The Copa America Centenario is approaching fast, and for Lionel Messi and Argentina, the tournament is a chance at redemption. Having lost in the final of the World Cup in 2014 and the final of the Copa America last year, criticism is starting to grow due to Messi's underachievement.
This weekend we were perusing the interwebs and thinking about the sudden ascendance of precocious 18-year-old Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford when we came across an interesting statistic:
Marcus Rashford has now scored with his first shot on his:
Argentina will play in the Copa America Centenario despite earlier claims that a government investigation could cause the AFA to pull out of the competition. In a press conference on Tuesday following an emergency meeting of the AFA executive board, president Luis Segura said there was no possibility of Argentina being forced to miss the tournament.
The U-23 Mexico youth national team endured a disappointing campaign in the Toulon World Youth Festival as they slumped to a fourth-placed finish behind Mali, Czech Republic and group winners, France. They managed a solitary win against bottom of the table Bulgaria, but their overall performance does not inspire hope for the upcoming Olympics in Rio this summer.
Much of the buzz ahead of the Copa America Centenario is about Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and the USA, but people forget that none of those teams are the reigning Copa America champion. Chile is travelling to the United States at full force and won’t be shy in defending their title.
Out of the players who helped Chile defeat Argentina in a penalty shootout to clinch the 2015 title, only Jorge Valdivia and Angelo Henriquez are not on the 23-man roster for 2016.
There are a few mysteries in life we might never get the answers to. Where did we come from? Where do we go? And what goes on inside of Dunga’s head?
Photo: @futbolsapiens | Twitter
The official deadline for international managers to submit their 23-man Euro 2016 rosters is May 31, but many have already been finalized, and we can begin to have an idea about what the teams will look like. Specifically, we can see the players who were left out entirely, perhaps unfairly. With that in mind, here are five of the biggest snubs from the Euro 2016 squads.
England - Jermain Defoe
Fernando Torres, Diego Costa and Juan Mata have all been omitted from Spain’s 25-man provisional Euro 2016 squad by manager Vincente del Bosque. In Torres and Mata, Spain have elected to drop players who’ve combined for 151 appearances, 48 goals, three European championships, and two World Cup winner’s medals.
Costa suffered a hamstring injury during Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool on May 11, putting his participation immediately in doubt. Costa’s consistent hamstring troubles, coupled with his subpar form this season, have seen him lose his place in the squad.
Have you ever felt like the world was stacked against you? Do you think that sometimes things are just not meant to happen? Have you ever travelled 3,170 miles in order to watch your favorite team play, only for a bomb scare to cause the match to be abandoned?
If you have, chances are your name is Moses, or you are delusional.
Sweden have revealed their 23-man roster for this summer’s European Championship in France, and it’s clear that Zlatan Ibrahimovic will have to be at his very best if the Swedes are to maintain any hope of advancing from a very difficult Group E.