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Scottish Sun
7 days ago
- Sport
- Scottish Sun
Is Luke Littler and Luke Humphries' friendship all a facade? Inside England stars' World Cup of Darts disaster
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) NOT SINCE the pairing of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard at the 2006 World Cup had two Englishmen fail to click and proven so uncoordinated on German soil. Luke Humphries and Luke Littler arrived in Frankfurt as the top two players in the world and red-hot favourites for the PDC World Cup of Darts. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 8 Luke Littler and Luke Humphries early exit at the Darts World Cup emulated the fails of England's Golden Generation Credit: X formerly Twitter / @SkySportsDarts 8 Littler and Humphries lost 8-4 to hosts Germany in their first match 8 Fans joked that Littler and Humphries were 'like Gerrard and Lampard' Expectations were so high that they would be victorious that Phil Taylor was saying they should be given the trophy before a dart was even thrown in anger. But World Cups can cause all manner of surprises and discombobulating displays – as England's Golden Generation found to their cost 19 years ago. Gerrard and Lampard were among the best midfielders of their era, goal-scoring machines for Liverpool and Chelsea. Yet despite their god-given talents, it never really worked for them in tandem when they donned a Three Lions shirt. Humphries and Littler are the best darts players of this era but they were crushed in their opening game by the Germans. So, why didn't it work? Why did it go so spectacularly wrong? Well, underdogs Martin 'The Wall' Schindler and Ricardo 'Pikachu' Pietreczko rose to the challenge superbly, winning their second-round tie 8-4 on Saturday evening. There is history between the two Lukes and pesky Pietreczko – Littler clashed with him at last year's Belgian Darts Open, and Humphries gave it back to German fans at Ally Pally after he eliminated the Berlin-born star. 8 The two Lukes can be compared to Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard CASINO SPECIAL - BEST CASINO BONUSES FROM £10 DEPOSITS The hostility that greeted the English duo when they walked out was unusual for darts – so, do not underestimate the impact that had on the No.1 seeds. The noise was ear-splitting and we all know Littler has little time for Deutschland fans. Luke Littler and Luke Humphries BOOED by German crowd on day they got their MBEs but fans love their 's---house' walk-on Twice before, in Berlin and Munich, Littler had been left unhappy with the reception he got from punters. The previous time it had happened over Easter, he wrote on Instagram he was glad he would not be back in the country until Dortmund in October, seemingly forgetting all about the World Cup in June. He might be the world champion and a global icon but we forget that Littler is still only 18. The Nuke stormed off stage, albeit after shaking hands, and just like when he lost the Premier League Final to Cool Hand Luke, he shows his emotions whenever things go against him. 8 Humphries struggled to produce his best form 8 Teenage sensation Littler was out of sorts Credit: Getty But as NFL legendary coach Vince Lombardi once said: Show me a good loser and I'll show you a loser. Parallels could be made with another England midfielder, Jude Bellingham, who is a stellar talent but is prone to outbursts and temper tantrums in difficult moments. Littler is not yet in that same league but this is a huge setback in his career – his first senior England appearance ending amid a cacophony of boos and regrets. It was so deflating that, the day after they had been recognised in the King's Honours List, Sky Sports pundit Wayne Marde joked: 'How quickly can MBEs be taken away?' What was telling was the observation made by Gerwyn Price, whose Wales side lost 10-9 to Northern Ireland in the final. In one of the revealing interviews this year, the Iceman claimed 'rubbish' England lacked 'a connection' and had no 'camaraderie off the stage'. He said: 'When all the teams first turned up on the first day, the only two players who didn't turn up together, didn't sit together, didn't play as a team. 'You need to turn up together. You need to be as a team. You practice together, you sit together, it's a team ethic. 'It didn't show with England and it showed on the board. They are great players individually. But you need to be a team.' 8 Gerwyn Price revealed shock details about Littler and Humphries disconnection Credit: Getty World No.1 Humphries and reigning world champion Littler are always so polite and respectful on stage, fist-bumping each other's high checkouts. But is it all a facade? Are they really as compatible off the oche as they make out? Can they ever put aside their fierce rivalry for this team format? Humphries is 12 years older than Littler and is like a big brother but if Price is right, they will have to work on their connection in a team situation. They came over to Germany as the bookies' front-runners but were gone after 12 legs. At least Gerrard and Lampard managed four games together at the 2006 World Cup before their quarter-final exit.
NBC News
11-06-2025
- Sport
- NBC News
The U.S. men's national team has a major opportunity hosting the next World Cup. Is it ready?
