England s stunning first half against Panama on Sunday saw them score four goals in a World Cup match for the time since the 1966 final against West Germany.
Gareth Southgate s side blew away their Central American opponents with two goals apiece from John Stones and Harry Kane, as well as a Jesse Lingard strike inside the opening 45 minutes to take a 5-0 lead into the interval.
Stones second saw the Three Lions score four in one match at football s showpiece event since the 4-2 win over West Germany at Wembley 52 years ago.
Geoff Hurst was the hero on that occasion, scoring a hat-trick in England s most famous triumph.
4 England have scored four goals in a World Cup match for the first time the 1966 World Cup final against Germany. Fantastic.
Portugal s hopes of earning automatic World Cup qualification remain on track following a narrow 1-0 win over 10-man Hungary in Budapest.
Andre Silva nodded in the only goal from Cristiano Ronaldo s cross to keep the pressure on Group B leaders Switzerland, who remain three points clear after beating Latvia.
The visitors task was made easier by the first-half dismissal of former Watford and Ipswich forward Tamas Priskin, although Fernando Santos side did have to wait until after the interval for Silva to break the deadlock.
Hungary defended stoutly either side of Priskin s elbow on Pepe but rarely threatened an upset, registering just a single shot on goal.
Ronaldo, fresh from a hat-trick in Thursday s 5-1 victory over Faroe Islands, was kept quiet at…
Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois defended his footwork amid criticism early in the season.
Courtois, 26, produced his best performance for Madrid in a 0-0 derby draw with Atletico in LaLiga on Saturday.
But the former Chelsea shot-stopper has been questioned early in the campaign, with his footwork criticised.
However, Courtois dismissed those critics, telling Belgofut: I m not bad with my feet.
I may not be among the best, but I m certainly not bad either. Sometimes I miss a long ball but I dare to play with my feet.
The last ball on which [Nikola] Kalinic put pressure was given to [Raphael] Varane with my right. Many goalkeepers would have cleared that ball.
Sometimes I give a bad ball, yes, but I know more goalkeepers who are,…
Borussia Dortmund forward Marco Reus says he would gladly give up all his wealth to be free of injuries.
The 28-year-old has been blighted by fitness problems in recent years and is not expected to return to action until the early part of 2018 after tearing his cruciate ligament in last season s DFB-Pokal final.
Reus has revealed the emotional toll of trying to battle back to fitness once more and says he would trade his money for the chance to play regularly again.
The tears came again two or three days later when I went through it again in my mind, he told GQ when asked about the knee injury he sustained in the cup victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in May.
To be alone, working your way back is the most demanding part. I was really fed up after three we…
Former captain Philipp Lahm is confident Germany can bounce back from their early World Cup elimination in Russia.
The 2014 winners lost group matches to Mexico and South Korea as they failed to get past the group stage for the first time in their history.
Lahm, who lifted the trophy four years ago, said it would be a bittersweet moment when he brings the trophy to Moscow’s Luzhniki Stadium Sunday, but backs Joachim Low’s team to redevelop themselves as future winners.
I’ll be passing on the pride that German football has felt for the past four years. This pride will be handed over to the winners, and there’s no doubt that it will be a powerful image for the beautiful game, he said.
It will be a wistful moment for both us and Germany and an inc…
Ronald Koeman secured his first victory as Everton manager as his side came from a goal behind to claim a 2-1 Premier League victory over West Brom at the Hawthorns.
Everton had to come from two goals down to win 3-2 in the corresponding fixture last season, and they were made to fight for the points once again on Saturday.
The visitors found themselves behind early on thanks to a Gareth McAuley header, with Kevin Mirallas restoring parity just prior to the interval.
And the comeback was complete when, on the hour mark, Gareth Barry headed in after Tony Pulis side failed to clear from a corner – with Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku both squandering gilt-edged chances late on.
Fortunately for the visitors, the misses mattered little as, despite withstan…
Barcelona are interested in signing Aymeric Laporte from Manchester City in the summer transfer window, according to . It has ben reported that the Spanish and the English clubs have already started talks over the transfer of the Spain international.
City paid Athletic Bilbao £57 million in transfer fees when they signed Laporte in January 2018. Barcelona are unable to match that sum even now, but they are open to sending Sergi Roberto to the Etihad Stadium to bring down the transfer fee. City manager Pep Guardiola is reportedly a fan of the 29-year-old, who can play as a full-back or as a midfielder, and believes that he would be a good signing for the Premier League champions.
Laporte made in the Premier League and four appearances in the Champions League for City…
Manchester United icon Ryan Giggs has urged the club s fans to get behind under-fire manager Jose Mourinho.
Pressure is mounting on the Portuguese following successive defeats to Brighton and Hove Albion and Tottenham, with the former Chelsea boss defiantly demanding respect at a news conference that followed the latter.
Mourinho takes his side to Burnley in the Premier League on Sunday looking for a first win since the opening day, and Giggs who spent a spell in caretaker charge at Old Trafford in 2014 wants the 20-time English champions to put up a united front.
I think purely coming from me being a United fan, I was there on Monday [for the Tottenham defeat], I think it s a time for the fans to stick together, get behind the club, get behind the team, get …
If Tuesday s first knockout game at Euro 2020 was billed as a battle to secure a straightforward run to the final, the late kick-off was all about Ukraine and Sweden seizing an opportunity to prove the doubters wrong.
After overcoming their old rivals Germany at Wembley Stadium, England will be strongly favoured to reach the competition s showpiece by progressing through the kindest side of the draw.
Yet every other nation alongside them will also sense the possibility of making history at a tournament that has already seen its fair share of upsets.
It is Ukraine who will get the chance to shock the Three Lions in Rome on Saturday, having claimed a 2-1 win over Sweden with a goal in stoppage time of extra time.
And, though Andriy Shevchenko s side did not…
Mikel Arteta lauded Arsenal s win over Chelsea as special after his team ended a seven-game winless run in the Premier League.
Arsenal handed the under pressure Arteta a belated Christmas present on Boxing Day, with Alexandre Lacazette, Granit Xhaka and Bukayo Saka striking in a 3-1 win.
Chelsea pulled one back through Tammy Abraham late on, with Jorginho seeing a penalty saved by Bernd Leno as Arsenal avoided a nervy finish.
The victory lifted Arsenal up a place into 14th, ahead of matches against fellow strugglers Brighton and Hove Albion and West Brom.
Obviously a really big win for us, a relieved but ecstatic Arteta told Sky Sports.
We were really disappointed and frustrated with the results, not the performances as much. The players were s…