Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta is “conscious” after being taken to hospital after being kicked in the face by Millwall goalkeeper Liam Roberts eight minutes into Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round clash, in what Palace’s chairman Steve Paris described as “the most reckless challenge” he’d ever seen.

Parish confirmed to the BBC at half-time that Mateta had a gash behind his ear and was at a local hospital receiving further treatment as he expressed his anger at the tackle, which saw Roberts sent off.

After the match, Palace manager Oliver Glasner said that Mateta was “conscious.”

Later on Saturday, Mateta posted on social media to say: “I’m doing well. I hope to be back very soon and stronger than ever. Well done guys for the great job today.”

Roberts rushed outside the 18-yard box and leaped to clear a long ball but his high left-footed follow-through struck Mateta in the side of the face.

Mateta remained on the ground for several minutes and needed lengthy medical treatment before he was fitted with a neck brace and carried off the field toward an ambulance.

“He’s conscious and he’s in hospital, but his ear obviously looks terrible. [It’s a] very serious injury, so of course we hope all the best for him and let’s see,” Glasner said.

Parish gave a more emotional assessment.

“In all the time I’ve been watching football I don’t think I’ve ever seen a worse challenge. If you’re kicking someone in the head then you don’t know what damage may have been done” Parish said.

Referee Michael Oliver initially did not even show Roberts a yellow card despite being only a few yards away from the incident but then brandished a straight red after being called over by VAR to review the incident on a pitchside monitor.

“They’re professionals and they have to treat each other like professionals and have a duty of care for your fellow professionals,” Parish said.

“That keeper has not had one [duty of care]. Credit to the players carrying on and it is difficult for me to think about anything else with JP [Mateta] in hospital.

“In all the time I’ve watched football, someone mentioned there was one like it in the World Cup in 1982.

“Why the referee [Michael Oliver] needed to go to the screen I have got no idea.”

Mateta is Palace’s leading scorer with 12 Premier League goals this season. Despite his lack of firepower up front for the remainder of the match, Palace still earned a 3-1 victory over the 10-man Millwall side.

“Maybe we are not really happy today. We can’t be really happy,” Glasner added.

“Of course, it’s a great win in going into the quarterfinals, but when you lose a player, especially with a foul like this, you have two different feelings in your stomach.”

Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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• Alex Kirkland

• Rodrigo Faez

Mar 1, 2025, 05:14 AM ET

Real Madrid have been hit with a €30,000 ($31,130) fine and a partial stadium closure — suspended for two years — by UEFA over “discriminatory behaviour” by fans in their Champions League game with Manchester City at the Bernabéu last month.

Madrid beat City 3-1 in the Champions League knockout phase playoff second leg on Feb. 19, with forward Kylian Mbappé scoring a hat trick, as Madrid progressed to the round of 16 with an aggregate score of 6-3.

UEFA’s Appeals Body published the decision on Friday, citing a breach of article 14 of its Disciplinary Regulations, which sanctions “any person … who insults the human dignity of a person or group of persons on whatever grounds, including skin colour, race, religion, ethnic origin, gender or sexual orientation.”

UEFA did not specify the nature of the fan behaviour which had led to the punishment.

As well as the €30,000 fine, Madrid were penalised with a partial closure of the Bernabéu of “at least 500 adjacent seats” suspended for a probationary period of two years.

The closure would be enforced “if a further offence of a similar nature is committed during the probationary period,” UEFA said.

Real Madrid will play Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie at the Bernabéu on Tuesday.

The post Madrid penalised for fan behaviour in City CL clash appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

Pep Guardiola insists there’s reason for optimism at Manchester City, despite a troubled campaign that has seen the defending champions reduced to battling for a place in the top four.

Following Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur, a result that boosted their hopes of playing Champions League football next season, the City boss laid out what he believes should be a “bright future” at the Etihad Stadium. (The victory moved them into fourth place, a point above Chelsea, with 11 games remaining.) “The young players and the new acquisitions maybe the club will do in the summertime — in the next transfer window — have to lead this club for the next few years,” he said.

They echoed his comments after Sunday’s 2-0 defeat to Liverpool. “I saw a bright future,” Guardiola told the BBC. “Other than Kevin [De Bruyne] and Nathan [Ake], they are the future of this club in the next years, with others who will come in future windows.

