Gareth Southgate is expected to be rewarded with a new contract.GETTY IMAGES
Gareth Southgate could be offered a new contract to manage England beyond the next World Cup after Martin Glenn revealed the FA wanted him to "stay for longer." The Three Lions’ World Cup "heroics have sparked a tenfold increase in daily ticket sales" for England's next match. Southgate appears certain to be offered a new contract to replace the one that nominally expires after Euro 2020, but "contains a clause through which qualifying for that tournament would activate a two-year extension" (London TELEGRAPH, 7/15).
Belgium received a hero's welcome in Brussels on Sunday after achieving its best World Cup result in Russia. Dreams of World Cup glory "were shattered" by France in the semifinals, but a win against England on Saturday sealed third place. Belgium was greeted by tens of thousands of flag waving fans, "some climbing street signs and traffic lights to catch a glimpse of the players who rode in on open-top buses along the streets of central Brussels" (REUTERS, 7/15).
Belgian electronics company Krefel "vowed to give refunds to thousands of customers" after Eden Hazard's goal in Belgium's 2-0 World Cup third place playoff victory over England. Krefel, which was founded in '58 and is based in Humbeek, Belgium, made "what turned out to be a somewhat misjudged vow by telling customers that they would give refunds if the Belgian national team succeeded in scoring more than 15 goals in the tournament." Prior to the match with England on Saturday, Belgium's goal tally stood at 14, "meaning that two more were needed for the refunds to be handed out." Unfortunately for the company, that is "exactly what happened" (JOE, 7/14).
Football fever "gripped" the French capital and sales of the national team’s football shirts surged ahead of France’s World Cup final against Croatia on Sunday. Fans "thronged stores" on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées and the capital’s Republique area to "buy replica shirts bearing the names of the team’s stars" (REUTERS, 7/13).
Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic gave Russian President Vladimir Putin a Croatian football shirt with the name “Putin” printed on the back on Sunday, hours before Croatia played France in Moscow. At a Kremlin meeting, Putin congratulated the Croatian president on the country's performance (REUTERS, 7/15).
After years of trying and failing, the Kosovo FA "finally got what it wanted two years ago" when FIFA granted it full membership, "welcoming it into a club of more than 200 national federations." FIFA membership meant Kosovo, which is still battling for recognition at the United Nations 10 years after declaring independence from Serbia, "could compete for a place at this summer’s World Cup in Russia." While its team would have been welcome inside stadiums here, "Kosovo’s flag apparently is not." The flag is "one of more than two dozen barred from World Cup stadiums by tournament organizers" (N.Y. TIMES, 7/14).
Croatia has not yet made the decision whether Nikola Kalinic will receive a medal for his participation in the World Cup. Kalinic, the AC Milan forward, refused to enter Croatia's opening group-stage game against Nigeria on June 16 as a substitute and "was subsequently sent home by coach Zlatko Dalic for his insubordination" (ESPN.com, 7/14).
FIFA will award France $38M in prize money for winning the World Cup. Croatia will receive $28M. Both amounts are a $3M increase on the awards given to the finalists of the '14 tournament in Brazil, in which Germany beat Argentina. Belgium will receive $24M for its victory on Saturday in the third-place playoff, $2M more than fourth-placed England (ESPN.com, 7/15).
