Uruguay left-back Diego Laxalt does not want his team-mates to take Japan lightly despite the sides sharply contrasting openings to their Copa America campaigns.
Assisted by a first-half red card for Jose Quinteros, Uruguay made an emphatic start to the tournament as they thrashed Ecuador 4-0.
Japan s guest status did not afford them any soft treatment, meanwhile, as holders Chile triumphed by the same scoreline.
I don t know, Laxalt replied when asked whether a youthful Japan squad, selected with an eye on next year s Olympic Games, were the weakest team in Group C ahead of their meeting in Porto Alegre on Thursday.
We watched a little bit of their match. The score maybe was not deserved because they had a few chances, with lots of missed opportunities…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer remains the perfect match for Manchester United and should be treated with patience at Old Trafford, according to Robin van Persie.
United appointed Solskjaer on an interim basis following the dismissal of Jose Mourinho in December and he lost just one of his first 17 matches at the helm, reigniting a push for a top-four finish in the Premier League and recovering from a 2-0 deficit against Paris Saint-Germain to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
The Norwegian was consequently handed a three-year contract but oversaw a dismal end to the campaign, winning just twice more as the Red Devils had to settle for a place in the Europa League next season.
Van Persie, part of the last United side to win the Premier League under Alex Ferguson i…
Louis van Gaal said it is harder for him to buy quality players for Manchester United than it is for Claudio Ranieri at Leicester City, ahead of their clash on Sunday.
Van Gaal, who has overseen a mixed campaign for United, said the expectations of selling clubs when United are interested in a player is a lot different to when a club of Leicester s relative stature come knocking.
The Dutchman has experience himself of winning league titles with lesser teams, as he did in Holland with AZ Alkmaar in 2009 and he said he found it easier to sign quality players for his side then than he does at United, where he has spent well over £100million in his two seasons at the club.
As a club of AZ or a smaller club like Leicester, it is more easy to buy players. It s not so…
Juventus and AC Milan carry contrasting agendas heading into the Wednesday night’s
Season Decider for AC Milan
Having all but confirmed their 34th Serie A title last weekend, Bianconeri are keen to make a push for the domestic double. Such a feat would come as a huge morale boost after the disappointing Champions League elimination and a perfect send-off for the legendary captain Gianluigi Buffon.
The experienced Old Lady cruised through the competition thus far, winning all four Coppa Italia matches without even conceding a single goal. A clash against youthful, inexperienced and a rather inconsistent AC Milan side is supposed to be nothing more than a formality.
On the other end, Rossoneri are preparing for the biggest match of their season.
The pr…
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Looking to make it back-to-back Leagues Cup victories in the early hours of Wednesday, Los Angeles will welcome Vancouver to the BMO Stadium.
Los Angeles FC
Starting with the hosts, getting their Leagues Cup adventure underway last weekend with a major statement of intent as they stormed their way to a 3-0 romp against Mexican outfit Tijuana, Los Angeles will be seeking a repeat performance here. Picking up some perfect momentum on July 21st as they secured another 3-0 victory against Seattle, Steve Cherundolo’s men arena the midst of a real purple patch. In fact, the Falcons have suffered just a single defeat from any of their previous 17 appearances across all competitions a run that stems all the way back to May 5th. Tipped as a s…
According to David Ornstein of , Liverpool are currently exploring the possibility of signing Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig this summer.
The Hungary international, who scored 10 goals and contributed 13 assists in 46 matches in all competitions in 2022/23, has three years left on his contract, which would put Leipzig in a strong position to rebuff all interest in his services, if it weren t for a €70 million release clause in there. Still, €70m is a lot of money and Liverpool aren t a club to spend that kind of amount easily. They are aware that it won t be easy to pull this deal off, but the 22-year-old attacking midfielder perfectly fits the profile of the player the Merseysiders are looking for after their failed pursuits of Jude Bellingham and Mason Mount. He is un…
Former Mexico and Atletico Madrid boss Javier Aguirre has been appointed Egypt head coach, ahead of Thierry Henry.
Arsenal and France great Henry was in the running to replace Hector Cuper according to ex-Zamalek goalkeeper Nader El-Sayed, who claimed talks had taken place with Egyptian Football Association (EFA) board member Hazem Emam in London.
However, the EFA have opted for Aguirre to lead the country during their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign after Cuper vacated his position in June following Russia 2018.
Aguirre will be presented by the EFA in a news conference on Thursday.
Welcome
New challenge
— Egypt National Football Team (@Pharaohs)
The 59-year-old is no stranger to World Cups, having guided his native Mexico to tw…
Burnley s Steven Defour remains grateful to former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson for sending a letter wishing him well when he broke a metatarsal in 2009.
Aged 21 and already captain of Standard Liege, Defour was tipped for a big-money move with United among the rumoured suitors until he suffered the injury.
He joined Porto in 2011 and returned to Belgium with Anderlecht in 2014, never quite hitting the heights that were once expected of the midfielder.
Speaking ahead of Burnley s visit to Old Trafford on Saturday, the 28-year-old reminisced about the gesture he received from Ferguson during a tough time.
I was really down because of missing out on the Champions League and I knew that a lot of clubs were following me, he told the Guardian. I fe…
Italy head coach Robert Mancini admitted he is surprised by his inexperienced side s start to the Nations League following their 0-0 draw with England on Saturday.
Without midfield lynchpin Marco Verratti and the likes of Federico Chiesa and Andrea Belotti, the Azzurri put in an encouraging performance in Saturday s Euro 2020 final rematch, earning a point at the Molineux Stadium.
With the majority of the squad earning less than ten caps before this international window, Italy lead Group 3 after three games on five points, ahead of Hungary, Germany and England, who are bottom of the group on two points.
While conceding Italy are in early stages of transition after their failure to qualify for the World Cup, Mancini revealed he expected this initial period to be m…
Luka Modric insists Croatia are not at the World Cup just to participate and their ambitions are big despite their lacklustre start against Morocco.
Runners-up to France four years ago, Croatia s quest to go the extra step in Qatar began with a goalless draw against Morocco at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Indeed, Croatia failed to score for the first time in 12 World Cup matches, registering just 0.52 xG (expected goals) as the likes of Modric and Andrej Kramaric were kept quiet.
But the skipper is adamant there is more to come from Zlatko Dalic s side, who have suffered just one defeat since their Euro 2020 exit to Spain last year.
As the World Cup progresses, Croatia will be better, Modric told reporters. We did not come here just to participate. Our ambitions…