Harry Maguire posted a popular England fans chant mocking the Scotland football team on social media after England’s 3-1 friendly win. Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane were on target for England while Maguire scored an own goal that proved to be nothing more than a consolation for Scotland as the Three Lions clinched the match 3-1 on Tuesday. Maguire started from the bench and was introduced to the pitch at half-time. Every time the Manchester United defender touched the ball the home fans at Hampden Park jeered at him. But after England’s friendly win, Maguire took to social media to get…
Author: Oluwaseun samuel
Nigeria proved too strong for their opponents in their final game of the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers. Nigeria were too strong for Sao Tome and Principe on Sunday evening as they thumped them 6-0 to send a statement ahead of next year’s Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast. In wet conditions at the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, Nigeria, Napoli star Victor Osimhen began the slaughter in the 13th minute when he scored from an Ademola Lookman assist. Lookman then went on to get on to the score sheet himself some 14 minutes later as Wilfred Ndidi…
Erling Haaland is a leading contender for the 2023 Ballon d’Or, but even Norway’s national team coach admits Lionel Messi should take the award. Manchester City striker Haaland hit 52 goals across all competitions last season as he helped his club employers at the Etihad Stadium to a Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup treble. Those exploits are considered to have him in the running for a first Ballon d’Or. Messi, though, inspired Argentina to World Cup glory at Qatar 2022 – allowing him to complete a record-breaking trophy collection. The 36-year-old South American has also been starring for Inter Miami since moving to the…
Gabriela Cavallin has urged Manchester United to “remove” Antony from the squad following accusations of domestic violence by her and two other women. The Brazil winger’s ex-girlfriend has criticised United for their slow response to allegations that Antony had attacked her on various occasions between June 2022 and May 2023, urging them to suspend the winger from playing. In a recent interview with the Brazilian website UOL, the DJ and model claimed that her former partner had headbutted her, thrown a glass at her, and threatened to push her out of a moving vehicle, all on separate occasions. Antony has denied all…
England midfielder Jude Bellingham has commented on the Three Lions’ disappointing 1-1 draw with Ukraine last night. Bellingham took to social media after the game to share his thoughts, posting on Instagram: “Not on our level but a point closer to Germany”. It’s a fair summary of the game. Despite the efforts of Saka, Kane, Walker (who scored the equaliser) and Co, England lacked a cutting edge and were sloppy at the back. However, it’s an important point that means they remain unbeaten in qualifying for Euro 2024. England are still top of their qualifying group and on the right path when…
Hansi Flick has insisted he is the right man to lead the German men’s national team, after a humiliating 4-1 friendly loss to Japan. Two late goals from Takuma Asano and Ao Tanaka wrapped up a comprehensive Japan win, Germany’s third straight defeat and their fourth in five matches. It’s an extremely poor record as the country prepare to host Euro 2024 in just nine months’ time, but boss Hansi Flick was full of fighting spirit when talking to reporters in his post-match interview. We and the coaching staff are trying everything,” said Flick, according to Bulinews. “I think we are doing well and…
The moment seemed to have passed him by. With a chance to finally pass the almighty Pele as Brazil’s top scorer, Neymar stepped up to the spot. He missed, rolling a tame effort right at Guillermo Viscarra right after his trademark slow penalty runup. It turned out that Neymar’s ascension would only be delayed by minutes, not days or weeks. The Brazilian star is now the Brazilian goalscorer of all goalscorers. History, on this night, was made. With his 78th goal, Neymar passed Pele’s goal tally to become the Selecao’s best of the best before netting his 79th later for…
The Manchester United midfielder starred to salvage a win after an otherwise disappointing performance from his side. Bruno Fernandes scored a wonderful goal and was a constant source of creativity as Portugal grabbed a valuable away win to bolster their Euro 2024 qualification hopes. He was the difference maker in a night were Cristiano Ronaldo consistently misfired, with the Selecao stumbling to a 1-0 victory. Slovakia enjoyed some promising moments in the early goings, putting two efforts on target in the opening 10 minutes. Portugal responded with a chance of their own, but Bruno Fernandes’ tame effort was easily saved.…
Ilkay Gundogan admitted it is a “big honour” after he was named as the new captain of the Germany mens national team. Manuel Neuer, the former captain, remains sidelined as he is not yet 100 per cent match-fit after he suffered a severe skiing accident in January. While the goalkeeper has not officially retired from international football, manager Hansi Flick has picked his successor in veteran midfielder Gundogan. The footballer took to social media to share his excitement and wrote: “A big honour to be the new captain of the German national team.” Flick announced that Gundogan along with another…
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk says he ‘totally accepts’ the one-game extension to the ban he received for his sending off against Newcastle. Van Dijk reacted furiously after being dismissed for denying Magpies’ striker Alexander Isak a clear goalscoring opportunity during Liverpool’s 2-1 win at St James’ Park on August 27. The defender initially refused to leave the field and remonstrated angrily with referee John Brooks. On Friday an FA disciplinary panel handed Van Dijk an additional one-match ban and a fine of £100,000 ($125,000) after concluding that the Dutchman “acted in an improper manner and used abusive and insulting words towards a…
