Blog (Page 198)

[ad_1] Paul Pogba went against Juventus’ wishes when he initially refused to have surgery in July, Pavel Nedved has revealed. The Frenchman returned to the club on a free transfer in the summer but has yet to play a single minute of competitive football in his second spell at the Italian club. He tore a meniscus in his right knee during pre-season in July and has recently suffered a relapse that has ruled him until after the World Cup. The midfielder initially chose not to have surgery, opting to undergo more conservative treatment instead, but ultimately had to go under the knife in September whenRead More →

[ad_1] The United States Men’s National Team have announced two January friendlies in Los Angeles to kick-start their 2026 World Cup cycle. LAFC’s Banc of California Stadium will host a match against Serbia on January 25, with the USMNT then facing Colombia at the LA Galaxy’s Dignity Health Sports Park three days later. With the United States co-hosting the 2026 World Cup alongside Mexico and Canada, the three nations will not have to go through qualifying for the tournament. With that in mind, scheduling games against competitive nations will be important in order for Gregg Berhalter to gauge the talent at his disposal. Warner Bros.Read More →

[ad_1] Well, that’s a wrap. It’s been a gruelling few months of UEFA Champions League action – possibly way too much of a good thing for many of us – but the group stages are finally complete. The usual suspects are through in Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, while some other big hitters have been knocked out of the tournament at the very first hurdle (here’s looking at you Juventus and Barcelona). Here’s a quick look at the fate of every team in the 2022/23 UEFA Champions League group stages: 1) SSC Napoli2) Liverpool3) Ajax4) Rangers Napoli were the feel-good story of the Champions LeagueRead More →

[ad_1] England full-back Ben Chilwell is now a major doubt for the FIFA World Cup in Qatar after hobbling off with an apparent hamstring injury in Chelsea’s UEFA Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb. Chilwell was widely expected to fight with Man Utd’s Luke Shaw for a place in the starting XI in Qatar, but his injury has thrown his place in the sqaud at all into doubt. The full-back pulled up in the dying embers of Chelsea’s 2-1 win over Zagreb – a win which saw them top Group E ahead of AC Milan – and was visibly distraught upon realising that his WorldRead More →

[ad_1] Tottenham have confirmed that Son Heung-min will undergo surgery to address the facial injury he suffered against Marseille. The South Korean was forced off before the half-hour mark after a nasty clash with Chancel Mbemba left him dazed, while footage from after the game showed Son celebrating the victory with a nasty swollen eye socket. Now, Spurs have confirmed that Son will head under the knife. “We can confirm that Son Heung-min will undergo surgery to stabilise a fracture around his left eye,” a statement read. “The South Korea international suffered the injury during the first half of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League victory atRead More →

[ad_1] The seventh Team of the Week for FIFA 23 Ultimate Team has been revealed, with Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane the star card. After a goal and two assists in a 6-2 thumping of Mainz at the weekend, Mane has been awarded a 90-overall card with 91 pace, 89 dribbling and 85 shooting. The Bayern left-midfielder is by far the highest card on offer this week, with the 86-rated duo of Stefan de Vrij and Rodrigo Bentancur his closest competition. Inter defender De Vrij has now broken the 70-pace mark, while Bentancur’s card has all six stats about 70 now that the Tottenham man’s shootingRead More →

[ad_1] Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has reiterated his happiness at the Emirates Stadium amid reports of interest in his services from La Liga giants Barcelona. This week, it was reported in the Spanish media that Barcelona, while satisfied with their current manager Xavi, were keeping an eye on Arteta after being thoroughly impressed with his success in rebuilding the team – something Barcelona are looking to experience themselves right now. Asked for his thoughts towards the rumours, Arteta – who spent time in the Camp Nou academy as a player – was quick to brush off the speculation. “What I can say is I amRead More →

[ad_1] Poor Graham Potter. He really did not like the reception which greeted him on his first return to Brighton as Chelsea manager. The Amex was a cauldron of noise; first boos, followed by chants of “You’re getting sacked in the morning” when the Seagulls led 2-0 giving way to “Potter, Potter, what’s the score?” as it finished a scarcely believable 4-1 to Brighton.. Potter was not the only one who bristled. In the days which have followed, plenty of pundits and supporters of other clubs have been quick to pile on Albion fans for the welcome given to their former head coach. Jamie O’HaraRead More →

[ad_1] Swedish right-back Anton Tinnerholm has confirmed he will not be returning to New York City FC for the 2023 season. Tinnerholm joined the Cityzens from Swedish giants Malmo in 2018, going on to make 135 appearances for the club in all competitions, lifting Campeones Cup and MLS Cup titles – though a heart-breaking ACL injury meant he missed the run to the latter in 2021. However, Tinnerholm’s current contract is set to expire at the end of this season and in an interview with Swedish outlet Expressen, the defender confirmed he’ll be leaving NYCFC. “I will leave now after the season. It has beenRead More →

[ad_1] Franck Kessie has been ruled out until club football the World Cup after picking up an injury in Barcelona’s win over Viktoria Plzen. Kessi has spent most of the season on the bench since joining Barcelona in the summer but was given his fifth start of the campaign in their final Champions League group match. Playing as the holding midfielder in place of Sergio Busquets, he was performing his duties well when he was forced off after 67 minutes. Speaking afterwards, Xavi confirmed that his player has a hamstring issue and will now be out until after the World Cup, missing the team’s twoRead More →