USA 2 Costa Rica 2 (USA win 4-3 on pens)
June 29 – You’d hate to use the word ‘sterile’ to describe a Concacaf Gold Cup quarter-final, but following the drama and passion of Guatemala versus Canada, it all felt a little flat as the United States Men’s National Team (USMNT) and Costa Rica kicked off for the right to face Guatemala in St. Louis. After 90 minutes and the drama of penalty kicks,
July 9 – The US Soccer Federation is to hold its first football-specific hackathon on Chicago, July 14-15, at the 1871 – Chicago’s Centre for Technology and Entrepreneurship.
July 9 – He may be 40 and have retired from international football but Gianluigi Buffon is about to enter a new phase of his stellar career.
July 9 – One of the big success stories of the World Cup so far has been the welcome the Russians have given to visitors regardless of nationality, colour or religion.
July 9 – The rising career of Kenyan referee Aden Marwa has been terminated after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Saturday banned him for life.
By Andrew Warshaw
July 6 – Morocco’s unexpected recent announcement that it will bid for the 2030 World Cup despite five previous failures can be explained by the fact that it will almost certainly be a joint effort with its north African neighbours.
July 6 – Bournemouth, about to enter their fourth season in the Premier League, have finally settled with the English Football League (EFL) over a breach of financial fair play (FFP) rules when they were in the Championship in 2014/15.
By Paul Nicholson
July 6 – Italian football faces a sponsorship crisis following a government proposal to ban on all gambling advertising, including sponsorship or promotional deals with gambling companies.
July 6 – The entry of the giant OTT streaming services into the top tier football rights market is gathering pace with Facebook agreeing an estimated £260 million deal for live Premier League matches in south-east Asia.
July 6 – FIFA has slapped St Vincent and the Grenadines Football Federation president Venold Coombs with a two-year ban and a hefty fine after finding him guilty on corruption charges.
July 6 – After describing Colombia’s World Cup loss to England as a “monumental theft” and being wrapped over the knuckles by FIFA, for whom he is a well-paid ambassador, Diego Maradona has apologised for the comments he made about the refereeing during the last-16 tie.
By David Owen
July 6 – There is World Cup history attached to both of Friday’s quarter-final match-ups in Russia. In the case of France versus Uruguay in Nizhny Novgorod, I do not see it having any particular bearing on this week’s outcome; in that of Belgium versus Brazil, it very well might.
July 6 – Clubs who reach the knockout stages of the Champions League and Europa League and other elite competitions will be allowed to make a fourth substitution if the match goes into extra time from next season.
July 6 – On the eve of their World Cup quarterfinal against the host nation, Croatia have been fined CHF70,000 for violating media and marketing rules at the tournament.
July 6 – Hard on the heels of Betway having announced two new club betting sponsorship in LaLiga, Marathonbet has taken its first Spanish steps becoming the main sponsor of Girona FC.
By Paul Nicholson
July 5 – Spain’s LaLiga is the latest football rights holder to condemn the on-going copyright theft by pirate satellite broadcaster BeoutQ that is transmitting sports content it does not own. Separately world tennis’s various governing bodies and major tournaments have combined to issue the strongest demands yet, calling for the “immediate closure” of the channel.