The France-Ireland match and the aftermath have been extremely emotional for all involved.

The Match

France humiliated themselves with a pathetic performance, arguably the worst of the Domenech era, which is saying something.

Ireland played very well, but blew multiple goal-scoring chances that would have booked their spot in the World Cup.

Click to continue reading...

So Werder Bremen thrashed Freiburg 6-0 last night in the Bundesliga (See, they don't even need Diego aka Survivor Contestant No. 91255 these days). As for Hugo Almeida, we've not heard from him for a while so it was finally nice to see the Portuguese striker helping himself to a double.

Click to continue reading...

Colorado Caribous 1978 jersey. Can't wait to see this brought back!

"Party Like It's 1979″, says the usually stone cold sober Kenn Tomasch. "The future of American soccer appears to be the past of American soccer."

Kenn writes this because news broke today that the breakaway second-tier league made-up of nine former USL and new clubs may use the North American Soccer League name for itself, after Miami FC put in two trademark claims.

Click to continue reading...

A few years back, when my daughter was maybe three, she did one of those things which, before you have kids, you swear your little darling will never do. I can't even remember what it was. Bit her brother, maybe? Hit him? Whatever it was, it was something which caused pain to her brother, and something she knew she shouldn't have done.

Click to continue reading...

The games didn't really have everything, did they? The results did some upsets, some heroics, a few of the expected teams going in but outside of the one game which forced a playoff (Egypt 2 Algeria 0), some of these games were completely zapped of the necessary drama.

(Not, of course, that one played in the Stade de France.

Click to continue reading...

If you're only going to have 5 players play well, make sure they include at least three defenders and the goalkeeper. I'm writing in a vacuum I did have the Setanta commentator who rightly pointed out how poor France were, but I have to say that I thought France were shocking.

Good performances: Sagna, Evra, Gallas, Lloris, Anelka
Poor: Henry, A.

Click to continue reading...

Thierry Henry is my favorite player of all time. He has had so many magical moments on the pitch that it is hard for me to list them all. That is what makes this all the more painful. Yes, Ireland should have taken their chances. Yes, this will renew the call for instant replay.

Click to continue reading...

First thing: If you're catching the game on delay on Setanta, DON'T read the comments. I broke down and forked over my $19.99 to Setanta to watch the game live, so I will be leaving updates there.

And if you have a working illicit stream, please leave that in the comments as well. It looks like there will be multiple options.

Click to continue reading...

Spain have just launched their home jersey for the 2010 World Cup and the design has a 1980s feel about it. Adidas have once again manufactured this World Cup kit, which is the usual red with a hint of blue on the sleeve and neck areas, and yellow Adidas stripes up the arms and shoulders. The Adidas logo is featured on the top centre part of the shirt and the Spanish badge is on the left of the shirt.

Click to continue reading...

Spain have just launched their home jersey for the 2010 World Cup and the design has a 1980s feel about it. Adidas have once again manufactured this World Cup kit, which is the usual red with a hint of blue on the sleeve and neck areas, and yellow Adidas stripes up the arms and shoulders. The Adidas logo is featured on the top centre part of the shirt and the Spanish badge is on the left of the shirt.

Click to continue reading...

Anybody else feeling edgy?

I'm getting a little tired of reading that this France side aren't "a spot" on the 1998-2000 side. Time for the lads to debunk that nasty sentiment; and a masterclass today would be a good start.

Join Laurie on this site later today (she's never missed a match before, and I wouldn't expect her to start now) for a bit of pre -, during -, and post-match banter (and ranting and raving).

Click to continue reading...

The Beauty: Ariadne Artiles is a stunning beauty and worthy of worship as a Wednesday WAG here at LLTO. She's a super hot Spanish model who recently divorced a famous athlete, superbike champion Fonsi Nieto. Since her separation, she has become a smoking sexy WAG by snagging one of soccer's greatest GKs.

Click to continue reading...

