Browsing: failure

Clarke perhaps put it best in his post-match media conference: “A crazy game, a crazy night”.

It was one which started – and equally ended – with a magnificent mixed bag of emotions.

The elder statesman of the Tartan Army, who have tread these waters before, were cautious.

A trip away to an already-eliminated Greece, who supposedly had nothing to play for, was not as simple as the script would suggest.

Within seven minutes, that was shown.

How Tasos Bakasetas goal ended up the sole product of the first half remains puzzling.

The shaken Scots could have been left with an insurmountable task or tied at 1-1 in equal measure after a mind-boggling first 45 minutes where 42-year-old Craig Gordon rolled back the years with a vintage display.

There was no structure on a night where a stalemate would have been suffice.

The unpredictability of the game in Greece grew in the second half when sounds of extraordinary scenes in Copenhagen came calling.

Andy Robertson admitted it “was a bit strange” to hear the away fans cheering with their side 3-1 down and seemingly waving goodbye to automatic qualification.

The premise on the trip to Pireaus was avoid defeat, because we could assume top seeds Denmark would deal with Belarus – ranked 103rd in the world rankings – in similar vein to their 6-0 trouncing last month.

If it was Scotland, this would have been billed as a potential banana skin and likely filed under the aforementioned glorious failures.

“I am pleased that the players still have the opportunity to go directly to the World Cup but disappointed we lost the game,” Clarke explained.

“It is not a game we should have lost. I have a mix of emotions in my head just now.

“We’ve got a lucky break, Belarus have done us a big favour in Denmark and that gives us everything to play for on Tuesday.”

Source link

Inter Miami CF defender Noah Allen insists the team enters the MLS Cup playoffs with high expectations, emphasizing that anything less than lifting the trophy would be considered a failure.

“Yeah [it’s a failure for if Inter Miami don’t win MLS Cup]. We have high expectations for ourselves,” Allen said.

“I feel like we have the highest standard in ourselves and we want to win every trophy possible. Yeah, we want to win.”

Inter Miami concluded the MLS regular season in third place on the Eastern Conference table with 65 points, drawing Nashville SC for the best-of-three Round One playoff series.

The Herons will host Nashville on Friday night at Chase Stadium for the first match, and secured home-field advantage for the potential third game due to table placement.

Noah Allen has said anything but a trophy will be failure for Inter Miami. Michael Chisholm/Getty Images

“I’m very excited about the playoffs. I have confidence in my team; we have the best of all time, and well, we’re really excited,” Rodrigo De Paul said.

“But football doesn’t always win the best or the one who deserves it most. We have to keep that percentage of luck as low as possible, and whatever work it takes, give everything we have to do our best so that the playoffs go our way.”

Inter Miami are familiar with their round one opponent, concluding the regular-season campaign with a 5-2 triumph over Nashville on Oct. 18. Now the team will prepare for at least two more games against the same rival.

Lionel Messi, who scored a hat trick against Nashville in the final game to secure the 2025 MLS Golden Boot, missed Tuesday’s training session due to minor back discomfort. However, sources told ESPN that the Argentina forward is expected to return to training on Wednesday ahead of the round one series and play an integral part in the first match at Chase Stadium.

Inter Miami were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs in 2024 which has motivated them for this year’s post-season.

– MLS Cup playoff Power Rankings: Bet against Miami at your own peril
– 2025 MLS Cup Wild Card preview: Who’s moving on to Round 1?
– Messi’s final-day hat trick clinches MLS Golden Boot

“I feel like we have a good relationship between each other and I feel like we play good football with the ball. We keep a lot of possession and I just feel like we have to have that confidence that we are the best team in the league,” Allen said.

“Yeah, it’s not a sense of urgency. There’s not a panic or anything. It’s more of a motivation, right? And especially the guys that were here last year, I think everyone remembers it.

“And I think it’s been a message around the whole offense that everyone can understand is that it’s difficult, right?

“It’s not traditional, some players may agree, some players may not agree, but we have to do it. We have to win two games.”

Source link

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed the club want to reestablish links with UEFA and rejoin the European Football Clubs (EFC) in a move which will come as a blow to the European Super League project.

Relations between UEFA and Barcelona broke down in 2021 when the Catalan club emerged as one of 12 founder members of the Super League, a rival competition to the UEFA-organised Champions League.

Barça also left the EFC, known as the European Club Association (ECA) until this week, at the same time.

– UEFA denies changes to UCL format after Super League talks
РLaLiga confirms historic Bar̤a league game in U.S.
– De Jong on LaLiga in the U.S.: ‘I wouldn’t do it’

However, after attending an EFC event in Rome on Wednesday, Laporta said the Spanish champions want to improve relationships with both organisations again.

He stopped short of saying that means Barça will leave the Super League project, which also still includes Real Madrid, but a renewed relationship with UEFA and the EFC would complicate the club’s involvement.

“We are committed to building bridges between the Super League and UEFA,” Laporta said at an event in Barcelona on Thursday.

Joan Laporta (left) is seeking to rebuild ties with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin (centre) and PSG president and EFC chair Nasser Al-Khelaifi. Urbanandsport/NurPhoto via Getty Images

“Barça’s position is clear. Those affected and those concerned are already aware of that. We are in favour of pacification because there is a way forward for the clubs in the Super League to return to UEFA.

“We feel very close to UEFA and the EFC. It is important that we are there and that we implement everything that can be improved, both in UEFA and in the EFC.”

Asked if this week’s developments would eventually end the Super League, a source at Barça insisted the idea is to find a way to move forward which is beneficial for all parties.

The Super League quickly unravelled after its launch four years ago. The six English teams withdrew, followed by Atlético Madrid, Inter Milan, AC Milan and Juventus, leaving just Madrid, whose president Florentino Pérez fronts the project alongside the company A22, and Barça.

It rebranded itself as the Unify League in 2024 but has received little support following the restructuring of the Champions League last season.

UEFA, whose president Aleksander ÄŒeferin has met with Laporta several times in recent months, is the governing body for European football and, in addition to the Champions League, also administer the Europa League and the Conference League.

The EFC is an organisation that is officially recognised by both UEFA and FIFA as the sole, independent body for football clubs within Europe.

It is chaired by Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who met with Laporta this week, and includes around 800 clubs from around the continent.

Barça were among the 16 clubs in the ECA when it was founded in 2008, but left the organisation on the back of the failed Super League launch in 2021.

Source link

Bradford DoolittleSep 16, 2025, 07:00 AM ETCloseMLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com Been…