England
Marcus Rashford penalty gives England win over Romania in Euro warm-up
Marcus Rashford’s penalty earned England an unconvincing 1-0 win over Romania in their final warm-up friendly ahead of Euro 2020 in Middlesbrough on Sunday. However, victory for Gareth Southgate’s men was again overshadowed by booing from supporters as the players took the knee before kick-off. Southgate’s selection will also be questioned as he named an experimental line-up with five players who are not part of his final squad making an appearance at some point in the game. There is still one place up for grabs in Southgate’s 26-man squad, though, due to an injury to Trent Alexander-Arnold. James Ward-Prowse, Ben Godfrey and Ben White were all given the chance to further their case from the start, while Jesse Lingard and Ollie Watkins came off the bench in the second-half. An inexperience...
West Ham and Tottenham stars in line to shine in tough Euro 2020 group
Of all the Euro 2020 groups, Group D is perhaps the one with the fieriest rivalries. England begin their campaign with a clash against Croatia. The Three Lions will still be hurting from the World Cup semi-final defeat back in 2018, and will be hungry for revenge. They follow this up with a fixture against neighbours Scotland, who qualified for their first major tournament since 1998. England vs Scotland at Wembley? Yes please! The final team in the group is Czech Republic. Despite being underdogs, they boast the best finish in European Championship history in their group, finishing second in 1996. It’s shaping up to be a group worth watching. Croatia – Mislav Orsic Orsic destroyed one English team – can he do it again? The man who gives Tottenham Hotspur fans nightmares. Mislav Orsic has ...
Bukayo Saka wins Arsenal Player of the Season award
Bukayo Saka has capped a dream week by being named Arsenal’s Player of the Season. Saka began the week by being named in England’s Euro 2020 squad on Tuesday, making the final 26-man cut for this summer’s tournament despite stiff competition. On the same day, Saka was also nominated for Premier League Young Player of the Season following an impressive 2020/21 campaign with Arsenal. On Wednesday, it got even better for Saka as he started for England in their Euro 2020 warm-up friendly against Austria, scoring his first senior international goal to earn a 1-0 victory at the Riverside Stadium. Saka was also nominated for the PFA’s Young Player of the Season award the same day, while on Friday the 19-year-old was named Arsenal’s Player of the Season. Arsenal fans voted for the award, with 51 p...
Antonio Conte unconvinced by Tottenham project
Antonio Conte has major doubts about becoming Tottenham’s next head coach and is inclined to turn them down, according to Sky Italy. Spurs have been in talks with the former Chelsea boss, who left Inter Milan after winning Serie A last month. But after considering the role for several days, Conte remains unconvinced Spurs are a team ready to win trophies immediately. The Italian has won five league titles in the last decade and is looking for another ‘winning project’. He is trying to understand if it is possible to bridge the gap with the top four or five Premier League teams in a short period of time – with Spurs having finished 24 points behind champions Manchester City. It is understood Spurs would not pressure him to win trophies. If the parties fail to strike a deal, Conte could also...
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy receives hero’s welcome in Senegal
Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was given a hero’s welcome by his Senegal teammates on his arrival at the national team camp on Thursday evening. Players and members of the national team management waited until late on Thursday evening to welcome the 29-year-old, who helped Chelsea win the Uefa Champions League trophy last Saturday after a 1-0 victory over Manchester City. Mendy is the second Senegalese player to lift the coveted European title after Sadio Mane won it with Liverpool in the 2018-19 season. He played a vital role in the Blues’ successful European campaign with a record nine clean sheets in 12 games. Following an impressive debut campaign in England, Mendy, who has made himself Chelsea’s no. 1, said he will continue working to improve his game. “I don’t set limits for myself...
Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold ruled out of Euro 2020
Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of the European Championship after suffering a thigh injury in Wednesday’s friendly win over Austria. The Liverpool defender limped off in the closing stages of the 1-0 victory, with Three Lions boss Gareth Southgate offering a grim prognosis immediately after the game. His fears were realised when scans revealed the extent of Alexander-Arnold’s injury – with the Football Association confirming his withdrawal on Thursday. Trent Alexander-Arnold has been ruled out of UEFA EURO 2020,” a statement said. “The Liverpool player sustained a thigh injury in the closing stages of Wednesday’s 1-0 win against Austria in Middlesbrough. “A scan on Thursday confirmed the 22-year-old will be unable to play in the forthcoming tournament so he has withdrawn from th...
