All posts by h716a5.icu

The managers of the U.S. and Canada men's national teams hope tournament is free from political undertones

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Pochettino, Marsch want to keep politics of out tournamentU.S. tariffs among the recent points of tension in the regionMarsch has said geopolitics could fuel national prideWHAT HAPPENED?

The national team managers of the United States and Canada both downplayed the impact of politics for this week's CONCACAF Nations League finals, set to kick off Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Speaking to the media this week, both Mauricio Pochettino and Jesse Marsch steered clear of questions about geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and its neighboring countries, with the Nations League staged amid U.S. President Donald Trump’s controversial policies, including his tariffs on Mexico and Canada.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Marsch, a native of Wisconsin, has been a vocal opponent of Trump's policies, and recently admitted that he was "ashamed" of how America is treating a long-term ally. He also said that the tensions could also serve as fuel for his team should they meet the U.S. in the final.

Getty Images SportWHAT POCHETTINO, MARSCH SAID

Pochettino said soccer should remain separate from the geopolitical events.

"I think we can’t mix political things with sport," he said. "It’s not because I don’t want to talk. I have my ideas. But I represent the federation, and I (don’t) want to talk about politics."

Marsch declined to delve into the topic, but did concede that rising tensions could influence the fixture should both teams advance to the finale. The USMNT play Panama in the semifinals Thursday, with Canada taking on Mexico. The winners will meet for the trophy Sunday night.

"I’m not going to get political right now," Marsch said. "I think I’ve made my statements clear and known. I will say that I do think from watching the 4 Nations in hockey, you can see that the climate for sports in North America has been elevated for national teams.

"I’m really hopeful that this tournament can be the best reflections of our societies, in that we don’t have to waste time booing anthems and getting caught up in politics, and we can just focus on the players and the teams and supporting the love of the game, and then whatever your nationality is, that you can support your team all the way."

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR THE US AND CANADA?

The two sides are on opposite sides of the Nations League bracket. Pochettino's men are set to face Panama, while Marsch's side will take on Mexico. The final and third-place match will take place on Sunday at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

The 2019 summer window was a significant time for Everton Football Club. The Toffees splashed the cash to bring in some expensive stars and also made a couple of sales that helped to fund those incomings.

Attacking midfielder Alex Iwobi joined the club from Arsenal, and striker Moise Kean made an exciting move from Italian giants Juventus. The club also brought Andre Gomes in on a permanent deal after a loan the season prior, and Fabian Delph joined from Manchester City. Idrissa Gueye and Nicola Vlasic were two of the notable outgoings.

However, there was one sale that summer, that of Ademola Lookman, that the Toffees might well wish they had never commissioned.

Why Everton might regret selling Lookman

It has been a fairytale few months for former Everton man Lookman. He has been in phenomenal form for his current club Atalanta, even though he never showed the best of his ability at Goodison Park.

In 48 games for the Merseysiders, the Nigerian winger managed just four goals and two assists, with only one of those strikes coming in the Premier League. Lookman was loaned to RB Leipzig in the second half of the 2017/18 campaign, before making the move to Germany permanent in 2019 for £22.5m.

He bounced around a few clubs after leaving Goodison Park. The former Charlton academy starlet also played for Fulham and Leicester City before finally settling at Atalanta. It is fair to say the winger has taken Italy by storm.

In 96 games for La Dea, he has scored an impressive 43 goals and has 23 assists to his name. After a stellar season in 2023/24, he finished in 14th place in the Ballon d’Or rankings, ranking above the likes of Cole Palmer and Bukayo Saka.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

This term, the Atalanta number 11 has 11 goals and five assists in 18 games in all competitions. His latest outing saw him score against Real Madrid in a 3-2 Champions League defeat.

Despite the fact he was playing against the likes of Jude Bellingham, who got the crucial third goal for Los Blancos, Chris Hamill of The Athletic said he was “the best player on the pitch”.

Lookman is not the only player Everton have sold in recent years who is now playing to the same levels as Bellingham. James Rodriguez has been thriving and is surely someone they regret moving on.

