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,
October 22 – Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer has become the latest high-profile football figure to oppose FIFA’s biennial World Cup proposal, saying that “you must never sacrifice football on the altar of financial interests.”
October 22 – A further 57 people linked to football and sport were evacuated from Afghanistan, arriving in Doha, Qatar, on a Qatar Airways Charter flight on Wednesday.
October 22 – The isolation of Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona over their belligerent insistence on trying to keep their Super League ambitions alive in the European courts, was highlighted again this week.
October 22 – France’s Ligue 1 giants Lyon and Monaco have agreed to play a regular season domestic league match in China in February next year.
October 22 – Asia will see a return of national team age-group competition this weekend with centralised qualifiers for the AFC U23 Asian Cup Uzbekistan 2022.
October 22 – Jose Mourinho is in the headlines again. On Thursday, the Portuguese coach suffered the biggest defeat of his career with AS Roma at the hands of Norway’s Bodo/Glimt, but Mourinho blamed his players for the 6-1 result.
October 22 – Nine European leagues, members of the Association European Leagues Association, have agreed a joint international broadcast deal with ELEVEN and OneFootball that includes both live rights and highlights.
October 22 – Manchester City tops a ranking of the five major European leagues of clubs who create the most ‘big’ chances against chances conceded.
By Paul Nicholson
October 21 – Details are emerging of how controversial AEK Athens owner Dimitris Melissanidis allegedly misappropriated money from his now bankrupt shipping business to fund his own lavish lifestyle and the Greek club.
October 21 – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) will replace Japan as hosts for the 2021 Club World Cup, with the tournament that should have taken place in December now to be rescheduled for early next year.
October 21 – FIFA president Gianni Infantino has shielded Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF) president and FIFA Council member Fouzi Lekjaa over his new role in the Moroccan government, claiming that FIFA is politically neutral.
October 21 – South Korea’s Pohang Steelers will face Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal in the final of the Asian Champions League after beating current ACL holders Ulsan Hyundai on penalties.
October 21 – The blurring of ‘sporting’ boundaries and rights ownership that eSports throw up is brought sharply into focus again today with the EA Sports-sanctioned FIFA 22 Challenge.
October 21 – After two seasons in charge of his hometown club, Steve Bruce has exited Newcastle United after the club’s new owners confirmed his departure by mutual consent.
By Samindra Kunti
October 20 – Is the biennial World Cup dead and buried? After months of relentless PR and intense lobbying, a downbeat Gianni Infantino pivoted away from his brash crusade to railroad through his World Cup plans and overhaul the international match calendar following FIFA’s council meeting, held today at the world governing body’s headquarters in Zurich.