#if either team loses the semis then they can play for bronze

[muirneach]

anyways. the fact that felix plays casper next and its not a medal match is so beyond evil because i need casper gold but the way felix is playing i need him to capture a medal. also whoever wins that plays carlitos (unless paul ****) which is also terrible because id like him to medal also

[saedii-gilwraeth-simp]

TDC Olympics AU (possibly Part 1)

I’m unsure whether I will do more of these but I might if I know people want me to. I just really love the Olympics and I couldn’t get this idea out of my head. Also, please excuse any typos, I am editing this right after playing beer pong.

L = Luke, E = Elizabeth

L: Welcome, ladies and gents, to this coverage of the Women’s 4 by 400 Relay Final. We are overlooking the track as the racers warm up, not that it’s difficult to get warm in this Bevellet heat. We are your sports correspondents from Fennbirn, I’m Luke Gillespie and I’m joined by Elizabeth Priest, and our eyes are on Fennbirn’s relay team, who, even amongst other nations are looking hard to beat. Let’s lay them out for you;

E: In starting position is the small but damn quick Katharine Queen, who will hopefully get them the head start she is best known for getting herself when she races individually. She will be passing the baton on to Jules Milone, who, can I just say, has been absolutely stunning to watch and who is hoping to clinch her team a gold after the last Olympic’s upset. She will be followed by Emilia Vatros, who is a heavyweight in the Track events and is also great fun to watch. Finally, the team will be anchored by Arsinoe Queen, who has already won gold in the 100 and 400m hurdle, but can run flat like there’s fire on her heels. I think this event will be great fun to watch Luke.

L: Oh without a doubt, Liz. Our girls are the best in the world and they’ve proved that countless times outside of these games, so I’m hoping they can get gold to prove it… Oh and here we go, our starters are ready and the gun is getting raised….

E: And they are off, and they are fast. The starter for Valostra comes out of the gate like a bullet, with New Estra’s Hollen and Fennbirn’s Queen tied on her heels at the 100m mark. Oh, but Valostra’s starter is running out of steam as they clear the 200 mark. See, Luke, that’s what happens when you push too hard, too fast.

L: Couldn’t agree more, Liz. And our pocket rocket Queen pulls ahead going into the final 100m of her lap, giving Jules Milone an excellent head start which I’m sure the Wolf Spring native can extend. And the baton has been passed and Milone is off. Now, I love the way that Milone runs these because most athletes will either bolt straight out the gates and lose momentum or they hold back and then rush in the last 100, but watch, Milone goes hard in the first 100m and then she backs off because she’s already got a headstart from Queen and then she will pick up again in the last 100 of her leg to give a headstart to Vatros without risking their first place.

E: Yeah, it really just shows how well these four chose their running order. Milone is the perfect second and, oh she is passing the baton to Emilia Vatros, who I will say, has a consistency that I appreciate. She only goes as fast as she needs to go and she always holds the team’s lead beautifully. 

L: Oh, but at the 100m mark, it looks like the Salkades team has finally decided to join us and overtakes the trailing New Estran and Valostran runners to get in silver position. Salkades has really trailed in the Track and Field this year so a medal could be good for them. But they’re not catching our girls as Vatros sprints her final 100 and passes the baton to the team’s other Queen and Arsinoe is off, with Salkades in second and Valostra just passing their baton off a second before New Estra. And we can’t even consider Centra’s or Bevellet’s girls, who are going to pull pretty far up the rear.

E: And Queen is really speeding. She’s an insane runner because she really doesn’t feel that burn that wears other runners down. I mean, she won a gold in the 400m hurdles just yesterday and now she’s back to run another event. It’s what makes her so good as the anchor for this team.

L: And she’s in her final 100m and it’s really a race for a silver medal because our girls have got the gold and by the look on her face, Queen knows it. And she’s crossed the finish line folks and her team has a new World Record and a spot on the podium. Salkades and Centra just beat out Valostra for the silver and bronze medals and they look beat.

E: Oh and look at that, both Kat Queen and Jules Milone have come off the sidelines and have jumped into Arsinoe Queen’s arms and the usually quite stern Vatros joins in, jumping onto Queen’s back. At this point, Arsinoe is just a black ponytail and a pair of strong legs carrying her team as a Fennbirn flag is wrapped around them as they celebrate their victory.

L: They certainly deserve it, Liz. And that was the women’s 4x400m relay final, where Fennbirn has put on an excellent show. We’ll check back in with those ladies when they’re done suffocating their anchor but for now, we switch to the rowing Semi-Finals, where Pietyr Arron valiantly tries to catch current world champion, New Estra’s William Chatworth Jr. before the finals tomorrow.

Tag List: @poisonerrose @alwaysbored005

Let me know if y’all want more of these

[jacscorner]

Pokemon All-Stars: A Fan Region/Game/Alternate Universe Idea

I like watching and rewatching Original Pokemon Game/Region videos. Like Mr. Buddy's "What if X was a Pokemon Region" and stuff like that. I wanna make-or, I guess, write-my own. Since Regions are kind of a character all their own and I'm a Wannabe Character Artist, I wanted to try and make one my own.

I've got no skills in coding, pixel arts, or anything, so this will forever be just some kind of dumb fanfic that sometimes incorporates Game Mechanics to justify things if it were able, for some Godforsaken reason, 'stolen' for a game. Cause, in 2021, no idea feels too big or too dumb. And, uh, trust me, this'll be a dumb fanfic of an idea. So be aware for the subpar writing talents of some wannabe writer who doesn't know shit.

Small disclaimer though:

>This region is being made with the intention that every extra feature will be available in it. Z-Moves, Regional Variants, Gygantamax, Mega Evolutions, and maybe some things I've forgotten. This probably won't matter cause it's just a dumb fanfic plot bible with mechanics peppered in. Competitive balancing be damn! Pokemon Fans can create their own balance! That's what the Battle Simulator is for! In fact, if this was a real game, then it'd have a Battle Simulator like Showdown built into it.

>This is an open source Fanfic Bible. You can take this idea and run with it if you want. You can omit all my bad ideas even!

>I won't be making my own Fakemon. I don't like a lot of Fakemon that exists out there and, trust me when I say this: I am no better than them. In fact, I'm fucking worse.

>If this WERE a game, it probably WOULD still have to cut some Pokemon. I doubt that kinda, and I won't get into why I think dexit was dumb personally, cause it doesn't really matter. But, like, my fan game/fanfic will have a lot of shit going on in it. So, like, realistically, there would probably need to be a cut, if not for data, than just cause there's a lot of work to do as is. But, like, again, under the context of a fic, this wouldn't be an issue.

>With THAT said, I'd want this game to have a Gen 2 Sprite aesthetic. My fangame, don't care if ya'll don't like that.

>I'm probably gonna copy a LOT of stuff from other Fangames I've played. My shit memory probably won't allow me to remember what I'm biting from what, so be free to call me out whenever. Cause if I stole the mechanic, I probably liked it the game. And if not, well, I'd like the recommendation.

Fuck, this was long already. The rest is under the cut, so, like, if you're already turned off, you can stop reading. I understand. I'm kind of a windbag.

Okay, so how many of you guys have seen this picture on the internet? It's a picture of a ton of Pokemon regions all...basically stitched together, since not only could this never be canon, but this goes beyond the size of even most open world games today. But this was the inspiration for this project. The map probably wouldn't, and probably couldn't, look like this, but it perfectly sums up what I'd want out of this game. Thus, it'll be our placeholder.

Our hometown of Capricorn Town is home to Professor Chestnut, and you, her faithful assistant, are about to set off on a Pokemon adventure of your own! The Professor is encouraging you to see the region of Sidus for yourself and is even willing to give you a Starting Pokemon!

Starting Pokemon

Now, if I'm not making new Pokemon, which Starter will it be? Well, the game will have the data for all the starters and will randomly select a Grass, Fire, and Water Type for you to choose from. Those will be your starters, with the option of also choosing Pikachu, Eevee, and Riolu, the two mascot mons...and Riolu, who is kind of a mascot mon, but a lesser one.

Let's say for this example, your options are Torchic, Piplup, Rowlet, Pikachu, Eevee, and Riolu. And, uh, get used to the words 'random' and 'generator', those are our keywords.

Anyway, once you get your pick, there'll be some kind of tutorial mission the Professor will send you on. This will introduce you to two very important things;

1. One of your Rival.

2. An Evil Team Grunt.

Rivals?!

Now to start getting into why this game might still be pretty big still be big despite the sprites on modern consoles.

Each of your Rivals would be one kid from each region of the 8 Mainline Games from Kanto to Kalos. How this'll be decided is that each pair of kids will be plugging into a generator and will pick between either the boy or girl version.

Ex. Brendan and May both cannot be in the game. Instead, they'll be plugged into this generator. Let's say the generator fell onto May. She'll be one of your Rival. Repeat this process 7 more times until you have 8 Rivals sprinkled throughout the world, each one given a defined personality and better AI to make them harder trainers to fight.

May will have one of the Hoenn Starters, sans Torchic. Regardless of whether or not Protagonist-San picked Torchic, May will either have a Treecko or Mudkip, again, chosen at random per kid. Whichever Starter you picked, your first rival will have a starter that beats yours. So, let's say moving forward, May has a Mudkip and you a Torchic. The other kids will have random starters of the various regions they originally hail from.

Anyway, your rivals will wander the overworld. If they see you, they'll battle you on sight. If they lose, they'll be gone after the next time you turn the game off. They won't battle you again until they respawn, but you can hang out with them. In fact, you can even recruit them to be in your party for a few days and they'll follow you around and just generally be your friend. It'll make every battle a double battle, but they'll battle you again before their timer runs out, so be prepared!

BANG! BANG! ENTER! Team Wild!

The two of you will have to face off against Team Wild! They have a Cowboy theme to them, using a mix of Ground and Steel-Types, with a few Pokemon being added in for good measure like the Ponyta Lines, Cacnea Line, and Remoraid. Cause...it's a gun.

They're an outlaw gang, they're rough and tough (or, at least, a mild threat) and will always throw down when they spot ya. Something I'm just sniping from JelloApocalypse is that they'll appear sporadically and act as Timed Events across the map.

You and your new Rival beat them and send you packing. I'd imagine May and the other Rivals would mostly be friendly, but I'm sure there's one or two that'll just be jerks to you. Regardless of personality, they'll be pretty tough and programmed to skill with you. Your strongest mon you have on hand when you fight them will be the level their entire team.

With your tutorial done, the world is opened up! Your mom gives you your running shoes, some Pokeballs, and your...I don't know, PokeCelular or something, just the regional gadget that does a bunch of stuff. From holding your map to holding your VS Seeker.

The PokeCelular will also give you notifications on where Team Wild are! You can choose to ignore the events, but if you do, then they'll start to appear in the overworld know and will get progressively stronger.

A Balancing Act

This game will be an open world, 8-Bit Sprite Game for you to explore after you leave Capricorn!

So how do we balance that?

Well, we got our Rival out of the way already, so let's move on. Gym Leaders will have a pretty linear progression. However, regardless of which Gym you tackle first, they'll all be at the same level.

It doesn't matter if you decide to go across the map and battle the Bug Gym, he'll stay at Level 10, just like the Normal Gym. Whe you get the second badge, they'll all jump to Level 15. NPC Trainers will follow the same progression; the higher your badge number, the stronger the number of Pokemon they'll be.

Wild Pokemon will also get stronger. The more badges you get, it'll attract stronger wild Pokemon because they'll see you're stronger and will come out more.

