Belgium suffer Vertonghen injury blow for Euro 2016 Lille (France) (AFP) – Belgium have been dealt a major blow ahead of their Euro 2016 quarter-final against Wales after defender Jan Vertonghen was ruled out of the rest of the tournament with an ankle injury. The Tottenham Hotspur defender, 29, tore ankle ligaments in training on Thursday, coach Marc Wilmots said, adding that he will be out for … [Read more...]

Southgate ‘out of England manager contention’ London (AFP) – Bookmakers’ favourite Gareth Southgate was on Thursday reportedly ruled out of taking over as Roy Hodgson’s successor as England manager. Various reports in the British media suggested the England Under-21s boss had no interest in taking over from Hodgson after the team’s dismal Euro 2016 display. Nor has he been contacted by the … [Read more...]

Mystery of ESPN’s female voiceover artist for Euro 2016 can now be revealed If you’ve been watching Euro 2016 this summer, you may be wondering who the mysterious woman is that does the voiceover work before and after ESPN’s commercial breaks. The woman that’s one of the first and last voices you hear when you listen to ESPN’s Euro 2016 broadcasts. If the following sounds familiar, “Welcome to … [Read more...]

Ronaldo v Lewandowski kicks off Euro quarter finals Marseille (AFP) – The Euro 2016 quarter finals start Thursday with Cristiano Ronaldo seeking a new step towards his first international title when Portugal take on Poland in Marseille. In the battle of Europe’s top strikers, Poland will be counting on Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski to deaden the Ronaldo threat by scoring his first goal in … [Read more...]

Where to find Portugal vs. Poland on US TV and streaming If you’re trying to find out how you can watch Portugal vs. Poland in Euro 2016, you’ve come to the right place. The match between Portugal and Poland pits two of the best strikers in the world against each other — Cristiano Ronaldo and Robert Lewandowski. With both teams being criticized for overly defensive performances in their previous … [Read more...]

Bergkamp to the rescue for misfiring Poland striker Milik? Marseille (AFP) – Misfiring Poland striker Arkadiusz Milik has turned to Arsenal legend Dennis Bergkamp for assistance ahead of Thursday’s Euro 2016 quarter-final against Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal. Milik scored Poland’s opening goal when the White Eagles beat Northern Ireland in their Group C curtain-raiser on their way to an unlikely … [Read more...]

ESPN announces commentators for Euro 2016 quarterfinals Anticipation is building for the Euro 2016 quarterfinals, which will be televised live Thursday through Sunday (see TV listings below). Now that the Euro 2016 Round of 16 games are complete, the list of match commentators has been condensed. That means that Steve McManaman, Derek Rae, Alejandro Moreno, Kate Markgraf and Max Bretos will sit … [Read more...]

MLS game scores 1 million viewers for first time since 2008 Saturday night’s broadcast of San Jose Earthquakes against LA Galaxy averaged 1 million viewers on Univision, the first time that MLS has hit that number since 2008. The broadcast of the California Clasico was the first MLS match televised live on Univision since 1999. No regular season or post-season MLS game has ever drawn those … [Read more...]

Germany have learnt lessons from Euro 2012 loss to Italy: Hummels Evian (France) (AFP) – Germany defender Mats Hummels said they will use painful lessons, learnt from their Euro 2012 defeat to Italy, for Saturday’s quarter-final against the Azzurri. The Italians humbled Germany 2-1 in the Warsaw semi-final four years ago when Mario Balotelli’s first-half goals fired them to the Euro 2012 final. … [Read more...]

Tough love: psychology of Argentina’s Messi relationship Buenos Aires (AFP) – Like neurotic parents, Argentines swung from criticism to unconditional love for their star footballer Lionel Messi this week, providing the soccer-mad nation’s many therapists with rich material for psychoanalysis. Fans’ frustration at the superstar’s missed penalty in Sunday’s defeat to Chile in the Copa America … [Read more...]