Mahmoud Trezeguet handed hosts Egypt a winning start to the Africa Cup of Nations with the only goal of Friday’s opening game against Zimbabwe in a high tempo start to the tournament.

Egypt opened up the Africa Cup of Nations with a win over Zimbabwe. Getty

His 41st-minute strike proved decisive as Egypt missed out on a myriad of chances to make a bigger impact but will be satisfied to have taken the first three point haul of the month-long event.

Trezeguet’s finish overshadowed a return to Cairo for Champions League winner Mohamed Salah, whose every touch was loudly cheered but who had a frustrating evening as he could not convert his chances.

A packed crowd of 70,000 — many of whom had queued from up to 12 hours before kick off to enter the stadium – ensured a heady atmosphere at the Cairo International Stadium.

Zimbabwe looked to feel the pressure as Egypt had ample opportunity to take an early lead.

Zimbabwe’s goalkeeper Edmore Sibanda had a busy start with two saves inside the opening three minutes — both times touching the ball clear of his goal from headed efforts.

Salah was involved in a slick passing move in the ninth minute that offered Abdallah El Said a chance to score the tournament’s opening goal but again Sibanda saved well.

El Said then blasted wide with a similar chance from close range just three minutes later.

Salah’s first effort came after 17 minutes as he cut in from the byline but had only a tight angle to work with and put it wide of the target.

Egypt had a scare as Zimbabwe took a quick free kick that caught the home defence napping but not goalkeeper Mohamed El Shennawi, who came out timely to smoother the opportunity.

Then Trezequet broke the deadlock.

Picking up the ball out wide, he collected it back inside the penalty area after a short pass, and then made a body check to shake off the defence and open room for himself to fire home a curling shot that gave Sibanda no chance.

Salah, who showed no signs of post-season fatigue after a long campaign with Liverpool, had Egypt’s best chances of the second half but continued to be thwarted as Zimbabwe finished stronger. Ovidy Kararu’s powerful shot was the closest they came to an equaliser, but it was saved by El Shennawi.

The Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda — the other two teams in Group A — will get their campaign underway on Saturday.

Source – ESPN

The Red Devils have followed transfer blunder with transfer blunder and have got to ask themselves why the striker sees his future away from the club.

Photo by Getty Images

Only Sergio Aguero and Harry Kane among currently-active Premier League players have scored more goals in the division than Romelu Lukaku’s total of 113. And no Manchester City or Tottenham fan is looking forward to those two leaving any time soon.

Strikers of this calibre are rare; they don’t come cheap. But Lukaku will leave Manchester United – and ultimately leave England – not to the applause he deserves but to widespread indifference after a poor second half to the season.

It’s an incredibly unfair and disrespectful ending for a player who’s done as he’s been asked – namely score goals – ever since leaving Chelsea. At 26, his goalscoring statistics measure up to any of the greats who have gone before him, yet he is for some a scapegoat for all the ills afflicting the club at present.

Lukaku has been singled out for criticism from large sections of the United support; an easy target for their barbs against the team. It is inconceivable that a club in United’s current predicament will be able to go to the transfer market for a striker as good – or one who has proven himself so consistently – as Lukaku.

He scored 12 times in the league last term but had no responsibility for penalties, as Kane, Mohamed Salah and Jamie Vardy ahead of him in the list had.

He had a shot conversion rate of 26 per cent, which is right up there with the very best strikers in the league, and above Kane, Aguero and Salah to name but three. And that despite the fact that he was limited to just 46 shots across the course of the Premier League season. Salah had 104. Aguero had 87. Kane had 78.

His 855 touches – in total – was the lowest of all players who scored 10 or more goals, save for Callum Wilson of Bournemouth and Leicester’s Vardy. His 122 touches inside the opposition box was about half the total enjoyed by Aguero and Sadio Mane.

