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Paul Joyce in The Times shows how Colombian soccer coach Jaime Pabon worked on Mohammed Salah's game in Rome to help him become one of the best players in soccer. Getting Salah to strengthen his mental skills was part of the approach.

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Dw.com takes a look at the most costly World Cup Soccer of all time in Qatar.

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Strabismus, depth perception and misalignment in the eyes not holding back England soccer goalie Hannah Hampton. As a child England goalie Hannah had eye surgeries by the age of 5. She struggled with depth perception and even had difficulty pouring orange juice into a glass. Over the years Hannah worked hard to compensate for this till she was asked to become England goalie only after England goalie Earp retired.

The Guardian gives this inspiring story about the England goalie who never gave up. Twice first in the game against Sweden and in the final against Spain she saved penalties. In the final she faced Spain's striker Bonmati and was able to make a save. It has not come easily but through it all Hampton has persevered till she wins European soccer title for England.

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About 85% of people in Portugal a country of 10 million people are fully vaccinated in October 2021, highest in Europe. Strict precautions for prevention such as social distancing and mask remained in place after the surge in January 2021 which led to deaths at a rate that was three times the peak rate in the US.

On October 1, 2021 the restrictions such as 30% limit on filling soccer stadiums were lifted. For the Benefica vs Bayern Munich soccer game restrictions were lifted leading to filled stadiums with vaccination pass mandatory. As people return to indoors in winter this could still result in increase in cases. Because Portugal depends on tourism and stadiums are filled to capacity there is the risk of a smaller surge. Cruise ships are back in Portuguese ports and tourists,are back in large numbers. Soccer fans, fill subways, leading to new concern about a limited spread of the coronavirus.

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The Colombian women's soccer team's win 2-1 over Germany in World Cup 2023 shows how much has changed in women's soccer worldwide. WIth only about 30% of the possession the Colombian team dominated the game. The winning goal came in the 89th minute of the game from a stunning header by Manela Vanegas. Colombia led for most of the game. Linda Calcedo scored first for Colombia. The last time Germany lost a game in global games was in 1995 against Sweden. 

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Goncalo Ramos hat-trick in the 6-1 soccer game against Switzerland shows a Portugal team at its best. 

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Chloe Kelly of England soccer gets in the winning kick in Euro Finals. England beat Spain 3-1 on penalties. This analysis in The Guardian goes over how Chloe Kelly survived obstacles to come back into English soccer and make a difference in games against Sweden, Italy and Spain. She had a falling out with Gareth Taylor at Manchester City and her deadline day decision for transfer to Arsenal played apart in reviving her spirits. By reviving her game she put herself in coach Sarah Wiegman's plan for the Euros soccer this summer. She came in after Lauren James was pulled out following ankle injury in the first half. The wingers pace and running came in as a threat to Spain's back line of Batlle and Paredes which had benefitted from the James injury. With Bronze and Hemp, Kelly changed the game in the second half as has so often happened in this tournament. In a previous game in the Euros England had also fallen behind in the first half and come back in the second half. A pass from Chloe got the equalizer with a header from Alessia Russo. The game then went into the extra time 1-1 and England won 3-1 on penalties. ...

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France's Mbappe, Spain's Morata, and Argentina's Messi are the leading scorers at this months World Cup Soccer.

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The winner in 2011 Japan had fallen behind since in women's soccer. The women's team win over Norway 3-1 puts Japan into the quarterfinals for the World Cup in 2023. Star teams from the US, Brazil and Germany did not make it to the quarterfinals. Sweden edged out the US in a penalty shootout. South Korea draw 1-1 with Germany put Germany out. Brazil lost to Japan. A new set of countries is emerging in women's soccer showing that preparation by other teams has made a serious difference.

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France's Mbappe, Argentina's Messi and Brazil's Neymar provide the star players for the World Cup Soccer in Qatar.

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Chloe Kelly, English soccer player Interview in The Times- Kelly scored the winning penalty against Spain in 2025. She also scored the decider against Germany in Euro Cup 2022. She whopped off her shirt to celebrate in a Nike Sports bra, says The Times about the event in 2022.  

