International Football Thread

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England ready to grasp shot at ‘history’ in Euro semi-final against the Dutch​

The winner will face Spain in Berlin on Sunday.

 

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England manager Gareth Southgate said the Three Lions are sensing their shot at history in tonight’s Euro 2024 semi-final against a Netherlands side hitting their stride in Dortmund.

Southgate’s men are aiming to reach the final of a major tournament on foreign soil for the first time and take a step closer to ending a 58-year wait to win a major tournament.

The winners will face Spain in Berlin on Sunday after they came from behind to beat France 2-1 on Tuesday.

England missed out in heartbreaking fashion in the final of Euro 2020, losing on penalties at Wembley to Italy.

Captain Harry Kane said reaching back-to-back finals would be an “amazing achievement” as he aims to win the first major trophy of his career.

But Kane has been singled out for criticism back home for his sluggish displays in Germany, where he now plays his club football for Bayern Munich.

The 30-year-old has scored two of England’s five goals at the tournament but has looked physically restricted after missing the end of the club season with a back injury.

Kane’s lacklustre performances have been symptomatic of England’s struggles as a team.

Twice they have stared down a humiliating early exit only to fight back against Slovakia and Switzerland thanks to individual moments of magic from Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka.

England arrived in Germany as one of the favourites thanks to a richly talented squad and an upturn in their fortunes under Southgate.

And he believes his players struggled to cope with that expectation early in the tournament.

“One of our strengths over the last eight years has been less fear, less inhibition but at the beginning, the expectation weighed heavily,” said Southgate at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

“Now we are into that moment in the tournament where it is what is possible? What is achievable? Rather than, what could go wrong?

“That is different for a player. This is now the chance to make history, first time to make a final not held in England.”

 

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Colombia advances to Copa América final as tempers flare post-match​

By Jacob Lev, CNN
Thu July 11, 2024

Uruguay forward Darwin Núñez clashes with Colombia fans after the semifinal.
Nick Tre. Smith/Icon Sportswire/AP
CNN —

Colombia advanced to the Copa América final following a 1-0 win over Uruguay at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Wednesday, but the game was marred by unsavory scenes after full-time.
Jefferson Lerma scored the match’s only goal in the 39th minute as Los Cafeteros extended their unbeaten streak to 28 matches.

The match was testy and featured seven yellow cards and one red card after Colombia’s Daniel Muñoz was ejected in the first half after being shown a second yellow card.
Tempers flared even more after the match.

After the final whistle, players from both squads got into it at center field before the Fox Sports 1 broadcast showed Uruguayan players entering the stands and getting into a scuffle with fans.

 

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Girona fight back to share points with Betis in season opener​

Champions Real Madrid launch their campaign on Sunday..........................

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Ajax, Panathinaikos set UEFA record with 34 penalty kicks​

Ajax keeper Remko Pasveer makes five saves and scores on his own attempt to help the hosts win the shootout.

 

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City beat Chelsea to start EPL title defence​

Aston Villa defeats West Ham United 2-1 while Brentford beats Crystal Palace 2-1.

 

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Arsenal held to 1-1 draw by Brighton as Rice sees red​

Reuters

Arsenal and Brighton remain unbeaten after a hard-fought 1-1 draw at The Emirates in Premier League clash

 

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Liverpool sink Manchester United 3-0 with Diaz double​

Mohamed Salah’s second-half goal makes him the top-scoring opposition player at Old Trafford in Premier League history

Reuters
September 01, 2024

Liverpool's Luis Diaz in action with Manchester United's Matthijs de Ligt, Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - September 1, 2024.: REUTERS

MANCHESTER: Two goals from Luis Diaz and one from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool stroll to a 3-0 victory at Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday, with Erik ten Hag's side humbled by their fierce rivals.

Liverpool dominated a United team who could not keep pace with them in the first half, the visitors taking the lead in the 35th minute through a back-post header from Diaz after United midfielder Casemiro had given the ball away.

Casemiro was again at fault for Diaz and Liverpool's second, again supplied by Mohamed Salah, with the Colombia international sweeping home three minutes before the break, sending United supporters off for their halftime refreshments early.