James Rodriguez’s life after Everton

The year after moving Lookman on from the club, Everton snapped up James Rodriguez from Madrid for a reported £12m, where he linked up with former manager Carlo Ancelotti, who coached him at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Aged 29 when he made the move to Merseyside, Rodriguez was in his prime years after some tough seasons beforehand. He was excellent for the Toffees, described as a “genius” by football statistician Statman Dave.

In 26 appearances in that famous Blue shirt, the Colombian international scored six times and grabbed eight assists.

Perhaps the attacking midfielder’s finest game for Everton came against Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League. Everton won the game 4-2, with Rodriguez getting two goals and an assist.

His stats on Sofascore show just how dominant he was that day, having 74 touches of the ball and creating two chances. In fact, his stats from that entire season were fantastic.

Stat

Number

Starts

21

Goals

6

Assists

4

Big chances created

11

Key passes per game

1.8

Dribbles completed per game

1.5

Duels won per game

4.7

Since leaving Everton for an undisclosed fee, Rodriguez has played in Qatar, for Greek giants Olympiacos, in Brazil with Sao Paolo and finally back in La Liga for Rayo Vallecano.

He was also spellbinding for his country in the 2024 Copa America. The 33-year-old scored once and registered six assists as Colombia reached the final but lost to Argentina.

His form has subsequently seen FIFA nominate the former Madrid midfielder for the Men’s XI in The Best awards. He is nominated alongside the likes of Bellingham for a place in the best men’s side of 2024.

Reflecting on his short career at Goodison Park, Everton fans may well wish they still had Rodriguez at the club. He has been back at his creative best and is getting international recognition alongside players such as Bellingham, which is no mean feat.

Everton send scouts to watch £25m winger who's been compared to Gareth Bale

West Ham United, Newcastle and Aston Villa also sent scouts the watch the player.

ByBarney Lane Dec 11, 2024

In the 2022/23 season, West Ham United spent around £161.9m on making nine new signings, as the Hammers geared up to improve upon their seventh place Premier League finish in 2021/22.

One man who was signed, and is still considered a key part of the squad now under Julen Lopetegui, is Lucas Paqueta, who’s made 101 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals, providing 14 assists, and totaling 7,543 minutes played.

Lucas Paqueta

£35.3m

Gianluca Scamacca

£31.7m

Nayef Aguerd

£30m

Maxwel Cornet

£17m

Emerson

£12.6m

Thilo Kehrer

£9.8m

Danny Ings

£9.8m

Flynn Downes

£8.7m

Alphonse Areola

£7.6m

Despite this being viewed as a big window for West Ham, three of the players have already left the club on permanent deals, whilst another two players are currently out on loan.

How West Ham's players are faring out on loan

One man out on loan, who was also signed in the 2022/23 season, is Maxwel Cornet. He is spending this season with newly promoted Southampton but the 27-year-old has only made four appearances for the Saints, totalling 187 minutes played, and is yet to register a goal or assist.

Another Hammers player on loan in the Premier League is James Ward-Prowse, who is spending this term with Nottingham Forest. The 30-year-old English midfielder has made eight appearances so far this season, with his only real blemish being a red card.

West Ham have three more players out on loan, one of which is 18-year-old midfielder, Mohamadou Kante, who was signed from Paris FC this summer, but has returned on loan to continue his development.

The last two players in question are both central defenders, one being Kurt Zouma, who is currently at Al-Orobah in the Saudi Pro League and the other is Nayef Aguerd, who was also signed in that 2022/23 window, and is currently with Real Sociedad in Spain.

Nayef Aguerd's situation at West Ham

When Aguerd was first signed at West Ham by David Moyes for around £30m, the Scottish coach praised the defender for his character and attitude during discussions to bring him to the club, and said the Morocco international would be a “great addition” to the squad.

Since then, the 28-year-old has made 58 appearances for the club, scoring four goals, providing one assist, and totalling 5,019 minutes on the pitch.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

However, with Lopetegui joining the club, bringing Max Kilman, who he had worked with previously at Wolves, this allowed the club to loan out Aguerd, and now it would make a lot of sense to move him on permanently come the end of this campaign when you compare the two.

