List of All Articles with Tag 'so'

The oldest international rivalry was decided by the youngest player on the pitch. As Scotland and England marked 150 years since they first met, it was scarcely surprising the dominant figure was a man who has been alive for barely 20 of them. Jude Bellingham has made a habit of excelling on foreign soil of late, becoming the Bundesliga’s player of the year, making a superlative start to life in Spain with Real Madrid and now inflicting a first defeat of 2023 on Scotland. Bellingham played a part – two, really – in England’s first goal. He scored their second. He made their third for Harry Kane in wonderful fashion. A booking for a bust-up with Jack Hendry – it may be termed a bit of a stramash in these parts – was a sign of his competitive instincts. A traumatic night for Harry Maguire, the unwitting scorer of Scotland’s goal, was a triumphant one for Bellingham. Wearing the No.10 – it will be instructive if the shirt remains his or ever returns to Raheem Sterling – and operating as a 10, he scored just his second goal for England. A month after his Real debut, he already has five for his new club, but the chances are that Bellingham will become more prolific in his country’s colours. As, aided by Bellingham, England struck twice in four first-half minutes, it was a night of double disappointment for Scotland. Their qualification to Euro 2024 could have been sealed if Norway failed to beat Georgia but instead Erling Haaland and co prolonged their wait. For Steve Clarke, the flagship win of 2023 came against Spain; in the final reckoning, it may count for more, much as overcoming England would have boosted their morale and much as his selection, with the strongest available team, scarcely suggested this was a friendly. The crowd settled instead for spending the second half baiting the England substitute Maguire; his own goal could scarcely have been greeted with a louder cheer had it been scored by Hampden’s darling, John McGinn. Yet goals by England’s two Harrys cancelled each other out, Kane restoring the two-goal margin, just as Scotland’s skipper set up a goal for either side: Andy Robertson initially erred for Bellingham’s strike then made a redemptive contribution to Maguire’s own goal, the left wing-back materialising on the right wing to turn provider. It was the one strike that did not involve Bellingham, such was his ubiquity. After half an hour where England had plenty of possession but chances were rarities, a high-speed move that took them from one end of the pitch to the other, with both Kyle Walker and Bellingham twice involved. Walker’s pace facilitated it and, having scored a belated first England goal in his 77th cap, was aiming for a second with a low drive. It instead became an assist, Phil Foden deftly turning the ball in. It was a marked improvement on his first shot, skied from Marcus Rashford’s low cross. Then Bellingham slotted in after an error by Robertson, stabbing the ball straight to the Real Madrid man. It was nevertheless the product of a new-found predatory sense and a willingness to spend more time in the box. Arguably his finest contribution, however, came for England’s third goal. A slick passing move came to a fine culmination when Bellingham span away from two defenders with enviable ease and released Kane to score his 59th England goal. Gareth Southgate had made six changes but retained four major figures, in Kane, Bellingham, Walker and Declan Rice. The full-back, a player Southgate twice talked out of international retirement, showed his significance as a galloping force on England’s right. Rashford was a frequent outlet on the left, illustrating the importance of having at least one winger with the pace to run in behind defences; it is something James Maddison lacks and the Manchester United man may be winning their particular duel. It was, though, another occasion to forget for the luckless Maguire. Summoned at half-time to replace Marc Guehi, he diverted Robertson’s cross past Aaron Ramsdale, giving the goalkeeper no chance. His every touch was cheered by the Scotland fans and, a century and a half after the first meeting between these countries finished goalless, the home support enjoyed his misfortune when they scored. It was not the only sign of an intimidating atmosphere. God Save the King was drowned out by whistles and boos; Flower of Scotland was roared, choruses about Edward II’s distinctly unsuccessful 14th-century army being used to try and intimidate Southgate’s 21st-cenury troops. Without stretching the historical parallels too far, not every English general has been able to call on someone of Bellingham’s calibre. Scotland, a fast-improving, arguably overachieving, team will not be the last to rue his excellence. Read More Player ratings as Bellingham stars in England win over Scotland Scotland vs England LIVE: Result and reaction as Kane wraps up Three Lions win England want Newcastle duo amid call-up tug-of-war with Scotland Southgate hails Ferguson and confirms England interest in Newcastle starlet Gareth Southgate twice talked Kyle Walker out of international retirement Gareth Southgate felt England did not ‘quite click’ against Ukraine

Luciano Spalletti engineered his first win as Italy coach as the Azzurri beat Ukraine 2-1 in a crucial European Championship qualifier thanks to two goals from Davide Frattesi

By David Shepardson WASHINGTON U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to lead a bipartisan congressional delegation to

Vladimir Putin heaped praise on Elon Musk as he called the billionaire an “outstanding person” and businessman. The Russian dictator complimented the Tesla CEO and X owner just days after Mr Musk said that he refused to let Ukraine use Starlink internet to launch a surprise attack on Russian forces in Crimea. The revelation was made in excerpts of a new biography on the South African-born entrepreneur that he had refused Ukraine support for a September 2022 attack on Russian naval vessels in Sevastopol. Mr Musk reportedly refused as he did not want to be complicit in a “major” act of war, and has been heavily criticised by Ukraine’s leadership. Mr Putin was not asked about the incident during an economic forum in Vladivostok but spoke about the rocket launching success of Mr Musk’s SpaceX company. “As far as private business and Elon Musk is concerned... he is undoubtedly an outstanding person. This must be recognised, and I think it is recognised all over the world,” he said. “He (Musk) is an active and talented businessman and he is succeeding a lot, including with the support of the American state.” Last October, Mr Musk was forced to deny a report that he had spoken to Mr Putin about Russia’s unprovoked war in Ukraine. Ian Bremmer, head of the Eurasia Group political risk consultancy, had claimed that Mr Musk personally told him about the conversation with Mr Putin. “I have spoken to Putin only once and that was about 18 months ago. The subject matter was space,” Mr Musk tweeted. It came the same month Mr Musk asked his social media followers to vote on ways to resolve the bloody conflict. The suggestions included holding votes in Russian-annexed areas of Ukraine, an idea welcomed by the Kremlin. He also suggested that the rest of the world should “formally” recognise Crimea, which was illegally occupied by Moscow in 2014, as part of Russia. In response, Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky posted his own poll asking users if they liked the world’s richest person more when he supported Ukraine. Read More Elon Musk: How many children does the Tesla CEO have? Fatherhood, rows with Amber Heard and ‘the woke mind virus’: six revelations from Elon Musk’s biography Elon Musk ‘hardly remembers’ his own ‘demon-like’ episodes, biographer claims Grimes says Elon Musk was ‘clueless’ about why she was upset by C-section photo Elon Musk's refusal to have Starlink support Ukraine attack in Crimea raises questions for Pentagon Pope's Ukraine peace envoy heads to China on mission to help return Ukraine children taken to Russia Ranting Putin threatens Sunak and makes wild claim UK ‘backed nuclear plant raid’ Putin says legal cases against Donald Trump are ‘persecution of a political rival’

Davide Frattesi ensured that Italy got their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign back on track with a brace in Tuesday's entertaining 2-1 win over Ukraine which moved...

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Karma is a cat, and it's eating up all the cheeseheads in Wisconsin. Don't be a nasty Packers fan. Just don't.

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The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an emergency bid from Republican election officials in a Pennsylvania county to freeze sanctions related to a dispute about voting equipment and the 2020 election.