International Football Thread

[ghazi52]

Sergio Ramos nets 1st goal for new club in Monterrey - Santos thriller​

Sergio Ramos netted his 1st goal for Monterrey with a header in a 4-2 win over Santos Laguna in the Mexican Clausura.

Sports Desk
March 03, 2025

Sergio Ramos marked his first goal for Monterrey in their 4-2 victory over Santos Laguna in the Mexican Clausura on Monday.

The former Real Madrid defender found the net with a trademark header in the 57th minute, giving Monterrey a 2-1 lead at Estadio BBVA.

 

[ghazi52]

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[Amir Mahajane]

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Is it true? @Dalit

 

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FIFA lifts Pakistan Football Federation suspension after constitutional dispute
Effective immediately, decision allows Pakistan to resume participation in international football events

FIFA lifts Pakistan Football Federation suspension after constitutional dispute

Effective immediately, decision allows Pakistan to resume participation in international football events - Anadolu Ajansı

www.aa.com.tr

Pakistan is soon playing against Syria.

 

[Dalit]

@Amir Mahajane

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[Amir Mahajane]

@Amir Mahajane

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Oh ok.. Nice.. Good to hear that. Don't get defensive. We have a pretty decent football scene in India. We need to get better.

 

[ghazi52]

Liverpool must be ready to ‘suffer’ in PSG return leg, says Van Dijk​

AFP
March 6, 2025

PARIS: Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool’s Champions League suffering at the hands of Paris Saint-Germain is not yet over despite surviving an onslaught to win the first leg of their last 16 tie 1-0 in the French capital.

The Reds were outclassed for almost the entire match at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday but clung on thanks to what goalkeeper Alisson Becker described as the performance “of his life”.

Harvey Elliott came off the bench to score the winner with his first touch on 87 minutes. Liverpool had only two shots, compared with PSG’s 27 attempts at goal.

It was the Paris side’s first defeat in 23 games, a run stretching back to November.

Liverpool will expect to be much stronger for the second leg at Anfield on Tuesday, but Van Dijk warned the tie is not yet over.

“It should be a great game and we have to be ready to suffer as they are a very good team who were unbeaten for a very long time,” said the Liverpool captain.

“What I really liked was the togetherness, everyone put a shift in and we know everyone can be better.”

Liverpool boss Arne Slot conceded his side would have been lucky even to escape with a draw.

Van Dijk agreed the backs-to-the-wall display is not how the runaway Premier League leaders are used to winning but paid tribute to the “world-class” opposition they faced.

“We don’t want to be playing this way because everyone who plays football wants to have the ball a lot and wants to be dominating opponents,” he said.

“But we played against a team with a lot of quality, world-class quality, and they made it very difficult for everyone in the world so far and they made it difficult for us but we found a way and we have to try to finish it off next week.”

Slot’s substitutes made a telling contribution as Darwin Nunez set up the winner for Elliott, while Curtis Jones and Wataru Endo helped snuff out the PSG threat.

“We are coming to the last stages of the season and the message is pretty clear – everyone who is part of the team has to play a part when they come on,” said Van Dijk.

 

[ghazi52]

FIFA to consider one-off expansion to 64 teams for 2030 World Cup​

Reuters
March 7, 2025

PARIS: Football’s governing body FIFA will review a proposal to expand the 2030 World Cup to 64 teams to mark the centenary of the sport’s marquee event, it said on Thursday.

The 2030 World Cup will be held in Morocco, Spain and Portugal, with Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, where the inaugural edition was staged, set to host three games.

The World Cup has already been expanded from 32 to 48 teams for next year’s edition in the US, Mexico and Canada.

“A proposal to analyse a 64-team FIFA World Cup to celebrate the centenary of the FIFA World Cup in 2030 was spontaneously raised by a FIFA Council member in the ‘miscellaneous’ agenda item near the end of the FIFA Council meeting held on March 5 2025,” a FIFA spokesperson told Reuters. “The idea was acknowledged as FIFA has a duty to analyse any proposal from one of its Council members.”

Earlier on Thursday, the New York Times said the proposal was made by Ignacio Alonso, a delegate from Uruguay.

The newspaper, which did not name its sources, said the proposal was met with ‘stunned silence’ by the participants.

It added that according to three people in the meeting, “FIFA was likely to be guided by financial and political benefits as much as sporting ones when it came to taking a decision on the matter.

“[FIFA president] Mr Infantino … described the proposal as an interesting one that should be analysed more closely,” the newspaper report added, according to “four people with direct knowledge of the discussions.”

 

[ghazi52]

Sven Botman sidelined for 8 weeks with knee injury, out of Carabao Cup final​

Newcastle defender Sven Botman faces another eight weeks out after a knee injury setback, says manager Eddie Howe.

Sports Desk
March 07, 2025

Newcastle United defender Sven Botman will be sidelined for about eight weeks after suffering another knee injury, manager Eddie Howe confirmed.

The 25-year-old Netherlands international recently returned from a 10-month layoff following an anterior cruciate ligament tear in March 2024. However, he has now sustained an issue in his other knee, requiring surgery.

"We have been trying to get him back to full fitness," Howe said. "He was very close to the Brighton game [on 2 March], but the day before, he felt something in his knee again. This week, he has had the same discomfort, so it looks like he will have to have an operation."

 

[ghazi52]

Real Madrid face battle to regain top spot, says Ancelotti​

Reuters
March 8, 2025

Real Madrid are not in an ideal position in LaLiga and will have to fight to reclaim top spot, manager Carlo Ancelotti said ahead of Sunday’s home game with neighbours Rayo Vallecano.

