Mark Ogden, Senior Football Writer

Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge using his music business as ‘distraction’ from football

Some people play golf or other sports. Liverpool’s Daniel Sturridge tells ESPN FC’s Mark Ogden how music helps him escape from football.

Jurgen Klopp believes the future is bright at Liverpool for Daniel Sturridge, with the striker proving his fitness in pre-season.
Daniel Sturridge has revealed his plans for a career in music to ESPN FC, with the Liverpool forward determined to launch new artists on his recently-established record label.
The former Manchester City and Chelsea player set up Dudley Road Records last October to offer emerging talent a platform to grow their career in the music industry, but also provide him with a release from the pressures and intensity of life as a professional sportsman.
And speaking exclusively to ESPN FC at Liverpool’s Michigan…

Daniel Sturridge: Liverpool return like second chance with a girlfriend

In an exclusive sitdown with ESPN FC, Daniel Sturridge discusses his long-term relationship with Liverpool and how he plans to fit in with the current squad.
Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in July ahead of the start of the Premier League season. 
ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Daniel Sturridge has told ESPN FC that he regards his return to Liverpool like a second chance with a girlfriend, insisting he still loves the club and is ready to help Jurgen Klopp’s team end their wait for silverware.
The 28-year-old was told he can still have a future at Anfield by Klopp after a six-month loan spell at West Bromwich Albion last season.
Sturridge…

Jose Mourinho: World Cup suits Paul Pogba better than Manchester United

Jose Mourinho tells ESPN FC that the World Cup was the perfect habitat for Paul Pogba as he could ‘only think about football.’
Jose Mourinho has suggested Paul Pogba has not “given his best” for Manchester United while insisting the midfielder’s performances for France at the World Cup are evidence of what he can do when he is fully focused on football.
Pogba was key to France’s success in Russia, scoring in the 4-2 final victory against Croatia.
His form during the tournament was in contrast to his displays for United since his £89.3 million move from Juventus in 2016 which have seen flashes of his talent mixed with…

World Cup stock – Mbappe, Hazard, Lozano impress; Messi, Neymar, Salah down

The World Cup always offers players a chance to prove themselves on the biggest stage of all. Sometimes that even means a lucrative move to a bigger clubs afterwards (see Golden Boot winner James Rodriguez moving from Monaco to Real Madrid four years ago).
But which players’ values will have gone up? And which have gone down after their exploits in Russia?
Here is a list of those whose stock has changed since the start of the World Cup.
STOCK UP

KYLIAN MBAPPE (France, PSG)
Arguably the star of…

Mbappe powers France to World Cup glory, Croatia reeling after VAR controversy

Kylian Mbappe becomes the first teenager since Pele to score in a World Cup Final, giving France a 4-1 lead over Croatia.

World Cup Final: Paul Pogba (59′) France 3-1 Croatia

World Cup Final: Antoine Griezmann (38′) France 2-1 Croatia

World Cup Final: Ivan Perisic (28′) France 1-1 Croatia

World Cup Final: Mario Mandzukic own goal (18′) France 1-0 Croatia
MOSCOW — Three thoughts on France 4-2 Croatia as Les Bleus won their second World Cup. 
1. Mbappe magic propels France to World Cup glory
Kylian Mbappe capped his debut World Cup by becoming the first teenager to score in the final since Pele in 1958 as France beat Croatia to become world champions for a second time.
Mbappe, only 19, scored the fourth goal in France’s 4-2 victory in Moscow to take his tally for the tournament to four goals in seven games.
He also produced some devastating…

Belgium deservedly claim bronze over England as Eden Hazard outshines Raheem Sterling

Thomas Meunier scored early and Eden Hazard ensured the win as Belgium defeated England 2-0 to claim 3rd place in the World Cup.
St. Petersburg — Three points on Belgium’s 2-0 win over England in the third-place game of the 2018 World Cup.
1. Belgium claim bronze as England fade
For many, it is a game that should no longer be on the World Cup calendar, but Belgium ensured that the Russia 2018 third-place play-off ended in their favour with a 2-0 win against England in St. Petersburg.