Those numbers all paint a picture of a striker struggling – not simply to score – but to get anything out of the colleagues around him. At Manchester City, at Tottenham and at Liverpool, there are clearly defined methods to create chances and goals for forwards. At United, the centre forward struggles for involvement, for impact, for goals. And that means Lukaku bearing the brunt of supporter frustration and being among the first for the chop under new manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

But it is baffling why United fans would be happy to see the back of him. The problem isn’t that he’s not good enough, it’s that the team around him simply cannot provide him the service he needs. He has proven – time and again – that when he gets the ball in the right areas he will score.

Some choose to lampoon his first touch or the chances he misses instead. When fit, serviced and fully motivated, there are few pure strikers in the world that can match his output. When United had their golden period under Solskjaer – culminating with their defeat of Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League – Lukaku was front and centre.

But the manner in which Lukaku fell away during most of the second half of the season was alarming. Rather than address the conditions which see proven players misfire, as is also the case with Paul Pogba, fans would prefer to see them leave.

That attitude flies in the face of the evidence that in a proper team – with proper support – Lukaku will get the job done. And moving to Inter – where Antonio Conte might well play a three-man defence like Roberto Martinez does for Belgium – there will be plenty of spaces for Lukaku to thrive in Serie A.

The truth is that Lukaku and Manchester United under Jose Mourinho were always an awkward fit. Mourinho is too risk-adverse to get the requisite number of players in his attacks to allow Lukaku to shine. With a back four and another two defensive midfielders, Mourinho’s preferred systems only really permitted four players to do the heavy lifting in attack.

While initial progress was made under Solskjaer, the wheels came off in similar fashion towards the season’s end. With Belgium, three centre backs are protected by one natural enforcer – usually Axel Witsel – allowing the rest of the team to pour forward to find gaps.

Lukaku is not always involved in the build-up but usually can be relied upon to finish. And yet the respect doesn’t flow easily. He scored twice against Scotlanda couple of weeks ago, taking his international tally to 48, but the reactions on social media were all about another chance that he missed.

If people concentrated on what Lukaku can do rather than what he can’t, it would quickly become apparent that he’s a rare breed to be appreciated. And rather than make use of his extensive talents, United are instead cutting him loose.

As well as the rest of United’s transfer failures, there will have to be some introspection about why a goalscorer like Lukaku feels a parting of the ways is the right thing to do. Without confidence and without the trust of his coach, he now looks like a man in need of a fresh start. This is Manchester United. It’s supposed to be the place where top players shine. Instead, Lukaku has been maligned and marginalised. Their loss will be Inter’s gain.

Source – Goal.com

Uruguay twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against a young Japan side in the Copa America with the help of two questionable refereeing decisions and will have to wait until their final group game to book their place in the quarterfinals.

Luis Suarez and Uruguay had to rally twice to nab a draw with Copa America guests Japan. Lucas Uebel/Getty Images

The 15-time Copa America champions equalised again seven minutes later through Gimenez, who escaped his marker to head home from a corner.

Oscar Tabarez’s side went all out for a winning goal that would have sealed their place in the last eight but were repeatedly denied, with Suarez smashing a shot against the crossbar.

Suarez had come close to scoring in the second minute of the game with an audacious volley from near the halfway line which skimmed the roof of the net, while Cavani clanged the crossbar with a thumping shot in the first half.

“We played well in general but we learned that in tournaments of this quality if you make two errors you can concede two goals so we have to be more careful,” Suarez told reporters.

Uruguay lead Group C with four points, while Japan are third with one.

Second-placed Chile meet bottom side Ecuador on Friday before a showdown with Uruguay on Monday which is likely to decide who wins the group, with Japan facing Ecuador in their final game.

Japan have brought a mostly young squad to the Copa to prepare for next summer’s Olympic Games in Tokyo but Suarez said he and his team mates had not underestimated them.

“They are young and fast but we know they have a lot of quality. They pressed us well and they didn’t let us play the way we wanted.

“We knew what this game could be like, their result against Chile didn’t tell the full story.”

Japan coach Hajime Moriyasu said the result would serve his young side well in the future.

