Football Blog (Page 183)

[ad_1] At least one conversation that you’ve had this week has started with: “So…that Cristiano Ronaldo, eh?” The mercurial forward has been writing his own headlines in the wake of his bombshell sit-down interview with Piers Morgan. Oh, what a joy it has been to watch these two completely self-aware beings have a man-to-man before our eyes. Ronaldo has done a lot of finger-pointing as to why his career is on the decline, and it inspired us to resurrect our ‘Who is to blame?’ series. There will never be a better time to dust it off. Here are the 30 main things to blame forRead More →

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has been ruled out of Portugal’s only warm-up friendly before the start of the World Cup due to a stomach bug. Portugal face Nigeria in Lisbon on Thursday night before heading out to Qatar, with the squad having gathered at the national team facilities earlier in the week. Ronaldo trained on Monday and Tuesday as normal but was then absent on Wednesday. “Ronaldo has a gastritis and did not train today in order to recover and rest,” Portugal coach Fernando Santos said after the session. “It’s a condition that doesn’t help much, as it affects the players a lot, they lose aRead More →

[ad_1] Cristiano Ronaldo has tipped Manchester United and Portugal teammate Diogo Dalot to have a long career at the highest level, but claims young players on the whole coming through now ‘don’t care’ and lack the same ‘hunger’ as previous generations. Ronaldo is widely recognised to have established himself as one of the greatest of all time through an unquenchable work ethic and quite ridiculous determination. There are countless stories from former teammates about how he has trained relentlessly throughout his career. As a result, he has had a professional career spanning 20 years and that has seen him play in almost 1,150 games forRead More →

[ad_1] Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his gratitude to Liverpool fans for the reception and support he and his family received in the wake of the tragic passing of his infant son during childbirth in April. With Ronaldo absent on compassionate grounds, United faced Liverpool in the Premier League at Anfield the next day. Both sets of fans paid their respects to the player and his family by engaging in a minute-long applause in the seventh minute of the game. Liverpool fans also showed their support and solidarity with Ronaldo by engaging in a poignant rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. “I neverRead More →

[ad_1] Endrick will make a visit to Real Madrid at the end of November as the teen prodigy and his family continue to weigh up where his next move will be. Although FIFA rules prevent him from moving internationally until 2024, the 16-year-old is arguably the hottest new talent in world football right now and was attracting attention from huge clubs even before he had made his senior debut for Palmeiras. Three goals and an assist in seven Brasileirao appearances as Palmeiras lifted the Campeonato for the third time in seven years, only confirmed what scouts already suspected. Real Madrid are long thought to haveRead More →

[ad_1] Neymar has named four other countries alongside Brazil that he considers ‘fully capable’ of reaching the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar next month. Brazil head into the tournament as one the early favourites, seeking to extend their own record number of World Cup titles to six with a first triumph on the global stage in 20 years. The Selecao are well equipped to do so, with Neymar at his third World Cup and supported by an uber-talented squad featuring the likes of Alisson, Casemiro, Vinicius Junior and Marquinhos. But competition is stiff, especially from South American rivals Argentina and Europe’s giants. “The WorldRead More →

[ad_1] The FA have confirmed that Ivan Toney has been charged with misconduct regarding alleged breaches of betting rules. News broke in recent weeks that the Brentford striker was the subject of an ongoing investigation into such breaches. Professional players in England are not allowed to place bets on football. A statement from the FA on Wednesday read: “Ivan Toney has been charged with misconduct in relation to alleged breaches of The FA’s B*tting Rules. “It is alleged that the Brentford FC forward breached FA Rule E8 232 times between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. Ivan Toney has until Thursday 24 November 2022Read More →

[ad_1] Just a few years ago, the concept of the Canadian Men’s National Team qualifying for the 2022 World Cup seemed abstract at best. Les Rouges’ only previous appearance at world soccer’s biggest tournament came back in 1986, when they returned home from Mexico without a point or goal against the Soviet Union, France, and Hungary. But a revolution has been picking up steam within Canadian men’s soccer, spearheaded by English coach John Herdman, who first took charge of the CanMNT in March 2018. In just four years, he’s made the Canadian dream a reality, with his side opening their World Cup campaign against BelgiumRead More →

[ad_1] In an ideal world, the club season would have paused at the halfway mark. No, scratch that, in an ideal world the club season doesn’t pause at all because this World Cup takes place under traditional circumstances. But whatever, we’re here now. The 2022/23 Premier League season has been a pretty hectic and surprising one so far – Arsenal will be top at Christmas, Newcastle are suddenly the best team in the world, Nottingham Forest haven’t imploded despite signing a new squad. Here are our alternative season-so-far awards. Disclaimer: From this point onwards, ‘season’ means ‘season so far’. It’s too much of a painRead More →

[ad_1] Los Angeles FC have announced their roster decisions following the conclusion of the 2022 MLS season. The Black and Gold enjoyed a stellar campaign, lifting both the MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield titles – becoming the first team to do the double since Toronto FC in 2017. In preparation for their title defense in 2023, LAFC have exercised contract options on midfielders Kellyn Acosta and Latif Blessing, goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, and defender Mamadou Fall – the latter is currently on loan at La Liga side Villarreal. LAFC declined a contract option on Spanish forward Cristian Tello, but are expected to re-negotiate a new dealRead More →