Author: WTX Sports Team

The Sports Team is responsible for delivering your Sports Brief. Weekly roundup to cover all things Football, Cricket, Tennis Formula 1, Boxing and Olympics and more.

World Cup 2022: England, Wales & other European nations in talks over OneLove armbands England, Wales and other European nations are in talks over whether to continue with their plans for their captains to wear a OneLove armband at the World Cup in Qatar. The captains of nine nations had planned to wear the armbands to promote diversity and inclusion. But they have been warned by Fifa officials that wearing the armband would be a breach of rules and risks a “sporting sanction” for captains, such as a booking. England and Wales both have games on Monday, against Iran and…

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World Cup 2022: Qatar beaten by Ecuador in first tournament game World Cup hosts Qatar were easily beaten 2-0 by Ecuador in the opening game of the 2022 tournament.  The host team failed to muster a shot on target in the entire match and have become the first host side in the World Cup’s history to lose their opening game. The day started with optimism but by the end of the 90 minutes, it was a full-on nightmare for players and fans. It was one of the worst 90 minutes of football you might ever see.  Qatar – the Asian…

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Jude Bellingham top-valued player at World Cup Facts England player Jude Bellingham is the most valued player at the World Cup with a £176.9m price tag That’s nearly £50m more than Borussia Dortmund would reportedly demand for the 19-year-old Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior is in the runner-up spot at £176m followed by Kylian Mbappe (£162m) Pedri (Spain), Jamal Musiala (Germany), Federico Valverde (Uruguay) also earn lofty valuations Previous Next Analysis Is it his time to shine? Jude Bellingham is the top-valued player at the Qatar World Cup. England’s Jude Bellingham will be the most valuable player in Qatar with…

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How hot will it be in Qatar and how will England cope with the heat? Facts First World Cup to take place in Winter But Qatari winter still sees temperatures hit 30C State-of-the-art conditioning units have been built into stadiums at pitch level Managers can make five substitutions Drink breaks could be introduced England’s first game kicks off at 4 pm local time – it’s expected to be HOT! But the final two group games will take place at 10 pm local time – long after sunset Previous Next Analysis How hot will it be in Qatar and how will…

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World Cup 2022: Will Harry Kane defend his golden boot? Facts What is the Golden Boot? The top goal scorer of the tournament. Harry Kane (England) won the last World Cup golden boot – with six goals scored. How is the Golden Glove award determined World Cup? The top goal scorer (or goal scorers in the event of a tie) is awarded the Golden Boot. The Golden Gloves award has been given to the top-performing goalkeeper of the tournament since 1994. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnqtMxWee5g Analysis World Cup 2022: Will Harry Kane defend his golden boot? The World Cup is right around the…

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England World Cup fixtures 2022: Route to glory Facts England’s route to World Cup glory – Key times, matches and where to watch: England vs Iran: Monday, November 21 at 1pm England vs USA: Friday, November 25 at 7pm Wales vs England: Tuesday, November 29 at 7pm Qatar, Ecuador, Senegal or the Netherlands in the last-16 Could then face either Argentina or France in the quarter-final on December 9 or 10 Semi-final could see England play Belgium or Portugal on December 13 or 14 England could meet either Spain, Brazil or Germany in the final Previous Next Analysis England World…

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Qatar World Cup 2022: Football pundits make Qatar predictions Facts World Cup starts on Sunday as hosts Qatar take on Ecuador England vs Iran, Wales vs USA on Tuesday Sky Sports pundits – Gary Neville, Jamie Carragher, Karen Carney and Jamie Redknapp delivered their verdicts Brazil and Argentina favourites to win amongst the pundits Previous Next Analysis Qatar World Cup 2022: Football pundits make Qatar predictions – winner, surprise package and how far England will go The Qatar World Cup 2022 kickoff on Sunday, with hosts Qatar taking on Ecuador at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor. England plays…

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World Cup 2022: What do I need to know about the trophy? Facts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnqtMxWee5g Analysis World Cup 2022: What do I need to know about the trophy? The beautiful 18-carat gold trophy – the world cup, is the trophy many dream of lifting. England has held it high once before, in 1966, and will be looking to do so again this December. But what’s so special about this golden trophy? The trophy was unveiled after its own 51-leg world tour, with stopovers in all 32 nations that have qualified for the Qatar world cup. It’s made of 18-carat gold and…