“This draw will help us grow because Uruguay is one of the top teams in international football,” he said.

“This point will help us develop and boost our confidence.”

Source – ESPN

The clock is ticking for Zinedine Zidane as he looks to cut his squad down drastically, a move that will include the sale of several big names.

Photo by Getty

Real Madrid capped a week to remember in the transfer market on Wednesday as Ferland Mendy was officially presented as their latest new signing.

In the space of seven days Luka Jovic, Rodrygo and Eden Hazard had previously enjoyed their own lavish introductions at Santiago Bernabeu, with Eder Militao the next man to walk out on the famous pitch and meet the fans.

That spate of activity, however, has its downsides. Madrid’s squad is now dangerously unwieldy, and “Operation Exit” will now swing into place – with up to 13 players set for the chop over the summer as Zinedine Zidane looks to streamline his team.

“We are extremely confident,” Goal heard from a source inside the club. The efficiency of Madrid’s transfer movements and the quality of names achieved have certainly raised expectations after a 2018-19 season to forget.

With one more midfield signing (Christian Eriksen and Paul Pogba are the prime targets) and a final effort to land Neymar, an extremely difficult prospect, Madrid’s recruitment for the coming campaign will be complete. But with 36 players currently in the senior squad that number will have to be trimmed down and fast before pre-season starts on July 9, the deadline the club has set itself to remove those deemed surplus to requirements.

The exodus has in fact already started. Marcos Llorente has moved across the Spanish capital to Atletico, who will pay out an initial €30 million (£26.7m/$33.9m) for the midfielder. Raul de Tomas, who is in the gaze of Benfica, and James Rodriguez, likely to choose Napoli once he returns from the Copa America, will be next, their sales promising to inject fresh funds in Madrid coffers left almost empty by their heavy spending.

Those three may be the first to leave, but they are unlikely to be the last. In goal both Keylor Navas and Luca Zidane are close to the exit, the former angling for a move to PSG while the coach’s son also sees his future in France.

Sergio Reguilon and Jesus Vallejo have been similarly deemed expendable in defence, while Theo Hernandez is back from a loan spell at Real Sociedad but will not be in Zidane’s plans for 2019-20 either.

It is in midfield, though, that “Operation Exit” will be most keenly felt. With Llorente on his way to the Wanda Metropolitana, the next men out should be Dani Ceballos, Mateo Kovacic – who is waiting on FIFA’s transfer sanction on Chelsea to find out whether he can complete his move to Stamford Bridge, while Inter watch with interest – Martin Odegaard, a candidate for a loan move, and Isco.

The ex-Malaga man’s situation is complex, but he is close to the exit nonetheless. In attack, aside from De Tomas, Borja Mayoral is close to Real Sociedad and doubts remain over Brahim Diaz, due to his tender age and Madrid’s wish not to stifle his development.

Gareth Bale is one of Madrid’s prime dilemmas this summer. Zidane does not want the Wales winger in his squad, but Bale will do everything he can to remain – or at the very least, make his departure as difficult as possible.

If all of those players are let go the coach will have reduced his senior set-up to a lean 23 players, with the promise of one more should Pogba or Eriksen sign. But Madrid will not be holding a fire-sale for any of their players. Only bids that match the club’s own valuation will be considered, as the Merengue continue to mould a squad of young, talented footballers that are the envy of almost any team in the world.

Source – Goal.com

A man has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter over the death of Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala who died in a plane crash.

Emiliano Sala had just signed with Cardiff City/AFP

The striker, who had signed with Cardiff City, was killed in the crash along with pilot David Ibbotson.

A 64-year-old man from North Yorkshire had been arrested and released while investigations continue, a spokesperson for Dorset Police said.

The force added the families of the two men who died had been informed.

Mr Sala, 28, had been travelling from Nantes to Cardiff on 21 January when the plane he was in lost contact with air traffic control north of Guernsey.

His body was recovered in February but Mr Ibbotson’s has never been found.