The overworld will also have various dungeons in them that'll be Level Locked. Say, you go through a forest and you're just trying to reach the end of a maze. The Trainers and Pokemon will function the same as I've mentioned before. But, you can decide to go deeper into the dungeon. These Pokemon will be level locked, usually something of a high level, because this is a more dangerous part of the dungeon. But, there'll be some goodies down there, like rarer Pokemon and some kind of really rare and good item like a TM or something.

How will you traverse? Well, first of all, HMs? They're semi-back. BUT, instead of having to deal with teaching Cut to a Pokemon, you just need the move Cut and a Pokemon that can use the move and you'll be able to use Cut. A few other Pokemon that are reasonable candidates, but don't get cut, will be allowed to do this too. Like, Gallade can use Cut. It can't learn the move, but just holding the HM will get the job done.

Controversial opinion, but I think I've always liked the idea of HMs. On paper, they give you a reason to explore the world and go back to areas you couldn't before for goodies and make for a good way to get off dungeons until you get the needed item. Even something like Cut can be used to open up new areas for exploration for your squad of mons.

BUT, well, HMs suck. As moves, they suck save for, like, 2...MAYBE and they're only for, like, a handful of areas. You either hand them out as evenly as possible, forcing mons to take moves you don't wanna use, or you just get an HM Slave or two to use 'em all. But like they, they serve their function and all you need is the Pokemon in question and NOT teach them the move. If you need a Move Deleter just so people aren't stuck having to use Rock Smash for three towns, then there's a problem with your RPG. Imagine playing Final Fantasy and you had to give your Fighter the Bronze Axe to get through a forest and still had to fight with it, even though you got a +12 Silver Sword! It's no wonder people hated these things! But I don't think getting rid of them and introducing Rental Pokemon was a good solution either and adds a different, albeit less intrusive problem.

Gym Leaders

So, how do Gym Leaders work?

Much like your rivals, they'll be randomly generated. Let's say, hypothetically, there's a pool of 60 Gym Leaders and Elite Four members. The game will randomly generate 16 to be Gym Leaders. The generator will have some kind of complicated math (at least, too complicated for me) so that you don't have more than 2 gyms of the same type. (Example: Misty and Nessa might be Active Gyms, Siebold can't be selected for a Gym cause the Water Slots are taken).

As a trade off, some Gyms might have special conditions before you can challenge them. Like, if you got stuck with Koga as a Gym Leader, than he'll only let you in if you complete a nearby dungeon and help his daughter out cause he doesn't trust her to make it back on her own. Or, like, Claire's a Gym Leader, but she won't battle you unless you've collected 7 Gym Badges prior at least.

The Gym Leaders, as mentioned before, will get progressively stronger with each badge obtained. After the 8th badge, you can go and climb Victory Road, face the E4 and confront the Champion! You can keep hunting Gym Leaders, but just remember that the E4 will always be 10 Levels above the strongest gym you beat. And they'll just get stronger with every one you beat until all 16 are slain.

Another handful, let's say 8, Gym Leaders/E4 Members will be wondering around as NPC Trainers. The justification is that this big super region is in some Alternate Universe Pokemon Game that has all the Pokemon and other important trainers in it, hence why we can have a game where Roxanne and Lenora are hanging out at a coffee shop. They're not Rivals, more like stronger NPCs you can rematch and wonder the map. They're not here to be the very best like no one ever was.

I mean, I'd like, like, 10-20 instead of 8 extras, but let's not get TOO greedy...yet...

Elite Four

And now, it's time to flip the script. Cause if E4 members can be Gym Leaders, then who are the Elite Four?

Easy. The Rivals.

All the Rival characters will be put in a random generator as well. The four that are chosen. You can have an Elite Four made up of Wally, Marnie, Hau, and Barry and you gotta deal with it.

This is excluding Brendan and May, Blue, and Calem and Serena. Anyone else is fair game.

Champion

So, the Champion. Who would it be in this? There was a funny idea I had, but this is a Pokemon Game. So there would be two versions. We'll call them Pokemon Dawn & Dusk. The difference between these games is the game Champion!

Benga would be the Champion of Pokemon Dusk, the grandson of Alder! His final Team will include Volcarona, Garchomp, and Dragonite, Pokemon he used in Black and White. I'd also include Scrafty, Rampardos, and Golurk, Pokemon used against you in White Treehollow and Black Tower areas.

Meanwhile, the Champion of Pokemon Dusk will be Zinnia, the Lorekeeper! Her team would include the Goodra, Tyrantrum, Altaria, Noivern, and Salamence she used in her original team, with her plucky Whismur sidekick becoming an Exploud and her ace.

You would've met them in the beginning of the game and would've showed off a bit by helping you with Team Wild before. They'll pop in and out throughout the game, at first amused by your tenacity, but not wanting a rookie like you to get hurt. But if you keep bonking Team Wild, they'll be impressed with how strong you are.

The show up to chat again when you beat 8 Gym Leaders, and will pop in if you White Out to give you some advice. White Out three times and they'll feel bad for you and give you an egg. Benga will give you a Larvesta Egg and Zinnia a Bagon Egg.

EXTRAS

So I don't got a lot of ideas for the Post Game, but there is one idea I thought would be cool if, if after you defeat the champion, they give you a call. They'll tell you that there are strong trainers wondering the Overworld and to be careful.

Because dotting the overworld will be Champions passed and proper! Cynthia, Blue, Lance; all of them are rocking Lv 100 Teams and are out for blood. They won't challenge you, but if you talk to them, there will be no backing out of the battle! You come with your A-Game!

sI'm not exactly in love with the idea of Team Wild. Maybe the Evil Team should go full fanservice and just be Team Rainbow Rocket. Or maybe go half-and-half; having past Evil Team members and leaders walk around in cowboy gear and acting as Team Wild executives.

I'd also would love Tournaments. Like, maybe that could be a weekly event in some town, they'll how tournaments and the characters that aren't designated as Gym Leaders and such will attend. Maybe there's a cash prize, maybe you'll win Pokemon Eggs of rare, guaranteed shines, or maybe you'll get some kind of important quest items.

Yeah, I want quests! All sorts of side quests! And can't forget what I'd do with Legendairs;

If you know Bengal's team, you'll know he's got the Lati Twins. I don't like that personally and would prefer Legendaries to be Super Bosses. Like, you gotta do a lot to find them. And when you do, their stats are boosted and they become an Uber Boss! You catch them in a cutscene after you beat them!

There's also just a ton of characters I didn't get around to or really have a place for. Emma, Looker, N, and the Stat Trainers all come to mind. Overall, I'd want them to pepper the world as well, but don't have anything to say except this: Pokemon has made a lot of memorable characters. Both good and bad. And this is probably my dream Pokemon Game; one where you can hang out with your favorites

[aeon-wolf]

Two Idiots & A Closet - Julie Ertz x Reader

Word Count: 2.7k+ Pairing: Julie Ertz x fem!Reader

A generic “two idiots have feelings for each other and it takes their friends to “convince” them to actually woman up and admit it” fic. Ft. Alex, Kelley, and Allie as the friends. And an athletic closet.

You heard a knock at your hotel room door. You groaned, not wanting to get up from your spot on your bed, but the knock didn’t stop, in fact becoming more insistent the more you tried to ignore it. So you pulled yourself to your feet, pulling on a shirt that was lying on your bed and opened the door. The moment you cracked open the door, Kelley pushed her way into your room, Alex, and Allie on her heels. “Hello to you too.” You said, a little grumpily at being woken up from your nap. 

“This is an intervention!” Kelley demanded as you shut the door, Alex, and Allie also looking at you expectantly. You frowned, rubbing the remnants of sleep out of your eyes. 

“What are you talking about O’Hara?” 

“Your pining after JJ.” She said. That jolted you awake. 

“I don’t… I don’t know what you’re talking about.” You replied, a bit nervously. You thought you had been hiding it so well. Your slightly larger than normal crush on the defensive midfielder. 

“Bullshit.” Alex chimed in, Kelley and Allie nodding in agreement. “We’ve put up with your heart eyes for long enough.” You just roll your eyes at your friends. 

“Yeah, we all saw the way you were making eyes at her after she scored against Chile,” Allie added. You blushed a little, not disputing that fact. You were so proud of Julie getting her first career World Cup goal that you had hung around the huddle hug a bit longer than everyone else. 

“I don’t have a thing for her. I was happy that my best friend scored her first World Cup goal!” You tried, but Kelley wasn’t having any of it. 

“Oh c’ mon. Almost the entire team knows you have the hots for her.” She insisted. “I think the only one who doesn’t know how you feel is JJ herself.” You cringed a bit.

“I don’t know what you expect me to do.” You relent. 

“Ask her out for fuck’s sake, (Y/N),” Alex said like it was the simplest thing in the world, but you shook your head fiercely in the negative.

“No way. She doesn’t even feel the same way. And even if she did, I’m not screwing up our friendship for that.” You said, a little dejectedly. “It’s just a little crush. I’ll get over it.” You defended, but all three of your fellow national team players just looked at you skeptically. “What?”  

Kelley just laughed. “Girl, you’ve had it bad ever since you met her. It’s been 3 years, if you’re not ‘over it’ by now, you’re sure as hell not going to be.” She said. You just blinked. 

You had actually met Julie for the first time at training camp when you had been called up at the age of 20. You had known of her for a while, given she had captained her own U20 team to a U20 World Cup win in 2012 and also from playing against the Chicago Red Stars. But you didn’t get the opportunity to actually talk to her until you were both at camp. Being the new center back called up, Julie seemed to take you under her wing, helping you improve in her old position. 

From there, you two became thick as thieves. Almost inseparable. And you developed your crush on your best friend. You thought you had been hiding it well, but considering Kelley, Alex and Allie all seemed to know about it, maybe you weren’t as sneaky as you thought. 

“If you don’t grow some, I’m going to go over and knock on her door right now and…” Alex threatened but you threw a pillow at her. 

“Don’t you dare, Morgan.” You grouched. “You’re not going to do a single thing.” She looked at you innocently. 

“What? I was just going to say I’ll go over there and tell her that we’ve got to be at training at 9 in the morning.” You just rolled your eyes. 

“She knows what time practice is.” You retorted. Alex shrugged. 

“Seriously (Y/N), what’s the issue? You’ve got a thing for her. Pretty sure she’s got a thing for you. And you’d make a great couple. I don’t really see the downside here.” Kelley said. You just huffed. 

“JJ is my best friend guys.” You said. Kelley feigned devastation but you just shoved her. “Feelings or not, I can’t lose that.” You continue. Alex sat up a bit straighter. 

“Jules wouldn’t end your friendship just because you have feelings for her, you know that right?” She said. You nod. 

“Of course I know that. But it will still make things awkward. I don’t want that.” 

“But if we’re right and she does have a thing for you, you two would make the perfect couple. You two already act like one except all the fun stuff.” Allie chimed in. You glared at her and she just raised her hands in surrender. You were about to reply but there was another knock at your door. You looked at the three women sitting on the other bed in the room which belonged to you roommate, Lindsey Horan, but they all just shrugged. You got up and padded over to the door. Opening it to find Julie on the other side. 

“Hey JJ.” You greet. You can hear Alex, Allie and Kelley all giggling and murmuring to themselves. 

“Hey (Y/N). Want to go grab dinner?” She asked. You looked down at your state of dress, which was just black sweatpants and the white t-shirt you had thrown on. You were sure you looked like a hot mess. She seemed to notice and just laughed. “You have time to get changed.” She assured you. You shrugged, nodding in acceptance of her invitation, opening the door for her. 

“Sure, want to come in while I change?” You asked. She nodded, stepping into your room. You wandered back to your stuff and teammates. “You three, out.” You said. Alex, Allie, and Kelley got up off Lindsey’s bed, shuffling out of the room. You went to see them out when Kelley grabbed your wrist. 

