Costa Rica 2 Dominican Republic 1
June 28 – Picture this: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas, a gleaming, cavernous, colossus of modern architecture, standing like a metallic monument to American excess. With its 80,000-seat capacity echoing like a vast, empty cathedral, barely 3,000 souls scattered across its bowels at kickoff. It didn’t matter.
June 21 – Norway will not boycott the 2022 World Cup in Qatar following a vote at an extraordinary meeting of Norway’s Football Federation (NFF) that dismissed the move with a strong majority, despite strong pressure from the grassroots levels over alleged human rights abuses of migrant workers in the Gulf state.
June 21 – They arrived as genuine dark horses to go deep into the tournament yet depart after three humbling defeats, one goal scored and without a single point.
June 21 – With four Thai clubs entering Asian Champions League action for the first time this week, the AFC has moved fast to secure True as their new media partner in Thailand for all AFC club competitions in the 2021 season.
June 20 – World federation FIFA have sanctioned the Mexico football federation (FMF) for the ‘puta’ homophobic chants from supporters during Olympic qualifying matches for the men’s team. As a punishment, Mexicans fans will be banned from El Tri’s first two World Cup qualifiers.
June 20 – On a steamy afternoon near the Gulf of Finland, Aleksander Isak emerged as the new heir to Zlatan Ibrahimovic as Sweden and Russia lived up to their reputations of playing stifling football in a match of diabolical quality.
June 20 – Belgian A-listers Kevin De Bruyne, Eden Hazard and Axel Witsel will all start against Finland, Belgian coach Roberto Martinez confirmed in a match that his Finnish counterpart Markku Kanerva dubbed “the game of our lives”.
By Paul Nicholson
June 18 – Rumours that UEFA could switch the Euro 2020 final from London to another venue outside the UK have gathered pace with discussion ongoing about provision of a special covid protocol that would allow fans of teams in for the final without having to undergo normal quarantine procedures.
By Andrew Warshaw
June 18 – Teams at Euro 2020 have been warned about their contractual obligation to sponsors after both Cristiano Ronaldo and Paul Pogba removed official drinks bottles at press conferences.
By Samindra Kunti in St Petersburg
June 18 – Russia’s Euro 2020 host city has tightened restrictions to curb a third wave of Covid-19 as the Slovakia team reported two positive tests on the eve of their Group E game with Sweden.
June 18 – After 18 years at the head of Congolese football, Constant Omari, for years one of African football’s most influential as well as controversial figures, is calling it a day after a career marked by claims of shady dealing and corruption.
June 18 – The blockchain-based Fan Token platform Socios.com has added LaLiga’s Valencia CF to their roster of clubs in a deal that will see the $VCF promoted on the front of the club’s shirt for the 2021-22 season.
June 18 – The Swiss judiciary are not giving up on trying to get former FIFA president Sepp Blatter to answer proceedings against him.
June 18 – CBF interim president coronel Nunes has dismissed the organisation’s general secretary Walter Feldman, who will be replaced by Eduardo Zebini.
June 18 – The mens International Champions Cup (ICC) organised by US sports marketing group Relevent has been cancelled for a second year. Relevent will be continuing with its four-team women’s tournament announced last month.
June 18 – Japanese authorities are considering an asylum request from a Myanmar squad player who has refused to return home following a World Cup qualifier between the teams last month.