Emiliano Sala (left) was heading to his new club, Cardiff City, on board a plane being flown by David Ibbotson/GETTY IMAGES/DAVID IBBOTSON

Mr Sala’s body was brought to Portland and Dorset Police has been carrying out inquiries on behalf of the coroner.

Det Insp Simon Huxter, of the force’s Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “As part of this investigation we have to consider whether there is any evidence of any suspected criminality and as a result of our inquiries we have today, Wednesday 19 June 2019, arrested a 64-year-old man from the North Yorkshire area on suspicion of manslaughter by an unlawful act.

“He is assisting with our inquiries and has been released from custody under investigation.”

An air accident investigator’s photo showed the rear left side of the fuselage on the seabed/AAIB/PA

Det Insp Huxter urged people not to speculate about the identity of the man as it could hinder the investigation.

The Piper Malibu aircraft was carrying Mr Sala and Mr Ibbotson, from Crowle, Lincolnshire, after the footballer returned to FC Nantes to say goodbye to his former teammates.

An official search operation was called off on 24 January after Guernsey’s harbour master said the chances of survival were “extremely remote”.

Shipwreck hunter David Mearns found the plane wreckage on 3 February, 220ft (67m) below the surface of the English Channel, using sonar financed by an appeal that raised £340,000 (371,000 euros) to find the aircraft.

Source – BBC News

The Catalans had already beg.un ‘Operation Neymar’ back in November 2018, where they outlined exactly what needs to happen to push ahead with a deal.

Photo by Getty Images

Barcelona have been interested in taking Neymar back to Camp Nou for some time now, and it remains up to the Paris Saint-Germain star to make things happen his end to help move along a possible transfer.

Goal reported back in November 2018 that ‘Operation Neymar’ was well underway, with club chiefs keen to re-sign the player that they had sold to the Ligue 1 champions for a world-record €220 million (£195m/$260m) fee back in 2017.

Indeed, the ball was put in the Brazil international’s court seven months ago and that remains the case today, amid suggestions of unrest and that he appears closer to a PSG exit than ever before.

The French club’s owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi did not hold back when warning his star names that he won’t accept “celebrity behaviour” at the club, while he insisted that nobody forced Neymar to sign for the Parisians in the first place.

And one of Neymar’s big allies at PSG, former sporting director Antero Henrique, has now left the club and been replaced by Leonardo, who does not share the same affinity towards his fellow countryman as his predecessor.

The message in the Spanish press this week has been clear, with the sport pages dominated by Neymar’s desire to leave Paris. Mundo Deportivo went as far as saying he’s contacted Al-Khelaifi directly to tell him he wants “to return home”.

Ernesto Valverde’s squad would welcome his return, while there have been suggestions that the players would even prefer Neymar being signed to Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann.

While Barca will be encouraged by the 27-year-old’s situation at PSG and how all signs point to him wanting out, there does remain the stipulations that were laid out back in November to ensure a Camp Nou return.

Firstly, the Catalans are insistent that the player himself goes public with his desire to quit the Ligue 1 champions. Furthermore, short of an apology, they want him to accept it was a mistake to leave in the manner in which he did originally, with his behaviour and conduct at the time having been called into question.

A salary cut is also required, with Neymar reported to be the third highest-paid athlete in the world, earning $105m (£83m) in 2019, behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.

Sources close to the player had indicated that the Brazilian would be willing to negotiate a wage reduction, with Barca not able to match Neymar’s current terms at PSG.

The most important request, however, relates to the various court proceedings that are present between both parties.

“If the war of lawsuits continues, it will be impossible for Neymar to return,” a director of the Catalan club told Goal back in November in reference to several court wrangles.

Neymar’s writ over an alleged €26m unpaid loyalty bonus still stands, with the club having refused to pay up after he left to join PSG. There is also a counter-suit from Barca over €30m in bonuses related to his contract renewal that is also outstanding.

If both sides are serious about pushing ahead with his return to Spain, they must bury the hatchet and bring an end to the various legal issues that are rumbling on in the background.