“This is your chance.” She whispered to you. You just flipped her off and shoved her out into the hallway. You went back to your luggage, looking for a pair of jeans as Julie made herself at home on your bed. 

“What were they here for?” She asked curiously. You just rolled your eyes. 

“To bother me.” You said, not wanting to elaborate. She seemed to accept your answer as you pulled off your sweats and changed into jeans. It wasn’t like the two of you hadn’t seen each other in your underwear thousands of times over the last three years. You grabbed a clean shirt that was hanging in the closet before heading into the bathroom to fix your hair and makeup. 

“Ready for semis?” She called to you. 

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” You replied, putting your hair into a messy bun on top of your head. “You?” You asked as you applied a bit of makeup quickly. Julie came into view as she leaned against the doorframe to your bathroom, watching you. 

“Hoping it’ll go better than last time.” She joked. You chuckled, recalling she accidentally caused Germany to be given a penalty kick the last time. “Hope really saved my ass on that one.” She said. 

“You know that wasn’t really your fault. It’s football, those things happen.” You said, putting your eyeliner back in your bag. 

“Yeah, but if we had lost because of that penalty I would have never forgiven myself.” She said. You look away from the mirror, moving closer to your friend, putting your hands on her shoulders. 

“But you didn’t. You won and went on to win the World Cup. Just like we’re going to do this year.” You reassure her. She nods, wrapping her arms around your waist, giving you a hug. It was moments like this that made it really hard for you to not pull back and kiss her, but as you had told Kelley, Alex and Allie, you weren’t going to jeopardize your friendship with Julie just because of a crush. 

----

You sprinted onto the field as the final whistle blew, signifying your win over England and advancement to the World Cup finals. You made a beeline for Julie, jumping into her arms. The blonde laughed, catching you and hooking her hands under your thighs. “You did it!” You exclaimed excitedly, your arms around her neck. 

“You weren’t an insignificant part of that either.” She reminded you. You had started the game, but Jill had subbed you out for Abby at halftime. You were good enough to start but still were relatively new to the squad. So you had watched Julie play the rest of the game from the bench, Allie nudging you every so often when you got a bit too engrossed in watching her play. You snuggled your nose into her neck as she held you up, gripping your thighs a bit tighter. 

“We’re into the finals.” You said. If your mouth hadn’t been close to her ear, she probably wouldn’t have heard you, but she nodded. 

“We sure are. Ready to go party about it?” She asked. You drew yourself back, nodding as she put you down. The two of you went and shook hands with a couple of the English players, Ellen White and Lucy Bronze if you recalled correctly before heading back to the tunnel and into the locker room. You rolled down your socks, taking your shin guards off and tossing them into your sports bag as Julie pulled the pre-wrap headband off, her hair still sticky with sweat from playing the full game. She turned to her locker to change out of her uniform as Kelley slid into the seat next to you. 

“So, she doesn’t have a thing for you, huh?” Kelley whispered. You shoved her in an attempt to get her to shut up given Julie was only a few feet away from you. 

“No. Now go away O’Hara.” You hissed. She just waggled her eyebrows and went over to Allie, the two of them gossiping in the corner, you were sure about you and Julie. They glanced your way every so often but you ignored them. You pulled your cleats off, putting them with your shin guards in your sports bag and changed into your sweats. When you finished, Julie was nowhere to be seen. But you weren’t particularly concerned, you were sure you’d meet up at the hotel and go out for drinks after. 

“Hey (Y/N).” You looked up to see Alex jogging towards you. 

“Alex.” You greeted, standing up. 

“Jill wants to talk to you.” She said. You frowned, it wasn’t out of the ordinary for Jill to want to talk to individual players after a game, but you couldn’t think of anything that could warrant it. But you just shrugged, following Alex to a different part of the locker room. The two of you stopped outside what looked like an athletic closet of sorts, a bang coming from the other side of the door. You frowned, looking at Alex. But before you had an opportunity to ask what was going on, Alex opened the door and another pair of hands shoved you in. 

“What the fuck guys?” You ask as the door shut and clicked behind you. You tried to handle but found it locked. 

“We’re not letting you out until you woman up.” You heard Kelley say from the other side. You pounded on the door. 

“If you don’t let me out right now O’Hara, so help me.” You say but a hand grabbed your wrist to stop your fist from hitting the door again.

“I don’t think swearing at them is going to help.” A familiar voice said. You turned to see Julie locked in the same closet with you. 

“What is going on?” You asked, she just shrugged. 

“No idea. One moment Allie says Jill needs to talk to me, the next Kelley shoves me in this closet. And then she shoved you in here too.” You roll your eyes at your friend’s antics in trying to get you and Julie together. But you were going to be stubborn. You weren’t going to admit shit under duress like this. 

“I’m going to make it my personal mission to make the rest of your life hell O’Hara if you don’t let us out.” You yell. You just heard a scoff. 

“I’ll let you out right now after you admit it.” She replied. You growl. 

“You’re so dead Kelley!” You were about to pound a fist on the door again, but Julie stopped you. 

“What is she talking about?” She asks you. 

“Nothing. She’s being a shit friend.” You reply, brushing off the question. But Julie grabbed your arm, spinning you to face her. 

“Is there something going on?” She asked. You shake your head quickly. 

“Nothing.” You say, maybe a bit too fast because Julie looks at your skeptically. “It’s nothing.” You clarify, a little defeated, the fight drained out of you as her blue eyes stare at you. You always had a weakness for Julie, rarely ever being able to deny her anything. You avert your gaze, the back of your neck heating up a little. 

“Hey.” She said, lifting your chin to look at her. “You know you can tell me anything right?” You nod once but say nothing. She just sighs. “You’re my best friend, whatever it is, I promise it won’t change that.” She tries to reassure you, though the term best friend makes your heart clench a little. 

“It will though.” You say quietly in response. She gripped your shoulders tightly. 

“You’ll never know if it will unless you tell me.” She presses. You close your eyes, shaking your head, too terrified to actually voice the words out loud. There was a bang from the outside of the closet. 

“I don’t hear any confessing in there!” Kelley yelled. You groaned.

“Seriously, whatever it is, I can take it,” Julie said. 

“I like you, okay!” You explode, the stress coming both from Julie and Kelley too much for you to ignore anymore. Being trapped in a relatively small closet with your crush didn’t help either. “I’ve had feelings for you since we met, I’m just too chicken to admit it to you because I knew you didn’t like me like that and I didn’t want to mess up our friendship. Okay? Happy?” You said grumpily, arms folded in front of your chest, leaning up against the door. 

There was silence from both sides of the door. You suspected that Kelley didn’t think you’d actually admit it. And despite your crippling fear of your best friend’s reaction, your chest did feel a bit lighter after admitting your feelings. “You... “ You looked up, Julie’s hands still on your shoulders, seemingly trying to work out what you just said. You just shrug, not willing to say anything more that would make the situation worse. 

You felt Julie’s lips against yours before you really processed what was happening. You made a sputtering noise at the sudden invasion of personal space, and it took you a moment to fully comprehend what was happening. But once you did, you reciprocated, unfolding your arms and pulling Julie’s hips closer you to. Her hands left your shoulder, wrapping her arms around your neck. You pulled back after air became an issue, resting your head against the door breathlessly. “Wow.” You said. Julie grinned, pressing her forehead against yours at a little bit of a downward angle as she was a couple inches taller than you. 

“I told you I could handle it.” She said quietly. You snort. 

“How was I to know that?” You asked cheekily. She just rolled her eyes before kissing you again. “So, will you go on a date with me?’ You ask after you broke apart again. Julie’s eyes lit up a bit, nodding. 

“I’d love to.” She said. 

“I told you!” You hear from the other side of the door. 

“Fuck you, Kelley.” You yell back, but to be honest, you were quite pleased with the outcome and maybe you’d spare Kelley’s life after she let the two of you out of the closet. 

A/N: Okay, I enjoy this. Still not 100% on board with shipping real life people, but doing it with player x reader makes it a bit easier. And I still can’t help my thought of what if JJ was gay. She’d be too powerful for all of us so maybe it’s for the best. Might be a part 2, idk if anyone wants that. 

[sleekaaa]

‘Lucy Bronze wants to leave a legacy for younger girls’

Former team-mates and coaches of Lucy Bronze, the England star, discuss the drive that has led her to the semi-final - July 1 2019

Gemma Bonner Manchester City and England defender When Lucy hammered that brilliant goal against Norway, two things came into my head. Firstly, that England were going through to the World Cup semi-finals, but also I thought of the days we spent together at university and, more precisely, Goals in Leeds.

Lucy was at Everton then and worked while living at university and playing football. She was very independent and, as much as her family is super supportive of her, Lucy always said, “I will go out and get a job and support myself.”

She worked in Domino’s Pizza and also worked for a bit behind the bar at Goals, the five-a-side centre.

We used to spend a lot of time there practising when we should have been studying. There would just be the two of us and we would just have a kickabout, whacking the ball from one half to the other between us. After the Norway game, I messaged her about those days and how far she has come to now being on the brink of a World Cup final with England.

My first memory of Lucy was with England under-17s. Jordan Nobbs mentioned on the BBC the other day that, while Lucy wore a headband, she was the only girl who would play with her hair down. She moved to America for a season on a scholarship with the University of North Carolina and it was after that I really came to know her.

We were on the same sports performance course at university and also did our strength training there through England because it was regionally based. It was around this time that she started to pick up knee injuries. We were with England under-19s when she suffered a serious injury and, for a long time, she was on crutches. I would pick her up every morning, we would do weights, go to lectures and then I would drop her off at home.

There was very limited support for Lucy, but how she approached that period says everything about her. She would be in the gym, on her crutches, strengthening her upper body because she couldn’t work on her lower body.

If I had to describe Lucy in three words, they would be: competitive, ambitious, determined. I had to work so hard, and it would take me so long to do things, but Lucy could do an assignment overnight, hand it in on time the next day and still get a first. When it came to our dissertations in our final year, she decided to do hers around knee injuries. It was a point where she was frustrated because she could see everyone in her age group progressing.

That dissertation was her way of finding out as much as she could about knee injuries, understanding things and relating it back to herself and her performance. Her knee would swell up at that time and I remember her coming in one day and she was like, “I’ve just read in a journal that pineapple can help reduce swelling.”

For the next month she was obsessed with eating pineapple. But that shows you what Lucy is like — any little thing she thought she could do to help her back on the pitch she would do it.

I went to watch her play for Everton in a game at Birmingham away when she was coming back from an issue. Her knee just locked up. The next thing we were in the ambulance going to Birmingham hospital and, at that time, it felt like a big setback.

But she never doubted herself. We both joined Liverpool around the same time in November 2012, I moved from Chelsea and Lucy from Everton, and we were going to go full-time the following season. That was a pull for her in terms of getting looked after from a medical point of view.

At the end of that season, we both went to the European Championship with England in Sweden and we were rooming. Just a few years earlier, all we wanted to do was get in the same squad as Kelly Smith.

That was never really going to be enough for Lucy, though, and when she puts her mind to something nothing will stop her from doing it. Just after that we did an interview about breaking through into the senior squad for the first time and making our debuts.

I will always remember what Lucy said. All she talked about was being successful with England and, at the time, nobody spoke like that. You would do it now, but five years ago it was different.

Due to injury, she has lost time in her career and so she wants to maximise everything now and be as successful as she can. You could see that as she moved from Liverpool to Manchester City, had a great few years there, and then on to Lyons. She loves a challenge and doesn’t like being comfortable anywhere.

When she went to Lyons she knew she could compete with everyone physically, but that she could improve technically and tactically. Her attitude before that was: “I will do what I am good at, let everyone else ping the 30-yard balls and score the world-class goals.”

