Man City's defence wins the day
Instead of winning big, Pep Guardiola's side shut down Chelsea in a 1-0 win. PLUS: Barcelona's difficult day behind closed doors and Bayern's player 'mutiny' doesn't result in an immediate turnaround. Marcotti's Musings »
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/blog/marcotti-musings/62/post/3219204/manchester-city-beat-chelsea-with-defence-barcelona-difficult-day
Exploding Heads' September in Review
The Exploding Heads review all of September's Premier League action, including Dele Alli's sign language course and Jurgen Klopp's German lessons.
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/23/video/3219170/exploding-heads-september-in-review
PL in 90 seconds: Scary new mascot
The Exploding Heads take a look at the weekend's Premier League fixtures, including the unveiling of West Brom's new mascot and the tattoo World Cup.
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/english-premier-league/23/video/3219143/pl-in-90-seconds-scary-new-mascot
Transfer Rater: Ryan Sessegnon to Tottenham, Danny Ings to Leeds
Things change in the blink of an eye in football. <a
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/blog/soccer-usa/3/post/3219037/transfer-rater-ryan-sessegnon-to-tottenham-danny-ings-to-leeds
Barcelona president: Images of empty Camp Nou highlighted Catalonia rift
BARCELONA -- Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu has defended his decision to play Sunday's match at the Camp Nou behind closed doors, saying images
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/barcelona/story/3219427/barcelona-president-says-images-of-empty-camp-nou-highlighted-catalonia-situation
Pep Guardiola 'wouldn't have played' Barcelona match behind closed doors
Former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has <a
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/barcelona/story/3219067/pep-guardiola-wouldnt-have-played-barcelona-match-behind-closed-doors
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique whistled, jeered at Spain training
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique was loudly whistled at Spain training on Monday, a day after he said he was open to leaving the national
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-uefa/story/3219498/barcelona-defender-gerard-pique-whistled-jeered-at-spain-training
Zlatan Ibrahimovic warned against early Manchester United return
Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been warned against making an early comeback for Manchester United by surgeon Dr Freddie Fu, who operated on his knee in
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-united/story/3219072/zlatan-ibrahimovic-warned-against-early-manchester-united-return
Zinedine Zidane: We're disappointed for Ronaldo over Liga goal drought
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he was "a bit disappointed" for Cristiano Ronaldo after his wait for a league goal this season went
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/real-madrid/story/3219014/zinedine-zidane-were-disappointed-for-cristiano-ronaldo-over-liga-goal-drought
Romelu Lukaku skips Belgium training with ankle injury - sources
Romelu Lukaku did not train with the rest of the Belgium squad on Monday because of an ankle injury, sources have told ESPN FC.
Lukaku reported to
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/world-cup-qualifying-uefa/story/3219310/romelu-lukaku-skips-belgium-training-with-ankle-injury-sources
Joe Hart: Pep Guardiola didn't give me fair chance at Manchester City
Joe Hart doesn't think he has been given a "fair chance" by Pep Guardiola as his Manchester City career looks to have come to an end since the Spaniard's
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-city/story/3219262/west-hams-joe-hart-pep-guardiola-didnt-give-me-fair-chance-at-manchester-city
Neymar's father surprised he left Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain
Neymar's father has told
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/spanish-primera-division/story/3219018/neymars-father-surprised-he-left-barcelona-for-paris-saint-germain
Rio Ferdinand: Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho 'testing' Luke Shaw
Jose Mourinho wants Luke Shaw to fight for his place at Manchester United and is "testing" him, former United defender Rio Ferdinand has
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/manchester-united/story/3219092/rio-ferdinand-manchester-united-boss-jose-mourinho-testing-luke-shaw
Bayern confirm Franck Ribery suffered ligament damage in Hertha Berlin draw
Franck Ribery has suffered knee ligament damage and faces a spell on the sidelines, Bayern Munich have confirmed.
Ribery was forced
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/bayern-munich/story/3219239/bayern-confirm-franck-ribery-suffered-ligament-damage-in-hertha-berlin-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 fourth 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
Benzema's importance to Ronaldo makes Isco's place in Real XI tenuous
Alejandro Moreno and Shaka Hislop agree that Isco's form for Real Madrid should make him the first name on the team sheet.
If absence really does make the heart grow fonder, as the old saying goes, then Cristiano Ronaldo will be missing Karim Benzema like a jilted lover at the moment.
The Portuguese goal machine failed to hit the target for a third consecutive Liga game in Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Espanyol on Sunday, something that has happened only seven times since he arrived at the Bernabeu for a then-world-record fee in the summer of 2009. A run of four Liga games without a strike has only occurred once...
Source: http://www.espnfc.com/club/real-madrid/86/blog/post/3219557/benzemas-importance-to-ronaldo-makes-iscos-place-in-real-xi-tenuous
Source:
http://www.espnfc.com/feed