Football

Open Extended Reactions The 2034 World Cup is set to be held in Saudi Arabia. Ulrik Pedersen/Defodi Images via Getty Images FIFA is facing a new battle against Europe’s major leagues, including the Premier League and LaLiga, over plans for a winter World Cup in Saudi Arabia in 2034 with sources telling ESPN that “concrete agreement”

Gabriele Marcotti, Senior Writer, ESPN FCDec 10, 2024, 08:09 PM ET Open Extended Reactions BERGAMO, Italy — After the 3-0 win over Girona on Saturday, Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti announced: “We’re back.” Yeah, they’re not. At least not in terms of being a proper team, greater than the sum of its parts. And the

Dec 10, 2024, 04:36 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Kylian Mbappé was substituted after sustaining an injury in the Champions League on Tuesday. Marco Luzzani/Getty Images Kylian Mbappé was substituted because of an injury during the first half of Real Madrid‘s Champions League clash at Atalanta on Tuesday, minutes after scoring his 50th career goal in

Open Extended Reactions Liverpool head coach Arne Slot has demanded more from his team after they battled to a 1-0 victory in the Champions League and said he was “far from happy” with the performance. Liverpool looked some way from their best at the Estadi Montilivi, but secured the win thanks to a Mohamed Salah

Adam Brown Dec 10, 2024, 03:10 PM ET Open Extended Reactions Liverpool continued their perfect run in the Champions League on Tuesday evening as they secured a 1-0 victory over Girona. Darwin Núñez had Liverpool’s best chances of the opening 45 minutes but was denied twice by goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga. On the opposite end, Alisson

Graham Hunter, Spain writerDec 10, 2024, 04:00 AM ET Close Graham Hunter is a Barcelona-based freelance writer for ESPN.com who specializes in La Liga and the Spanish national team. Open Extended Reactions If Ernesto Valverde can finally put one over on one of the most vilified coaches in modern European football on Wednesday, then this

Open Extended Reactions Arsenal have added Dan Ashworth to a list of possible candidates for their vacant sporting director position following his sudden departure from Manchester United, sources have told ESPN. United confirmed on Sunday that Ashworth had left the club after only five months in the job with sources suggesting the 53-year-old was involved

Sam Marsden Moises Llorens Dec 10, 2024, 11:26 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Barcelona are working against the clock to make space within their spending cap to prolong Dani Olmo‘s registration with LaLiga before it expires on Dec. 31, multiple sources have told ESPN. Olmo signed in the summer from RB Leipzig, but he missed

Dec 10, 2024, 10:46 AM ET Open Extended Reactions The FIFA World Cup is set to be held in Saudi Arabia in 2034. Eva Marie Uzcategui – FIFA/FIFA via Getty Images The Norwegian Football Federation (NFF) on Tuesday said it will vote against FIFA’s awarding of hosting rights for the 2030 and 2034 World Cups by

Dec 10, 2024, 04:00 AM ET Open Extended Reactions Find out who is missing through injury, who’s in a race against time to prove their fitness and who has been ruled out through suspension for the next round of UEFA Champions League fixtures. Positions: Goalkeeper (GK), Defender (D), Left-back (LB), Right-back (RB), Centre-back (CB), Midfielder