Jordi Cruyff returning to Barcelona in advisor role
Jordi Cruyff, the son of Barcelona legend Johan, is returning to Camp Nou in an advisor role. The 47-year-old followed in the footsteps of his famous father when stepping out of the La Masia academy system in Catalunya. Much of his career was spent away from Barca, while he has also dabbled in coaching since hanging up his boots, but a familiar face now forms part of the restructuring work being put in behind the scenes by Blaugrana president Joan Laporta. Barca have said in a statement on the club’s official website: “FC Barcelona announces that Jordi Cruyff will join the football area of the Club and form part of the new organisational structure as of August 1. “Jordi Cruyff, who was a player in Barca’s youth teams and in the Barca first team from 1993 to 1996, returns in a strategic rol...
‘Our starboy’, ‘frame-worthy’: Some Arsenal fans react to Bukayo Saka’s debut England goal
A selection of Arsenal fans were delighted for Bukayo Saka as he netted his maiden England goal in an international friendly against Austria on Wednesday. The 19-year-old was the standout performer for the Gunners last term, registering seven goals and 10 assists from 46 appearances in all competitions. Earlier this week, Saka made the cut for the 26-man squad for the European Championships, and he opened his goalscoring account for the Three Lions last night. It was a tap-in into an empty net, but Saka found himself in the right position to take advantage of the loose ball after Jack Grealish was intercepted. His 56th-minute goal ended up being the winner (1-0 victory). Here is how some of the Gunners’ faithful reacted after his maiden goal for his country. Twitter reactions: “Why is Saka...
Has Gareth Southgate selected the right England squad?
England’s final 26-man squad for the European Championships was announced yesterday, sparking the usual carnage that we’ve come to expect from social media. The Three Lions haven’t even begun their warm-up games yet, and people have already declared the tournament as a write-off. “What’s the point? We’ll never win without <player who was left out of the squad> #SouthgateOut“, several furious fans Tweeted, with perhaps less clean language. Frankly, Southgate could have named any selection of players, and there still would have been outrage. Even if there were only 26 English professional footballers in the world, fans would have expressed their disgust over the omission of a 79-year-old Geoff Hurst or their mate from five-a-side. Complaining – it’s what the English do best. It’s natur...
Gary Lineker expects Manchester clubs or PSG to win Harry Kane race
Gary Lineker believes that both Manchester clubs and Paris Saint-Germain are the favourites to land Harry Kane in the summer, although he expects Daniel Levy to fight hard to keep Tottenham’s star man. Kane recorded 22 goals and 14 assists in the Premier League last season to secure both the golden boot and the playmaker award, despite Spurs finishing in seventh place in the table. As reported by Goal on May 17, the Spurs forward, who will captain England at the upcoming European Championship in the summer, wants to leave the north Londoners and Lineker can understand his desire for trophies. “I think that it would be worrying [to see him dominate the league if he joins Manchester City],” Lineker told Goal. “I would love to see him at Barcelona but they are going for [Sergio] Aguero and ar...
Euro 2020: Gareth Southgate invites Bukayo Saka, 24 others
Gareth Southgate hit back at the critics after selecting Trent Alexander-Arnold for England’s Euro 2020 squad as the Three Lions boss admitted Harry Maguire is a doubt for the opener against Croatia. Alexander-Arnold had to endure a nervous wait before learning he had made the cut after spending much of the season out of favour with Southgate. The 22-year-old was left out of Southgate’s England squad for their World Cup qualifiers in March. But Alexander-Arnold’s strong end to the season with Liverpool convinced Southgate to restore the right-back to his squad. Alexander-Arnold responded to his selection by tweeting: “Always believe in yourself. Silence the doubters.” Irritated by the inaccurate pre-announcement reports that he would drop Alexander-Arnold, Southgate insisted he never lost ...
Gareth Southgate reveals final England squad for Euro 2020
Gareth Southgate has released his 26-man squad for this summer’s European Championships. The England boss initially named a provisional 33-man squad on May 25, with several players involved in major European finals or carrying injuries. He has now cut seven players from the provisional squad, leaving 26 who will play for the Three Lions at Euro 2020. Much of the debate over the squad has been surrounding Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold, who was excluded from the last squad in March. However, Southgate has recalled the youngster. It was confirmed earlier today that Mason Greenwood had pulled out of the squad due to an underlying injury concern. Now, it has been revealed that the other six omitted from the squad are Aaron Ramsdale, Ben White, Ben Godfrey, Jesse Lingard, James Ward-Prowse ...
