Category: England

‘Protect the players’ – England and USWNT show solidarity before friendly

The two teams came together prior to a friendly at a sold-out Wembley

England and the U.S. women’s national team came together to recognize the continuing impact of the Yates report prior to Friday’s friendly at Wembley Stadium.

On Monday, the results of Sally Yates’ investigation into abusive behavior and sexual misconduct in women’s professional soccer was released, with a host of new details about abusive coaches and enablers at the highest levels of the game in the U.S.

In front of a sold-out crowd at Wembley, both teams posed in front of a banner that read “Protect The Players” prior to the game. Players on both teams also wore teal armbands to stand in solidarity with sexual violence survivors.

In the build-up to the game, England players Lucy Bronze and Beth Mead expressed solidarity with their American counterparts, which was gratefully received by U.S. star Megan Rapinoe.

“There’s just so much solidarity between the things that we have to fight for,” Rapinoe said in her pre-match press conference. “So obviously, there will come a time where we’ll be competing on the pitch, but I feel like everything before that, we’re all fighting together for the same things.”

Watch USWNT & England come together prior to friendly

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Harry Maguire is having a Really Bad Time right now

The unrelenting criticism seems to have shattered the defender’s confidence

It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Harry Maguire right now.

The center back is pretty much always subject to unrelenting criticism, and has now been benched for Manchester United after a rough start to the season. His crisis of confidence appears to have transferred over to England.

Maguire committed two errors that directly led to goals for Germany in Monday’s 3-3 Nations League draw at Wembley.

The first mistake was egregious. Maguire passed the ball directly to Jamal Musiala and the German attacker then wrong-footed the England defender and was taken down for a penalty. İlkay Gündoğan stepped up from the spot to make it 1-0.

Maguire later would give the ball away high up the pitch, leading to a German counter that culminated in Kai Havertz finding the back of the net.

Despite his poor form, Maguire at the moment appears very much to be in Gareth Southgate’s starting lineup. He started both of England’s games this window and Southgate has continued to publicly back him.

But Maguire is hopelessly out of form and low on confidence. His teammate for club and country, Luke Shaw, admitted that all of the criticism may be affecting him.

“Harry is an amazing player, an amazing character,” Shaw told BBC Radio 5 Live after the Germany match. “He’s taken a lot of stick – probably more than I’ve ever seen before in football.

“He never hides away, he’s always there. You can have people who can hide away and not want to be in the spotlight. He keeps putting himself in the spotlight, it shows the strength and character he’s got.

“Everybody knows he’s an unbelievable player. At the moment the confidence might not be there because it could feel like the whole world is against him.”

The harsh criticism has, at least in part, appeared to give way to pity for some observers.

On BBC Radio 5 Live, former England striker Chris Sutton added: “Blimey, you wouldn’t have a heart if you didn’t feel sorry for him.”

But Southgate can’t let sympathy or emotion cloud his decisions ahead of the World Cup. Maguire was a rock for England last summer as it reached the final of the European Championship, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll see the field much in Qatar unless things change massively between now and November.

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World Cup in doubt for Kalvin Phillips as shoulder surgery awaits

Some notable news for the USMNT

Kalvin Phillips is facing a race against time to be fit for the World Cup, as the England midfielder gets set to undergo shoulder surgery.

Phillips has suffered a series of dislocations of his right shoulder over the past two years, and now Manchester City head coach Pep Guardiola has said his team’s midfielder will be forced to go under the knife.

“The doctor says when you have been out four times with a shoulder, the only solution is surgery,” Guardiola said after City’s win over Wolves on Saturday.

It has been a frustrating start to life at City for Phillips, who made a £42 million move from Leeds in the summer but has played just 14 minutes so far for his new team.

World Cup in doubt

Asked about the chances of Phillips recovering in time for the World Cup, Guardiola said: “I don’t know, I am not a doctor but [if it goes well] he can of course arrive at the World Cup. I think so, but I am not a doctor.”

Phillips has become a key player for Gareth Southgate since making his debut for the Three Lions in 2020. The 26-year-old played nearly every minute at last summer’s European Championship, forming a partnership with Declan Rice in a double pivot as England lost in the final to Italy.

Should Phillips not be fit in time for the World Cup, Jude Bellingham, Jordan Henderson and James Ward-Prowse would be among the top options to replace him.

England will begin the World Cup on November 21 against Iran, before facing the United States and Scotland in Group B.

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David Beckham waited 13 hours with everyone else to see Queen Elizabeth lying in state

The former England captain joined the public in line to view the queen lying in state

As thousands of people waited in line to pay their final respects to Queen Elizabeth II on Friday, there was a familiar face in the crowd: David Beckham.

The English soccer legend was among the massive crowds who braved miles-long lines to view the queen’s body lying in state at Westminster Hall in London.

“We all want to be here together, we all want to experience something where we celebrate the amazing life of our queen,” Beckham said.

“Something like this today is meant to be shared together. So, you know the fact that we’ve been here, we’re eating Pringles, we’re eating Sherbet Lemons, sandwiches, and having coffee,” Beckham continued.

Beckham told reporters that he joined the line around 2 a.m, and he made it to Westminster Hall around 3 p.m.

A woman in line near Beckham was asked if she expected to see someone like the former Manchester United star next to her. “No I didn’t,” she responded, “but big respect for him. He’s stood with us and he’s paid his respects how he wanted and I think that’s amazing.”

Queen Elizabeth II died last week at age 96, ending a 70-year reign.

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