Simone Zaza conceded to feeling a little emotional after scoring in Italy s 1-1 draw with Netherlands, two years on from his embarrassing penalty miss against Germany.
The striker broke the deadlock in Turin, albeit with the aid of Virgil van Dijk s unfortunate attempt at a clearance from Federico Chiesa s low cross.
Zaza s goal, which came shortly after his introduction from the bench, helped to ease some of the pain of his spot-kick howler at Euro 2016, when his bizarre run-up preceded a wild effort which he blazed over the crossbar in a quarter-final shoot-out loss.
Nathan Ake levelled the scores in Monday s match after Domenico Criscito had seen red for the hosts in a clash of two sides who failed to qualify for the World Cup, but Zaza was able to focus o…
Lyon s Nabil Fekir has long been linked with a move to . The story has been going back and forth for a long while now from a mild interest, to 99% done , to nothing agreed from a bid being submitted to no bid yet , and so on.
Now, French outlet L Equipe report that have entered the race to sign the France international. A huge club like that, where winning trophies is practically a certainty, would give Fekir a lot to think about, compared to the challenges of the competition in the Premier League. However, Liverpool reached the Champions League final in 2017/18 and they re fast becoming an exciting project under Jürgen Klopp, especially for a player like Fekir. Surrounded by players like Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, and now Naby Keita and Fabinho, Fekir would …
What the papers say
Newcastle have reportedly been given a boost in their pursuit of Kalvin Phillips. According to a report from journalist Fabrizio Romano, cited by the Daily Mail, Juventus – Newcastle’s biggest rival for the 28-year-old’s signature – have cooled on the Manchester City midfielder due to stumbling blocks over a loan fee and salary, opening the window for the Magpies to swoop.
The Daily Mail also says former Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson is desperate for a return to the Premier League. The midfielder completed a £12million transfer from Liverpool to Saudi Arabian side Al Ettifaq last summer, but has reportedly been disheartened by the side’s poor on-field form and lack of crowds. Henderson is believed to be willing to give serious consideration t…
Coach Slaven Bilic is on his way out barring a last-minute miracle that puts Croatia into the World Cup finals, newspapers said Wednesday.
Farewell , headlined Sportske Novosti. Unless there s a miracle, Croatia will not go to the World Cup and will look for a new coach.
Croatia play their final Group Six qualifier later Wednesday against Kazakhstan, needing a win to retain an unlikely chance of bagging a playoff place ahead of Ukraine.
England, having already secured qualification, lost on Saturday to Ukraine who moved above the Croats.
In their last qualifier, the Ukrainians play whipping boys Andorra, who have no points, three goals for and 33 against from nine matches.
Croatia, missing several stars, lie third in the group, a point behind U…
Fulham have announced on their official website that midfielder Kerim Frei has been sold to Besiktas.
The Turkish giants completed the deal just before the summer transfer deadline in Turkey and seem to have landed a player with huge potential.
Kerim Frei arrived at Fulham youth academy from Grasshoppers and he didn t need a lot of time to break into the first team set up.
The Turkish winger went on to make no less than 16 Premier League appearances during the 2011/2012 season, but was then farmed out on loan at Cardiff in October 2012.
Frei featured in another 7 Premier League games since returning from Wales, but he fell further behind the pecking order at the start of the new season.
As a result, the Cottagers decided to accept an offer from B…
Retiring Wellington Phoenix goalkeeper Mark Paston is confident the decision to hang up his boots was the right one.
Paston, 36, brought the curtain down on six years in Wellington with a 3-2 loss to Melbourne Victory on Sunday as the Phoenix could not avoid the dreaded wooden spoon.
Following the match Paston said there was obviously sadness at ending his professional football career but excitement about what lay ahead.
This moment you know it s coming eventually, he said. The decision is always supposed to be tough but I think I ve made the right decision.
The New Zealand international has battled back from two broken legs as well as other injuries during his time with the Phoenix and New Zealand, and said the physical toll of training and playing wee…
Bayer Leverkusen striker Javier Hernandez has admitted his lack of playing time at Real Madrid was not easy for him having previously struggled for chances at Manchester United, but he is loving life in the Bundesliga.
Hernandez left United for a one-year loan spell at Madrid in 2014-15, but the Santiago Bernabeu side opted against making the deal permanent after just seven starts in LaLiga.
The 28-year-old has impressed since his move to the Bundesliga, though, and he believes getting regular first-team action again has been key to his success at Leverkusen.
I am playing more, I am making more minutes, Hernandez told El Pais.
I got very few opportunities at Madrid. It was very difficult for me. I hardly got any game time during the first half of my t…
FIFA has revealed record viewing figures for the 2019 eWorld Cup tournament held in London, which generated more than 47 million views.
Online viewership for the three-day competition at The O2 increased by 60 per cent up from 29 million views in 2018.
The Grand Final was shown by 21 different broadcasters across 75 territories, while the EA SPORTS FIFA 19 Global Series – which began in October 2018 – garnered over 140 million views in total.
During the eWorld Cup, 32 FIFA 19 players competed, with Germany s Mohammed MoAuba Harkous crowned champion.
Harkous claimed a grand prize of $250,000, while also receiving an invitation to The Best FIFA Football Awards, which will be held in Milan in September.
Relive the drama of the in …
Inter Milan have finally completed a move to sign Christian Eriksen from Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the fact at one point it seemed the move was not going to be completed before the end of the transfer window, both sides eventually reached an agreement. The Serie A giants acquired the Denmark international for a reported €20 million fee.
One would think landing a player such as Eriksen would solve most of Inter’s problems, and whoever thinks that wouldn’t be entirely wrong. Eriksen is one of the best playmakers in the world, and he has enough talent to takeover a game and change its course at any given moment. Plus, coming from the English Premier League should help Eriksen’s chances to thrive on Italian soil. The intensity of both leagues favours Eriksen, as the lack o…
Birmingham v Bolton
Not really a battle of the giants this one. In fact, if you have some paint drying somewhere it may be more enjoyable to watch that!
Birmingham don’t score enough goals although they did manage a win at Hull last time out. Having said that, who hasn’t managed a win at Hull?
Bolton also won on their last league outing and I expect they’ll have just enough to grab a win.
SoccerNews prediction: 0-1
Blackburn v Aston Villa
Despite Sam Allardyce’s organisational and coaching skills, Blackburn are starting to look as they may be in a bit of trouble.
Aston Villa had a terrible start at home to Wigan but haven’t looked back since. They still play an …