List of All Articles with Tag 'll'

The game at the King Abdullah Sports City stadium in Buraydah had the atmosphere of any spirited local

John Toshack signed a five-year contract to become the new manager of Wales on this day in 2004. Former Liverpool striker Toshack, then 55, took the helm for the second time 10 years after lasting just a single game in his first spell. He had been appointed on a part-time basis in 1994, combining his duties with his role as manager at Real Sociedad, but resigned to concentrate on his club responsibilities following a 3-1 defeat by Norway. The Football Association of Wales turned to a man who had won 40 caps for his country for a second time a decade later having drawn up a three-man shortlist which also included Dean Saunders and Philippe Troussier after Gerard Houllier had declined an interview. Toshack, who had been outspokenly critical of predecessor Mark Hughes in his role as a pundit, arrived with the Welsh having missed out on qualification for the Euro 2004 finals after a play-off defeat by Russia and with their World Cup qualification hopes hanging in the balance following a return of just two points from their opening four games of the campaign. He said at the time: “While it’s mathematically possible that we can qualify, we realise that this particular campaign is by no means easy. “But by the time the European Championship qualifiers come round in September 2006, we’ll have a pretty good idea what sort of side I’ve got. Hopefully by results and hard work, we’ll be able to achieve our objectives.” Toshack, who launched his coaching career as player-manager at Swansea and guided the club from the fourth to the first division before heading for Sporting Lisbon, Sociedad, Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna and Besiktas, went to work with his eyes wide open. Draws with Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland and defeats by England and Poland meant he inherited a difficult situation, and it was not improved by back-to-back defeats by Austria. Wales ultimately finished fifth in the group despite wins over Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland in their final two games. Toshack remained at the helm for almost six years, blooding a new generation of players as the likes of Robbie Savage, Gary Speed, Ryan Giggs, Jason Koumas and Simon Davies made way for youngsters Gareth Bale, Joe Ledley, Aaron Ramsey, Chris Gunter and Jack Collison. However, appearances at the finals of major tournaments continued to elude them and, after a 1-0 defeat by Montenegro in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier in Podgorica in September 2010, he left his post by mutual consent. Toshack departed having overseen 21 wins in 53 games during which he capped 43 new senior internationals and was succeeded three months later by Gary Speed. Read More Gareth Southgate: England have won over the world – now for our own fans It is hard to overtake Manchester City under Pep Guardiola – Mauricio Pochettino Pep Guardiola: Only small clubs worry about selling players to their rivals Rob Page: Harry Wilson has been one of Wales’ main men since Gareth Bale retired Kieran Trippier confronted by angry Newcastle fans after defeat at Bournemouth She’s a tough cookie – Jodie Burrage backed to bounce back from nightmare debut

DP World Australia said it made “significant progress” in re-establishing freight operations at its ports, after a cyberattack

Find out how the college football rankings for the Top 25 CFP rankings in Week 12 will look based on our projections after a Saturday with big wins for Georgia and Michigan, upsets for Tennessee, Oklahoma State and Kansas, and much more.

Philadelphia 76ers guard Kelly Oubre Jr. was hit by a car on Saturday and is expected to miss "significant time."

On the latest episode of ‘The Edge with Micah Parsons’ featuring teammate Stephon Gilmore, Micah Parsons called out the NFL and their referees in the game featu

ESPN's College GameDay is celebrating the ultimate college football underdog story in Week 11.

The world’s biggest producer of iPhones is going to outer space. Two prototype low-Earth orbit satellites made by

Far-right leader Marine Le Pen plans to rally alongside major political parties but the far left refuses.

MLB Rumors: The Braves could trade for an ace this offseason who's not Dylan Cease, the Phillies might combat that with a trade for an ace of their own, and a big update on the Red Sox with Shohei Ohtani.

The rags to riches story of Amoako Boafo, whose portraits of black subjects now command mega prices.

The NFL keeps handing out fines that have players shaking their heads. Josh Jacobs did more than that when he found out about his fine this week.