At City, she improved massively and has gone to a team and won back-to-back Champions Leagues and is constantly challenging herself to improve. Her instinct will be to bat all the attention away and promote the team. She can be quite shy like that. Lucy wants what is best for the women’s game and will push for things even though she might not benefit from them. She wants to leave a legacy for those girls who will come next.

But she knows what she wants and will push to get it. Right now, that will be a place in the World Cup final and then the trophy itself. Matt Beard Head coach of West Ham United Women, signed Bronze for Liverpool in November 2012 Lucy was outstanding when she signed. At the start of the next season, we lost the centre back Whitney Engen, who had to go back to America with it being the start of a World Cup cycle. Mark Sampson, the England head coach from 2013-2017, had said he was going to play Lucy at centre back and I had a chat with her about her playing there as well.

In the first half of that season, she played there and we were drawing a lot of games. It was clear that she was a massive loss to us when not playing full back and so I reverted Lucy to that role. Mark did the same with England.

It was interesting when Phil Neville was playing her in midfield. I could understand why he was doing it, but Lucy’s strength is at full back, exploiting space, giving and going. Being a match-winner. You lose her athleticism and the player who strikes fear into an opponent when you don’t play her at full back.

The goal she created against Norway is trademark Lucy Bronze. She knocks it past the defender, gets there and if you watch her run she gets low when she covers the ground. Generally, fast players are quick over distance or over half a yard. She is quick over both distances.

We could not replace her at Liverpool when we lost her and Manchester City have not replaced her either. She is the type of player that if you take her out of your team, you are not going to replace her. Phil is right when he says she is the best right back in the world and she’s up there as one of the best players in the world too.

Her passing range and decision-making has improved and that is what happens when you train and play with the best players. Facing America, with their star winger Megan Rapinoe on the left, it should be a comfortable game for Lucy.

Mick Mulhern Sunderland Ladies manager when Lucy Bronze joined aged 11 and is now head coach of Hebburn She must have been about ten or 11 when she came into our centre of excellence programme. You noticed her straight away as she was wearing glasses, and then when she went on the pitch she stood out as she was so strong, composed, athletic, and good on the ball.

At that younger age group the girls can still play with boys and she was considerably better than the boys of the same age, much to the frustration of their parents. She was very quiet, and it wasn’t until she moved up to the seniors as a 14-year-old that she came out of her shell.

I’m actually not surprised she has gone so far — she always rose to the challenge. The key match for me when I realised that was early on in her senior career.

We had just lost Jill Scott to Everton, and Lucy was 14 when we played them and marked Jill, who was in the England set-up, and matched her stride for stride. That’s when I knew she had a big future.

Seven of the Lionesses came through that set-up at Sunderland — as well as Lucy and Jill, there was Steph Houghton, Carly Telford, Beth Mead, Lucy Staniforth and Demi Stokes, and Jordan Nobbs would have been there too if she hadn’t been injured.

The difference between those girls and the ones who didn’t make it is that they had something extra in their character, the same mental strength, and Lucy had that in abundance.

Like the other players, she has also had good support from her family behind her.

•Interviews by Paul Joyce and Martyn Ziegler

[tkmedia]

Having seen off the rest, Japan must now beat the best

5:38 AM ET- Gabriel TanHaving seen off four teams in the men's football competition of the Olympic Games so far, Japan have shown they what it takes see off the pretenders in their charge to the semi-finals.If they are to stay alive in their gold medal quest, they will now have to prove they are capable of beating fellow genuine contenders as they enter the business end of Tokyo 2020.First up for them in are Spain. Win that and it will be either Brazil or Mexico awaiting in the final.All four teams are deserving of their place in the semis as arguably the quartet that have impressed the most so far at the Games, so it is anyone's game at the moment.Since the men's football competition became an under-23 competition in 1992 (under-24 just this time around due to its postponement from last summer), the Samurai Blue have never won a medal. The only time they did that was when the senior team claimed a bronze in 1968.Either way, a historic achievement beckons for the Japanese but do they have what it takes to -- first and foremost -- see off a talented Spanish outfit?Japan captain Maya Yoshida was part of the side that missed out on a medal at London 2012 following defeat to South Korea in the bronze medal match. Julian Finney/Getty ImagesBearing in mind that Spain entered the Tokyo Olympics as one the favourites, especially given they boast six players who recently reached the semi-finals of Euro 2020 with the senior team, it is not going to be an easy task.Spain showed plenty of resolve, but also how damaging they can be in a short period of time, when they came from behind to beat Ivory Coast 5-2 in the quarter-finals.Having forced extra-time with a 93rd-minute equaliser, just two minutes after the Ivorians had taken the lead for the second time in the contest, the Spanish piled on three more goals in the additional 30 minutes to claim what eventually was an emphatic win.But that match also showed that Spain do have their vulnerabilities. The first goal they conceded came down to slack marking from a set-piece, while there were also several other instances when Ivory Coast found plenty of space in the opposition's defensive third.Despite ultimately claiming a 5-2 extra-time win, Spain did show some weaknesses in their Tokyo Olympics quarter-final clash with Ivory Coast. Koki Nagahama/Getty ImagesIn towering defenders Maya Yoshida, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Hiroki Sakai, as well as fleet-footed attackers Takefusa Kubo and Ritsu Doan, Japan are well equipped to capitalise if Spain exhibit those weaknesses once again.And as strange as it may sounds, the Samurai Blue could actually have more joy against the Spanish than they did in the quarter-finals against New Zealand, who were more than content to play on the back foot for 120 minutes and frustrate their opponents before ultimately losing in the penalty shootout.Spain will look to take the game to Japan on Tuesday. While Hajime Moriyasu's charges enjoy controlling possession themselves, the likes of Kubo and Doan also thrive in hurting teams on the transition.Having fallen short in the bronze medal match in 2012 before a group-stage exit four years later, it would seem that a medal of any colour would be an achievement for the Japanese.Yet, if they can pull off a victory over Spain, there is no reason why the Samurai Blue cannot take heart in beating one of the best and start believing they can claim the gold -- regardless of whether it is Brazil or Mexico they potentially meet in the final. Read the full article

[accrafreepress]

La Copacabadi beach: The Brazil in Ghana – Selwyn Sackey

Mural of Afro Brazilian Colony in Accra,Ghana.

Ghana ‘the brazil of African football’. A term adopted in the football circles especially during international tournaments. It is no coincidence as to why the two nations have similarities in style of play. A typical Ghanaian or Brazilian footballer will like to show his tricks and dribbling skills.

Ghana is located in West Africa while Brazil is in South America. Different continents but science makes us understand the history and geographic locations of continents through Tectonic activities. Continents rest on massive slabs of rocks called tectonic plates and move away from each other through these activities. Continents are still moving today and we can evidently see that if you try to join the East Coast of South America to the West African coast, it fits.

Merged South America and Africa 

Brazil House of the Tabon People. Accra, Ghana.

History will also refer to us that a lot of slaves from Ghana then ‘Gold Coast’ were “exported” across the Atlantic Ocean to South America especially Brazil. Until the late 1800s slave population of Brazil exceeded the freemen. In Accra there’s a Brazil House in the Tabon Community. 

They are Afro Brazilians who returned from exile in 1836.Then newly arrived “strangers” and their descendants and others who “returned” from overseas exile, found space to preserve their unique “Brazilian” identity while adopting the Ga language. The Ga people labelled the Brazilians “Tabon.” 

This nickname was apparently a local rendering of the Portuguese greeting, “ésta bom” and “ta bom.” Both terms mean “how are you” and “all’s well” respectively. Coconut Trees, Carnivals, Music, Drums, Dance and Spirituality are what you’ll experience at the Copacabana and Labadi Beach.

In Ghana we say “Football is the passion of the nation”, Brazil says “the nation’s passion or the country of football”. There’s no way we can compare Brazil and Ghana on the football world stage. Brazil is obviously miles apart but let us look at them in their respective continents. Brazil has 9 Copa America titles, they won their fourth in 1989 while Ghana had won their fourth and last AFCON seven years earlier. In 2019, Brazil won their 9th Copa America. In 2019, Ghana made their 19th attempt at winning the AFCON after their last in 1982. It’s been 38 years since Ghana Black Stars last won a major tournament.

On the 6th February, 1969 Accra Hearts of Oak were held to a 2–2 draw game by a Pele led Santos FC of Brazil in an international friendly at the Accra Sports Stadium. Pele went on to predict an African country will win the World Cup before the 21st Century.

Hearts of Oak Striker Amusa Gbadamosi and Pele

Ghana’s greatest player Abedi Ayew was named after one of the world’s greatest Edson Arantes do Nascimento ‘Pele’. Another Ghanaian player who was dubbed as the next Pele is Nii Odartey Lamptey. 

Who Pele himself said that’s his successor after he watched the then 15 year old live at Hampden Park when he burst onto the scene in the 1989 Under 16 World Championship before leading Ghana to win the successive tournament in 1991 and winning the best player of the tournament. 

A tournament which had Alessandro Del Piero and Juan Sebastian Veron of Italy and Argentina respectively. In the streets and sandy fields where football is played in Ghana there are so many players nicknamed Pele because of their dribbling skills and tricks. Growing up as a young Ghanaian footballer in my generation, you were either Ronaldo Fenomeno or Ronaldinho Gaucho and our fathers made reference to Romario and Bebeto. So you know from generations Ghana draws inspiration from the World’s greatest football nation, Brazil.

Nii Odartey Lamptey celebrates winning the 1991 FIFA Under 17 World Cup.

In 1995,Ghana won their second Under-17 FIFA World Cup beating Brazil 3–2. In 1997 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, Brazil beat Ghana 2–1 in the final in Egypt. A game Ghana dominated but lost to loss of concentration.In 1999 FIFA Under-17 World Cup the two nations clashed in the semi-final with the South Americans winning on penalties and going ahead to win their second FIFA Under-17 World Cup.

Ghana’s Under-20 team Black Satellites met their South American counter parts in the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in 2001 in Argentina. The West Africans won 2–1 in the quarter finals against Brazil going all the way to the final but lost to the host nation. The two nations crossed paths again in the 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup. Ghana won 1–0 in the round of 16. The Black Starlets finished in the semi finals losing 2–1 to a Bojan Krkic extra time match winner for Spain. Two years after that on African soil, Ghana became the first African nation to win the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt. 4–3 on penalties against Brazil after a goalless 120 minutes of football.

Three years earlier, their seniors, the Black Stars were battered by Selecao (Brazil Senior national team) 3–0 in the Round of 16 of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. 

Notable names in that fixture are players who beat Brazil in 2001 in the Under-20 tournament. Muntari, Essien, Pappoe, Mensah, Boateng, Pimpong, Paintsil and Owu were all part of the 2001 winning side. For the Brazilians, only Adriano and Kaka were in that 2001 squad. In the 1999 Ghana Under-17 team that lost to Brazil on penalties in the semifinal were names like Razak Pimpong, Michael Essien and Ishmael Addo who won the tournament’s golden boot with 7 goals.

 Brazil had Adriano as the only breakout star of their squad. In the previous tournament which Brazil won they had a certain Ronaldinho. In 1995 which Ghana won the Under-17 FIFA World Cup, the West Africans had a certain Stephen Appiah who captained the 2006 world cup squad.Brazil also had Juan and Julio Cesar in 1995 and 2006. This Ghana team are products of former Ghana FA boss, the Late Ben Kuofie’s Five Year Development plan.

From Left to Right. Ibrahim Abdul Razak, John Paintsil, John Mensah, Razak Pimpong,Michael Essien and Derek Boateng. Ghana Black Satellites, FIFA U-20 World Cup Argentina 2001.

