Portugal
Portugal vs Serbia preview, team news, betting tips & prediction
Portugal will look to pull clear at the top of Group A with a win over Serbia when the two sides meet in the World Cup qualifiers this week. The two sides will meet on the 14th of November at 19:45 pm BST. Portugal are in impressive form right now and they will look to pick up a win at home this weekend. The home side are level on points with Serbia and a defeat here could see them drop down to second in the standings. The home fans will demand a strong performance from the players and it remains to be seen whether the players can step up and get the job done. Serbia are in outstanding form as well and they will look to climb to the top of their group with a win here. They will be hoping to pull off an upset here. Portugal vs Serbia team news Portugal possible start...
Republic of Ireland vs Portugal preview, team news, betting tips & prediction
Portugal will look to pick up a win over the Republic of Ireland when the two sides meet in the World Cup qualifiers this week. The two sides will meet on the 11th of November at 19:45 pm BST. Portugal are just one point behind group leaders Serbia and they will be desperate to climb to the top of their group with a win here. They are in impressive form right now and the Portuguese will be the favourites to win here. Republic of Ireland have picked up just five points from six matches but they have been difficult to beat in their last few outings. Republic of Ireland vs Portugal team news Republic of Ireland possible starting lineup: Bazunu; Omobamidele, Duffy, Egan; Doherty, Hendrick, Cullen, Browne, McClean; Robinson, Idah Portugal possible starting lineup: Patricio; Da...
Bruno Fernandes: Manchester United midfielder closing in on new deal
Manchester United midfielder Bruno Fernandes is expected to sign a new five-year contract with the Red Devils. The 27-year-old midfielder joined the Old Trafford outfit back in January 2020 for a fee of around £60 million and he has developed into a key part of Ole Gunnar Solskajer’s first-team plans. Apparently, the player is a target for Real Madrid and Barcelona but Manchester United are keen on tying him down to a new long term contract. Fernandes is expected to sign a new deal that will keep him at the club until the summer of 2026 and he will earn more than £250,000 a week. As per the Sun, the two parties have been in talks for months now and the extension could be announced within the next few weeks. Apparently, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo has played a key role in convincing th...
‘What a star’, ‘Our Sergio Aguero’ – Some Liverpool fans drool over 24-yr-old’s Int’l dislpay
Portugal picked up a 3-0 win over Azerbaijan in the World Cup qualifiers last night and Liverpool forward Diogo Jota put on a splendid display for his country. The 24-year-old has started the season in excellent form for club and country and he chipped in with a goal and assist against Azerbaijan. Jota caused all sorts of problems for Azerbaijan with his clever link-up play and runs into the box. The Portuguese international worked hard and created chances for his teammates with his flair and movement as well. The Liverpool attacker has scored in two of their three Premier League games so far as well and fans will be hoping for more of the same when the Reds take on Leeds United this weekend. Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino is currently sidelined with an injury and the Portuguese intern...
Messi miles ahead of Bayern and Chelsea stars in Ballon D’Or race
The 2020/21 season has officially come to a close, and it’s around this time when we start to speculate about our award winners. The Ballon d’Or is the most high profile individual award in the game, recognising the world’s best player from the past 12 months. With the season over, we’re now looking at our potential winners. Two months ago, we compiled a list of the leading candidates for the prize. Since then, we’ve had a Champions League final and a summer of international football. Some of the list has aged well. Other parts….not so much (whose idea was it to give Antoine Griezmann an honourable mention?). Anyway, two months on, and we now have a clearer picture of who our 2021 Ballon d’Or winner could be. Lionel Messi The Copa America has tipped the balance in Messi’s favour As things ...
Dutch FA opens talks with Louis van Gaal over return to national team
Louis van Gaal has moved a step closer to returning as Netherlands coach for a third time after meeting with Dutch football association officials to discuss the job, local media reported on Friday. The reports said the 69-year-old held talks at his home in Portugal on Thursday with KNVB directors Nico-Jan Hoogma and Eric Gudde, who are responsible for the choice of a new coach after Frank de Boer’s resignation. De Boer resigned after their Euro 2020 last-16 defeat to Czech Republic on June 27 and the KNVB said it would move swiftly to find a replacement, with the team set to resume their World Cup qualification campaign in September. Van Gaal, who officially retired in 2019 but stepped away from the game two years earlier after leaving Manchester United, had two previous spells at the helm...
Euro 2020 Golden Boot: Cristiano Ronaldo or Harry Kane?