Ever since I started watching football many years ago now, when it came time for the World Cup, Spain were always considered a dangerous threat by many pundits that they would win the tournament, only to let everyone down time and time again. Spain are likely to have one of the best selling World Cup Jerseys in the tournament, but the best they have finished is 4th place in a World Cup and that was in 1950.

Click to continue reading...

Ever since I started watching football many years ago now, when it came time for the World Cup, Spain were always considered a dangerous threat by many pundits that they would win the tournament, only to let everyone down time and time again. Spain are likely to have one of the best selling World Cup Jerseys in the tournament, but the best they have finished is 4th place in a World Cup and that was in 1950.

Click to continue reading...

France won the first leg of the World Cup playoff away to Ireland 1-0, but the tie is still up in the air.

France was the better team, but they weren't firing on all cylinders, and as a result, need to get a result in the second leg in Paris.

The formation didn't always hold it's shape, but it was something like this:

Gignac
Henry Gourcuff Anelka
A.

Click to continue reading...

Video goal highlights from the Republic of Ireland vs France first leg World Cup 2010 playoff game on November 14, 2009- Saturday. Game kicks off at Croke Park, Dublin- 20.00 GMT. Big, big game for the Irish- they need a good result here ahead of the second leg in Paris. Ireland vs France highlights and team [. Click to continue reading...

So President Nicolas Sarkozy went on Facebook to wish les Bleus good luck.

Pretty sure that will be all it takes to push them over the top.

GFC over at The Beantown Frog is cautiously optimistic about this leg of the match, predicting a 1-0 win.

Click to continue reading...

Ireland v France
Saturday 14 November 2009 and Wednesday 18 November 2009
2010 World Cup Qualifying

The last time that the Republic of Ireland qualified for the World Cup, in 2002, they took the playoff route to book their place in Korea/Japan

This time, the route is the same, but while Ireland were in the favorite role against Iran last time around, they‘re decided underdogs this time, as Giovanni Trapattoni's side meets 1998 World Cup champions France with a ticket to South Africa on the line.

Click to continue reading...

In football attacking players often get most of the praise when their team is achieving results while players in other positions are often overlooked. Defenders are typically ignored when accolades and awards are given out, yet it would be wrong to underestimate the contribution and influence of key defensive players such as Italy's Paolo Maldini or France's Lilian Thuram, just to name a couple of outstanding talents.

Click to continue reading...

Patrice Evra has confessed that he is on the receiving end of some piss taking after he rinsed his English United team-mates for failing to qualify for Euro 2008.

With Darren Fletcher's Scotland missing out on the World Cup, Evra has revealed how Fletch tells him they will be spending the summer together, after France fail to beat Ireland in the qualifier.

Click to continue reading...

Manchester United and France left-back Patrice Evra has told the press of his inability to drink his favorite drink, Sprite, after seeing nothing but green in it. France take on the Republic of Ireland this weekend in a crucial World Cup qualifyer, and Evra has quickly learned to despise all things green.

Click to continue reading...

The Beauty: Miss Amaia Salamanca is a beauty with few rivals. She's a top model in Spain, and her acting chops have landed her several roles. She has also gained notoriety for appearing in a memorable commercial for Tampax years back. Like America's "Noxema Girl", Amaia is thought of often as Spain's "Tampon Queen".

Click to continue reading...

From the Guardian:

Ireland defender Richard Dunne said, "You can see the reaction of the people at the tennis (Paris Masters), when they put his (Domenech) face on the big screen. The whole place just booed him and his own players laughed at him."

Extraordinary.

Click to continue reading...

Remarkable Recovery

Euro 2008 was a hugely enjoyable tournament on a number of levels. Viewers across the globe were spoilt with a month of delightful, positive football. Spain were indisputably the best team on show, and deserved winner of their first major championship in 34 years. However, a personal highlight was the re-emergence of Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic, after he had spent most of 2007 recovering from 2 kidney transplants.

Click to continue reading...