Guardiola and new director of football Hugo Viana — who has replaced the outgoing Txiki Begiristain — are facing a summer rebuild as they plot their way back to the top. There’s a core of established stars to build around and some exciting young players with huge potential, but also decisions to be made on some of the old guard, including Kevin De Bruyne, who is out of contract in the summer.

Ahead of Saturday’s FA Cup fifth-round tie vs. Plymouth Argyle (stream LIVE, Saturday, 12:15 p.m., ESPN+), we take a look at the state of City and whether the future is as bright as Guardiola believes.

The untouchables

One nice thing for City is that they’re not starting their rebuild from scratch. Erling Haaland has signed a mammoth contract that runs through 2034, and Phil Foden, who has already racked up more than 300 club appearances before the age of 25, has shown no desire to ever leave the Etihad.

Beyond those two, defender Rúben Dias has been a key part of City’s success since arriving from Benfica in 2020 and is a vocal presence in the squad. He has struggled for form and fitness this season — like many of his teammates — but is still only 27 and a strong character in the dressing room. Dias could take on an even more prominent role if there is an exodus of experienced players in the summer.

There has been a long-held belief by some at City that Rodri would one day be keen to return to Spain, but that talk has died down and there’s hope he will be fully recovered from his knee injury by the time preseason training begins in July and August.

The significant investment in Omar Marmoush in January means he will also be part of City’s future. The Egyptian, signed for £60 million from Eintracht Frankfurt, has made a positive start in a difficult situation after joining an underperforming team midseason.

Legends coming to the end?

This is where Guardiola and Viana will have to make big decisions.

Éderson, Bernardo Silva, Ilkay Gündogan and Kevin De Bruyne have been cornerstones of the team that won the treble in 2023 and completed four titles in a row in 2024. But nothing lasts forever, and there are now serious question marks about their futures.

Each situation is different and delicate. De Bruyne is out of contract in the summer, while Gündogan has a one-year option in his deal that would take him to 2026 if it’s exercised. There’s interest in De Bruyne from teams in Saudi Arabia and the United States, and Galatasaray believe they have got a good chance of landing Gündogan. Éderson was close to moving to the Saudi Pro League last summer, and Silva has long wanted to return to continental Europe, whether Spain, France or Portugal.

The problem facing City is that Éderson, De Bruyne and Bernardo would need to be replaced, and that won’t be cheap. Florian Wirtz at Bayer Leverkusen is a target to replace De Bruyne, but there would be stiff competition from Bayern Munich and possibly Real Madrid.

If Éderson leaves, City could either make Stefan Ortega first-choice and sign an understudy or make a move for another No. 1 such as FC Porto‘s Diogo Costa.

Are they part of the future, or is it time to go?

Top of the list is Jack Grealish. At 29 and with four years at City under his belt, he should be indispensable. But he’s not. He has not been a regular in the team since the treble season, which means, naturally, his future is up in the air.

With two years left on his contract, City would demand a fee before letting him leave. There have been vague links with Tottenham Hotspur or a return to Aston Villa, but it’s likely to take significant investment — translation: wages plus transfer fee — to get a deal over the line.

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‘Next!’ – Guardiola refuses to respond to questions about Javier Tebas

Pep Guardiola shuts down questions about LaLiga president Javier Tebas accusing Man City of manipulating their balance sheets

It’s different with John Stones because the issue isn’t his performances, but his durability. Into his ninth season at the Etihad and approaching his 31st birthday, he has only once been able to make more than 25 league appearances in a single campaign. His latest injury picked up against Real Madrid is set to rule him out for between eight and 10 weeks.

Guardiola’s biggest problem this season has been injuries, and it would be natural if he began to favor players he knows can stay fit.

Youngsters looking to establish themselves

The success of City’s next cycle will depend heavily on the young players the club have already invested in. If defenders Abdukodir Khusanov and Vitor Reis; midfielders Nico Gonzalez, Claudio Echeverri and Rico Lewis; and forwards Savinho, Jérémy Doku, Oscar Bobb and James McAtee can realize their undoubted potential, then their next formidable team won’t be far away.

Savinho, Khusanov and Lewis — all starters against Liverpool on Sunday — are only 20, while Reis and Echeverri, two of the most exciting prospects to come out of South America in recent, are still teenagers. The main issue with young players is that there’s always an element of risk.

