Former Germany defender Jerome Boateng has laughed off criticism of the national team ahead of the World Cup in Qatar, joking there are 80 million national coaches .
Germany s 3-3 Nations League draw with England on Monday meant they finished third in Group A3, having won just one of their six matches.
Their shaky recent performances and failure to reach the Nations League s final four have led to questions being asked of manager Hansi Flick.
But Boateng, who played 76 times for Germany between 2009 and 2018, believes fans should reserve judgement of the team until the World Cup is over.
Shortly before the World Cup we have 80 million national coaches again, Boateng wrote in an Instagram story, alongside a laughing emoji.
We have a strong team, …
Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo hopes his experiences coming through mental health problems and gambling can help others tackle their own issues.
In September 2023, Toffolo was handed a suspended five-month ban after admitting 375 breaches of FA betting rules and was also fined just under £21,000. The investigation related to his time as a young player at Norwich and took in loan spells at Swindon, Rotherham, Peterborough and Scunthorpe between 2014 and 2017.
According to an independent regulatory commission, Toffolo’s deteriorating mental health and belief his football career was over were “very substantial mitigation” for him breaching the FA’s betting rules at that time.
Following confirmation of Harry Toffolo’s sanctions for misconduct in …
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal as Portugal edged Croatia 2-1 in Thursday s Nations League clash at Estadio da Luz.
Ronaldo s 34th-minute goal proved the winner, as the Portugal captain turned in Nuno Mendes cross for his milestone goal.
Roberto Martinez s side led inside seven minutes through Diogo Dalot, and 39-year-old Ronaldo forced a brilliant reflex save out of Dominik Livakovic 15 minutes later.
Livakovic was helpless to prevent Ronaldo putting Portugal ahead, though Dalot s own goal four minutes before half-time set up an exciting second period in the League A Group 1 contest.
Yet despite shading the expected goals (xG) value in the second half, with 0.44 to Portugal s 0.36, Croatia found no way through, with Ronaldo going off to a …
Pablo Mastroeni believes Real Salt Lake s magic mentality has helped them earn a reputation as comeback kings, though he is hoping for a more routine outing against the Seattle Sounders on Wednesday.
RSL fought back from 3-0 down to draw 3-3 with FC Dallas last Saturday, having recovered from 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to beat the Colorado Rapids 5-3 one week earlier.
Mastroeni s men are now unbeaten in 11 league games and sit four points clear at the top of the Western Conference standings ahead of their midweek visit to the improving Sounders.
It s not a surprise to me that the guys, given the scoreline, stay in there and fight, said Mastroeni. It s a testament to the group.
Everyone that s a part of this club has the same mindset, and I think when you re …
Juventus chairman Andrea Agnelli congratulated Inter on their Serie A triumph but promised his club would make every effort to win back the Scudetto.
After nine consecutive league titles, the long reign of Juventus was officially ended on Sunday as Inter wrapped up the 2020-21 championship.
Atalanta s failure to beat Sassuolo – that game finished 1-1 – meant Antonio Conte s Inter were home and dry with four games to spare.
Juventus, meanwhile, face a battle just to secure a top-four finish and Champions League football next season.
For all their defending of Andrea Pirlo, the first-time head coach has not made the impression that Juventus would have wanted this season.
They followed up last season s Scudetto by winning the Supercoppa with a …
All eyes will be on the battle for survival and the scrap for the final European place on the final day of Premier League season on Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points.
Everton in the box-seat
It all comes down to this…
— Premier League (@premierleague)
Everton are one of three clubs in danger, with two making the drop alongside already-relegated Southampton this weekend.
But the Toffees at least have control of their own destiny heading into a Goodison Park clash against Bournemouth, knowing that a 70th-successive season in the top-flight awaits if they match the results of Leicester and Leeds.
It promises to be a nervous afternoon, though, with Everton’s cause not helped by injury absentees Dominic …
Brazil need to start thinking about Qatar 2022 after their World Cup exit at the hands of Belgium, according to 2002 winner Rivaldo.
A Fernandinho own goal and a superb strike from Kevin De Bruyne set up a 2-1 win for Belgium, with Renato Augusto s headed reply proving a mere consolation.
Tite has not yet indicated whether or not he would like to stay in charge of the Selecao, although Ronaldo wants the coach to remain in his post.
And in a social media post, Rivaldo said Brazil have to start planning for the future immediately.
First of all, I would like to congratulate Belgium s national team for their victory and their qualification, Rivaldo wrote on Instagram.
The World Cup is just like that, especially in the quarter-finals that is when th…
Ayoub El Kaabi will be the toast of Piraeus after his match-winning heroics secured Olympiakos first-ever European trophy following their Europa Conference League success on Wednesday.
The Olympiacos striker delivered the fatal blow against Fiorentina, bundling home with four minutes remaining of extra time to snatch a 1-0 victory at the AEK Arena.
El Kaabi is the first player to score 11 goals in a single knockout stage campaign in major European competition since the introduction of group stages.
Radamel Falcao, Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema all only ever managed 10 such goals in one campaign of UEFA competitions, and El Kaabi moves next to greatness in another aspect, too.
The Moroccan forward is the first non-European player to score 14 goals in…
I have to say when young French forward Kylian Mbappe burst onto the scene as a teenager at Monaco I thought it was a typical case of the media overhyping a player. That was until I saw the forward play.
Since his breakthrough season, the 19-year-old has moved to PSG for big money and enjoyed another fruitful campaign in Ligue One.
However, on Saturday afternoon the youngster announced himself as a top-level player in the international game, as Mbappe helped France through to the quarter-finals of the World Cup with a brace in a pulsating 4-3 victory over Argentina.
A performance to remember from Mbappe
France has a highly talented group of players, many of them in their prime footballing years. However, the 19-year-old took the game by the scruff of the neck. …
Florentino Perez will remain Real Madrid president until 2021 after no candidates ran against him.
Perez, who first held the position in 2000, won uncontested, the Spanish and European champions announced on Monday.
The 70-year-old has overseen a period of continued success at Madrid, who claimed their third Champions League in four seasons in 2016-17.
Zinedine Zidane s men also clinched LaLiga for the first time since 2012.
Having brought in the era of the Galacticos in Madrid, Perez and the club could continue that approach by adding Monaco star Kylian Mbappe this off-season.
However, speculation over the future of Cristiano Ronaldo continues to intensify, with reports the star wants to leave Spain.
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