Tony Meola knows the pressure of competing in front of his home fans. Back in 1994, when the United States hosted the FIFA World Cup, Meola, the national team's starting goalkeeper, and his teammates had not one but two jobs: beat the competition and help grow the game. 'It was relentless,' he told NBC News. 'Twenty-four hours a day for a year leading into the World Cup. Promotion of the game, events. We never stopped.' His team did its part off the field — the event shattered attendance records even though soccer wasn't the most popular sport at the time — and it made it out of the group stage before it lost 1-0 to eventual champion Brazil. Though it wasn't the result it wanted, that squad is credited for helping generate major interest and participation in the sport stateside. Meola had dreams of one day seeing the U.S. men's national team become perennial contenders. But more than 30 years later, with the country (along with Canada and Mexico) hosting the 2026 World Cup next June, he says there's still as much up in the air as there was two decades ago. 'I don't feel like we're ready right now,' Meola, now an analyst for CBS Sports Golazo Network, said of the current U.S. team. 'I want to see progression over the next year and go into [the World Cup] with as few question marks as possible, not going in there sort of fearing what's going to happen.' Meola is far from the only former USMNT player to share some skepticism one year out. His co-hosts on the soccer podcast 'Call It What You Want,' Charlie Davies and Jimmy Conrad, also expressed concern. So did Fox Sports, MLS and Apple commentator Maurice Edu. Taylor Twellman, the lead soccer analyst for Apple TV, put it more bluntly. When he was asked how the United States stacks up right now with the top countries in the world, he told NBC News: 'They're not in the conversation with any of them. ... They don't see themselves as a contender.' When North America was awarded the rights to the 2026 World Cup in June 2018, Carlos Cordeiro, then the president of U.S. Soccer, called it a 'rare and important moment to demonstrate that we are all truly united through sport.' It also guaranteed more eyeballs on the host countries. According to FIFA, the average global live audience for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar was 175 million viewers. The final between Argentina and France drew 1.5 billion viewers, dramatically more than the most recent Super Bowl (127.7 million). And with the 2026 World Cup final taking place at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, this was the perfect time to showcase just how far the U.S. men's team has come. Especially with the 'Golden Generation' of players entering their prime. That term — attached to rising stars like Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie, Sergiño Dest, Gio Reyna, Timothy Weah, Antonee Robinson, Matt Turner and Tyler Adams — recognizes what was expected to be the best core in program history. They showed glimpses of brilliance during the 2022 World Cup, a run that ended in the Round of 16, but they were all young. Now, four years older, with experience both internationally and for European clubs, they are expected to help lead a deep World Cup run. But some remain hesitant to say this group can pull it off. To this point, it lacks a true signature win and has come up short in recent competitions. In last summer's Copa América, which the United States hosted, the USMNT failed to get out of the group stage after losses to Uruguay and Panama. The result raised questions about whether this roster was talented enough to get over the hump. 'You can't be a 'Golden Generation' until you do something that hasn't been done before,' Davies told NBC News. Edu said: 'I felt like the 'Golden Generation' tag was coined based on the potential. And now some of these guys are coming into their prime, so that potential has to be realized. Everything, to me, now revolves around what happens next summer.' To help them reach their potential, the program moved on from longtime coach Gregg Berhalter and replaced him with Mauricio Pochettino. His hiring was seen as a huge deal, as Pochettino, who is Argentine, has managed on some of the biggest stages of world soccer: Tottenham Hotspur, Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea. So far, the results have been mixed. He has five wins and four losses in nine games, but the team disappointed in March with two losses in the CONCACAF Nations League Finals. The team has also dropped four games in a row — including a 4-0 loss to Switzerland on Tuesday — though the lineups were far from full strength, with certain stars, like Pulisic, not playing. U.S. Soccer Sporting Director Matt Crocker said Pochettino's 'reputation stands for itself.' It's far too early in the process to critique the job he's done. 'We have a great generation of young players that we want to turn potential into performance, and we couldn't have had and asked for a better coach to come in and have the ability to do that,' Crocker said. 