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Showing posts with the label Wales

ECQ: Wales miss out on a place at Euro 2024

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 Wales 0 - 0 Poland Poland won 5-4 on penalties Wales lost to Poland in a penalty shootout during their Euro 2024 play-off final in Cardiff, ending their hopes of qualification for the summer's tournament in Germany. In the first shootout for Wales' men in a competitive match, Daniel James had his kick saved by Wojciech Szczesny. Poland converted all five. It was an awful way for Robert Page and his players to suffer defeat, especially against a Poland side that failed to register a single shot on target during the entire 120 minutes.  Robert Lewandowski's side might not have been that convincing, but they will be able to start looking forward to joining France, Netherlands and Austria in their group at this summer's Euros in Germany. Wales 4 - 1 Finland (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Euro 2024 Qualifying (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) News from across Poland from European Super Football This will hurt Wales The shocked look on all of the players' faces. a

ECQ: Can Wales qualify for Euro 2024?

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Wales 4 - 1 Finland Wales moved a step closer to Germany and Euro 2024 qualification after a convincing win over Finland.  Finland fans made a great noise last night despite the result. https://t.co/Mu4Cn3wz9B pic.twitter.com/ptwj9vgOKB — European Super Football (@ESFootballNews) March 22, 2024 The game started with an electrifying start for the home team, as David Brooks seized the moment to volley in a rebound from Harry Wilson's shot, just three minutes into the match. Despite Finland dominating possession for much of the first half, Wales managed to extend their lead with a splendid curling free-kick from Neco Williams. However, Finland kept themselves in the game with a composed finish from Teemu Pukki just before halftime. Brennan Johnson then eased any tension for the Welsh side with a well-timed tap-in early in the second half, securing their advantage. More Welsh football news and stories can be found here Although Wales missed a few opportunities to widen the

FA Cup: United avoid upset in Wales

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 Newport County 2 - 4 Manchester United Newport County's FA Cup journey came to an end in the Fourth Round, with Manchester United securing a 4-2 victory at Rodney Parade. It was so nearly a huge upset though.  The Red Devils took control early on, with goals from Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo (his first for the club) within the first twelve minutes. Bryn Morris's late first-half strike and Will Evans' equaliser for County just after the restart kept the game alive.  However, late finishes from Antony and Rasmus Højlund secured United's place in the next round of the competition where they will face an away match against Forest or Bristol City. FA Cup: Eastleigh 1 - 3 Newport (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Magic of the FA Cup: 2023/2024 (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Manager Graham Coughlan stuck with the same lineup that defeated Wrexham last weekend, with Aaron Wildig, Harry Charsley, and Seb Palmer-Houlden retaining their spots in the starting XI. Scot Be

ECQ: Wales miss out on automatic qualification

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 Wales 1 - 1 Turkey Following a fiery draw at home to Turkey, Wales will have to reach Euro 2024 via the play-offs in March. Wales had to secure a victory against Group D leaders Turkey  and cross their fingers for Croatia to stumble against Armenia. Throughout Tuesday night, it appeared that Robert Page's team might hold up their end of the bargain when Neco Williams scored in the seventh minute, putting them in the lead. However, Croatia's triumph over Armenia meant that even a Welsh victory wouldn't be sufficient. To add to their woes, Turkey levelled the score in the second half through a contentious penalty converted by Yusuf Yazici. Referee Matej Jug's decision to award the penalty seemed unfair to Wales captain Ben Davies, as his contact with Kenan Yildiz was minimal. The frustration among the hosts increased as the referee dismissed three Welsh penalty appeals in the first half. The initial anger among the Welsh team was replaced by a disheartening se

News: UK and Republic of Ireland announced as Euro 2028 hosts

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UEFA has confirmed that the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland will host the 2028 European Championships . The joint bid was unopposed after Turkey withdrew to focus on a bid with Italy for Euro 2032, which was also confirmed at a meeting in Switzerland. Check out this video from  FAI TV - YouTube The UK and Ireland focused on Euro 2028, with UEFA's approval, after they had previously cancelled a plan to be Europe's preferred candidate for the 2030 World Cup. London's Wembley Stadium and Glasgow's Hampden Park hosted games at Euro 2020. Wembley hosted the final after what proved to be a hugely controversial day where there were reports of carnage and hooliganism outside the stadium.  Matches at Euro 2028 are set to be held at 10 different grounds, including Wembley and Hampden Park alongside Cardiff's Principality Stadium and Dublin's Aviva Stadium. Belfast's Casement Park and Everton's Bramley-Moore Dock stadium, the former unbuilt while the

