ENGLAND
Carroll out of England squad
Striker Andy Carroll has pulled out of England’s friendly internationals through injury, the Football Association said on its Web site on Tuesday. The 24-year-old has been struggling with a heel injury after he was named in Roy Hodgson’s squad to face the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Wednesday next week and for the prestigious game in Brazil on June 2 at the newly-refurbished Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The Liverpool striker spent last season on loan at Premier League rivals West Ham United and British media reports on Tuesday said the clubs had agreed a deal for him to join the London club permanently for £15 million (US$22.7 million). Carroll joins Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and Arsenal’s Jack Wilshere in missing the two matches, which are warmups for September’s World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine. The FA said nobody would be called up as a replacement.
ENGLAND
Stoke, Pulis part company
Manager Tony Pulis has left Stoke City after seven years in charge, the Premier League club announced on Tuesday. His departure, by mutual consent, was widely anticipated following his talks earlier in the day with Potters chairman Peter Coates. “Stoke City and Tony Pulis confirm that they have mutually agreed that Tony will leave the club with immediate effect,” the club confirmed in a statement. The 55-year-old was appointed Stoke boss for a second spell in 2006 and under his watch the club gained promotion to the Premier League in 2008 after a 23-year absence. He leaves 48 hours after the end of the season, with Stoke finishing in 13th place.
ENGLAND
Beckham’s son trains at QPR
David Beckham’s eldest son, Brooklyn, has trained at the junior academy of London club Queens Park Rangers and bookmakers are already offering short odds that the 14-year-old will emulate his father by playing for England. QPR said on Twitter that he was training with them, but had not officially joined their academy. Beckham senior, who began his career by joining Manchester United’s academy also at the age of 14, retired from the game last week after helping Paris Saint-Germain to the Ligue 1 title, but now has a home in London. Bookmakers are offering odds of 12-1 that Brooklyn will play for England, but only 9-2 to play in the Premier League. QPR were relegated from the Premier league this season. In other celebrity English soccer news on Tuesday, Manchester United announced that their unsettled striker Wayne Rooney had become a father for the second time, with boy Klay joining his brother Kai.
ENGLAND
Irons sign Rat on a free
West Ham United have signed Romania captain Razvan Rat on a free transfer, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. The fullback joins on an extendable one-year deal after his contract at Ukrainian champions Shakhtar Donetsk came to an end. The 31-year-old has 88 caps for Romania. “I’m hugely happy that we’ve got a player of his experience and his character,” West Ham manager Sam Allardyce said on the club’s Web site. “He’s been playing Champions League football this year and at the highest level for many years. Shakhtar had offered him a very good contract, but his ambition was to come and try his abilities and skills in England. When you hear somebody speak so positively about that, then you know they’ve got the mental character that’s needed to do well in this division.”
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two