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,
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.
Jamaica 2 Guadeloupe 1
June 20 – Jamaica picked up their first three points and kept their hopes of progression to the knockout rounds alive. But it was not without a chaotic finale where they looked to be throwing everything away against a Guadeloupe team that stuck to their task.
June 20 – Under fire Canada coach Jesse Marsch who is facing disciplinary action following his behaviour at Canada’s opening game of the Gold Cup, said “there’s a process in place and I respect that”.
June 20 – Crystal Palace part-owner John Textor is in advanced talks to sell his 43% stake in the club to New York Jets owner Woody Johnson, as pressure mounts to resolve UEFA’s multi-club ownership concerns ahead of next season’s European competitions.
June 20 – Manchester City have been hit with a £1.08 million fine by the Premier League after failing to kick-off or restart matches on time across nine fixtures last season – with Pep Guardiola’s notoriously long team talks once again under scrutiny.
June 20 – AS Monaco have renewed their commercial tie-up with Renault for another season, with the French automaker set to push its nostalgic R4 electric reboot as part of the club’s 2025/26 Champions League campaign.
June 20 – Real Betis and Danish sportswear brand hummel have extended their partnership for another ten seasons, with the Spanish club taking a more hands-on role in the production of its merchandise.
June 20 – Botafogo stunned European champions Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 to cause the first major upset of the Club World Cup.
June 20 – Two clubs and one league made it into the top tier of the just launched Sport Transparency Index, a benchmarking tool to assess transparency and good governance across the European Sport ecosystem.
June 20 – Aivar Pohlak has been re-elected as the president of the Estonian FA, defeating former Liverpool player Ragnar Klavan.
June 19 – The Somali Football Federation (SFF) has launched training programs for beach soccer coaches and referees under its REACH Initiative, aimed at getting the ball rolling in all corners of the country which is now preparing for its first ever beach soccer tournament.
June 20 – Online Malta-based bookmaker Soft2Bet has agreed a two-year deal with Denmark’s Divisionsforeningenin to sponsor the second, third and fourth tiers Danish football.
June 20 – The AFC has concluded its three-day Coach Education Conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, it’s 5thedition, that covered a range of topics aimed at advancing coach education programmes across the confederation.
Titled ‘Shaping the Future of Coach Education’, AFC Technical Director Andy Roxburgh’s keynote address focussed on developing ‘Tomorrow’s Coaches’.
USA 1 Saudi Arabia 0
June 19 – American comedian Rodney Dangerfield used to say, “I don’t get no respect.” The same could be said for the United States Men’s Soccer Team as barely 10,000 fans showed up for a supporter friendly 8.15pm kickoff versus Concacaf Gold Cup, Group D opponents, Saudi Arabia in a 1-0 win that again raised more questions than answers.
Haiti 1 Trinidad and Tobago 1
June 19 – Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago delivered 90 minutes of full-blooded football on a steaming hot, late afternoon in Houston at the Shell Energy Stadium battling to a draw that keeps them both in with a chance of making it into the knockout round.