EFL Cup: Blackburn triumph in all Championship clash

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 Blackburn Rovers 5 - 2 Cardiff City Blackburn Rovers beat Cardiff City 5-2 to reach the Carabao Cup round four as teenager Andrew Moran scored twice. Jake Garrett was delighted with result and perfornance 🗣️ "𝙄'𝙫𝙚 𝙣𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙪𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙥𝙡𝙖𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙞𝙜𝙝 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙄 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙄'𝙢 𝙖𝙙𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡." Jake Garrett on his new role this season. #Rovers 🔵⚪️ pic.twitter.com/2igr9HPjOY — Blackburn Rovers (@Rovers) September 28, 2023 Blackburn led twice in the first half, through Jake Garrett and Arnor Sigurdsson, before Callum Robinson and Kion Etete helped the Welsh side rally.  Callum Robinson, the former Tottenham striker, showcased his prowess by skillfully finding the back of the net, tallying his fourth goal this season, surpassing his previous season's total. As the game progressed, Blackburn's third goal was handed to them on a silver platter. Jonathan Panzo, making hi

Latest football headlines from across Europe: 24/05/2023

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 Let's explore some of the biggest talking points from across Europe over the last 24 hours. It has been another busy day. Netherlands: Ruud van Nistelrooy leaves PSV  with immediate effect PSV Eindhoven head coach Ruud van Nistelrooy has left before the final game of the season because of "a lack of support within the club", a club statement said. Van Nistelrooy won the Dutch Cup and Dutch Super Cup after taking over the role in March 2022. PSV said talks about his future were set for Sunday, but the 46-year-old subsequently resigned. They are 10 points behind leaders Feyenoord and three points ahead of third-placed Ajax. They just need to avoid defeat to AZ Alkmaar at the weekend to secure a spot in the Champions League qualification stage. Footage from his last press conference -  Ruud van Nistelrooij en Luuk de Jong reageren op grote teleurstelling - YouTube Spain: Barcelona agrees to cancel Alba's contract. It has been announced that Jordi Alba will leave Ba

EFL: Greatest ever play-off matches

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 We all love the drama of the playoffs.  They are a series of matches contested by the four football teams that finish below the automatic promotion places in the second, third and fourth tiers of English football. They were first introduced to the EFL in 1987 and have been staged after every season since. Some hate them and others love them. Let's explore some of their greatest matches. <Click here to find more news and stories from the English Football League> Reading 2-4 Swansea: 2011 Championship play-off final. Swansea stormed into a 3-0 lead come the end of the first half. However, a two-goal comeback from Reading after half-time tested the nerve of the Welsh side. A young Scott Sinclair then bagged a hat-trick to ensure Swansea became the first Welsh side to play in the Premier League. This would mark the start of a memorable period for the club. In 2013, they won the EFL Cup.  Nottingham Forest 2-5 Yeovil: 2007 League One play-off semi-final.  One to forget for Fo

National League: Wrexham promoted back to Football League

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Wrexham 3 - 1 Boreham Wood Paul Mullin was Wrexham's as they sealed the National League title and a return to the Football League in front of 10,000 jubilant fans. <Click here to find more Wrexham news and stories> Their 3-1 win over Boreham Wood sparked a mass pitch invasion, with the club's owners - Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney - tearfully hugging in the stands. Glorious scenes after the match Manager Phil Parkinson led the chanting of 'We Are Going Up' from the stands. Fans went onto the pitch with red flares at the final whistle and the rain-sodden trophy presentation had to be delayed as fans were requested to leave the field. Check out the video below showing some of those incredible scenes. One fan commented: "What an incredible moment and what an incredible journey the team has taken us all on. Thank you, Liam, for transporting me from the tip of Africa into the Racecourse grounds. Up the Reds. Up the Town. EFL, here we come!" A Holl

Non League: A thrilling match played out in Wales

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 Wrexham 3 - 2 Notts County Wrexham took a huge step towards promotion from the National League with a thrilling win over rivals Notts County at the Racecourse Ground. John Bostock gave the visitors the lead with a fantastic freekick on the stroke of half-time before Paul Mullin swept home to restore parity just five minutes after the restart. Mullin then turned provider to tee up for Jacob Mendy to put the Reds in front before County came back again through Kyle Cameron's header. But a thrilling contest swung back into Wrexham's favour, and they got themselves out in front again when Elliot Lee slotted home in what appeared to be the winner. There was more late drama The visitors were handed a penalty deep into stoppage time. Up stepped Cedwyn Scott. Ben Foster got down to keep his low spot kick out and seal the three points in the most dramatic of circumstances. BEN FOSTER! 97th minute penalty save for Wrexham. 🧤 pic.twitter.com/wHFDe810ll — Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footbal

