An early goal from Ferran Torres proved enough for a much-changed Spain side to seal their place in the knockout stages of Euro 2024 with a 100 per cent record after a 1-0 win over Albania in Dusseldorf, ensuring England s progression in the process.
With their qualification from Group B already assured, Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente made a staggering 10 changes, with Aymeric Laporte the only player to survive their previous win over Italy.
And despite having to withstand a stirring start from the Albanians, who realistically needed a win to advance from Group B, Torres’ neat 13th-minute strike capped a comfortable enough night for Spain.
The result in Düsseldorf means Gareth Southgate’s England will finish, at worst, as one of the third-placed teams w…
Alan Shearer has criticised England boss Gareth Southgate for telling Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden to keep swapping in their draw against Slovenia.
After wrapping up their place in the knockout stages before a ball was kicked in their final group match, Southgate s side had a chance to lift the gloom surrounding the Three Lions.
A hard-fought 1-0 win over Serbia and a fortunate 1-1 draw against Denmark saw pundits and fans lose faith in the current selection and tactics with Southgate taking a conservative approach to matches.
But the 0-0 stalemate against Slovenia on Tuesday night has done little to appease their critics despite the result seeing England finish top of Group C on five points.
Southgate has come under severe pressure to change his side …
Gary Lineker and Micah Richards have responded to criticism that the BBC s coverage of England s win against Switzerland was overly positive.
The duo were part of the BBC team analysing the Three Lions victory over the Swiss on penalties which saw them through the semi-finals of Euro 2024.
Rio Ferdinand joined them and all three were waxing lyrical over a display which , one of which – the draw with Denmark – Lineker described as sh*t .
Too negative and too positive
Speaking on The Rest Is Football podcast, Richards said: We got a little bit of… I wouldn t say stick, people were saying we were a little too positive for England.
Lineker added: Before they were saying we were a little bit too negative. There are always going to be people who will …
Manchester United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe has seen a €50m bid for Frankie de Jong rejected by Barcelona, but Hansi Flick is begrudgingly willing to sell the midfielder.
De Jong was one of Man Utd’s top targets during the 2022 summer transfer window following Erik ten Hag’s arrival as head coach.
The Red Devils agreed a fee – believed to be around €80m – for the midfielder with Barcelona, who were desperate to ease their financial woes, but the midfielder was against the move.
Man Utd eventually admitted defeat and signed Brazil international Casemiro from Real Madrid as an alternative, but they have continued to be linked with De Jong in recent windows.
Manuel Ugarte had been United’s top target to partner Kobbie Mainoo in midfield since th…
Newcastle United have made an offer for Barcelona star Ferran Torres as they look to improve their forward line this summer, according to reports.
The Geordies have already made four signings this summer with Lewis Hall, Lloyd Kelly, John Ruddy and Odysseas Vlachodimos all arriving in the first month of the transfer window.
have also seen Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh depart for Nottingham Forest and Brighton respectively but their next incoming may not be far away.
It is believed that Eddie Howe and the Newcastle recruitment department are looking for a new attacker this summer too with former Leeds United star Raphinha continuing to be linked with a move for St James’ Park.
But now the Magpies could be moving on to Raphinha s team-mate Torre…
Manchester United have backed away from negotiations for Manuel Ugarte and will look elsewhere for a new midfielder as INEOS avoid falling into familiar Red Devils traps.
to partner Kobbie Mainoo in midfield since the start of the summer transfer window but with Paris Saint-Germain refusing to budge over their asking price, the Red Devils have decided to walk away.
PSG want close to the €60million (£51.4m) fee they paid to sign the Uruguayan from Sporting Lisbon in 2023 but United – with a new Sir Jim Ratcliffe-enforced mantra – aren t prepared to get close to that fee.
claims the view at United is that they are only willing to pay what they deem to be the correct fee for each transfer target and negotiations will not be allowed to drag on until the end…
There is still a chance of Trevoh Chalobah leaving Chelsea, with reports stating Crystal Palace are still considering a move for the defender, as it s not been ruled out despite Marc Guehi remaining.
Chalobah is one of a number of Chelsea players who have been given the freedom to move on this summer. The Blues decided early on in the transfer window that the defender was not part of their plans.
That he is yet to make a Blues squad this season after playing only 16 times last term, partly due to injury highlights that.
Palace are among the sides to have registered an interest in the defender, who himself would seemingly welcome a move rather than watch Chelsea from the stands, amid uncertainty on the future of fellow centre-back Guehi.
Palace boss Glasn…
Chelsea are prepared to sell Ben Chilwell this summer and the links to Manchester United have resurfaced following Enzo Maresca s latest comments.
With Chelsea currently having one of the biggest squads in Europe, the club are looking to offload some of their fringe players in the final weeks of the transfer window.
One senior player who faces an uncertain future is Chilwell, who Chelsea signed back in 2020 for a fee of around £45m.
The full-back is reportedly assessing options . With Maresca in charge, Marc Cucurella appears to be the first-choice left-back and Chilwell has since been told he is free to leave the club.
Chilly [Chilwell] is with us but he has not been training for the last few days because he has been ill, Maresca said when explainin…
Arsenal have agreed a £25m deal with Southampton for Aaron Ramsdale as transfer expert Fabrizio Romano reveals the Gunners top target to replace the England international.
Ramsdale found himself out of the team last season after Arsenal signed David Raya from Brentford in a loan deal that was made permanent this summer.
Newcastle, Chelsea, Ajax and Wolves have all been linked with Ramsdale this summer, but reports suggested they had all been put off by his frankly ludicrous £50m price tag.
But Southampton s interest has endured and the Saints have now persuaded the Gunners to allow Ramsdale to join them for just £25m.
It s claimed Southampton have agreed to pay £18m with up to £7m in add-ons and it’s now looking ‘positive’ the deal will get do…
Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been called a b***h by Fulham defender Joachim Andersen after they clashed on international duty.
The Gunners allowed the Switzerland international to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in July 2023 for a fee in the region of €25m.
Xhaka had an amazing first season in Leverkusen, helping Xabi Alonso s side to their first ever Bundesliga title and only their second German Cup.
But the Swiss midfielder has now been labelled a b***h by current Premier League defender Andersen during an ill-tempered clash between Switzerland and Denmark in the Nations League.
Goals from Patrick Dorgu and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gave the Danes a 1-0 win over the Swiss with referee Daniel Siebert giving out nine yellow cards.
Xhaka w…