Sports
Co-hosts Australia will have the nation behind them for the first World Cup semifinal in their history and Stadium Australia will be heaving with an anticipated crowd of about 80,000 on Wednesday. Their heart-stopping penalty shootout win over France in the quarterfinals on Saturday was one of the most-viewed television sporting events in Australia in almost 20 years. But England are the reigning European champions and will be favourites to reach the final of the World Cup for the first time, even if they must face down a hostile crowd. It was put to England’s Dutch coach Sarina Wiegman that she probably did not fully appreciate the enormity of a match between Australia and England. “It’s going be really big,” she said. “But now I’ve had a couple of questions about that so it’s probably going to be bigger than I imagined now. I’ll talk to my players and staff and see what that rivalry is.”
An ugly player revolt in the build-up to the Women’s World Cup had threatened to derail Spain’s campaign, but La Roja have enjoyed a deep run at the tournament despite major upheaval in their set-up. In October, 15 players, known as “Las 15”, wrote to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) demanding changes to the national team set-up and made themselves unavailable for selection, directing the majority of their complaints at coach Jorge Vilda. The players denied calling for Vilda’s sacking, saying they only wanted improvements in working conditions because the events with the national team had affected their emotional and physical health. But the federation claimed otherwise and backed Vilda. While naming his World Cup squad, Vilda included only three of those rebels – Mariona Caldentey, Ona Batlle and Aitana Bonmati – as other high-profile players such as Barcelona’s Patri Guijarro, Mapi Leon and Sandra Panos were left out. A new-look Spain headed to the World Cup under pressure, but they settled in quickly, registering comfortable wins over Costa Rica and Zambia. Their biggest challenge came in the third game against Japan when they were outplayed in a 4-0 defeat and failed to convert their chances despite dominating possession. Spain, however, bounced back in style with a 5-1 victory against Switzerland in the last 16 and a 2-1 quarter-final win over the 2019 finalists the Netherlands in extra time, booking their place in the semi-finals for the first time.
He will reportedly be paid 150m euros (£129.2m) a year in Saudi Arabia - six times the amount he earned at PSG - having signed a two-year contract. Al Hilal's chairman, Fahad bin Saad, called Neymar "a global icon" and "an unstoppable attacking force" in welcoming him to the club. The Brazilian made 173 appearances for PSG, helping the club win 13 trophies, including five Ligue 1 titles, as well as reaching the 2020 Champions League final.
Carli Lloyd knows what a World Cup champion looks like and she wasn’t seeing it while calling the USWNT's matches for Fox.
awfulannouncing.com
On3's Andy Staples suspects based on conference realignment, the CFP selection committee may reduce the number of automatic bids.
www.hollywoodreporter.com
The Disney CEO added that the company is looking for strategic partners for ESPN on its direct to consumer business.
[@squashkin@exploding-heads.com](https://exploding-heads.com/u/squashkin) Could you make these the icons here? Icon:  Banner: 
www.hollywoodreporter.com
The NFL legend joins a growing number of American sports stars and actors to invest in U.K. soccer clubs.
www.livenowfox.com
With the win, the Matildas clinched the top spot in Group B and a place in the round of 16.
www.breitbart.com
cross-posted from: https://exploding-heads.com/post/539965 > This policy of sacrificing girls’ and women’s well-being for men’s eligibility preferences is unethical and perilous
bleacherreport.com
This is what you get for attracting stalkers by becoming an Instagram butt model.
rmx.news
British Formula 1 driver Lando Norris of the McLaren team accidentally broke winner Max Verstappen’s €40,000 porcelain trophy at the award ceremony of Sunday’s Hungaroring race. After Verstappen received the trophy from Defense Minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky, he placed it on the podium for the customary F1 champagne spraying. Norris, who placed second, reproduced his trademark celebration of banging his bottle of champagne off the top step of the podium, only for the reverberations to cause the trophy awarded to the winner to fall and break. Every year, the Hungaroring trophy presented to the winner is made by 197-year-old porcelain manufacturer Herend, which takes six months of manual labor to complete at an estimated cost of €40,000.
thepostmillennial.com
cross-posted from: https://exploding-heads.com/post/371807 > Looks like we can cross the Y off our donation list.
When your players call people racists and insist grown men should be able go change in your daughters changing room - pardon us for not buying tickets. Go woke. Go broke.