Soccer Globe

Last night was a series of highs and lows for Tottenham youngster Tom Huddlestone, after England U21's drew with Wales 2-2 (with them winning 5-4 on aggregate). An early free kick by Huddlestone, 13 minutes in, gave England the lead however he was later sent off after a lunging tackle on Welshman Darcy Blake, leaving England with 10 men for the final 25 minutes. Both men went in with studs showing, but Dutch referee Kevin Blom clearly felt Huddlestone had overstepped the mark. Wales came ... Read More

Wayne Rooney has come under fire for the lack of goals he has been scoring for England. He insists that his scoring record is not weighing on his mind as he looks forward to Wednesday's World Cup qualifier in Croatia. Rooney has scored only five times for England in four years. "I've no problem with it. It's a new campaign, a new start and hopefully we can do well." Rooney remains one of England's very few world class players and most people will have noticed ... Read More

Citing such reasons as foreigners coaching the English team and the alleged egalitarian nature of club football, Arsenal coach Arsène Wenger has stated that international football is effectively irrelevant to him, having recently been destroyed. Speaking to the Daily Star on Sunday, the former Nagoya Grampus Eight boss said that the proliferation of smaller states was partially to blame for the downfall of the international scene. "I'm not a big fan of international football as they destroyed it," he boomed. "Take Russia – once it ... Read More

French legend Zinedine Zidane has hailed the talent of Manchester United's number 7 Cristiano Ronaldo. Holder of the world's largest transfer fee Zinedine Zidane picked up plentiful individual awards during his playing days and believes Cristiano Ronaldo is set to do the same. Zidane, who was awarded the Fifa World Player of the Year on three separate occasions, has backed Ronaldo to pick up the first of his this year for his 42-goal return last season. "Cristiano Ronaldo is in a good position to win ... Read More

Brazilian forward Ronaldinho paid the price for his off-field lifestyle at Barcelona, according to former team mate Xavi. “Ronie has always led the same sort of lifestyle,” the Spain midfielder told Marca in an interview published on Monday. “He always told us: ‘that’s the way I am’. “When you lead that sort of life you have to understand that when your level drops then the knives will be out. He is like that, he likes going out and enjoying life. “He was full of life ... Read More

Vincent Kompany, the Belgium Olympic football team's top player, has been forced to quit the tournament and return to his German club Hamburg. The defender seemed set to defy the Bundesliga team and stay in China and help Belgium reach the Olympic quarterfinal. He was expected to play against New Zealand on Wednesday in Belgium's final group game. But Belgium team spokesman Nicolas Cornu said on Tuesday the federation had bowed to pressure from Hamburg to release him in time for the club's opening ... Read More

Real Madrid's Dutch striker Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his retirement from international football. "After studying the schedule of Madrid and the Dutch team I realised playing for both would mean too tough a load for me," said the 32-year-old. Van Nistelrooy won the first of his 64 caps in 1998 and is the team's third highest all-time scorer with 33 goals. He missed Euro 2000 through injury but played and scored at Euro 2004 and 2008 and also the 2006 World Cup. His decision came ... Read More