Just one game remains of Euro 2020, with England facing Italy at Wembley Stadium on Sunday to determine the European champions. Of course, all the focus will be on the full-time result. But one subplot to the game involves England captain Harry Kane, who has the opportunity to win his second Golden Boot of the year. Ronaldo currently leads the Golden Boot race with five goals and one assist As it stands, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo leads the way in the Euro 2020 goal charts with five. He is level with Czech Republic’s Patrik Schick, and one ahead of Kane, Emil Forsberg, Karim Benzema and Romelu Lukaku on four. If two players are tied for goals, the player with the most assists out of the two is awarded the prize. As Ronaldo has one assist, he is placed ahead of Schick, who has none. If th...
Euro 2020: UEFA name German referee for England vs Ukraine
German referee Felix Brych will take charge of England vs Ukraine – just days after the Three Lions dumped his nation out of Euro 2020. Raheem Sterling and Harry Kane grabbed the goals as Gareth Southgate’s side defeated Germany 2-0 at Wembley on Tuesday. That was enough to fire England into the quarters where they are now preparing to take on Ukraine in Rome. And the man in the middle will be someone who would have wanted England to lose two days ago. Brych is Germany’s representative at Euro 2020 and one of the best-known referees in the world. He took charge of Portugal’s last 16 exit to Belgium, a match in which he dished out five yellow cards. He’s already refereed Ukraine at this tournament, overseeing their thrilling 3-2 defeat to Holland. That match saw Ukraine boss Andriy Shevchen...
Belgium send defending champion Portugal out of Euro 2020
Belgium have sent out defending champions, Portugal out of Euro 2020, with a lone goal victory on Sunday. Portugal dominated the game with 24 goal attempts and five shots on goal, while Belgium scored with its only shot on goal and six goal attempts. Thorgan Hazard got the only goal of the match for Belgium on 42 minutes. He latched on to a superb pass and breaks through the defence before firing a shot from mid-range that goes past the goalkeeper inside the right post. On 58 minutes, Diogo Jota had a chance to draw Portugal level. He picked up an inch-perfect pass inside the box and fired the ball just over the crossbar. On 83 minutes, Raphael Guerreiro fired a brilliant shot from the edge of the box, but the effort rattled the right post It could have been a superb goal for Portugal if i...
Euro 2020: Knockout games bring the best out of France – Hugo Lloris
A depleted France will draw motivation from the threat of elimination as they prepare to face Switzerland in their European Championship last-16 match, captain Hugo Lloris said on Sunday. World champions France topped Group F with one win and two draws ahead of Portugal and Germany but key players in their backline have picked up injuries to give coach Didier Deschamps a selection headache on Monday. While Ousmane Dembele and Marcus Thuram are unavailable, Deschamps confirmed full backs Jules Kounde and Lucas Digne are also ruled out against the Swiss. Left back Lucas Hernandez, who injured his knee, has a chance to feature. Speaking at a news conference, goalkeeper Lloris said France – who finished runners-up in 2016 – were accustomed to do-or-die situations and thrived under pressure. “W...
Former Premier League men star, Ronaldo quiet – Belgium 1-0 Portugal Player Ratings
Belgium reached the quarter-finals of Euro 2020 after a tight 1-0 win over Portugal. The first chance of the game fell to Portugal, and they will have been disappointed with the end result. Renato Sanches embarked on a brilliant driving run before feeding Diogo Jota, but the Liverpool man dragged his shot well wide. For much of the first half, Belgium were struggling to create anything of note, finding themselves limited to an ambitious effort by Thomas Meunier. But they managed to take the lead shortly before half time in fine fashion. Thorgan Hazard picked up the ball from 25 yards out and unleashed a powerful strike into the far corner. Although the ball moved a lot in the air, Portuguese goalkeeper Rui Patricio will feel like he should have done better. There was an early blow in the s...
Romelu Lukaku backed to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich
Former Belgium striker Emile Mpenza has tipped Romelu Lukaku to succeed Robert Lewandowski at Bayern Munich. The 28-year-old has excelled at Inter, scoring 64 goals in just 95 matches since joining the Serie A side from Manchester United in 2019. The forward has a similar record for the national team, having struck 63 times in 96 caps for the Rode Duivels, including three at Euro 2020. Mpenza has been amazed by the ex-Chelsea and Anderlecht player’s development and believes Bayern would be smart to look at him if they need to replace Poland sensation Lewandowski following his 48-goal campaign in Germany. “Romelu’s strength in a duel and his speed are outstanding. That makes it so difficult for the defenders against him,” Mpenza told Sport Bild. “If they go into a duel with him, he uses his...
