Category: Europe

McClean says Ireland coach disrespected him after Wrexham move

The Wrexham star said his international coach “couldn’t get off the phone quick enough”

James McClean has hit out at former Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, saying his “disrespectful” response to his move to Wrexham led directly to his international retirement.

McClean signed with Wrexham prior to the current season, joining the League Two outfit after a season in which he was named Wigan Athletic’s player of the year.

There were some eyebrows raised after McClean’s decision, as he dropped down two divisions after a standout campaign in the Championship.

At the time, McClean was an active Ireland international but as he revealed in an interview with the Irish Examiner, the reaction from Kenny led to his international retirement in October.

“He couldn’t get off the phone quick enough,” McClean said of Kenny. “That spoke of what he thought about the move. I don’t think he was on board. Ultimately, I would say that was a major factor in my decision to step away from Ireland. Sometimes when you make a decision, you are made to walk the plank. I felt that if I don’t walk away now, I may never get the opportunity to say goodbye on my terms.

“I thought it was very disrespectful. I had offers to stay in the Championship but at my age I wanted to do something that would excite and be a challenge. Wrexham had a project and it’s a successful one. Nobody forced me to make the move but I’m glad I did and there’s a sense of justification.”

The 34-year-old has been a fixture for Wrexham this season, as the Red Dragons clinched promotion to League One with a win over Forest Green Rovers over the weekend.

The Irish federation confirmed in November that it would not be renewing Kenny’s contract after the team failed to qualify for Euro 2024.

With McClean’s former Ireland teammate John O’Shea now coaching the team, he did leave open the possibility of an international return.

“It’s not something I’ll be campaigning for but if the call ever comes to play for your country, it’s a hard one to turn down,” McClean said.

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Colombia vs. Romania: How to watch international friendly, live stream

The South American and European sides clash in a friendly in Spain

Colombia and Romania continue their preparations for major tournaments this summer when they meet in Madrid on Tuesday.

Both teams are looking to continue unbeaten runs as they conclude the final international window before the summer.

Colombia defeated Spain 1-0 in London on Friday, stretching its unbeaten streak to an impressive 20 games as it aims to lift the Copa América this summer on U.S. soil.

Los Cafeteros were drawn into Group D at the Copa América, where they will face Paraguay, Costa Rica and Brazil.

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Romania, meanwhile, drew Northern Ireland 1-1 on Friday, stretching its own unbeaten run to 12 matches. Edward Iordanescu’s side has qualified for Euro 2024 this summer, where it will face Slovakia, Belgium and a playoff winner in Group E.

Here is everything you need to know ahead of the match

Colombia vs. Romania (international friendly)

  • When: Tuesday, March 26
  • Where: Metropolitano Stadium (Madrid, Spain)
  • Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
  • Channel/streaming: Fanatiz (Watch LIVE)

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Soccer Champions Tour 2024: Schedule, tickets, stadiums and more

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, AC Milan, and Manchester City will all play in the U.S. this summer

The Soccer Champions Tour will return in 2024, with five European powers set to tour the United States during preseason.

The Soccer Champions Tour debuted in 2023, and will return this summer with six games featuring five clubs: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Chelsea, AC Milan, and Manchester City.

The marquee event of the Soccer Champions Tour will be a preseason El Clásico featuring Real Madrid and Barcelona, with this year’s edition taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.

SHOP: 2024 El Clásico tickets

American fans will also get the chance to see AC Milan star Christian Pulisic face Madrid and Barcelona in Chicago and Baltimore, respectively, as well as Manchester City in New York.

“Soccer Champions Tour is thrilled to return this summer with enticing matchups featuring some of the world’s most storied clubs for fans in the U.S. to witness the beautiful game at the highest level,” said Joe Carr, the commissioner of the Soccer Champions Tour.

“With all five clubs possessing passionate supporters that span the globe, we’re pleased to unveil an exciting range of matches throughout the U.S., a market experiencing exponential growth in the sport’s popularity.”

Here are the Soccer Champions Tour fixtures for 2024 in the United States. Tickets to all games are available now, and all information can be found HERE.

Soccer Champions Tour 2024

July 27: Manchester City vs. AC Milan — Yankee Stadium, New York, NY.

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July 30: Barcelona vs. Manchester City — Camping World Stadium, Orlando, FL.

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July 31: Real Madrid vs. AC Milan — Soldier Field, Chicago, IL.

