Singing in the valleys: Welsh joy as they qualify for Euro 2020
November 20 – Wales have reached their second straight European Championship finals thanks to a 2-0 home win over Hungary in their winner-takes-all Group E qualifier on Tuesday.
Performance
Fallen star Henry ready to make MLS impact with Montreal
November 19 – Thierry Henry is back in the game, taking the role of Montreal Impact head coach in the MLS. The Frenchman says he wants to confront and leave the disappointment of his short-lived Monaco tenure behind him.
Pass masters: Man City, Ajax and Rangers head possession ranking. Celtic in top 10
November 19 – Manchester City, Ajax and Glasgow Rangers head a ranking of European clubs by possession in the latest report from the CIES Football Observatory.
What are the odds of VAR making more Premier League game changing decisions
November 19 – With the Premier League returning to action this weekend, so will its latest game changer, VAR. With Michel Platini being the latest to weigh in with expletives over the use of video refs, and the Premier League having met with the VAR bosses with a demand to sort the inconsistencies out, the pressure for a controversy free weekend is building.
Brazil surprise France to set up U-17 World Cup final with Mexico
By Samindra Kunti in Sao Paulo
November 15 – In a dramatic semi-final Brazil upset favourites France 3-2 to reach the final of the U-17 World Cup on home soil against Mexico. The Mexicans eliminated Holland after a penalty shoot-out.
He came, he saw, he conquered; now the Zlatan roadshow is looking towards a new galaxy
November 14 – Zlatan Ibrahimovic has confirmed that he will leave LA Galaxy after two seasons in the MLS. The Swede has been linked with a return to Serie A.
Premier League chiefs call powwow with referees’ boss over VAR inconsistencies
November 13 – Premier League bosses are to meet English football’s head of referees on Thursday in attempt to sort out ongoing confusion over VAR which many pundits believe is wrecking the spirit of the game.
Club before country. Man City’s Sterling clashes with Liverpool’s Gomez at England camp
November 13 – England’s in-form Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has been dropped from the squad to face Montenegro in their Euro 2020 qualifier at Wembley on Thursday after a clash in training with teammate Joe Gomez.
U-17 World Cup: Brazil and France set up semi-final clash of the giants
By Samindra Kunti in Sao Paulo
November 12 – Brazil have set up a mouth-watering semi-final with France following a 2-0 win over Italy in the last eight of the U-17 World Cup. The French demolished Spain 6-1 in their semi.
They promised infallibility. With VAR boss giving it a 7/10 rating is that really success?
November 12 – The man in charge of VAR in the English top flight says it could take years before the system is implemented properly.
No German jaunt for Wenger as Bayern keep up search for Kovac replacement
November 8 – Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is out of the race to become the next head coach of Bayern Munich, according to reports in Germany.
Italians ask IFAB for clearance to use 5 subs in Serie A
November 7 – Serie A have asked football’s lawmakers for the right to allow them to use five substitutes per match instead of three.
Son has red card rescinded for Gomes tackle
November 6 – Justice has been done with Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min’s much-publicised red card for his tackle that led to Andre Gomes’ horrific broken ankle in Sunday’s Premier League encounter against Everton overturned by the authorities.
England and Scotland near head of table of imported players for top tier clubs
November 5 – The trend of increasing numbers of non-domestic players in top division teams appears to have slowed with 41.8% of players in 31 European leagues now being expatriates. This is still an increase of 0.2% over last year but is less that the 1.2% average increase seen between 2014 and 2018.
Hero to zero: Battered Bayern bullet Kovac
November 4 – Football moves in mysterious ways. Just one month after wowing the whole of Europe with their sensational 7-2 win at Tottenham in the Champions League, Bayern Munich have sacked Niko Kovac as manager following Saturday’s 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt in the Bundesliga – their heaviest defeat in a decade.