confronted by two men wielding
knives in north London in an
apparent car-jacking attempt.
EUROPA LEAGUE: Gent and
Viitorul score nine goals in the first
61 minutes as the Belgian side win
6-3 in the first leg of their second
qualifying round tie.
SPAIN: Former Barcelona striker
Patrick Kluivert rejoins the club as
academy director after being fired
as Cameroon assistant coach
earlier in the month.Friday July 26
CHINA: Ex-England international
defender Terry Butcher joins the
coaching staff of Guangzhou R&F.
EGYPT: The body of a man – who
is reported to have been trying to
steal electrical cables – is found
at the home of Arsenal midfielder
Mohamed Elneny in the city of
Mahalla al Kubra.
SPAIN: Diego Costa scores four
times and is then sent off as
Atletico Madrid thrash Real Madrid
7-3 in New Jersey in a friendly.
USA: MLS expansion club Inter
Miami sign their first players –
and then loan back – 19-year-old
Argentinians Matias Pellegrini and
Julian Carranza, from Estudiantes
and Banfield respectively.
VIETNAM: Ho Chi Minh City
remain a point clear at the top of
the table following a 2-2 draw with
second-place Hanoi.Saturday July 27
EURO U19s: Spain beat holders
Portugal 2-0 to win the title for
an eighth time.
IRAQ: Safaa Hadi scores the only
goal of the game as Al Zawraa
beat Al Kahrabaa to win the Iraq
FA Cup for a 16th time.
JAPAN: Belgium defender Thomas
Vermaelen joins Vissel Kobe
following his release by Barcelona.
MALAYSIA: Kedah beat Perak 1-0
with a goal from substitute Fadzrul
Danel in extra time to win the
Malaysian FA Cup.Sunday July 28
BELGIUM: Vincent Kompany
makes a losing start as player-
manager of Anderlecht, going
down 2-1 at home to Oostende.
GERMANY: Marco Reus of
Borussia Dortmund is voted
Footballer of the Year for 2019.
SPAIN: Real Madrid announce
Gareth Bale’s proposed move to
Chinese club Jiangsu Suning is
called off.Monday July 29
CHINA: Italian coach Roberto
the only goal as North Korea
beat Tajikistan in the Final of the
Intercontinental Cup in India.Saturday July 20
PACIFIC GAMES: New Zealand’s
under-23 side beat New Caledonia
2-1 in the Final of the men’s
football tournament.
MEXICO: America beat Monterrey
4-2 on the opening weekend of the
new Liga MX Apertura campaign.Sunday July 21
CHINA: Beijing Guoan lose 1-0 at
Jiangsu Suning and relinquish top
spot for the first time since April 5,
Guangzhou Evergrande taking over
pole position with a 5-0 victory
away to city rivals Guangzhou R&F
the previous day.
ENGLAND: Sheffield United break
their transfer record for the third
time this summer as they sign
French striker Lys Mousset from
Bournemouth for £10m.
MOROCCO: Herve Renard stands
down as Morocco coach after a
disappointing Africa Cup of Nations.
ROMANIA: Eugen Neagoe, who
took charge of Dinamo Bucharest
in June, is rushed to hospital after
collapsing during his side’s 2-0
defeat by Universitatea Craiova.Monday July 22
MOZAMBIQUE: Former Liverpool
and Everton defender Abel Xavier’s
contract as coach of Mozambique is
not renewed and he is replaced as
national coach by Victor Matine.Tuesday July 23
BURKINA FASO: Kamou Malo,
who led USFA to third place in the
Burkina Faso Premier League last
season, is appointed national coach.
ENGLAND: Newcastle United sign
striker Joelinton from Hoffenheim
for a club record £40m.
EUROPA LEAGUE: Lithuanian side
Suduva record their biggest-ever
victory in Europe, beating Tre Penne
5-0 in San Marino.
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: PSV
score two late goals to win 3-2 at
home to Basle.Wednesday July 24
EGYPT: Al Ahly secure the Egyptian
Premier League title with a 3-1 win
away to Arab Contractors.Thursday July 25
ARGENTINA: Ex-Italy midfielder
Daniele De Rossi joins Boca Juniors
after being released by Roma.
ENGLAND: Arsenal team-mates
Sead Kolasinac and Mesut Ozil
escape unhurt after beingeach country has been floated but is unlikely.
While Malaysia and Indonesia have the requisite
80,000-capacity stadiums, all would need lots of
work, so perhaps only Singapore’s National Stadium
would meets FIFA’s requirements as it stands. Even
in Thailand and Vietnam, countries accustomed to
hosting plenty of tourists, there would have to be
investment in infrastructure.
Yet Southeast Asia’s effort is in danger of losing
its biggest member as Indonesia is discussing a joint
bid with Australia. Both tried for the 2022 event,
even though they would prefer to forget it ever
happened. While Indonesia fizzled out way before
the decision was made, Australia went all the way
but received just a single vote.
For all that, a joint bid is perhaps not a bad idea.
With India and China, not to mention others such
as a joint Korea bid, all expressing interest, Australia
will not get the tournament alone. Talk of a New
Zealand collaboration won’t cut it, especially as they
belong to different confederations.
Indonesia and Australia would help to counter
each other’s weaknesses. While Indonesia has
perhaps more passion than any other footballing
nation in Asia, Australia provides tournament
knowhow and top-class infrastructure. The biggest
drawback would be the distance between the two.
However, as Thai football chief Somyot says:
“There is still a long time to go until 2034. Many
things can happen.”WORLD SERVICE
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