ECQ: Wales secure late draw

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Croatia 1 - 1 Wales Debutant Nathan Broadhead secured a potentially crucial point for Wales with a late equaliser in their opening Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia. #WalesAway Croatia v Wales This one I won't forget pic.twitter.com/dJwP4m5462 — Si Guy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@SimonFrancesGuy) March 26, 2023 The Ipswich forward scored from close range after a long throw-in caused chaos in the home side's penalty area.  Andrej Kramaric's sweetly struck shot on 28 minutes had previously given Croatia a deserved half-time lead. However, Wales improved after the break and did cause Croatia some problems. They would ultimately upset the odds in the third minute of added time. Croatia had previously won 34 and drawn one home European qualifier so this was a huge upset. Euro 2024 Qualifying (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) A full review of the match It took Croatia less than three minutes to emphasise both their threat and quality as they pressed Wales into turning over possession

Non League: Wrexham maintain promotion hopes

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Wrexham 1 - 0 Southend United Wrexham maintained their grip at the top of the National League as they ground out a narrow victory over Southend. FULL TIME | Wrexham 1-0 Southend United 🔴 A real battle ends in Wrexham claiming all three points! 🔴⚪ #WxmAFC pic.twitter.com/dFTKgHmdzR — Wrexham AFC (@Wrexham_AFC) March 11, 2023 Ollie Palmer's header was well saved by Steve Arnold as the hosts pressed for an opener. However, the Southend goalkeeper then fumbled a Ben Tozer cross into his own net to give Wrexham the lead. Arnold deflected Eoghan O'Connell's shot onto a post and Dan Mooney wasted a good chance for the Shrimpers when he miskicked his effort from 12 yards. Wrexham were rewarded for their battling performance with a new club record of 25 league matches unbeaten and a 17th win in 18 home games. It was perhaps a miracle that the match had even taken place. Conditions were awful before the match, and it's credit to everyone who works for the Welsh side tha

Icons: Mark Hughes

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 It's time to explore another football icon Mark Hughes is a Welsh football coach and former player of many clubs including Manchester United, Chelsea and Bayern Munich. He is the manager of Bradford City. From Old Trafford and then to Barca, Bayern and back During his playing career, he operated as a forward or midfielder. He had two spells at Manchester United. His first spell at Old Trafford came between 1980 and 1986 when he won the FA Cup in 1985. In 1986, he moved to Barcelona but this time wasn't a success for Hughes. It was during this time when had a loan spell with Bayern Munich.  In 1988, he returned to Old Trafford and had a very successful 7 years. He won the FA Cup twice, the Premier League twice, League Cup and a UEFA Cup Winners Cup. He finally left in 1995. Part of the reason for his departure was the development of the Class of 92 at Manchester United.The video below contains a good insight into his time at Old Trafford. For a period, he was up there as on

World Cup: England send Wales home

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Wales 0-3 England Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden star for England Rashford and Foden capitalised on their starting roles to help England knock Wales out of the World Cup with a 3-0 win which also secured the top spot in Group B, setting up a last-16 tie with Senegal. England boss Gareth Southgate had been criticised since the disappointing goalless draw with USA about Foden's lack of game time in the tournament so far and the Manchester City forward showed what he can bring to this stage at the start of the second half. After a dull first 45 minutes, any hope Wales had of qualifying for the last 16 was wiped out as England scored twice within six minutes of the restart. Rashford fired a free-kick past Danny Ward following Ethan Ampadu's foul on Phil Foden after 50 minutes, with the Manchester City midfielder then marking his return to England's team moments later by turning in Harry Kane's cross at the far post. Wales were outclassed as they knew they were on the way

World Cup: Wales close to exit

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 Wales 0 - 2 Iran Wales' first World Cup for 64 years looks set to end at the first hurdle after a last-ditch defeat by Iran in Qatar. Roozbeh Cheshmi struck from 20 yards nine minutes into stoppage time, before Ramin Rezaeian finished off a counter-attack to seal victory for an Iran side that who have renewed hope of reaching the knockout stages for the first time in their history. More World Cup news can be found by clicking here>>> These were the decisive blows to Welsh prospects of victory. They had all but vanished when goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey was sent off with four minutes of normal time remaining.  As they did in their opening draw with the United States, Wales started poorly and had the video assistant referee (VAR) to thank for disallowing a goal from Iran's Ali Gholizadeh for offside. Highlights from  ITV Sport - YouTube Welsh reaction One Wales fan tweeted: "Doha, Qatar. World Cup 2022. What an experience. Back home now, and doubtful we’ll return.

