..::Football IV::..

[Wolverine GTR]

'Playing pretty doesn't win tournaments!' - Santos unconcerned by dour Portugal


Fernando Santos admits Portugal need to improve in the final third if they are to succeed in Euro 2016, but was pleased to see them grind out a 1-0 win over Croatia after extra time.

Neither side managed to register a shot on target in a lacklustre regulation 90 minutes, but Ivan Perisic hit the upright with a header in the second half of the additional period.

Portugal gathered possession from there and raced up the other end, with Ricardo Quaresma heading home after Croatia goalkeeper Danijel Subasic denied Cristiano Ronaldo in the 117th minute to set up a quarter-final against Poland.

Santos confessed he would have liked to have seen his team play a more coherent, fluid game in the final third, but acknowledged that will not always secure you the win."It was a very tactical match, we tried to take over but Croatia didn't let us. But we didn't let them, either. You must look at both sides of the coin," he said in his post-match media conference.
"We faced an amazing team, they've played some of the best football in the group stages. They always try to play their type of football."We were prepared for that, I got the team ready to fight against that and take advantage of their weak spots. We didn't let them counter-attack much, we paid special attention to that.

"We sometimes played well in attack but I believe we have to improve. In the first half, we had a plan to make the most of the times that the full-backs got forward.
"Sometimes I think we should have passed the ball faster, that didn't work out as we wanted, but we should congratulate Croatia, they didn't let us play as we wanted.

"This was a final, and we won. Today we were the lucky ones. But I think it was fair. We have a very hard match against Poland and we must prepare for that now. We'd like to play a pretty game but that's not always how you win tournaments."
Nani, who played a role in the winning goal, made his 100th appearance for his country - the fourth player to reach the milestone after Ronaldo, Luis Figo and Fernando Couto.

Santos was proud of the forward, but also all of his players for their display."It's always a beautiful number to reach, I'm very happy with Nani and with all the players. They showed a lot of commitment," he added.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

United States 0-1 Colombia: Bacca secures third place at Copa America

Colombia ended its Copa America Centenario campaign on a high after seeing off the United States 1-0 in Saturday's third-place playoff.

Following unsuccessful semifinal fixtures, Carlos Bacca scored the only goal of the match in the 31st minute in Arizona as Colombia recorded its best performance at the Copa America since the side won South America's premier tournament in 2001.

Bacca netted his 13th international goal after scrambling the ball into the net from close range following a stunning through ball from captain James Rodriguez in a rematch of the Centenario curtain-raiser, which Jose Pekerman and Co. won 2-0 earlier this month.

The USA did have chances, with Bobby Wood going close and Clint Dempsey'sset-piece forcing Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina into a fine save.
Both teams finished the clash with 10 men, following late red cards to Michael Orozco and Santiago Arias.

Jurgen Klinsmann made six changes in the wake of the 4-0 drubbing to Argentina, a couple enforced as John Brooks and Fabian Johnson succumbed to injuries with Matt Besler and Orozco their replacements. Jermaine Jones, Bobby Wood and Alejandro Bedoya returned from suspension at the expense of Graham Zusi, Chris Wondolowski and Kyle Beckerman, while veteran keeper Tim Howard made his first appearance of the tournament.

Colombia, meanwhile, reinstated Bacca and Guillermo Celis as Roger Martinez and Carlos Sanchez made way following the 2-0 semifinal defeat to defending champion Chile.

The USA controlled most of the play from midfield early but Colombia looked more threatening in attack, highlighted in the 14th minute after a probing delivery from Arias forced Geoff Cameron into a diving headed clearance inside the six-yard box.

Colombia continued to threaten as the USA had its first real clear opening after Dempsey's shot was scrambled away by the last-ditch Cristian Zapata.The deadlock was eventually broken just past the half-hour mark thanks to Bacca, though James' through ball in the lead-up stole the show.

A clever chip over the top from James picked out Arias and the fullback headed the ball across the six-yard box to Bacca, who sliced the ball into the net on the goal line.

The USA went in search of an equalizer but was unsuccessful prior to the break, and came close early in the second half when Ospina produced a fantastic save to deny Dempsey from a free kick six minutes after interval.

It should have been 2-0 on the hour mark but Juan Cuadrado's sublime chip from outside of the area hit the crossbar and the frame of the goal foiled players again, this time from the USA, after Wood's shot cannoned off the post just minutes later.
Wood was in the thick of the action again, his tenacity forcing an opening but he overplayed his attempt as Dempsey pounced and sent the loose ball agonizingly wide of the post.

