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Michael Olunga Powers Al Duhail to Major Win Over Title Contenders Al Sadd
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NNL: Abia Comets give reasons for sacking 21 players
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Abia Comets have revealed the reason behind their decision to sack 21 players....Read Full Article
The Nigeria National League (NNL) side announced the sacking of the players on Monday.
Chairman of the club, Boniface Uche said that the gesture was aimed at re-engineering the team for a better performance next season.
Uche stressed that the players dropped were mostly those whose contracts have expired and those who are on loan with the club.
He assured that more quality players will be recruited ahead of the new season.
“I want to be quoted anywhere, Abia Comets is not owing any player nor staff. Everyone has been paid as at when due,” he told the media.
“We didn’t sack any of our staff, unless those whose contracts elapsed with the season. As we prepare for the new season, those of them that their services will be needed, will be recalled.”
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Southgate Urged To Drop Kane Against Netherlands
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Ex-England player Wayne Bridge has called on Gareth Southgate to drop Harry Kane in favour of Ivan Toney for Euro 2024 semi-final against Netherlands....Read Full Article
Bridge, who played for England 36 times between 2002 and 2009, suggested he would rather have seen Southgate drop Kane in a game that didn’t have much riding on it – like the third group stage fixture against Slovenia – but would still personally bench Kane in favour of Toney…or perhaps Ollie Watkins.
Kane has scored twice in five games at Euro 2024, including England’s extra-time winner against Slovakia in the last 16. But he has struggled to make a consistent impact with his overall performances, failing to fully click with the wingers and midfielders supporting him. Overall, England have progressed as far as the competition’s last four by grinding out results rather than blowing teams away, with Southgate and Kane in particular taking the brunt of frustrated criticism from fans and pundits.
Bridge told Betfred: “It would be a big statement for somebody to come out and say ‘drop Harry Kane’, but if you’re in the manager’s position, then can you really drop him? I would like to see it however, just to see how things change.
“I’d love to see either Ivan Toney or Ollie Watkins get more of a chance. It’s a big call to drop Harry Kane, but it’s one of them that I wish they did in the final group game which they didn’t desperately have to win because it would have been good to experiment and see how it goes. If you asked me whether or not to drop Harry Kane, then I’d probably say yes and have Ivan Toney up front but in Gareth’s position, it would be a very difficult call to make.”
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Euro 2024: UEFA sticks with ref banned for match-fixing for England vs Netherlands
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UEFA have opted to stick with referee Felix Zwayer for the Euro 2024 semi-final between England and the Netherlands on Wednesday....Read Full Article
Zwayer’s appointment raised a lot of eyebrows because of his history.
The 43-year-old served a six-month ban for accepting a €300 (£253.82) bribe from fellow referee Robert Hoyzer in a 2005 scandal.
Mail Sport contacted UEFA for comment, querying why Zwayer would be chosen to officiate the fixture.
The UEFA bosses conducted a review and decided to go on with Zwayer for Wednesday’s semi-final.
The England vs Netherlands game kicks off 8pm in Dortmund.
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England Vs Netherlands Ref Served Match-fixing Ban
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UEFA has appointed a referee who previously confessed to match-fixing — and whose integrity was publicly questioned by Jude Bellingham — for England’s Euro 2024 semifinal against the Netherlands....Read Full Article
Felix Zwayer will officiate Wednesday’s clash in Dortmund despite being banned for six months in 2005 after taking a €300 ($325) bribe from another official, Robert Hoyzer.
A 2005 investigation found that Zwayer accepted a bribe to favour German club Wuppertaler SV in their match against Werder Bremen Amateure in May 2004.
Bellingham referred back to that incident in a postmatch interview in 2021 after Borussia Dortmund lost 3-2 to Bayern Munich in a huge Bundesliga game.
The England midfielder, who played for Dortmund at the time, said: “You can look at a lot of the decisions in the game.
“You give a referee, that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany. What do you expect?”
Bellingham was subsequently fined €40,000 for his comments, which came after Dortmund were denied a penalty at one end and conceded one at the other.
Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke added at the time: “To be clear, Jude was not spreading lies, but what happened in the past. This statement shouldn’t have been, but I don’t see anything untrue there. I don’t expect that to have any consequences for Jude.”
Zwayer officiated the Netherlands’ 3-0 win over Romania in the Euro 2024 round of 16 on Tuesday.
The FA declined to comment on Zwayer’s appointment when contacted by ESPN.
England defender Luke Shaw was quick to dispel any thoughts of conspiracy when asked at a news conference Monday if the refereeing situation was uncomfortable.
“No, not at all,” the Manchester United player said. “We have to respect UEFA in whoever they decide to pick as the ref. That won’t change anything about us.
“We still just focus on the game in hand, not too much about what refs we’ve been given or this and that. For us, it won’t make any difference.”
Shaw went on to say he had never played in a game where he thought the officials were acting against his team.
“Sometimes in the heat of the moment, you get angry in games and you might think that, but no,” he said.
“Whatever ref has been picked has been picked. We just have to be ready and not focus on that.”
