Football news

Ukrainian defender of London "Arsenal" Alexander Zinchenko spoke about the tricks used by his team’s head coach Mikel Arteta.

"I have seen more than once how Arteta asked injured players to go with the team to the match fully equipped, with their backpacks, and then to go to the locker room together with everyone.

In the end, it all looked as if these footballers were ready to play. It confused the head coach of the opposing team.

Arteta likes to play such games with opponents,” Zinchenko said in a comment to The Athletic.

In connection with the Ukrainian's words, the publication recalls a recent story with Arsenal midfielder Bukayo Saka. Last month, it seemed he was destined to miss the match against Liverpool (2:2) due to injury. However, Arteta claimed the day before that he wasn’t sure Saka would be able to play. But in the end, the midfielder was included in the starting lineup of Arsenal for that match and scored a goal already in the ninth minute of the game.

Former Ukraine national team player Oleg Shelaev shared his impressions of the match of the final, 6th round of the group stage of the Nations League Albania – Ukraine (1:2).

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Famous Italian footballer Gianfranco Zola compared two forwards currently playing in the Italian championship — Ukrainian Artem Dovbik from "Roma" and Belgian Romelu Lukaku from "Napoli".

“These are two very physically strong central forwards. Lukaku may be faster and better than Dovbik in open space, but both of them define a lot. In any case, Lukaku is a key player for Conte (Antonio Conte, head coach of "Napoli", — ed.),” Zola's words are quoted by "Calcio Napoli 24".

It is worth adding that in the current season, Dovbik and Lukaku are showing similar results. The Ukrainian has scored 6 goals and provided 1 assist in 15 matches for "Roma", while the Belgian has scored 4 goals and provided 5 assists in 11 matches for "Napoli".

Former defender of Kyiv’s Dynamo and the Ukrainian national team Taras Mikhalik shared his impressions of the match in the final, 6th round of the Nations League group stage Albania – Ukraine (1:2), and also expressed that he would not like to see Belgium in the opponents of the Ukrainian national team in the playoff of the tournament.

“I liked that our team won, continuing the fight for a spot in Division 'A' of the Nations League, and the image of Ukrainian football remained intact. On the other hand, I am worried that there were again two different halves: in the first — complete dominance, in the second — a game of nerves. The Albanians managed to regain the initiative, reduced the deficit to a minimum, but fortunately, it turned out alright.

I am glad that the coach Sergey Rebrov did not miscalculate with the rotation. Oleksandr Zinchenko and Roman Yaremchuk started after a long break and justified the expectations. Their goals at the beginning of the match served, figuratively speaking, as a solid foundation for such a needed victory. The recent matches in the Nations League showed that now the coaching staff has practically two equally strong squads at their disposal.

The debut of Ivan Kaliuzhny, Oleksandr Nazarenko, and Oleksii Sych should be recognized as successful. The intensification of competition for a place in the starting lineup will only contribute to optimal preparation, both in official matches and in training. Thus, there are options for maneuvering.

As for the March confrontation of Ukrainians in the playoff matches for a spot in Division ‘A’, everyone has their own point of view. I would not like to face the Belgium team. I agree, in recent matches they have slowed down, but that should not deceive. At the right moment, the Belgians can strike, as they have enough quality performers,” said Mikhalik.

«Liverpool» is keen on signing Inter striker Marcus Thuram, reports La Gazzetta dello Sport.

According to the source, the English club has been interested in Thuram since the team was managed by German coach Jürgen Klopp. It is emphasized that Thuram himself is solely focused on performances for Inter.

This season, Thuram has participated in 15 matches across all tournaments, in which he scored eight goals and provided five assists.

Real Madrid footballer Eder Militao successfully underwent surgery after tearing the cruciate ligament in his knee. The defender will soon begin a rehabilitation program, reports the official website of the Spanish club.

Let us remind you that the Brazilian was injured on November 9 in a match of the 13th round of the Spanish La Liga against Osasuna (4:0). This is the second time in his career that he has suffered such an injury; in August 2023, he was sidelined for six months due to a rupture of the cruciate ligament in his left knee.

The head coach of the Romanian national team, Mircea Lucescu, commented in an outraged tone on UEFA’s decision following the match of the Nations League Romania — Kosovo.

Recall that in the compensated time of the second half of this match, when the score was 0:0, the Kosovo national team, citing insults directed at them on political grounds from the stands, left the field. As a result, UEFA awarded Romania a technical victory with a score of 3:0, but at the same time fined the Romanian football federation 128 thousand euros due to the behavior of the fans and obliged the Romanian national team to play the next home match in front of empty stands.

“3:0 was a mandatory decision because it is clearly stated in the regulations. A team leaving the field is punished with a loss of 0:3. But this should have happened not now, but 15 minutes after the incident. So it turns out that the Kosovo team humiliated us: they demonstratively leave, and we after that sit for hours in the locker room, not knowing what to do. This is the first point.

The second point. We were punished very harshly from a financial point of view. Not only do we still have to pay a fine in this situation, but we will also play the match without spectators. We will not receive the money that could have gone to children’s and youth teams.

It’s abnormal to give due credit to a team that leaves the field and claims that its image is more important than the result. In fact, the Kosovo national team created political behavior out of nothing. They simply decided to draw attention to themselves as a country.

It turns out that now any team can do the same. Kosovo should have just been punished without any fines. But for some reason, we are punished here too! Our entire team felt humiliated, while our opponents were calmly drinking beer and eating pizza in their locker room at that time,” Lucescu said in a comment to Pro TV.

New Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim feels the desire to exchange the Red Devils striker Antony for 17-year-old winger Giovanni Kenda from Sporting, reports Daily Star.

According to the source, Manchester United is ready to sell the Brazilian as early as winter. It is emphasized that co-owner of the English club Jim Ratcliffe is eager to eliminate the expenses on Antony's salary.

In the current season, Kenda has participated in 18 matches across all competitions, where he has recorded two goals and two assists.

The former head coach of Kyiv Dynamo, Yozhef Sabo, shared his impressions of the Nations League match between the Albania national team and the Ukraine national team.

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Former coach of Barcelona Xavi Hernandez may lead Inter Miami, Marca reports.

The source informs that the current coach of Inter Miami Gerardo Martino will leave the team, despite his current contract with the club expiring at the end of 2025.

Xavi Hernandez will be Martino's successor, who remains without a job after the end of last season. Of course, it will be a great bonus for Xavi to work with former teammates - Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba.

Ukraine national team midfielder Oleksandr Zinchenko commented on our national team’s victory in the UEFA Nations League match against Albania.

"The matches were a bit different, because against Albania there was pressure because of the result, especially after the first game against Georgia, since the result was not what we wanted. Against Albania, we achieved what we had planned, which gave us a chance to fight for promotion to League A. We will prepare and give our all for this."

A jersey with the number 1000? This was the initiative of the whole team, as we understand what day it is today. For 1000 days our heroes have defended our state, 1000 days of an unbreakable Ukraine. The feelings are such—I can't describe what is inside me. I can’t even imagine how hard it has been for our people all this time while I am in England. I hope that peaceful skies will come soon. I am proud to be Ukrainian.

I want to convey to all Ukrainians not to give up and to stay united, just as we have throughout this time. I want to dedicate this victory to all Ukrainians who are in Ukraine and not only,” Zinchenko said.