Belgium manager Roberto Martinez has said that Michy Batshuayi has boosted his World Cup hopes after making the switch to Borussia Dortmund on loan for the second half of the season. The 24-year-old has since contributed five goals for his German employers in just four matches across all competitions.
Speaking to TalkSPORT, Martinez was pleased to see Batshuayi’s involvement on a regular basis with Dortmund after finding himself playing second fiddle to Alvaro Morata at Stamford Bridge. Meanwhile, the former Everton boss appeared to enhance the Belgian’s participation at the summer World Cup after finding his feet in the Bundesliga.
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Jose Mourinho expects Sergio Romero in goal for Argentina at World Cup
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho is confident that Sergio Romero will lead the line for Argentina at this summer’s World Cup despite receiving limited gametime this term. The former Sampdoria man has featured in just five matches this campaign with David de Gea remaining the first-choice for the Premier League duties.
Romero has been often linked with an exit from Old Trafford in recent weeks, but according to Mourinho, the Argentine remains an influential player in the club’s ranks regardless of his restricted period on the playing field. Ahead of United’s FA Cup third round versus Derby County, Mourinho confirmed that Romero would start the match whilst hinting that he could do the same when Argentina host Nigeria in their opening World Cup game in June.
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Sweden boss Janne Andersson dismisses Zlatan Ibrahimovic return talk
Sweden coach Janne Andersson has ruled out the prospect of Zlatan Ibrahimovic making a return to the national side. The East European nation qualified for the World Cup finals earlier this week after they beat Italy across two legs in the playoff. Sweden took a 1-0 lead in their home leg and managed to contain Italy to a 0-0 score in the reverse fixture which many term as the ‘Miracle of Milan’. Zlatan last featured for Swede at the European championships in France before calling time on his international career, but the journalists nevertheless posed a question whether the 36-year-old would return to the national setup.
In response, Andersson was surprised by the question and insisted that he would rather focus on the success from the current crop of players rather than pondering over the involvement of Zlatan, who is in the twilight of his career at 36. He said: “This is incredible! This player [Ibrahimovic] has just stopped to play with Sweden one year and a half ago and we are still here talking about him. Gosh, we need to talk about the great players we have in this team I believe.
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New Zealand manager pleased with goalless draw versus Peru
New Zealand kept their World Cup hopes alive after they held Peru to a 0-0 draw in the first leg of the intercontinental play-off on Saturday. The teams will now face each other in the reverse fixture in Lima next week where Peru will hope to reach their first World Cup in over 36 years.
The South American nation were heavily tipped to beat the All Whites being the 10th ranked team in the world. However, they struggled to find the creativity in the forward department with star striker and captain Paolo Guerrera suspended for the game after failing a doping test.
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Mesut Ozil left out of Germany squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers
Germany head coach Joachim Loew has left out Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira for the upcoming set of international fixtures.
The World Cup champions will be assured of a place in next year’s showpiece tournament in Russia, should they avoid a defeat against Northern Ireland, who trail them by five points in Group C. Other than that, they face a game against Azerbaijan, where Loew could potentially test his bench strength.
Speaking to reporters, Loew admitted that the likes of Ozil and Khedira have been left out of the national squad in order to recover from their respective injuries. The German pair have had their fitness issues since the start of the campaign, and Loew wants them in the best of shape ahead of the international friendlies next year.
He said: “It is unfortunate that some of our key players will not be with us. I expect Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira to recover during this break for international matches. That is more important for them now. What will be decisive for us is that the players are fully fit next year.” Continue reading “Mesut Ozil left out of Germany squad for upcoming World Cup qualifiers”
Antonio Conte ends debate over Davide Zappacosta’s first goal
Chelsea boss Antonio Conte has ended the debate over Davide Zappacosta’s first goal by insisting that it was supposed to be a cross.
The Italy international notched his goal of his Blues career in sublime fashion as he ran through the right side of the field before shooting at goal from 30 yards out.
