Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confirmed he will be without two key players in the rearranged LaLiga clash against Osasuna on Thursday. Raphinha and Ronald Araujo — who were involved in the South American World Cup qualifying games this week — will be given a rest so as to recover from the games and their journey back to Spain. Barcelona were unsuccessful in their appeal not to play the match this week after it was initially moved from March 8, when the club doctor passed away. “They will not play, they are not in the team, they have a long…
Author: Somto Isaac
FIFA have revealed that the winners of this year’s 32-team Club World Cup in the United States of America will earn up to $125 million. Football’s governing body had earlier announced this month, a total prize pot of $1 billion for the event which takes place from June 14 to July 13. “FIFA will neither retain any funding for this tournament, as all revenues will be distributed to club football, nor will it touch FIFA’s reserves, which are set aside for global football development through the 211 FIFA Member Associations,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in a statement. About half…
Spain midfielder Pedri revealed his choice between winning the Ballon d’Or or lifting the treble with Barcelona. The Spaniard insisted he would put team trophies above individual accolades – except if the Catalan giants do win the Champions League or completes the treble. The Blaugrana are on an 18-game unbeaten streak in all competitions, which has elevated them to the summit of the LaLiga standings, the Champions League quarter-finals and the last four of the Copa del Rey. “I would rather win the treble than the Ballon d’Or. If the Ballon d’Or comes, I want it to come alongside the…
Tottenham Hotspur defender Djed Spence took aim at former head coach Antonio Conte, revealing his confidence hit a low point during the Italian’s tenure. “It wasn’t a nice feeling,” Spence said on the ‘Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast’. “Especially as I was coming to the club on a high, I was confident, I was buzzing, had just won promotion. “Then it was like running into a brick wall. It shattered my confidence a bit, obviously, I’m young. It’s not nice to hear. “I knew it was rubbish at the time. It wasn’t a nice feeling. I was even going into the…
England head coach Thomas Tuchel has beckoned on world football’s governing body, FIFA, to reschedule the June international break. Tuchel made the urge due to the fact that players do not have an extended rest at the end of the season. “It’s FIFA who can maybe align the calendar and find a gap where we put this window somewhere else to open the window for the better of the players. “I am not so concerned about the amount of games the players play. I am more concerned that they never have a real break of three to four weeks ……
Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai aimed a brutal dig at Real Madrid’s Arda Guler following Hungary’s 3-0 loss to Turkey. Turkey emerged 6-1 aggregate victors following goals from Hakan Calhanoglu, Guler and Abdulkerim Bardakci. During the second leg, Guler made a gesture appearing to shush Szoboszlai after the pair argued over a decision — with the Hungarian captain laughing at the perceived lack of respect of the 20-year-old. Nemzeti Sport Online posted a picture of the scene on Instagram, which got the attention of Szoboszlai who responded “1088”, referring to the number of minutes Guler has player for Madrid this season.…
New Super Eagles of Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle was full of praise for his charges as they claimed a 2-0 triumph at Rwanda in their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier. The three-time African champions dominated proceedings and came away with three points at Amahoro Stadium in Kigali, thanks to a brace from Victor Osimhen. The victory marked the first win for the Super Eagles in the qualifiers. Facing the media after the match, Chelle beamed with pride following the performance of his players despite the short time frame. “It was a difficult game, Rwanda has a great team. I…
Thomas Tuchel began his reign as England boss with a 2-0 win against Albania, however, he echoed is new side must “do better”. Tuchel oversaw a good start to the Three Lions’ World Cup qualifying campaign with a triumph at Wembley, however, the German was keen on pointing out his wish for a better display. Arsenal left back Myles Lewis-Skelly repaid Tuchel’s faith in him as he put the hosts ahead inside 20 minutes of his debut and captain Harry Kane wrapped up the contest with a strike in the 77th minute. Despite the win, there were long moments of…
Aston Villa attacker Morgan Rogers spoke of the “aura” of new England head coach Thomas Tuchel, which can inspire the team in their bid to win the World Cup. Tuchel welcomed the England players this week, ahead of their World Cup qualifiers which gets underway on Friday against Albania and Latvia at Wembley. The German, who commenced duty as successor to Gareth Southgate in January, held a team meeting on Monday where he made known the mission to win the World Cup — and Rogers, who currently works with Unai Emery at Villa, insisted he had never worked with a…
Kylian Mbappe revealed his elation to reunite with the France national team after six months, ahead of the Nations League quarter finals against Croatia. “I feel good, I feel happy to be playing football, I feel happy to be here,” Mbappe said at a news conference. The Real Madrid forward missed two games in October due to injury and another pair of games in November, following the decision by coach Didier Deschamps to rest him during a difficult period as he adapted to life a his new club. However, with Thursday’s first leg contest in Croatia in view, Mbappe admitted…