By David Owen
June 19 – After his breathtaking virtuoso performance against Spain in Sochi, Cristiano Ronaldo may well be pondering the possibility of a second consecutive World Cup hat-trick when Portugal take on Morocco on Wednesday at the Luzhniki.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 18 – Somehow Germany always manage to get the job done. Not this time. In the biggest shock so far at the World Cup, the defending champions lost their opening game for only the second time in their history after Mexico pulled off an historic 1-0 win in Moscow – their first ever win over the Germans.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 17 – A freekick that will be talked about for years to come followed, 24 hours later, by a penalty miss that was equally, in its own way, memorable if only for the context involved.
By Andrew Warshaw in Moscow
June 15 – FIFA’s top refereeing watchdogs are urging the public not to expect miracles from the Video Assistant Referees (VAR) system that is making its World Cup debut in Russia. But director of refereeing Massimo Busacca nevertheless insists the system will be a help rather than a hindrance despite lingering doubts about whether VAR has been implemented too quickly in FIFA’s flagship event because of confusing rulings and long delays.
June 6 – Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos, whose arm wrestle on Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah put the Egyptian striker out of the Champions League final, has hit back at widespread criticism of his action and says Salah could have played on instead of leaving the field in tears.
June 6 – When European clubs complain about their highly paid players being stretched to the limit by too much international competition, they often receive scant sympathy.
June 6 – Italian giant Internazionale have opened three new academies, one in Slovakia and two more in China taking the number of Inter Academies in the world’s largest country to six.
June 5 – So do we now know the real reason for one of most calamitous goalkeeping displays of recent years or is it too cynical to suggest we are just being fed convenient excuses?
June 5 – Tunisia’s World Cup players appear to have discovered an ingenious way of breaking their Ramadan fasts in the build-up to the tournament.
June 1 – It came as a bombshell to both players and fans. The intriguing question now is who takes over at Real Madrid following Zinedine Zidane’s shock decision to step down just days after clinching a third consecutive Champions League title.
May 31 – A ‘production index’ developed by the CIES Football Observatory using InStat data shows that the top teams in the Big 5 European leagues all have similar performance data characteristics that correlate to their league positions.
By Samindra Kunti in Kiev
May 29 – Substitute Gareth Bale scored twice for Real Madrid to win the Champions League 3-1 win against much-fancied underdogs Liverpool. Mohamed Salah dislocated his shoulder and Loris Karius was the anti-hero, conceding two astounding goals that led Madrid to glory. Madrid’s win was historic in collecting a 13th European Cup. The victory may also have signified the end of an era.
By Andrew Warshaw
May 22 – No sooner has the English season finished than the merry-go round of managerial departures and sackings has begun – with two in particular illustrating the short-sighted attitude of top-flight chairman.
By Samindra Kunti
May 18 – Roberto Martinez has extended his contract with Belgium in a two-year deal. He will remain Belgium’s coach until Euro 2020.
May 18 – He’s done some novel things since hanging up his boots and now Diego Maradona has entered new territory again by signing a three-year contract to become chairman of the Belarusian side Dinamo Brest after the World Cup.