The World Cup: truly a tradition unlike any other, except I guess for the Olympics which it is kind of like in the sense that a bunch of people who only care about a thing every four years suddenly care about it so much. Most of the world, of course, cares about soccer a great deal all the time, but the two people that do this podcast every week mostly care about soccer a little bit some of the time. We are also total dopes. If this seems like a problem, then you honestly need to get yourself into The World Cup Mindset post-haste. The event kicks off on Thursday, and while it is as corrupt and compromised and manifestly fucked as always, it is big and cool and weird and worldwide and fun, and also honestly the alternative is regular-season baseball. Just because Drew and I don’t know a blessed thing about the World Cup doesn’t mean that we’re going to sit this thing out. The World Cup is good as hell and we are not going to just sit here and let our idiocy deprive us of a cool sports experience. There are only so many excuses to watch sports and drink beer in the late morning on a weekday and suddenly develop intensely immediate connections with countries you’ve visited or otherwise just kind of thought were cool. With that in mind, we asked resident soccer-knower Billy Haisley to coach us up, tell us what is going on with this whole [waves hands around] thing and which teams are cool and/or fun. Most importantly, he told us who to hate. There’s more, of course—thumbnail characterizations of various national characters, some abrupt and expert dismissals of entire countries’ sporting dreams, completely unwarranted slander of various nations’ affordable varieties of white wine, a wary appreciation of Mexico’s collection of tough guys, Drew singing a Van Halen chorus with admirable enthusiasm, me briefly mentioning genocide, and all of us making a hard-won peace with the USMNT somehow not even making it into the field. And of course we stare into the depths of the Funbag, where we consider some soaring existential issues such as what it would like to be a taco and whether Drew would have fun being an airplane. We also return to the question of whether Donald Trump knows how to tie his shoes. All of which is to say that it is extremely normal except for the fact one of the coolest things in sports is about to happen. Focus on that part. The dumb stuff will still be here once the cool shit is done. You can also listen at iHeart Radio, Stitcher, Spotify, NPR One, Apple Podcasts, or GooglePlay. And don’t forget to email us tips and/or general complaints at [email protected]. Have fun out there.
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Arsenal are also reportedly interested in Abraham, but it remains to be seen if the Gunners persist in the race against Atalanta who are willing to pay €40 million for the services of the 23-year-old. What s more, Chelsea would be happier to sell the player abroad than to a Premier League rival.
As things stand, it seems that Lukaku s move back to Stamford Bridge may actually happen this month. Inter have already rejected an offer of €100m from the Champions League holders, but Chelsea are still …
Antonio Conte insists his commitment to Chelsea has not wavered this season, despite ongoing speculation surrounding his future.
The Italian won the Premier League title in his first season at Chelsea, but the defence of their crown failed dismally, with Conte rumoured to be on the brink of leaving long before his side s disappointing fifth-placed finish was confirmed.
As the former Juventus coach searches for answers on the eve of the FA Cup final, he is adamant his dedication to his job never changed and so was not the cause of Chelsea s woes.
I didn t change my commitment for the club, Conte told a news conference. My commitment has always been the same.
Maybe this season we worked even harder than last season. I don t know if something has changed…
Premier League clubs have agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship on the front of matchday shirts by the start of the 2026-27 season.
Eight English top-flight clubs, including Everton, Newcastle United and West Ham, have gambling companies as their primary shirt sponsor, and have been allowed up to three years to transition away .
The decision was reached after consultation between the Premier League, clubs and the UK government.
A statement released by the Premier League on Friday read: Premier League clubs have today collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs matchday shirts, becoming the first sports league in the UK to take such a measure voluntarily in order to reduce gambling advertising.
The announcement follows a…
Massimiliano Allegri has urged his Juventus side to shift their focus away from the top of the Serie A table as they prepare to travel to bottom club Salernitana on Sunday.
Inter Milan’s win over Verona on Saturday saw them stretch their lead back to five points, but Allegri is in no doubt where his priorities lie for the rest of the campaign.
