England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd has claimed he has an utterly impossible job , with his team on the verge of an exit from Euro 2021.
Boothroyd s youngsters have lost their first two group matches in the rearranged tournament, to Switzerland and Portugal respectively.
The defeats have left England needing to beat Croatia by at least two goals on Wednesday, while hoping that Portugal overcome Switzerland, to reach the quarter-finals, which take place later this year.
Jadon Sancho, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are among the star names Boothroyd could have had at his disposal for the competition, though all of them are now seen as senior players, with only Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold not selected in Gareth South…
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In what is a heavyweight showdown from Group E on Sunday night, Spain will meet Germany at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Spain
Starting with Spain, while La Roja might have opened this year s tournament tipped as an outside pick to claim a second world crown in Qatar, Luis Enrique s men laid down a real marker earlier in the week. Opening their Group E adventure with a stunning 7-0 romp against Costa Rica, the former Barcelona boss should find the mood in his camp at a red-hot high. Knowing that they re seen as a landslide contender to book their knockout stage ticket, the European giants should be smelling the chance to make another statement at the Al Bayt Stadium. Gaining a string of plaudits and booking their spot in the semi-finals of this…
Borussia Dortmund breezed into the DFB-Pokal final despite the absence of Erling Haaland, Giovanni Reyna scoring twice in a 5-0 thrashing of Holstein Kiel.
Marco Reus, Thorgan Hazard and Jude Bellingham were also on target in a first-half rout, Dortmund dismantling their second-tier opponents to set up a showdown with RB Leipzig on May 13.
Kiel had sensationally ended Bayern Munich s reign in the competition when knocking out the holders on penalties in the second round. They also came out on top in a dramatic shoot-out against Darmstadt in the last 16, while they progressed to the semi-finals thanks to a 3-0 triumph away at Rot-Weiss Essen.
However, any hopes of another upset had long disappeared by half-time at Signal Iduna Park as the injured Haaland – ruled…
What better way to start the new year. Thanks for the appreciation and the care that I have received today, Ronaldo wrote in an Instagram post as he shared a photo of the award alongside Jorge Mendes, who was named Agent of the Year.
Ronaldo has made a seamless transition from Real Madrid to Juventus following his sensational €112million transfer in the off-season.
He has scored a league-high 14 Serie A goals to help Italian champions Juve sit nine points clear atop the table.
Atletico, meanwhile, were named Best Club of the Year and World Cup-winning France boss Didier Deschamps took out the Best Coach.
Juve s Blaise Matuidi and Brazil great Ronaldo were also among the recipients.
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D.C. United will appoint Wayne Rooney as their new head coach, according to reports.
Rooney left Championship club Derby County in June, having overseen a difficult period for the club during his first job as a manager.
Having kept Derby up on the final day of the 2020-21 campaign, Rooney was unable to repeat that feat in the 2021-22 season, in large part due to a 21-point penalty for financial mismanagement by their ownership.
He was the subject of interest from his old club Everton in January, but declined the opportunity to be interviewed for a role subsequently filled by Frank Lampard.
Rooney is now set to take over at Major League Soccer side D.C., where he played in 2018 and 2019 before returning to England to join Derby.
A massive thank yo…
Manchester United may be scouring the market for a striker as speculation persists around Cristiano Ronaldo s future, but Salzburg s Benjamin Sesko would come at a heavy price – at least as far as the Austrians Twitter admin is concerned.
United s tally of just 57 Premier League goals last season was their lowest since they netted 54 times in 2016-17, and Ronaldo s apparent desire to leave for a Champions League club has intensified rumours the Red Devils may seek a new forward.
Salzburg s Sesko is the latest to be linked with a move to Old Trafford, with the 19-year-old having scored 11 goals for the Austrian champions in all competitions last season.
But Salzburg appear to be driving a hard bargain, according to their English-language Twitter account, whic…
According to a recent report from Sky Sports, Manchester City have commenced their initial negotiations with Raheem Sterling over the Englishman’s future at the club. The belief is that the contract they’re willing to offer him would be the biggest in the history of Manchester City Football Club, which comes in the wake of a string of impressive performances over the course of the season thus far. They are said to have held a meeting with Sterling’s representatives, and by they, we mean the Chief Operating Officer and Director of Football within City’s ranks.
The deal in question would see his wages rise from the previous total of £275,000 per week, and would go above and beyond the £350,000 per week deal that was recently signed by none other than Kevin De Bruyne.…
Newcastle United are willing to sell Allan Saint-Maximin in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe has given the green light to his club’s chiefs to sell the French winger if they get a good offer. This is so that Newcastle can bring in a new top-class forward.
Saint-Maximin has been on the books of Newcastle sine 2019 and has been superb for the Magpies during his time at St. James’ Park so far. The Newcastle no. 10 has scored 11 goals and created 21 big chances in 88 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. The winger scored five goals and gave five assists in 31 Premier League starts last season.
Newcastle are starting their grand project, and it is interesting that they are willing to…
Antonio Conte has urged Tottenham to be more clinical after they were held to a goalless draw by Eintracht Frankfurt in the Champions League.
Despite registering 11 shots on goal, Spurs failed to score in successive group games in the competition for the first time since the 2016-17 season.
Conte s side subsequently missed the chance to move top of Group D, but the Italian praised the intensity and personality demonstrated by his players on the back of a 3-1 North London derby defeat at Arsenal.
We played a match with great intensity; we didn t allow them to play their football or press a lot in every area of the pitch, he told BT Sport.
At the same time, we have to be more clinical. We created many chances to score. At the end, we are talking about a d…
According to a recent report from Sport, both Barcelona and Real Madrid are set to go toe to toe in an attempt to sign Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek. The 22 year old has been heavily linked with a move away from the Dutch club for a while now, with many believing that he would wind up leaving this past summer – but it wasn’t to be.
Ajax were able to keep hold of him but now that the Dutch giants have slipped down into the Europa League, it would appear as if van de Beek is seriously considering his options.
Out of the two aforementioned sides the belief is that Real are in the driving seat regarding negotiations, as they’ve already spoken with the Dutchman’s agent.
VDB is set to cost between £41.5 million and £50 million depending on the…