As our national men's soccer team looks to be a lost cause, may we suggest throwing all of our support behind our new U.S. elephant polo squad? The World Cup bummed us out, and we now have a chance with a new sport to do it right this time. Why do we think this? Because the U.S. team seems to have a secret weapon. From the Houston Chronicle: For a moment at the King's Cup Elephant Polo Championship — one of the circuit's Big Three — it seemed the upstart Yanks from the Washington area might finally charge onto the scoreboard. Then something really did stir from Thong Kao — a hail of dung that left the pursuing Italians dodging for cover. But then, tragedy struck. And just as Zenz yanked back her mallet, Thong Kao accidentally stepped on the polo ball, squashing it into the ground and suspending play. Didn't Siragusa do that once? Americans Being Sized Up In A New Sport [Washington Post]
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Monaco goalkeeper Danijel Subasic has followed Mario Mandzukic and Vedran Corluka into international retirement after a nine-year Croatia career.
The 33-year-old revealed his mind was made up prior to a string of impressive performances at the World Cup in Russia.
Vital saves in shootout wins over Denmark and Russia helped Croatia on the way to a place in the final alongside eventual champions France.
Subasic, who won 44 caps in total, felt it was time to make way despite the strong recent form.
We all have an expiry date, and need to assess how long we can play, he said in a statement. Maybe I could have lasted one more campaign, but that would probably be too much.
In this manner, I want to allow my team-mates, who wait for their chance like I…
Zinedine Zidane insisted his decision to drop Gareth Bale from the Real Madrid squad for his side s 3-2 victory over Villarreal was not made to send a message to the Welsh forward.
Bale was a glaring omission from a Madrid squad already missing injured striker Karim Benzema, but Zidane saw Mariano Diaz score twice to help Los Blancos bounce back from a 1-0 reverse at Rayo Vallecano in their previous game.
Manchester United are rumoured to be planning a swoop for Bale s signature at the end of the season, but Zidane has consistently refused to comment on the 29-year-old s future at Santiago Bernabeu.
Asked why Bale was dropped, Zidane stopped short of giving a clear explanation.
It is not a message, he said. You can interpret what you want. I have to make…
Neymar wants to take time to mourn Brazil s World Cup exit as he hailed the team s youngsters for stepping up in the Selecao s penalty shoot-out loss to Croatia.
Brazil, the pre-tournament favourites, are heading out after going down 4-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw with the 2018 runners-up at Education City Stadium.
Neymar opened the scoring with a wonderful goal midway through extra time on Friday, a strike that took him level with the great Pele on 77 goals for Brazil.
Yet Bruno Petkovic scored with four minutes remaining, with Rodrygo and Marquinhos failing to convert their penalties as Brazil s wait for a sixth world title rolled on.
Neymar did not take a spot-kick, though perhaps would have been in line to take Brazil s fifth had it gone that f…
Mats Hummels is set to return to Borussia Dortmund from Bayern Munich, joining former team-mate Mario Gotze back at Signal Iduna Park.
Hummels and Gotze were both part of the Dortmund teams that won back-to-back Bundesliga titles under Jurgen Klopp, so Lucien Favre will hope they can lead BVB back to the top.
Deals between the two German giants are not very common, but there have been some high-profile examples of players to feature for both Bayern and Dortmund.
Omnisport picks out six of the best, with Hummels return costing Dortmund a reported €38million fee.
Mats
— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow)
Mats Hummels
Hummels will know his way around Signal Iduna Park as it is only three years since the former BVB captain le…
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Almeria will be looking to claim their first La Liga home win of the season when they welcome Alaves. The match will be played at Power Horse Stadium with the local fans hoping to see a good performance from their favourites.
Almeria
It seems that Almeria is slipping fast towards the second tier of Spanish football. The Andalusian team is having a disastrous season, failing to win after 21 rounds. The side managed by Gaizka Garitano played a blockbuster game at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid, suffering a defeat at the end. It was a match that triggered a huge scandal in the Spanis press following the clear favourably referring towards Carlo Ancelott s team. Despite leading 2-0 at half-time, Almeria lost dramatica…
Liverpool are planning a considerable squad rebuild this summer, manager Jurgen Klopp has openly confirmed, and their priority will be the midfield section. And while most reports name Borussia Dortmund star Jude Bellingham as their No. 1 target, it is obvious that more than one player for the department will be needed, and Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport says another name on that list is Inter Milan s Nicolo Barella.
Having started his career with Como, Barella spent three years with Cagliari before joining Inter on an initial loan in 2019. The deal was made permanent the following year, and the Italy international signed his currently valid contract in November 2021, for five years. With three still remaining on it, the price for his services is likely to be high.
Barcelona head coach Ernesto Valverde expects a difficult but eye-catching tie when his side face Manchester United in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Friday s draw paired Barca with United in a repeat of the 2009 and 2011 finals, both of which were won by the LaLiga giants under now Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola.
An injury-hit United overturned a 2-0 first-leg home loss to knock out Paris Saint-Germain as the Premier League side continue to thrive under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Barca, meanwhile, thumped Lyon 5-1 to move into the last eight for a record 12th consecutive season, having been held 0-0 by the Ligue 1 team in the first leg.
Next month s double-header promises to be an enticing affair, with Valverde s side on track for a treble,…
Crystal Palace cancelled a press conference to preview Monday’s Premier League game against Everton after under-pressure manager Roy Hodgson was taken ill during training.
The 76-year-old was due to speak at 1.30pm on Thursday but members of the media waiting outside the club’s New Beckenham training ground were informed the briefing would not take place.
According to reports, Palace are set to sack Hodgson, with ex-Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner a strong favourite to take the job.
Unfortunately, today’s press conference will no longer take place as scheduled as Roy Hodgson was taken ill during this morning’s training session.
— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC)
An update from the club read: “Unfortunately, today’s press conferen…
With what looks set to be a stacked Bank Holiday schedule from across Europe, we have a host of interesting contests that are worth keeping an eye out for. So, for those of you looking to place a Friday accumulator, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth taking note of.
Friday April 7th
BST 15:00 QPR vs Preston
Making an immediate return to winning ways when marking their return from the international break last weekend, Preston should find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Storming their way to a 3-1 romp at home against relegation scrappers Blackpool, Alex Neil’s men are riding what has been a stellar wave of momentum. Skyrocketing their way up the Championship table, the one-time Norwich boss also finds his side sat in pole position to cl…
Lionel Messi turns 32 on Monday and the Barcelona and Argentina forward s status as one of the greatest players of all time has been firmly cemented.
Not only is he one of the most gifted players to ever play football, he is undoubtedly one of the game s most devastating goalscorers.
Those goals are frequently head-turning in their brilliance, so to celebrate the birthday boy we take on the unenviable task of selecting his 10 best for club and country.
Feliz cumpleanos, Leo!
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0,,,,,0,,,,,0
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*,{,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,},*
|_{______ ______}_|
{/\/\/\/\\/\/\\/\/\/\/\/\/\/}
{______ _______}
Feliz cumpleaños
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es)
Albacete (H): May 1, 2005
Even at 17,…