Stade Michel d Ornano in Caen is a long way from Porto s Estadio do Dragao. To be precise, it s 1,573 kilometers in the unlikely event you ever have the urge to drive across Portugal and Spain, then all the way up to Normandy in northern France.
In terms of staging posts within a career, second tier French football in 2013-14 and the 2021 Champions League final are a million miles apart. But this is the journey Riyad Mahrez and N Golo Kante have taken, almost stride for stride, as they wait to contest the European club game s greatest prize.
A look at Ligue 2 s YouTube highlights from the first time the Manchester City winger and Chelsea midfielder faced one another on September 27, 2013, when Caen hosted Le Havre, reveals a few very familiar traits.
Kante can…
Zinedine Zidane says coaching France remains a career goal of his but he is confident Real Madrid can still achieve great things this season.
The Madrid boss has seen his position come under scrutiny this season after some high-profile defeats, but he thinks success in LaLiga and the Champions League remains possible.
Zidane has regularly been linked with managing his native France, with incumbent head coach Didier Deschamps recently tipping him to succeed him in the role.
French Football Federation president Noel Le Graet, meanwhile, has said Zidane would be the first person he would call should he ever need to replace Deschamps.
Ahead of Madrid s home match with Valencia on Sunday, Zidane was open about his aspirations.
I am passionate about f…
With the 2023/24 Premier League campaign getting underway this weekend, we have a mouth-watering set of opening fixtures from across the country. For those of you looking to open the new season with a flutter, we have found a trio of Premier League tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
Saturday August 12th
BST 12:30 Arsenal vs Nottingham Forest
Suffering Premier League title heartbreak last season after failing at the final hurdle and missing out on the chance to get their hands on a first domestic crown since 2004, Arsenal will be desperate to avoid an opening weekend banana skin here. While Mikel Arteta’s young squad might have eventually fallen five points adrift of dethroning Manchester City, Saturday’s hosts should take a string of positives away from …
Australia captain Sam Kerr will miss the Olympic Games in Paris after failing to recover from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in time for the team s upcoming friendlies.
The Chelsea forward suffered the injury during a mid-season training camp in January, leaving her participation in serious doubt.
Kerr represented the Matildas at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, also playing at four World Cups and four Asian Cups during her international career.
On Tuesday, Football Australia confirmed Kerr will not make the Olympic tournament – which begins on July 25 and ends on August 10 – while announcing the squad for two matches against China this month.
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Our squad to face China PR has been confirmed!
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Competition: Irish Premier Division
Market: Derry City half-time/full-time
Odds: 7/10 @
Smelling the chance to lay down another Premier Division marker on Wednesday night, Derry will travel to Dublin when they meet UCD.
Starting with the hosts, while UCD might have eventually clung to their Premier Division status last season, the Students find themselves in the midst of another extended top-flight struggle. Sat rock-bottom of the table and remarkably 20 points adrift of finding a route out of the drop zone, Andrew Myler’s side are already planning for their First Division return in 2023. Last seen putting in another woeful display as they slumped to a 3-0 drumming at the hands of Drogheda, the Blues have now lost each of their previous three appearan…
Scandinavian countries Norway and Sweden are reportedly interested in hosting the 2016 European Championships. This was announced at a press conference in Oslo on Thursday.
A certain competitor to host the tournament is France, who had already announced their candidature. The deadline for candidates is set to March 9th.
If Norway and Sweden are to organize Euro 2016, they would be the fourth successful joint bid in European history. The Netherlands and Belgium were first in 2000, Austria and Switzerland followed in 2008 and the 2012 edition is to be hosted by Ukraine and Poland.
Sweden hosted the tournament before, in 1992, when they reached the semi finals themselves. Norway never hosted the continental championship.
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Kevin De Bruyne has asked to skip Belgium s remaining Nations League fixtures for 2024 in order to manage his workload, coach Domenico Tedesco has revealed.
On Friday, Tedesco named his 23-man squad for the Red Devils upcoming games against Italy and France in Group A2, with De Bruyne the headline omission.
De Bruyne played both of Belgium s games in the September international break, as they beat Israel 3-1 before losing 2-0 to France in Lyon.
After that latter match, he made headlines by questioning the mentality and fighting spirit of Tedesco s team, but he has reaffirmed his commitment to continuing on the international stage until at least the 2026 World Cup.
With Manchester City facing a gruelling schedule this term after qualifying for the first 3…
According to multiple sources, Bayern Munich have reached a full agreement with Joao Palhinha over the personal terms of the contract for the Portugal international. They are currently locked in negotiations with Fulham over a transfer fee, with the figure of €45 million serving as the focal point of the talks.
Bayern were interested in Palhinha last summer and were reportedly on the verge of completing the transfer on Deadline Day, but they eventually failed to wrap things up for the transfer to actually happen. They obviously didn t give up throughout the 2023/24 season, and even though other links occasionally appeared, it seems they re very close to getting the 28-year-old to strengthen their midfield section before they attempt to reclaim the Bundesliga title from Bayer …
Neymar and Danilo have been ruled out of Brazil s clash with Switzerland through injury.
Both players sustained ankle problems in Thursday s 2-0 win over Serbia with Neymar later seen in tears on the bench after being caught by a strong challenge from Nikola Milenkovic.
Brazilian media were speculating the Paris Saint-Germain forward was unlikely to play again until the knockout phase but doctor Rodrigo Lasmar would only go as far as confirming both players would not be ready to take on Switzerland on Monday.
He said: Neymar and Danilo started treatment on their injuries immediately after our match on Thursday.
This morning they were re-evaluated, we thought it was important to have MRI scans in order to have further information regarding the recovery of…
Bastian Schweinsteiger criticised Germany s defence after a shock 2-1 defeat in their World Cup opener against Japan on Wednesday.
The former Germany international and 2014 World Cup winner singled out Niklas Sule, who was utilised at right-back by head coach Hansi Flick instead of his usual position as centre-back.
Germany took the lead through an Ilkay Gundogan penalty in the first half, before goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano dramatically turned things around in the second.
Speaking to German broadcaster ARD, Schweinsteiger said: We made big mistakes again in defence, and as long as we do that we will lose games, it s that simple!
The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder then went into detail on Doan s equaliser, highlighting Su…