Dalic in dreamland again as Croatia welcome underdogs’ tagKen Early: Coach Dalic in dreamland as Croatia aim to end Argentina and Messi's quest for World Cup gloryMon Dec 12 2022 - 19:00
England go out as Kane takes his place in the penalty pantheon of painHarry Kane scores one penalty and misses another as Olivier Giroud proves the heroSun Dec 11 2022 - 08:34
Harry Kane has a chance to vault to the highest possible level of English football heroismThe player has developed new ways to serve England and help his team-mates while still contributing a lot of goals himselfSat Dec 10 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Rather than mourn for Brazil, world should marvel at miracle of CroatiaThis astonishing team, led by the greatest midfield player of his generation, has perfected the art of doing just enoughFri Dec 09 2022 - 20:25
Hat-trick hero Ramos still has to take second billing as Portugal power past Switzerland Fernando Santos stumbles upon a winning formula by sensationally dropping Cristiano RonaldoTue Dec 06 2022 - 21:39
Brazil turn on the style to see off South Korea but still no sign of a full house World Cup favourites scored four times in the opening 36 minutes before easing off in the second halfMon Dec 05 2022 - 21:50
Ken Early: England recover from sluggish start to coast past Senegal Crunch quarter-final date with France set for next SaturdaySun Dec 04 2022 - 21:10
Ken Early: Argentina’s Alvarez and Messi combine to unleash modernity and magic on World CupAustralia put to the sword by the genius Messi in his 1,000th gameSat Dec 03 2022 - 23:11
Ken Early: World Cup grudge matches carry an extra bite – sometimes it can be too much to bearGhana and Serbia discover that grudges make for poor motivation on big World Cup stageSat Dec 03 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Romelu Lukaku suffers the five circles of football hell as Belgium depart World Cup Second-half substitute endured an extraordinary personal nightmare in scoreless draw with CroatiaThu Dec 01 2022 - 19:50
Ken Early: Messi’s ability to make things happen from the least promising of positions still mesmerises He prefers to let the space come to him these days but his use of it is still a joy to beholdWed Nov 30 2022 - 22:45
World Cup: Iranians unite against USA but are left sorely disappointedControversial build-up to crucial game as Iranian football figures and media took offence at a series of perceived American provocationsWed Nov 30 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Christian Pulisic’s painful goal the difference as USA beat IranUSA progress to last-16 in second place behind England thanks to first half goalTue Nov 29 2022 - 22:20
Captain Koulibaly to the rescue as Senegal beat Ecuador to progressChelsea defender fired home in 70th minute, three minutes after Caicedo had equalisedTue Nov 29 2022 - 17:47
Bruno Fernandes scores twice against Uruguay to secure Portugal’s passage to knockoutsSuárez and Uruguay must now beat Ghana, the team of the handball incident in 2010, to stay aliveMon Nov 28 2022 - 21:47
Ken Early: For Argentina, getting carried away is the whole point of footballKen Early: Neutrals are rooting for Argentina and it's not entirely due to the Messi factorMon Nov 28 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Niclas Füllkrug’s beefy riposte earns Germany draw against skilful Spain Pedri appears to be the Vishnu of legs as he dazzles on the pitch in World Cup clashSun Nov 27 2022 - 21:36
First World Cup in Middle East is turning into great one for teams from Asian Football ConfederationSaudi comeback and Japan’s heroic win over Germany have been the moments of the tournament so farSat Nov 26 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Why is this World Cup providing so many 0-0 draws?Present-day Liverpool striker endured a frustrating afternoon in dreary draw against South KoreaThu Nov 24 2022 - 19:33
Ken Early: Germany’s protest was admirable but sponsors could look closer to homeTeam cover their mouths in photograph while interior minister Nancy Faeser wears One Love armbandWed Nov 23 2022 - 17:22
Ken Early: Germany fall asleep just as Japan find the plan to pull them apartGermany lose their first World Cup game yet again after Japan storm to victoryWed Nov 23 2022 - 17:10
Ken Early: The world came to crown Messi only for Saudi Arabia to tear up the scriptHervé Renard’s fighters remind us that when you run and run and run, football will always give you a chanceTue Nov 22 2022 - 15:18
World Cup Group A: Patient Netherlands strike late to beat SenegalAfrican side badly miss injured Sadio Mané's cutting edge in slow and ponderous affairMon Nov 21 2022 - 19:58
Ken Early: Infantino still a master at telling the powerful what they want to hearThe FIFA president’s remarks before the World Cup kicked off were widely derided, but there is method in his apparent madnessMon Nov 21 2022 - 06:00