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August 3: Barcelona vs. Real Madrid — MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ.

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August 6: Barcelona vs. AC Milan — M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD.

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August 6: Real Madrid vs. Chelsea — Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, NC.

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Gimenez completes 47-hour hat trick vs. Ajax

The Mexico international completed one of the strangest hat tricks you’ll ever see

Feyenoord striker Santiago Giménez completed one of the strangest hat tricks you’ll ever see on Wednesday, with his third goal against Ajax coming three days after his second.

Giménez netted a pair of goals on Sunday as the Eredivisie champions raced into a 3-0 lead at the Johan Cruyff Arena.

Ajax fans were not happy with their side’s insipid display, showing their displeasure by launching missiles, flares and fireworks onto the pitch. The game was suspended in the 56th minute, and eventually abandoned due to the unplayable conditions on the field.

The trouble continued outside the stadium in Amsterdam, as riot police charged at unruly fans.

After the mess on Sunday, the Eredivisie opted to resume the match on Wednesday behind closed doors at Johan Cruyff Arena. Just three minutes after the game restarted, Giménez scored his third of the game by putting home a rebound.

The Mexico international thus completed the rarely seen 47-hour hat trick.

After helping Feyenoord to a league title last season, Giménez has started the current campaign in red-hot form. The 22-year-old’s hat trick against Ajax took him to nine goals in just six league games. It also made him the first Feyenoord player to score a hat trick in an Eredivisie away game at Ajax.

As for Ajax, defeat continues a disastrous season. The Dutch power is currently 14th out of 18 teams in the league and recently fired technical director Sven Mislintat. There is plenty of speculation that head coach Maurice Steijn could be next.

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Asllani blasts Italian federation after Sweden vs. Italy Nations League clash held at tiny stadium

Asllani: “You have to pay tribute to your women’s national team and put it in a bigger arena”

Progress is not linear, particularly in women’s soccer.

Just consider Italy, a country that has a glorious tradition in the sport on the men’s side, but only did away with government regulations preventing Serie A Femminile from becoming fully professional in 2020.

Just days after Megan Rapinoe, one of the pioneers of the equal pay movement, played her final international match, and with the players of current World Cup champions Spain having to battle their own federation over a litany of issues, Italy hosted Sweden on Tuesday in UEFA Nations League play.

The problem? The Italian federation (FIGC) decided to schedule the match in a small town’s equally small stadium.

Following a 1-0 win to the visitors, Sweden star Kosovare Asllani — who currently plays in Italy for AC Milan — ripped into the FIGC over its venue choice.

“It is under all criticism of the Italian federation to put the match here out in the forest,” Asllani told Swedish outlet SVT Sport. “I have seen more animals than people here.”

Reports held that just 2,500 people showed up for the match, which was played at the humble Stadio Teofilo Patini, a 7,200-seat venue that just so happens to be located in FIGC president Gabriele Gravina’s hometown. Castel di Sangro isn’t near any major population center, with the nearest city of note (Pescara) a 90-minute drive to the north.

“You have to pay tribute to your women’s national team and put it in a bigger arena and see how much you can pull,” said Asllani. “You can’t put the match out in the woods. It is under all criticism.”

Sweden’s previous match in the Nations League, a gripping 3-2 defeat against Spain, was played at Gamla Ullevi, a modern venue with a capacity of 18,416 that serves as home to men’s top-flight club IFK Göteborg. It had all the trappings of high-level international soccer.

Four days later, the Swedes stepped out onto the pitch at the Patini, nestled in a town with a population of 6,461. The normal home team, Castel di Sangro Cep 1953, currently sits in third place in the Eccellenza Molise, one of 29 regional divisions making up the fifth tier of Italian men’s soccer.

The Patini is a fine venue for fifth-division soccer played by a club that has never been to Serie A, and hasn’t been to Serie B since one eventful two-year stint from 1996-98 that was immortalized in Joe McGinniss’ book “The Miracle of Castel di Sangro.”

Readers of that book may be forgiven for seeing Gravina — whose exploits in that book included signing an actor and pretending he was actually a big addition from Leicester City — and being puzzled as to how he became the president of one of world soccer’s most successful federations.

In any case, the rolling green hills of the Abruzzo are visible from the stands at the Patini. It seems nice!

