Saudi Arabia produced surely the result of the 2022 World Cup when they stunned Lionel Messi s Argentina this week, but they are not done there.
Herve Renard s men came from behind to beat the Albiceleste 2-1, scoring with their only two shots for one of the tournament s biggest ever upsets.
The odds were stacked against Saudi Arabia in that match, as they will be again on matchday two as they tackle Poland.
Saudi Arabia have lost nine of their 10 World Cup matches against European opposition, including each of the past eight in a row.
That dismal run included an 8-0 humiliation at the hands of Germany in 2002, but forward Saleh Al Shehri knows this is a very different team.
That was a defeat in the past, said Al Shehri. I think we, as a country,…
Cyriel Dessers says scoring a winning goal for Rangers at Celtic Park on Saturday would be a dream come true for him.
The 29-year-old Nigeria striker had a slow start to his Gers career after joining from Cremonese in the summer but he will travel to Parkhead with increasing confidence after four goals in his last seven games, taking his tally in Light Blue to nine so far.
Dessers admits an Old Firm derby clincher in boss Philippe Clement’s first experience of the fixture would be “amazing” as Rangers go in to the match five points behind the league leaders but with two games in hand.
Cyriel Dessers admits he is dreaming about being Rangers’ Old Firm hero.
Click below to read more from Dessers at today’s press conference
— Rangers Foo…
Chelsea are working to reunite manager Graham Potter with Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Alexis Mac Allister in a January move believed to be worth in the range of £60million.
Mac Allister, 24, has been with Brighton since 2019, and is coming off his most productive Premier League campaign after forcing his way into Potter s best XI to earn 11 consecutive starts to close last season.
His emergence, which was followed up by a fine start to 2022-23, did not go unnoticed, with Mac Allister earning a spot in Argentina s World Cup squad, where he would go on to start all four of his country s knockout games and contribute an assist in the final against France.
Chelsea have spent plenty of time scouting Argentina players in search of midfield reinforcements, havi…
Preston moved to within two points of the Sky Bet Championship’s top six courtesy of a 2-0 win at Cardiff.
Emil Riis scored his first goal since October 2022 in the 30th minute before Ben Whiteman struck his third of the campaign to double the away side’s lead 10 minutes later.
Cardiff struggled to create clear-cut openings and have now lost three home games in succession, while Preston stretched their unbeaten run to three outings.
Erol Bulut handed full debuts to former Celtic midfielder David Turnbull and Liverpool loanee Nat Phillips while Ryan Lowe stuck with the same 11 that started Preston’s 3-2 success against Ipswich last time out.
The Bluebirds started on the front foot and saw Kion Etete and Karlan Grant both drill efforts straight at goa…
Manchester City must make a flying start on their return to Premier League action after falling behind Arsenal in the title race, says winger Riyad Mahrez.
City travel to Leeds United for their first league game since the World Cup on Wednesday, trailing leaders Arsenal by five points ahead of the Gunners clash with West Ham on Monday.
Pep Guardiola s team lost 2-1 to Brentford in their last game in the competition, and are looking to avoid suffering consecutive league defeats for the first time since December 2018.
Mahrez, who was on target as City eliminated Liverpool from the EFL Cup with a 3-2 win on Thursday, is aware of the importance of Wednesday s trip to Elland Road.
We have to hit the ground running, Mahrez told the club s website. We are not …
Celtic have allowed winger Liel Abada to leave the club for a fresh start in Major League Soccer.
The Israel international has signed for Charlotte FC in North Carolina, having not featured for the past five weeks due to personal reasons. Manager Brendan Rodgers had previously admitted he was struggling to focus as the conflict in Gaza continued.
Abada, 22, had faced pressure in his home country because of the support for Palestine among the club’s fanbase.
SIGNED
Liel can’t wait to see y’all soon in the QC
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC)
The situation first flared up the day after the October 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, which led to more than 1,100 deaths plus the taking of hostages, when two banners among Celtic fans at Parkhead …
Aleksander Ceferin has been re-elected as UEFA president until 2027 after running unopposed.
Ceferin was first elected in 2016, before being voted in for a four-year second term in 2019.
The latest extension to his tenure was confirmed on Wednesday at the UEFA Congress in Lisbon.
It had been confirmed in January the Slovenian was the only candidate for the elections.
UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin has been re-elected for a further four-year term at in Lisbon.
— UEFA (@UEFA)
Ceferin s second term was not without its challenges, including the coronavirus pandemic, which saw Euro 2020 delayed by a year.
He and UEFA also saw off the initial threat of the independent European Super League.
European football s governing …
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 7/10 @
Looking to extend on their Bundesliga flurry and make a major statement on Saturday afternoon, Augsburg will travel to the Volkswagen Arena when they meet Wolfsburg.
Starting with the hosts, while Wolfsburg might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign with their sights set on booking a lucrative European return, the Wolves are enduring another Bundesliga struggle this time around. Last seen falling to a routine 2-0 loss at the hands of runaway leaders Bayer Leverkusen, it has been suggested that Niko Kovac has mounting pressure on his shoulders at the Volkswagen Arena. Opening March with an action-packed 3-2 loss against Stuttgart, the former Monaco boss has seen his side fail to win any of their last nine straight top-fligh…
Leicester will definitely not face a points deduction in this season’s Championship over the Premier League charge they face for allegedly breaching top-flight financial rules, the EFL has confirmed.
The EFL said its rules as currently written do not give it the power to apply any points penalty that may be ordered by an independent commission formed under Premier League auspices.
Leicester, who are involved in a three-way automatic promotion battle with Leeds and Ipswich, had sought an interim injunction to prevent any sporting sanction such as a points deduction being applied this season, but that application has been dismissed after the EFL’s confirmation it had no power to apply the penalty in any event.
EFL Statement: Leicester City
�…
North London giants Tottenham and Arsenal endured frustrating outings as the Premier League saw more twists and turns on an action-packed Sunday.
Spurs Champions League hopes suffered a blow as they were edged out by Newcastle United in the day s headline clash, with goals from Callum Wilson and Miguel Almiron helping the visitors to a 2-1 win.
That result saw Eddie Howe s side climb into the top four, and there was another surprise at the summit as leaders Arsenal were pegged back by Southampton in a 1-1 draw.
At the bottom of the table, meanwhile, Fulham increased the pressure on Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch and Leicester City leapfrogged Wolves by trouncing them 4-0 at Molineux.
Here, Stats Perform picks through the most interesting facts to emerge f…