Thomas Meunier’s fourth-minute opener and Eden Hazard’s strike on 82 minutes sealed Belgium’s second victory over Gareth Southgate’s team…

Gareth Southgate: England disproved ‘myth’ of fixture fatigue at World Cup

Wayne Rooney isn’t surprised with England’s semifinal run as he’s seen the Three Lions’ progress quite rapidly in the past few years.

Former England captain Steven Gerrard says he’s proud of the country’s performances at the World Cup, after their run was brought to an end by Croatia in the semi-finals.

Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez believes Harry Maguire his England performances at the World Cup have shown he is capable of playing for a Champions League side.

The ESPN FC crew discuss England’s inability to adjust to Croatia’s pressure and question if they underestimated their offensive prowess.
ST PETERSBERG — Gareth Southgate says England have disproved the old excuses for failure during the 2018 World Cup, insisting his team debunked the “myths” of fatigue and hotel location being factors in the chances of success.
England face Belgium in the third-place playoff in St Petersburg on Saturday after losing to Croatia in Wednesday’s semifinal in Moscow, with Southgate insisting he will not make wholesale changes to his starting XI.
But having reached the last-four of the World Cup for the…

Golden boot hopefuls Kane, Lukaku fail when it mattered at World Cup

The ESPN FC boys dissect what went wrong in England’s semifinal loss to Croatia.

The FC panel give credit to Croatia for their never say die attitude after defeating England in yet another come from behind win.

Belgium’s Thomas Meunier feels his side’s golden generation lost their last chance of winning a major trophy together when they lost the semi-final to France.

The ESPN FC panel break down what went wrong for Belgium against France and why their golden generation failed again to live up to expectations.
Harry Kane began this World Cup, 24 hours before England’s opening game against Tunisia in Volgograd, by claiming he wanted to leave Russia with a “big gold trophy.”
Barring a World Cup final hat trick by Antoine Griezmann or Kylian Mbappe, or a similar display of finishing by Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku in Saturday’s third place playoff against England, Kane will likely get his wish and lay his hands on the Golden Boot as Russia 2018’s top scorer.
(function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if(d.getElementById(id))return;js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=’https://embed.playbuzz.com/sdk.js’;fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}(document,’script’,’playbuzz-sdk’));

Of course, the England captain was speaking about…

Cristiano Ronaldo’s need for love, respect helped push him to Juventus

Martin Ainstein discusses the many different reasons as to why Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid parted ways.

ESPN FC’s Stewart Robson and Craig Burley explain just how monumental Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus is for world football.

Speaking in March 2018, Cristiano Ronaldo admitted he loved watching Juventus play as a child ahead of his transfer from Real Madrid to the Italian side.

Cristiano Ronaldo loves to be loved. Forget the trophies, the Ballons d’Or and the goals: when you peel back all of the superficial players, he is simply a guy who wants love and respect and, therefore, his move to Juventus ticks those boxes.
When Ronaldo returned to Old Trafford in 2013 for the first (and so far only) time to face Manchester United with Real Madrid in the Champions League, Sir Alex Ferguson instructed the club’s PA announcer to break with tradition and read out the Real team…

England must make World Cup run the start of something big, not another false dawn

MOSCOW — For England, this was so much better than anyone could have possibly expected. But in the end, it wasn’t enough.

That’s the problem with progress. People will always want more and, having been within 22 minutes of playing in their first World Cup final since 1966, England must now prepare for a third-place playoff against Belgium in Saint Petersburg on Saturday, when they really wanted to be playing in Moscow 23 hours later.

Croatia, in the end, were simply too good and too streetwise…

SIGN INTO YOUR ACCOUNT CREATE NEW ACCOUNT

CREATE ACCOUNT ALREADY HAVE AN ACCOUNT?

FORGOT YOUR DETAILS?