France full-back Bacary Sagna is hopeful over his hamstring injury suffered in his team’s win over Bulgaria. Sagna, 33, is expected to return to Manchester on Saturday and be replaced in the squad by Lille’s Sebastien Corchia. The Manchester City full-back, who came off in the 27th minute, hopes he has avoided a serious injury. “Before the penalty I accelerated and I think I’ve torn it a little bit,” Sagna said Friday. “I’ll have exams tomorrow. “I do not know if it’s serious.” Sagna had given away an early penalty in Paris on Friday, with Mihail Aleksandrov putting Bulgaria ahead.…
Author: David Folami
Spain coach Julen Lopetegui lamented his side’s failure to put Italy away in their 1-1 draw in World Cup qualifying. A second-half goal from Vitolo put the visitors on track in Turin, but they conceded a late Daniele De Rossi penalty on Thursday. Lopetegui said it was a characteristic comeback by Italy, particularly after his team were unable to find a second goal. “I think we’ve had our chance to get the game,” he told a news conference. “But they are Italy, if you don’t knock them down, it’s like in the movies, at the end they get up and…
Sergio Ramos lashed out at his critics after the penalty he gave away cost Spain victory in their World Cup qualifier against Italy, insisting he will “shut them up”. Spain took a 1-0 lead at Juventus Stadium when Vitolo punished an error from Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon to open the scoring in the 55th minute. Buffon raced out of his area to challenge the Sevilla forward but failed to connect with the ball, leaving his goal gaping. Italy received a reprieve when a tackle from Ramos sent Eder to ground inside the area and Daniele De Rossi duly dispatched the…
Arjen Robben’s miserable luck with injuries continued after he was ruled out of Netherlands’ two World Cup qualifiers by head coach Danny Blind. The Dutch are due to face Belarus and France in the coming days and had hoped to have had Robben involved in some way for the Group A double-header. The winger missed a large chunk of last season with adductor problems and has been sidelined in the current campaign with a hamstring strain. Robben made his first start of the season against Cologne last weekend but it only lasted 45 minutes as he was substituted at half…
Arsene Wenger has distanced himself from speculation linking him with the England manager’s job by saying that it should be given to an Englishman. The Arsenal boss, who is in the final year of his contract at Emirates Stadium, was touted as a possible successor to Roy Hodgson before Sam Allardyce’s appointment in July. And the 66-year-old has again been tipped as a candidate after Allardyce left the role by mutual consent in the wake of allegations that he told undercover journalists how to get around transfer rules. Football Association chief executive Martin Glenn has said that Wenger “fits the…
Kyle Walker is confident England have developed a plan B since their Euro 2016 disaster that should serve them well in World Cup qualification. England struggled under Roy Hodgson during the championships in France with one win in their three group games, and their time in the knockout stages was short-lived. Despite being huge favourites to beat Iceland, the Three Lions slipped to an embarrassing 2-1 defeat in Nice. Ahead of their second Group F qualifier with Malta, Walker believes things have changed within the England camp and they now have more options to help break teams down. “I thought…
Super Eagles captain John Mikel Obi has commented on the debates on his best position. Mikel Obi burst onto the scene as a No. 10 before moving to Chelsea where Jose Mourinho turned him into a defensive midfielder. While he continues to play as a defensive midfielder for Chelsea, the 29-year-old midfielder is usually deployed as the second holding midfielder in the national team. Speaking of the change, the Super Eagles captain reveals he enjoyed playing anywhere in the midfield. “I grew up playing offensively for Nigeria but at #CFC I play in holding midfield. I just enjoy playing,” Mikel…
France forward Antoine Griezmann defended Paul Pogba after another disappointing display by the midfielder on Friday. Pogba struggled to have an impact but Didier Deschamps’ men still recorded a 4-1 victory over Bulgaria in World Cup qualifying. Griezmann, who scored once and set up another, urged calm about the Manchester United signing’s performance. “Paul needs affection,” he said, via L’Equipe. “He tries to do his best, give everything. “He has a different game with [former club] Juve, Manchester and here.” France fell behind to a Mihail Aleksandrov penalty in Paris, but a Kevin Gameiro brace and goals from Griezmann and…
France coach Didier Deschamps said midfielder Paul Pogba must improve on his display against Bulgaria. The Manchester United man put in another disappointing performance, but France still claimed a 4-1 victory in World Cup qualifying on Friday. Deschamps expects better from Pogba and said the 23-year-old was aware that he needed to improve. “I don’t like evaluating one player individually. [Pogba] alternated between good things and less good things,” he told a news conference. “Paul can and must do better. He knows that. “But he did not play in a position that highlights him. In this position, his role is…
France coach Didier Deschamps was happy with what he saw from Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro in his side’s win over Bulgaria. Gameiro scored a brace in Paris on Friday and Griezmann added one of his own in the 4-1 victory in World Cup qualifying. Deschamps said he was pleased with the pair, as France gained three points in Group A. “[Gameiro] is there to score goals. He scored two,” Deschamps told a news conference. “He was very interesting with his movements. He played for the team and his combination with Antoine worked very well.” The hosts had to come…
Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza was surprised by Lionel Messi’s knowledge of football, saying the star knew “everything” about the game. Messi, sidelined with a groin injury, is considered among the game’s greats thanks to his stunning displays and achievements with Barcelona. Bauza, who spoke to Messi before the 29-year-old reversed his international retirement, was stunned by how smart the attacker was. “What surprised me is how much he knows about football, because he knows everything, about his team-mates, the technical team, about football. He’s aware of everything,” he told Sport. “I always thought a player of his standing would have…
Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku praised the influence of Thierry Henry, insisting he is already learning plenty from the assistant coach. Lukaku was on the scoresheet as Belgium recorded a 4-0 win over Bosnia-Herzegovina in World Cup qualifying on Friday. The Everton star, who had earlier missed an easy chance, is delighted to be working closely with Henry, as well as coach Roberto Martinez. “I think he [Henry] teaches me a lot. He is very direct with me,” Lukaku said. “I know what I’m doing well, when I am doing something wrong he tells me as well. I am very pleased…
Gareth Bale insists Wales are undaunted by the loss of key midfielders Joe Allen and Aaron Ramsey for Sunday’s home World Cup qualifier against Georgia. Allen was forced from the field by a hamstring injury during the second half of Thursday’s 2-2 draw with Austria in Vienna. And it was also a hamstring problem, sustained while on club duty for Arsenal, that prevented Ramsey from being included in the squad for the two Group D fixtures. But Bale remains adamant that Chris Coleman’s side can cope without the sidelined duo and denied that their absence will pile even more pressure…
England goalkeeper Joe Hart admits he had limited options before moving from Manchester City, but is grateful to Torino. Hart was sent out on loan to the Serie A club having fallen down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola, who also signed Claudio Bravo from Barcelona. The 29-year-old said he had few choices before his switch, but was pleased with the decision he made. “I wasn’t sat there with 25 options. I wasn’t,” Hart said, via the Daily Mail. “Torino was a really good option for me and it definitely excited me to go to play in Serie A and…
While Atleti recruited well, it was more about strengthening the squad than the first team. Only one of the new additions has managed to force his way into the starting XI and on that premise by default the award goes to Kevin Gameiro. Having said that, it is well merited too. Signed for big money from Sevilla, the French striker has looked at home with Los Rojiblancos. The price tag has not seemed to weigh too heavy on his shoulders, which is more than can be said for a number of his predecessors. A coolly taken penalty in the 93rd…
Cristiano Ronaldo was “butchered and battered” during his first couple of years at Manchester United before developing into a player who was “out of this world,” according to his former teammate Gary Neville. Ronaldo arrived at Old Trafford as a teenager in 2003 and matured into one of the best footballers in the world, something Neville believes he owes to the schooling he had as a United player. “He didn’t arrive at Manchester United as someone who was setting the tone for everybody else. It wasn’t a case of he came in and all of a sudden everyone else upped…
Ryan Giggs says he did not pursue the position of Swansea City manager because the Welsh clubs’ “ambitions didn’t really match mine.” The former Manchester United star confirmed he had met with the Swans before the sacking of Francisco Guidolin last week. “There I was enjoying my year out, having done a bit of travelling and a bit of broadcasting, and I got the call from Swansea,” Giggs told ITV Sport. “So I met with them a couple of times. “But in the end, there were just mixed messages, really, from the football side and the ownership side of the…
Germany coach Joachim Low said his side had run the Czech Republic into the ground after an hour of their World Cup qualifier in Hamburg. The defending world champions prevailed 3-0 and Low said he knew two thirds of the way in — when his side led 2-0 — that it was already game, set and match. “You could see after an hour that we had run our opponents ragged,” he said. “They had no chance then.” The Czech Republic did create their best chances after the hour mark, but Germany’s win was never in any doubt. “We could possibly…
England caretaker manager Gareth Southgate defended captain Wayne Rooney after Saturday’s 2-0 World Cup qualifier win over Malta. First-half goals from Dele Alli and Daniel Sturridge were enough to earn the three points for Southgate’s side, but after the break England’s performance dropped significantly, to the extent that some sections of the crowd booed at the final whistle. Rooney was singled-out for opprobrium by some of the 81,000 present — even before the game, his name booed by sections of the crowd when it was announced. Rooney played in a deep midfield role, and despite bemoaning the slowness of England’s…
Joe Hart knew Pep Guardiola’s mind would not be swayed so England’s No. 1 had no hesitation in starting afresh in Italy. Life at Manchester City has been transformed over recent months, with the club’s new Spanish coach wasting little time shaping the squad and getting players attuned to his philosophy. The changes have resulted in some high-profile casualties at City, with Yaya Toure marginalised and several other high-profile names shifted out. Hart was the biggest outgoing as Guardiola’s preference for a goalkeeper more comfortable in possession led the 29-year-old to lose his starting berth, resulting in a surprising loan…