BeIN grabs last minute Gold Cup rights as Qatar poised for debut
July 13 – Concacaf has expanded the broadcast footprint for its Gold Cup across the Middle East and North Africa with pay-television broadcaster beIN Media Group.
Author: Paul Nicholson
Southgate praised but questions linger after Mancini’s managerial masterclass
By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 – Gareth Southgate has rightly won plaudits for the way he and his team conducted themselves during the last four weeks at Euro 2020.
Ceferin hails a ‘special’ Euros and return to normality, but says 11-city format is flawed
July 12 – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says he will never again support the idea of a pan-continental European Championship as it is unfair to the teams as well as fans to fly thousands of kilometres between matches.
England down and out; fans taint country’s Wembley party
By Andrew Warshaw
July 11 –
England’s failure to secure their first ever European crown was accompanied by the sadly familiar scene of so-called England fans heaping disgrace and ignominy on their country, before the match at Wembley Stadium and on social media after it.
Jamaica ease past Suriname to build Gold Cup challenger credentials
Group C: Jamaica 2 Suriname 0
July 13 – Jamaica opened their Gold Cup campaign against tournament debutants Suriname at the Exploria Stadium in Orlando with a 2-0 win.
Qatar readied for Gold Cup test with debut against Panama
July 13 – Qatar will make its Concacaf Gold Cup debut tonight at the BBVA Stadium in Houston, Texas. Their opponents will be 2018 World Cup qualifiers Panama.
Costa Rica overcome defensive lapse to beat 10-man Guadeloupe
Group C: Costa Rica 3 Guadeloupe 1
July 12 – Costa Rica went into the Gold Cup off the back having lost nine games. Up until the half time whistle you could have been wondering what the issue was. But suddenly all that changed with a goal in the half’s added time that turned what looked like a dead rubber into a spicy contest.
New look USA grind out Haiti win; Canada find an early rhythm
Group B: USA 1 -Haiti 0; Canada 4 – Martinique 1
July 11 – The United States opened their Gold Cup campaign in Kansas City with an unconvincing 1-0 win over a combative Haitian team. It was a scrappy start for the Americans but who at then end of the game rode their luck against an improving Haiti.
Italy take Euro 2020 title on penalties after England’s fast start
By Samindra Kunti at Wembley
July 10 – In the end football didn’t come home. After a night of dramatic tension, Italy prevailed from the penalty spot to win Euro 2020, their first European crown since 1968, a victory veteran defender Leonardo Bonucci hailed as the “renaissance of Italian football”.
Motsepe and CAF hunt broadcast money to fund African Super League
July 12 – Confederation of African Football (CAF) president Patrice Motsepe (pictured) has revealed that the governing body has opened discussions with broadcasters on the formation of an African Super League, repeating that Africa will learn from the mistakes of the European Super League debacle.
AS Monaco expand in Asia with two-season AYX deal
July 12 – French Ligue 1 club AS Monaco – which has been targeting an expansion of its regional marketing partnership base – has signed a two year deal with AYX, a sports data and entertainment company, to be the club’s regional partner in Asia.
Trinidad and Tobago rearguard stuns Mexico in Gold Cup opener, Lozano injured
By Jhannet Sanchez in Arlington, Texas
July 10 – The 2021 Gold Cup opened with a major shock in match between Mexico and Trinidad and Tobago officially took place at the AT&T stadium. A match that ended in a scoreless draw and one point for each team.
Haitians return negative tests to keep US game in Kansas on schedule
July 11 – Concacaf narrowly avoided a second fixture crisis on the second day of the Gold Cup after enforcing strict covid protocols on the Haitian team and management.
Tebas brands bi-annual World Cup as self destruction; says ESL is dead whatever the courts rule
By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – La Liga chief Javier Tebas (pictured) has rubbished the idea of staging the World Cup every two years – and also insists the European Super League is dead in the water whatever the European Court of Justice decides.
England heats up as Italians look to create a Wembley party of their own
By Andrew Warshaw
July 9 – The tension is mounting almost hourly and collective nerves are jangling. Will football finally come home to England on Sunday night or will Italy spoil the Euro 2020 party?