It’s impossible to tell at 19 or 20 who might be a world-beater by the time they’re 25 or 26. City can only hope that the gambles pay off.

The next generation coming through

City have one of the best academy setups in the country and they currently sit top of Premier League 2 (for under-21s) and the under-18 Premier League north group. Midfielder Nico O’Reilly (19) and defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey (19) have both made appearances this season, while striker Divin Mubama (20) scored against Salford City in the FA Cup in January.

City have been good at moving on young players for big fees, although they turned down a substantial bid from Chelsea for O’Reilly on deadline day in January. The decision might have been influenced by a growing feeling that City missed a trick by not asking for more when Cole Palmer moved to Stamford Bridge in 2023.

And what about Pep in all of this?

The City boss quieted the noise around his own future by signing a contract extension in November. His deal runs until 2027, and he insisted after the Champions League defeat to Real Madrid that he intends to honor it. But it hasn’t stopped nagging questions about whether Guardiola needs the stress that comes with another rebuild. He has achieved everything in England and the only challenge left in management is to lead a national team at a major tournament. After such a grueling campaign and so many problems to navigate, City fans will only feel confident he’s definitely staying when they see him on the training pitch preparing for next season.

The post How bright is Man City’s future? Assessing Guardiola’s squad appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

• Associated Press

Feb 28, 2025, 12:42 PM ET

Turkey Süper Lig club Fenerbahce said on Friday they have filed a lawsuit against rival Galatasaray for an “attack on the personal rights” of coach Jose Mourinho.

Galatasaray accused Mourinho of making racist comments after Monday’s Istanbul derby, saying in a statement that he had used “unequivocally inhumane rhetoric” after he referred to the opposition bench “jumping around like monkeys.”

Fenerbahce rejected the accusation and said the comments were “deliberately taken entirely out of context and distorted in a misleading manner.”

On Friday, they went further and said they had initiated legal action to recoup around $52,000 in damages.

“We would like to announce to the public that a lawsuit for moral damages of 1 million 907 thousand Turkish liras has been filed against Galatasaray Sports Club by Fenerbahçe Sports Club lawyers due to the attack on the personal rights of our Technical Director Jose Mourinho,” Fenerbahce said in a statement.

The figure appeared to be a reference to Fenerbahce having been founded in 1907, a number that is on the club’s crest.

Galatasaray said this week that Mourinho had “persistently issued derogatory statements directed towards the Turkish people” and intended to initiate criminal proceedings concerning the “racist statements” made by the Portuguese coach.

The Turkish Football Federation on Thursday handed Mourinho a four-match ban and fined him 1.6 million Turkish lira ($44,000) for comments made after about Turkish referees after the Galatasaray match.

In his post-match news conference Mourinho welcomed the decision to bring in a foreign referee — Slovenian Slavko Vincic — for the game and also praised the official for a “top performance.”

Mourinho said he’d gone to see the referee and thank him following the game.

When he saw the fourth official, a Turkish referee, Mourinho said he told him: “If you are the referee … would be a disaster.”

Mourinho moved to Turkey from Roma last year after stints at high-profile clubs including Chelsea, Manchester United, Real Madrid and Inter Milan.

He was fined and suspended earlier in the season for a tirade against local match officials and the league.

The post Mourinho sues Galatasaray for racism accusation appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly has responded to fan criticism over his stewardship of the club, dismissing concerns as “par for the course.”

Chelsea supporters marched with banners criticising Boehly ahead of Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Southampton. Chief among their concerns was the lack of silverware since Boehly and Clearlake Capital took over in May 2022, as well as his investment in Vivid Seats, a U.S.-site that sells sports tickets at a major mark-up.

Speaking at the Financial Times’ annual “Business of Football” summit, Boehly said that owners should expect fan resentment, adding that he is not able to keep every supporter happy.

“It’s par for the course. The reality is the sooner you learn you’re not going to keep all people happy all the time, freedom shows up,” Boehly said.

“You’re trying to get on a plan, execute a plan, realise things aren’t linear and if you’re in the right direction you feel better. The trend is in the right direction and that’s the thing that really matters. In June it’ll be three years, that’s not a lot of time. Especially in an industry where there’s so little downtime.”

Chelsea are enjoying their best season since Boehly took over, albeit Enzo Maresca’s side are in fifth place in the Premier League, one point shy of Champions League qualification.

