Russia bowed out to Croatia in the penalty shootout of the quarterfinals of the World Cup yesterday. However, their President, Vladimir Putin is reportedly proud of the football team for their run until the last eight of the tournament. News agency Interfax had cited a Kremlin spokesperson saying the same. The hosts entered the tournament as the lowest-ranked team in the competition, but showed immense hunger and fight to ensure that they did not disappoint the fans at the global stage. Having initiated
After 28 long years of waiting, England have finally qualified to the last-four of the World Cup. Against a very resilient and defensively solid Swedish side, England churned out their victory by maintaining a certain level of assurance and authority over the proceedings of the game. Harry Maguire opened the scoring with a thumping header from Ashley Young’s corner and Dele Alli doubled the lead by heading in a Jesse Lingard cross into the box. Gareth Southgate has already exceeded expectations with this
Final score: Brazil 1-2 Belgium The golden generation of Belgium continued its impeccable winning run by upstaging champions elect Brazil to grab a semi-final spot. An own goal by Fernandinho followed by a stunner from the genius of Kevin De Bruyne meant that Brazil already had one foot out of the door. Although Renato Augusto reduced the deficit through a 76th minute goal, the Red Devils held on to reach their second-ever World Cup semi-finals, where France lay in wait. The match began
Didier Deschamps’ French side turned up with an extremely professional performance to see off a seemingly weakened Uruguayan side. France gained a lead through Raphael Varane’s header and then doubled it with Antoine Griezmann’s effort on the goal, which undoubtedly was signified due to Fernando Muslera’s howler between the sticks. Uruguay dominated the opening stages of the game, but the French side settled into the game well later on and ensured that they were superior with respect to Oscar Tabarez’s men. Here, I
Liverpool shot-stopper Loris Karius was 100% influenced by concussion during their Champions League final against Real Madrid, says Jurgen Klopp. His head injury succoured the Spanish giants in their 3-1 win against the Merseyside club. Karim Benzema’s opener and Gareth Bale’s second goal came due to howlers from the 25-year-old in between the sticks. 'We don't use it as an excuse, we use it as an explanation,' Klopp insisted. After struggling for a few years, Liverpool have been revolutionized by Jurgen Klopp, who
According to reports in a number of British publications, Juventus left-back Alex Sandro has agreed personal terms with Manchester United ahead of a potential £53 million move. The Red Devils are on the lookout for defensive reinforcements and have also been linked with the likes of Milan Skriniar and Toby Alderweireld. Sandro is regarded as one of the top left-backs in the world at present, but was surprisingly left out of Brazil's World Cup squad with coach Tite preferring the more effervescent Marcelo
The Barcelona defender is close to a move to the Premier League.
Chelsea are demanding £70 million for the sale of Willian as per various reports. The Blues are said to be willing to part ways with the Brazilian but are not letting him go for cheap. The 30-year-old is a target for Barcelona and Manchester United. Both sides are keen on signing a right winger and see Willian as the perfect signing. The winger has been in brilliant for Brazil at the World Cup despite not managing to get on the scoresheet till now.
Will this be the end of the road for Morata at Stamford Bridge?
Arsenal are keen on signing Barcelona midfielder, Andre Gomes this summer according to ESPN. The 24-year-old joined from Valencia two years ago but has failed to make an impact at Camp Nou. The Catalan side paid an initial fee of €35 million for him and will be looking to sell him for a lot more. He was one of the stars at EURO 2016 for Portugal but his lacklustre performances leading to a lack of game time saw him not even make the
Chelsea goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois has added fuel to rumours of a possible move to Real Madrid by claiming that he wants to be closer to his children. His two kids, Adriana and Nicolas, currently stay in Madrid with his ex-girlfriend. The Belgian goalkeeper is in his final year of contract at Chelsea and is not willing to sign a new deal just yet. He and Hazard are in the same situation with both players insisting that they will only sign a deal after
Real Madrid have confirmed that they have reached a deal to sign Alvaro Odriozola. The Real Sociedad defender will sign a six-year contract after he passes a medical. Madrid have paid his release clause which is said to have been €40 million. The right-back is back in Spain after they got knocked out of the World Cup. Julen Lopetegui is said to be the main man behind this deal. The former Spanish National team coach is a massive fan of the right-back and
After Argentina bowed out of the World Cup, criticism has been pouring out for Lionel Messi and his men, even though the team was in no way anything close to being considered favourites for winning the trophy. A highly lopsided team- it is actually a wonder as to how they made it to the Round of 16 when Germany couldn’t. That, in itself, is quite achievement for them. However, the fact that Lionel Messi plays for them means that the expectations are always
A couple from Russia has added a new dimension to the timeless Messi-Ronaldo debate. According to reports, the football-enthusiast couple got into a heated argument over who is the better player between Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi during the Argentina’s World Cup clash with Nigeria which ended up in them filing for divorce. The husband, Arsen – an ardent supporter of Argentina skipper Lionel Messi – left the house and filed for a divorce in the courts of city of Chelyabinsk in the
The rumours of Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Real Madrid have resurfaced, but this time, it does seem to be serious. Moreover, former Juventus CEO Luciano Moggi has reportedly claimed that Ronaldo has already signed for the Turin-based club. Reports had emerged that Juventus have made an £88 million pounds bid for Ronaldo, who reportedly seems to be intent on leaving Madrid after spending nine fruitful seasons with the Spanish giants. And now, Moggi has come out and stated that the deal between Real and
Barcelona forward Jose Arnaiz is all set for a loan stint at Getafe. Arnaiz joined the Catalan club from La Liga side Real Valladolid last season in a deal rumoured to be around €3.4m. The 23-year-old featured for Barcelona in five Copa del Rey encounters last season, scoring three goals. A majority of his appearances, however, came for the B side who were eventually relegated from the Segunda in what proved to be quite a dismal campaign. Arnaiz is looking for more game
Chelsea have reached an agreement with Juventus over the transfer of Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain for a fee believed to be in the region of £61million, according to reports in Italy. The Blues will cough up £51million up front with an additional £8million in add-ons and bonuses. Chelsea, who are close to officially announcing Maurizio Sarri as their new head coach, are prepared to break the club record fee of £58million they shelled out for Morata, to secure the services of Higuain. Personal terms are yet
Manchester United are closing in on sealing a move for AC Milan defender Alessio Romagnoli, according to reports in Il Corriere dello Sport. United are looking to strengthen their defence for the upcoming season and have identified Romagnoli as the perfect player to slot in alongside Eric Bailly at the back after Victor Lindelof endured an indifferent start to his United career. Romagnoli recently signed a contract extension which will keep him at the Italian club until 2022, but could be tempted by
Manchester United have officially confirmed their third signing of the summer as they announced the arrival of Stoke City’s veteran goalkeeper Lee Grant. Grant is United’s third signing of the summer after they completed the transfers of Diogo Dalot and Fred earlier this summer. Grant, 35, is expected to fill the third goalkeeper’s slot in the squad. He would most probably be a backup to Sergio Romero who is the second-choice custodian behind David de Gea. Last season, Joel Pereira occupied the third
Real Madrid are reportedly considering the option of selling Cristiano Ronaldo to Juventus and this particular transfer looks to be a real possibility currently. Accordingly, a latest news article states that Ronaldo is looking for a residence at Turin. After having spent nine fruitful seasons at Madrid, where he won four Champions League titles, Cristiano will most probably be enduring a new challenge in his professional career. Actually, he has an amazing recent memory of his visit to Turin, when the Juventus crowd