(Photo by Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images)

“Nice” does not, however, mean “venue suitable for the top level of European women’s soccer,” which is the entire thing Italy and Sweden were meeting up to do on the day.

It’s not that the FIGC always sends its women’s national team as far away from population centers as it possibly can. Next month, Italy will host Spain at Stadio Arechi in Salerno. Which is to say, at a 37,800-seat venue in a city of 133,000 that happens to be just south of Naples.

“Women’s football is on such a sharp upward curve,” Sweden’s Magdalena Eriksson told TV4 on Monday. “We are coming from a World Cup with such fantastic attendance numbers… It’s an important match and obviously we would have liked to see and test the limits of how many people would have come if we had played in a bigger arena, but also in a bigger city.”

If only the Italian federation saw it that way.

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UEFA president Ceferin explains partial lifting of Russia ban

Russian U-17 teams will be allowed back in official UEFA competitions

After allowing Russian U-17 teams back in its competitions, UEFA has explained that the organization does not want to continue punishing children.

The European governing body announced Tuesday that for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, teams from Russia would be allowed to participate in its competitions.

Days after the invasion, UEFA suspended all Russian international teams and clubs from competition, and also revoked the country’s hosting rights for the 2022 men’s Champions League final and 2023 Super Cup.

FIFA would also join the ban, with Russia barred from participating in the 2022 men’s World Cup and 2023 women’s World Cup, among other competitions.

But UEFA’s ban has now partially been lifted, with the organization saying boys and girls U-17 teams from Russia could return to its competitions.

In a statement, UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin reiterated that the lifting of the ban would go no further than youth teams.

“UEFA’s continuing suspension against Russian adult teams reflects its commitment to take a stand against violence and aggression. UEFA is determined that this position will continue until the war is over and peace restored,” Čeferin said.

“But by banning children from our competitions, we not only fail to recognize and uphold a fundamental right for their holistic development but we directly discriminate against them.

“By providing opportunities to play and compete with their peers from all over Europe, we are investing in what we hope will be a brighter and more capable future generation and a better tomorrow.”

UEFA added that it “reiterated its condemnation of Russia’s illegal war.”

Russian U-17 teams who participate in UEFA competitions will not be allowed wear the national kit, display their flag or play their anthem. A ban on games played in Russia will also continue.

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Ireland’s Caldwell claims team succeeded ‘in spite of’ ex-coach Pauw

The defender has slammed her former coach, who departed after the World Cup

Ireland defender Diane Caldwell didn’t mince words when describing her former head coach Vera Pauw, saying the team succeeded “in spite of” the Dutchwoman.

Pauw’s four-year tenure as Ireland coach ended last month, after the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) confirmed it wouldn’t offer the coach a new contract.

Though Pauw led Ireland to its first-ever women’s World Cup, Caldwell still took a dim view of her team’s former coach at a press conference on Tuesday.

“From my position, as a pretty experienced player, I don’t think it was up to the standard expected at international level,” Caldwell said.

“I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach.”

Caldwell, 35, made one appearance at the 2023 World Cup, which ended in the group stage following defeats to Australia and Canada and a draw with Nigeria.

The defender hinted that Ireland could have gone farther at the World Cup were its preparation better, putting the blame squarely at the feet of Pauw.

“I think there were many areas that could have been better,” Caldwell said.

“After the European campaign [in 2021], myself and Katie [McCabe] also reflected with Ruud Dokter [then the FAI’s high performance director] about certain aspects that needed to be improved and changed, but ultimately that fell on deaf ears and she got a contract extension.

“Our preparation for games could have been better – physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, changes, systems of play.

“What was happening under Vera? I think a group of players that were destined for success came together at the right time.”

Pauw has been previously hit with allegations of body shaming and excessive control, which were made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation. As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash for one season in 2018, has vehemently denied the allegations against her, saying earlier this year: “These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false. There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

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Ildefons Lima, 43, ends longest men’s international career ever

26 years after he got started, an Andorran legend is done with international soccer

Andorra’s Euro 2024 qualifier against Switzerland came with an extremely odd scene: a 23rd minute substitution of a healthy player to a standing ovation, all while the nearly eternal underdog Andorran side was holding on at 0-0.

The reason? Andorra captain Ildefons Lima walked off the pitch one last time for his country as he ended the longest international career in men’s soccer history.