The Chelsea co-owner also addressed the club’s failure to sign a striker in January.

“Strikers are hard to find, right? You don’t go into the grocery store and come in and get a striker with an amazing skill set. Then you also have to have a fantastic mentality,” he said.

The post Boehly dismisses Chelsea fan fury: Par for course appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

• ESPN News Services

Feb 27, 2025, 06:14 PM ET

Fenerbahce manager Jose Mourinho was handed a four-match ban and fined by the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) on Thursday following his comments about Turkish referees after a match at Istanbul rivals Galatasaray.

The TFF fined the 62-year-old Portuguese 1,617,000 Turkish lira ($44,000) after he criticised the match officials in a news conference following the 0-0 Super Lig draw on Monday.

The penalties were due to “derogatory and offensive statements towards the Turkish referee” and accusations of chaos and disorder in Turkish football, the TFF said.

The TFF said Mourinho’s remarks violated sports ethics, promoted violence and disorder and could incite fan incidents.

Monday’s game was refereed by Slovenian Slavko Vincic after both clubs requested a foreign official take charge.

After the match, Mourinho made a point of praising the referee, highlighting the fact he was not from Turkey.

“The performance of the referee was a top performance,” Mourinho said.

“Anyone, not just from this country but also abroad, watched a big football match. I think the man responsible for that was the referee.

Mourinho was also asked about an incident early in the game involving his 19-year-old defender Yusuf Akcicek, to which he said: “Again, I have to thank the referee because with a Turkish referee after the big dive and the first minute and their bench jumping like monkeys on top of the kids.

“A Turkish referee would have [given Akcicek] a yellow card after one minute, and after five minutes I would have to change him.”

Galatasaray have said they will “initiate criminal proceedings” and report Mourinho to FIFA and UEFA over what they called “racist statements.”

Fenerbahce issued a statement on Tuesday defending Mourinho, saying his comments were taken out of context and deliberately distorted. The club said it was planning to take a legal action “against this baseless accusation.”

Former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur manager Mourinho has previously been fined and suspended for his comments about Turkish match officials.

Information from Reuters contributed to this report.

The post Mourinho gets 4-game ban for derby comments appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

NUUK, Greenland — This weekend, Greenland’s football team will travel over 6,000 miles for a game. They will swap the snow-covered playing fields of Nuuk, the territory’s capital, for the Brazilian city of Curitiba and hope that their passion for the game will, for a short time at least, remove the distraction of politics and boost their hopes of playing more meaningful games closer to home.

A campaign by the Football Association of Greenland (KAK) to secure membership in Concacaf (Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football) was submitted in May 2024, followed by months of preparation by the KAK to get the application over the finish line. It had been due to reach a crucial, perhaps defining, moment this week, with senior KAK figures invited to Concacaf HQ in Miami to discuss Greenland’s prospects of joining the confederation’s 41 member associations.

After President Donald Trump suggested the U.S. could look to acquire the autonomous Danish territory, negotiations between Greenland and Concacaf (the confederation containing the U.S., Mexico and Canada — next summer’s World Cup hosts) were delayed.

The unexpected rhetoric from President Trump has become a distraction for both the KAK and Concacaf.

“People are asking is it Trump inviting you to the United States,” KAK chief executive Kenneth Kleist told ESPN. “So no, we will meet [Concacaf] later. We are going to meet in London instead, maybe in a month or so, without me going deeper into it than that. It’s become a little bit political, as you can imagine.”

Concacaf declined to comment on Greenland’s application when contacted by ESPN.

Greenland has become a political football at the worst possible time for the KAK. A territory with a population of around 56,000 wants to have a home for its football team. Participation in next week’s Intercontinental Futsal Cup in Brazil — Greenland’s players keep in shape by playing futsal (5-on-5 soccer played indoors on a smaller court) because of the prolonged wintry climate — is a huge moment for the Greenland squad, but what they really want is competitive football, home and away, with the chance, however small, to dream of playing at a World Cup.

“We want to be able to look forward to games, competitive games, in World Cup qualifiers,” said team captain, Patrick Frederiksen. “That’s why we want to join Concacaf.”

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Greenland’s captain explains why they want a place in Concacaf

Greenland captain Patrick Frederiksen joins “The Football Reporters” podcast to explain why he hopes to see his country welcomed into Concacaf.

