Gallant Galatasaray can’t keep Real Madrid from third straight semifinal

By Richard FarleyApr 9, 2013, 6:23 PM EDT

“I’m happy for Galatasaray,” José Mourinho told Sky Italia after the match, certainly trying to avoid the patronizing tone his words couldn’t help but convey. “Going out like this is great, and it is a satisfaction for them.”

He’s right. Galatasaray’s 3-2 win over Real Madrid should give the hosts some satisfaction, even if an early goal from Cristiano Ronaldo meant the Turkish Champions needed five goals to overturn Real’s then 4-0 lead. They came close, with goals from Emmanuel Eboué, Wesley Sneijder, and Didier Drogba between the 58th and 72nd minutes putting Gala within two of the semifinals. They wouldn’t even need to be half as miraculous as Borussia Dortmund to pull off one of the greatest upsets in Champions League history.

Then the expected happened. Real Madrid woke up. The team that was better for all but 15 minutes of the two-legged tie locked the match down. When Cristiano Ronaldo scored three minutes into stoppage time, the final more accurately depicted the imbalance between the teams. Real Madrid was moving on, 5-3.

For the second time, Galatasaray has beaten Real Madrid at home in a Champions League quarterfinal, though their other meeting was 12 years ago. Then, Gala also fell behind before scoring three unanswered goals. But just as this year, they were considerably second-best over two legs in 2011, forced to accept the fact that they were never truly a threat to Real Madrid.

But they did put a scare into the favorites on Tuesday, Mourinho confessed afterward. Real Madrid’s Sergio Ramos-less defense was disorganized. Only after giving up three goals did they realize the stakes, tighten things up, and put the tie to rest. In the end, Gala was never within strike distance. For 20 minutes, they were within two strikes’ distance.

It wasn’t pretty, but for José Mourinho, Tuesday’s win crowned an admirable achievement. With two different clubs (Inter Milan, then Real Madrid), he’s made fourth consecutive Champions League semifinals. In 10 tournaments, he’s made the final four six times, a record that would make Mike Krzyzewski blush.

Now resumes the question for Real’s decima. If Mourinho’s pre-match expectations hold, Real Madrid and Dortmund will be joined in the semifinals by Barcelona and one of Bayern Munich or Juventus, giving Mourinho three potentially weighty semifinal options. Barcelona are Madrid’s biggest rivals, Bayern knocked Real out of last year’s Champions League, while Dortmund took four points from Los Blancos during group stage.

Even with today’s win, Real Madrid’s chances to claim their decima may be no greater than the 25 percent Mourinho ascribed on Monday. The road to his third Champions League title is still three difficult matches long.

Seismologists clarify Mexico fans didn’t cause earthquake

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Associated PressJun 18, 2018, 8:40 PM EDT

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MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico’s National Seismological Service says there was seismic activity around the country’s capital Sunday, but it wasn’t linked to soccer fans celebrating their country’s game-winning goal vs. Germany at the World Cup.

[ MORE: Where to watch Tuesday’s games, feat. Colombia and Egypt ]

The service says in a report that there were two small earthquakes at 10:24 a.m. and 12:01 p.m. The goal came around 11:35 a.m. local time.

A geological institute reported Sunday that seismic detectors had registered a false earthquake that may have been generated by “massive jumps” by fans.

[ MORE: Harry Kane “buzzing” after two goals | Southgate encouraged ]

Mexico’s Seismological Service explained Monday that the city’s normal bustle of traffic and other movement causes vibrations that are detected by sensitive instruments.

It says those vibrations notably quieted during the match as people gathered in front of TVs to watch, and rose after the goal.

WATCH: World Cup, Day 6 — Colombia vs. Japan; Salah’s debut?

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By Andy EdwardsJun 18, 2018, 7:59 PM EDT

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Day 6 of the 2018 World Cup is up next, on Tuesday — and would you believe it? — there’s another three games on the schedule. This whole “back-to-back-to-back games of soccer” thing isn’t so bad.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ]

Up first, it’s the 2018 debut of Colombia, winners of ~~tens~~ hundreds of millions of hearts in 2014, as they take on Japan. In the day’s other Group H fixture, it’ll be Robert Lewandowski and Poland facing Sadio Mane and Senegal. Star power aplenty.

Then, we swing things back around to Group A, where the hosts Russia will look to continue their hot start against Egypt with Mohamed Salah expected to make his World Cup debut.

Below is Tuesday’s schedule in full.

Click here for live and on demand coverage of the World Cup online and via the NBC Sports App.

2018 World Cup schedule – Tuesday, June 19

Group H
Colombia vs. Japan: Saransk, 8 a.m. ET – LIVE COVERAGE
Poland vs. Senegal: Moscow, 11 a.m. ET – LIVE COVERAGE

Group A
Russia vs. Egypt: St. Petersburg, 2 p.m. ET – LIVE COVERAGE

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Southgate hails ‘patient’ England, young squad’s tactical nuance

AP Photo/Alastair Grant

By Andy EdwardsJun 18, 2018, 6:52 PM EDT

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Inevitably, teams end up taking on the personality and temperament of a talented coach/manager, which in the case of the England squad competing at the 2018 World Cup, is a massive compliment to the Three Lions’ current boss, Gareth Southgate.

