Football Blog (Page 152)

[ad_1] Lionel Messi hasn’t been a Barcelona player for almost 18 months, yet his former club are still set to receive a welcome lump sum for his involvement in Argentina’s clash with holders France in the 2022 World Cup final. Messi has won every other major prize in the game, from domestic league and cups, to Champions League and a continental international title. But a World Cup still eludes him and he has always said that this tournament would be his last on the global stage. As part of what FIFA calls its Club Benefits Programme, $209m has been set aside to distribute as compensationRead More →

[ad_1] There have been 62 games to enjoy during the 2022 Qatar World Cup, with some being better than others. Plenty of teams have been whittled away, and now only two remain. The third-placed play-off between Morocco and Croatia is still to be played, but all eyes have now switched to the World Cup final which will be contested by Argentina and France at the Lusail Iconic Stadium. The game is going to take place at 15:00 GMT on Sunday 18 December. For those in Europe, that’s 16:00 GMT while for American viewers, it is 10:00 ET and 07:00 PT. As far as team newsRead More →

[ad_1] The Football Association of Ireland have pledged to continue supporting women’s national team manager Vera Pauw following historic allegations of misconduct during her time in charge of Houston Dash. Pauw spent a year in charge of the Dash between September 2017 and September 2018, before taking the Ireland job the following autumn. She guided Ireland to qualification for their first ever Women’s World Cup earlier this year. The 59-year-old has been named in the report of the NWSL and NWSLPA’s joint investigation into allegations of abuse and misconduct in the NWSL. Pauw denies the allegations. The report alleges that Pauw ‘shamed players for theirRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Thursday evening despite a 1-0 defeat to European champions Lyon, in a game that was marred by a serious looking injury sustained by Vivianne Miedema. The Arsenal forward was stretchered off in first half stoppage time after landing awkwardly on her left leg. The result leaves Lyon only needing a draw from their crunch tie with Juventus next week to qualify for the last eight, while Arsenal will still top the group with victory over Zurich. Arsenal saw the better of the opportunities in a tightly-contested first half. Miedema saw a low shot blocked,Read More →

[ad_1] Manchester United have confirmed that they have reached an agreement with TeamViewer which will allow them to look for a new front-of-shirt sponsor. TeamViewer struck a lucrative £47m-a-year deal with United in January 2021 which would see their logo on the front of team’s shirts until 2026, although they confirmed in August 2022 that they did not plan to renew that agreement. Now, United have confirmed that further talks with TeamViewer have led to an agreement which will allow the club to find a new shirt sponsor immediately. “After a period of collaborative, private discussions over the past months, Manchester United and TeamViewer AGRead More →

[ad_1] Lionel Messi was once again absent from Argentina’s training session on Thursday ahead of the World Cup final against France on Sunday. It is understood that Messi has been operating at below 100% all winter – making his return of five goals and three assists even more impressive – but he had hearts in mouths during the semi-final win over Croatia when he was seen grasping at his hamstring. Messi still played the full 90 minutes and, once again, was a dominant force, but he was not present for the team’s opening training session on Thursday. As noted by Ole, the media were permittedRead More →

[ad_1] Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann has revealed he was extremely ‘close’ to joining Manchester United in the summer, but insists he is happy to have stayed at Vicarage Road. As 90min revealed in June, Bachmann had become a target for United once it was agreed that Dean Henderson would join Nottingham Forest on loan. United ultimately struck to a deal to sign Martin Dubravka on loan from Newcastle to join the Old Trafford goalkeeping ranks alongside David de Gea and Tom Heaton. Bachmann, who ended up staying put to become Watford’s established number one in the Championship, has now explained just how close he wasRead More →

[ad_1] The 2022 World Cup final will see Argentina and France duel it out to be crowned the best team on the planet. There is also the sub-plot of two Paris Saint-Germain teammates; one arguably the best footballer ever and the other a near-certain future Ballon d’Or winner. Lionel Messi is gearing up for his final shot at World Cup glory with Argentina, while Kylian Mbappe has already won the competition once and is hoping to help France retain that title. The pair are now teammates at PSG, meaning they haven’t played against each other all too often. Here’s the detail between those previous encounters.Read More →

[ad_1] Manchester City’s future transfer plans involve trying to sign England duo Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham, 90min understands. Saka and Bellingham enjoyed impressive World Cup tournaments, despite the Three Lions’ defeat to France at the quarter-final stage, and enhanced their growing reputations as two of the brightest young players in the game. Both had been heavily linked away with moves away from their respective clubs, Arsenal and Borussia Dortmund, before the World Cup, and the speculation over their future is set to intensify after their stellar performances for Gareth Southgate’s side. Premier League champions Manchester City hammered out a new two-year deal with managerRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal fans have enjoyed a wonderful start to the 2022/23 season and despite Manchester City still looking like an incredible side, it’s the Gunners who sit at the top of the Premier League table during the World Cup break. There was an expectation coming into the campaign that with a number of talented youngsters starting to mature, Arsenal could be in for a better season than the last. Very few predicted them being top at Christmas though. The early season form of Gabriel Jesus as well as the newfound importance of Granit Xhaka have been huge factors in their five-point lead over City. TheRead More →