Zappacosta scored the second goal in the 6-0 Champions League thrashing of minnows Qarabag, and Conte was impressed with the performance of the Italian in the right wing-back spot, he said: “He told me he was aiming to cross. I think it was a good result. We start the Champions League in the right way. I saw the right commitment from my players. Great focus, great concentration from the start of the game. These are tricky games and we must pay great attention but I’m pleased for the great performance from our players. I think a lot of positive things for us and Batshuayi to score and Zappacosta on his first appearance at Stamford Bridge – he played very well.” Continue reading “Antonio Conte ends debate over Davide Zappacosta’s first goal”
WC 2018: RUSSIA OFFERS FREE TRAIN TRAVEL BETWEEN HOST CITIES
Fans that would be in Russia for the 2018 World Cup would be getting free train ride between the host cities, according to reports.
A Fan ID and a football match ticket would be required to book train tickets online. The Fan ID is an innovation to help manage the influx of football fans and get a visa-free entry into the 2018 World Cup host country.
The prelude to the World Cup, the Confederations Cup which held few weeks back was considered a success. Many applauded the free transportation and lack of fans’ clashes. Sixteen games were played between June 17 and July 2 and over 60,000 train tickets were issued.
The head of the Transportation Directorate TerentyMescheryakov said they thought of how to kill two birds with one stone in accommodating the thousands of incoming fans and the issue of seamless transportation, especially between the host cities. Continue reading “WC 2018: RUSSIA OFFERS FREE TRAIN TRAVEL BETWEEN HOST CITIES”
Fans can book train tickets for World Cup 2018 as early as December
Football fans from around the globe will get the chance to book their free train tickets in advance in order to avoid any congestion prior to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.
The trains between the Russian cities will come without cost so long as they are selected to host the games in the showpiece tournament.
“We usually offer tickets 45 days before the scheduled train departure, but we want to shift the date to half a year in advance,” TerentyMescheryakov, the head of the 2018-Transportation Directorate, said. “This is why we want to publish the schedule in early fall and make tickets available for booking starting in December or after the New Year celebrations. We are putting into operation more trains and the exact number will be announced after the schedule gets approval. We have the task of providing a good travel between the cities and we will cope with it.” Continue reading “Fans can book train tickets for World Cup 2018 as early as December”
O’NEILL ANGRY OVER DISALLOWED GOAL
Republic of Ireland national team manager Martin O’neill is angry that his side was denied a late winner when they played Austria in a World Cup qualifier over the weekend.
Shane Duffy had risen higher to score but the referee David Borbalan ruled that it was a foul on Konrad Lainer.
Martin Hinteregger had scored first for Austria in the first half but Ireland returned stronger to get an equalizer through Jonathan Walters. It was five minutes to the end of the game when they equalized so many thought they had completely turned the game on its head when Duffy scored before the ref ruled it out.
“There’s nothing wrong with it at all – he’s called a foul on Shane Duffy and I can’t see it. We were very sloppy in the first half but went roaring into it in the second half and got the goal,” O’Neill said. Continue reading “O’NEILL ANGRY OVER DISALLOWED GOAL”
KOMPANY TO RETIRE AFTER WORLD CUP 2018
Manchester City defender Vincent Kompany has hinted that his international career would be over after the forthcoming World Cup 2018 in Russia.
The Belgium international has battled regular injury concerns in recent years.
In the last two years Kompany has played just 25 games in the Premier League. He returned to the team to help Pep Guardiola’s men finish strongly. While he is hoping to play in Russia next year, he said it could be his “last season with Belgium.”
Kompany said the tournament was “always a big motivation” when he was down but that he might not be able to go beyond it. He says it was important that he returned to the team as they were doubts.
The Citizens’ skipper said he was not afraid of the impact of the injuries else he “would have already stopped his career.” He says for now he wants to be reintegrated into the national team so he has spoken with Coach Roberto Martinez. Continue reading “KOMPANY TO RETIRE AFTER WORLD CUP 2018”