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What are England’s chances of Winning the World cup? Facts According to Opta: According to Opta statistics, who have the win predictions for all the teams, Brazil are favourites. Brazil are favourites to win; Argentina runners-up England are in fifth – with a 9% chance of winning WC Chances for teams in Group B https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnqtMxWee5g Analysis What are England’s chances of winning the World Cup? Opta, a British sports analytics company, has predicted Brazil will win the World Cup 2022. The prediction model estimates the probability of each match outcome – win, draw or loss – by using betting market…

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World Cup 2022: A list of all the World Cup winners World Cup 2022 The World Cup 2022 is here and it’s being held in Qatar. This world cup is like no other – firstly it’s being held in December, and will be the shortest world cup to date. The teams heading to Qatar will be going with little training time – the Premier League played its last game on Sunday, and it will now return on Boxing Day. With little prep time and a December tournament, few teams are feeling optimistic about the World Cup. France go into the…

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Ronaldo was close to joining Manchester City The first part of footballer star Cristiano Ronaldo’s explosive interview was released last night, and the Manchester United legend opened up about how close he was to joining the club’s rivals – Man City.  Ronaldo said he was close to joining City before following his “heart” by rejoining his Premier League club that made him a star. He made headlines across the world earlier this week after snippets of the interview were released, and Ronaldo spoke about how he felt “betrayed” by the club. On joining Manchester City “Honestly, it was close,” he…

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World Cup 2022: Inside the England squad’s hotel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnqtMxWee5g Analysis World Cup 2022: Inside the England squad’s hotel The England squad – players and management – in Qatar for the World Cup will be treated to five-star luxury in the beautiful Souq Al Wakra Hotel Qatar by Tivoli. The team have the entire hotel to themselves as they bid for World Cup glory. The hotel has spacious rooms fitted with flat-screen televisions, satellite channels and private bathrooms. For entertainment, there is tennis, pool and darts – swimming pools inside and out. The complex is in the town of Al Wakrah…

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1966 World Cup: When football came home Facts Host: England Teams: 16 Format: Group stage, knockouts Matches: 32 Goals: 89 Winner: England Runners-up: West Germany Golden boot: Eusebio (Portugal) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnqtMxWee5g Analysis 1966 World Cup: When football came home England won their first and so far only World Cup in 1966 – at home at Wembley. It took 36 years for the World Cup to be hosted by the nation where the beautiful game was first played. The tournament took place across seven towns and eight stadiums and featured 16 teams. Wembley Stadium – with a capacity of nearly 100,000 people,…

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England Lionesses end 2022 unbeaten England boss Sarina Wiegman has heaped praise on the Lionesses, following a 1-1 draw against Norway.  Rachel Daly headed England ahead, but Norway equalised following an error by the goalkeeper. A red card saw Norway down to ten players but they managed to pull one back despite only having 29 per cent possession of the ball. The draw means England completes the year unbeaten – having not lost in 26 games since Wiegman became head coach in September 2021. Wiegman led England to their first European Championship on home soil this year. England manager Sarina…

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Novak Djokovic visa ban overturned ahead of Australian Open Tennis star Novak Djokovic will be able to play in the Australian Open after the government overturned a visa ban. Back in January, he was detained over his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid. He was deported from the country 10 days later. His arrival in Australia in January was during a sharp spike in Covid cases and amid some of the strictest Covid restrictions in the world. He did not meet the requirements for entry into the country as he was not vaccinated nor did he have a valid medication…

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There are eight stadiums being used for the World Cup.  Al Bayt Stadium, Khalifa International Stadium. Al Thumama Stadium, Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium, Lusail Stadium, Ras Abu Aboud Stadium, Education City Stadium and Al Janoub Stadium.  World Cup 2022: What do I need to know about the eight World Cup stadiums? Lusail Stadium The Lusail Stadium is the biggest in the country and where Qatar will host the World Cup 2022 final.  The stadium has an 80,000 capacity. The stadium is designed around the dance of light and shadows as seen in the traditional fanar lanterns, according to the World…

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Cristiano Ronaldo says Glazers don’t care about Manchester United Cristiano Ronaldo has said Manchester United’s owners – the American Glazer family, “don’t care about the club” on the sporting side. In another snippet released ahead of the full interview released on Wednesday and Thursday, he said “Manchester are a marketing club – they get money from the marketing.” “It will be hard for Manchester to be top of the game in the next two or three years.” Ronaldo added: “The owners of the club, the Glazers, they don’t care about the club, professional sport.” The Portuguese forward says he’s never…

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