World Cup 2018: Kylian Mbappe stars as France beat Croatia 4-2 in a final fit for a thrilling tournament | City A.M. July 15, 2018 Ruthless French counter-attacking, bags of Croatian resolve, flashes of Kylian Mbappe brilliance, scintillating goals, even a VAR penalty: if ever a final reflected the tournament that it concluded then this was surely it. A month of sustained thrills drew to a close in Moscow yesterday with a wildly entertaining World Cup final won by France [...]
World Cup 2018: Tournament review – Heavyweight drop-outs, VAR, penalties, set pieces, wonder goals, concussion and politics July 15, 2018 After 64 matches – including a pointless third-place play-off – over 30 days the World Cup has come to its conclusion. France beat Croatia 4-2 in the final in a match that neatly summed by the whole competition. There were goals from set pieces, a VAR-assisted penalty and lots of quality to boot. But you [...]
Forget Trump’s visit, we must prepare for a new world order July 13, 2018 It was all going so well. The UK Prime Minister had secured the honour of being the first foreign leader to meet the new President of the United States. The visit appeared to be a success, the joint press conference ensued without any of the off-script tirades that had been feared, and the iconic shot [...]
World Cup 2018 glory may have eluded England but planets could align for Gareth Southgate’s exciting team in 2020 | City A.M. July 12, 2018 Football might not be coming home just yet, following England’s World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia on Wednesday, but it will soon be returning to its heartlands in at least one sense. The next European Championship, in two years’ time, has been designated a uniquely pan-continental affair involving 12 host cities in 12 different countries [...]
Should investors be ‘coming home’ – to UK equities? July 12, 2018 The England football team were widely overlooked as contenders in Russia. Having witnessed a number of World Cup competitions in my time – the first I can recollect in detail being Italy 1990 – I can’t remember public expectations ever being lower than they were ahead of this summer’s tournament. Yet thanks to their courage [...]
World Cup special: which stock markets look ‘cheap’? July 12, 2018 As the world’s football teams have been battling out for supremacy at the World Cup, so have the major equity markets been jostling for position. In both cases, results have not gone entirely to form. While many other markets had been posting double-digit gains in the 12 months prior to the second quarter, the UK [...]
World Cup 2018: England dream ends with Croatia semi-final defeat, but new era is just beginning | City A.M. July 12, 2018 There was hope. Then suddenly it was gone, extinguished by an extra-time goal, a swipe of Mario Mandzukic’s left boot, the biggest of moments in the biggest of matches. England’s World Cup fairytale reached its unhappy ending in Moscow last night with a semi-final defeat to Croatia, a rude awakening to a dream of a [...]
World Cup 2018: How Croatia exploited England’s nerves and space out wide to reach the final | City A.M. July 11, 2018 Coming into England’s biggest game in 28 years all the focus on Croatia was directed at two men: Luka Modric and Ivan Rakitic. The Real Madrid and Barcelona central midfielders offered the most obvious threat to Gareth Southgate’s side. Their ability to dictate play, pierce the defence and shoot from distance was rightly highlighted. However, [...]
Trump’s UK visit: Theresa May to use President’s official trip to deepen special relationship with ‘future-proof’ trade partnership | City A.M. July 11, 2018 Theresa May will urge Donald Trump to help strengthen the UK’s ties with the US after Brexit through a “future-proof” partnership, during his first official visit since becoming US President. Trump will land in the UK on Thursday afternoon from Brussels, where has been making waves at the Nato summit. The Prime Minister will host [...]
Nato: Donald Trump claims Germany is held ‘captive’ to Russia over energy July 11, 2018 Donald Trump has kicked off the Nato summit with a bang, claiming Germany is “a captive to Russia” because of its energy requirements. Speaking during a working breakfast with Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg, the US President said it was “very inappropriate” that the US had to “protect you against Russia” while Germany supported a [...]