Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria played starring roles as Argentina eased to a 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates in their final outing ahead of the 2022 World Cup.
Lionel Scaloni s men had no trouble in extending their unbeaten run to 36 matches heading into the tournament thanks to a commanding victory in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
Di Maria scored twice and assisted one for Messi, who had earlier played in Julian Alvarez for the opener, as Argentina raced into a four-goal half-time lead.
Substitute Joaquin Correa scored the only goal of a disrupted second half as the reigning South American champions signed off for Qatar in style.
Amistoso
5 (Julián Álvarez, Ángel Di María x2, Lionel y Joaquín Correa) v Emiratos Árabes Unidos
…
Robert Lewandowski acknowledged Bayern Munich made a lot of mistakes in Julian Nagelsmann s first Bundesliga match at the helm as the champions drew 1-1 with Borussia Monchengladbach on Friday.
Bayern were deservedly trailing after 10 minutes, as a poor start was compounded by Alassane Plea beating Manuel Neuer.
They soon sorted themselves out and eventually levelled just before half-time through Lewandowski, who tied a personal record of 11 successive goal-scoring Bundesliga appearances for the club, but Bayern were unable to add to that.
Their wastefulness was underlined by the fact that Bayern s chances had an accumulative expected goals (xG) value of 3.1, with Yann Sommer having an impressive game between the posts for the home side.
Sommer s eight sa…
Sydney FC confirmed the signing of Brazilian striker Bobo on a one-year marquee deal on Thursday.
Bobo, whose full name is Deyvison Rogerio da Silva, joins the Sky Blues from Gremio where he has played for the past year, scoring 12 goals in 23 appearances in all competitions.
The 31-year-old centre forward joins Filip Holosko as Sydney s marquee players, with captain and former marquee Alex Brosque expected to sign a new contract that will bring his salary under the A-League cap.
Holosko and Bobo played together at Besiktas, with the latter having had the best years of his career in Turkey.
I m very happy to be joining to Sydney FC, it is a massive club with a big chance of winning silverware this season, Bobo said.
I am aware of the excellent s…
Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis has signed a new one-year contract extension with the club, .
The Argentina international moved to the Etihad Stadium in the summer of 2013, and has since racked up sixty-five appearances in all competitions, scoring three goals.
He was part of the squad that won both the Premier League title and League Cup last season, while internationally he has been capped forty-four times for his country and appeared at both the 2010 World Cup in South Africa and last summer’s tournament in Brazil.
He is the latest in a long line of City stars to commit his future to the club, with Sergio Aguero, Joe Hart, Vincent Kompany, David Silva and Samir Nasri also putting pen to paper in recent weeks.
Manuel Pellegrini’s si…
Ajax have suspended boss Marcel Keizer and coaches Hennie Spijkerman and Dennis Bergkamp from active duty.
The four-time European champions appointed head coach Keizer as a replacement for Peter Bosz in June, agreeing terms on a two-year deal with an option for one additional season.
But that contract looks set to be ripped up just six months in after it was confirmed on Thursday that the club had, for the time being at least, relieved Keizer, his assistant Spijkerman and club legend Bergkamp of their roles.
Ajax, last crowned Eredivisie winners in 2014 under Frank de Boer, lost a two-legged Champions League preliminary tie against Nice before being denied a place in the Europa League – which they were runners-up in under Bosz last term – by Rosenborg in Au…
Quincy Promes scored his first international goals as Netherlands sealed their first win of 2018 World Cup qualifying with a 4-1 victory over Belarus at De Kuip.
In his prior 14 Netherlands appearances Promes had failed to hit the back of the net, but he finally broke his duck when he squeezed a shot past three defenders and into the bottom-right corner in the 15th minute.
The 24-year-old winger netted his second with the help of a deflection before half-time, with Davy Klaassen adding to the hosts tally after Aleksei Rios had halved the deficit early in the second half.
Vincent Janssen capped a brilliant display when he slammed the ball into the top-right corner from 18 yards, and there was no way back for Aleksandr Khatskevich s side, who were unable to test…
Renato Sanches is about to make a move and one that will see him move to France. According to L Equipe, almost everything is done in regards to his move from Bayern Munich to LOSC Lille! The French media claim the deal is almost done and that only the medical remains to be completed for the Portuguese midfielder to complete the move.
He will become club s most expensive signing ever, for a fee of €20m which was a somewhat expected investment following Nicolas Pepe s move to Arsenal. Lille earned four times that money from selling the winger and it was expected for the club to reinvest that many in different areas of the squad. Sanches is likely to sign either a four-year contract or a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 outfit, which would set him on a new path following the …
Marcus Rashford still has 5-10 per cent improvement to make as he approaches the prime of his career, according to former Manchester United and England captain Bryan Robson.
Rashford made it five games without a goal in 2021 as Premier League leaders United played out a goalless draw with champions Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the England forward is enjoying a productive season with 14 goals and six assists in all competitions.
The 23-year-old has only bettered that goal tally once across the course of an entire campaign, with 22 last term bolstered by six conversions from eight Premier League penalties duties that now lie with Bruno Fernandes.
He netted one spot kick in the 4-1 Champions League win over Istanbul Basaksehir this time aro…
Competition: U21 s European qualifiers
Market: Eddie Nketiah to score 2+ goals
Odds: 6/4 @
Already securing their spot at the U21 s European Championships finals, England s youth stars will welcome Andorra to Stoke s Bet365 Stadium on Friday night.
Starting with the hosts, after playing out what was that dramatic 3-3 draw away at Andorra last month, England s U21 s did manage to make a return to winning ways and have already booked their spot at next year s finals. Last seen at Molineux picking up a deserved 2-1 win against Turkey, the Three Lions have cruised their way through Group Three, collecting 22 points from their eight appearances. With a real reputation for their free-scoring displays during qualifying and watching Arsenal starlet Eddie Nketia…
It is a debate almost as old as the competition itself – who is the best striker to grace the Premier League?
Let s be honest, there are many different ways of looking and none are absolutely nailed-on.
However, one area that many might point to is goals frequency.
It stands to reason. The aim of football is to put the ball in the net and the player who does it most regularly must be pretty good.
That s where Sergio Aguero comes in.
The Manchester City great announced on Wednesday that he has retired from the game due to health reasons, having had a heart issue detected over the past month and a half.
It has cut his career disappointingly short given, at 33, he seemingly still had plenty to offer – but it does provide the opportunity t…