At the 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup which Ghana won with 10 men and on penalties, Ghana’s attacker Dominic Adiyiah won the Golden Ball and Golden shoe with 8 goals. After the tournament, Adiyiah’s market value had risen from 100,000 Euros to 1 million Euros. Milan signed him for a reported 1.4 Million Euros. Alex Teixeira the silver ball winner from Brazil had a market value of 3.5 Million Euros after the tournament and was sold for 6 million Euros to Shakhtar Donetsk from Vasco. Bronze ball winner Giuliano was also transferred from Parana to Internacional in 2009 for 4.7 million Euros in the Brazilian Serie A. Juventus’ winger Douglas Costa was a member of the 2009 Brazilian Under-20 team. He also joined Shakhtar Donetsk for 8 Million Euros at a Market Value of 4 Million Euros from Gremio in 2010.

Giuliano, Dominic Adiyiah and Alex Teixeira. Source: FIFA.com

Let’s date back to 1991 where Odartey Lamptey the new ‘Pele’ was playing for Anderlecht in Belgium. Lamptey was smuggled from Ghana to Belgium through Nigeria after the Ghanaian FA confiscated his passport, he joined for free. The Late Stephen Keshi adopted Odartey and got him a Nigerian passport to fly to Europe. In the 95, 97 and 99 squads of Ghana, most players transferred from Ghana to Europe left for free due to various circumstances. In that 2001 squad, 18 year old Michael Essien had joined Bastia for an undisclosed fee but was sold to Lyon two years later for 11.7 Million Euros and went on to become the most expensive African player when he joined Chelsea for 38 Million Euros in 2005.

All these foundations are laid to understand why two football nations with similar history and culture but one has developed than the other. First of all, this comes down to the quality of the local leagues of both countries, the football brand, how valuable it is on the Global stage and level of youth development. It is obvious Brazil has invested more into their football as a nation while Ghana has done less of that.

In 1962 after Brazil had won the world cup, President of Ghana Kwame Nkrumah sent national team coach Charles Gyamfi to Brazil’s national team camp for four weeks to study their tactics and methods. He came back and won the 1963 Africa Cup of Nations, Ghana’s first trophy.

Captain Aggrey Fynn lifts Ghana’s first Africa Cup of Nations in 1963.

Brazil’s legendary coach Carlos Alberto Parreira came to Ghana in 1967 as a young Physical Education Teacher. He started coaching and led Ghana to the 1968 AFCON Final where Ghana lost 1–0 to Zaire (DRC). So we can say Carlos Alberto Parreira had his coaching foundation in Ghana and shaped our modern game. One of Ghana’s best coaches ever, the late Sir Cecil Jones Attuquayefio says the Brazilian was partly responsible for giving Ghana their one-touch style which he claims leads them to be called the “Brazil of Africa”.

We have mismanaged our national teams, poorly organized our local league to make it profitable and finally abandoned youth football development. The government should assist the clubs in youth development. The Ministry of Youth and Sports should collaborate with the Ministry of Education and Ghana Football Association to build a youth football development plan for both boys and girls.

Source: https://medium.com/@sackeyselwyn/la-copacabadi-beach-the-brazil-in-ghana-c46c8db31262

[winterolympicssports2018-blog]

Canada's golden curling streak at Paralympics ends in Pyeongchang

Click here for More Olympics Updates https://www.winterolympian.com/canadas-golden-curling-streak-at-paralympics-ends-in-pyeongchang/

Canada's golden curling streak at Paralympics ends in Pyeongchang

Sometimes curling teams are on the wrong side of the inch. That was the case four years ago for China at the Paralympics.

Today, it was Canada’s turn.

The semifinal was a rematch from four years ago when Canada played China in the semis in Sochi. On that day, China’s skip Wang Haitao was heavy with his last rock in the final end to give Canada a 5-4 win. Canada would go on to win a third-straight Paralympic gold medal.

Today, Haitao was faced with having to make his last shot against Canada yet again to win the game. Wang was looking at two Canadian stones in the four-foot and needed to play a tough tap back for the win. 

It was absolutely perfect — redemption four years in the making. The win sent the Chinese team into a frenzy while a disappointed Canadian squad watched them celebrate.

China scored a single in the eighth and final end to beat Canada 4-3. It marks the first time a Canadian rink won’t win Paralympic wheelchair curling gold. 2:44

“I didn’t even look at that shot,” Canadian skip Mark Ideson said. “I thought he’d play the double all day long.”

“Good on him. He called it, made it and they have a chance to win gold.”

Canada and China played a relatively open game throughout, throwing takeouts up and down the sheet. With the score tied 3-3 in the final end, China capitalized with the last rock advantage.

But it was a game that could have went either way — and Ideson knows it. 

“This is sport. Anything can happen. We put ourselves in a good position to win gold and it just didn’t happen for us,” he said.

China moves on to play Norway for gold on Saturday at 1:35 a.m. ET, while Canada plays South Korea in the bronze medal game Friday at 8:35 p.m. ET.

Burned rock controversy 

Drama ensued late in the seventh end with the score tied 3-3. Canadian third Ina Forrest was playing a takeout on the Chinese stone; she made the hit, sending China’s rock into a Canadian stone on the edge of the 12-foot and then into Ideson’s wheelchair. 

The rock came to an abrupt halt when it hit Ideson’s chair. It was a burned rock, but it appeared to be spinning out of the rings.

It also wasn’t the closest rock to the button, but Haitao pushed it forward so that it was. The move brought the officials onto the ice to discuss.

Controversy erupted in the seventh end of the Canada-China wheelchair curling semifinal. After Canada burned a Chinese stone, Chinese skip Wang Haitao opted to keep the stone in the house. 7:43

After a lengthy delay — and the officials trying to explain to Haitao the rock was going out — the Chinese skip decided to leave the rock in the back of the rings.

“I don’t think it affected the end. It was his call,” Ideson said. “I think it would have went out but it wasn’t up to me.”

“It was my fault and he had the choice.”

Curling rules clearly state it’s up to the non-offending team to decide where the rock was going to end up, but curling etiquette is another thing entirely.

“The officials knew it was going to go out. They were just trying to make the right decision,” Ideson said. “They said it was going to go out.”

Ideson said while it didn’t affect the way the end played out — a blank — he said it did impact what shot he played with his last stone.

Ready to compete for bronze

While disappointed by the loss, the Canadian team is now refocusing for the bronze medal game against Korea.  

It will be the first time Canada leaves a Paralympic Games without a curling gold; the country was the three-time defending champions coming into Pyeongchang.

But the rink isn’t losing sight of what a medal would mean. 

“We’ll pat each other on the back and come back ready to play,” Ideson said. “We have a lot to be proud of. We’ll go see our families and get some rest [and] nutrition.”

Second Dennis Thiessen was a part of the gold-winning team four years ago. He knows what the thrill of victory is like and while it won’t be the colour he was hoping for, the Sanford, Man., native would love nothing more to bring home another medal for Canada.

“We’re going in there as if we’re going for the gold medal. If we can win a bronze we’re going to be proud,” he said. 

Then there was 57-year-old Marie Wright from Moose Jaw, Sask., who came off the ice still smiling. The single mother of four, who is a paraplegic, has been through a lot to get here, but kept perspective after the loss. 

“Sometimes it just doesn’t go your way,” the first-time Paralympian said. “We’ll be ready for the bronze and never give up.”

Source link

[olympictickets]

Olympic Hockey: GREAT BRITAIN, GERMANY, NEW ZEALAND, AND IRELAND SECURE FINAL OLYMPIC BERTHS

The 12 teams for each hockey competition at Tokyo 2020 have been decided after thrilling qualifiers over the past 10 days. Olympic followers from all over the world are invited to book Olympic 2020 tickets from our online platforms for Olympic Tickets. Olympics Hockey followers can book Olympic Hockey Tickets from our ticketing marketplace exclusively on discounted prices.

Ireland's women claimed the final berth at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic hockey tournament, beating Canada 4-3 in a shootout to reach the Games for the first time. After 120 minutes of scoreless hockey, Canada took what looked like a decisive 3-1 lead in the shootout.

But Beth Barr and Chloe Watkins scored to take it into sudden death as Canada missed with their last two efforts. Both gold medal-winning teams from Rio 2016, Great Britain's women and Argentina's men will be in Tokyo to defend their titles.

Britain make the home advantage count

Great Britain's women are safely through after a 5-1 aggregate win over Chile in London. Playing at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre, a training venue for the London 2012 Games, Mark Hager's side did the hard work with a 3-0 win in Saturday's first leg.

Not even a pep talks from Argentinian football manager Marcelo Bielsa, a friend of Chile coach Sergio Vigil, could revive Las Diablos' hopes.

Goals from Tess Howard and Laura Unworthy in the first quarter all but sealed the tie with Fernanda Villagran scoring a late consolation. Forsyth's opener in the ninth minute took him to 100 international goals for Scotland and GB combined.

Germans cruise through in Monchengladbach

Italy's women were in with a chance of qualification having trailed Germany just 2-0 after Saturday's first leg. But their hopes were quickly extinguished as three goals in the first eight minutes’ courtesy of Cecile Pieper, Nike Lorenz and Lena Michele put the tie beyond doubt.

The visitors managed to survive without conceding until half-time, but Germany upped the tempo again after the break.

Black Sticks ease past Korea

New Zealand's men had some work to do in their second leg against Korea in Stratford, leading 3-2 after Match One. And they extended their lead at the start of the second quarter through Stephen Jennens who scored twice on Saturday.

Sam Lane made it a three-goal cushion in the 23rd minute and Kane Russell's penalty corner strike late in the third period made it 6-2 on aggregate. The win sees the Black Sticks through to their 13th Olympic competition and they're fifth in succession.

India at the double for Tokyo

India will go for gold in both competitions in Tokyo, although there were some heart-stopping moments for the women in Bhubaneswar. Leading 5-1 from the first leg, Snored Marine’s side looked to have plenty in hand against the United States.

The Americans started with intent and Amanda Magadan's penalty corner and Kathleen Starkey's strike saw them close to within two in the first quarter. And they were level before half-time thanks to Alyssa Parker's high shot and Magadan's second of the game.

But three minutes into the final quarter, captain Rani Ram pal’s fierce strike beat Kelsey Bing and India held out for a 6-5 aggregate victory. Akas deep Singh and Rapider Singh both scored twice as the eight-time Olympic gold medalists cruised through to Tokyo Olympic.

Canada's men break Irish hearts

Canada's men will be at back-to-back Olympic Games for the first time since the 1980s after a dramatic penalty shootout victory over Ireland in Vancouver. The Irish led 5-3 after the first leg and John McKee made it 6-3 on aggregate in the first quarter.

But back came the home side with Gordon Johnston's penalty corner and Oliver Schofield's strike either side of half-time bringing them to within one. They were still behind in the dying seconds and called for a review just before the final whistle sounded for a possible infringement inside the Ireland circle.

A penalty stroke was awarded, and captain Scott Tupper scored to level the tie at 6-6 and send it into a penalty shootout. Ireland went 3-1 up in the shootout but goalie David Carter hauled Canada back into it and Adam Froese scored in sudden death to win it 4-3 and book a place in Tokyo.

Dutch end Pakistan's dream of Olympic return

A clinical performance in Amsterdam saw The Netherlands end the Pakistan men's team's hopes of returning to the Olympics for the first time since Barcelona 1992.

After Match One ended 4-4, the Dutch took the lead through Bjorn Kellerman's backhand strike in the first quarter. But the second period proved decisive as Mink van der Weerden's penalty stroke, Mirco Pruijser's low fizzer, and van der Weerden again - this time from a penalty corner - saw the home side canter to victory.