Both teams had further opportunities to score but neither could find the back of the net as USA lost another third-place playoff to Colombia after going down in 1995.
Orozco and Arias were involved in a tangle in stoppage time, resulting in red cards for both in a fiery finish.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Euro 2016 Round of 16 Fixtures 2016.06.26

Euro 2016 Round of 16 Fixtures 2016.06.26

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France Vs Ireland

(SL Time 6.30PM)

Germany Vs Slovakia

(SL Time 9.30PM)

Hungary Vs Belgium

(SL Time 12.30AM(27th June)​

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Copa America Final 2016.06.26

Copa America Final 2016.06.26

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Argentina Vs Chile

(SL Time 5.30AM(27th June)​

 

[sri D]

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Renato Sanches unconcerned by Portugal bench role


Whether it is off the bench or in the starting XI, Renato Sanches is just happy to play his part for Portugal after they stunned Croatia to advance to the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.

Teenage sensation Sanches came off the bench and produced a man-of-the-match performance as Portugal defied the odds to upstage Croatia 1-0 after extra time thanks to Ricardo Quaresma's 117th-minute goal in Lens on Saturday.

Despite calls for Fernando Santos to start Sanches, the 18-year-old midfielder has been named among the substitutes in all four games at the European Championship, coming off the bench in three of those, not that the player is concerned ahead of a last-eight showdown against Poland.

"I'm very happy, of course. This is an amazing moment. I was happy to be in the squad and it's amazing to enjoy this with great players," Sanches said."I'm not worried about that [starting matches], I'm thinking about the team. I'll try my best if I get the chance in the first XI, but if I'm in, I'm in, if not, I'm not."

Sanches - who has signed a five-year contract with Bayern Munich - added: "I'm very happy to have signed for Bayern Munich but right now I'm focused on the national team and the next match with Poland."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Italy-Spain a battle of world's best - Llorente


Fernando Llorente has labelled Italy's match against Spain as a showdown between "two of the best teams in the world".The sides meet on Monday with a place in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 up for grabs, as Spain seek to defend their European Championship crown.

Sevilla's Llorente, capped 24 times by Spain, lauded the influence of Italy boss Antonio Conte, who was his coach at Juventus, ahead of what he expects to be a thrilling contest.

"These are two of the best teams in the world, even if we have not had much luck over the last few games," Llorente told Marca. "It's going to be an exciting game and I wouldn't miss it for the world. "Italy don't have the individuals like Christian Vieri or Francesco Totti now, but still have plenty of talent.

"They have a team of very good players with big determination to win thanks to Conte, who inspires uncommon strength in his men."Conte gives his teams solidity, even if they are missing important injured players like Claudio Marchisio and Marco Verratti.

"They are also without Andrea Pirlo, a magnificent player who has so much quality. You just need to see him in training to realise how spectacular his moves can be."
The game in Paris will be the 35th meeting between the nations, who have recorded 10 wins apiece.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Russia confirm Slutsky resignation


Leonid Slutsky has officially resigned as Russia boss following their abject Euro 2016 campaign, the national team have confirmed.

CSKA Moscow coach Slutsky was parachuted into the national job in August after Fabio Capello's sacking and oversaw four straight wins to earn a place at the finals in France.

However, shorn of key players like Alan Dzagoev and Igor Denisov through injury, Russia finished bottom of Group B with just a solitary point to show from games against England, Slovakia and Wales.



After a chastening 3-0 defeat to Wales, Slutsky said the team "need someone else in charge" and it has now been confirmed by the Russian Football Union (RFS) that he has left his post.

RFS president Vitaly Mutko told R-Sport: "I am generally very satisfied with the work of Leonid Viktorovich [Slutsky]."I think he is an excellent specialist, one of our best coaches. I heartily wish to thank him.

"He got the team in a difficult situation, when we had almost no chance of reaching the Euros."What happened at the Euros was caused by many different things, I don't want to talk about it. In my opinion, Slutsky worked well."

Kurban Berdyev, who almost led FC Rostov to a shock Russian Premier League title win last season, and former Russia goalkeeper Stanislav Cherchesov are thought to be early frontrunners for the job, while Guus Hiddink - Russia manager between 2006 and 2010 - is also thought to be in the frame.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Europe on alert as Subotic announces Dortmund departure

Borussia Dortmund centre-back Neven Subotic has announced that he is looking to leave the club this summer.

Subotic has fallen down the pecking order at Dortmund over the last two seasons due to injury, making just six Bundesliga appearances in 2015/16.

And the 27-year-old has now took to his Facebook page to publicly state he is actively looking to find a new club before the start of the new season, bringing to an end an eight-year spell with BVB.

