Portugal defender Ruben Dias has stated the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo in the team can aid them to great things ahead of their Euro 2024 opener against Czech Republic on Tuesday. Portugal lifted Europe’s biggest international prize in 2016 and are led and captained by Ronaldo – who is set to play in his record-extending sixth European Championship. The 39-year-old is the highest goalscorer in men’s international football with 130 goals and is also the all-time top scorer in the tournament with 14 strikes — with France’s Michel Platini in second after registering nine goals. The Manchester City centre-back said…
Author: Somto Isaac
Erik ten Hag stated Manchester United settled with “the best” solution in their pursuit of contacting potential manager, ending speculation of a new name coming through the door. Before the FA Cup final, widespread reports circulated of the new club board, led by Sir Jim Ratcliffe, to relieve the Dutchman of his duties as head coach of the side. However, after the Red Devils’ win against neighbours Manchester City – which many believed was the turning point – a club review took place. After United reportedly met with possible replacements, with names like Thomas Tuchel, Kieran McKenna, Mauricio Pochettino and…
ylian Mbappe has addressed the situation involving himself, Real Madrid and the French Olympic Team – confirming he will not represent his country in Paris for the games. The 25-year-old — who was always keen on playing in his homeland for the Olympic tournament — stated that his new club are not in support of the idea. The Olympic Games is not on FIFA’s calendar and clubs are not obligated to release their players for the the football tournament of the event. Head coach Thierry Henry excluded Mbappe in the preliminary 25-man squad for the tournament earlier this month, though…
Portugal defender Joao Cancelo is aiming to make up for lost time as he plans to channel his frustration on missing out on Euro 2020 in the 2024 European Championship. Ahead of Portugal kickstarting their journey in the competition, the 30-year-old missed out on the previous tournament due to COVID-19. Speaking in press conference, the Barcelona defender (on-loan from Manchester City) said: “It was unfair, because I had a great season, I felt like I should have been there but life didn’t want it that way. “Maybe I had to wait for this moment to be the right one to…
Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk has stated the shameful state of the Volksparkstadion pitch ahead of his team’s 2024 European Championship opener against Poland on Sunday. Both sides have voiced concerns about the state of the turf and none of them held their past pre-match training session at the stadium in Hamburg. Speaking at a press conference, Van Dijk said it was similar to the pitch used for the Dutch’s friendly against Germany in Frankfurt in March. “We don’t know exactly yet whether the pitch is very bad. “It looks like the pitch is the same as for the match…
Luka Modric has stated that Croatia “don’t mind being dark horses” in the 2024 European Championship despite punching above their weight in previous international tournaments. Zlatko Dalic’s side kickstart their Euro journey against Spain at Olympiastadion in Berlin on Saturday, seeking to reach the knockout stage of a major tournament for a fifth successive time. After reaching the FIFA World Cup final in 2018, and then finishing third in Qatar two years ago, Croatia have not yet been widely acclaimed to be in the same bracket as the likes of France, England, Portugal and Germany as favourites. This is something…
Scotland captain Andy Robertson believes lessons have been learnt while urging his teammates to turn things around as soon as possible following their 5-1 defeat to Germany in the opening game of Euro 2024 on Friday. The Germans wasted little time in the contest as Florian Wirtz netted inside 10 minutes and Jamal Musiala added a second minutes later. The Scots were reduced to 10 men after Ryan Porteous was sent off for a bad challenge on captain Ilkay Gundogan inside the penalty area — a resulting spot kick which Kai Havertz converted to give the hosts a commanding lead…
Spain are set to lock horns with Croatia in their opening Group B game of the 2024 European Championship on Saturday – and will be without a key player in their defensive setup. Spain coach Luis de la Fuente revealed that Aymeric Laporte will not be available for after being ruled out due to an unnamed “issue”. Highlighting that, although Laporte was fit enough to be on the pitch, De la Fuente said in his press conference that he was not going to consider the defender for selection. The 62-year-old said to newsmen: “Aymeric Laporte didn’t get injured, he just…
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has called on his side to avoid any sort of pressure which Scotland will look to take advantage of, when they play their first game as hosts on the 2024 European Championship on Friday. The 36-year-old also stated that the self-belief and hunger for success among his charges is also going to be a big propeller in their quest to be crowned European kings. Understanding his players will no doubt feel the necessary pressure, the former Bayern and RB Leipzig manager insisted the team is fit and prepared to go. Speaking in a press conference…
England captain Harry Kane believes the team can make history due to the extreme desire to make amends after their loss in the Euro 2020 final to Italy. The Three Lions begin their quest to win their first major international title since 1966 – as they face Serbia in their first game of the 2024 European Championship against Serbia on Sunday. Speaking to Spiegel, a German magazine, in an interview — “I’m not saying we’ll definitely win the tournament, but we have a really good chance.” The 30-year-old netted 44 times in 45 appearances across all competitions for Bayern Munich…