While not quite on a par with Barcelona’s famous financial ‘levers’ the cash-strapped club has found another novel way of raising funds. With parts of the Camp Nou dramatically demolished as the iconic stadium undergoes a much-needed renovation, Barca have ingeniously packaged up sections of the famous turf and made them available for sale as certified items of memorabilia. Sales appear to be going well, with both the €50 (£43/$54) and €420 (£361/$450) versions currently showing as sold out on the club’s official website. The club’s financial problems are well documented. Since the return of Joan Laporta as president, the Catalan giants have…
Manchester United’s new midfielder Sofyan Amrabat has withdrawn from the Morocco squad due to an injury detected before the international break. United finally brought in a midfield reinforcement when they signed Amrabat from Fiorentina on deadline day on an £8 million ($9.9m) loan. However, it appears that the Moroccan midfielder is already injured and has had to withdraw from international duty. United detected a minor back issue during Amrabat’s medical at Carrington, but he was still released to join up with the Morocco squad. It now seems that the issue was slightly more serious than first thought. United boss Erik ten Hag will be…
Following their 1-0 victory over Ecuador Thursday night, Argentina reflected on their performance and the challenges that await them. Lionel Messi’s 78th-minute free kick – a moment of genius – was all that separated Argentina from a very composed Ecuador side who held their ground throughout the entire 90 minutes. Realizing and acknowledging that postgame, Argentina celebrated their success while looking ahead to the road that awaits them. “It was shown in the two friendlies and today, by the points, that this group is not going to relax beyond what it achieved. It was historic, extraordinary,” captain Messi said postgame.…
The manager did everything he could to help the winger get his career back on track but he must come down hard on him for questioning his authority. When questioned about Jadon Sancho’s absence from his Manchester United squad in the match against Arsenal, Erik ten Hag had several possible responses. He could have cited illness, suggested it wasn’t the right match for Sancho, or mentioned the coach’s decision-making. However, he chose to be brutally honest instead. On his performance on training we didn’t select him,” the manager said. “You have to reach the level every day at Manchester United.…
Chelsea are planning to build two eight-foot lion statues outside Stamford Bridge just weeks after scrapping subsidised travel for fans. Chelsea have submitted a planning application to Hammersmith and Fulham Council for permission to erect one of the giant sculptures, with Todd Boehly keen to deliver his promise to upgrade Stamford Bridge’s facilities and appearance. The cost of the sculptures in unknown, but the news comes weeks after Chelsea scrapped a £10 subsidy for supporter travel to away games. The Chelsea Supporters’ Trust slammed the decision, especially given the Boehly-Clearlake Capital ownership have already spent around £1 billion ($1.2bn) on transfers since…
The world champions’ hero did what he’s always done while La Albiceleste’s midfield ran the show beneath him. With the 2022 World Cup now behind them, Argentina’s road to defending their title began on Thursday night. They hosted Ecuador in their first World Cup qualifier of this cycle, and as the match wore on, it became abundantly clear that the defending World Cup winners would need a hero. There’s no prize for guessing who that hero would inevitably. It’s exactly who you’d imagine. Lionel Messi scored a stunning late free kick in Thursday’s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying opener, lifting his…
Following their 3-0 thrashing of Villa, Liverpool boss Klopp was thrilled with his sides’ performance. A goal from new midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai and forward Mohamed Salah along with a gift of an own-goal from Villa’s Matty Cash saw them through to all three points on the day. The boys not only listened in the meetings they executed brilliantly,” Klopp told Sky Sports. “What was really pleasing is that we scored two goals from set pieces and one was an own goal. We need to be 100 percent in the set piece moments as well and that was really cool” The Reds…
The United boss praised his team’s performance despite a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal and aired his grievances with the referee’s decisions that he says cost them the game. Ten Hag claimed that Garnacho’s 88th-minute strike should have stood as VAR had the wrong angle while making the decision. He also stated that a foul on debutant Hojlund should have ended in a penalty for the Red Devils. The Dutch manager said: “I thought we played a very good game but everything went against us. It was not offside [for Garnacho]. It was the wrong angle. It was a penalty…
Kylian Mbappe scored twice, and could have added more, as the no-longer exiled winger orchestrated a 4-1 Paris Saint-Germain victory over Lyon on Sunday. Mbappe spearheaded an often mesmerising counter-attacking performance, with the Parisians left feeling as they could have scored more against a messy home side. The France captain started things within four minutes, dispatching a penalty after Manuel Ugarte was hacked down in the box. He was at the centre of it all for PSG’s second, seeing his sliding effort denied by a fine save, before Achraf Hakimi pounced on the rebound to give the Parisians a 2-0…
Lionel Messi has well and truly arrived into American soccer, with the Argentine superstar having wasted no time in making his presence felt since his headline-grabbing move from Paris Saint-Germain to Inter Miami was made official in July. Messi is undoubtedly the biggest star in MLS, and almost certainly the biggest the league has ever seen, and therefore all eyes are going to be on him as he looks to lift Miami from towards the bottom of the table into playoff contenders and, eventually, title challengers. The stars were out in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Leonardo DiCaprio, Will Ferrell, Selena Gomez,…