'Now, he just needs to have the time with the players and the games and the experiences to hopefully be ready for next summer, which is our objective.' One year away from the biggest tournament in sports, the USMNT's on-field product is still far from sorted. The most important position to be decided may be goalkeeper. Turner, who started in the 2022 World Cup, is once again expected to have that role. But after a year when he played sparingly as a backup for Crystal Palace, some wonder whether his lack of playing time will have him fit for next summer. Reports this week say Turner has agreed to join the French squad Lyon. Nobody knows goalie play better than Meola, who said, 'There are a lot of questions.' 'In general, we've gone into World Cups either knowing who our No. 1 is or two or three guys battling for the position. That's been the rotation since 1990. This particular group, I think we're unsettled in that position,' he said. If Turner gets consistent action at Lyon, he should be that guy again in 2026. Patrick Schulte, Zack Steffen and Matt Freese are the likeliest next options. Meola's other position group to watch is center back. Out wide, Robinson and Dest are near locks, but the middle of the field is still anyone's guess. Candidates include Chris Richards, Tim Ream, Mark McKenzie, Miles Robinson or Cameron Carter-Vickers. 'There's just too many question marks in the middle of the field at the moment,' Meola said. 'If I'm going to focus on one, that would be it.' Edu and Davies said they want to see how the next 12 months play out at center forward. The USMNT won a hard-fought battle with England to get Monaco's Folarin Balogun (who has dual citizenship), but after him there are many names to consider in Ricardo Pepi, Patrick Agyemang, Haji Wright, Damion Downs and Josh Sargent. 'Even if there's question marks in other positions, if we feel good about the No. 9 position, I think that gives us a hell of a chance,' Edu said. Conrad is similarly focused on the middle of the field, this time at center midfield. Pochettino could go with McKennie, Yunus Musah, Johnny Cardoso, Tanner Tessman, Diego Luna or Malik Tillman. He had one prediction that might shock fans. 'Gio Reyna ... I'll throw him in there, but at this moment I don't expect him to make the team. That's my big shock,' Conrad said. 'I'll put my flag in the ground and say he's got a lot of work to do to get into this team for 2026, which would probably be a surprise to many, but I just think there's other players that are playing well and could fit the system a little bit better at this current moment.' Even though questions abound in the middle, Conrad said he feels great outside. 'I would put our outside backs internationally against anybody,' he said. 'Our strength, in terms of our starters, is Antonee Robinson, Sergiño Dest and then into Christian Pulisic and Timothy Weah. I feel confident going up against any nation with our outside players.' This summer, the USMNT has CONCACAF Gold Cup matches followed by friendlies in September, October and November. Players will then compete for their clubs, either in Major League Soccer or abroad, and then return for more friendlies before the World Cup. The final roster, capped at 26 players, will be set 10 days before the tournament. Nobody is more important in that decision than Crocker, the technical director. Previously with English club Southampton and the England national team, he's focused on getting the best product possible on the field by next June. He said questions around particular positions don't really matter because nobody is truly locked in at this point. 'I don't think that exists 12 months out from a World Cup,' he said. 'You're trying to build depth in the squad but also continue to monitor players' performances. We need to know who the best three players are at every position. In the build-up to a major tournament, there will always be a player that hits form; there might be a player that gets an injury. So you've got to be ready.' Twellman, a forward on the national team from 2002 to 2008, said his concerns aren't based solely on the talent level in specific position groups. It comes down to results, and the team simply hasn't gotten enough of them for him to be confident heading into a World Cup. 'There's just a sense of apathy around the United States men's program,' he said. 'And I don't think that's a hot take.' Crocker said he has heard some of the negative discourse around the program but 'can't control the outside noise.' 'Our job, both as staff and as players, is to almost sort of look within ourselves, to continue to work as hard as we possibly can, continue to try and improve in training every day to put the performances in that we need to every day,' he said. 'We would love everybody to be great supporters and start to talk positively about the team, but we'd also know that we have a responsibility through our performances to control that narrative, as well.'