[ MORE: Kane “buzzing” after brace secures late win in World Cup debut ]

Southgate, who’s 47 and only four tournaments removed from his second and final World Cup appearance for England, has changed the outside world’s perception of an institution that once seemed arrogant, elitist and entitled, opting to take one of the youngest squads (average age: 25.6 years old) to Russia, and to turn them loose.

On Monday, it was 24-year-old Harry Kane who scored twice and bailed the feel-good favorites out of jail with a 91st-minute winner (WATCH HERE) to largely erase the frustrating hour which preceded it. These growing pains are, of course, to be expected with so little major tournament experience. Southgate, as expected, was pleased with how they responded — quotes from the BBC:

“I was happy with the way we kept playing even though the clock was running down. We stayed patient, we didn’t just throw the ball in the box. We deserved the win.

“We created so many clear-cut chances, especially in the first half, and were in total control in the second half. We were strong on set plays all night. Even if we’d drawn, we‘d have been proud of the performance.

“We’ll do well to make as many chances in a game again in this tournament. The movement, pace, control from the back with the ball was pleasing. We wore them down. Good teams score late goals — if you dominate the ball like that the opposition tire.

…

“As for Harry Kane the only thing he hasn’t done now is score in August — he’s moved every other barrier. He will feel pride of leading a country to a World Cup win is the most important thing.”

…

“The way we would change the game is to have different profiles of players that would provide a different threat. You can put attacking players in different positions but lose shape and be caught on the counter-attack.

“The guys that came on had a different threat. As a team you keep working and working. The best teams in the world keep the belief in what they’re doing and in the end break teams down.”

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Kane “buzzing” after brace secures late win in World Cup debut

AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis

By Andy EdwardsJun 18, 2018, 5:33 PM EDT

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Four years ago, Harry Kane watched the 2014 World Cup, alongside Tottenham Hotspur teammates, friends and family, while on vacation in Dubai and Portugal, and during the club’s preseason tour of the United States.

[ MORE: Southgate hails “patient” England, young squad’s tactical nuance ]

Fast-forward 48 months, and Kane made his World Cup debut on Monday, scoring both goals, including the stoppage-time winner (WATCH HERE), in England’s Group G-opening 2-1 victory over Tunisia. It’s an outcome we should have seen coming, considering he’s racked up 105 goals (in the Premier League; 135 in all club competitions; another 13 for England prior to Monday) since the start of the 2014-15 season.

Kane continues to take his superstardom — no matter how unlikely or ill-fitting it looks on him — in stride, using obvious phrases like, “It’s the World Cup,” to which you might think, “Well, yes, Harry, it sure is,” and then you realize he sees himself as nothing more than a giddy child living out a lifelong dream — quotes from the BBC:

“It’s massive. I’m so proud of the lads. It’s tough. We played so well especially in the first half and we could have scored a few more. We kept going. It’s a World Cup, you go to the last second. I’m absolutely buzzing.

“We’ve done it for a while [had good resilience] since the gaffer has been here — he’s instilled it into us. We’ve got a great bond off the pitch so it’s great to see it on the pitch. We’ll get onto the plane happy tonight.

“We could have had a couple of penalties, especially when you look at theirs. A few corners, they were trying to grab, hold and stop us running. Maybe a bit of justice to score at the back post at the end. That’s football, that’s the ref. It showed good character to get on with it.

…

“We are proud of each other and in a World Cup you are not sure how it is going to go, but we have a great togetherness and are always proud to see it come off in the game. We never panicked, never looked like conceding another one and got what we deserved in the end.

“We got told there would be a lot of flies and when we went out for the match it was a lot more than we thought. We all had bug spray on and it was important as some of them went in your eyes, some in your mouth, but it is about dealing with what comes your way.”

Kane will be the first to tell you that he’s been handed nothing during his career. Early on, before breaking into Tottenham’s first team, he endured four largely unsuccessful loan spells over the course of three seasons, at which point his career path appeared destined for England’s lower leagues. Through his refuse-to-lose attitude, an insatiable appetite to continue improving, and eagerly stepping up to the moment every time a new, grander stage is laid in front of him, he’s now 24 years old and set to captain his national team for the next decade.

[ MORE: Latest 2018 World Cup news ]

It’s this kind of wide-eyed, relatable approach that endears this young Three Lions side (average age: 25.6 years old) to neutral viewers and made them a popular, if unlikely, feel-good favorite ahead of the tournament in Russia. Following Monday’s performance — no matter how belabored the result itself might have been — the bandwagon will continue to fill up, and Kane is reasons no. 1, 2, 3 and 4 for that fact.

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