Progressive Carries

0.68

0.87

Progressive Passes

3.40

4.27

Passes Attempted

71.9

52.5

Pass Completion %

88.7%

86.4%

Passes into Final Third

4.01

3.60

Tackles

1.84

0.87

Blocks

1.29

1.67

Interceptions

0.68

1.29

Aerial Duels Won

2.72

2.80

Kilman ranks ahead of Aguerd in five of the nine metrics analysed above, displaying better progressive numbers for both carries and passes per 90, and averaging more defensive actions completed per 90, apart from tackles.

Whilst Aguerd is making more passes per 90, and at a higher completion percentage, this can also be down to the style of play, as Real Sociedad are averaging 55.0% possession this season, compared to the 46.9% possession of West Ham.

With Kilman now taking the position of left centre-back as his own, West Ham can move Aguerd on permanently regardless of who the manager is come the end of the season, and re-invest the money into a different profile defensive option, possibly even to partner the former Wolves star.

West Ham ace who was "nowhere near PL quality" has now saved Lopetegui

West Ham ace who was deemed “nowhere near PL quality” just saved Lopetegui’s job

ByConnor Holden Dec 11, 2024

The Reds' talisman went AWOL as the runaway Premier League leaders suffered a dismal defeat to Eddie Howe's side on Sunday

The international break clearly can't come soon enough for Liverpool, who suffered a shock 2-1 loss to Newcastle in the Carabao Cup final – just five days after being dumped out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain.

The hope was that Arne Slot's side would be able to quickly put their painful European elimination behind them by winning at Wembley on Sunday, but the Reds looked even more jaded than they had in midweek, with Mohamed Salah once again going missing in action.

The Egyptian had zero impact on the game and Newcastle were full value for their victory, even if they were made to sweat in the final minutes after Federico Chiesa pulled a goal back for Liverpool. In the end, though, Dan Burn's towering first-half header and a neat finish from Alexander Isak deservedly proved sufficient to end the Magpies' agonising trophy drought.

Below, GOAL rates all of the Reds on show as the runaway Premier League leaders were outfought and out-thought by an inspired Newcastle side…

AFPGoalkeeper & Defence

Caoimhin Kelleher (6/10):

His inclusion ahead of Liverpool's first-choice goalkeeper, Alisson Becker, raised some eyebrows, but not even the brilliant Brazilian would have been able to keep out Newcastle's goals. The Irishman also made a couple of great saves to deny Isak.

Jarell Quansah (4/10):

Started at right-back in the absence of Alexander-Arnold and just never looked comfortable going forward, while he was also caused plenty of problems by Barnes. A rough afternoon for the stand-in and Slot will be hoping Alexander-Arnold will be fit to return after the international break.

Ibrahima Konate (4/10):

A very mixed bag from the Frenchman before being hooked early in the second half. Made a great recovery tackle after a Quansah effort, but was also too easily muscled off the ball on occasion. Sacrificed early in the second half as Liverpool tried desperately to turn the game around.

Virgil van Dijk (5.5/10):

Despite Liverpool's struggles, the Dutchman was very dominant in the first half, particularly in the air, but he completely lost Isak for the Swede's goal. Quite the contrast to his heroics in last year's final.

Andy Robertson (5/10):

Undeniably a better outlet than Quansah from an offensive perspective, but the Scot was far from flawless and he was beaten far too easily in the air by Murphy before Newcastle's second goal. As has been said several times already this season, Liverpool need a new left-back.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMidfield

Ryan Gravenberch (4/10):

Another worryingly ineffective display from the Dutch defensive midfielder, who has looked exhausted in recent games. No longer breaking the lines with his passing or dribbling. No surprise at all to see him subbed early.

Alexis Mac Allister (4.5/10):

Played with his usual aggression and tried desperately to make things happen, but his passing let him down while he was also caught ball-watching as Burn powered home the opener. Looked shattered after coming off.

Dominik Szoboszlai (5/10):

Full of running, as per usual, but the Hungarian failed to have any real influence on the game. Another Red that appears to be running on empty.

AFPAttack

Mohamed Salah (4/10):

After his no-show against PSG, the Egyptian was once again anonymous when Liverpool needed their talisman to stand up and be counted. His lethargy summed up a lame performance.

Diogo Jota (4/10):

The Portuguese continues to struggle after his latest return from injury. Barely got a look-in during the first half and, when a good chance did come his way in injury time, he hooked the ball horribly wide.

