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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: Netherlands qualify as group winners

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 Netherlands 2 - 0 Qatar How far can Netherlands go? In-form Cody Gakpo scored again as the Netherlands finished top of Group A, ending Qatar's involvement at their home World Cup with a third consecutive defeat. ▶ The Netherlands have never been eliminated from the group stages of a World Cup (nine tournaments and counting...) 🇳🇱 1974, 1978, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2022... #Qatar2022 #FIFAWorldCup #QAT #NED pic.twitter.com/vYZcVKszvs — playmakerstats (@playmaker_EN) November 29, 2022 Qatar's dismal showing means they became the first host nation to exit the tournament with three group-stage losses, finishing bottom with no points. PSV Eindhoven winger Gakpo has now scored the opening goal in all three of the Netherlands' group games, driving forward and rasping a finish into the bottom corner on this occasion. Highlights from  BBC Sport - YouTube Qatar looked to hit back immediately but Ismaeel Mohammad's shot on the stretch from outside the

FA Cup: Bristol Rovers knocked out by National League side

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Despite the World Cup being in full swing, some domestic football has carried on across the United Kingdom Bristol Rovers 0 - 2 Bristol Rovers Boreham Wood continued their FA Cup exploits by beating League One side Bristol Rovers at the Memorial Stadium.  We bow out of the @EmiratesFACup . 🤝 Best of luck in the next round, @BOREHAM_WOODFC . #BristolRovers — Bristol Rovers (@Official_BRFC) November 27, 2022 They have now reached the third round for the third year running and took a grip on the game with goals by defenders Will Evans and David Stephens. Members of the Rovers squad had been affected by illness in the days leading up to the game and the hosts failed to produce a shot on target in the opening half. Although Joey Barton's team looked marginally better after the break, it was not until the 82nd minute that Wood keeper Nathan Ashmore made his first save of note, denying substitute Harvey Saunders, as the hosts suffered only their second defeat in 13 games. 𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐒

World Cup: England frustrated by USA

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 England 0 - 0 USA England edged closer to a place in the World Cup knockout rounds with a lacklustre draw with the USA. They will have to wait until their final group game with Wales on Tuesday to seal a last-16 spot. Only a defeat to Wales by four goals or more would prevent Group B leaders England from making the next stage. However, Southgate will have to field questions about the big drop-off in his team's performance and how they can rediscover form for the business phase of this competition. World Cup: England thrash Iran (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Christian Pulisic crashed a first-half shot against the bar. Harry Maguire then had to head away a series of corners as the Americans put the pressure on in the second half. USA did enough to recalibrate perceptions about England's prospects. They have also boosted their own chances of progressing. Picture credit -  Football Pictures | Flickr The concern about this England performance from the travelling support was co

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.

Transfer rumours: Chelsea interested in Leandro Trossard

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 It has been reported that Chelsea have opened preliminary talks with Leandro Trossard. Those stories have suggested that Chelsea made the Brighton attacker a top target ahead of his Brighton contract expiring next summer. Brighton are allegedly not willing to sell the Belgian international in January but they could face losing him on a free transfer next summer. He was in outstanding form before the World Cup break, with his 14 Premier League matches seeing him score seven goals and made three assists. He has earned 22 Belgium caps and scored five goals for his country and made his first World Cup appearance off the bench against Canada. Reaction from the internet One Chelsea fan said on Twitter: "Not sure about him, he’s not creative and not a dribbler, so exactly the opposite of what we need right now, maybe if the price is decent it’s okay. If we spend more than 20 million and think he can improve us then we are going nowhere with this board." https://t.co/7s63UB1

World Cup updates as the tournament hots up

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It has been a remarkable and controversial tournament already. Let's explore some of the recent headlines. Germany shocked by Japan in 2-1 defeat A stunning comeback saw Japan shock four-time winners Germany in their opening World Cup game in Qatar.  The Germans dominated a frenetic match for large spells but failed to capitalise on their pressure - before Japan caused the Khalifa International Stadium to erupt into a mix of celebration and surprise. Substitute Takuma Asano squeezed in a strike from a tight angle to make it 2-1 to Japan and ran over to the photographers in the corner of the stadium in sheer delight. There was a collective pause in the arena as the ball rolled down from the roof of the net before supporters realised it had gone in. Japan held out in what will be remembered as a famous win. You can watch the highlights in the video below. Video from  ITV Sport - YouTube Are the Germany side in danger of an early exit from another tournament? How do they improve ahead