Enzo Fernandez will remain a Benfica player beyond the end of the January transfer window, according to the Portuguese giants head coach Roger Schmidt.
The Argentina midfielder has been strongly linked with a move to Chelsea throughout the month, but Benfica are reportedly insisting the Premier League side meet the player s release clause, believed to be £106million (€120m).
Schmidt previously described Chelsea s pursuit of the 22-year-old as disrespectful , and speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he reiterated his confidence that Fernandez will stay.
Yes, of course, he said about the player remaining in Lisbon. When you see Enzo playing for Benfica you can tell he s in shape and happy. He s not thinking about anything else.
I m not expecting to lose…
England have the quality to win the World Cup and represent scary opponents for the United States, according to coach Gregg Berhalter.
The USA have been drawn alongside the Three Lions, as well as Wales and Iran, in Group B for this year s finals in Qatar.
England s two major tournaments under Gareth Southgate have seen them reach a World Cup semi-final in 2018 and finish as runners-up at Euro 2020, but the manager has come under scrutiny after a poor Nations League campaign.
England were relegated from League A after picking up just three points from their six games.
But USMNT coach Berhalter remains wary of England s quality, saying: It s scary thinking about how we re going to beat them. We ll look at some of the games, look at some of their vulnerabil…
Best Odds: 1/1
Bookmaker:
Looking to open the 2022/23 La Liga campaign with a flurry across the capital, Atletico Madrid will make the trip to the Coliseum Alfonso Pérez on Monday evening.
Getafe
Starting with the hosts, while Getafe might have managed to hang onto their La Liga status last season, many are expecting another tough campaign for the Azulones. Failing to win any of their final five top-flight appearances earlier in the year, Head Coach Quique Sánchez Flores has seen his side show some worrying issues over the summer. Last seen signing off their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 defeat away at Segunda outfit Albacete on August 7th, the Blues failed to win any of their final five friendly outings. Managing to bag just a single strike in those fiv…
After just a pair of games each, it has already been an up and down World Cup for two of the best players on the planet.
Poland s Robert Lewandowski was the villain on matchday one as he saw a tame penalty saved in the 0-0 draw with Mexico, before redemption as he claimed his first ever World Cup goal in the 2-0 win over Saudi Arabia.
Lionel Messi scored his penalty in Argentina s first game, though was unable to stop his team from suffering a humiliating 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia, but then his exquisite strike set La Albiceleste on their way to a 2-0 win against Mexico.
These two superstars will surely be front and centre when they clash in their final game of Group C on Wednesday.
Victory for either will confirm their passage to the knockout stage, with …
Caleb Porter has likened the final games of the season to cup finals, as New England Revolution prepare to return to action against CF Montreal.
The Revs have had a three-week break ahead after suffering a heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat to New York City FC in the Leagues Cup round of 32.
After a slow start to the season, New England sit bottom of the Eastern Conference, though are only five points behind Atlanta United in ninth.
And Porter believes his refreshed team have what it takes to challenge for the playoffs if they can string together a winning run.
Every game is a cup final, these last 11, Porter said. We re going to go for it.
Obviously, our goal is to take it one at a time and win every game. We don t need to win every game to…
Julio Cesar has backed his former manager Jose Mourinho to become the first coach to lift the Europa Conference League trophy, adding to his substantial European legacy.
Mourinho leads his Roma side into their quarter-final second leg against Bodo/Glimt on Thursday, looking to recover from a 2-1 first-leg loss in Norway.
Cesar played under Mourinho while at Inter, winning a historic treble in the 2009-10 season consisting of the Serie A title, Coppa Italia, and the Champions League.
The Portuguese coach has won four European trophies during his career, two Champions Leagues (Porto 2003-04, Inter 2009-10) and two UEFA Cup/Europa Leagues (Porto 2002-03, Manchester United 2016-17).
Speaking with Stats Perform courtesy of Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Cesar praised …
Best odds: 6/10
Bookmaker:
Bayern Munich are set to welcome FC Koln to the Allianz Arena on Tuesday evening in what will be a match within round 17 of the 2022/23 season in the Bundesliga. Both teams will seek to conclude the first half of the campaign with a satisfactory result, though the expression itself obviously has a different meaning for each.
Bayern Munich
You could refer to Bayern as perpetual champions in the Germany and you wouldn t be far from the truth. Since Borussia Dortmund managed to grab the title twice back in the days of Jurgen Klopp at their helm, in 2011 and 2012, it s been all about the Bavarians, sometimes easy, sometimes with a bit more grit needed to get across the finish line. But across the finish line they got, each time without fa…
Best Odds: 19/20
Bookmaker:
In what is a heavyweight Round of 16 showdown on Monday evening, France will meet Belgium at the Merkur Spiel-Arena.
France
Starting with France, suffering major heartbreak out in Qatar 18 months ago as they relinquished their world crown, Les Bleus were seeking an immediate response on the major tournament stage this summer. However, although Didier Deschamps’ men might have opened up their European Championship adventure pencilled in as a standout title contender, they have failed to lay down any real marker. Missing out on what they had rightfully billed as a golden opportunity last week as they had to settle for a 1-1 stalemate against Poland, there has been some mounting pressure on Deschamps’ shoulders. Mustering just a sin…
Kieran Trippier may be a long-standing member of Gareth Southgate’s England squad but given the level of competition at full-back, he is not taking his place at Euro 2024 as a given.
The Newcastle defender is now one of the senior men within Southgate’s ranks and has amassed 46 caps to date.
His only senior goal was the opener in the 2018 World Cup semi-final defeat to Croatia with his ability to play on either side of Southgate’s defence keeping him in and around the team ever since.
Despite his consistency for club and country, Trippier is now arguably in the strongest pool of full-backs available to England.
In recent times Kyle Walker, Reece James and Ben White have played at right-back – with the versatile pair of Trent Alexander-Arnold and R…
Thomas Hitzlsperger believes clear improvements have been made with respect to diversity in football and hopes players from Europe s major leagues will soon feel comfortable coming out as gay.
Hitzlsperger – who earned 52 caps for Germany between 2004 and 2010 and helped Stuttgart win the Bundesliga in 2006-07 – came out in 2014, less than a year after his retirement.
Having become the highest-profile player to come out, Hitzlsperger recognises the courage required for anyone to take such a decision.
However, citing evolving attitudes towards homosexuality in football and the impact of diversity campaigns, Hitzlsperger believes the sport is now more welcoming.
Speaking to Stats Perform at the Football Business Awards, Hitzlsperger said: What I m seei…