Subotic wrote: “Dear friends, during the last year I realised that my love for the game of football in an active role is too big to just be able to see it from outside. Football is an important part of my life. I love it and I can't be without it.

Borussia Dortmund centre-back Neven Subotic has announced that he is looking to leave the club this summer.

Subotic has fallen down the pecking order at Dortmund over the last two seasons due to injury, making just six Bundesliga appearances in 2015/16.

And the 27-year-old has now took to his Facebook page to publicly state he is actively looking to find a new club before the start of the new season, bringing to an end an eight-year spell with BVB.

Subotic wrote: “Dear friends, during the last year I realised that my love for the game of football in an active role is too big to just be able to see it from outside. Football is an important part of my life. I love it and I can't be without it.
Liverpool have since signed defender Joel Matip on a free transfer from Schalke, meaning Subotic may have to look elsewhere if he habours an ambition to ply his trade in the Premier League.

Klopp brought Subotic with him to Dortmund from Mainz in 2008 and the defender has since gone on to make over 250 appearances for BVB in all competitions.

Subotic helped Dortmund win back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, as well as the DFB-Pokal in 2012 and two DFL-Supercups in 2013 and 2014.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Howedes eager for France showdown


Germany are going to have to do it the hard way if they want to add the European title to their World Cup crown, but Benedikt Howedes is relishing the prospect of taking on the best the tournament has to offer.Joachim Low's side are overwhelming favourites to overcome Slovakia in their last-16 tie on Sunday, but far greater obstacles await in the subsequent rounds.

With Italy or Spain next, Germany may have to overcome hosts France in the semi-final if they get that far, but that is no problem for defender Howedes.



Asked who he would most like to face, the 28-year-old told the DFB website:"France – the hosts. The atmosphere would be amazing for sure. It would be great to experience that."

And the Schalke man believes Didier Deschamps' side could win the competition, adding: "Spain and France are my favourites."

France and Germany met at the 2014 World Cup in a quarter-final tie settled by Mats Hummels' early header.Didier Deschamps' side are in action on Sunday when they take on the Republic of Ireland in Lyon.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Koke: Spain need to bring back 'The Red Fury'


Koke has conceded that Spain may need to bring "The Red Fury" back into their style of play if they are to retain their European Championship title.

Though Spain became renowned for their attractive passing game - dubbed "tiki taka" - as they won three consecutive major tournaments between 2008 and 2012, they failed to reach the knockout stages at the 2014 World Cup and a 2-1 defeat to Croatia saw them finish second in Group D at Euro 2016.

Prior to that period of success, Spain had been nicknamed "The Red Fury" to signal their fiery on-field tone, and midfielder Koke believes a middle ground between the two styles would boost their hopes of defending their European title."Tiki-taka has done great things for us and brought us a lot of success," he told AS.

"We can mix touches of this 'red fury' with 'tiki-taka', which would be great for Spain."But, ahead of their last-16 clash with Italy, the Atletico Madrid star denied that the national team lack the ruthlessness of his club side.

"We are competitive and there are people who want to win," Koke said."Although at times it looks like Spain play to have possession of the ball and not to attack, that's not the way it is.

"We have possession to attack and tire out our rivals. In the first two games and the third we played some great stuff."Spain are showing that they have that competitive edge."

 

[Wolverine GTR]

France 2-1 Republic of Ireland: Griezmann nets decisive double

Antoine Griezmann scored twice as France overcame an early setback to beat 10-man Republic of Ireland 2-1 and reach the quarter-finals of Euro 2016 on home soil.

Martin O'Neill's side made a remarkable start at the Stade de Lyon, taking the lead on two minutes after Paul Pogba fouled Shane Long in the box and Robbie Brady - the goalscoring hero in the decisive Group E win over Italy - netted the subsequent penalty.

But the hosts stirred into life and netted twice in three minutes after the break as Griezmann planted a 58th-minute header beyond Darren Randolph before coolly slotting a second.

It was a cruel double blow for the Irish, whose task was made near-impossible when Shane Duffy saw red for a foul on the irrepressible Griezmann as he raced through on goal.

France pushed to inflict further damage on their numerically disadvantaged opponents and saw substitute Andre-Pierre Gignac hit the crosbar, but Ireland battled manfully to keep the deficit to one.

Didier Deschamps' men will now meet the winners of England's match with Iceland on Monday, but will do so without N'Golo Kante and Adil Rami after the pair were booked and incurred suspensions.

An unchanged Ireland might still have had memories of the last meeting with France on their minds, when Thierry Henry's handball led to William Gallas' extra-time winner in a 2010 World Cup qualifying play-off contest.
But they looked more eager to create history than dwell on it and the fevered pre-match atmosphere soon gave way to stunned silence - save for the small pocket of fans in green - when Pogba tripped Long and Brady's penalty clipped the inside of the right-hand post on its way in.

