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[ad_1] The World Cup sees the best national teams around the globe compete to win football’s most prestigious prize. The qualification roads are often long and hard and the best teams can struggle to make it to the big time – just ask Italy. Here’s the history behind the amount of teams that play at World Cups. At present, 32 teams qualify for the World Cup. Hosts qualify automatically, but winners are no longer afforded that luxury – France, the winners in Russia in 2018, were required to go through normal qualifying. The amount of teams present at the World Cup has steadily grown sinceRead More →

[ad_1] Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp was not best pleased when told of former midfielder Dietmar Hamann’s opinion of the club ‘lacking a spark’. The Reds slipped to a 3-2 defeat to surprise Premier League leaders Arsenal on Sunday to continue their indifferent run of form, and they now sit 14 points off the pace after just eight games. Klopp, who ruled Liverpool out of the title race after the loss, has seen his side ravaged by injuries – Trent Alexander-Arnold, Joel Matip and Luis Diaz the latest casualties – and has frequently faced questions about the manner of their defending. The German, speaking before theRead More →

[ad_1] As one of the biggest football nations on the planet, Italy are synonymous with the World Cup. As four-time winners, they have the joint-second best record in the competition’s history – tied with Germany and behind Brazil who have five trophies. However, there will be a sad lack of Azzurri blue once the action kicks off in November. Here’s why Italy won’t be present at Qatar. Related To make a long story short, they failed to qualify. To make a long story, well, long, Italy were drawn alongside Switzerland, Northern Ireland, Bulgaria and Lithuania in Group C of UEFA’s World Cup qualification. They endedRead More →

[ad_1] Gabriel Jesus was not present in Arsenal’s training session on Wednesday ahead of their Europa League clash with Bodo/Glimt. The 25-year-old summer signing was caught by a flailing arm from Liverpool full-back Kostas Tsimikas in the Gunners’ 3-2 win at the weekend and appeared to be in some discomfort before leaving the pitch a few minutes later. After the game, manager Mikel Arteta admitted he was not too concerned by the severity of Jesus’ injury. “I don’t know, I haven’t been with the doctor yet, I’m sure they are checking him, he seemed ok after the game, I don’t know actually what happened butRead More →

[ad_1] Harry Maguire is understood to be confident that he’ll prove his fitness to Gareth Southgate before the England manager selects his World Cup squad. Maguire picked up a thigh injury in his country’s Nations League match against Germany and hasn’t played since – the latest blow in what has been a tricky campaign for the Manchester United centre-back. There are just three United matches left before Southgate names his World Cup selection, and he may have doubts about including Maguire in it if the defender hasn’t proved he’s fit again by then. However, ESPN state that the defender is confident he’ll be able toRead More →

[ad_1] Paris Saint-Germain are reluctant to sell Kylian Mbappe to Real Madrid and would prefer to offload him to Liverpool. (Marca) However, should PSG agree to do business with Liverpool, they would demand that Mohamed Salah moves in the opposite direction as part of a player-plus-cash deal. (Ismael Mahmoud) On the other hand, PSG are not looking to sell Mbappe in January and would demand that any interested side parted with anywhere between €300m and €350m to sign the 23-year-old forward. (The Telegraph) Tottenham are monitoring Brentford striker Ivan Toney, with scouts regularly watching the 26-year-old in recent weeks. (Football Insider) Jorge Mendes is determinedRead More →

[ad_1] Paris Saint-Germain football advisor Luis Campos has claimed that Kylian Mbappe has not told him or club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi that he wants to leave in January. 90min understands that 23-year-old Mbappe is unhappy at the Parc des Princes as he believes the club have broken a number of promises made to him when he signed a three-year contract extension earlier this summer. Mbappe shocked the world in May when he decided to extend his stay in Paris, turning down the opportunity to join Real Madrid in the process, but tensions have quickly escalated in the French capital. The relationship between player and clubRead More →

[ad_1] Amber Barrett stepped off the bench to send the Republic of Ireland to the Women’s World Cup for the very first time with a 1-0 playoff victory over Scotland at Hampden Park on Tuesday evening. The substitute was on target 18 minutes from time to seal a famous victory for Vera Pauw’s side and book their place in Australia and New Zealand next summer. It was disappointment for Scotland, who saw a spot kick saved in the first half and miss out on a place in a second successive major tournament, having failed to qualify for Euro 2022. Scotland had gotten the better ofRead More →

[ad_1] British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe has revealed that the Glazer family ‘don’t want to sell’ Manchester United’. Lifelong Man Utd fan Ratcliffe had declared an interest in purchasing the club in the summer following the Glazers were seeking new investment and were prepared to sell a minority stake in the Red Devils, with a spokeperson for the billionaire stating: “If the club is for sale, Jim is definitely a potential buyer. In a talk at a FT Live event however, Ratcliffe has ruled out such a purchase: “If something like this was possible, we would be interested in talking with a view to long-termRead More →

[ad_1] Ten-man Manchester City were unable to secure their spot in the last 16 of the Champions League with two group games to spare on a frustrating night in Copenhagen. Pep Guardiola rested Erling Haaland for the game, with Julien Alvarez leading the line instead, but a first-half red card for Sergio Gomez ultimately dictated what was a flat performance from the Citizens. The first half hour of the game was frantic, and Man City thought they had taken the lead when Rodi drove a brilliant long-range effort into the top corner of the net. However, VAR made its first intervention of a busy nightRead More →