Real have won only once in their last five LaLiga matches and are third in the standings with 54 points, three points behind leaders Barcelona.

Despite Real’s unbeaten run in the Copa del Rey and a six-match winning streak in the Champions League, the reigning LaLiga champions’ form is a concern for Ancelotti.

“We are ready to fight for every game and in every competition. I am much calmer for tomorrow’s game because we have had five days of rest,” he told reporters on Saturday. although he still expects a tough challenge.

“It will be harder on a physical and mental level, but you have to take that into account. We are very close to a Copa del Rey final, to the top of the table and to the Champions League quarter-final.

“It is not the ideal situation because that would be to be the leader of LaLiga, but we are ready to fight.”

Real slumped to a 2-1 defeat at Real Betis last weekend and Ancelotti gave a scathing assessment of the loss but praised his players for their efforts as well.

 

[ghazi52]

Arsenal not scared to go to Old Trafford to win, Odegaard says before Man United clash​

Reuters
March 9, 2025

Photo: Reuters

Manchester United can be difficult to face at Old Trafford despite their struggles this season, but Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard said his team will go there on Sunday looking for a win.

United, traditionally an intimidating opponent to visit, have won only two of their last seven home games in the league, against relegation-threatened Southampton and Ipswich Town.

But Ruben Amorim’s men, who sit 15th in the table, have also shown some sparks of fighting spirit, including against Arsenal in a penalty shootout victory at the London club in the FA Cup in January.

“When they click as a team it’s challenging to play them,” Odegaard told reporters on Saturday.

“They’re not where they want to be in the table and it’s a big club and it’s been struggling a little bit.”

Second-placed Arsenal, who beat United 2-0 at home in December, are winless in their last two league matches as they sit 16 points below leaders Liverpool, who have played two games more.

“We know the quality they have when they’re on it, a lot of good individual players that we have to be ready for,” Odegaard added.

“We are Arsenal and we are not scared to go there to win, so that’s it.

 

[ghazi52]

Man United’s Amorim lauds Garnacho’s ‘complete game’ in Arsenal draw​

Reuters

Photo: Reuters

Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim was impressed by Alejandro Garnacho’s performance as the winger put in a hard shift at Old Trafford during Sunday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Arsenal.

The Argentina international was a constant threat for the visitors from the right wing. The 20-year-old won four fouls, more than any other player in the game, including the one that led to Bruno Fernandes’s free-kick goal just before the break.

Garnacho, who also delivered two crosses and won the majority of his duels, fared better than his recent performances, after hitting the side netting in Thursday’s 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad in the Europa League.

He had also faced criticism for his reaction to being substituted during last month’s 3-2 win over Ipswich Town, heading straight down the tunnel instead of joining the bench.

“I think Garnacho made a really complete game. He was upset last Thursday and today, he was amazing,” Amorim told Sky Sports after Sunday’s match.

Media reports had linked Garnacho, who joined United in 2020 as an academy player, with a move away from the club in January after Amorim dropped him from the squad along with Marcus Rashford in December, demanding higher standards and competitiveness.

But the manager later backed the former Atletico Madrid youth player, saying Garnacho had changed his attitude and was improving at United.

 

[ghazi52]

Man Utd plan to build 'iconic' £2bn 100,000-capacity stadium​

Man Utd unveil images of new stadium

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter


Manchester United have announced plans to build the biggest stadium in the UK - an "iconic" new £2bn 100,000-seater ground close to Old Trafford.

Once construction is complete, the club's existing home is likely to be demolished.

Co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe said he wanted to build the "world's greatest football stadium", which the club hopes could be finished in five years.

United's announcement comes after an extensive consultation process around whether to develop the existing stadium or build a new one.

Old Trafford has been Manchester United's home since 1910.

The club would continue to play at Old Trafford until the new stadium was ready.

Senior club sources have previously said it would not be cost effective to shrink it for use as a home for United's women's and youth teams.
Architects at Foster and Partners, who will design the project, said the new stadium would feature an umbrella design and a new public plaza that is "twice the size of Trafalgar Square".

The design will feature three masts described as "the trident", which the architects say will be 200 metres high and visible from 25 miles away.

Manchester United, currently £1bn in debt, are yet to say how they plan to pay for the stadium. Club chief executive Omar Berrada said it was "a very attractive investment opportunity" and he was "quite confident we'll find a way to finance the stadium".

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire said the development can be financed because income from a "multi-functional stadium will more than outweigh the additional interest costs".

 

[ghazi52]

 

[ghazi52]

Team news - Both teams unchanged from first leg
​

Liverpool v PSG

No changes for Liverpool or Paris Saint-Germain from the first leg.

Arne Slot opts for the same line-up with last week's match winner Harvey Elliott on the bench and Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz given the nod over Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez.

Liverpool XI: Alisson, Robertson, Van Dijk, Konate, Alexander-Arnold, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Diaz, Szoboszlai, Salah, Jota

Subs: Endo, Nunez, Chiesa, Jones, Gakpo, Elliott, Tsimikas, McConnell, Jaros, Kelleher, Quansah

Image source, BBC Sport

PSG were brilliant last week and Luis Enrique will hope his side can capitalise on some chances tonight rather than squander the 27 that they did last week.

Achraf Hakimi starts along with the impressive Ousmane Dembele and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

PSG XI: Donnarumma, Mendes, Pacho, Marquinhos, Hakimi, Ruiz, Vitinha, Neves, Barcola, Dembele, Kvaratskhelia

Subs: Kimpembe, Ramos, Doue, Kang-in, Hernandez, Mayulu, Zaire-Emery, Beraldo, Safonav, Mbaye, Tenas

Image source, BBC Sport