France managed to overcome a determined Ireland side on Monday night as the road to UEFA Euro 2024 continues.
The journey to reach next summer s European Championship in Germany has well and truly begun. Nations across the continent are all attempting to earn a place at the big dance and while some will feel much more confident than others, we still expect a few surprises along the way.
Last night, the ghost of Thierry Henry s handball was looming large as Ireland went toe to toe with France. On this occasion, Les Bleus managed to pull out a narrow 1-0 win to ensure they kept their campaign going strong.
Today, we ll be picking out a few big takeaways we had from what went down.
Mbappe still isn t the leader
He may have had a few flashes of brilliance h…
Antoine Griezmann will not replace Philippe Coutinho at Barcelona at the end of the season, according to the Brazilian s agent.
Despite an encouraging start to life at Barca, Coutinho has failed to recapture the form he showed at Liverpool before his €160million switch in January 2018.
This term, the attacking midfielder has managed only five LaLiga goals in 34 appearances and failed to nail down a place in the starting XI, with 12 of his league outings coming from the bench.
Coutinho s underwhelming form has seen him become a target for Barca supporters who have jeered him on several occasions in recent months, while media reports have linked him with a move.
Griezmann s announcement on Tuesday that he will leave Atletico Madrid in the coming months wi…
Inter have completed the signing of Barcelona midfielder Rafinha on loan until the end of season, the clubs have confirmed.
The Brazil international could make the move to Serie A permanent, with Inter possessing an option to purchase him before the end of his loan in a €35million deal that could rise by a further €3m.
It has been reported the fee will become will become mandatory if Inter qualify for the Champions League this season, in which case Rafinha will sign a three-year contract starting from July.
The 24-year-old is eager to join a club where he will play regular first-team football, having seen injuries restrict his involvement at Camp Nou in recent years.
I m really happy, it s a great feeling to be here, Rafinha told Inter TV.
O…
Netherlands manager Bert van Marwijk was left to reflect on a tournament of unfulfilled promise as his side crashed out of Euro 2012.
The Dutch, who came into the tournament regarded as one of the favourites, finished bottom of Group B after falling to Portugal 2-1 in their final group game.
Despite losing to both Denmark and Germany, the Netherlands went into their final encounter with Portugal knowing a win would give them a fighting chance of qualification.
Yet two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo soon dashed any hopes van Marwijk s men had of reaching the quarter finals.
I can t deny that this is a major deception for us, Van Marwijk told NOS.
In all the three games we started well, but we couldn t hold it, just like today. We came up front w…
Schalke general manager Horst Heldt is hopeful star striker Klaas-Jan Huntelaar will sign a new contract with the club.
The Netherlands international only has one year to run on his existing deal with the Bundesliga side and has been linked with a number of top European clubs in recent months, including Manchester United.
However, Heldt is optimistic Schalke will not be forced to cash in on their most prized asset before the start of the new season.
He knows we want to extend his contract and I can very well imagine that happening, the former Germany international told RevierSport.
We already spoke a lot with him about it ahead of the European Championship. The talks with him and his management were very clear, so I see no need to push things now.
…
Daryl Dike and Benji Michel each netted a brace for Orlando City in a 5-0 rout of San Jose Earthquakes on Tuesday.
The comfortable win moved the Lions clear of Philadelphia to sit alone in second place behind New England Revolution in Major League Soccer s Eastern Conference.
Nani opened the scoring from the spot in the seventh minute and the Orlando native Michel followed with his first goal of the season after 16 minutes.
The USA international Dike put the game out of reach, netting in the 31st and 49th minutes with Nani assisting on both goals.
Stunt on them |
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC)
Dike was making his first start since returning to Orlando City from a loan to Barnsley, where the 21-year-old scored nine goals …
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his 100th Juventus appearance with a brace in Sunday s 3-1 Serie A win over Genoa and he now has sights on reaching a century of goals.
Juve were by no means outstanding at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris and looked to be slumping to a sixth draw in 11 Serie A games this season until the latter stages.
Defensive mistakes led to Juve winning two penalties in the final 12 minutes, and Ronaldo repeated the feat of his spot-kick double against Barcelona in midweek by confidently dispatching another pair in Genoa to take his overall club total to 77 goals.
Not only was Ronaldo making his 100th Juve appearance, he also became the first player to reach 400 wins across Europe s top five leagues this century.
400 become the first player to …
No Neymar, title holders Chile struggling and doubts over Luis Suarez s fitness. Will captain Lionel Messi have a better opportunity to leave his legacy on Argentina and international football?
As the forthcoming Copa America Centenario gets set to kick off on Friday, there are absolutely no doubts about Messi s standing in the modern game, at club level at least.
The record-breaking five-time Ballon d Or winner has collected 28 trophies during his time with Barcelona, while his overall count stands at 30 thanks to Olympic gold and a successful World Youth Championship in 2005 which is one clear of football great Pele following the Catalan club s Copa del Rey triumph in May.
Leo
Copa del Rey
UCL
La Liga
Spanish Super Cup
European Super Cup
Club …
Laurent Koscielny says the France players will be unaffected by external factors as they prepare to try and win Euro 2016 on home soil.
Former France international Eric Cantona caused an unwanted stir when he suggested the exclusion of Karim Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa from the squad by head coach Didier Deschamps was racially motivated.
Deschamps rejected the claims and has threatened to sue Cantona, in a flare-up of the animosity that has simmered between the two men since their time together in the national team during the late 1980s and 1990s.
Benzema was not considered by Deschamps under orders from the French Football Federation due to his alleged involvement in an attempt to blackmail international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.
An impressive season w…
David Moyes believes Jarrod Bowen should be back in the England squad this week after his fifth goal of the season helped sink Sheffield United 2-0.
Gareth Southgate names his next squad on Thursday ahead of a friendly against Australia and the Euro 2024 qualifier with Italy.
Bowen, who earned four caps last year, was overlooked for the September internationals but Moyes feels his current form makes him hard to ignore.
“I would say Jarrod is as close now as he has ever been,” said Moyes.
“He’s in really good form, quick, sharp and looks like he can do a lot of things.
“I’m not going to pick the England team, but to play for England you have to be able to score in big games. Jarrod’s doing great for us.”
Bowen grabbed his go…