As an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, Greenland is technically part of Europe. Although it was granted home rule by Denmark in 1979, Greenland’s people are full citizens of Denmark, the Danish Kroner is the official currency and Danish is spoken alongside Greenlandic. But unlike the Faroe Islands, which is also an autonomous territory of Denmark with home rule of its own since 1948, Greenland’s football association does not have a home.

A clause in UEFA’s regulations stipulating that new member associations must be recognized as a sovereign country by the United Nations means that Greenland cannot join the European confederation. UEFA introduced the rule in 2007, after the Faroe Islands and Gibraltar became members. There is no such requirement with Concacaf. That may change, with an amendment proposed at FIFA’s Congress in Bangkok last May that any new members must be recognized as an independent country by the UN, but the door into Concacaf is still ajar for Greenland.

“When Concacaf responded to our application and invited us for talks, it was like Christmas Day for us,” Greenland coach Morten Rutkjaer told ESPN. “It’s a totally crazy thing that now everyone wants to talk with us and everyone said, “Oh, it’s about Trump.’

“No, no. We have worked on this for many years since I started in 2019. All I know is that we want to be a part of membership somewhere and the best thing for Greenland is to be a part of Concacaf, then the players have something to dream for and train for.”

Karsten Moller Andersen has just gone down, clutching his knee. The Greenland-based members of the national team are training at Nuuk’s indoor Inussivik sports arena, and Andersen is in a bad way. One of his teammates dashes off to seek help from arena staff, returning with a clear plastic bag full of snow. Andersen is moved to a bench and the snow is placed over his knee.

It is an image that sums up the uniqueness of Greenland. The players are training inside because the all-weather surface outside — all-weather, but not Greenland weather — is under three feet of snow. Who needs ice when you have an endless supply of snow to do the same job?

The Greenland players are training for the futsal tournament in Brazil, where they will face the hosts, Afghanistan and Iran. They play futsal for eight months of the year due to the adverse weather conditions outside and they are good: quick, impressive technique and aggressive. Andersen, a Manchester United supporter since Cristiano Ronaldo’s first spell at Old Trafford, is their best player, so his injury is a concern ahead of the trip to Brazil.

“My knee is getting better,” he told ESPN a week later. “I’m getting laser treatment at my physiotherapist, so all good for Brazil.”

Andersen works at an orphanage in Nuuk, as does team captain Patrick Frederiksen. Other members of the team work in banking, fishing and for the Greenlandic government. Midfielder Soren Kreutzmann is a hairdresser. Other members of the team play in Denmark’s second division, the Faroe Islands or Iceland.

“They’re very good football players right now,” Denmark based-coach Rutkjaer said. “And they will only become better when we have the competition to play in. It’s a totally crazy football country. Everyone plays football everywhere. The children are playing on ice, on football fields inside, outside and they talk about football every hour they can.”

To reflect Rutkjaer’s point, while training is taking place at Inussivik, two teenagers sat watching Manchester City versus Real Madrid on their phones. One is an Arsenal supporter, the other a Liverpool fan. When Jude Bellingham scores a late first-leg winner for Real to seal a 3-2 victory in their Champions League playoff clash, there are cheers and laughter from the group that has since surrounded the two teenagers.

But it is the remoteness of Greenland that makes it so difficult for football to develop. There are only 53 miles of road on the island, which measures 2.1 million square kilometers, and just two international flights from Nuuk — to Reykjavik, Iceland, and the Danish capital, Copenhagen — although United Airlines will start a weekly service from Newark to Nuuk this summer. Flight cancellations are a regular occurrence due to high winds and ice on the runway. It’s also not unusual for the flights from Reykjavik and Copenhagen to have to fly back to their destination without landing in Nuuk because of rapid changes in weather conditions.

“We don’t plan too far ahead in Greenland,” said Frederiksen. “We go day-by-day because the weather can change everything.”

Icebergs float around the bay in Nuuk, snow drifts can cover one-story buildings and the weather means that for 8-10 months of the year, football training must be indoors.

“We are covered by snow,” Frederiksen said. “It’s really impossible to play practice football because there is too much snow. It is too deep and the ball will freeze.”