Should Neymar meet these conditions, then the Barca board will press ahead with negotiations with PSG over bringing him back to Camp Nou, where they could use Ivan Rakitic, Samuel Umtiti, Philippe Coutinho or even Ousmane Dembele as bargaining chips.

There is, however, the interest of Real Madrid to contend with too.

As reported by Goal on June 18, Los Blancos would be keen to explore a deal for the PSG star, albeit accepting that any move would be difficult, given factors such as the finances in question and the player’s apparent desire to return to Barca.

Source – Goal.com

Jose Mourinho says he is open to returning to the game as a manager of a national team rather than a club.

The Portuguese has been out of management since being sacked by Manchester United in December after overseeing the club’s worst start to a campaign in 28 years.

When asked about his next challenge, Mourinho said he would welcome the opportunity to manage at international level and revealed it would not necessarily have to be with Portugal.

“I want to compete in new competitions,” the 56-year-old told Eleven Sports. “I think about the World Cup and the European Championships.

“For a long time I have had the desire to try out such an adventure. Right now, I see myself more at a national team than with a new club.

“Is Portugal the right team for me? Not necessarily.”

Mourinho was briefly linked with a return to former club Real Madrid prior to the appointment of Zinedine Zidane in March, but the 56-year-old now says he will have to be convinced by a ‘project’ before entering club management again.

“Winning a fifth championship in a different country or the Champions League with a third club are things I’d like to do,” he added.

“I wouldn’t do it just for that. I only go where a project convinces me.

Mourinho says the project has to be right for him to consider returning to club management

“I want to be happy, not necessarily win, I want to be happy and I don’t want to accept a proposal without being convinced of it, that’s what I’ve always thought.

“That’s why if [a club] told me ‘today there are no conditions to win, but we want you to create the conditions to win’, then I would evaluate it.”

Source – Sky Sports

Ex-Man Utd midfielder Paul Scholes admitted to breaching FA rules related to gambling and must pay a fine of £8,000 plus costs.

Photo by Getty Images

Paul Scholes has been fined £8,000 by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching betting rules.

Former Manchester United and England star Scholes was charged in April in respect to 140 bets placed on football matches between August 2015 and January 2019.

Scholes’ brief tenure as manager of League Two club Oldham Athletic began in February this year but he fell foul of FA regulations because the bets in question took place when he was a director of Salford City.

Alongside former United team-mates Gary Neville, Phil Neville, Ryan Giggs, Nicky Butt and David Beckham, Scholes owns a stake in Salford, who were promoted to the Football League for the first time in their history last season.

Eight of Scholes’ bets were placed on FA Cup matches, although all were made at stages after Salford had been eliminated from the competition.

“An Independent Regulatory Commission has fined Paul Scholes £8,000 and warned him as to his future conduct after he admitted an FA misconduct charge in relation to betting,” an FA statement confirmed.

Scholes must also pay £1,800 towards the costs of the hearing.

In its written findings, the FA stated that “as an experienced former professional player and then a director of a football club [Scholes] ought to have acquainted himself with the rules and adhered to them”.

However, it gave the 44-year-old “considerable credit for his admission to the breach, his co-operation with these proceedings and his exemplary record”.

The FA added: “The Commission accepted the undisputed evidence that [Scholes] had placed the bets in circumstances where he was unaware of the rules. He did so to enhance his enjoyment and interest in the matches and did not deploy any special knowledge.

“There could be no perception that the result or any other aspect of the matches could have been affected by the bets.”

Source – Goal.com

Hosts France preserved their perfect record to top Group A at the women’s World Cup with a 1-0 win against 10-woman Nigeria thanks to Wendie Renard’s 79th minute penalty awarded after a video review on Monday.

Wendie Renard, right, celebrates after scoring a penalty for France against Nigeria at the Women’s World Cup. Getty Images

Renard’s first attempt hit the outside of the post but the kick had to be retaken because Chiamaka Nnadozie had moved off her line — a situation that also happened in France’s previous game against Norway — and the centre-back coolly converted.

