Netherlands have managed to get themselves right back into the race for the top two spots in Group B of the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifications, which lead directly to the tournament next year. They did it by beating Greece in Athens, courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty put away by captain Virgil van Dijk.
Penalties
Given the way the match was settled, it only makes sense to start by discussing the penalty decisions, for there were two of them even if there was only one goal. In the 25th minute, the Greek defence had just cleared a Dutch corner and Quilindschy Hartman sent the ball back into the box, when Kostas Koulierakis was judged to have pulled Van Dijk to the ground. There was no doubt in the mind of referee Alejandro Jose Hernandez Hernandez from Spain as he blew the whistle …
Croatian champions Dinamo Zagreb announced on Thursday that they had appointed Krunoslav Jurcic as their new coach, despite having earlier stated that former boss Ilija Loncarevic would return to take up the role.
Krunoslav Jurcic was the unanimous choice of the club s directors, Dinamo president Mirko Barisic told reporters.
He also added that the club would be parting company with forwards Bosko Balaban and Tomo Sakota, for financial and sporting reasons .
Jurcic, 39, is a former Croatian international midfielder who played for Dinamo as well as Italian sides Torino and Sampdoria before retiring in 2004.
On Thursday morning, the club had announced the departure of previous coach Marijan Vlak, who had been in charge since November 2008, and his replace…
Jurgen Klopp revealed he had spoken to Mohamed Salah about his disappointment over missing out on the Liverpool captaincy earlier this month.
In an interview with Diario AS, Salah said he was very disappointed not to be made captain against Midtjylland in the Champions League, while the star forward also refused to rule out a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Trent Alexander-Arnold was made skipper for the encounter in Denmark, but Klopp revealed he had made a mistake.
The Liverpool manager said he had discussed his decision with Salah, who has scored 16 goals in 21 games this season.
I was captain for a long time in my career and I always thought what a job this is because there are not a lot of benefits and there is a lot of work, Klopp said.
…
Freddie Ljungberg believes he can work successfully alongside new Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta once the difficult handover is complete.
Ljungberg will oversee the final match of his interim spell in charge when the Gunners visit Everton in the Premier League on Saturday.
He suggested it could be challenging for the players to find motivation despite the incentive to impress the incoming head coach, who officially takes over from Sunday.
Arteta could not confirm at his introductory news conference whether Ljungberg, previously an assistant to Unai Emery, would have a role with the team going forward.
But the Swede, a firm fan-favourite during his playing career in north London, insisted he could be an asset.
I m looking forward to it a lot, Ljungbe…
Claudio Ranieri branded it impossible for Leicester City to win the Champions League, but admitted his team are proof anything can happen.
Leicester will make their Champions League debut away at Club Brugge on Wednesday having earned their place in the competition with an unlikely Premier League title win last season.
Ranieri believes similar success on the continent is unlikely, though he would not rule anything out following their sensational campaign in 2015-16.
Our fairytale is not only in sport but in life. If you believe, good things could happen. If you don t, it s difficult, the Italian manager told a media conference.
Winning the Champions League is impossible. But Leicester show that the impossible is possible.
We would have to write…
Star forwards Neymar and Kylian Mbappe featured in Paris Saint-Germain s launch of their home kit for 2019-20.
Neymar is heavily linked with a return to Barcelona this close season, while Mbappe has emerged as a reported target for Real Madrid.
However, it seems the Ligue 1 champions expect the stars to be at Parc des Princes next season.
Launching their home kit on Sunday, PSG included Neymar and Mbappe in their video reveal.
It’s here! Check out the new jersey for the / season!
Welcome
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English)
Mbappe scored 33 Ligue 1 goals in 2018-19 and Neymar netted 15 as PSG finished 16 points clear at the top.
Neymar is reportedly the more likely of the duo to leave, with Barcelona vic…
Bafetimbi Gomis has joined Marseille on a season-long loan from Swansea City.
The striker moved to the Liberty Stadium on a free transfer from Lyon in 2014 and scored 17 goals in 71 appearances.
Gomis, who turns 31 next week, scored four goals in as many games to begin the 2015-16 campaign, but his form petered out somewhat and he finished with six in 33 Premier League outings.
Both clubs confirmed he had made a return to Ligue 1 on Friday, joining a Marseille side that struggled to a 13th-place finish last season.
Francesco Guidolin s side have already allowed Eder – who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final – to join Lille and Alberto Paloschi has signed for Atalanta.
Bafétimbi Gomis est Olympien
→
— Olympique Marse…
You will see when the time comes. It will not be easy for everyone, but it s time to change. After five years, you must start a new cycle.
A clean sweep of domestic trophies for a second successive season was not enough to sate the appetite of ambitious Paris Saint-Germain president Nasser Al-Khelaifi.
His damning assessment of the 2015-16 campaign, which he labelled a failure , spelled the end of Laurent Blanc s reign at the Parc des Princes.
Unai Emery has been chosen as his replacement and PSG will be expected to hit the ground running in the Trophee des Champions against Lyon on Saturday.
A repeat of last year s 2-0 win in Quebec against the same opponents will be the first demand placed upon a man who led Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League…
Liverpool winger Stewart Downing is being linked with a move away from Anfield
According to reports from the Guardian, Liverpool could be prepared to sell winger Stewart Downing for as little as £5million.
The 29-year-old’s future at Anfield has been in doubt since the arrival of Brendan Rodgers on Merseyside last summer.
Talks
The England international is set for talks with Liverpool boss Rodgers about his future in the next week or so.
Downing started to produce some decent performances in the second half of last season, but is still not considered an important player for the Reds.
Linked
The Middlesbrough-born winger is being linked with a £5million move to Newcastle by the Guardian. The Magpies have been quiet in the trans…
Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is set to be in the starting XI for Thursday s international friendly against Algeria, according to head coach Fernando Santos.
Ronaldo has been watching from the sidelines following Real Madrid s Champions League triumph last month – the five-time Ballon d Or winner absent for friendlies against Tunisia and Belgium.
However, the 33-year-old is poised to return as Euro 2016 champions Portugal step up their World Cup preparations with a warm-up fixture at home to Algeria.
Most likely Cristiano will be in the starting line-up, Santos told reporters. We will try to continue with the team s evolution, to analyse the last two matches and try to rectify some things because after this we have the first match against Spain so it s im…