Having been treated to a month of non-stop international football with Euro 2024 and the Copa America, the fun continues at the Olympic Games in Paris.
Sixteen teams will play across seven different stadiums in the men s tournament, and all will hope to have a gold medal placed around their necks on August 9 at the Parc des Princes.
There will be a new champion this time around, with Brazil, who triumphed in Tokyo, not participating in this year s tournament.
Will it be Thierry Henry s France, or will Argentina and Spain continue their recent international success on the global stage?
Here, we have a look at all the key information ahead of the action unfolding.
Brazil are back-to-back men’s gold medallists!
Antony s fabulous assist…
Central Coast Mariners confirmed the appointment of Alen Stajcic as their head coach on a three-year deal.
Stajcic took over as a caretaker at the A-League strugglers in March, having previously coached Australia s women s team.
The 45-year-old oversaw improvement in Gosford, with two of the Mariners three wins for the season coming in the six games Stajcic coached.
Central Coast – the 2013 champions who have finished bottom the past two seasons – named Stajcic their coach until the end of 2021-22 on Thursday.
I would like to thank the Central Coast Mariners for inviting me to this great club. It s been an absolute privilege being the caretaker coach of this team, he said in a statement.
— Central Coast Mariners (@CCMariners)
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After a frustrating start to their Copa America campaign, Brazil return to action on Friday, facing Paraguay in a crucial Group D clash at Allegiant Stadium.
The Selecao were held to a 0-0 draw by Costa Rica in their opener, while Paraguay couldn t complete a comeback and suffered a 2-1 defeat to Colombia on matchday one.
Paraguay
The opening half-hour against Colombia was initially promising for Paraguay, as Daniel Garnero’s side effectively frustrated their opponents with a compact, low block. However, the game’s dynamics shifted when Daniel Munoz scored in the 32nd minute, forcing Garnero to alter his tactics and leaving Paraguay needing goals to overturn the deficit.
Historically, La Albirroja have struggled to …
As we head towards the final few 2022 World Cup qualifiers, 13 of the 32 participants are still yet to be confirmed.
Japan, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Uruguay and Canada have sealed their places in Qatar in the last week, but nerves are still jangling for those uncertain of theirs.
The play-offs in the UEFA and CAF regions come to a head, while there remain some final issues to be ironed out in the group stages in the AFC, CONCACAF and CONMEBOL sections.
The inter-confederation play-offs also take shape, with the winner of the OFC section to be confirmed.
Here, Stats Perform runs through how the last few embers of qualifying is looking in each region…
AFC (Asia)
Nations already qualified: Qatar (hosts), Iran, South Korea,…
Joao Moutinho s late strike downed an insipid Manchester United as Wolves recorded a 1-0 win in the Premier League on Monday.
Wolves had not played since December 19 due to COVID-19 issues but dominated the opening proceedings at Old Trafford, United only holding on thanks to David de Gea repeatedly thwarting Bruno Lage s side.
Substitute Bruno Fernandes and Roman Saiss traded second-half strikes against the woodwork, either side of Cristiano Ronaldo – stand-in captain in the absence of Harry Maguire – seeing a goal ruled out for offside.
Moutinho then struck with eight minutes remaining to condemn Ralf Rangnick to his first defeat in charge of the Red Devils, who sit seventh in the league – four points behind fourth-placed Arsenal.
4 João Mout…
Bitter rivals USA and Mexico are set to square off in one of the final warm-up games for the 2014 World Cup, with a lot of fireworks expected despite the fact that this is a friendly game.
The match takes place on April 2 at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona and tickets for the big game are already .
United States will play three warm-up games in the build up to the 2014 World Cup, with the Mexico game sandwiched between international friendlies against Ukraine and Nigeria.
Team USA coach Jurgen Klinsmann plans to use the high-profile match against their arch rivals to test his charges before he delivers the final verdict on a 23-man squad that will represent the country in Brazil.
We are going to be watching our players very carefu…
Virgil van Dijk will take time to consider his future at club and international level after the Netherlands suffered Euro 2024 heartbreak against England.
Ollie Watkins came off the bench to score a last-minute winner as the Three Lions came from behind to stun Ronald Koeman s team with a 2-1 victory in Dortmund.
The Netherlands have now been eliminated from seven World Cup or European Championship semi-finals, with only Germany (eight) losing more.
After the defeat, Oranje captain Van Dijk – who turned 33 earlier this week – was asked whether he planned to continue representing his country.
The centre-back, who has also been linked with a Liverpool exit as he enters the final year of his contract, was giving nothing away regarding his future.
Dropping what could be a pair of costly points on Saturday afternoon as they had to settle for a away at Nottingham Forest, Manchester City also sacrificed their spot at the top of the Premier League table.
While the defending champions might have laid down a real marker away at the Emirates last weekend as they claimed a thumping 3-1 romp against Arsenal, Pep Guardiola s side are seeking some stability.
Likewise, along with facing what is a heavyweight title scrap in 2023, the Sky Blues are also dealing with some rather public issues behind the scenes in Manchester.
Charged with breaking the Premier League s around 100 times over a nine-year period, there remains a real cloud of uncertainty over the Etihad.
Although City might have made quite the stat…
Leicester s Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez has asked the to leave the Foxes
Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez lit up the Premier League in season 2015/16 helping Leicester City to an extraordinary title victory.
However, just like his team, Mahrez’s performances went downhill in the next season.
The 26-year-old struggled to get anywhere near the form that won him the Player of the Year award in the previous campaign, scoring just six goals and producing three assists in the Premier League.
Following a disappointing campaign, Mahrez has now asked to leave the Foxes this summer. The club have stated he will only be sold for ‘a substantial fee’.
The question is will he ever recapture the sensational form of his one golden season in English football?<…
Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor was fined £25,000 and handed a suspended two-match ban by the Football Association for his celebration against former club Arsenal on this day in 2009.
Adebayor was punished after he ran the full length of the pitch to celebrate in front of visiting Gunners supporters after he scored in the 80th minute of a Premier League match.
The then 25-year-old had already served a three-match suspension for violent conduct in a separate incident during the 4-2 victory at Eastlands on September 12.
https://x.com/ManCity/status/1701543676080783846?s=20
The Togo international appeared at Wembley and admitted a charge of improper conduct at a FA regulatory commission hearing.
Adebayor’s acceptance of his behaviour was…