THE SOCCER REPORT
Cristiano Ronaldo gets 700th goal; Bulgaria-England blemished by racist chants
Oct 15, 2019, 6:51 am
THE SOCCER REPORT
With international soccer taking center stage due, this week's soccer recap centers around all the action in the men's FIFA international break. The following are the top stories of the international break.
Note: Scroll to the end of the article for top upcoming matches as top division club football resumes on the weekend.
The goal that made history! Cristiano Ronaldo drills home his 700th career goal from the penalty spot 🎯 https://t.co/rVKS2X7FnZ— ESPN (@ESPN) 1571084624.0
A 72nd minute penalty ultimately played little part in the outcome of the match as Ukraine defeated Portugal 2-1 in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. It carries importance because it was the 700th career goal in Cristiano Ronaldo's illustrious career, the only active player to reach the mark and one that places him alongside historic goalscorers Pelé, Romário, Josef Bican, Gerd Müller and Ferenc Puskás. It is also CR7's 95th goal for Portugal.
England defeated Bulgaria with an emphatic 6-0 win in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying. The conversation coming out of this encounter, however, is two stoppages during the match due to racist "monkey chants" directed towards England players. The English Football Association released a statement following the match to confirm its players were subjects of "abhorrent racist chanting" and has asked UEFA, Europe's governing body in football, to investigate the matter.
The match was already taking place with reduced capacity due to previous UEFA sanctions on Ukraine for a prior incident regarding racist chants.
Turkish players defy UEFA with another military salute https://t.co/RRuJPP1Z2B— AP Sports (@AP Sports) 1571107471.0
For the second time in four days, Turkish national team players displayed a salute - understood to be a display of solidarity with Turkish forces involved in the invasion of Kurdish-held regions in northern Syria. German Bundesliga club Fortuna Dusseldorf released a statement on Friday to explain that the involvement of two of their players do not coincide with the values of the club.
UEFA does not allow for political statements during its matches.
Sergio Ramos surpasses Iker Casillas as Spain's most capped player of all time. 🇪🇸👏👏👏 https://t.co/lnW5oBOIdy— FOX Soccer (@FOX Soccer) 1570903747.0
Sergio Ramos became Spain's most capped player after featuring in his 168th match with the senior national team. Spain drew 1-1 at Norway in EURO 2020 qualifying and will play at Sweden on Tuesday.
Iker Casillas, now the second-most capped player and Spain's captain during the 2010 FIFA World Cup title, sent a congratulatory message to Ramos on social media.
Neymar just can't catch a break. https://t.co/I1eXugtlNd— FOX Soccer (@FOX Soccer) 1571072176.0
Tournament hosts Senegal defeated defending champions Ghana 3-1 on penalties to be crowned 2019 WAFU Cup of Nations Champions.
The giants of Concacaf have officially entered the Nations League and, after the USA's 7-0 win over Cuba and Mexico's 5-1 win at Bermuda, talk has escalated over whether the competition brings any real value to them.
In the case of the United States, a true test will come in Canada on Tuesday as the top spot of their group is on the line. For a young Mexican squad, the story is off the field where sanctions could be imposed in Tuesday's match against Pamana if a certain "anti-gay" chant is heard.
Not since October 5, 2017 had the Venezuelan men's national team played within its country's borders. Since 2018, "La Vinotinto" had played in exhibition matches all over the world including the United States, Spain and Qatar. Venezuela competed in last year's Copa America tournament in Brazil, the closest it had been to home soil.
Friday's match in Caracas, a 4-1 win over Bolivia, was also the first match in the nation's capital in eight years. The national team played there again on Monday, picking up a 2-0 win over Trinidad and Tobago.
📖 Read all the proposed recommendations by AFC to develop football in 🇮🇳 ⚽ #LetsFootball https://t.co/300gR5gZPh— Indian Super League (@Indian Super League) 1571054890.0
The Indian Super League will hold the stature of being the top division of Indian football with the start of the 2019-20 season. The ISL held it's first season in 2014. The I-League, India's top tier for 23 years, will become the second tier and later have promotion to the ISL in 2022-23.
#WCQ FULL TIME 🇰🇵 Korea DPR 0-0 Korea Republic 🇰🇷 A tight game in Pyongyang sees the points shared in the Korean… https://t.co/hANHlzoJCd— FIFA World Cup (@FIFA World Cup) 1571135184.0
North Korea and South Korea played to a nil-nil draw in 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifying. The first of the two "Korean Derby" matches took place in Pyongyang on Tuesday. It is the first time the match takes place in North Korea since a 1990 friendly. The match was played with limited media coverage and was not televised.
Tuesday, October 15
1:45 p.m. - [UEFA EURO Qualifying] Sweden vs. Spain (ESPNEWS, UniMas, TUDN)
1:45 p.m. - [UEFA EURO Qualifying] Switzerland vs. Ireland (ESPN3, TUDNxtra)
6:30 p.m. - [Concacaf Nations League] Canada vs. USA (ESPN2, UniMas, TUDN)
8:30 p.m. - [Concacaf Nations League] Mexico vs. Panama (UniMas, TUDN)
Wednesday, October 16
6:00 p.m. - [USL Championship] Indy Eleven vs. Swope Park Rangers (ESPN+)
Thursday, October 17
6:00 p.m. - [Uruguay First Division] Peñarol vs. Boston River (GolTV)
Friday, October 18
1:30 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Bayer Leverkusen (FS2, TUDN)
1:45 p.m. - [Bundesliga] Nice vs. PSG (beIN Sports)
The Houston Astros announced on Monday that additional imaging has revealed that Jeremy Peña is dealing with a small fracture in one of his ribs.
Peña left Friday's game after being hit by a pitch in the ribs. The club originally believed they had avoided any fractures or breaks, but new information has informed them otherwise.
Update on Jeremy Peña: pic.twitter.com/jfCsCUKWFx
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 30, 2025
Peña is heading to the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 28. This news comes at an unfortunate time, with Jeremy posting the best regular season numbers of his career. He's currently slashing .322, .378, .489 with an .867 OPS.
Peña will miss the Rockies and Dodgers series at a minimum.
Story on Peña headed to the IL with quotes from Dana Brown.
“This isn’t one of those things where you have to be sidelined the whole time. Once the inflammation goes down, he might feel good enough to swing a bat.” https://t.co/ih2G09Jpcf
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 30, 2025
Let's hope the team doesn't rush him back too soon and create an even bigger problem. These quotes above from Dana Brown have me concerned. Playing through injuries can create bad habits, and Jeremy has clearly found his swing this season.