FA Cup: First round highlights

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 Let's explore some match reports from across the country as the FA Cup reached the first round Wrexham 3 - 0 Oldham Athletic Wrexham advanced to the FA Cup second round with a comfortable win over their fellow National League side Oldham Athletic.Sam Dalby's second goal of the season set Wrexham on their way. Leading scorer Paul Mullin then scored in either half to seal Wrexham's place in the second round for the first time since 2018. Video credit -  Wrexham AFC - YouTube One YouTube user commented: "The passes over the last few games have been on point, it just shows that talent takes time to work together." Another was a big fan of the stream from Wrexham's official account: "Excellent highlights and superb, interesting, passionate commentary. More of that please." Cheltenham Town 1 - 2 Alvechurch There's still magic in the FA Cup. Danny Waldron's double saw seventh-tier Alvechurch stun Cheltenham Town in the FA Cup. The Southern Premie

FA Cup reaction: Blyth hold Wrexham

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Blyth Spartans 1 - 1 Wrexham Let's have a look at all the best reaction as Blyth Spartans held National League side Wrexham to a replay Reaction from Wrexham Tom O’Connor’s deflected free kick was cancelled out by Michael Richardson’s last-gasp strike, sending the Fourth Qualifying Round tie to a replay.  Tom O’Connor’s set piece from 25 yards out put Wrexham ahead, but Richardson’s free kick somehow evaded everyone in the penalty area and went past Howard. Phil Parkinson named four changes to the side that beat Barnet in last weekend’s barnstorming 7-5 victory over Barnet. Fan response One Wrexham fan told us after that the view of many fans was this wasn't a great performance from the team but they are glad to ultimately have another go at Blyth. They are all anticipating a comfortable win in the replay. You can watch the highlights in the video above. Footage from the Emirates FA Cup YouTube account. This is a summary of the Blyth report Blyth started well with some good

National League: Wrexham win eleven goal thriller

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 Wrexham 6 - 5 Dover Athletic Jordan Davies' stoppage-time goal secured a dramatic victory for Wrexham against already-relegated Dover. Paul Mullin gave Wrexham the lead and James Jones put them 2-0 ahead. However, Dover hit back through George Wilkinson before Alfie Pavey then equalised. Very few people  would have imagined what was coming next though.  Michael Gyasi's hat-trick gave Dover a 5-2 lead before Ollie Palmer pulled two goals back with Davies' double completing a remarkable comeback. During stoppage time, Davies' free-kick brought the host's level at 5-5. The winner was credited to Dan Jarvis, but it was Davies who got the final touch following a corner to finish an incredible afternoon. Wrexham are still second in the National League and are 11 points behind leaders Stockport County, while Dover remains rooted to the bottom of the table. Wrexham actually face County next weekend in the semi-final of the FA trophy. Reaction Wrexham manager Phil Par

Championship reaction: Swansea City 1 - 1 Blackpool

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 Blackpool claimed a Championship point thanks to Keshi Anderson's late equaliser at Swansea City. Joel Piroe's goal had looked set to give Swansea a fifth straight home win. In a game of not many chances, Anderson prodded home to extend Blackpool's unbeaten away run.  Highlights Watch the highlights in the video below. One Blackpool fan commented: "Looks like Swansea had a good shout for one penalty the other a bit soft. VAR in the championship would have given it.  Saying that it would have probably meant another five points for us from the Stoke and QPR games so win some lose some and today fir a change we got away with it. What I do like is this new Blackpool team never give up. Well done Neil!" All the reaction After the match, Swansea head coach Russell Martin told the media: "The best thing about the first half was the goal. We got to the box and didn't go for the jugular because they didn't feel it was the right moment.  "There were a

World Cup Qualifying: Wales 5 - 1 Belarus

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Wales celebrated Gareth Bale's 100th cap with a fantastic victory over Belarus to move to second place in their World Cup qualifying group. Aaron Ramsey put Wales ahead in the second minute before Bale set up Neco Williams to score with a low shot which Belarus keeper Sergei Chernik should have saved. Bale was taken off at half-time as he made his first appearance after two months out injured. Ramsey extended the hosts' lead with a second-half penalty. Ben Davies then scored his first international goal and, after Artem Kontsevoi whipped in a superb 20-yard strike for Belarus, Connor Roberts flicked in from a free-kick for Wales' fifth. Highlights You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below More reaction The interim Wales manager Rob Page spoke with great pride about Gareth Bale: “He is so humble, he appreciates his teammates and I thought that was a real touch of class. In the changing room, the boys acknowledged [his achievement] with a round of appla