So many passionate nations, world-class players, and thoughtful managers will grace this summer’s European Championships in Austria and Switzerland, but only one country will ultimately prevail and cover themselves in glory and success. Here I give my views on who will win the groups outright, who will perform spectacularly and who will leave themselves with […]

FIFA recently approved the “6+5 rule” in a 155-5 vote among member nations. The rule would mandate that clubs field at least six players from the nation in which they play. By targeting wealthy clubs, particularly English ones, buying foreign players, FIFA feels they would revive national teams and achieve greater parity. This policy would […]

Apologies for the delay in getting this out, but here we go, it's the final group preview for Euro 2008. Next week, I'll make my predictions for the knockout rounds, with the quarterfinals on Monday, semifinals on Wednesday, and the final on Friday. That will lead us nicely into the weekend, when the second-largest international […]

Just after I pick the Dutch to win the Euros, here comes the news that winger Ryan Babel will miss the entire tournament after tearing ankle ligaments in training on Saturday. Coach Marco van Basten has yet to name a replacement but will do so as soon as Babel's injury is confirmed by a UEFA […]

Stoke City has officially unveiled their new away shirt for the 2008/2009 season. Designed by Le Coq Sportif, the new design features a yellow shirt with blue trim. The new shirt will be available from June 19 at the Stoke City club shop and online via its web site. What do you think of the […]

Join EPL Talk's Euro 2008 fantasy football league today and the winner will win an official replica shirt of the Euro 2008 team of your choice courtesy of Subside Sports.Registration is free. Here's all you have to do: Visit http://en.fantasy.euro2008.uefa.com If you've registered in the past for the Champions League fantasy game, just login. But […]

An updated player pool (with the players that no longer figure into Coach Bradley's plans for at least the summer deleted) can be found by clicking the tab on the toolbar on top of the blog. The player pool page will be updated after every US match.

ESPN has quietly launched its Euro 2008 site, which features stunning graphics and a very clean cutting edge design.From the opening intro of "This is not the football you think it is," the web site features a state-of-the-art design that pulls you into the site. Once you've viewed the intro, you find yourself on the […]

My experience at Wembley Stadium the other night for the US-England game was outstanding. Not only because of the atmosphere and enthusiasm around international football at England’s National Stadium and throughout London (Although I will point out that this visit reinforced a long held belief of mine having visited both cities on multiple occasions that […]

My experience at Wembley Stadium the other night for the US-England game was outstanding. Not only because of the atmosphere and enthusiasm around international football at England's National Stadium and throughout London (Although I will point out that this visit reinforced a long held belief of mine having visited both cities on multiple occasions that […]

The Manchester City and Ireland defender Richard Dunne and Barcelona's Mexican wonder kid Giovanni Dos Santos are set to become Juande Ramos' latest signings this weekend. City seem resigned to losing Dunne after he turned down their offer of a new contract this week and Spurs look set to complete a £5 million transfer for […]

I've been meaning to do an in-depth piece on FIFA president Sepp Blatter's proposal to introduce quotas on the number of foreign players that teams can field. Yesterday, FIFA held a vote and Blatter's proposal cleared its first major hurdle. The FIFA Congress delegates voted 155-5 in favour of the proposal which would limit the […]

I've been meaning to do an in-depth piece on FIFA president Sepp Blatter's proposal to introduce quotas on the number of foreign players that teams can field. Yesterday, FIFA held a vote and Blatter's proposal cleared its first major hurdle. The FIFA Congress delegates voted 155-5 in favour of the proposal which would limit the […]

GOALKEEPERS– Dominic Cervi (out of contract), Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Tim Howard (Everton FC) ] DEFENDERS– Carlos Bocanegra (out of contract), Dan Califf (FC Midtjylland), Steve Cherundolo (Hannover 96), Jay DeMerit (Watford FC), Frankie Hejduk (Columbus Crew), Oguchi Onyewu (Standard de Liege), Michael Orozco (San Luis), Heath Pearce (Hansa Rostock), Jonathan Spector (West Ham United) […]

Everton will be playing two friendlies in the United States this summer. According to ToffeeWeb, the club is rumored to be playing against Chicago Fire on July 30th and Colorado Rapids on August 3rd. Last July, Everton played a friendly against Real Salt Lake and trained at the Home Depot Center outside Los Angeles, California. […]