While Portugal’s national team was for the most part all smiles during the trophy ceremony after its 1-0 Nationals League Final win over the Netherlands on Sunday, one player couldn’t hide his disappointment when it came to individual awards.
For Cristiano Ronaldo, the path to UEFA Nations League glory was exceptionally similar to the one he trod to victory at Euro 2016. After a stunning hat trick in the semis to lift Portugal to the final — much like the towering, match-winning header he planted against Wales at the same stage in 2016 — Ronaldo was subdued at the tournament’s climax.
We’re 68 minutes into last night’s MLS meeting between the New York Red Bulls and Real Salt Lake at Red Bull Arena with the home side leading 3-0. It’s a fairly innocuous time in the grand scheme of things, but MSG Network broadcaster Shep Messing — who covered the ’86, ’02 and ’06 World Cups for ESPN — is about to drop an absolute bombshell on viewers with regards to the USMNT at the 2014 World Cup.
Real Madrid completed its penultimate home match of the season when recording a 3-2 victory over Villarreal on Sunday. With a Champions League spot already secure next year, los Blancos have nothing to play for, and that fact was mirrored in the stands at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Hop into The18 time machine and travel back to Jan. 23, 2017, to see “Borussia Dortmund Beat Real Madrid To The Signing Of 17-Year-Old Swedish Phenom” Alexander Isak. After breaking through with AIK and scoring 10 goals during his debut Allsvenskan season, “the next Zlatan Ibrahimovic” made further waves by becoming Sweden’s youngest-ever international goalscorer.
After eight hugely successful weeks on trial with Australia’s Central Coast Mariners, the secret was out: Usain Bolt is a raw talent, but the greatest sprinter of all time can also do work on the football pitch.
Apparently FC Barcelona saw enough to take a chance on the Jamaican, and the 32-year-old has now touched down at the Camp Nou on a three-year contract as the ideal longterm replacement for Luis Suárez.
Fresh off scoring an excellent goal in Mexico’s 3-1 friendly win over Chile last Friday, El Tri boss Gerardo “Tata” Martino is confident that now’s the time for Hirving “Chucky” Lozano to make a move to one of Europe’s bigger leagues.
This story is only going to dominate the entire summer transfer window from start to finish, so we might as well keep abreast of it now. We know that Real Madrid has its eyes on both Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, but which PSG star will ultimately makes his way to the Santiago Bernabéu?
The latest reports say that it won’t be Neymar.
Presently, it looks like Real will turn to Chelsea’s Eden Hazard — who only has one-year remaining on his current contract at Stamford Bridge, so the club might have to sell this summer — to remedy the left-hand side of the attack.
It’s a bit strange, but for the likes of Real Madrid, PSG, Atlético and Napoli, there’s not much to play for with two months remaining in the season. Maybe a Coupe de France here and a triggering of an Arsenal crisis there, but it’s really silly season time for the aforementioned giants of the European game.
According to Portuguese media outlet Record, Wolverhampton has agreed to a deal with Benfica and Raúl Jiménez to sign the on-loan striker permanently in the summer.