Jonjo Shelvey receives call from England boss Hodgson
LONDON, England ● Liverpool’s uncapped midfielder Jonjo Shelvey and Chelsea’s left-sided player Ryan Bertrand have been added to the England squad for the World Cup qualifiers with San Marino and Poland. The English FA said in a statement that left back Kieran Gibbs had been ruled out of the squad with injury, prompting [...]
Sports agency sues MLS and Galaxy over Keane signing fee
NEW YORK, NY ● A sports agency is demanding at least $385,000 (237,391 pounds) from Major League Soccer and the Los Angeles Galaxy club for helping with last year’s signing of Ireland captain Robbie Keane, a lawsuit filed on Friday said. The complaint in Manhattan federal court by Real Time International Ltd (RTI) said that [...]
Damien Duff calls it quits for Ireland
LONDON, England ● Fulham winger Damien Duff retired from international duty with the Republic of Ireland on Friday. Duff, 33, informed Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni that he no longer wished to be considered for selection after a dismal Euro 2012 campaign that saw the Irish crash out at the group stage with three successive defeats. [...]
Ireland’s Shay Given quits international football
DUBLIN, Ireland ● Goalkeeper Shay Given has retired from international football with Ireland after playing a national-record 125 matches across a span of more than 16 years. The Football Association of Ireland made the announcement Monday in a statement on Twitter. The 36-year-old Given, who plays for Aston Villa, made his international debut in March [...]
Torres wins Golden Boot with 3 goals
KIEV, Ukraine ● Spain forward Fernando Torres has won the Golden Boot as top scorer at the European Championship — getting three goals in just 189 minutes played. Torres came off the bench to score Spain’s third, and his third of the tournament, in the 84th minute of a 4-0 victory in the [...]
Proenca gets nod for second major final
WARSAW, Poland ● Portugal’s Pedro Proenca will referee his second major European final in a matter of months as on Friday UEFA announced he would be in charge of Sunday’s Euro 2012 final between Spain and Italy. The 41-year-old refereed the Champions League final in May which saw Chelsea beat Bayern Munich on penalties. Proenca’s [...]
Chiellini big concern for Italy
KRAKOW, Poland ● Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini is a major doubt for their Euro 2012 quarter-final in Kiev on Sunday and perhaps even the rest of the tournament after suffering a thigh problem. “The first tests are not great,” Italy coach Cesare Prandelli told a news conference on Tuesday when asked if Chiellini [...]
Balotelli wonder strike sends Italy through
POZNAN, Poland ● Antonio Cassano’s first-half header and Mario Balotelli’s spectacular late volley gave Italy a 2-0 win over Ireland which took them into the Euro 2012 quarter-finals as Group C runners-up. Cassano, who missed half the season with AC Milan after undergoing a minor heart operation, headed home 10 minutes before the [...]
Navas makes everything clear
GDANSK, Poland ● Substitute Jesus Navas tapped home two minutes from time to snatch a 1-0 victory over Croatia and send holders Spain through to the last eight of Euro 2012 as Group C winners. Croatia, who battled hard against the world and European champions, went out as Italy finished second thanks to [...]
