History

In 1930, Belgium played in the first-ever match at a FIFA World Cup, which saw them suffer an unflattering 3-0 loss against the United States. A single-goal loss against Paraguay followed. Belgium were eliminated without finding the back of the net once. That’s how Belgium’s World Cup history started. Let’s see where it will go […]

In sport as in life, tiny acorns can produce mighty oaks. Almost all the greatest sporting events, from the Olympics to the World Cup, began inauspiciously, with large parts of the world either refusing to participate or paying little interest. And the same is true of the Women’s Euros. Of course, in the case of […]

Several people view Denmark as an outsider to win the 2022 World Cup, but the Red and White are even more than that – they’re a genuine title contender. Før kampstart hyldede vi Lars Høgh sammen med de danske fans 👏 Denne samling har været den første uden ham i mange år. Vi savner hans […]

To misquote Mario Balotelli, “Why is it always Hungary?” More specifically, in the wake of England’s 4-0 home loss in the Nations League this week, why is it always Hungary who seem to inflict the most shattering, even historic, defeats on England? Well, it might just be that Hungary are arguably the most important country […]

After Arsenal failed to qualify for the Champions League, one question was asked by most Arsenal fans and it is the one that has been asked all season: “Arteta in or out?” However, this is the wrong question, what is often called in science a first-order question, i.e. a direct question about a problem. By […]

Yugoslavia were banned from Euro 1992 mere days before the tournament was scheduled to be played, due to its currently ongoing civil war. But what if they weren’t? How would they have performed? Yugoslavia were one of the best teams in Europe at the time, being ranked 7th in the world and winning a qualification […]

The Republic of Ireland will be looking to continue their recent upturn in fortunes against Belgium and Lithuania this week but just one look at the squad named by Stephen Kenny and the sheer lack of goals in the current Irish ranks is glaringly obvious. James McClean with 11 is the sole player in double […]

The League Cup final on Sunday sees the first piece of domestic silverware up for grabs but also the true reignition of one of the most intense rivalries in English football of the 21st century – Chelsea and Liverpool. While there’s been league battles between the pair, none better than their pulsating 2-2 draw at […]

Over the years, football has seen several ‘bad boys’ in its illustrious history, but none compared to that of former French captain Alexandre Villaplane. Arguably the most controversial player of all time, Villaplane was at the peak of his stardom when he captained Les Blues to their first-ever World Cup in 1930. Men wanted to […]

Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on brothers Justin and Gavin Hoyte. […]

Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on brothers Stefan and Luke Moore. […]

Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on brothers Danny, Ray and Rod […]

Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins, and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today we look at Shola and Sammy Ameobi. Families […]

Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we look at Bjorn Helge Riise and John […]

Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we look at Giuseppe and Franco Baresi. Families […]