Samir Nasri gets the vote for the most disappointing footballer of this Euro. At least Franck
Ribery can look back and say he put in the mileage albeit all in futility. But Nasri introduced in
the second half to up the tempo and connect Karim Benzema to the centre showed no desire to impose
his undoubted talent.
Arsenal captain Robin van Persie, Andrey Arshavin, Wojciech Szczesny and Nicklas Bendtner have
all exited Euro 2012. Well, there goes that tournament...
But among those soldiering on in the competition, building upon performances covered in the
first installment of the venerable State of the Union: Arsenal Polkraine, five still remain.
Roy Hodgson admits goalkeeper, Joe Hart, is crucial to England's hopes at Euro 2012, and believes
he can help build confidence in the camp.
Hart played a pivotal role in Manchester City's title triumph, last term, and has been an England
regular over the past couple of years.
He will be between the posts in England's opener against France, in Donetsk, on Monday, and will
need to be at his best to repel a potent frontline.
There are words and phrases that have become all too familiar for fans of the English national
team. "Almost". "Not quite there". "Promising".
For over a decade now the England squad has been the also-rans of international football. They
are the team that could beat anyone on their day, but quite simply they have never "been on their
day" when it has truly mattered.
Fabio Capello is confident Andy Carroll's first international goal will help to ease his transition
to the England stage.
The £35million striker's first-half strike looked like earning England a Wembley victory until
Sunderland's Asamoah Gyan levelled for Ghana in stoppage time.
It was a fitting conclusion to an evening of immense promise for England, with Capello delighted by
Liverpool frontman Carroll's contribution on his second senior international appearance.
Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina says in-form David Silva is the latest example of a Spanish player
benefiting from playing in the Premier League, and reckons compatriot Juan Mata will follow
suit.
Reina, 29, has established himself as one of Europe's best goalkeepers since arriving at Anfield in
2005 and the former Villarreal No.
Leon Osman has never made an international appearance despite seven solid seasons with Everton.
Is he England's ‘forgotten man'?
On Saturday, a late Leighton Baines penalty cancelled out two Darren Bent strikes as Everton shared
the points with Aston Villa in a dramatic draw at Goodison Park.
QPR boss Neil Warnock has praised Keiren Westwood - and says the Coventry City star is a
better goalkeeper than many of the Premier League shot-stoppers.
The Ireland international had a superb game as the Sky Blues lost a tight game to Warnock's side at
Loftus Road yesterday.
Lauren Sesselmann (Green Bay Notre Dame) started and played 62 minutes at left back as
Canada beat Costa Rica 3-1 in the opening match of the women's soccer competition at the Pan
American Games on Tuesday at Omnilife Stadium in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Sesselmann, making her third international appearance, conceded a penalty kick in the 27th
minute as she was called for a foul on Raquel Rodríguez Cedeño during a breakaway.
The U.S. has a 15-31-11 all-time record against Mexico in 57 meetings; however, since 2000 the
U.S. has a 10-4-2 advantage in the series.
At home, the U.S. has a 13-7-9 record including a 9-1-2 mark since 2000. The 2009 loss in the
Gold Cup final was the first defeat in the last 12 meetings in the U.
Los Angeles, CA The United States Men's National Team opened 2011 with a 1-1 draw against Chile
at the Home Depot Center on Saturday night. Both sides used inexperienced experimental squads, with
the U.S. featuring mostly players based in Major League Soccer.
The U.S. fell behind nine minutes into the second half when Chile's Esteban Paredes scored an
impressive goal.
Eddie Johnson is officially back in red, white and blue. After dropping some very strong hints via Twitter on Friday, Jurgen Klinsmann made to formal announcement on Monday that Johnson was among the 24 players that were called into camp head of the World Cup qualifiers on Oct. 12 and 16. Johnson's last international appearance came on Oct.
Irfan Bachdim has become the talk of Indonesia this last month. To be fair I think it's less to do
with his ability and more to do with his looks but there you go. Anyway, enjoy it while it lasts
girls because if he plays in tomorrow's AFF Cup Final 2nd Leg in Jakarta against Malaysia it could
prove to be his last international appearance.
While the disappointment of England's failure to land the 2018 FIFA World Cup will take some
time to disappear and questions will be asked of where it all went wrong, one man did himself no
harm and that is the legend that is David Beckham.
As a 24 year old male I'm not afraid to admit that I love David Beckham.
