Garang Kuol became Australia s youngest World Cup star on Tuesday but noted the big difference he must bridge in order to regularly rub shoulders with the likes of Kylian Mbappe.
Kuol, who at 18 years and 68 days old was the ninth-youngest player in the tournament s history, was brought on as a 73rd-minute substitute moments after the final goal in the Socceroos 4-1 opening defeat to holders France.
The highly talented winger – already confirmed as a Newcastle United signing ahead of a January move – enjoyed a few bright touches yet saw a significant gap to his opponents.
Kuol did not start a single A-League game for Central Coast Mariners, although he scored six goals in 326 minutes from the bench.
Meanwhile, Mbappe was France s star man as they took…
Thomas Tuchel insists there is no reason for Chelsea to panic after seeing their place as Premier League leaders usurped by Manchester City.
The European champions looked imperious in the opening weeks of the season, winning all but two of their first 10 league games and conceding just once from open play.
However, a run of only three wins from their most recent six league matches, during which they have conceded eight times and kept only one clean sheet, has seen Chelsea fall from first to third in the standings.
Liverpool sit second, while City, who thrashed Leeds United 7-0 on Tuesday, are five points ahead of the Blues having played a game more.
Chelsea s defence has also been unusually sloppy recently, with Tuchel s team conceding eight goals in th…
Chloe Kelly believes the record attendances in the Women s Super League (WSL) this season are down to the standard of football that is being played.
The attendance record for a single WSL game has been beaten twice this season, while the average number of spectators inside the grounds are also growing across the division.
Kelly Simmons, the FA director of the women s professional game, pointed to England Women s victory at Euro 2022 as the key reason for the rise in attendances.
Manchester City Women s Kelly, who scored the winning goal in the final of Euro 2022 against Germany, credited the increase in standard as spearheading the rise of women s football.
Speaking at the launch of the first ever Panini Barclays Women s Super League sticker collection at…
Zlatko Dalic has no issue with Brazil s players dancing to celebrate a goal, though he would not want to see his Croatia squad do the same.
Brazil s celebrations during their 4-1 rout of South Korea have drawn criticism from some quarters.
Coach Tite has had to explain no disrespect was intended when he joined in with Richarlison s pigeon dance after the striker netted a sublime third goal in the round of 16 match on Monday, though he also said Brazil will not stop dancing in celebration.
Croatia meet Brazil in the first quarter-final on Friday, and Dalic would prefer his players not to celebrate in such a manner.
[Brazil] have their own way that they celebrate, Dalic said in a press conference.
They celebrate how they know, they are so festive,…
The Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualification campaign has reached crunch-point after just four games with Sunday’s Group B clash with the Netherlands pivotal to their dwindling hopes.
Defeat would leave Ireland trailing in the wake of France, the Dutch and Greece and all but mathematically unable to make it to Germany next year.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding a crucial fixture.
Clock running for Kenny?
For his critics, Kenny’s reign is fast reaching the point of no return. Under the 51-year-old, who was appointed as Mick McCarthy’s successor in April 2020, Ireland have won only five of the 25 competitive matches they have played – against Azerbaijan, Luxembourg, Scotland, Armenia and Gibraltar – a…
Besiktas have completed athe signing of Eric Bailly from Manchester United, both clubs have confirmed.
The 29-year-old defender was clearly made aware that he was not in the plans of United boss Erik ten Hag straight away when the Dutch coach took charge of the team last year. He consequently spent 2022/23 on loan at Olympique Marseille, and by moving to the Turkish Super Lig, he has followed in the footsteps of midfielder Fred who previously joined Fenerbahce.
Since joining United in 2016 from Villarreal as Jose Mourinho s first signing at Old Trafford, Bailly made a total of just 113 appearances for the club, recording one goal and one assist.
Everyone at United thanks Eric for his contribution while at the club and wishes him all the best for the future, Uni…
AC Milan CEO Furlani: “There’s a chance to have Zlatan Ibrahimović back with us in the management. We are on it, we’d be proud of that”.
“We are in talks with Zlatan to discuss the next steps”.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)
Players to watch
Lloyd Kelly: The 25-year-old Bournemouth defender has attracted interest from Tottenham, Liverpool, Newcastle and AC Milan, but his club will reportedly turn down any approaches for him, Teamtalk reports.
Andre: Liverpool, Arsenal and Fulham have sent representatives to watch the 22-year-old Fluminense midfielder in the Copa Libertadores final. The Brazilian reportedly has an agreement to leave the South American champions in January for around £30million, Portuguese outlet Globo Esporte says.…
Rangers are interested in signing Billy Gilmour on loan from Chelsea in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that last season’s European champions Chelsea are ready to send Gilmour out on loan again, and that Rangers are keen on bringing to Ibrox for next season.
Gilmour was on the books of Chelsea since 2017 when he joined the Blues after leaving Rangers. The Scotland international midfielder has made a handful of appearances for Chelsea so far in his career.
The 20-year-old midfielder has been on loan at Norwich from Chelsea since the summer of 2021. Gilmour has made 20 starts and three substitute appearances in the Premier League for the Canaries this season, providing one assist in the process.
…
Ange Postecoglou has acknowledged Tottenham will not be restricted like some clubs when it comes to spending in the summer transfer window.
Spurs announced their 2022-23 financial results on Wednesday, which showed total revenue for the Premier League club had increased to £549.6million, up from £444m for the previous year.
Club chairman Daniel Levy also revealed they were “in discussions with prospective investors” over a minority stake in Tottenham, and while a loss of £86.8m was recorded, this was put down to “significant and continued investment in the playing squad”.
The latest team news from Ange ahead of
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
The breaches of Premier League Profit and Sustainability rules by Everton and Notting…
Jadon Sancho claimed he has been “a scapegoat for a long time” as the Manchester United winger hit back at boss Erik ten Hag for saying he was dropped for the Arsenal game because of poor training performances.
The 23-year-old did not travel to north London for Sunday’s Premier League match at the Emirates Stadium, where two stoppage-time goals condemned the Red Devils to a 3-1 defeat.
Sancho was conspicuous by his absence from the squad having come off the bench in their first three matches, with Ten Hag revealing afterwards that he was dropped due to sub-par training.
“Jadon, on his performances in training we did not select him,” the United boss said after the defeat.
“You have to reach a level every day at Manchester United and we can make…