African champions Nigeria, who could still reach the last 16 as one of the best third-placed teams, finished with 10 players after Ngozi Ebere was dismissed for a second booking in the 75th for a foul on Kadidiatou Diani that led to the penalty.

France, who looked far from their best, finished with nine points, ahead of Norway with six and Nigeria on three while South Korea have none. France will face one of the best third-placed teams in Le Havre on Sunday.

“It’s hard to tell what we have to do better right now. We wanted to win our three group games and it’s done even if it was difficult,” said France coach Corinne Diacre. “But that’s how you build momentum.”

With France having already booked a place in the last 16 before kickoff, Diacre started Viviane Asseyi up front, with Eugenie Le Sommer left on the bench.

France dominated possession in a packed Roazhon Park but were toothless up front, their best chance coming midway through the first half when Amandine Henry’s volley shaved the post.

Nigeria were looking to hurt Les Bleues on the break but the central defence, marshalled by Renard, kept the Africans at bay.

The French were more aggressive after the restart but Gaetane Thiney missed a sitter on the hour just before Le Sommer came on for Valerie Gauvin.

Just like in the 2-1 win against Norway, France were awarded a penalty by VAR. Renard’s first attempt hit the woodwork but she made no mistake after the referee ordered the kick to be retaken because the keeper moved off her line.

It was France’s eighth consecutive victory and their 17th in their last 18 outings

Source – ESPN

The Serie A champions are hopeful that they can take the Frenchman back to Turin although Zinedine Zidane’s side are also interested in the midfielder.

Photo by Getty/Goal

Juventus are stepping up their efforts to sign Paul Pogba but accept that they will face stiff competition from Real Madrid for the Manchester Unitedmidfielder.

According to sources close to the Serie A champions, the club’s sporting director Fabio Paratici met with United officials to discuss a potential deal for the FranceWorld Cup winner while he was in the UK finalising a move for Maurizio Sarri.

And Juve are now planning to put together an official offer for the 26-year-old, who left them to rejoin United in 2016, expected to be in the region of €130 million to €140m (£116m/$145m to £125m/$157m).

They do, however, accept that Madrid will also be at the front of the queue to sign Pogba.

He is considered a top target for head coach Zinedine Zidane and the Liga side would very much be interested in taking him to the Bernabeu.

The ABC newspaper in Spain goes as far as saying that Real are willing to bid €125m (£112m/$140m) for Pogba and offer him a salary that would see him paid the equivalent of Eden Hazard, just short of the amount earned by club captain Sergio Ramos.

That said, Juve, who appointed former Chelsea manager Sarri as their new head coach on Sunday, are still ready to go toe-to-toe with Madrid in the race to sign the midfielder, with the deal to take Cristiano Ronaldo to Turin proving that nothing is impossible.

United, meanwhile, remain determined to keep Pogba and do not want to sell him in a move that would undermine manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who has always been adamant that he wants to build his team around the Frenchman.

That puts the Red Devils in a stronger position over negotiating a potential sale, whereby they would demand as much money as possible should talks progress, and interest from Juve and Madrid be followed up with concrete offers.

Juve have continued to dominate domestically in Italy, winning their eighth league title in a row under former boss Massimiliano Allegri, although Champions League progress has been more of a struggle.

There was hope that the signing of Ronaldo would help end their 23-year wait to win Europe’s biggest prize, although they came unstuck against Ajax in the quarter-finals of the 2018-19 version of the competition.

A move for Pogba would further show their ambition to finally conquer Europe, with Aaron Ramsey having joined on a free transfer from Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Adrien Rabiot having also been linked.

Mauro Icardi is another who interests the Serie A holders, although Juve are not keen on allowing Paulo Dybala to move to Inter as part of any deal for the Argentine striker.

Right-back Joao Cancelo, meanwhile, is all set to depart, with Manchester City close to finalising what is likely to be a €50m (£45m/$56m) move, plus bonuses, for the Portuguese.

Source – Goal.com