blog/post/3216378/african-world-cup-qualifying-how-each-nation-can-still-make-russia-2018

South American World Cup qualifying - how each nation can still make Russia

Currently fifth in CONMEBOL, Craig Burley still sees Argentina making it to Russia 2018, albeit in tense fashion.
The final rounds of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup take place on Oct. 5 and 10, with only one of the 4.5 available places currently confirmed after Brazil secured safe passage and top spot in the group.
Already qualified: Brazil
Places to be decided: 3 automatic, 1 intercontinental playoff
Here, we take a look at which nations can still make it to Russia, and how they can get there. Brazil are through, and Uruguay all-but qualified. However, the rest of the places are wide open with several nations...
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-conmebol/65/blog/post/3210003/south-american-conmebol-world-cup-qualifying-how-each-nation-can-still-make-russia-2018

European World Cup qualifying - how each nation can still make Russia 2018

Steve Nicol says FIFA are fixing a system that isn't broken by deciding to seed every team for the 2018 World Cup draw.
The final round of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup takes place between Oct. 5 and 10, with only one of the 13 available places currently confirmed after Belgium secured top spot in Group H.
Already qualified: Belgium (plus Russia as hosts)
Places yet to be decided: 8 automatic, 8 playoff places for 4 finals berths
Here, we take a look at which nations can still make it to Russia, and how they can get there.
The nine group winners qualify automatically, with the other four places decided by playoffs...
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-uefa/67/blog/post/3204066/european-world-cup-qualifying-how-each-nation-can-still-make-russia-2018

Which nations can be seeded at the World Cup finals draw?

Steve Nicol says FIFA are fixing a system that isn't broken by deciding to seed every team for the 2018 World Cup draw.
The World Cup draw will take place on Friday, Dec. 1, and FIFA has announced that it will seed all four pots based upon its October World Ranking.
It's very tricky at this stage to predict what all four pots will look like, but we can assess which seven nations will join hosts Russia as one of the eight top seeds. 
The seven highest-ranked nations in the October FIFA Ranking, who also qualify for the finals, will be seeded with Russia. 
Who is guaranteed to be seeded?
At present only Brazil...
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/fifa-world-cup/4/blog/post/3209907/which-nations-can-be-seeded-at-the-world-cup-finals-draw