With United on the ropes, Liverpool smelled blood after the break, Salah adding a third 11 minutes into the second half, but the visitors settled for three as they maintained their 100% record this season under new coach Arne Slot.

 

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‘Nobody has talked to me’: Liverpool star Mohamed Salah says it’s his ‘last year’ with Reds after beating Manchester United​

By Ben Morse, CNN
September 2, 2024

Liverpool players, including Mohamed Salah (second right), celebrate after scoring against Manchester United.
Nick Potts/PA
CNN —

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah said this will be his “last year” with the Reds after playing a pivotal role in his team’s 3-0 thumping of Manchester United on Sunday.

Salah, 32, scored and provided two assists as Liverpool ran riot at Old Trafford against a lackluster United.

When asked afterwards what was behind his fast start to the new Premier League campaign – the Egyptian has scored three times and provided three assists in Liverpool’s opening three matches – Salah said he came in with less pressure on his shoulders.

“I had a good summer and had a long time to myself to try to stay positive because, as you know, it’s my last year at the club,” Salah told Sky Sports.

“I just want to enjoy it and I don’t want to think about it. I feel like I’m free to play football and then we’ll see what happens next year.”

Salah’s current contract runs out at the end of the 2024/25 season. He has been at Liverpool since 2017, scoring 160 Premier League goals along the way.

Salah scores Liverpool's third goal against Manchester United.
Michael Regan/Getty Images

He has been subject to rumors of a move away from Anfield in recent years, with Liverpool reportedly rejecting a big-money offer from Saudi Arabia last year.

With questions swirling around his future, Salah said he has yet to talk to the club about a possible contract extension.

“Coming into the game, I said it could be the last time [I play here with Liverpool],” he said.

“No one at the club has spoken to me about contracts, so I’m just like, ‘OK, I’m playing my last season’ and see what happens at the end of the season.

“So far, we don’t know with which club, but so far yeah my last game here with Liverpool. It’s not up to me, but nobody talk to me about a contract with the club. We’ll see.”

When asked about Salah’s comments after the game, new Liverpool manager Arne Slot said he is focusing on the present.

“It’s a lot of ‘if’. At this moment, he is one of ours and I am really happy with him being one of ours and he played really well,” Slot told reporters, per Sky Sports.

“I don’t talk about contracts from players, but I can talk for hours about how Mo played today.”

Salah’s performance on Sunday continued his excellent record against Liverpool’s big rival, United.

He has scored 10 goals in nine appearances for Liverpool at Old Trafford, with the Reds sitting second in the Premier League, level on nine points with leader Manchester City after an unbeaten start to the season.

 

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Aleksandar Mitrovic hat-trick fires Al Hilal past Esteghlal, Neymar replaced early​

RIYADH: Aleksandar Mitrovic scored three times on Monday as Saudi Arabia’s Al Hilal beat Iranian side Esteghlal in...

 

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Man City will ‘struggle’ to overcome injury crisis, says Guardiola​

LISBON: Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City will struggle to overcome a mounting injury crisis but encouraged the..

 

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Fulham strike twice in stoppage time to beat Brentford​

LONDON: Harry Wilson struck twice in stoppage time to give Fulham a dramatic 2-1 victory over west London rivals...

 

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With Mbappe gone, misfiring PSG are under pressure in Champions League​

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe was always going to leave an enormous void when he left Paris Saint-Germain, and the French...

 

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Uncertain Inter with questions to answer before Arsenal clash​

AFP

MILAN: Inter Milan face a big week for their European and domestic ambitions with the visits of both Arsenal and Napoli as the Italian champions try to banish worrying signs of frailty.

Simone Inzaghi’s team are level on seven points with Arsenal in the revamped Champions League and sit handily in the top eight positions which offer direct qualification to the last 16.

On the face of it Inter are in good nick ahead of Wednesday’s game with seven wins in an unbeaten run of eight in all competitions since their only defeat of the season, in September’s Milan derby.

But the good results hide an indecisive streak which has characterised Inter’s performances this term and left them trailing surprise Serie A leaders Napoli.