France sought to respond and the in-form Dimitri Payet, restored to the line-up after Deschamps made five changes for the draw against Switzerland, tested Randolph with a free-kick.

Olivier Giroud was then denied by an excellent defensive header from Duffy as the Arsenal striker looked poised to nod home Griezmann's 12th-minute cross.

It was not all one-way traffic and Ireland threatened again midway through the first half, Daryl Murphy's effort from the edge of the box forcing Hugo Lloris into a smart stop.

However, Ireland had to survive a goalmouth scramble in first-half injury time as Payet and Griezmann were thwarted by some resilient defending.

Deschamps introduced Kingsley Coman in place of Kante as France tried to a find a way back into the match in the second half and Laurent Koscielny missed a glorious chance to level three minutes in, heading wide at the back post after Pogba flicked on Payet's set-piece delivery.

It was Lloris to the rescue at the other end as the captain steered James McClean's cross away to safety with Long lingering.

But, after Randolph had kept out Blaise Matuidi's strike, Griezmann leapt to powerfully head home Bacary Sagna's cross.

The Atletico Madrid forward struck again when he collected Giroud's knock-down and squeezed a shot into the bottom-right corner from just inside the box, but the 25-year-old was denied a chance to seal his hat-trick when Duffy fouled him as he closed on goal.

Deschamps' charges inevitably dominated the closing stages and Gignac's long-range effort rattled Randolph's bar as the hosts kept alive the hopes of a nation who experienced World Cup joy in 1998 when they lasted hosted a major tournament.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Griezmann patta​

 

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Kroos could've been Scholes' heir at Manchester United, claims Moyes

David Moyes has revealed that he wanted to sign Toni Kroos for Manchester United and believed the Germany international could’ve been Paul Scholes’ heir.

The Scot lasted just 10 months at Old Trafford before he was sacked, while only Marouane Fellaini and Juan Mata were signed during his reign.

And Moyes, who remains without the club after being sacked by Real Sociedad last November, believes Kroos had the ability to be a key player in United’s midfield.

“I wanted to bring Kroos to Manchester United, from Bayern,” the 53-year-old said in an article for the Sunday Times.

“I thought his range of passing and his ability to play people in would have made him a top United player, maybe Scholes' heir.

“He's gone on and shown at Real Madrid what a fantastic footballer he is.

“Kroos is a special talent, probably the closest thing at this tournament [Euro 2016] to a Xabi Alonso, an Andrea Pirlo or Paul Scholes.”

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Germany 3-0 Slovakia: Magic Draxler sends world champions cruising into quarters

Julian Draxler was Germany's hero with a wonderful performance, as the World Cup holders downed Slovakia 3-0 to make the Euro 2016 quarter-finals.
After being held to a frustrating single-goal victory in their final pool game by a staunch Northern Ireland defence, Germany tore into Group B's third-placed team to assert their standing among the favourites for the trophy.

Joachim Low gambled on Jerome Boateng's fitness and the Bayern Munich man rewarded him with a first international goal to put Germany into an early lead.

Mesut Ozil had a penalty saved shortly afterwards, but Low's other team selection of note, replacing Mario Gotze with Draxler, also paid dividends when the Wolfsburg man set up Mario Gomez for the second just before half-time.

Draxler was a constant menace on the left flank and got a deserved goal for himself in the second half, allowing Germany to cruise to victory - and keep a fourth clean sheet from as many Euro 2016 games.

It is now either 2008 final opponents Spain, or semi-final vanquishers four years ago Italy, who await this German generation, as they look for continental dominance just two years after conquering the world.

Germany quickly looked to be at their fluid best on the re-laid Stade Pierre-Mauroy pitch, but the opening goal was unorthodox when it arrived in the eighth minute - Boateng racing onto a half-cleared corner to volley home from just outside the box.

Low's side ought to have been two goals to the good after Martin Skrtel recklessly shoved Gomez in the penalty area five minutes later, but Matus Kozacik bailed out his captain, flinging himself to his left to repel Ozil's 12-yard effort.

Ozil then drove another chance wide with his right foot, as the Arsenal man remained central to Germany's best attacking play, before Thomas Muller and Draxler were unable to capitalise on probing approach play.

As familiar frustrations began to rear their head for the world champions, Manuel Neuer had to make a wonderful reaction save from a Juraj Kucka header that looked destined for the top-left corner, but that stunned Germany back into life and they scored again before the interval.