Terrance Pieters and Jip Janssen added insult to injury for Pakistan who did manage a late consolation through Rizwan Ali, but it was the Dutch who won 6-1 on the night and 10-5 on aggregate. And perhaps we will see more celebrations from Dutch coach Max Caldas on the touchline in Tokyo.

Double delight for Spain

Spain's qualification was twice as nice as both the men and women came through to secure their spot at the Olympics.

The women's team defeated Korea 2-1 in Game 1 in Valencia taking the slenderest of leads with them into Game 2, where they finished the job with a 2-0 victory. A 4-1 aggregate win that has Spain's women looking forward to a summer of hockey on the Olympic stage.

Spain's men foil France

Spain's men will also be investing in the Japanese phrasebooks after their narrow victory over France. Things started badly for the home side in Valencia as they went 3-0 down in the first leg before coming back to draw 3-3.

A stunning solo effort from Gaspard Baumgartner saw France take an early lead but the Spanish stuck at it with Quico Cortes excelling in goal. Captain Miguel Deals equalized from a penalty corner in the second quarter and Spain took the lead just before half-time through Alvaro Iglesias after superb work from Pau Quemada.

Francois Goyet leveled midway through the third period but Xavi Lleonart's penalty stroke restored the hosts' advantage and they held on for a 3-2 win to go through 6-5 on aggregate. This will be Spain's 18th appearance at the Olympic Games with three silvers and a bronze medal to show for their efforts.

Australia roll Russia

Three-time women's Olympic champions Australia will join the men's side in Tokyo Olympic Games after a commanding 8-2 aggregate victory over Russia.

The door was left slightly ajar after the first game finished 4-2, but firmly shut in the second after Australia turned it on to win 5-0. A hat-trick from Emily Chalke in Game 2 means she'll play at her third straight Olympics in Japan.

China stun Belgium in Wujin

After a 2-0 win in the first leg in Wujin, Belgium's women looked to have all but sewn up a place in Tokyo as they and China played out three scoreless periods in the second match. But with just four minutes to go, Gu Bingfeng scored with a penalty stroke.

Moments later, two-time Olympian Liang Meiyu made it 2-2 to set up a penalty shootout. The Belgians were stunned, and China took the shootout 2-1 to the delight of the local fans chanting “加油!” (you!) - 'Let's go!' In Chinese. The tears flowed among the visitors as they watched the home team celebrate a dramatic comeback which will see them play at Tokyo 2020.

 Final list of qualified teams for hockey at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics

Men:

Japan (hosts, 2018 Asian Games champions)

Argentina (2019 Pan-American Games champions, reigning Olympic champions)

South Africa (2019 African Olympic Qualifiers)

Belgium (2019 Euro Hockey Championship winners)

Australia (2019 Oceania Cup winners)

Spain

Netherlands

Canada

India

New Zealand

Great Britain

Germany

Women:

Japan (hosts, 2018 Asian Games champions)

Argentina (2019 Pan-American Games)

South Africa (2019 African Olympic Qualifier)

Netherlands (2019 Euro Hockey Championship)

New Zealand (2019 Oceania Cup)

China

Australia

Spain

India

Great Britain (reigning Olympic champions)

Germany

Ireland

Competition format

In each tournament, the 12 teams will be split into two round-robin groups of six. The top four in each group go through to the quarter-finals with the winners progressing to the semis and then the final.

The losing semi-finalists will play off for the bronze medal. All games will be played at the Oi Hockey Stadium which hosted a successful test event in August where India won both the men's and women's competitions.

Olympic 2020 followers can get Olympic Tickets through our trusted online ticketing market place. OlympicTickets2020.com is the most reliable way to book Olympic Packages.

[thisdaynews]

Fifa Women's World Cup: England face favourites USA with place in final at stake

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/fifa-womens-world-cup-england-face-favourites-usa-with-place-in-final-at-stake/

Fifa Women's World Cup: England face favourites USA with place in final at stake

Media playback is not supported on this device

Highlights: Norway 0-3 England

Fifa Women’s World Cup: England v USA Venue:Stade de Lyon, LyonDate:Tuesday, 2 JulyKick-off:20:00 BST Coverage:Watch live on BBC One or iPlayer, listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, read live text commentary on BBC Sport website and app.

England manager Phil Neville says he has been planning for a crucial Women’s World Cup meeting with the United States since the day he took the job.

Neville’s side face the holders in Lyon in the last four on Tuesday, aiming to reach the final for the first time.

Victory would make the Lionesses the first senior England team to reach a major global final since 1966.

“We’ve planned for it, we’ve played against them and we know how we’re going to play,” Neville told BBC Sport.

“When it was France or USA in the semi-final every one of my players said: ‘Let’s hope it’s USA.’

“When I got the job, the first three games I looked at were the USA. I was sitting in my house in Valencia and watched three games in one afternoon because I thought: ‘How can we win the World Cup?’

“You have to beat the best, and the USA are the best. They’ve proven it.

“But we’re ready for them. Sometimes, before these games, you can have fear and trepidation – but I can smell nothing but freedom, happiness and excitement.”

The Lionesses have reached the last four for the second World Cup – and a third major tournament – in a row and have a fully fit squad.

They beat Norway 3-0 in the quarter-finals, with a record-breaking UK television audience of 7.6 million cheering them on.

Favourites and three-time champions the USA – who have never failed to make the semi-finals of the World Cup – beat hosts France.

Both sides have been preparing for the game amid a heatwave across France, but temperatures are expected to be slightly fresher by Tuesday’s 20:00 BST kick-off. A crowd of close to the Stade de Lyon’s tournament capacity of 57,900 is expected.

European champions the Netherlands face Sweden in Wednesday’s other semi-final, with the winners from the two matches meeting in the final in Lyon on Sunday. The losers will play in Saturday’s third-place play-off in Nice.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Highlights: France 1-2 USA

How England’s ‘special aura’ can help drive us to success against USA – Millie Bright column

Football Daily: The big England v USA preview pod

Neville says semi-final defeat would be failure

England have ‘more hunger’ than other semi-finalists

The United States, who are top of the world rankings, go into the match as favourites against third-ranked England and have won 10 of the teams’ 16 meetings.

But legendary USA keeper Hope Solo told BBC Sport the Lionesses have the tactical edge and that “they will have a better chance to beat the USA in a World Cup match than ever before”.

Both sides have won every game so far at these finals but England’s Lyon defender Lucy Bronze, who will be playing at her home stadium, believes her side have a clear advantage over all the other semi-finalists.

“We have more hunger than the other teams because we have never reached a final,” said Bronze, who has never lost a game at the Stade de Lyon.

“You look at the four teams left and we’re the only team that hasn’t reached a final. The Olympics, the World Cup, the Euros, these other three teams have all reached finals in recent years.

“It definitely takes more to reach a final – but who better to know that it takes more than a team that has been knocked out of two consecutive semi-finals?”

Bronze – England’s world beater stopped from playing for being a girl

Rapinoe ready for ‘huge task’ against England

‘These are the moments you live for’

After beating Norway to reach the semi-finals, Neville said his team’s mantra is that they want to be “badass women”.

In the United States, they come up against a group of players who are established stars – striker Alex Morgan was the only footballer apart from Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah to feature in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2019 – and they are involved in a fight with US Soccer for pay equality with the men’s team.

But England forward Nikita Parris insists the Lionesses, who drew with the USA 2-2 in their last meeting en route to winning the SheBelieves Cup on American soil in March, will not be overawed.

“Why shouldn’t we think we can be badder than them when we went to the SheBelieves and we won it?” said Parris, who will be playing at her new club ground after moving from Manchester City to Lyon this summer.

“We went toe to toe with them. We beat them under [previous manager] Mark Sampson’s reign. Why shouldn’t we think we can beat them? Why do we have to come to this tournament semi-final and think ‘oh, it’s America’?

“Nobody fears America. Nobody fears Germany. What’s the point in coming to a World Cup if you’re not prepared to dream? These are the moments you live for.”

Alex Morgan – meet the USA star who transcends her sport

Are England ready to win the World Cup?

‘Something is happening’ – Neville dreams of glory

Bronze v Rapinoe ‘could win the game’

Media playback is not supported on this device

Bronze smashes home from edge of the box to put England 3-0 ahead

USA winger and co-captain Megan Rapinoe has shone for her country, scoring two goals in both of their knockout games to give them back-to-back 2-1 victories.

The 33-year-old’s match-winning doubles came either side of her being criticised by president Donald Trump for snubbing a potential post-tournament visit to the White House.

On Tuesday, she is set to go head to head with England right-back Bronze, who Neville has said is the “best player in the world” and “deserves to win the Ballon d’Or” award.

England’s Lyon midfielder Izzy Christiansen – who missed the tournament after being injured in March – told the BBC: “Her [Megan Rapinoe] up against Lucy [Bronze] is going to be one heck of a battle.

“It is one which could potentially win or lose the game, given both their form.”

White, Morgan & Rapinoe battle for Golden Boot

Media playback is not supported on this device

Women’s World Cup 2019: The race for the golden boot

Three of the players set to be involved on Tuesday are tied on five goals at the top of the tournament standings, along with Australia’s Sam Kerr, although the Matildas were eliminated in the last 16.

Manchester City and England striker Ellen White’s tap-in against Norway was her fifth goal of the campaign, putting her alongside Kerr and the USA duo of Rapinoe and Morgan.

“It’s a shootout maybe between Ellen and Alex Morgan for the top scorer,” Neville said. “There are going to be brilliant players on this football pitch.”

Who is most likely to win the World Cup?

According to Gracenote Sports, who capture and curate sports data, the USA have the highest chance of lifting the trophy on 7 July, with a 41% probability, according to simulations.

England, who have never knocked a higher-ranked side out of the tournament, are said to have a 38% chance of reaching the final.

The USA against the Netherlands is deemed to be the most likely final, with the Lionesses and the Oranje both said to have a 22% chance of becoming champions.

An England v Sweden final is statistically the least likely, while the Swedes are said to have only a 16% chance of glory on Sunday.

Media playback is not supported on this device

Archive: What happened the last time England played USA?

BBC Sport has launched #ChangeTheGame this summer to showcase female athletes in a way they never have been before. Through more live women’s sport available to watch across the BBC this summer, complemented by our journalism, we are aiming to turn up the volume on women’s sport and alter perceptions.Find out more here.

