International Football
Again, ‘football not going home’ England are eliminated
Olivier Giroud sent France into a World Cup semi-final with Morocco as his late header after Aurelien Tchouameni’s opener clinched a gutsy 2-1 win over England on Saturday with Harry Kane blazing a penalty over the bar six minutes from time.
Four years ago Giroud did not manage a shot on target in the entire tournament as France won the title but in Qatar he now has four goals and has become his country’s record goalscorer along the way.
France are now one win away from becoming the first back-to- back finalists since Brazil in 2002 and two from being the third team to retain the trophy after Brazil in 1962 and Italy in 1938.
Manager Didier Deschamps, who captained them to their first World Cup triumph in 1998 and coached them to their second title four years ago, described the victory as fabulous.
“It was a big game, we played a superb England team who are strong technically and physically,” he said
“It’s brilliant for the players to be in the last four again. We got a bit lucky although we gave away two penalties but we kept our lead with our hearts and our guts.”
France really did have to work hard for their win as the first major tournament knockout match between the old sporting rivals maintained the excitement and edge-of the seat drama that has made it such an extraordinary quarter-final weekend.
TCHOUAMENI STRIKE
They went ahead after 17 minutes when, after a length-of-the-field break, Antoine Griezmann rolled the ball invitingly into the path of Tchouameni, whose 25-yard low shot flew just inside the post.
England eventually got going, pushing and probing, and France keeper Hugo Lloris was quick off his line to save at the feet of Kane and then parried another drive from England’s captain.
Lloris was in action again at the start of the second half, tipping a fierce Jude Bellingham shot over the bar as England came out full of purpose and energy.
The dangerous Bukayo Saka was then tripped by Tchouameni and Kane smashed the penalty high beyond his Tottenham Hotspur team mate Lloris to draw level with Wayne Rooney as England’s record scorer on 53 goals.
England, beaten semi-finalists four years ago, were buoyed by the goal and were playing with huge confidence but although centre-back Harry Maguire brushed a post with a header they could not make their dominance count.
Instead France hit back as Griezmann swung in a perfect centre that Giroud did brilliantly to reach in front of Maguire, planting his header into the slimmest of gaps after 78 minutes.
The cross took the ever-elusive Griezmann beyond Thierry Henry as his country’s top assist provider with 28 and was another reminder of why he has played an extraordinary 72 internationals in a row.
PENALTY MISS
England were then given another lifeline via VAR when Theo Hernandez flattened Mason Mount but this time Kane sent his spot kick wildly over the bar in a painful reminder of Chris Waddle’s effort when they lost the 1990 semi-final shootout to West Germany.
England pushed for an equaliser but when substitute Marcus Rashford’s added-time free kick fizzed just over the bar it meant a seventh defeat in 10 World Cup quarter-finals and another ‘four years of hurt’ to tack on since their solitary triumph in 1966.
“We were here to try to win the tournament and we believed we could and I think that we showed with that performance tonight against the reigning champions that we’ve got a team that could have done that,” said coach Gareth Southgate.
“It’s fine margins and things at both ends that have ended up deciding the game but I think the way they’ve progressed as a group throughout this tournament has been fantastic.”
France now face the unlikeliest of semi-final opponents in Morocco, after they beat Portugal 1-0 earlier on Saturday and Deschamps was quick to recognise their worth.
“Morocco deserve praise,” he said. “Maybe they were not expected to be here (in the semis), but they conceded only one goal and seeing them here is not a surprise at all.”
-Reuters
In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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International Football
Players’ union, FIFPRO, wants 20-minute halftimes, more cooling breaks amid extreme heat
Global players’ union FIFPRO is exploring whether extending halftime to 20 minutes and introducing more frequent cooling breaks could better protect players from extreme heat.
Nine of the 16 host cities for the 2026 World Cup face conditions considered “extreme risk” for heat-related illness.
Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Guadalajara, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, Monterrey and Philadelphia are expected to face dangerous levels of heat and humidity, posing player safety concerns and fuelling calls for mandatory cooling aids or schedule changes.
FIFPRO’s heat risk assessments are based on wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measure combining temperature, humidity, solar radiation and wind speed to estimate how environmental conditions affect the body’s ability to cool itself.
Under FIFPRO guidelines, a WBGT reading above 28 degrees Celsius indicates conditions in which matches should be postponed or rescheduled to protect players’ health.
By comparison, world soccer governing body FIFA’s own guidelines set the extreme risk threshold higher, at 32 degrees Celsius WBGT – but even by that standard, six of the nine cities are still projected to exceed safe limits.
Major League Soccer in the U.S. has a threshold of 29 degrees Celsius WBGT.
“Cooling breaks at the 30th minute and 75th minutes are quite traditional, but from a physiological point of view it does not make sense,” said Vincent Gouttebarge, FIFPRO’s Medical Director.
“Even if you ingest more than 200 millilitres of fluid, you already cannot take it all. So I would definitely like to see some project where we look at the efficacy of perhaps more frequent but shorter cooling breaks – every 15 minutes, rather than only one during each half.”
LONGER HALFTIMES
Gouttebarge also questioned whether the traditional 15-minute halftime interval is sufficient when matches are played in extreme heat.
“You can imagine that halftime of 15 minutes might not be enough in order to decrease the core temperature,” he said.
“It could be a halftime of 20 minutes which would be significant. That has been shown in the laboratory and FIFPRO, together with the national union in Portugal in August, we are going to test this kind of mitigation strategy.”
The urgency of stronger heat protocols became clear at this month’s Club World Cup where two matches — Benfica-Bayern Munich in Charlotte and Chelsea-Esperance in Philadelphia exceeded the WBGT threshold FIFPRO considers unsafe.
“According to our position, those games should have been postponed later that day or rescheduled,” Gouttebarge said.
FIFPRO officials acknowledged that FIFA has responded constructively during the tournament by lowering thresholds for mandatory cooling breaks and improving pitch-side hydration, but stressed that proactive planning is critical.
“FIFA have been quite responsive once the tournament was under way,” said Alex Phillips, FIFPRO General Secretary.
“They have actually modified how they’ve been dealing with heat during the matches based on FIFPRO’s input, which is credit to the work of the team. Obviously, it would have been better if that happened in advance, but it’s better that they have adapted.”
FIFPRO warned that the risks highlighted at the Club World Cup are a preview of what players could face at the expanded 2026 World Cup.
“This is not just affecting the Club World Cup, but also future tournaments either in the U.S. or elsewhere in the world,” said Alexander Bielefeld, FIFPRO Director of Policy & Strategic Relations.
“We need a better balance between commercial interests and the health and safety of players,” he added, referring to earlier kick-off times to accommodate European television audiences.
-Reuters
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Former Manchester United and England midfielder Paul Ince has been charged with drink-driving, police said on Monday.
Ince, who earned 53 caps for England and won two Premier League titles during his six years at United, has been released on bail and will appear in court on July 18.
“The incident involved a black Range Rover which had collided with the central reservation barrier. Officers attended the scene and arrested a 57-year-old man,” the Cheshire police said in a statement.
“Paul Ince, of Quarry Road, Neston, has since been charged with drink-driving.”
Reuters has contacted Ince’s representative for comment.
After retiring as a player, Ince led Milton Keynes Dons to a League Two title in 2007-08. He most recently managed Reading during 2022-23.
-Reuters
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