Wednesday cannon fodder: new coach offside spoons

England have reasons to believe looking ahead to Women’s World Cup | Suzanne Wrack | Football | The Guardian
Phil Neville has made a quietly impressive start as manager, and Lucy Bronze has grown in stature, but there are still faults to be ironed out in time for next year’s tournament in France.

Julen Lopetegui to join Real Madrid as head coach after World Cup | Football | The Guardian
Real Madrid have announced that Spain’s head coach, Julen Lopetegui, will take over as manager after the World Cup.

Leave it to VAR: World Cup linesmen told not to flag for tight offsides | Football | The Guardian
Assistant referees at the World Cup have been advised to keep their flag down for tight offside calls and to let VAR adjudicate.

Thomas Lemar: Atletico Madrid reach 'preliminary agreement' to sign Monaco winger - BBC Sport
Atletico Madrid reach a "preliminary agreement" to sign Monaco's France international winger Thomas Lemar.

World Cup 2018: Iceland are in a "good place" says Eidur Gudjohnsen - BBC Sport
Iceland are looking forward to showing they deserve to be at the World Cup, says the country's all-time leading scorer Eidur Gudjohnsen.

World Cup 2018: Fans wear masks and chant 'Messi, Messi' at Argentina training - BBC Sport
Hundreds of fans turn up to an Argentina open training session to catch a glimpse of Lionel Messi.

Sterling and City 'poles apart' over new deal - report - Football365
Man City and Raheem Sterling reportedly have no further meetings planned to discuss a new contract.

Tobin Heath goal video: Heath scores winner for USWNT over China | SI.com
In a rematch against China, the US Women's National Team won 2–1 in Cleveland.

Germany World Cup defense aided by MLS's San Jose Earthquakes | SI.com
With apologies to ZenPop, seems like if you're going to innovate, going with the club whose claim to recent fame is the stadium with the world's biggest outdoor bar may not be the first place you'd look.

The 2018 World Cup will be the last of its kind, so enjoy it - SBNation.com
The World Cup is set for rapid expansion, and international soccer is about to change forever.

Russian fans to use spoons as World Cup instrument of choice
Move over vuvuzela players. The musical instrument to master for this year's World Cup is the Russian spoon.

‘On the pitch there was a divide’: tales behind England’s World Cup failures | Football | The Guardian
Before kick-off in Russia, England squad members from each World Cup since 1998 reflect on lessons to be learned.