Draxler left Kucka chasing shadows on the left before darting to the byline and squaring the ball for Gomez, who nipped in front of Jan Durica to score his second goal of the tournament.

Slovakia captain Marek Hamsik - on the scoresheet in a 3-1 pre-tournament friendly win over the Germans - moved further forward in the second half and briefly looked to lead a charge, but Draxler's elasticated 63rd-minute volley after Mats Hummels had headed a corner up into the air ended the game as a contest.

Low could begin to look to the next round, with Benedikt Howedes replacing Boateng - who came into the game nursing a calf injury and one booking away from suspension - and Bastian Schweinsteiger getting another brief run-out in place of the similarly at peril Sami Khedira.

Fellow substitute Lukas Podolski looked desperate to leave his mark on a first outing of the competition, but he could not match the feats of Draxler, who could yet make the difference for Low and his team as the competition heats up.

 

[Wolverine GTR]

Draxler ge Volley 1ka Patta

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[akilar25]

Draxler ge Volley 1ka Patta

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මැක්සා.
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[Wolverine GTR]

Ozil sets unwanted record after Germany penalty miss


Mesut Ozil is the latest player to set an unwanted record at Euro 2016 after he missed a penalty in Germany’s clash with Slovakia.The Arsenal midfielder squandered the chance to put Joachim Low’s side two goals ahead as his spot-kick was saved by Matus Kozacik.

And it was the first time in the history of the European Championship that a German player missed a penalty during a match, excluding shoot-outs.

Thankfully for Ozil, Germany had taken the lead through Jerome Boateng’s excellent strike before Mario Gomez doubled the World Cup holders’ lead after some excellent skill from Julian Draxler.

 

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Hodgson adamant he is happy with England strikers


England boss Roy Hodgson has insisted he is not unhappy about his attackers' unconvincing performances at Euro 2016 and has been pleased by their group-stage displays.

Hodgson started with Harry Kane up front in England's opening two games, but dropped the Tottenham man in favour of Jamie Vardy versus Slovakia, while Daniel Sturridge and Marcus Rashford have also had playing time.

None have made a huge impression, even if Vardy and Sturridge found the net in the 2-1 win over Wales, but Hodgson sees no reason for concern just yet."I have always been happy with our strikers this tournament," he said at a media conference ahead of the round-of-16 encounter versus Iceland.

"You never know how someone will play when you put him on. But you know what you choose for. You always try to pick the best players for an individual game.

"Fortunately, I have options if things don't work out. That will only be to our advantage."England will start Monday's match versus Iceland in Nice as the favourites, but Hodgson has warned it will not be an easy game.

"We want to stay in tournament and I think we're good enough. It's win or lose and we're fully aware of it. We want to win and progress," he added."We are the favourites, whereas they are the underdogs. But it's going to be a very difficult game either way.

"Lars Lagerback's experience is very important to them. He knows how to get the most out of the team and how to put together a team that is really hard to beat. Plus they have an excellent work-rate."Their ability to survive through hardships has played a large role in their success."

 

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Juventus, Napoli and Roma 'all interested in De Sciglio'


Juventus, Napoli and Roma are all interested in signing AC Milan defender Mattia De Sciglio, according to the player's agent.

The 23-year-old full-back, who is part of the Italy squad at Euro 2016, has been with Milan for the duration of his senior career and made his debut in September 2011.

De Sciglio's representative, Donato Orgnoni, confirmed reports suggesting Juve, Napoli and Roma – who finished in Serie A's top three positions last season – are keen on taking De Sciglio from their domestic rivals.

Orgnoni also claimed other top clubs were in the race but insisted his client will not make a final decision until after the European Championship, as well as stressing he is not certain to leave Milan, who failed to qualify for European football next season.

"Along with Juve, Napoli and Roma, there are other clubs, but I prefer not to name names," the agent said to soccerweb24. "It is pleasing to know very important clubs are interested and after Euros we will take them into consideration.

"He is still with Milan, but before saying no to certain proposals we would really need to think about it. It's not that we want to leave Milan at all costs – it is something we must evaluate along with the club.

"There has been a lot of talk and there are others who are interested in Mattia too, but at this moment we want to let Milan be as calm as possible."Milan are in the middle of changes, so there is no rush. At this moment he is focusing on the national team and there is still a long way to go at the Euros. "Some clubs have shown an interest, but we did not go deep into any discussion yet."

Milan are yet to confirm their head coach for the new season, but they have already signed striker Gianluca Lapadula in a transfer from Pescara, reportedly worth €9 million, and are in talks to sign right-back Abdoulay Konko.De Sciglio has two years remaining on his contract at San Siro.