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Portugal leads the world in developing soccer players, no country has hundreds of soccer professional players all over the world. A country of just 10.3 million, the defending European champion, it has 292 professional players in 45 countries. Even Italy, another soccer crazy nation has only 105 pros abroad. Much of the development of soccer players from a very young age happens at sporting clubs Benefica, Porto, and Sporting. They act as scouts, finishing schools after rigorous practice, and places that transfer players to other clubs, all put together in one place with large soccer academies. The uniformity of coaching, and the primacy of soccer as a sport helps Portugal dominate soccer in a way that is not reflected in its size. Soccer fields in all directions is what you see at Benefica's training facilities in Portugal. 10 soccer pitches are not enough for the director of Benefica's youth academy. 10 different teams of exciting preteens to Portuguese pros need to practice every day.  Christiano Ronaldo was found at Sporting, Ricardo Carvalho at Porto. One boarding school at Benefica has 89 students who do their academic studies at the club and play soccer, attend classes in the morning and play in the afternoon. There are 3 different teams under 14. A pathway puts some of them into the senior squads or for them to become attractive enough to draw a large transfer fee outside Portugal. Five different talent centers and 200 people search for talent by watching under 10's or 12's play soccer games. Once they are chosen they move to Seixal, outside of Lisbon for training. The clubs essentially create value through selection and training for years in soccer academies within the clubs. The clubs support their activities by having a lower cost way to access talent at home, and by generating the hefty transfer fees. Since 2014-2015 season the surplus for Benefica is about 540 million euros. Costs are in the eight figures making it possible to generate a profit by having a sale of a few good players to lower profile teams such as Israel, even if they are not at the level of the top players in the Champions League.  ...

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Minnesotan Franz Gastler sets up a soccer league for girls in the less developed northeastern Indian state of Jharkhand. It is called Yuwa, the Hindi word for youth. He put up some of his own money to pay for uniforms, equipment, and travel for the matches. Gastler got the idea while working for Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra, a nongovernmental organization focussed on economic development in Jharkhand. One day a girl told Gastler she wanted to learn to play soccer. Gastler thought this was an opportunity to teach young girls in a grass roots manner about things that would help them lead productive lives, and give them a sense of being able to accomplish things, build teamwork, confidence and a feeling of equality with men. It did not start out this way. Gastler, a 29 year old Boston University graduate, started out working for the Confederation of Indian Industry in New Delhi, as a consultant in corporate responsibility, but after 6 months decided to join Krishi Gram Vikas Kendra.

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See Pep Guardiola describe how he approached the game against Real Madrid in the semifinal of the Champions League soccer in this video from The Guardian.

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Pictures of big moments in Euro 21 soccer round of 16 matches from FR24 including Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema together after the France game with Portugal.

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England make it to the semifinals of Euro Cup soccer 2024 with a 2-1 win over Slovakia. Jude Bellingham's overhead kick puts England ahead.

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This story in The Times shows how Gareth Southgate has rebounded from a penalty miss in Euro Soccer 1996 playing for England. After 25 years Southgate is back inspiring his players to take the English team to the quarter finals of Euro Soccer in 2021, and with a win against Ukraine can put it in the top 4 teams. He is shown as a learner with humility and respect for other people who helped him develop as a person and a player. He is seen as someone who believes in sharing success with others who helped make it happen and unlike  other egocentric coaches. 

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US beat Japan 1-0 with a goal from Trinity Rodman to make it to the semi finals of Women's soccer at the Paris Olympics 2024.

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Trinity Rodman made her US senior national soccer team debut in Feb. 2022 and had 2 goals and 3 assists in 17 games. She plays for the Washington Spirit in the National Women's Soccer League, and the youngest at 18 years to be drafted. She attributes her speed to her mother who was a sprinter as an athlete, and her success to her mother and her siblings.

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The performance of Morocco, Senegal, Japan and South Korea, show a new popularity of soccer in Asia and Africa, and teams that can compete with the best in Europe.

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Argentine soccer star Diego Maradona who died at 60 after health problems. Many controversies surround Maradona, unlike Messi and Reynaldo, two of the prominent players at this time from Argentina and Portugal. Unlike the period when Pele and Maradona dominated, today there are many good players and many good coaches such as the coaches of Liverpool and Manchester City teams from Germany and Spain, each having made soccer the single largest worldwide sport in history. New younger players are also taking the place of older players as seen in the Spanish and German teams in the Nations League soccer games. Coaches and team owners shun the publicity that drives the cost of players up and prefer to give younger unknown players a chance, which is itself a good thing for the game.

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Spain makes it to the semifinals of the Euro Cup soccer in June 2024 with a 4-1 win ove Georgia. Goals from Fabian, Rodri, Williams and Olmo for Spain.

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Peop Guardiola has never lost a game 4-0 in his soccer coaching career. Tottenham Spurs beat Manchester City 4-0 and City have now lost 3 games in succession.

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The danger from filled stadiums in Europe for Euro soccer 2021 leads to an outcry in Germany from Merkel, members of the European parliament, that "UEFA is endangering lives."

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Uruguay, Ghana and Germany exit. South Korea and Portugal advance after a 90th minute injury time goal by South Korea. Brazil loses to Cameroon but advances. World Cup soccer with surprises.