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Chile loses at Bolivia and will miss third straight World Cup
Chile's players react after losing to Bolivia in a qualifying soccer match for the FIFA World Cup 2026 in El Alto, Bolivia, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Juan Karita) Chile will miss its third straight World Cup after losing 2-0 at Bolivia on Tuesday to remain last in South America's 10-team round-robin competition. Bolivia kept its hopes alive for an inter-continental playoff spot in a bid to reach the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. Advertisement The top six teams in South American qualifying will secure direct berths in the World Cup. Defending champion Argentina has already qualified. Chile's golden generation won two Copa America titles — in 2015 and '16 — but is out of contention for next summer's expanded 48-team tournament. 'Sad, I am feeling bad. Never lived something like this. We have to ask people to forgive us,' veteran Chile striker Alexis Sánchez said after the match. 'We have to keep working. There's change already, the golden generation is buried, I am the only one left." Bolivia scored the first with Miguel Terceros in the fifth minute and added a second in the 90th with Enzo Monteiro at the 4,150-meter high El Alto Stadium, outside La Paz. Advertisement The hosts now have 17 points to put pressure on Venezuela, which has 18 and will play later at Uruguay. Both are fighting for seventh place, which secures the inter-continental playoff spot. Sixth-place Colombia has 21 points. Ecuador can clinch its spot with a win later at Peru. Brazil and Paraguay, who will clash in Sao Paulo, can also book their tickets if they win and Venezuela loses in Montevideo. Also on Tuesday, Argentina hosts Colombia. Bolivia's future will be decided in September at Colombia and at home against Brazil. ___ AP soccer:
Sydney Morning Herald
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
The ghost of Holger Osieck is the only thing that can stop the Socceroos
The last time the Socceroos lost a match by five goals, it launched the careers of both Ange Postecoglou and Maty Ryan. It was 2013, and Australia had just sealed a spot at the World Cup in Brazil. Josh Kennedy was the saviour, thanks to his iconic late header against Iraq in front of 80,000 people in Sydney. But there was no saving the unpopular Holger Osieck, who was sacked three months later, despite delivering Australia's third successive qualification. The Socceroos were a bit on the nose with the public. Osieck had allowed the ageing 'Golden Generation' to hang on for too long, and his style of football was hardly inspiring. Later that year, in their wisdom, Football Federation Australia scheduled back-to-back friendlies, both away, against Brazil and France. Rare chances for them to measure up against true global yardsticks. 6-0, 6-0. Critics accused the Socceroos of making the Australian game look like a 'joke' on the world stage with their 'spineless' performances, and several players of outstaying their welcome in the team. As soon as he returned to the team hotel after game two in Paris, Osieck was dismissed, and moves were immediately afoot to get the federation's No.1 coaching target, Ange Postecoglou, out of his contract at Melbourne Victory, thus setting in train a series of events that would soon lead to Postecoglou taking over and regenerating the squad, Mark Schwarzer's retirement, and the handing over of the gloves to Ryan, who will win his 100th cap on Wednesday morning (AEST) by hopefully contributing to what would be one of the best moments of his career. For that not to happen, the Socceroos would need to turn in a stinker the likes of which they have not had in 12 years. Not since that day in Paris. Or that other day in Brasília. That is how bad they would have to be to miss out on the 2026 World Cup from here. That is how long ago they last lost by five goals or more. That is the sort of heist Saudi Arabia has to pull off in Jeddah. It is an unfathomable thought on multiple levels. So far in this qualifying phase, the Saudis have scored only six goals in nine games – so to do it, they'd essentially need to reproduce that whole output in one match. Only twice before have the Socceroos ever lost a competitive match (not friendlies) by 5-0 or worse, and not since 1997.
The Age
10-06-2025
- Sport
- The Age
The ghost of Holger Osieck is the only thing that can stop the Socceroos
The last time the Socceroos lost a match by five goals, it launched the careers of both Ange Postecoglou and Maty Ryan. It was 2013, and Australia had just sealed a spot at the World Cup in Brazil. Josh Kennedy was the saviour, thanks to his iconic late header against Iraq in front of 80,000 people in Sydney. But there was no saving the unpopular Holger Osieck, who was sacked three months later, despite delivering Australia's third successive qualification. The Socceroos were a bit on the nose with the public. Osieck had allowed the ageing 'Golden Generation' to hang on for too long, and his style of football was hardly inspiring. Later that year, in their wisdom, Football Federation Australia scheduled back-to-back friendlies, both away, against Brazil and France. Rare chances for them to measure up against true global yardsticks. 6-0, 6-0. Critics accused the Socceroos of making the Australian game look like a 'joke' on the world stage with their 'spineless' performances, and several players of outstaying their welcome in the team. As soon as he returned to the team hotel after game two in Paris, Osieck was dismissed, and moves were immediately afoot to get the federation's No.1 coaching target, Ange Postecoglou, out of his contract at Melbourne Victory, thus setting in train a series of events that would soon lead to Postecoglou taking over and regenerating the squad, Mark Schwarzer's retirement, and the handing over of the gloves to Ryan, who will win his 100th cap on Wednesday morning (AEST) by hopefully contributing to what would be one of the best moments of his career. For that not to happen, the Socceroos would need to turn in a stinker the likes of which they have not had in 12 years. Not since that day in Paris. Or that other day in Brasília. That is how bad they would have to be to miss out on the 2026 World Cup from here. That is how long ago they last lost by five goals or more. That is the sort of heist Saudi Arabia has to pull off in Jeddah. It is an unfathomable thought on multiple levels. So far in this qualifying phase, the Saudis have scored only six goals in nine games – so to do it, they'd essentially need to reproduce that whole output in one match. Only twice before have the Socceroos ever lost a competitive match (not friendlies) by 5-0 or worse, and not since 1997.
