Chantilly (France) (AFP) – In attempting to unpick England's Euro 2016 humiliation by Iceland, captain Wayne Rooney and outgoing manager Roy Hodgson touched upon a common theme: mental readiness. England have now gone eight major tournaments without reaching a semi-final. Previous failings have been ascribed to factors such as the lack of a mid-season break […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Like neurotic parents, Argentines swung from criticism to unconditional love for their star footballer Lionel Messi this week, providing the soccer-mad nation's many therapists with rich material for psychoanalysis. Fans' frustration at the superstar's missed penalty in Sunday's defeat to Chile in the Copa America Centenario soon gave way to panic […]

Out of the top 5 most-watched Copa America Centenario games on Univision this June, four of them featured Mexico. But the game that was the most-viewed was the final between Argentina and Chile, which was watched by 6.8 million people. Meanwhile, the United States did well in the TV viewing numbers, averaging 3.31 million viewers […]

Milan (AFP) – Sampdoria coach Vincenzo Montella was on Tuesday appointed as the new coach of AC Milan on a two year contract, the Serie A side announced. The 42-year-old Italian succeeds Cristian Brocchi, who has fulfilled the role as caretaker boss since Sinisa Mihajlovic was sacked in April. Milan finished last season in seventh, […]

The aftermath of England’s devastating and deplorable loss to Iceland is no time for quiet reflection and understated contemplation. A ruinous result like this one deserves the height of hyperbolic reaction found only in England’s titillating tabloids and brilliant broadsheets. The Sun’s back page plays on the Iceland supermarket chain’s one-time slogan “Mum’s gone to […]

Chantilly (France) (AFP) – Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn hinted on Tuesday that Gareth Southgate will become interim England manager and suggested a female coach could succeed Roy Hodgson on a permanent basis. The FA is looking for a new England manager after Hodgson, 68, announced his resignation following Monday's humiliating elimination by Iceland […]

For Copa America Centenario, Univision averaged 3,099,625 viewers per game over the 32-game tournament. The impressive numbers illustrate how perfect of a competition this was for Univision. Not only did it feature the popular Mexico and USA teams in North America, but the tournament was filled with some of the brightest teams as well as […]

Dinard (France) (AFP) – Wales insist they have no regrets about the leaked video which showed them celebrating on Monday night as England were knocked out of Euro 2016. The footage, filmed inside the team hotel as the squad and staff watched England's defeat to Iceland, shows the Wales camp jumping up and down just […]

Paris (AFP) – England on Tuesday surveyed the wreckage of their humiliating Euro 2016 exit as now former coach Roy Hodgson agonised over a defeat that added to the nation's sense of post-Brexit turmoil. Iceland, the smallest nation ever to play in a major tournament, erupted in celebration after sending England crashing out with a […]

Reykjavik (AFP) – Iceland basked Tuesday in the glory of its historic and unexpected 2-1 victory over England at Euro 2016, with locals now convinced that all their dreams can come true. The team will next face hosts France in the quarter-finals on Sunday at the Stade de France. But whatever happens in Paris, "when […]

ESPN scored impressive viewing numbers for its live coverage of Euro 2016 this past weekend, averaging 1,249,500 viewers per game across six matches. The numbers were even more impressive considering that several smaller countries were competing in the games such as Wales, Northern Ireland, Switzerland, Slovakia and Hungary. The strong numbers for those countries point to viewers […]

Chantilly (France) (AFP) – England's now ex-coach Roy Hodgson cut a bewildered figure as he appeared before the press on Tuesday following his team's humiliating Euro 2016 elimination by Iceland, a defeat he said he hadn't seen coming. "My emotions are obvious ones. I am really disappointed. I didn't see the defeat coming," said Hodgson […]

London (AFP) – Argentina's former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro has pleaded with compatriot Lionel Messi to rethink his shock decision to quit international football. Messi, 29, called a halt to his career with the national team at the weekend after Argentina were defeated by Chile in the Copa America final. But del […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina's President Mauricio Macri said Tuesday Lionel Messi was "God's gift" to the country and it should take better care of him after he vowed to quit the national team. "We are lucky, it is one of life's pleasures, it is a gift from God to have the best player in […]

US sports network beIN SPORTS has expanded its coverage of their studio shows The Locker Room and The XTRA to strengthen its original programming. Starting this week on beIN SPORTS, The XTRA will broadcast live every night at 7pm ET, while The Locker Room will be live every Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 7:30-8pm ET. Previously, The Locker Room was […]