Brazil must take advantage of having Neymar in his best mode at the World Cup, according to captain Thiago Silva.
Neymar heads to Qatar in supreme form. He has directly contributed to 26 goals for Paris Saint-Germain, scoring 15 and setting up a further 11 this season.
His tally of goal involvements is the joint-most in the top-five European leagues, along with Erling Haaland (23 goals, three assists) and club-mate Lionel Messi (12 goals, 14 assists).
With 75 international goals to his name, Neymar needs just three more to overtake Pele and become Brazil s all-time leading scorer.
Neymar s injury in the quarter-finals of Brazil s home world cup in 2014 is often cited as a major factor in the 7-1 thrashing to Germany that followed in the last four, while h…
Brentford put in a fantastic effort against Liverpool at the Community Stadium on Monday evening and were rewarded with another huge victory, as well as fresh three points in their quest to go further than ever in the Premier League.
Having beaten Leicester City three days before through a pair of own-goals by Foxes defender Wout Faes, Liverpool suffered a bit of karma this time as the ball struck Konate s knee after a corner and bounced into his own net in the 19th minute. Yoane Wissa, who started in the place of injured Ivan Toney, saw two goals disallowed before finally doubling his team s lead in the 42nd. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain pulled one back with a fine header five minutes into the second half, but Bryan Mbeumo put the contest to bed with six minutes left on the clock.<…
Emiliano Martinez was the hero as Argentina edged past the Netherlands in a penalty shoot-out following an absorbing 2-2 draw.
Martinez produced saves from Virgil van Dijk and Steven Berghuis before Lautaro Martinez slotted home the winning spot-kick as Argentina secured a place in the semi-finals against Croatia.
Lionel Messi looked to have won it for Argentina in normal time by creating Nahuel Molina s opening goal before adding another himself from the penalty spot, only for two late Wout Weghorst efforts to send the game beyond 90 minutes.
A low-key first half in which both teams were content to keep possession without being good enough to create anything with it was finally ignited by the brilliance of Messi 10 minutes before the break.
The Paris Sai…
Brighton have completed the signing of midfielder Mats Wieffer from Feyenoord.
The 24-year-old has penned a five-year contract, with the Seagulls paying a reported £25.4million (€30m).
Having joined Feyenoord in 2022, Wieffer proved to be a key figure for now-Liverpool boss Arne Slot.
Wieffer played a role in helping Feyenoord win the Eredivisie title in 2023, and then the KNVB Beker last season.
Wieffer is a Seagull!
— Brighton Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC)
We’re delighted to welcome Mats to the club, a player whose qualities we have admired for a long time, said Brighton s technical director David Weir.
He has a lot of experience in the Champions League as well as the Eredivisie and has developed into one of the best de…
Carlo Ancelotti must have been considering it. He must have been thinking that this would not be Vinicius Junior s night.
The hour mark was approaching, the Brazilian boy wonder had barely made an impact on this Champions League final, and on the bench there was semi-final hero Rodrygo, straining for a chance.
Heck, there was Eden Hazard too, and even Isco and Gareth Bale. For old time s sake, did they ever cross Ancelotti s mind.
There had been a first-half flicker from the 21-year-old Vinicius, when he got the better of Liverpool s Ibrahima Konate with a stealthy piece of skill in the penalty area, but Jordan Henderson read the danger and gladly conceded a corner.
But that had really been the first and last time in the first 58 minutes of play that Vini…
Dusan Vlahovic has targeted scoring 30 goals and leading Juventus to the Serie A title in his first full season in Turin, as he bids to become the first player to win the Capocannoniere (top scorer award) and the Scudetto in the same campaign since 2008-09.
Not since Zlatan Ibrahimovic top-scored with 25 league goals for Jose Mourinho s Inter 13 years ago has Serie A s top scorer played for the title winners, leading Massimiliano Allegri to joke recently he hopes Vlahovic does not win the award next term.
Vlahovic scored 24 Serie A goals last season – seven after leaving Fiorentina for Juventus in January, a tally only bettered by Lazio s Ciro Immobile (27).
Since making his Serie A debut in September 2018, Vlahovic has hit 51 goals in just 113 appearances…
Neymar is the latest star name to take his talents to the Saudi Arabian Pro League after completing a move to Al Hilal.
The 31-year-old has joined from Paris St Germain in a deal that could go up to 100 million euros (£86.3m).
The Brazil forward add to the list of stars of world football to turn his back on a major European club, following the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, Riyad Mahrez, Ruben Neves, Sadio Mane and N’Golo Kante to the Middle East.
“I am here in Saudi Arabia, i am HILALI ”
— AlHilal Saudi Club (@Alhilal_EN)
The move ends a six-year stay at PSG, who he joined from Barcelona for a world-record £200m fee in 2017.
He leaves the Parc Des Princes having scored 118 goals in 173 matches and won five Ligue 1…
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are expected to feature when Inter Miami host St. Louis City in MLS on Saturday, with the Herons looking to bounce back from a midweek defeat.
Miami saw a 10-match unbeaten run in league play halted on Wednesday, as they were beaten 3-1 by Atlanta United.
That result came despite Messi and Suarez returning to Gerardo Martino s lineup, having both missed a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend.
According to assistant coach Javier Morales, both players will be fit and available for this week s match as Miami target a return to winning ways.
Everyone is optimum to play, Morales said. Today we will train, and the coaching staff will watch players but there is no physical problem.
Afterwards we will talk to t…
“The way we went out was disappointing, but you take confidence in the fact that you can go toe-to-toe with one of the better teams in Europe.
“It stands you in good stead when you know there’s not many better teams on paper – you’d like to think – that are better than us.
“So, you take that confidence and you take the experience that we’ve gained from the last few.
“The goal is always to try and win it. That should be the goal for all of us going into it and that’s what we’ll try and do.”
Bellingham does not lack confidence and nor should he given England’s performances in Qatar.
A narrow defeat to eventual finalists and Euro 2024 favourites France did for Southgate’s side in the desert, where the midfielder says their…
Group C at the Euro 2016 contains 2014 World Cup winners Germany, who are widely regarded as hot favourites for the first place, but they will not have an easy job against the likes of Poland, Ukraine and Northern Ireland.
Die Mannschaft have experienced some problems in the aftermath of the World Cup triumph and they are no longer as relentless as they have been in previous years. Injuries to important midfielders Ilkay Gundogan, Sami Khedira and Bastian Schweinsteiger are creating additional problems.
Nevertheless, taking into account team’s huge experience and quality in all areas as well as the fact that they rarely disappoint at major competitions, Germany look a good bet to win Group C, even though the odds on that happening are less than impressive.
Hav…