The Greenlandic Football Championship lasts for just one week in August, when the weather cooperates. B-67 Nuuk claimed its 15th national title by winning the 15-game week-long tournament last year, with three teams withdrawing due to transportation difficulties.

It’s clear there is talent and ambition among the Greenland players and senior figures at the KAK. They’ve played men’s friendlies against Kosovo and Turkmenistan in recent years, and Greenland competes in the Island Games, a biennial tournament involving the likes of Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Saint Helena and several tiny European islands. They have also made plans for a friendly game against Tuvalu, the Polynesian island in the south Pacific, later this year to raise awareness of the environmental disaster facing the country.

“Tuvalu is expected to be one of the first islands that will be overflowed with water and Greenland is where the ice cap is melting,” Rutkjaer said. “So the idea is a national match between the two teams to raise publicity about the situation.”

But while futsal tournaments in Brazil and friendly games for the men’s team help give Rutkjaer and his players a sense of purpose, they are nothing compared to the level of excitement that Concacaf would bring for men and women.

Lykke Eldevig, 18, is a star women’s player in Greenland. Her father, Jon, played for B-67, but she has dreams of playing further afield.

“It has always been a dream [to play professionally], but I don’t know if it’s possible,” she told ESPN.

“I train four times a week. Three times with this team and then one time with the regional team. Some youngsters have had to move to schools in Denmark to find teams there and hopefully get into the professional scene, but there’s not many here because we don’t have a lot of opportunities.”

While Lykke speaks, Alice, one of the women training with the senior group, comes across to say how she has played in every women’s Greenlandic Championship since 1988. Nuuk are the reigning champions, winning an 11th title in 2024, taking them to within two titles of the most successful women’s team, I-69, from the city of Ilulissat. She’s still playing football in her mid-50s, the chance of a professional career long gone.

“We really hope that Greenland can join Concacaf,” Alice tells ESPN. “It would open up opportunities for boys and girls in Greenland and be really special for us.”

One awkward thing about their Concacaf application: Greenland doesn’t have a stadium that could host international football games. Nuuk Stadium, adjacent to the Inussivik arena, has an artificial turf pitch and is listed as having a capacity of 2,000, but one side is a rocky hill — covered in snow during ESPN’s visit — and the other backs onto the arena, and the rest is surrounded by houses and apartments. But the application to join Concacaf is part of a plan to develop football and facilities for all sports in Greenland and inadvertently, this is where Trump’s acquisition talk may play in Greenland’s favor.

Investment is needed to build a series of air domes — large, multipurpose sports venues with a roof — that would allow Greenland to stage football fixtures year-round. “There’s a lot of work to do,” said Kleist, CEO of the KAK. “We have no real infrastructure, with cities not connected with the roads and there are a lot of difficulties to be managed, but we have to be positive because we have to do something big in this country. There’s a lot of possibilities for air domes and we are [talking] with the government.”

A snap general election was called earlier this month by Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Bourup Egede, to be held on March 11. The primary issue is not the interest of the U.S. in the territory, but the possibility of reforms and greater investment from Denmark, including upgrades and updates to infrastructure, sporting facilities and health care. Due to a lack of hospitals in Greenland, many patients must be flown to Iceland — a journey of three hours only if weather conditions allow.

There is also a growing independence movement in Greenland, with reports of a possible referendum after the election and a vote on breaking away from Denmark completely. Sources have told ESPN that Trump’s interest in Greenland has put the Danish government under pressure to invest more in Greenlandic projects, including infrastructure and air domes, to avert the prospect of an independence referendum.

Links with Denmark run deep, however. The Danish sportswear manufacturer Hummel has produced Greenland’s new playing strip with the home and away jerseys incorporating traditional Inuit patterns, while the light blue away shirt has been specially designed to match the color of the icebergs around Greenland. In a nod to the social problems on the island — Greenland has a suicide rate six times higher than Nordic countries, according to one study — Hummel has teamed up with UNICEF in a campaign to help deal with mental health issues in the territory.

The sense of change in Greenland is inescapable. Kleist is guarded when it comes to politics talk, making it clear that the KAK are respectful of Concacaf’s process and have no desire to make their application anything but a football matter. But Coach Rutkjaer is clear on Greenland’s ambitions and why Concacaf is the perfect home for Greenland’s aspiring footballers.

