Nizhny Novgorod was a city closed to foreigners until 1990, but it has thrown open its doors to visitors from around the globe in the first week of the World Cup.
Fans from Sweden, South Korea, Argentina, Croatia, England and Panama have descended on the confluence of the Volga and Oka rivers in huge numbers, along with travellers from Colombia, Mexico, Japan, China and even India.
The action on the pitch has seen a nightmare outing for Argentina and goalkeeper Willy Caballero, as well as a record-breaking victory for England. VAR has, of course, also made an appearance.
Away from the pitches, we ve seen matches on the beach, giant pandas halting traffic and even a tapir predicting results to come. Below are just some of the highlights.
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The EU and UEFA have launched an information campaign and helpline to advise fans travelling to Euro 2008 on their consumer rights and to provide support for those who run into problems.
The campaign deals with consumer issues ranging from fake match tickets to transferring tickets in the case of illness, to air travel, roaming charges, EU health insurance and problems shopping abroad, according to an EU statement.
A free phone consumers rights helpline service on 0080067891011 will also run in all EU languages throughout the tournament, based in Austria and Switzerland, from June 1.
However, as Austria s co-hosts Switzerland is not part of the EU, fans based there will have to access any information through a pay number, 003222999696.
EU Consumer Co…
John Herdman hopes a short break from action allowed Toronto FC an emotional reset and the chance to build chemistry ahead of Saturday s return to MLS play at the Houston Dynamo.
Toronto reached the first knockout stage of the Leagues Cup but were beaten 4-3 by Inter Miami in a thrilling tie on August 9, giving them over two weeks to prepare for their next game.
With Toronto currently occupying a play-in spot in the Eastern Conference, Herdman hopes they can use that match as a learning experience ahead of the run-in.
We ve had a good crack at it. Miami will always be some way around the finals, Herdman said, reflecting on the Reds Leagues Cup run.
It s a good lesson for us because if you want to make the playoffs, these are the teams you have to learn…
Maybe it s wishful thinking, but if Denmark could pick a moment to remember from their Euro 2020 campaign, surely this would be near the top of the list.
Toe-poke, trivela, call it what you will – Joakim Maehle s outside-of-the-foot cross for the second goal against the Czech Republic was one of the finest pieces of skill seen at these finals.
With enough pace to elude defenders but not the arriving Kasper Dolberg, curling away from Czech heads and onto the striker s foot, it was impudent expertise of the highest order.
It was also entirely in keeping with Maehle s standard of performances at this tournament. This was no fluke or Hail Mary; this was calculated brilliance by a player at the top of his game.
Maehle s form has been a bit of a subplot to…
Portugal overcame a poor a Czech Republic side 1-0 in the quarter-finals of Euro 2012 last night.
The victory was achieved courtesy of a Cristiano Ronaldo header with just 11 minutes left on the clock.
In truth Portugal was the only team out of the two that ever looked like winning the game.
Deserved
Portugal deserved to go through to the semi-finals. They completely dominated the game and the Czech’s looked like they hoped to catch the Portuguese out on a set-piece or a counter-attack.
However, Portugal kept plugging away and finally got their reward through Cristiano Ronaldo’s header. The Real-Madrid star had already hit the woodwork twice with earlier efforts. That took his tally of goals to three for the tournament.
Impressed
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Qualifying for the 2011 Asian Cup kicks off on Wednesday with China under the microscope after a miserable 2008, in contrast to heavyweights Australia and Japan who are expected to coast.
China, with Yin Tiesheng as interim coach after Serbian Vladimir Petrovic quit when the team crashed out of 2010 World Cup contention last June, face a tricky first game away to Syria.
Yin has been put in charge only for their opening two Asian Cup qualifiers but knows the side need a win to boost their confidence.
He has vowed to restore discipline.
I will be in charge of the team for a short period, and I hope I can instil a fighting spirit into the team, Yin said.
Maybe this will be the most noticeable change I can bring to the team.
Lebanon and Vi…
Eight-time Olympic champion sprinter Usain Bolt is not contemplating a return to athletics despite feeling the temptation for a comeback.
Bolt ended his career on the track in 2017, calling it quits at the age of 31 after a spate of hamstring injuries, one of which curtailed his efforts in what was supposed to be the Jamaican s final race at the 2017 World Athletics Championships.
Although it was not the glorious conclusion he may have hoped for, Bolt still left sprinting as the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200m and 4x100m relay and his exploits on the track saw him collect a remarkable eight Olympic golds.
Back in August 2018, Bolt begin training with Australian football club the Central Coast Mariners and he scored twice in a friendly before being o…
Louis van Gaal has called on the Netherlands to replicate their 2014 World Cup semi-final performance to contain Lionel Messi in Friday s quarter-final clash with Argentina.
Van Gaal s side reached the last eight with a 3-1 win over the United States on Saturday, while Argentina joined them by beating Australia 2-1 as Messi scored his first World Cup knockout goal.
Friday s match will represent the sixth World Cup meeting between the two teams. Only two fixtures have been played more often at the tournament – Brazil versus Sweden and Argentina versus Germany (both seven).
Argentina triumphed on penalties after the last such fixture finished goalless in 2014 s semi-finals, when Van Gaal was in the second of his three spells with the Oranje, and he says they must…
We enter Week 8 of NFL betting which means the oddsmakers’ power rankings are a well-oiled machine, flushing out all the dead data from last year and running on clean and concise results from 2021.
At this point, both books and bettors know what teams are about, and we have to go to great lengths to find advantages with our Week 8 NFL picks.
That means looking past the analytics and digging into the situational muck that the schedule bubbles up. You know I’m talking about spot bets baby.
Here are my favorite letdown, look-ahead, and schedule spot bets for Week 8.
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A blown 18-point lead in the AFC Championship held the Kansas City Chiefs out of another Super Bowl appearance and could mark a metamorphosis for this team, with 2022 serving as the cocoon.
Am I getting a little too deep for you?
From the sounds of things, going deep is something the Chiefs will miss after trading away long-bomb specialist Tyreek Hill this offseason. With that deal came plenty of draft picks, which sets up the future foundations of the franchise — but that doesn’t mean Kansas City won’t compete.
Patrick Mahomes is still the best quarterback in the world, and he has plenty of ways to put up points. He’ll need to, because his defense lost many staples and is relying on young talent to grow while under c…