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Euro 2024: Supercomputer predicts semi-final results, trophy winners
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Opta’s Supercomputer has predicted the likely winners of the two Euro 2024 semi-finals....Read Full Article
It has also revealed which country has the best chance of becoming European champions on Sunday evening.
There are four teams left after a month of the tournament – France, Spain, the Netherlands and England.
According to Opta, England have a 51.51% chance of qualifying for the final as opposed to 48.49% for the Netherlands.
Spain are seen as slight favourites in the other game with a 53.51% chance of making the showpiece event in Berlin.
England have been given just a 22.58% chance of winning Euro 2024 – with only the Netherlands given less chance.
France are the new favourites and have been given a 30.49%, while Spain have a 30.3% chance of success in Germany.
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Transfer: Greenwood, Sancho, six other Man Utd players to leave this summer
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Mason Greenwood and Jadon Sancho are set to lead an eight-player exodus at Manchester United this summer....Read Full Article
According to the Daily Mail, Greenwood has held talks with senior officials at Carrington on the first day of pre-season training.
During the meeting, the 22-year-old was informed he was up for sale.
Greenwood is already in talks with several clubs and could be playing for Marseille next season.
Sancho is also on the market and Juventus are believed to be leading the chase for the £40 million-rated winger.
Donny van de Beek is close to finalizing a move to Girona with United ready to accept £450,000, a huge loss from the £35million they paid Ajax four years ago. However, the deal includes potential add-ons of up to £16million and a sell-on clause.
United are also desperate to get rid of Casemiro’s £375,000-a-week wages from their bill, with Saudi Arabia looking like the Brazilian’s possible destination.
Victor Lindelof has attracted interest from Fenerbahce, while Galatasaray and West Ham are monitoring Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Scott McTominay has emerged as a target for Fulham and Everton.
It is understood that United have entered the summer transfer window with a modest £50million budget and are hoping to augment that money through player sales.
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Transfer: Mourinho to make ex-EPL winger first Fenerbahce signing
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Fenerbahce manager, Jose Mourinho, is ready to make Allan Saint-Maximin one of his first signings at the club....Read Full Article
Mourinho was confirmed as the new head coach of the Turkish club last month.
The former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss has been tasked with winning the league title with Fenerbahce for the first time since 2014.
Mourinho has now pinpointed former Newcastle winger, Saint-Maximin, as a player that could make a difference.
Football transfer expert, Fabrizio Romano, tweeted on Tuesday: “José Mourinho wants Allan Saint-Maximin to Fenerbahçe as one of the priority targets, negotiations are ongoing also on the club side.
“He’s already approved the move, waiting for a club-to-club agreement.”
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NPFL Transfer: Doma United’s Hilary set for Rangers switch
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Hilary Ekawu has agreed on a move to reigning Nigeria Premier Football League champions, Rangers....Read Full Article
DAILY POST reports that Ekawu is expected to replace Rangers captain Chukwudi Nwodu who is on the verge of sealing a move to Enyimba.
The midfielder turned down the chance to extend his contract at Doma United for a move to Rangers.
The player was one of the standout performers for the Savannah Tigers last season.
The 19-year-old scored three goals in 53 appearances for Doma United.
He joined the Gombe- based club from non-league side, FWC Champions FC in 2022.
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Rio Ferdinand names world’s best centre-back
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Manchester United legend, Rio Ferdinand has named Arsenal defender, William Saliba as the best centre-back in the world right now....Read Full Article
Ferdinand believes the France international is better than Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez.
Ferdinand’s fellow Vibe with Five presenter Stephen Howson suggested Martinez was at an even higher level than Saliba but Ferdinand dismissed the claim, saying:
“No man, come on. That’s bias, that’s bias.
“They [Saliba and Martinez] would be an unreal partnership by the way but he’s not [better than Saliba], he’s not.
“If you ask any centre forward who’s better, I don’t think many will say Martinez over Saliba.”
He added, “I think if you were going to pick the best centre-half in the world right now. You’d go with William Saliba.”
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Copa America 2024: Argentina coach gives Messi injury update ahead of Canada clash
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Argentina head coach, Lionel Scaloni, has insisted Lionel Messi will be fit for their Copa America semi-final against Canada....Read Full Article
Scaloni, speaking to reporters said there is “no doubt” about Messi’s availability.
According to him, he will always pick the 37-year-old, even when not quite fully fit.
Messi was an injury doubt for the quarter-final clash against Ecuador due to a thigh injury.
But he was able to play 90 minutes in the game, although he missed a penalty during the shoot-out to decide the game.
Scaloni said: “99% of the time, [Messi] is fit to play. It’s never happened to me that he’s not fit to play. Every time he’s come out on the pitch, he’s fit to play.
“For [Canada], he’s fit to play, without a doubt. It’s a very easy decision for me, because it’s a very frank decision, that if he’s fine, he plays; and if he’s not fine, he plays the last 30 minutes. It’s that easy.
“When he’s fit, he always plays. There are no doubts.”
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