Brazil captain Thiago Silva believes the threat of Cameroon star Samuel Eto o remains undiminished at the FIFA World Cup.
The hosts open the tournament on Thursday against Croatia and do not face Cameroon until their final game in Group A on June 23 but Silva is already concerned about taking on the four-time African Player of the Year, even though he is past his best at the age of 33.
Eto o is preparing for his fourth World Cup, and Paris Saint-Germain skipper Silva knows the forward remains a tough opponent.
He is the striker who most worries me, said Silva, who faced the Cameroonian in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League last season.
He is an experienced player and a handful to deal with.
In the Champions League he wasn t 100 per cent but he …
Bob Bradley has been relieved of his duties as the head coach of the USA following their Gold Cup final defeat to Mexico in June.
The announcement came after a meeting at the Home Depot
Centre in California, between USA Soccer Federation (USSF) president Sunil Gulati,
CEO Dan Flynn and Bradley on Thursday.
Bradley guided the US to the last 16 of the FIFA World
Cup in South Africa last year, but they suffered a 4-2 defeat to Mexico in the
Gold Cup final on June 25.
The US also lost to Mexico in the 2009 Gold Cup final
with Bradley at the helm.
We want to thank Bob Bradley for his service and
dedication to U.S. Soccer during the past five years, Gulati said.
During his time as the head coach of our …
Monaco said they have no choice but to open disciplinary proceedings against Nabil Dirar after the midfielder refused to accept a financial sanction imposed by the club.
Dirar is serving an eight-match ban following a confrontation with referee Tony Chapron in Monaco s 1-0 win over Nice in early February.
The Morocco international, who has been at Monaco since 2012, appeared to head-butt the referee after being shown a yellow card, and was ultimately sent off.
However, Dirar has since refused to accept any financial penalty from Monaco, with the Ligue 1 outfit forced to open disciplinary proceedings that could see the 30-year-old suspended further.
The club decided to sanction [Dirar] following his behaviour towards the match officials during th…
The Football Association (FA) has strongly rejected criticism from a FIFA report over their failed bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
The findings from the FIFA Ethics Committee s investigation into the bidding process for the next two World Cups were published on Thursday and England s campaign to stage the 2018 showpiece, which was awarded to Russia, is in the spotlight again for the FA s attempts to woo former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner.
Warner resigned from his role in 2011 amid bribery allegations and FIFA s report stated: England s response to Mr Warner s improper demands, in at a minimum always seeking to satisfy them in some way, damaged the integrity of the ongoing bidding process.
However, the FA has responded by insisting they oversaw a transparent …
Studying England ahead of Monday s European Championship qualifier was a hard watch for Montenegro coach Ljubisa Tumbakovic, who says the Three Lions have no weaknesses.
England have been rejuvenated under Gareth Southgate, who led them to a World Cup semi-final appearance before securing a place at the Nations League Finals at the expense of Croatia in November.
A 5-0 thrashing of the Czech Republic on Friday kicked off England s Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with a bang, Raheem Sterling scoring at hat-trick at Wembley.
However, Montenegro have a commendable record against England since becoming an independent footballing nation in 2007, drawing three and losing one of their four encounters.
While some may use that to suggest England could come unstuc…
Lionel Carole has joined Sevilla from Galatasaray on a season-long loan with an option to make the deal permanent.
The left-back, who has been at Gala since joining from Troyes in 2015, has won the Turkish Cup and two Turkish Super Cups in his time in Istanbul.
But the 26-year-old sees a move to the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan as a clear step up.
I will give the maximum and show all my qualities, Carole told the club s official website.
It is the greatest opportunity I have had in my career Galatasaray is a great club, but Sevilla is something else.
…
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 7/10 @
Looking to make another statement and make it four domestic victories on the bounce, Jeonbuk will travel to the Daejeon World Cup Stadium on Wednesday lunchtime.
Starting with the hosts, while Daejeon might have suffered a second-half collapse at home against Suwon Bluewings over the weekend as they eventually had to settle for an action-packed 2-2 draw, Lee Min-sung’s side have impressed many since making their K League 1 return this season. Opening the midweek fixtures battling it out in the top-six chase, the one-time South Korea coach has seen his side snatch a single point in each of their last four domestic appearances. However, despite claiming a lively 2-1 win away at Gangwon prior to June’s international brea…
West Ham United are interested in signing Nayef Aguerd from Rennes in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the the Hammers have opened preliminary talks with Rennes over the transfer of the Morocco international defender.
It is West Ham co-chairman David Sullivan who os sprearheading the club’s chase of Aguerd. The defender is a top target for the Hammers, who have been told that he will cost to up £16 million in transfer fees.
Aguerd joined Rennes from Dijon last summer. The Morocco international central defender scored three goals and gave one assist in 35 Ligue 1 matches for Rennes . The 25-year-old also made two starts and two substitute appearances in the Champions League in 2020-21.
…
What the papers say
Manchester United and Liverpool have both declared their interest in Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee, but the 22-year-old has reportedly told his manager that he would prefer a move to Italian club AC Milan, the Mirror reports. Zirkzee has scored 10 goals and produced three assists in 28 games for Bologna in Serie A this season.
Manchester United are also interested in 26-year-old Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa to help bolster their defence, according to Football Transfers. Konsa has played 28 Premier League games for Villa this season.
Fulham manager Marco Silva has attracted some interest from West Ham, who has a release clause in his contract of £8.6million, the Sun says.
Social media round-up
Bayer Leverkusen star Jeremie Frimpong is one …
Sadio Mane has suffered an injury scare less than two weeks before the World Cup after limping off during Bayern Munich s Bundesliga clash with Werder Bremen.
The Senegal forward was substituted in the 21st minute at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday, having received treatment on the pitch and subsequently signalled to the bench he could not continue.
Mane was involved in Bayern s opening goal, which was scored by Jamal Musiala, but his substitution will clearly concern his country.
Senegal s World Cup opener against the Netherlands is on November 21, giving Mane little time to recover from any issue.
We re forced into an early change. Hope it s nothing serious, Sadio!
Sadio Mané
1-1 (20 )
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)
…