As the frenetic Christmas schedule swings into action, players in England are very much in the minority among major European leagues in readying themselves for the customary glut of games squeezed into the tightest of holiday schedules. While the Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1 are embarking on a winter break, Premier League and Football League clubs face the prospect of three games in a week, starting with the traditional Boxing Day fixture. Until the late 1950s, there was even a full programme of games on Christmas Day itself, as one of the few public holidays that allowed working people to attend matches.

Boxing Day has become enshrined in English football culture as a much-loved curiosity of the fixture list. One reason why Boxing Day ma…

For nine months, players and coaches from the United States and the Netherlands have deflected questions about the impending rematch of the 2019 World Cup final. For nine months, they stressed that each team had a group stage match to play before they met, and that they would approach the tournament one game at a time.

Now, the moment has arrived, and there is no getting around it: Thursday’s match in Wellington is likely to decide the group winner and, with it, the pathway if the teams are to return to the final. This is the game the teams – and fans around the world – have been anticipating since the World Cup draw in October.

“I’m sure it’s going to be a challenge,” the USA head coach, Vlatko Andono…

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The Littleton Hockey Association has removed a coach from its Bantam travel team after video surfaced on social media of what can only be described as one of the most incredible and unhinged pregame motivational rants in the history of youth hockey, hockey, and, indeed, sports:
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