Allegri told a press conference: “First of all it is fundamental to maintain the gap to fifth in the standings. Our first objective must be to qualify for the next Champions League.”
The squad for
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)
Juventus head into the game unbeaten in 13 Serie A games and will start as strong favourites against a side whom they swept aside 6-1 last Thursday in the Coppa Italia.
…
Sunderland were forced to pay for not taking their chances as Fulham claimed a narrow 1-0 victory at the Stadium of Light on Saturday.
The hosts dominated proceedings from the outset and had a number of good goalscoring opportunities through striker Jozy Altidore, but the visitors only needed one chance as Pajtim Kasami headed home from a corner in the second half.
Paolo Di Canio was without suspended duo Craig Gardner and David Vaughan for the opening fixture, while Steven Fletcher was forced to miss out with the ankle injury that ended his previous campaign in March.
But the Italian coach was able to hand debuts to five of his 10 summer signings, including striker Altidore, Emanuele Giaccherini and Cabral.
Meanwhile, Alexander Kacaniklic was the only nota…
Three Zambia players have been injured in a fatal car crash on their way to a pre-Africa Cup of Nations training camp.
The 2012 AFCON champions were due to hold a camp for 24 locally based players this week, ahead of a pre-tournament friendly against South Africa early in January.
A statement on the Football Association of Zambia s (FAZ) official website reported that four lives had been taken in the incident after a bus carrying the players crashed into an oncoming vehicle.
The FAZ confirmed that Nyambe Mulenga a member of the successful 2012 squad suffered a broken leg in the incident, seemingly putting paid to his chances of featuring in the tournament to be hosted by Equatorial Guinea from next month.
A statement read: Nyambe Mulenga (Zesco United…
Antoine Griezmann understands why Atletico Madrid supporters were anxious about his future amid continued strong speculation linking the striker to Barcelona.
Griezmann announced his intention to stay at Atletico in a televised documentary prior to France s first game at the World Cup.
The forward then confirmed his plans to remain with the LaLiga side for the 2018-19 season by extending his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano by a further year, through to 2023.
Barcelona have reportedly tried to sign Griezmann two years in a row but the Catalan giants have been unable to tempt him away from Atletico.
And Greizmann said his close connection with the club is the reason he has decided to stay.
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FIFA has rejected appeals from Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid against transfer bans, meaning the LaLiga clubs will be barred from registering players for the next two transfer windows.
World football s governing body initially imposed the punishment in January due to the capital clubs breaching rules in relation to the transfer of minors but suspended them later in the month, pending appeal.
Madrid and Atletico will now be unable to register new players until January 2018, with their respective initial fines of 360,000 Swiss francs and 900,000 Swiss francs remaining.
Barcelona were given a similar punishment in 2014 and signed Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal before the start of last season, even though the registration ban prevented either man from representing the …
Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool s forwards counter-pressing will always be the ticket into his starting lineup, as Roberto Firmino was ruled out of Saturday s game against Nottingham Forest.
Liverpool ended a five-match winless run by thrashing Leeds United 6-1 last time out, with attacking quartet Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all on target.
Liverpool are looking to move within six points of the Premier League s top four when they host Forest, before Champions League contenders Newcastle United and Tottenham face off on Sunday.
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In a battle between two French giants on Sunday night, Monaco will welcome Lyon to the Stade Louis II for what could be an enjoyable affair.
Monaco
Starting with the hosts, while Monaco might have opened the 2022/23 campaign in the midst of a worrying run of form, Philippe Clement s men should be boosted by a much-needed bounce over the past week. Managing to open their Europa League campaign with a hard-fought 1-0 victory away at Red Star Belgrade, the former Club Brugge boss has also seen his side find a route into the top-half of the Ligue 1 table. Last seen on domestic duties claiming another 1-0 win away at Nice, the Monégasques will be desperate to build off of their recent flurry. However, although Monaco might have gained a …