“My hope is that we have a national stadium next year with a football field and a roof, then we can train all the year in Nuuk,” Rutkjaer said. “And it’s better that we become a member of Concacaf because our level is much more in line with the Caribbean islands.

“We could play Concacaf Nations League and World Cup qualification, at the preliminary stage, maybe over a period of 14 days, so it’s much easier for Greenland instead of Europe.

“This isn’t about Greenland playing the USA or Mexico, it’s about having the chance to play competitively against nations of a similar level and giving the players a dream to live.”

The post Greenland just want to play soccer. Will Concacaf give them a spot? appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

Japan beat the United States 2-1 at the SheBelieves Cup in San Diego on Wednesday to end the Americans’ streak of five straight trophies at the annual tournament and hand manager Emma Hayes her first defeat since taking charge of the USWNT.

The result was a measure of revenge for first-time winner Japan, which lost 1-0 to the U.S. in the quarterfinals of the 2024 Olympics as Hayes led the team to the gold medal in Paris.

Japan got off to a dream start in the second minute when U.S. keeper Jane Campbell collided with one of her defenders in front of goal and Yuka Momiki gathered the ball and fired it into an open net for the early lead.

The U.S. regrouped under heavy pressure from Japan and quickly tied the game when Ally Sentnor — who scored her first goal for the Americans on Thursday against Colombia — picked up a through ball from Catarina Macario and calmly curled a shot past Ayaka Yamashita to make it 1-1 just before the 15-minute mark.

Japan started the second half just like it did the first: with an early goal. Campbell kept out a great free kick by Japan, but her save fell right to the feet of Toko Koga, who slotted home the rebound to give her team a second lead of the game.

Despite numerous second-half changes, the USWNT couldn’t find a way back into the game as Japan saw out a convincing win to make it 3-for-3 after victories over Australia and Colombia in its first two games of the tournament.

The USWNT finished the tournament with two wins and one loss.

Prior to the loss to Japan, Hayes had won 15 and drawn two of the first 17 matches she coached since her tenure as U.S. manager started in June 2024.

The U.S. team was playing in the tournament without the trio of Mallory Swanson, Trinity Rodman and Sophia (Smith) Wilson. Rodman is rehabbing a back injury, Smith was not yet in game form and Swanson was out for personal commitments.

Japan was coming off a 4-1 victory over Colombia on Sunday. Mina Tanaka, who plays for the Utah Royals in the National Women’s Soccer League, led all players with four goals and three assists.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this story.

The post USWNT loses to Japan in first defeat of Hayes era appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

Ruben Amorim said he will speak to Alejandro Garnacho after the Manchester United forward walked straight down the tunnel following his substitution during their 3-2 win over Ipswich Town.

Garnacho was recalled to the starting XI by Amorim, but was substituted before half-time in response to Patick Dorgu’s red card.

The Argentina international was replaced by Noussair Mazraoui and after briefly acknowledging Amorim, he walked straight down the touchline towards the dressing rooms.

Amorim attempted to brush off the incident, but said after the game he would seek out the 20-year-old for talks.

“I’m going to talk, obviously, with Garnacho about that,” said Amorim. “So I will talk about that if you want in the next press conference.”

Garnacho was dropped by Amorim for the 2-1 win over Manchester City in December along with Marcus Rashford. Garnacho has fought his way back into favour, while Rashord departed after being loaned to Aston Villa during the January transfer window.

Pressed on Garnacho’s decision to walk straight down the tunnel after the substitution, Amorim said: “You are making a connection with Rashford, right?

“It was cold and wet, maybe? The thinking was we’d play more in the 5-3-1. I know that is a risk because you are taking one — maybe the only player who has one against one pace — but I felt the team was OK in the controlling of the game, almost half-time, then you make the substitution.

“We have to choose someone to go out, we have to think about set pieces also, so it was Garanacho.”

The post Amorim ‘to talk’ with Garnacho after tunnel dash appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.

• ESPN

Feb 26, 2025, 02:04 PM ET

On Wednesday, four Premier League matches could go some way to ironing out the title race, the top four and everything beyond that.

Our reporters are at all four and will provide play-by-play from Liverpool against Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur against Manchester City, Nottingham Forest against Arsenal, and Manchester United against Ipswich Town. Enjoy!

The post Premier League live blog: Liverpool host Newcastle on vital day in title race appeared first on The Sports Affiliate.