Sports news, analysis, opinions, and rumors
Famous Five: This series looks at a match or event from the world of football which is making the news and draws comparisons with similar players, matches or events from football history. This week, after France astonishingly failed to beat Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifier (or even score against them), looks back at five other famous 0-0 […] READ MORE
Last Word on Rugby, by Fiona Thomas. This September will see the relaunch of ‘Inner Warrior’ camps – a nationwide campaign by England Rugby to encourage more girls and women to pick up a rugby ball and play the game. But this initiative is taking place against a controversial backdrop – the termination of England Women’s […] READ MORE
Manchester United kicked off their Premier League season in dominant fashion with a convincing 4-0 win over West Ham. José Mourinho’s team were barely challenged as they dispatched the London outfit with some fluid attacking football. The result enhanced expectations for the rest of the season, as well as making a statement to the other teams in the […] READ MORE
By Jon Batham for LastWordOnCricket Tammy Beaumont has thanked England coach Mark Robinson for setting her free to be instinctive again. Beaumont was named Player of the Tournament in the wake of England’s historic triumph over India in the Women’s World Cup Final at Lord’s on Sunday. The opener’s tally of 410 was enough to leave her […] READ MORE
After the success for the Young Lions in the recent Under-20’s European Championship, the inevitable reappearing question has once again raised its head. It is with jealousy that English football fans look towards the German model of youth development which has seen the world champions proliferate themselves to the top of the sport. There has been […] READ MORE
When France defeated England 3-2 in their friendly match this week, what made the loss particularly painful for England players and fans was that the French had played for nearly the entire second half with ten men, after Raphael Varane was controversially sent off. And yet all true football fans know that the loss of […] READ MORE
By Jeremy Blackmore for LastWordOnCricket It was perhaps fitting that Lord’s was the setting for Toby Roland-Jones’ long-awaited England debut against South Africa on Monday. The Ashford-born paceman has a special affinity for the famous old venue in NW8. And not just because, as a Middlesex player, it’s his home ground. Lord’s was where Roland-Jones wrote himself […] READ MORE
The distinct lack of English players playing at the nation’s top level, the Premier League, seems to be an ongoing issue. Last season, the percentage of English players in the Premier League was at its lowest level yet; just 31% of starters. Go back to 1992 and almost 75% of Premier League players were English; […] READ MORE
Joe Root takes on an England side low on confidence but high on talent. Here's a look at the pressing issues he must address to hit the ground running. READ MORE
The sport that we loved so much as children no longer exists. It has been replaced with a Narrative of Football; a new game deeply entrenched in analysis, code, writing, superfluous discourse, and orchestrated controversy. All of this is part of a Narrative cycle, with each event feeding into the Narrative and in turn, controlling […] READ MORE
Includes collaborations of Last Word On Sports writers and guest posts from non-LWOS writers.