England calling? Big Sam becomes favourite for national team hotseat
July 13 – A household name in English football but little known overseas, Sam Allardyce is emerging as the frontrunner to take over from Roy Hodgson as England manager.
Performance
Low commits to German 2018 World Cup campaign
July 13 – Joachim Low has decided to stay on as Germany’s head coach following their semi-final exit at Euro 2016.
Red Imps spill Celtic blood on rock of Gibraltar
By Andrew Warshaw
July 13 – Who on earth was Brendan Rodgers, the new manager of Scottish giants Celtic, trying to kid? Perhaps just himself. “There’s no embarrassment,” said Rodgers after his side were beaten 1-0 by Gibraltar part-timers Lincoln Red Imps in their Champions League second qualifying round first leg on Tuesday.
US Soccer launches girls 25-club academy system as pathway to pro game and US team
By Paul Nicholson
July 5 – The US Soccer Federation has officially announced a new 25-club Girls’ Development Academy that will start matches in the Autumn of 2017. The academy structure is “an initiative designed to accelerate the development of world-class female players” in the World Champion nation.
Liverpool add Roma match in US to pre-season schedule
June 2 – Liverpool have added a third US fixture to their pre-season schedule. Already competing in the International Champions Cup (ICC) tournament, they will now play AS Roma from Italy’s Serie A in St Louis on August 1.
ECNL and US Club Soccer shake-up US with new national youth competition
By Paul Nicholson
May 30 – The Elite Clubs National League (ECNL) and US Club Soccer have combined to launch a new national competition platform for boys that will challenge the national US Academy competition that the US Soccer Federation has been promoting to clubs across the country.
England edge France to win the Toulon Tournament
May 30 – England Under 21 beat France 2-1 Under 20s to win the Toulon Tournament their first win since 1994, having qualified for the third place play-off for the past two years.
England and France poised to meet in Toulon Tournament final
May 26 – England virtually guaranteed their place in the final of the Toulon Tournament with a storming 4-0 win over closest group rivals Paraguay. France need just one point from their final group game tonight to join them.
Toulon Tournament: England hit Guinea for 7 to top group B
May 24 – The Toulon U23 tournament became a goal fiesta last night as England’s Under 21s hammered seven past Guinea to top their group above Paraguay on goal difference.
Suarez top scores but he isn’t as good as Messi, or Neymar, say CIES stats
May 18 – The Barcelona trio of Messi, Neymar and Suarez fill three of the top four best performing big-5 league strikers, according to the CIES Football Observatory. The surprise is that Suarez, who has had a storming goalscoring end to the season is the fourth ranked striker.
Belgium’s Eupen fulfill middle eastern promises with ascent to Pro League
By Samindra Kunti
May 10 – Qatar’s Belgian investment at Eupen has come good with the club’s ascendency to Belgium’s top flight, but only after a farcical kerfuffle of Belgian bureaucracy.
Dembélé and Alli head box-to-box midfielders, Bayern duo top defensive list
May 9 – Tottenham Hotspur’s Moussa Dembélé and Dele Alli come top and fourth in the CIES Football Observatory ranking of ‘box-to-box’ midfielders in Europe’s Big 5 league. The Bayern double act of Arturo Vidal and Xabi Alonso topped the rankings defensive midfielders.