Lionel Messi s stunning performances at the 2022 World Cup show the evolution of modern sport , according to former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger.
Wenger made the observation while speaking alongside Germany legend Jurgen Klinsmann at a press conference for FIFA s Technical Study Group.
The tournament in Qatar has seen a number of older players feature in starring roles for their national teams, with 35-year-old Lionel Messi set to lead his Argentina team out against France in the World Cup final.
Luka Modric, 37, impressed for Croatia as they reached the semi-finals, while Olivier Giroud will likely lead the line for France on Sunday having broken Thierry Henry s record as Les Bleus all-time top goalscorer at the age of 35.
At the other end of the scale,…
Marc Wilmots says Kevin De Bruyne has an intense period of rehabilitation ahead of him but the Belgium coach expects the Manchester City star to be fit and firing at Euro 2016.
De Bruyne suffered knee and ankle ligament damage in the second leg of City s League Cup semi-final against Everton on January 27.
Expected to be out for eight to 10 weeks, the loss of the attacking midfielder is a blow to quadruple-chasing City, who face Liverpool in the League Cup final on February 28 and remain in contention in the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League.
Belgium, though, will hope to have the former Chelsea and Wolfsburg man fully fit when they take on Italy, Republic of Ireland and Sweden in Group E of the European Championships in France.
Concerni…
Spain head coach Vicente del Bosque has tipped hosts France as the biggest threats to his team s defence of their European crown this year.
World champions Germany are rated as narrow bookmakers favourites to win Euro 2016, but Del Bosque fears Didier Deschamps squad most in the competition.
The Spain boss did stress the tournament is wide open and that all seeded sides, as well as the majority of the 24 teams playing in France, would fancy their chances.
There are many rivals and there is no clear favourite, Del Bosque told Gazzetta dello Sport ahead of his team s friendly in Italy on Thursday.
If I have to only say one name, I would say France because they are playing at home.
All the seeded teams can win. One thinks of Italy, Belgium, En…
Klopp on verge of joining exclusive club, Salzburg out to shock Bayern on last-16 bow – Champions Le
Four more teams begin their Champions League knockout-stage campaigns on Wednesday when Inter host Liverpool and Bayern Munich travel to Salzburg for the first leg of their last-16 ties.
The clash between European heavyweights Inter and Liverpool at San Siro could potentially be a landmark one for Reds boss Jurgen Klopp, who is one short of becoming the eighth coach – and the first German – to reach 50 wins in the competition.
Salzburg s meeting with Bayern will be a special occasion regardless as the Austrian Bundesliga champions are competing at this stage of the competition for the first time ever.
Bayern are unbeaten in their last 21 away games in the Champions League since September 2017 – the longest-such run in European Cup history – and they beat …
Bernardo Silva remains uninterested by Cristiano Ronaldo s scathing interview on Manchester United as Portugal aim to focus on the World Cup.
Portugal captain Ronaldo caused a stir this week in a wide-ranging interview with Piers Morgan on TalkTV, criticising United, senior figures at the club and current manager Erik ten Hag.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner said he felt betrayed by United, who he claims have made zero progress since Alex Ferguson departed Old Trafford in 2013.
Portugal showed no signs of distraction with a 4-0 friendly victory over Nigeria in their sole World Cup warm-up game on Thursday, and Silva says he has no interest in the ongoings with Ronaldo at United.
The news coming from England has nothing to do with Portugal, the Mancheste…
England boss Sarina Wiegman refused to reveal whether or not Keira Walsh’s knee injury was World Cup-ending as she fielded questions ahead of the final group game against China in Adelaide.
The Lionesses need just a point against the Women’s Asian Cup champions on Tuesday to clinch top spot in Group D, but will have to find a solution for key midfielder Walsh, who was ruled out of at least this clash with an undisclosed knee problem.
A scan on Saturday afternoon confirmed the 26-year-old had not hurt her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in England’s 1-0 victory over Denmark and will remain at their Terrigal base camp for further assessments, but that remains the extent of what Wiegman would disclose.
She said: “Keira is OK. We said that it’s not an ACL …
Bruno Fernandes insists Cristiano Ronaldo was not the reason Manchester United struggled last season, while he expects the strict Erik ten Hag to deliver success at Old Trafford.
Ronaldo has reportedly asked to leave United, less than a year after returning to the club, and is yet to report for training with Ten Hag s squad after missing three pre-season friendlies due to family reasons.
Fernandes claimed earlier in the week that he had no knowledge of Ronaldo s future intentions but called for respect for whatever his Portugal compatriot decides to do.
Ten Hag has already made it clear that Ronaldo remains an integral part of his plans after the 37-year-old top-scored with 24 goals in all competitions for United last term.
As United prepare to face Aston…
Safe to say Frank Lampard was the only Champions League coach required to give an earnest answer on the eve of this week s matches about the role a late-night US TV host might have had in his appointment.
But then Lampard was also the only Champions League coach expecting to watch along from home with James Corden and the rest as recently as a week ago.
If Thomas Tuchel s appointment at Bayern Munich between the last 16 and the quarter-finals came out of left field, he at least had history in this competition, replacing Lampard as Chelsea boss in 2020-21 and leading them to European glory.
Lampard won the Champions League as a player, of course, in another example of a successful mid-season Chelsea coaching change.
The parallels with that other season of …
Nottingham Forest are working with the police to identify fans who are believed to have directed homophobic abuse at Brighton players and supporters on Saturday.
The behaviour under investigation took place during a 3-2 victory for 10-man Brighton, who had Lewis Dunk sent off late in the second half at the City Ground.
Forest condemned the alleged conduct and assured there would be consequences for those involved.
Following Saturday’s Premier League fixture against Brighton and Hove Albion, we have been made aware of some Homophobic language aimed towards Brighton players and supporters from a minority of our fans.
Homophobia, like all other forms of discrimination, has no place in…
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC)
A statement on the cl…
After putting out plenty of fires, keeping hot-headed footballers in check was never going to ruffle Sam Allison.
On Boxing Day, Allison will become the first black man to officiate a Premier League game in 15 years when he takes charge of Sheffield United’s home game against Luton.
Allison, 42, had played at Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter before moving down the football pyramid into the semi-professional game.
Former player. Firefighter. Referee. Trailblazer.
Sam Allison hopes to take the pathway to the top. | |
— EFL (@EFL)
After considering what to do when he eventually hung up his boots, Allison decided to keep them on for a while longer – but this time with a whistle in hand.
Allison took charge of his…