England goalscorers at world cups

WELLINGTON: Paolo Rossi once described his performance at the 1982 World Cup, where he etched his name into football folklore, as "personal redemption" from a match-fixing scandal, even though he always said he had nothing to atone for. Rossi, who died at the age of 64 early on Thursday, had been handed a three-year ban in the fallout from the "Totonero" scandal in 1980, but when the sanction was reduced to two years it gave him the opportunity to rebuild his reputation. The Juventus striker's six goals, including an astonishing hat-trick against Brazil, helped him to the Golden Boot as the tournament's highest scorer while he was also awarded the Golden Ball as the best player of the tournament. Rossi had returned to the field just months before the World Cup in Spain and was considered unfit. He was ineffective in Italy's first three pool matches, failing to score in three draws, prompting Italian journalist Gianni Brera to describe him as "an ectoplasm of himself". … [Read more...] about World Cup win was ‘redemption’ for Rossi

REUTERS: The number of teams participating in the women's Rugby World Cup will be increased from 12 to 16 from the 2025 edition, the sport's governing body announced on Monday. The decision was taken by the Rugby World Cup Board earlier this year and World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said it was a "milestone moment" for the women's game. "In 2017 we set out an ambitious eight-year plan to accelerate the development of women in rugby ... and an ambition to improve and expand the number of teams competing in pinnacle events," Beaumont said in a statement. "We have seen in recent years that more teams are making a statement at international level and unions are continuing to develop their women’s high-performance programmes. "Expansion of the Rugby World Cup opens additional... playing pathway opportunities for unions at the highest level of the game and creates added incentive for unions worldwide to continue to invest and grow in their women's programmes." The 2021 … [Read more...] about Rugby: Women’s World Cup to be expanded to 16 teams from 2025

REUTERS: Scotland coach Gregor Townsend has signed a two-year contract extension that will keep him in charge until the 2023 World Cup, Scottish Rugby announced on Thursday, making him Scotland's longest-serving coach in the professional era. Townsend, who won 82 caps for Scotland, took over as coach in June 2017 and has been in charge for 40 tests, winning 22 and drawing one. Townsend's contract was set to run out in June and the 47-year-old, who led Scotland to a best-ever fifth in the world rankings in 2017-18, said earlier this month that he had been in discussions over a renewal for weeks. "Over the past year I believe we have made progress on and off the field which give real grounds for optimism around what this team can achieve," Townsend said in a statement. "I know how much our supporters want the team to do well and the backing for the team has been fantastic, especially during the difficulties of the past year with COVID, knowing how much of a lift the country … [Read more...] about Rugby-Scotland coach Townsend signs new contract until 2023 World Cup

Head coach Park Hang Seo of Vietnam’s national football squad wants to have more time training his players before the World Cup second qualifying round, but his request will be difficult to meet. V-League is schedule to resume in March. In order to best serve the Vietnamese team to play the World Cup 2022 qualifier, the Vietnam Football Federation has set two options for the return of V-League 2021 after a break due to Covid-19 pandemic. Option 1: V-League will resume on March 13 and close on September 19. Phase 1 of V-League 2021 is scheduled to temporarily cease on May 22 for players of the national squad to group up to prepare for the World Cup 2022 qualifiers. Thus, coach Park Hang Seo will have one week to train his team before going to the United Arab Emirates or Thailand (the Asian Football Confederation - AFC will decide on March 15). Chairman of Vietnam Professional Football (VPF) Tran Anh Tu said that the two plans are being carefully considered to … [Read more...] about World Cup qualifiers: Coach Park Hang Seo makes “special” requests

LONDON: England will host world champions South Africa at Twickenham during their 2021 Autumn International series, a rematch of the 2019 Rugby World Cup final in Yokohama which the Springboks won to secure their third title. Eddie Jones's side will play Australia the week before and are lining up a third match against an emerging nation to kick off the series, England Rugby said on Tuesday. The clash with the Springboks on Nov. 20 will be eagerly anticipated after South Africa triumphed 32-12 in the global showpiece final last year, and will come months after the British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa that is likely to feature a large number of England players. Jones believes the tests will provide a good barometer for his team two years out from the next World Cup in France. "These will be some good games of rugby and tough tests for us as we work to improve ourselves as a team," Jones told the England Rugby website. "South Africa are world champions and we’ll … [Read more...] about Rugby: England set up World Cup final rematch with Boks in Autumn 2021 series