Guatemala 0-1 Panama:
June 20 – Friday night at Q2 Stadium bore no resemblance to the venue that hosted football just 24 hours earlier. The transformation was complete, and the catalyst was simple: unbridled passion provided by the hordes of Guatemala supporters who descended on Austin. Stark contrast to the lack of interest shown by US fans on Thursday.
June 27 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino’s participation in the ‘Peace to Prosperity’ workshop in Bahrain have raised plenty of eyebrows in the Middle East with his own personal history being that of aggressor rather than peacemaker.
In one picture, a cut-away from an Al Jazeera broadcast on Twitter, you see him sitting next to a UK war criminal has-been in Manama, where a laughably androgynous Kushner delivers a ludicrous proposal for Mid-East Peace. [THIS “Pax Americana” risks to be a still-birth similar to Infantino’s neo-colonial football proposal to “Save Africa” (from itself, I take it?). What Kushner and other far-right bozos are planning to do to the Palestinians (if the rest of the world lets them),
June 26 – Refereeing at the Women’s World Cup has been under severe scrutiny with VAR and other interventions wrecking the natural rhythm of the game, but FIFA’s head of referees Pierluigi Collina has shrugged off the storm of criticism, saying that the tournament is not “an experiment” for new rules using the VAR.
June 26 – US president Donald Trump hit back at US women’s team co-captain Megan Rapinoe, telling her in a tweet to “respect the flag” after Rapinoe said she would not visit the White House if they won the World Cup.
June 27 – LaLiga’s Sevilla have replaced social gaming firm Playtika with online bookmaker Marathonbet as their new shirt sponsor in a two-years deal.
June 27 – A study of shirt sponsorship within LaLiga by sponsorship consultancy Strock found Spain’s top clubs delivered a return on investment of €29 million last season via TV exposure.
June 26 – A Brooklyn court has awarded Concacaf potentially upwards of $20 million in damages against its former president Jack Warner.
By Osasu Obayiuwana
June 26 – Nigeria’s Super Eagles go into Wednesday’s Africa Cup of Nations group match against Guinea, after a blunt refusal to show up for the customary pre-match press conference in Alexandria.
By Samindra Kunti in Rio de Janeiro
June 26 – Copa America organisers have said they are satisfied with the tournament so far despite of criticism over empty seats and lengthy VAR delays.
June 26 – Premier League newcomers Sheffield United have signed a three-year shirt sponsorship with Australian foreign exchange and CFD brokerage USG.
June 26 – FIFA says it is “currently looking into” Cameroon’s behaviour during their World Cup last-16 defeat by England.
June 26 – Following on from the success of their deep run in the Champions League where they exited in the semi finals, Ajax have renewed their contract with their main shirt sponsor Ziggo for a further two years with an option to add two more.
June 25 – Market value estimates put England and Dortmund winger Jadon Sancho as the player with the highest increase in value in the world since the last transfer window – up €49.6 million to a transfer value of €95.7 million.
June 25 – Amidst the hype of the Women’s World Cup, Real Madrid have disclosed plans to found a women’s team for the 2019/2020 season. The Spanish giant have reached an agreement with CD Tacon that will see them take the club over.
June 25 – AC Milan and Inter Milan could team up to demolish the iconic San Siro Stadium and replace it with a brand new stadium on site, according to AC Milan president Paolo Scaroni.