Inter conceded just 22 goals in Serie A last season as they crushed the domestic competition and Inzaghi’s side were heavy favourites to retain the Scudetto after keeping hold of star players and adding to an already strong squad.

But Inter’s previously solid defence has already been breached 13 times in 11 league fixtures while their formidable attack has lost the ability to close out of matches.

Chucking away a two-goal lead to draw 4-4 with Juventus was the latest episode of a series of uncharacteristic downfalls after profligate finishing kept opponents in games.

And even Sunday’s single-goal win over Venezia, which moved Inter to one point behind Napoli came after VAR officials spotted Marin Sverko’s almost imperceptible handball and disallowed his stoppage time equaliser.

“We need to be more clinical. We missed a lot of good chances which would have made the match easier… we shouldn’t have only been 1-0 ahead in the 97th minute,” said Inzaghi.

Lautaro Martinez, the match winner at the weekend, is set to make his first start in this season’s Champions League alongside Marcus Thuram.

France striker Thuram has only missed one match in Inter’s packed fixture list and was one of those guilty of missed chances in a tired-looking display against Venezia.

Inter are in the Champions League top eight thanks to his late winner at Young Boys last month, when both Thuram and Martinez had to come off the bench to save the day after disappointing efforts from their back-ups Marko Arnautovic and Mehdi Taremi.

Good news for Inter comes in the shape of the return of key midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu and Italy defender Francesco Acerbi who Inzaghi said will be available after a fortnight out with a thigh strain.

Inzaghi said the only player missing will be wing-back Carlos Augusto but with Federico Dimarco in red hot form, the Brazil international had little chance of featuring against the Gunners.

Dimarco set up Martinez’s winner against Venezia, his fifth assist of the season for club and country. The Italy international will be key to Inter’s hopes against both Arsenal and Napoli on Sunday.

 

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England secure Nations League promotion, France beat Italy​

Agencies November 19, 2024

MILAN: France’s Adrien Rabiot (second R) scores during the Nations League match against Italy at the San Siro Stadium.—AFP

LONDON: Harry Kane’s 69th international goal sparked a second-half scoring spree that fired England back to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League on Sunday, while Adrien Rabiot scored twice as France beat Italy.

In temporary head coach Lee Carsley’s final game in charge before the arrival of Thomas Tuchel as manager, a 5-0 win against 10-man Republic of Ireland secured promotion and ensured England will be back among Europe’s leading nations in the next edition of the competition.

“I wanted the England team to be exciting to watch and attacking,” Carsley told ITV. “I see them do it day in, day out on the training ground. And now we’ve seen it [on the field]. I can only do what I was in control of. It’s not a gamble with some of these players, they are excellent players.”

Euro 2024 runners-up England won Group B2 on goal difference ahead of second-placed Greece, who beat Finland 2-0 in the other game in the group and will head into the playoffs in March.

England struggled to break down a resolute Ireland in the first half at Wembley, with Noni Madueke twice having efforts blocked after threatening bursts into the box.

The game changed shortly after the interval when Liam Scales brought down Jude Bellingham after a fine pass from Kane, conceding a penalty and being sent off for a second bookable offence.

Kane stepped up to slot his spot-kick past Ireland goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher.

LONDON: England’s Anthony Gordon (second R) scores against Republic of Ireland during their Nations League match at Wembley Stadium.—Reuters

England doubled their lead in the 56th minute, as Tino Livramento’s deflected cross found its way to his Newcastle team-mate Anthony Gordon who volleyed home his first international goal.

Carsley’s side scored their third goal in the space of five minutes when Conor Gallagher stabbed in a Marc Guehi flick-on from a corner to also net for the first time for his country.

Jarrod Bowen joined the party, sweeping home his first England goal with his first touch just seconds after coming on as a substitute.

Taylor Harwood-Bellis, on as a sub for his England debut, headed in Bellingham’s cross in the 79th minute to round off the scoring.

 

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Martinez gives Argentina win over Peru as Uruguay hold Brazil​

5-time winner Brazil lag in fifth position, still hoping on striker Neymar's return.