Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka has withdrawn from the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
The 22-year-old has been in fine form for the Gunners this season as they sit top of the Premier League and prepare for a Champions League quarter-final clash with Bayern Munich.
He will, however, miss the last two England games before Gareth Southgate announces his squad for Euro 2024 in May.
Bukayo Saka has left the camp and returned to his club for continued rehabilitation on an injury he reported to St. George s Park with.
Speedy recovery, !
— England (@England)
“Bukayo Saka has left the England camp and returned to his club for continued rehabilitation,” the Football Association said in a statement.
Sammie Szmodics hopes he has “shut up” the detractors who questioned his hunger to play for the Republic of Ireland after finally making his international debut.
The 28-year-old Blackburn striker has twice in the past had to pull out of squads, leading some to question his commitment amid suggestions – he insists without foundation – that he could defect to Hungary, for whom he also qualifies through his grandfather.
However after turning in an impressive display in Saturday evening’s 0-0 friendly draw with Belgium at the Aviva Stadium, Szmodics was in bullish mood.
Asked if he had worried his debut might never come, he said: “Of course there’s doubts.
“I had to go home in the past because I was injured and other things have happened, and …
Alberto Zaccheroni has confirmed he is to resign from his post as Japan coach following their FIFA World Cup exit.
The Italian took over in 2010 and won the Asian Cup a year later but oversaw a disappointing campaign at the World Cup in Brazil.
Despite being tipped as ones to watch in Group C, Japan finished bottom of a pool that also included Colombia, Greece and Ivory Coast picking up just one point in the process.
That came courtesy of a goalless draw against Greece with that result sandwiched by a 2-1 defeat to Ivory Coast and a 4-1 hammering from Colombia.
Confirming his intention to leave on Wednesday, the former Milan and Juventus coach said: I am disappointed and not satisfied with the results.
I really wanted to take us forward and qu…
Uruguay forward Luis Suarez has apologised for biting Italy defender Giorgio Chiellini at the FIFA World Cup, vowing never to repeat the action.
Suarez was handed a four-month ban from all football-related activity and suspended for nine international matches after sinking his teeth into Chiellini s shoulder in Uruguay s final group match in Brazil last Tuesday.
The Liverpool striker, who has twice bitten opponents in the past, initially denied wrongdoing in a statement to FIFA and Uruguay s coach, Oscar Tabarez, accused the English-speaking media of blowing the incident out of proportion.
However, a statement from Suarez on Monday saw the 27-year-old admit his guilt and promise never to bite another player again.
After several days of being home with my…
Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho must bring the fear factor back to Old Trafford, according to former captain David Beckham.
Mourinho replaced the sacked Louis van Gaal in May on a three-year deal, less than a week after the Dutchman guided the club to FA Cup glory.
However, the trophy was the first for United in a three-year dry spell, following the retirement of club legend Alex Ferguson in 2013 and the failed spell of David Moyes.
Beckham believes Mourinho s appointment was the right decision, but says the Portuguese has got a big task on his hands.
I fully expect it to work, Beckham told Sky Sports. With Jose leaving Chelsea and now coming back into the Premier League with United, for me it is a great move.
I had huge respect…
Atletico Madrid will need to find consistency and a little bit of luck to win a trophy this season, according to goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Diego Simeone s men finished third in LaLiga last term, and then lost to rivals Real Madrid in the Champions League final, in Oblak s second year with the club.
And, having joined Atleti just after their 2013-14 league triumph, the Slovenian goalkeeper is hoping to play his part in a successful campaign.
Oblak insisted his side must perform at a high level throughout the season, while good fortune will be required to challenge for major honours.
Of course, every season you start with these goals [to win trophies], but we know that it is not always possible because we are playing against great teams, he told Perform ahead …
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As Bayern Munich slowly move towards yet another Bundesliga title it would be their eighth on the trot battles for other benefits in the German top flight remain interesting and far from decided. On Wednesday evening, Werder will welcome Eintracht Frankfurt to their Weserstadion in Bremen in a game that will round off the 29th round of the 2019/20 season.
Werder Bremen
Florian Kohfeldt s team are in serious trouble, there just isn t a way around that painful fact. However, a win by a difference larger than two goals here would momentarily lift them from the relegation zone, courtesy of Bayern and Hoffenheim who beat Fortuna Dusseldorf and Mainz 05, respectively, at the weekend. Werder are in 17th place with 25 points to their name, t…
Alvaro Morata is aiming to make an explosion at Chelsea after failing to meet his own sky-high expectations at Real Madrid and Juventus.
The 24-year-old Spain international already has two LaLiga and two Serie A titles to his name, and has won the Champions League twice with Madrid.
But he has rarely found himself the first-choice striker at either club, a status he hopes to cement after Chelsea paid a club-record fee, reportedly an initial £58million, to lure him away from the Santiago Bernabeu.
I want to make an explosion, he told Sky Sports.
I play well at Real Madrid and at Juventus, but I think I did not make the explosion that everyone expected of me. I need to be an important player for the team, for the Spanish national team.
And …
Ronald Koeman hopes he is told if his situation at Barcelona changes following president Josep Maria Bartomeu s resignation.
A day after Bartomeu resigned, Barca showed few affects as they claimed a 2-0 win over Juventus in the Champions League.
After a trophy-less 2019-20 season, Koeman was appointed as Barca coach in August, and the LaLiga giants faced further turmoil as Lionel Messi requested to leave, only for the star to remain.
Asked if he was worried about his position following Bartomeu s resignation, Koeman said that was not the case.
No. We have to channel all of our energies into playing football. Off-field issues are out of our hands, he told reporters, via AS.
If my situation changes in any way, I hope that I am told about it. We wa…
The contest between Atalanta and Liverpool in Bergamo on Tuesday evening was expected as a sort of spectacle, with the Serie A side showing some thrilling football over the last two seasons and Liverpool topping off the 2019 Champions League triumph with the Premier League title this year, and even though the game was certainly exciting, the uncertainty over who would win it vanished pretty quickly. Three goals from Diogo Jota and a strike apiece by Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane meant that the visitors had the three points safely in their bags on their way back to England.
What about Jota?
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp decided to leave Roberto Firmino on the bench for this game and put Diogo Jota into his line-up. Perhaps it was the relatively poor recent form of the Brazilian wh…