Luis Diaz (4.5/10):

Arguably Liverpool's liveliest attacker – but that's not saying much at all. The Colombian threatened to get in behind a couple of times while he also teed up Jota with a neat knockdown but, overall, Diaz continues to flatter to deceive.

Getty Images SportSubs & Manager

Curtis Jones (5.5/10):

Immediately added some much-needed energy to Liverpool's game and very nearly scored shortly after coming on for Konate shortly after the restart.

Darwin Nunez (5/10):

Took over up front from Jota but failed to make an impact.

Cody Gakpo (5/10):

Replaced Mac Allister midway through the second half but still doesn't look match-fit.

Federico Chiesa (7.5/10):

A very rare outing for the Italian, who was introduced with 17 minutes remaining, and he pulled a goal back with a well-timed run and good finish.

Harvey Elliott (7/10):

Part of a double-substitution with Chiesa and did wonderfully well to create a goal for Chiesa by winning the ball in midfield and then playing a lovely through-ball.

Arne Slot (4/10):

The former Feyenoord coach has done a great job since taking over Liverpool last summer, but questions will rightly be asked of Slot after his lame loss, chief among them: why was Mac Allister tasked with marking Burn on corners?! The decisions to start Jota up front, and Jones on the bench, will also be queried…

Essex attack made to toil six months on from shortest Championship match of modern times

ECB Reporters Network28-Apr-2022Opener Will Young personified an obdurate batting performance by Northamptonshire on the first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Chelmsford. The New Zealander followed up his match-saving 96 against Yorkshire last week with a painstaking 63 before Northants lost a clutch of late wickets to creep to 233 for 7 at the close.Young’s 100-run partnership for the second wicket with Emilio Gay set the tone for a day of frustration for the Essex attack. After Young became the second of Sam Cook’s two victims, the cudgels were taken up by Luke Procter, around whom Northants’ middle-order resistance was built. The left-hander will resume on Friday morning on 60 from 164 balls.Essex’s decision to put Northants in appeared to have been vindicated immediately when Ricardo Vasconcelos edged Cook’s third ball into the slip cordon. But thereafter, the Essex bowlers toiled on a benign strip that offered little before they finally parted Gay and Young, who dug in for a workmanlike 38-over partnership that had few frills, few thrills and even fewer chances. It became the story of the day.It was a far cry from Northants’ calamitous visit to Chelmsford last September that resulted in the shortest match of the modern four-day era: students of the unusual will remember that it finished half-an-hour into day two. This time, though, the visitors passed the 45 that constituted their second-innings total then inside 20 painstaking overs; the 81 of their 2021 first innings was overtaken with the first ball after lunch in an over where Young hit Shane Snater for three fours from alternate deliveries.Cook kept the pair in check in a seven-over opening spell in which the seamer conceded just eight runs, the only dent coming when Gay pulled him with supreme nonchalance to the boundary. The second-wicket stand had reached three-figures when it was finally broken. Snater got one to move away from Gay and Alastair Cook took the catch low down to his right at first slip.Young’s three-hour, 146-ball stay ended soon after when he shouldered arms to a ball from Cook that nipped back off the seam and trapped him lbw.Proctor and Rob Keogh put on 45 quietly and efficiently in 16 overs until the stroke of tea when Keogh prodded tentatively at a delivery from Matt Critchley that the bowler caught tumbling forward just above his boot-straps.Paul Walter, called in to replace loanee Adam Rossington, denied permission to play against his parent club, claimed the scalp of Saif Zaib with his rarely seen medium-pacers, pinned lbw shuffling across the stumps. Lewis McManus hung around for three-quarters of an hour for 7 before he wafted at one outside off stump from Snater and Simon Harmer pounced in front of Cook the elder at first slip to snaffle the catch.If Cook junior was the pick of the Essex bowlers with his two wickets, then the Australian Mark Steketee chose the fourth of his six-match stint to bowl his most controlled and impressive spell since he joined at the start of the season.The waywardness of Steketee’s first outing against Kent earlier in the month when he went for almost four runs an over was replaced by a parsimonious economy of 1.86. His efforts were finally rewarded when Harmer took a sharp one-handed catch at second slip to account for Tom Taylor just before stumps.