Toothless England edge closer to Brazil September 10, 2013 Hodgson concedes Three Lions missed quality of Rooney and Sturridge WORLD CUP QUALIFIER UKRAINE 0 ENGLAND 0 ENGLAND manager Roy Hodgson bemoaned his squad’s lack of firepower after a goalless draw in Kiev left them top of Group H, but just a point clear of both Ukraine and Montenegro with two matches to go of [...]
England player ratings September 10, 2013 Joe Hart 5 Under spotlight due to recent slips and endured an awful start, nearly conceding a penalty in the first minute, but the Man City man recovered as the match wore on Gary Cahill 8 Vital blocks and interceptions, especially in a nervy first half, were key to England taking a point. Aerial power [...]
Top English and French clubs plan Euro breakaway September 10, 2013 EUROPEAN rugby was plunged into turmoil last night when English and French clubs announced their intention to replace the Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup with two new competitions. Premiership Rugby, which represents England’s top teams, said it considered talks aimed at resolving an impasse with European Rugby Cup (ERC), which runs the current competitions, [...]
Trap door opens as Ireland final dream dies September 10, 2013 REPUBLIC of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni was on the brink last night after a 1-0 defeat in Austria effectively ended their hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup. Bayern Munich full-back David Alaba’s 84th-minute strike in Vienna means Ireland could mathematically still reach a play-off place, but only if they win both of their [...]
October’s too soon for Qatar World Cup decision, say clubs September 10, 2013 EUROPE’S top football teams have urged governing body Fifa not to rush into a decision about switching the 2022 Qatar World Cup to winter. Fifa president Sepp Blatter asked his executive committee to discuss the plan at next month’s meeting, amid speculation that a change is increasingly likely. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, president of the European Club [...]
Pearce: Bale ducked London 2012 September 10, 2013 FORMER Team GB Olympic football coach Stuart Pearce has accused Gareth Bale, the world’s new most expensive player, of exaggerating an injury in order to skip the London 2012 Games. Pearce, who was sacked as England Under-21 manager last month after a disastrous European Championships, also singled out Arsenal’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Manchester United’s Phil [...]
Cricket Comment: England must unleash future stars or risk World Cup failure September 10, 2013 ASHLEY Giles has his hands tied with a number of his top players not available for selection to England’s one-day international squad, but that gives him licence to try the younger players and I think he’s missing a golden opportunity at the moment. I didn’t see the sense in selecting Steven Finn and James Tredwell, [...]
Nadal in shock as US Open caps miracle return September 10, 2013 WORLD No1 in waiting Rafael Nadal described this as his most emotional season yet after crowning an improbable comeback from career-threatening injury with a formidable and victorious US Open campaign. The Spaniard’s ability to add to his 12 grand slams looked in grave doubt when chronic knee problems forced him to take seven months off, [...]
Stewart fears for Kimi move September 10, 2013 FORMER world champion Sir Jackie Stewart has predicted fireworks if Kimi Raikkonen returns to Ferrari to race alongside Fernando Alonso. Stewart doubts whether the temperamental Alonso would welcome vying for supremacy with the eccentric Finn, a fellow former world champion. “I think there’d be destabilising elements to it,” he said. “If Kimi went to Ferrari, [...]
Bach gets thumbs-up to succeed outgoing Rogge as Olympic chief September 10, 2013 FORMER fencing gold medallist Thomas Bach is set to succeed Jacques Rogge as president of the International Olympic Committee after winning the vote yesterday. The 59-year-old German will serve an eight-year term following his election with 49 votes, beating off competition from Richard Carrion (29 votes), Ng Ser Miang (six), Denis Oswald (five) and Sergey [...]