Harry Maguire and Dele Alli scored as England comfortably defeated Sweden 2-0 in Samara on Saturday to reach the World Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1990. Leicester defender Maguire headed in the opening goal from a corner on 30 minutes, with Alli adding a second just before the hour. Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford then […]
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A superb first-half display by Belgium ended Brazil’s hopes of a record sixth World Cup crown as a Fernandinho own goal and a superb Kevin De Bruyne strike proved enough to win 2-1 and seal a semi-final spot. Although Brazil roared back in the second half with a headed goal from Renato Augusto, it is […]
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France became the first team to reach the 2018 World Cup semi-finals as goals from Raphael Varane and Antoine Griezmann gave them a deserved 2-0 victory over Uruguay on Friday. It is the first time France have been in the last four since 2006 and sets up a mouth-watering clash against either Belgium or Brazil, […]
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England edged Colombia 4-3 on penalties to halt a run of five successive shootout defeats at major tournaments and book a quarter-final clash against Sweden at the World Cup. Harry Kane fired England ahead with his tournament-leading sixth goal just before the hour in Moscow, converting a penalty after he was hauled down by Carlos […]
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Sweden booked a World Cup quarter-final against England or Colombia with an attritional 1-0 win over Switzerland in St. Petersburg, sealed by Emil Forsberg’s deflected strike. In a contest desperately short of quality in the final third, Forsberg — Sweden’s brightest player — broke the deadlock with a low finish after 66 minutes, and Sweden […]
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Nacer Chadli scored a stunning injury-time winner as Belgium fought back from 2-0 down to defeat Japan 3-2 and advance to a World Cup quarter-final showdown with Brazil here Monday. Chadli’s superbly worked goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time was the final act of an epic last-16 battle that saw Belgium become the […]
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Neymar and Roberto Firmino struck as Brazil edged past Mexico with a 2-0 victory to seal progress to the World Cup quarter-finals. Mexico goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa was in inspired form to keep Brazil at bay for long periods, but Brazil star Neymar tapped home a low Willian cross six minutes after half-time to put his […]
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Hosts Russia reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup on Sunday when they beat Spain 4-3 on penalties after a 1-1 draw. Koke’s third penalty for Spain was saved by Igor Akinfeev who then saved Iago Aspas’s final shot. Spain took a 12th-minute lead when veteran Russia defender Sergei Ignashevich put into his own net […]
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Croatia are through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup after beating Denmark in the second penalty shootout of the day A frantic start saw Denmark score in under a minute as Mathias Jorgensen latched onto the end of a long throw that caused mayhem in the six-yard-box, but just three minutes later Mario Mandzukic […]
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Argentina’s most-capped player Javier Mascherano called time on his international career Saturday after the painful World Cup defeat to France. “It’s time to say goodbye,” the 34-year-old ex-Barcelona, Liverpool and West Ham midfielder said after Argentina were dumped out in a 4-3 last-16 defeat by France. “I hope that all the lads who follow in […]
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