Lima, 43, was applauded off by Andorran and Swiss fans as he was replaced by Cucu, who was born two years after Lima made his first international appearance in 1997.

Lima scored in that debut, a 4-1 loss to Estonia. Despite spending most of his career as a center back, his 11 goals make him Andorra’s all-time leading goalscorer. His 9,579-day international career is only bettered by Brazil legend Formiga, whose own 26-year run in women’s soccer ran 9,670 days.

Over that amount of time, a player will tend to set some records. On one hand, Lima has almost certainly suffered the most losses in his country’s colors; per Soccerway, Andorra has ended up on the wrong side of a result 162 times, winning just 13 times since the country began fielding a national team in 1996.

On the other, Lima joined Finland’s Jari Litmanen and Wales’ Billy Meredith to become just the third European player to receive a cap in four different decades when he appeared in a June 2021 friendly against the Republic of Ireland. Lima was on the field for Andorran soccer’s finest hour, a shock 1-0 win over Hungary in a 2018 World Cup qualifier.

Rather unsurprisingly, Lima is the oldest player to appear in a men’s match in UEFA competition, breaking a record held by Gibralter’s Lee Casciaro by appearing in June’s 2-1 home Euro 2024 qualifying loss to Switzerland.

Lima’s seemingly endless Andorra career required overcoming some real obstacles. At one point between March 2007 and May 2012, the nation lost 35 straight games; still, when the call came to join the side, Lima kept answering.

More notably, the Andorran federation (FAF) barred him from the national team in 2020 after he called for better Covid-19 testing within the program. International pressure and the intervention of FIFPro eventually saw the FAF relent in 2021.

Lima’s record may stand for some time. In fact, one of the only candidates within remotely realistic reach is his Andorra teammate Marc Pujol, whose international career began in 2000. Pujol was an unused substitute against the Swiss on Tuesday, but started in a 0-0 draw with Belarus on September 9.

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Alejandro Balde is feeling the wrath of the Swifties

The Barcelona left back might not be able to shake this one off

Alejandro Balde’s chances of winning the Golden Boy Web award have been severely compromised by his taste in music.

The Barcelona left back is among the top candidates for the award given to the top men’s player under the age of 21 at a European club.

But an offhand comment the 19-year-old made in an interview with Mundo Deportivo looks to have proven costly — at least when it comes to the award decided on a fan vote. Balde, you see, offended fans of Taylor Swift by having the temerity to suggest he wasn’t a fan of her music.

The Swifties, known to be a devoted and very online bunch, struck back with a vengeance.

Within minutes on Tuesday, Balde went from having the lead in the voting to falling way behind Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham. As of this moment, Bellingham leads Balde by a nearly two-to-one margin.

It should be noted that the Swifties only have so much power here. The voting is for the Golden Boy Web award, which is strictly decided by a fan vote. The actual Golden Boy award, meanwhile, will be determined by a jury of journalists from around Europe.

Balde can only hope that group of media members doesn’t contain too many Swifties.

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Vera Pauw out as Ireland women’s head coach

The 60-year-old is a controversial figure following allegations of body shaming and excessive control

Vera Pauw will not be offered a new contract as Ireland women’s national team head coach, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has confirmed.

Pauw’s current deal will expire on Thursday and following a lengthy meeting on Tuesday, the FAI confirmed that the Dutchwomen’s four-year spell in charge will end.

“On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future,” said Jonathan Hill, the FAI chief executive in a statement.

“In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 where our women’s team made history and inspired a nation,” he added.

“The future is bright for women and girls’ football and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women’s team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team, and more broadly the development of women and girls’ football in this country.”

Pauw led Ireland to the women’s World Cup for the first time ever this summer, with the team exiting in the group stage following defeats to Australia and Canada and a draw with Nigeria.

The 60-year-old has become a controversial figure in the coaching world after allegations of body shaming and excessive control were made against her in last year’s NWSL/NWSLPA joint investigation.

As a result, Pauw was conditionally banned from the NWSL.

Pauw, who coached the Houston Dash for one season in 2018, has vehemently denied the allegations against her, saying earlier this year: “These allegations in the report are absolutely ridiculous and false. There is no truth in it, and I know I find a lot of safety in the truth.”

Ahead of the World Cup, Ireland captain Katie McCabe called the allegations “a real negative distraction” after a media session in which Pauw stated “there is a person that is targeted to destroy my career.”

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