Soccer VDO

James Milner has announced his international retirement with immediate effect after holding discussions with new manager Sam Allardyce.

The former Bolton manager was appointed as the replacement for Roy Hodgson, who has been praised immensely for infusing a lot of effort into the national team. Even though Hodgson did not achieve any of his tournament objectives, the national team saw the appearance of players like Ross Barkley, Raheem Sterling, John Stones, and several others on a consistent basis. At 30 years of age, Milner is at a stage where he has to concentrate on his club career.

Many people are superstitious about numbers and sportsmen in particular seem to be wary about choosing just the right one when the seasonal squads are announced.

Those of us that can cast our memories further back will also recall how football clubs avoided using the number 13 on matchdays so clearly this is serious stuff.

As we enter the final throes of the regular MLS season, many pieces of the Play Off jigsaw are falling into place, while elsewhere there is still plenty of time for those often overlooked to force their way into the frame.

With Portland Timbers struggling to secure a top six finish at present, we could well have a new name on the trophy. And the way things are shaping up, it is the two teams from New York who are tipped to be challenging for the big prize.

Sunderland coach Sam Allardyce has been selected as the man to take up the head coaching role of the Three Lions.

The Guardian confirmed that the three man panel (Martin Glenn, David Gill and Dan Ashworth) set up to select the next coach of the national team recommended Allardyce to the Football Association (FA).

Former England player Alan Smith has stated that the England team at the Euro 2016 is playing the best football of the past 15 years.

He said that fans should not get disappointed by the lack of goals against Slovakia and take confidence in the way England is playing at the moment.

Wayne Rooney claims that he is extremely confident that the current England squad will be able to make a major impact at the upcoming 2016 since it is one of the best he has seen since his debut more than a decade ago.

Rooney was one of the few young players in the squad at the Euro 2004 when England once again failed to get past the quarter-finals. For the Euro 2016, however, things are extremely different with a large contingent of young players like Harry Kane and Eric Dyer part of the team.

Rock Band, Seo Linn, have been picked to write and perform for the Boys in Green in France ahead of the continental tournament in France.

The official Euro 2016 song for the Republic of Ireland was announced after Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney picked the band to perform the new anthem.

Slaven Bilic is surprised at how West Ham midfielder Mark Noble continues to be omitted from the England national team squad despite his impeccable form in the 2015-16 campaign.

Noble has never featured for the national team despite his appearances at almost every youth team level for the national team. His last appearance for the England under 21 team was in 2009. Due to the availability of several options coupled with West Ham’s demise from the Premier League for a short period, Noble went out of contention for the national team.

Roy Hodgson admitted that his team lacked creativity in the 2-1 loss against Netherlands.

This defeat comes as a shock to the national team, which has been getting such good results of late. It was only a few days ago that they managed to beat world champions Germany in a friendly match. Confidence was high coming into the game against Netherlands, who have failed to qualify for the Euro 2016. The poor form of the Dutch team may have made the England team complacent, but Hodgson tried to focus on the performances. He was unhappy with the fewer number of chances his team created.

England boss Roy Hodgson has confirmed that Wayne Rooney will remain as captain going into the Euro 2016.

The Manchester United striker has suffered from poor form in the last two years. He has managed only 51 goals in 109 appearances for the national team even though he has broken a long-standing Bobby Charlton’s scoring record in the process. Those records broken will count for little if the player once again fails to perform at a major tournament. Hodgson is extremely pleased with the numerous options that he has for the striker position.