It appears 27-year-old superstar Neymar has spent enough time away from Leo Messi and Barcelona.
Reports have surfaced that Neymar has made it clear he wants to go back to Barcelona and that he never should have left in the first place.
This comes less than a day after Messi told the team he would prefer the return of Neymar over the potential addition of French star Antoine Griezmann.
By holding World Cup host France to a draw today, Nigeria could’ve secured passage to the Round of 16 for the first time since 1999. For close to 80 minutes, that looked like the Super Falcons destiny.
Step forward the VAR.
First, the referee looked at the monitor to review a collision in Nigeria’s box between Ngozi Ebere and Viviane Asseyi. The ref decided it was a penalty and sent Ebere off for her second bookable offense.
Up stepped Wendie Renard for the spot kick. Her initial attempt clipped the outside of the post and went directly behind for a goal kick.
According to recent reports from Spanish daily MARCA, Atlético Madrid is planning on making a massive $135 million bid for Benfica wonderkid João Félix. The 19-year-old attacker tore up the Primeira Liga last season, scoring 15 goals while adding seven assists in 26 games.
The fee would double Atlético’s previous transfer record, set when purchasing French winger Thomas Lemar from Monaco last summer for $67 million.
Fresh off scoring his 100th career goal during France’s 4-0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying victory over Andorra, 20-year-old French sensation Kylian Mbappé boarded a plane for the United States, where he’s since been spotted at Nike’s World Headquarters, chilling with LeBron James, at game six of the NBA Finals and throwing out the first pitch at a Los Angeles Dodgers game.
We’ll probably have to wait another couple decades to see Mbappé in MLS, but it’s clear that he enjoys his time spent stateside. Of course, it’s hard not to when the red carpet is rolled out wherever you go.
Summer in the soccer world is a time of hope, drama, disappointment, loss and new beginnings. In a footballer’s life, it could be a time of complete change and new opportunities; new challenges to take on. This summer is proving no different.
There is hope that teams can add players that will make them stronger and more competitive — take Real Madrid buying Eden Hazard and various others after a disappointing 2018-19 season. There is drama circulating too, with Gareth Bale being a lighting rod of speculation at Real as well.
That was a strange one. In the end, France delighted the 34,872 in attendance at the Allianz Riviera with a 2-1 victory over Norway to move to the top of Group A and all but guarantee passage to the Round of 16, but how they got there was a wild ride.
The first half wasn’t so wild. The atmosphere inside the home of OGC Nice was wonderful, but neither goalkeeper made a save of note in the opening 45 minutes. Thankfully, the home supporters only had to wait one minute to see the opening goal in the second half.
Spain is widely considered a rising power in women’s soccer, and la Roja had a tremendous opportunity to accentuate that sentiment with a victory over two-time world champion Germany on Wednesday. But they blew it, and their failure is compounded by the fact that they’re now possibly on a collision course with the USWNT in the Round of 16.
The majority of the first half was dominated by Spain, and two glorious opportunities fell to Nahikari García to open the scoring in the opening 14 minutes.
It’s been 576 days since the Italian apocalypse at the San Siro in Milan. It was on that fateful evening that Sweden held Italy to a 0-0 draw in a playoff for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, sending the Scandinavian country through 1-0 on aggregate while the Azzurri missed out on their first World Cup in 60 years.
For the third game in a row, Manchester United’s David De Gea found himself out of the starting 11 for the Spanish national team in favor of Kepa Arrizibalaga. The Chelsea keeper has proven his worth, having allowed one goal over the three games he’s started, with the goal coming off a cheap deflection against the Faroe Islands.