Khvicha Kvaratskhelia could not contain his excitement after putting a man-of-the-match performance to fire Georgia into the last 16 of Euro 2024 in their historic 2-0 win against Portugal. The 23-year-old also received the jersey of his childhood hero Cristiano Ronaldo, who inspired him with a pre-match pep talk. Kvaratskhelia netted Georgia’s opener inside 120 seconds and continued his dazzling performance with dribbles before being substituted with 15 minutes left – to send shockwaves to the Euro 2016 champions. The attacker, whom the Georgian nation depends on, had voiced his dreams of playing against Ronaldo and acquiring his idol’s shirt.…
Author: Somto Isaac
Belgium captain Kevin De Bruyne has reacted to the boos and whistles from the nation’s faithful in their goalless draw with Ukraine on Wednesday. The boos were doubled when the 32-year-old was announced as the man of the match — a game which set up a round of 16 clash against France. Quizzed about the fans’ hostile attitude, the Manchester City midfielder responded neutrally, admitting the players gave their all to gain maximum points. “We tried to win the match and up to the 90th minute, we had goal-scoring opportunities … and we know that we can concede a goal…
Portugal gaffer Roberto Martinez praised the “incredible belief” of Georgia while also throwing light to the possible causes of their Euro 2024 Group F, 2-0 loss on Wednesday. With a round of 16 ticket in the bag for Portugal, Martinez started the contest with just three of the players in the starting lineup from the victory over Turkey. However, if Martinez had aimed for players to show more ahead of competing for places for the knockout clash against Slovenia – he was left with doubts as his charges were outplayed. “It’s a defeat. We started with low intensity, we conceded…
The Premier League’s status as financial heavyweights was shown in a latest report as the European football market grew by 16% to €35.3 billion [£29.8 billion], according to Deloitte, in the 2022-23 season. The ‘top five’ European leagues generated total revenue of €19.6 billion, up 14% on the previous campaign, and reported an aggregate operating profit [€0.5 billion] – a first since 2018-19. Boosted by the lifting of the leftover restrictions on coronavirus and the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, were Coffers — according to the Annual Review of Football Finance published by the Deloitte Sports Business Group. Revenue increase…
Arne Slot and Liverpool have reportedly identified three names as potential options to strengthen their defensive unit ahead of the 2024-25 season. With captain Virgil van Dijk not getting younger, and with Joe Gomez, Jarell Quansah and Ibrahima Konate as the only younger options – reinforcements are being looked at ahead of the upcoming campaign. The Reds are reported to be eyeing two new centre-backs to strengthen their defence. Top of Slot’s wishlist is Goncalo Inacio, a player monitored since October. The Portuguese centre-half had decided to stay put at Sporting CP in January due to personal reasons but now,…
Portugal coach Roberto Martinez voiced his dissatisfaction with the attitude of spectators invading the pitch to meet Cristiano Ronaldo. The gaffer expressed his concern about security after several supporters made their way to the field to request for a photo with the superstar in Portugal’s 3-0 triumph against Turkey. The 39-year-old eventually posed for a selfie with a young boy with 20 minutes left on the clock — and five others came on to the turf to also get pictures which made Ronaldo cut a frustrated figure. Claiming the man of the match award, Bernardo Silva waved away the incidents,…
Croatia have been slapped a multi-thousand Euro fine by UEFA following the incidents in their Euro 2024 affair against Albania. European football’s governing body hit the Croatian Football Federation [HNS] with a fine of €28,000 [$29,900] due to the occurrence in the stands in the 2-2 draw on Wednesday. The HNS published a statement on its website stating that the fine will be paid after the “lighting of flares and throwing of objects by some Croatian fans during the match played on June 19th in Hamburg”. The statement read: “The Croatian Football Federation thanks the Croatian fans for their excellent…
France coach Didier Deschamps stated he did not have any regrets while also insisting it was a “wise decision” to leave Kylian Mbappe on the bench during Friday’s goalless draw with the Netherlands. The Les Bleus captain suffered a broken nose in their Euro 2024 opener against Austria, and watched from the sidelines as his teammates were guilty of some wasteful opportunities as they could not secure their place in the last 16 yet. Deschamps admitted his decision may have been in a different line for a knockout game but is hopeful his star forward can be fit for the…
Africa’s biggest showpiece between its nations has gotten an official kickoff date as the next Africa Cup of Nations finals have been put back six months and will now take place from December 21, 2025 to January 18, 2026. The Confederation of African Football [CAF] has announced as the tournament in Morocco – which was expected to hold in the has been shifted due to FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup in June and July which pits 32 teams against each other in the United States of America. African football’s governing body also shifted the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations by…
Germany skipper Ilkay Gundogan lavished praise on Jamal Musiala following Wednesday’s 2-0 triumph against Hungary, labelling him “incredible” and “a joy to play with”. Musiala converted from a Gundogan assist to net the opener in the first half and also was instrumental the providing the second for the captain. The Bayern Munich youngster was also on the scoresheet while being named man of the match in Germany’s 5-1 win in the competition opener against Scotland on Friday. Speaking highly of the talented forward, Gundogan said: “For me he’s incredible. It’s such a joy to play with him. He’s someone who…