Football Blog (Page 175)

[ad_1] Manchester City and Portugal defender Ruben Dias has revealed he couldn’t help but be impressed by Cristiano Ronaldo when they first met at Portugal training. The 25-year-old, who also admitted that nothing could prepare him for the feeling of featuring in his first World Cup, is now starring alongside Ronaldo as the Selecao bid to put the disappointment of the 2018 edition behind them. Dias had just one cap to his name when he was included in the travelling squad in 2018, but he didn’t made it off the bench after picking up an injury and Portugal fell to Uruguay in the last 16.Read More →

[ad_1] The World Cup always leads to a number of transfers as players burst onto the scene or show that they can perform on the biggest stage. It is usually heading into the summer transfer window, but the winter World Cup in Qatar could lead to a mad January transfer window in Europe. The tournament also allows clubs who have got their eyes on certain stars to see them up close and in another environment. That is going to be the case for Manchester United who are always one of the major protagonists in every transfer window. The areas where United could be looking toRead More →

[ad_1] Wales midfielder Joe Allen is “fit and raring to go” ahead of the match against Iran on Friday, manager Rob Page has confirmed. Allen, an imperative player for Wales over the course of his senior career, has been struggling for a number of months with a hamstring injury and was a doubt coming into the tournament. He was named in the squad for the World Cup in Qatar but was not used in their opening 1-1 draw with the United States. Though Page did not confirm he would start their next Group B game, he revealed Allen is back in the mix and likelyRead More →

[ad_1] Former Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona defender Dani Alves has accused Kylian Mbappe of failing to understand that, while he’s a ‘phenomenon’, Lionel Messi and Neymar are still better. Mbappe has formed one third of football’s most high-profile attack for just over a year now, with Messi joining him and Neymar at Parc des Princes at the start of last season. It has been claimed in recent months that the Frenchman hasn’t been all too happy about having to share the spotlight. There have even been rumours that he wanted the club to sell Neymar, while Mbappe has also made clear his desire to leaveRead More →

[ad_1] Uruguay begin their World Cup campaign on Thursday with a clash against South Korea at the Education City Stadium in Al Rayyan. The two teams have met twice before at the World Cup with both games ending in victories for Uruguay, triumphing over South Korea 1-0 and 2-1 in 1990 and 2010 respectively. It’s an interesting mix of old heads and fresh faces for the South Americans. Stalwarts like Diego Godin, Matias Vecino and Luis Suarez have been included in the starting XI against South Korea, while there are also spots for in-form midfielders Federico Valverde and Rodrigo Bentancur. ☑️ 𝙀𝙇 𝙊𝙉𝘾𝙀 Así vaRead More →

[ad_1] A growing number of clubs believe that Borussia Dortmund striker Youssoufa Moukoko is ready to leave the club at the end of the season, sources have confirmed to 90min. The 18-year-old, who is at the World Cup finals with Germany, is not yet a first-team regular for Dortmund but has emerged as one of the most feared young strikers in Europe. Moukoko. who is out of contract at the end of the season, has publicly stated that a decision will be made about his future soon, but sources close to the club and player have told 90min that he’s yet to finalise his plans.Read More →

[ad_1] England manager Gareth Southgate has confirmed that Harry Kane will be fit to face the United States on Friday evening. Concerns over the Three Lions captain’s fitness were raised during the emphatic World Cup opening win Iran, when Kane rolled his ankle in a heavy tackle. Despite initial concerns however, Southgate has confirmed in his pre-match press conference that his star forward is fit and ready for England’s second World Cup group stage game against the United States. Harry Symeou hosts Scott Saunders, Grizz Khan and Jack Gallagher to look back on France ’98 as part of the ‘Our World Cup’ series. We takeRead More →

[ad_1] Rangers have made Queens Park Rangers boss Michael Beale their number one target to become new permanent manager at Ibrox, sources have confirmed to 90min. Beale has a huge reputation in the game and has impressed as manager of QPR since taking charge earlier in the summer, having left Aston Villa where he was assistant to Steven Gerrard. The 42-year-old has already been targeted this year, turning down the chance to take over at Wolves. He agreed terms to move to Molineux, before choosing to stay loyal to QPR. Now, Beale has another huge decision to make with Rangers readying an approach. Sources haveRead More →

[ad_1] Belgium coach Roberto Martinez has admitted that his team need to improve after securing a narrow 1-0 win over Canada at the World Cup, although is happy with the result in light of teams like Argentina and Germany being beaten in their opening games. Canada, playing in their first World Cup match in 36 long years, tried their best to make it the third big upset of the week after Saudi Arabia’s victory over Argentina and Japan beating Germany. The Canadians had a glorious early chance to take the lead, only to see Thibaut Courtois equal to Alphonso Davies’ penalty. The vibrant Maple LeafsRead More →

[ad_1] Orlando City have secured the future of playmaker and team captain Mauricio Pereyra with a new contract through the 2024 season, the club announced Wednesday. Pereyra was out of contract after his previous deal expired at the end of the 2022 campaign. However, the Lions have used Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) to re-sign the former Uruguay U-20 international, opening up a valuable Designated Player (DP) spot. Orlando’s remaining DPs are Austrian striker Ercan Kara and talented forward Facundo Torres, who is representing Uruguay at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “Mauricio has been our leader both on and off the field since he joinedRead More →