French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet has said that Adrien Rabiot is far off from making the national team following his decision to snub the standby role at last summer’s World Cup. The midfielder has since endured a tough time at club level with Paris Saint-Germain where he has been laid off due to a contract dispute and it appears that he won’t return to the national side anytime soon.
Colombia have announced that Carlos Queiroz has been assigned with the head coach role following his departure from Iran earlier in the month. The Portuguese tactician had been with the Asian heavyweights for the past eight years but he has now been given a fresh challenge with Colombia, who are keen to make progress in the Copa America as well as qualify for another World Cup.
Tottenham Hotspur captain Hugo Lloris has said that he is more focused on the present rather than thinking about his personal success at the summer World Cup. The France international led his country to their second World Cup crown last summer after beating surprise finalists Croatia by a comfortable 4-2 score.
Brazil legend Pele has heaped praise on the qualities of Kylian Mbappe and believes the Frenchman can become the ‘new Pele’. The 20-year-old has experienced an astronomical rise over the past 30 months and last summer witnessed him secure the World Cup crown with Les Bleus while contributing four goals in the process.
There may still be a lot of uncertainty with regards to the 2022 World Cup, but Qatar are going all out with regard to the competition. The nation is spending a huge sum of money in order to improve the stadium and other infrastructures. Unsurprisingly in a rich country, the biggest spending is being carried out with regard to the stadiums. The pinnacle of the event could be a brand new stadium, which is still being constructed in the Lusail City, which is situated to the north of Doha. This will be a80,000-seat stadium, which will be build to reflect one of the highlights of this nation – gold.
Former England international Wayne Rooney said that he did not make any demands for his farewell game and that it was the FA that chose to give him the last cap for his country. He made the statement after many former England players have criticized the England team for giving out caps like this.
Rooney admitted that this is the first time that the FA has done this and he hopes that this will not be the last time. He believes that this might be a normal thing in the future with players such as Harry Kane given a last cap for their country. Continue reading “Wayne Rooney on England farewell”
Nigeria manager Gernot Rohr has continued to express the disappointment with Victor Moses, who retired from international football at the age of just 27. The attacker announced his decision to retire in August this year after featuring for the Super Eagles at the summer World Cup finals in Russia.
The second vice-president of the Nigeria Football Federation Shehu Dikko has suggested that they are expected to meet up with Victor Moses in an attempt to convince him to return to international football. The Chelsea ace retired from Nigerian duty in mid-August citing family and career concerns but things have since not gone smoothly for the 27-year-old.
Germany legend Michael Ballack has admitted that he is surprised by the country’s handling of Joachim Loew following the team’s poor performance at the World Cup. The Germans suffered the recent curse of reigning champions as they were ousted within the group stage of the World Cup but this has however not hampered the head coach position of Loew.
In recent years, England have been derided by other top footballing nations due to their consistent below-par performances at major tournaments. The self-styled ‘inventors of the game’ only won the World Cup in 1966, and even then with some dubious refereeing decisions.
In modern soccer, despite the advancements in the Premier League, England regularly had issues reaching knockout stages in major events. Despite the abundance of talents, youth, finesse, support, and exposure some reason would hinder them. And then Gareth Southgate came along. Continue reading “ENGLAND EARNED RESPECT IN RUSSIA”