World Cup a rare chance for Messi, Mbappe and Neymar to perform on a stage their talents deserveIf Messi’s last dance were to take Argentina to the title it would be a story beautiful enough to bring out the inner eight-year-old in all of usSat Nov 19 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: City’s inability to hit their very top form should give Arsenal hopeThe Saudis’ first full season in the Premier League is going rather better than expected, with Newcastle in third placeMon Nov 14 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Qatar 2022 offers a terrifying vision of the future in one of the richest places on earthFifa’s decision to grant a World Cup to a nation built upon a racialised caste system was misguided to say the leastMon Oct 31 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Steven Gerrard failed to understand it was about Aston Villa - not about himGerrard's fall from grace at Aston Villa another cautionary tale about star players turned managerMon Oct 24 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Manchester City-Liverpool rivalry enters new, more aggressive phaseGuardiola loses his cool at Anfield and Manchester City lose their wayMon Oct 17 2022 - 04:15
Ken Early: Stephen Kenny faces ‘career-defining’ Euro qualifiers more so than playersFor the manager to still be in charge for the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, Greece are the team Ireland will have to beatMon Oct 10 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Manchester City have taken the gloves offCity’s owners will spend whatever it takes. United’s will spend as little as they think they can get away withMon Oct 03 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Ireland gaze into the abyss against Armenia but write a happy ending, of sortsIt didn’t feel like a winner was coming for Stephen Kenny’s side - it felt destined to be another embarrassmentTue Sept 27 2022 - 23:07
Ken Early: Ireland are still getting better despite bad resultsFrustrating results can’t hide how Ireland are moving in the right directionMon Sept 26 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Bullish Boehly only bets on sure things It’s fine for Americans like Todd Boehly to own English football, but not for them to talk as if they owned the placeMon Sept 19 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Have the good times turned Liverpool weak?This season has seen Klopp’s team outrun and outsprinted by their opponent in nearly every gameMon Sept 12 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Playing against the ball suits United right now, and Ten Hag recognises thisTen Hag happy to adjust his philosophy in pursuit of early resultsMon Sept 05 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Eddie Howe will soon learn that the guy who brings the money gets the creditThe signing of Alexander Isak shows that Newcastle’s Saudi owners haven’t forgotten them, and it’s a reminder of the power of financeMon Aug 29 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Manchester United continue to make the mistake of playing to the galleryThe signing of Casemiro maintains a trend which suggests the absence of a coherent long-term strategy at the clubMon Aug 22 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Erik ten Hag will have to choose between his system and his goalkeeperTen Hag can not implement the tactical system he wants with a keeper uncomfortable with the ball at his feetMon Aug 15 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Opening weekend of the Premier League showed new tolerance for blatant foulsOpening weekend of the Premier League showed new tolerance for blatant foulsMon Aug 08 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Dealing with social media ridicule now one of the biggest battles for a top–level playerDealing with perpetual malicious ridicule must now be one of the hardest things about being a top–level playerMon Aug 01 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early’s season preview: Will Erling Haaland have the patience for Pep Guardiola’s rewiring?If Darwin Nuñez is slow to adapt it’s hard to see how Liverpool can stop Manchester City winning another titleSat Jul 30 2022 - 07:00
Ken Early: Barcelona double down on their actual core value — creative accountingWhen the club president says ‘we are activating the economic levers’, it sounds better than ‘we’re mortgaging our future’Mon Jul 25 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Sportswashing suggests guilt when it’s more likely the Saudis are not embarrassed at allKingdom trying to buy the world’s attention through LIV Golf and Newcastle, but might this not be an end in itself rather than a means to an end?Mon Jun 20 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Powerful and graceful Collins channels BeckenbauerIf the Irish defender is playing in the Championship next season, the big Premier League clubs are clearly insaneTue Jun 14 2022 - 22:37
Ken Early: System switch gets Ireland back on track There was a lot more conviction about Ireland’s attacking display in the handsome victory over ScotlandMon Jun 13 2022 - 05:00
Ken Early: Maybe Ireland would feel more at home in League C of the Nations LeagueWatching the Ukrainian players celebrate with their fans it was hard to feel too bad about the outcomeWed Jun 08 2022 - 22:38
Ken Early: Stephen Kenny should forget past and concentrate on presentManager's defence of record in advance of Armenia tie sees laughable nowMon Jun 06 2022 - 06:00
Ken Early: Convincing Liverpool’s players the best has yet to come is Klopp’s big test`I just felt it was my day and I saved everything,’ says Real Madrid’s CourtoisMon May 30 2022 - 00:59
Ken Early: Uefa are lucky the Paris shambles did not have far worse consequencesYou can’t try and pass a camel through the eye of a needle and then pepper spray it when it can’t moveSun May 29 2022 - 13:46