Read More

[maysoper]

It's Good For Hockey

See that goal by Finland against Canada? It's good for hockey. Yes, it was disappointing to see the Canadians lose on home soil tonight, but this isn't some random tournament filling a void between major competitions. This was the IIHF World Junior Championship, and I'll say that Finland's win tonight - don't call it an upset - and Switzerland ousting Sweden earlier in the day makes this tournament infinitely better. Hear me out on this. If there is more variety to the finalists outside of the main three we saw in the 1990s in Canada, Russia, and Sweden, countries will invest in their junior programs and minor hockey programs. Finland has been a gold medallist a couple of times in recent history. The United States has worn gold around their necks. These two countries are producing incredibly talented players over the last decade after they invested in their programs so that players like Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine, Matthew Tkachuk, and Mikko Rantanen excel rather than being left behind in an underfunded system. Countries like Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan will be looking to model their systems after the Swiss and Finns in seeing their successes, but it's not going to happen overnight. It may take a decade or longer due to the investment needed to nurture and develop highly-skilled hockey players in those countries where the hockey infrastructure - rinks to play on, programs to join - may not be equivalent to where the Swiss and Finns currently are. That being said, it will take some time for the up-and-coming countries to put the facilities and programs in place before they begin to discover kids with immense talent in places where there were no facilities. If there's one thing that I believe that all of Canada can agree with, it's that every country on the planet has closed the talent gap between them and Canada. That should worry the folks at Hockey Canada, but it should make for better tournaments overall because it's no longer a free pass to the final for Canada. That's good for hockey. Canada and the US have a reported 1.2 million ice hockey players registered between the two countries. That number eclipses the number of ice hockey players on the rest of the planet combined. Further to this, Canada's reported 8300 ice hockey rinks outnumbers the rest of the world combined. Perhaps we're stressing the wrong things when it comes to our hockey greatness because the fact that we have the most players and rinks isn't panning out to produce the most medals and champions. And just because we have the most rinks and the most players doesn't mean we're producing the best players either. There was a watershed moment for two countries in the 1970s when the Soviets and Canadians met in the Summit Series in 1972. The Russians recognized that their style needed to adapt to the physical play that the Canadians brought while the Canadians had to figure out how to match the incredible skill that the Russians displayed. As the Summit Series progressed, both sides adapted to the other's style and we saw the series begin to even out after the Russians had baffled the Canadians across Canada. "That team that went over to Canada in 1972 were pure Soviet players," former Winnipeg Jet Oleg Mikulchik told CBC in 2000. "They had been taught to see hockey as a game of gentlemanly manoeuvres, almost like chess on ice. They were amazed at the rabble-like Canadian attack, and stunned by all the body checking. But they adapted and taught the Canadians a thing or two. We've all benefited from what they learned in that series." It's funny how Canadians cling to and defend that physical brand of hockey as "Canadian hockey" when the guys we often associate with winning - Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr, Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid - are often highly-skilled players who play physical to win puck battles, but rarely drive opponents through the end boards. Why do we constantly seek the most physical players when the most talented teams often win? Eeli Tolvanen was a thorn in Canada's side tonight, but he wasn't out there bouncing off players like a wrecking ball. Instead, he did most of his damage by putting shots on net and setting up teammates for opportunities. Is this not the type of team Canada should be striving to build in future tournaments? I can hear some of you saying that the goaltending by Finnish netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen had an outstanding game, and I won't deny that. However, he was matched save for save by Canadian netminder Michael DiPietro in a game that was literally a "next goal wins" battle. For the first time in a long time, Canada was buoyed by goaltending in this tournament rather than searching for someone to step up when the games mattered. DiPietro deserves the praise that the crowd showered on him yesterday because the Canadian goaltender deserved a better fate after his performance. We've seen Finland win before, so losing to them will never be called an upset on this blog. The fact that Finland continues to win despite missing some key players shows that their system is working. And while they may not have the facilities or the population enrolled in hockey like Canada does, their system is churning out exceptional players more and more often. Don't believe me? In 2015, Mikko Rantanen was the only top-ten Finnish NHL draft pick and he went tenth-overall. In 2016, three of the top five players chosen were Finns in Patrick Laine (2nd), Jesse Puljujarvi (4th), and Olli Juolevi (5th). In 2017, Miro Heiskanen went third-overall. And in 2018, Jesperi Kotkaniemi went third-overall. While I've pointed out in the above paragraphs that Finland closed the gap on Canada and the world, the last two decades haven't produced a ton of precious metal for the Finns. They've won three golds, a silver medal, and four bronze medals - eight years of medals - in 20 years of play. However, in the last six World Junior tournaments, Finland, Canada, and the US have all won two gold medals apiece. In the last 20 years, Canada has seven gold medals, seven silver medals, and three bronze medals. Clearly, Canada is still producing talent that can earn accolades, but the last decade of play has seen five countries win gold medals while six teams have medalled (Slovakia won bronze in 2015 when they upset Sweden 4-2). The world is catching up to the Canadian standard of play at the World Junior Championship. And that brings me back to countries like Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan who witnessed the Swiss shutout the Swedes 2-0 today. The last time the Swiss medalled was in 1998 - their only medal - as they captured the bronze that year when they beat the Czech Republic 4-3. With the Swiss advancing to the semi-final today, they'll have a chance to add a medal to their total of one in 39 appearances at this tournament. For Denmark, Germany, Slovakia, and Kazakhstan, this just reinforces the fact that continuing to build their programs will close the gap between them and the rest of the world who play in this tournament annually. We already witnessed the Germans defeat the Canadians at the Pyeongchang Olympics to advance to the gold-medal final, and the result of that win reportedly sent enrolments in ice hockey in Germany to an all-time high. If the Germans can keep this momentum going, they could be a force to be reckoned with in the coming years. I'm not saying they'll rise up and beat a Russia or Sweden or Canada next year or the year after that. However, as their players seek better opportunities to hone their skills, we'll see some of these teams become fixtures at the tournament which will only ramp up the competition even more. People have talked about reducing the number of teams from ten to eight at the World Junior Championship to prevent games like the Canada-Denmark game from getting out of hand. I believe this would do a disservice to those countries still developing their programs as they want to play against better teams in order to learn from them. Exhibition games don't accomplish the same thing as competition games do, and blowouts will happen on occasion. Every once in a while, though, there will be a team who hangs with one of the superpowers. They may not win, but they don't have to win. Instead, they'll adapt like the Soviets did in '72. They'll learn like the Canadians did in '72. They'll take those lessons back and implement them into their systems and programs like the Finns have and the Swiss have. And maybe one day down the road, we'll be talking about Germany beating the Canadians in the quarterfinals or the Kazakhs winning their first medal in taking down the Russians or the Danes knocking off their Nordic neighbours. It won't happen overnight, but having the favorites lose in major tournaments like Canada and Sweden today is good for the global game when it comes to the smaller hockey nations strengthening and improving their programs. Countries are catching up to the five superpowers in junior hockey, and it makes for a far more exciting tournament when every game counts! Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice! from Sports News http://hockey-blog-in-canada.blogspot.com/2019/01/its-good-for-hockey.html

[netunleashed-blog]

World Cup result: Belgium 2-0 England; Eden Hazard shines as Three Lions finish fourth | Football | Sport

