N Golo Kante is a fundamental part of France s team because of the character he shows on the pitch, according to international team-mate Lucas Hernandez.
Kante was an unused substitute as France battled to a 2-2 friendly draw at home to Iceland on Thursday and his absence was notable, as the world champions struggled to effectively nullify the visitors in midfield.
Kylian Mbappe eventually inspired a late comeback after being 2-0 down, as the Paris Saint-Germain star forced a Holmar Eyjolfsson own goal and scored a late penalty.
Kante is expected to come straight back into the starting XI for the visit of Germany in the Nations League on Tuesday, and Lucas is confident he will make a difference.
The character he shows on the pitch, the desire he has –…
Harry Kane offers more to England than simply goals, says Kieran Trippier, who is not concerned about the striker s lack of touches in Sunday s 1-0 win over Serbia.
Jude Bellingham s goal was the difference as England recorded a hard-fought victory to open their Group C campaign, meaning they have started all four of their major tournaments under Gareth Southgate with a win.
However, their performance attracted criticism from some quarters as England managed just five shots to Serbia s six, accumulating a total of 0.52 expected goals (xG).
Kane was a victim of the cagey nature of the contest, recording fewer touches (24) and successful passes (nine) than any other England starter.
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at least doubled both of those tallies, having…
Jurgen Klopp is expecting both Thiago Alcantara and Fabinho to be fit to feature for Liverpool in Saturday s Champions League final against Real Madrid.
The two key midfielders were doubts for the Reds heading to Paris this week.
Thiago hobbled out of the final match of the Premier League season against Wolves with a calf injury, while a hamstring complaint means Fabinho has not played since the win at Aston Villa on May 10.
However, Klopp offered a positive update in his pre-match news conference on Friday.
The mood is good, very good, the Liverpool manager said. We re really excited about being here now, getting a feeling of the stadium, the location. That s all good.
It looks good for both Thiago and Fabinho. Fabinho trained completely normal…
The first clash between two of the four teams many see as the most serious contenders for the Premier League title took place on Saturday at Anfield, as Liverpool and Chelsea shared the spoils. Kai Havertz produced a fine header from a Reece James corner to break the deadlock in the 22nd minute, and Mohamed Salah equalized from the penalty spot in the final moments of the first half, after James earned a red card for handling the ball on the goal-line.
Van Dijk or Lukaku?
Looking ahead to this match, most media in England focused on the battles between Virgil van Dijk and Romelu Lukaku. The Belgian striker is back in the English top flight, widely (and rightly) considered as one of the best in the world in his position, while the Dutch centre-back returned at the start of the …
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists his side will not be tourists on their return to the UEFA Champions League.
The five-time winners will take part in Europe s elite club competition for the first time since the 2009-10 season, and begin with the visit of Ludogorets on Tuesday.
Rodgers, whose side also share Group B with Real Madrid and Basel, says Liverpool are ready for the challenge.
We are not tourists in this competition we believe it is where we belong and where we should be playing, he said. For the players and everyone involved it s something that brings the real excitement, but it isn t a giddy excitement.
“We are Liverpool, we are five times winners of the European Cup and we are synonymous with its best traditions. Our players are exc…
Former Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Enock Mwepu has been discharged from a specialist heart hospital in his native Zambia.
Mwepu was forced to retire from playing in October after being diagnosed with a hereditary heart condition.
Amid reports the ex-Zambia international had suffered a heart attack at the weekend, Brighton released a statement confirming he was undergoing precautionary checks .
The 25-year-old has now been released from Lusaka Heart Hospital after a four-day admission and will continue his recuperation at home.
When announcing his retirement three months ago, Brighton said Mwepu was at an extremely high risk of suffering a potentially fatal cardiac event if he continued playing.
He has since taken on a role as academy coach…
Ander Herrera says Jose Mourinho is the world s best manager when the going is good, but he does not take losing well.
The Paris Saint-Germain midfielder reflected on playing under Tottenham boss Mourinho at Manchester United and has largely fond memories of the manager s two-and-a-half-year tenure.
Mourinho is the best manager in the world when things go well,” Herrera said to The Athletic.
The relationship with the players, the way he treats everyone; I really liked his training sessions. Also, with [assistant] Rui Faria, they were a fantastic team together.
But it is also true, when he loses, he does not take it in a good way. That is true. And he accepts that! He does not hide from it.
We have a great relationship. The first year …
Prediction: Aston Villa to win 2-1
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Aston Villa and Leicester City will face each other in the Premier League this coming weekend. The match between the Villans and the Foxes will take place at Villa Park and is scheduled to kick off at 3pm UK time on Saturday.
Aston Villa
Aston Villa were really struggling under then manager Steven Gerrard. It did look like under the Liverpool legend, the Villans will get relegated to the Championship at the end of the season. Villa then decided to change their manager and brought in former Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain boss Unai Emery. Under the Spaniard, Villa have gone from strength to strength, and they are now in the race for a European place in the Premier League table.
Villa are…
According to a recent report from De Telegraaf, Nathan Ake has insisted that he’s purely focused on proving himself at Manchester City.
The news comes in the wake of fresh speculation that Newcastle United are interested in signing him.
Ake has been with City since 2020 and while many expect him to stay for quite some time, especially given the fact that he’s just 27 year of age, Newcastle have the funds necessary to make some real noise in this department.
The Magpies were officially taken over back in October 2021 by backers in Saudi Arabia, with many believing they’d immediately jump to investing millions in the club.
They did so during the January transfer window and it seems as if that trend is set to continue in the months ahead with the summ…
Rangers secured their first win of this season s Europa League as they enjoyed a 2-0 victory over Brondby at Ibrox.
First-half goals from Leon Balogun and Kemar Roofe were enough to give Steven Gerrard s side the points and move them off the bottom of Group A.
Balogun opened his account for the club with a thumping 18th-minute header from James Tavernier s corner.
Roofe put the game beyond the reigning Danish Superliga champions on the half-hour mark with his 25th goal in 49 appearances.
1 Leon Balogun has scored his first ever goal. It s his first goal in any club competition since netting for Brighton against Crystal Palace in the Premier League back in December 2018. Rise.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe)
Both sides were searching for their fi…