Major League Soccer's decision to conduct its semifinal playoff rounds at the same time as this international break has severally hamstrung Bob Bradley's selection. With two very interesting friendlies against European sides that have already qualified for next summer's World Cup, these matchups would have provided an opportunity to test some of the best we have to offer.

Click to continue reading...

Wayne Rooney contributed what looked like a good all round performance for Man Utd vs Blackburn on Saturday, featuring some nice link play and a sweet sweet goal which he swept home to make it 2-0 (around 4:10 in the above video).

I saw about 15 minutes of the game live, and there was also a magic little inside-of-the-foot-with-back-to-goal pass that somehow didn't make the Match of the Day cut.

Click to continue reading...

On paper, this shouldn't even be much of a matchup. France has the players with the big names and the big money.

You know. The ones who get all the press.

Too bad you can't play a match on paper.

Gardiens de but
Shay Given (Manchester City, Ang)
Keiren Westwood (Conventry City, Ang)
Joe Murphy (Scunthorpe United, Ang)

Défenseurs
John O'Shea (Manchester United, Ang)
Richard Dunne (Aston Villa, Ang)
Stephen Kelly (Fulham, Ang)
Kevin Kilbane (Hull City, Ang)
Eddie Nolan (Preston North End, Ang)
Sean St.

Click to continue reading...

United have once again been linked with January moves for Valencia's star men, David Villa and David Silva. The future of both Spanish Internationals was the focus of much media attention over the summer with Barcelona, Real Madrid and Liverpool keeping tabs on the situation to name but a few.

Valencia managed to hold on to their prized assets in the summer but as their financial troubles show no sign of letting up, it looks increasingly likely they will lose one if not both in the winter.

Click to continue reading...

Dire financial circumstances could force La Liga side to sell up sooner rather than later, so says club's director.

Portsmouth Vs Manchester United Tickets Still Available!

Join Our Facebook Fan Page for the Latest News/Rumours/Forums/Videos/WAGS/Funny Stuff/Features!

Click to continue reading...

A Bola online publicou uma notícia referente ao acerto da hora de inverno. Curiosamente a foto que a ilustra é de um relógio criado por uma marca de relógios suiça que quis comemorar a estadia em Neuchatel, da Selecção Nacional, durante o Euro 2008, e que se tornou um êxito rápido e inesperado de vendas. Click to continue reading...

At the Euro 2008 Semi Final, I love this picture! Thanks to whoever who took it.

Two of Arsenal's holy trinity have been nominated for this prestigious award. The third component of this trinity, Robin van Persie  curiously has been ignored. Since November 2008, Robin has been the most consistent Gooner full stop.

Click to continue reading...

BeÅŸiktaÅŸ had their UEFA Champions League dreams look like a nightmare, at least in the first two games. Although they had played well against Manchester United, and were average against CSKA Moscow, they could not find ways to win, or even get a draw. The Black Eagles travelled up to Germany to take on defending champions of the Bundesliga, VfL Wolfsburg. Click to continue reading...

On Monday, it was revealed by our sister site EPL Talk that the legendary Martin Tyler of Sky Sports will be joining ESPN for next summer's World Cup as the lead announcer. While I have nothing personally against Tyler (In fact, I like his style, and have seen him present two matches this weekend, since I am currently in India and here the Sky or TWI feed is given for every live match.

Click to continue reading...

It's official. France's playoff opponent is Ireland.

And Raymond Domenech is kissing the boots of UEFA for deciding to seed the draw.

France, the 1998 world champions, 2000 European champions and beaten World Cup finalists in 2006, will have the advantage of playing the second leg on home soil against an Ireland side coached by Giovanni Trapattoni.

Click to continue reading...

This is one of the most hilarious goals of recent times, unless you're a Liverpool fan.
And, of course, by any standards of common sense it shouldn't have been a goal at all. (I just tested this on my wife, incidentally, who is conversant with the rules of the game and considered the awarding of the goal an outrage. Click to continue reading...