http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6626 World Cup result: Belgium 2-0 England; Eden Hazard shines as Three Lions finish fourth | Football | Sport - http://www.internetunleashed.co.uk/?p=6626 Belgium finished third in the World Cup, their best-ever performance, when they beat England 2-0 with an early Thomas Meunier goal and a breakaway finished by Eden Hazard.Meunier finished off a devastating move when he turned in Nacer Chadli's low cross at the far post in the fourth minute after Romelu Lukaku's pass sliced open the English defence.Belgium, who beat England 1-0 in a group match in the tournament, were more dangerous throughout a lively first half. But England improved after the break and nearly equalised when Eric Dier got clear and chipped over Thibaut Courtois, only for Toby Alderweireld to make a sliding clearance off the line.Belgium continued to threaten on the break and finished off the game when Kevin de Bruyne set Hazard clear and he swept his shot past Jordan Pickford.BELGIUM 2-0 ENGLAND - MEUNIER (3), HAZARD (82)Belgium XI: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen, Meunier, Witsel, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Chadli, Lukaku, Hazard.England XI: Pickford, Jones, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Dier, Delph, Rose, Loftus-Cheek, Sterling, Kane.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesTWITTER ROUND-UPMark: When was the last time somebody got beaten twice by the same team in the same World Cup?!Dan: England are a long way from being a good team. We lost every time we faced a half decent team.Peter: I'm going to be unpopular and say Harry Kane has had a very poor World Cup. He may win the Golden Boot, but he has been anonymous in open play all tournament. He can't hit the target, a far cry from the man who scores with such regularity for Spurs.Conor: As good a tournament as its been for England, Jordan Pickford and Harry Maguire realistically the only players who you'd actually want your club to sign after it ends.BELGIUM 2-0 ENGLANDFT: Belgium win 2-0 and finish third at the World Cup. England take fourth place in a very predictable third-place play-off.90: Three minutes added time.89: Hazard has been directly involved in seven goals at the World Cup (three goals, four assists); the joint-most of any Belgium player since 1966 (Jan Ceulemans also with seven).WHAT A MOVE! Moments before their second goal a fantastic counter-attack from Belgium sees England on the back-foot, but Pickford denies Meunier with a fine save! pic.twitter.com/BYdLaurb3b— ITV Football (@itvfootball) July 14, 2018REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates88: We’re down to walking pace as Belgium pass it from left to right. It’s damage limitations now for the Three Lions.85: Nearly 3-0. England are throwing caution to the wind now and Belgium are breaking at will. Hazard has an easy throughball to an unmarked De Bruyne but Stones makes the stop.BELGIUM 2-0 ENGLAND - HAZARD83: Game, set and match. England will finish fourth at the 2018 World Cup.It’s masterful from Chelsea star Eden Hazard, who doubles Belgium's lead with less than 10 minutes to go!Kevin De Bruyne (who else) plays a perfectly-weighted pass through to Hazard, who shrugs off Phil Jones and slots home.GETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates81: Ah, and that’s what I get for doubting Belgium. Roberto Martinez’s side break at speed and nearly score what would have been the team goal of the 2018 World Cup.De Bruyne finds Mertens out wide, who scoops it over to Meunier, who absolutely hammers it on the volley only for Pickford to block.78: Dembele is on for Tielemans, who has been non-existent today. England continue to push with Belgium unable to keep it for more than three passes.76: Kieran trippier’s delivery is first-class. For the umpteenth time today he clips a free-kick over to Maguire, who glances wide. England firmly on top now.73: You see what some quick first-time touches can do?! England on the front-foot now. Trippier drifts a cross to the back post where Maguire is waiting. Kompany reads it and clears.Can feel some late drama coming...70: What?!?! Oh I can’t believe we’re not level. Dier and Rashford play a quick one-two before the Tottenham midfielder clips it over Courtois. It’s heading in until Alderweireld appears from nowhere to clear it off the line.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates67: Momentum keeps swinging and this time England have it. Kane initially scuffs a deep corner miles wide before Loftus-Cheek whips a devilish cross across the six-yard box.64: The corner is to Kompany at the near post, who somehow adjusts his body to flick it through his legs into the danger zone. Nobody in a yellow shirt took the gamble.63: Alderweireld with a sumptuous crossfield pass over to Hazard. He slips Meunier in down the right but Delph is there with a great tackle.60: Harry Kane, barring a complete miracle in tomorrow’s match, will be the Golden Boot winner. Romelu Lukaku trudges off the field looking most unhappy with Mertens replacing him.58: That won’t help Lukaku shrug off his reputation for having a poor first touch. Kevin De Bruyne plays an absolute peach of a ball through the England defender and Lukaku simply diverts it to Jordan Pickford.55: Close! Harry Kane is so close to cementing that Golden Boot award. Lingard powers a cross into the six-yard box and the Spurs striker is a whisker away from prodding home.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates54: The 'Bury Beckham' delivers a fantastic deep cross from the right flank but no England player could connect. Hazard and Lukaku are left upfield and Stones is forced to take a booking for the team when throwing the Chelsea star to the floor.51: Welcome to the third-place play-off, England. Lingard and Rashford have injected some real pace and power into the side.48: Better. Much better. Loftus-Cheek drives forward and is inches from finding Rashford in the middle but Kompany comes across.45: Gareth Southgate makes a couple of changes. He had to really with the way we’ve played. Danny Rose and Raheem Sterling with Manchester United duo Jesse Lingard and Marcus Rashford on. That’ll see Fabian Delph move to left wing-back.We're back underway...GETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesTWITTER ROUND-UPJumbo: We overachieved to get to the semi-finals, we’re good enough to beat Croatia but only because they aren't that great either. Harry Kane is gonna be the luckiest Golden Boot winner ever.Chris: England have a very strong 11. This shows that there’s nothing beyond that. Danny Rose, Eric Dier and Phil Jones not good enough.Dmitry: I think bronze matches at football world cups should be scrapped altogether - Euros don't have them, both losing semi-finalists get the bronze. Makes much more sense to me.Tom: It sort of feels like, you have a hangover but you're going out out again having had the worst night out ever the day before.GETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesBELGIUM 1-0 ENGLANDHT: And that’s the half-time whistle. Nothing much to shout about for England, who are playing like today is one of those unwanted Autumn internationals.Belgium deservedly ahead, but it should probably be two or three.45: Whether it’s Roberto Martinez or Gareth Southgate that comes out on top in this game, it proves that nice guys can finish third…44: Belgium have put the disappointment of being eliminated at the semi-final stage better than England, who look like they want to be elsewhere.41: Four minutes until the break and there’s very little in the way of action. The previously buoyant England supporters have gone a little bit quiet and the band have completely given up. Just the annoying noise of a few 2010 Vuvuzela’s.38: Meunier finds De Bruyne, whose clipped cross is headed behind by a retreating Trippier. The corner is easily cleared.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates36: Nacer Chadli has pinged his hamstring and he’s replaced by Thomas Vermaelen. Hands up who had Chadli in their fantasy football sides?33: Close! Belgium with a set-piece straight from the training ground. It’s played short to Chadli, who lifts it over to Alderweireld to hook it over.32: John Stones vs Eden Hazard: The never-ending fight. De Bruyne makes a few yards before nudging it over to the Chelsea star, whose snapshot is blocked for a corner.29: Belgium are toying with us just outside the penalty area. They always have two or three available options on the flanks with Hazard and Stones having a right old battle.26: The ITV commentator has just said that Harry Kane's last shot on target for England was the penalty against Colombia.In other pre-season news, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has banged in a 17-minute hat-trick against Boreham Wood…24: England showing a bit more now. Danny Rose drives forward and lays it off for Sterling, who in turn tees up Harry Kane, who falls as he’s connecting and the chance goes begging.GETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesGETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates21: More like it. Loftus-Cheek exchanges a few nice passes with Trippier before weaving his way to the byline and knocking it back. Vertonghen makes the block.18: Raheem Sterling embarks on a long and aimless run forward. He’s promptly stopped in his tracks when gearing up to pull the trigger.15: England are lost. They aren’t pressing together, following Belgium runs or keeping the ball for any length of time. Lukaku nearly latches onto De Bruyne’s clever pass but Pickford is out quickly.12: The Three Lions have a set-piece but the free-kick quickly turns into a Belgium counter.It’s a messy throughball from Lukaku, but it finds its way to De Bruyne, who forces a good stop from Pickford.9: Chance! This isn’t looking good, guys. De Bruyne, who is playing in an advanced role today, links up nicely with Hazard but the final ball just goes missing.6: Thomas Meunier is the 10th different player to score for Belgium at the 2018 World Cup - the joint-most different scorers for a team at a single World Cup (also 10 for France in 1982 and Italy in 2006).GETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesBELGIUM 1-0 ENGLAND - MEUNIER3: Ah, well that’s not gone according to plan for Gareth Southgate and his Three Lions.Belgium take the lead inside five minutes through right wing-back Thomas Meunier.It was a fantastic team goal with Kevin De Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku linking up nicely to set Nacer Chadli free down the left. His deep cross catches Danny Rose cold and Meunier bundles it past Pickford.3: The Three Lions are wearing their red and white strip today while Belgium are in yellow and black. Y’know, just to make things needlessly confusing.No early chances. No early entertainment now I think about it. Very slow, cautious and generally disinterested. Fingers crossed this is a slow-burner.BELGIUM 0-0 ENGLAND1: And we’re underway folks. Predictions? Sorry, but I can see a fairly comprehensive Belgium win today.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesARRIVAL14:56: And the anthems ring around these stadium for the penultimate time at the 2018 World Cup. You can probably imagine that they weren’t sung with the same verve as they were on Wednesday.‘WE WANT TO BE SHARP’14:54: Belgium manager Roberto Martinez, speaking to ITV: "We want to be sharp in possession and open this England team up. Kevin de Bruyne will play more as a number 10. We expect to have a good mixture of penetration and power. I think it's about how quick we can be on the ball. Our technical aspect will be important."GETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates‘MEDAL WOULD BE NICE’14:50: Gareth Southgate, speaking to ITV: "The day after the semi-final, it was my responsibility as leader of the group to pick them up. But then the fun was back in training yesterday and they know they have a come a long way and want to finish well."Belgium are one of the best teams in the world and have world class players, they are fantastic and their mentality will be the same as ours."A medal would be lovely for the players and staff knowing they have really achieved something special. People will look at the route to this stage but I am not sure anyone in our country thought we would have played seven matches and got to game 63, we wanted to get to game 64."Game 63 might be at the side of my desk for the next few years."OH, HI...14:47: Belgium and England are the first teams to face twice at a World Cup tournament since Turkey played Brazil twice at the 2002 World Cup.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesFRIENDLY14:44: I’m not going to lie, there doesn’t feel like there’s much bite between the two sides this afternoon.I’ve just been flicking through some of the pictures from the stadium and they mainly show the squads hugging and joking.There’s even one of Kevin De Bruyne playing with Vincent Kompany’s hat…WOWZERS14:40: Fair play to Jordan Pickford. I’ve just spotted a tweet from Henry Winter revealing a nasty incident after the Croatia defeat.“Jordan Pickford showed commendable restraint in the tunnel after the semi-final defeat when a member of a Croatian TV crew taunted him with "You should have f***ing won that". Pickford calmly replied "next time" and carried on to the dressing-room,” Winter tweeted.I didn’t need more motive to support France tomorrow…REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates‘READY’14:38:  England manager Gareth Southgate: "We have two options. We will either go home having shown improvement and equalled every team that has left our shores or we put in a performance and go home with a medal and become the best ever team to have left our shores."Every player is up for playing, we had to make a decision on some and we have to re-energise the team. The mentality of the players have been brilliant, they are ready for today."GOLDEN BOOT14:30: Not sure Bobby Martinez is correct about this.Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku, with four goals in the tournament, is two behind top scorer Harry Kane but Martinez insists the Manchester United player will not target the Golden Boot above team success."We don't look for individual rewards and Romelu has shown that with his play,” Martinez said. "Finishing third, the best finish for a Belgium national side in the World Cup, will be an achievement more than any individual award."You just keep thinking that, Roberto.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesTWITTER ROUND-UPChris: I think we need to look at today in context. In 2014 we came home after 3 games with one point. In 2016, Iceland eliminated us in the last 16. We came into this competition ranked equal 12th in the world. Now we are playing for 3rd place in 2018. Progress, surely?Francis: If a team is happy with a third place finish, then there is something wrong with the mentality of the team and country. You play to win, anything less means very little.John: How on earth does Sterling get picked yet again? 43 games and 2 goals.LATE NIGHT...14:20: Gareth Southgate has already put himself through a 4am rerun of England's World Cup defeat by Croatia."We were 20 minutes from a World Cup final...that is going to live with me forever, there is not doubt about that," he said."I'm conscious I've got to raise everybody but I'm up watching the game at four o'clock on Friday morning. I'm old enough now that I don't have to beat myself up unnecessarily. I think when I was a player I had a very simplistic mindset: win and I was good, lose and I was an idiot."There was nothing in between and bizarrely I felt the need to punish myself for that. I'm a lot more rational now. I can see what we have achieved.”ORIGIN?14:15: OK, I’ve found this fact file about the third-place play-off. For some unknown reason I’m now addicted to it.Why was the fixture introduced?The third-place play-off was first introduced as a consolation match for the beaten semi-finalists in the 1934 tournament.After the final between Italy and Czechoslovakia in Rome, an Olympic-style ceremony featuring Germany, winners of the play-off in Naples the previous day, took place.Isn't learning fun?CENTURY’S UP…14:10: This will be England's 100th game at a major international tournament, with 69 of those coming at the World Cup finals (31 at the European Championships).Not sure what you’re supposed to do with that information…REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updates£1.4 MILLION...14:05: I’ve heard this questions a million times leading to today’s third-place play-off.What is there to gain?In theory, the title of third place in the World Cup is not something to be sniffed at but, in reality, both teams will be remembered in years to come as beaten semi-finalists, rather than bronze medallists.Outside of the Olympics, third place carries little weight in tournament football. However, there is extra prize money at stake.The third-placed team takes home £18million and fourth-placed £16.6million. And while some may see the game as little more than a friendly, it's a competitive international.The FIFA ranking points could also come in handy when it comes to future seedings.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesTEAM NEWS - BELGIUM14:00: Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has rolled out all of his big names, with Romelu Lukaku, Kevin De Bruyne and Eden Hazard the attacking fulcrum.Youri Tielemans came in for Marouane Fellaini and Thomas Meunier returned after suspension.TEAM NEWS - ENGLAND13:55: Gareth Southgate makes five changes to his starting XI.Kieran Trippier was a surprise starter after limping off with a groin injury in the semi-final, while tournament leading scorer Harry Kane was given another chance to lay his hands on the Golden Boot.Phil Jones, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Fabian Delph and Ruben Loftus-Cheek were the players drafted in, replacing Kyle Walker, Ashley Young, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli and Jesse Lingard.FIFABelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesBELGIUM vs ENGLAND13:50: And here are the line-ups. Both managers promised to take this game seriously, and they’ve followed through with some pretty strong starting XI’s.Belgium XI: Courtois, Alderweireld, Kompany, Vertonghen, Meunier, Witsel, De Bruyne, Tielemans, Chadli, Lukaku, Hazard.England XI: Pickford, Jones, Stones, Maguire, Trippier, Dier, Delph, Rose, Loftus-Cheek, Sterling, Kane.REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesTWITTER ROUND-UPLucas: Third place play-off is nice because it means a lot for the players who haven't featured as much to get a run out, also this England team could record our second best ever World Cup finish if they win.Bob Moss: Apart from the extra revenue, although hardly anyone watches, what's the points of the third place match?Melissa: So much negativity surrounding the 3rd/4th place play-off, for crying out loud, this could be the best finish in a World Cup since 1966. I'm expecting just a couple of changes to the England side.I’ve actually heard that England will make four changes, Melissa. Stay tuned to see…REUTERSBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesGARETH SOUTHGATE AGREES…13:40: Following on from the low-key return, Gareth Southgate unsurprisingly agrees with the FA’s decision."I mean, the reality is it's not actually my decision," England boss Southgate said. "But I agree with the decision. I think if we make the final, maybe it's different."I must say the support we've had from home and the feeling of support is immense. To have been able to make a difference is something that will live with us all forever, so we can tell the way that the country has united behind football and that's maybe more important than the performance in some respects.”Southgate you’re the one, you still…LOW-KEY RETURN…13:35: England's World Cup semi-finalists are planning a low-key return from Russia.England are due to fly from St Petersburg to Birmingham tomorrow and the FA has confirmed that there will be no public access for fans, given airport security restrictions.There are also no public celebrations planned despite the Three Lions' impressive achievements in Russia, which could yet see them become the most successful team since the 1966 champions.EPABelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesGETTYBelgium vs England: Live World Cup score, goals and updatesHAVE YOUR SAY13:30: If you want to vent your frustrations, or discuss any issues in the world of football (within reason), then get in touch!You can either comment at the bottom of the page or contact me via Twitter using the hashtag #ExpressSport.WELCOME13:25: Good afternoon… I guess.Sorry to sound like a petulant child but that’s exactly how I’m feeling ahead of this third-place play-off.Today was supposed to be the calm before the storm with the entire nation going into meltdown.You know, looting tin barbecues, stockpiling Pimms, hurriedly purchasing knock off England tops and inviting anyone you’ve ever know round to watch your brand new 50” Plasma that you bought especially for the World Cup final.But instead we’re left with the battle for bronze…The team news and line-ups will be out shortly so let’s get this over with… Source link