Declan Rice believes the stern criticism England received ahead of the World Cup allowed them to play with fire in our bellies in Monday s 6-2 thrashing of Iran.
Gareth Southgate s team faced heavy scrutiny following their humiliating Nations League relegation in September, having failed to win any of their six games in the competition.
However, they cast aside any doubts over their form by recording England s biggest win in an opening match at any major tournament.
Jude Bellingham, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish scored and Bukayo Saka added a double at the Khalifa International Stadium.
There were doubts about us before the tournament and we wanted to prove a lot of people wrong, Rice said.
There has been a lot of talk abou…
Sergio Busquets has admitted that his success at Barcelona has taken him by surprise.
The 24-year-old made his first-team debut in 2008 and has since become a key cog in the midfield, winning three La Liga titles as well as two Champions League trophies along the way.
Busquets said he never expected to become such an important player at the club or win so many trophies.
Everything has gone by so quickly and the truth is I never imagined I’d win so many titles, the Spain international told reporters.
I m very happy. My role has been important, I ve played a lot, and I would never have imagined it. I hope I ll have many more years with Barca and win many more titles.
Busquets then discussed the importance of fellow midfielder Thiago Alcantara,…
Chelsea begin the defence of their UEFA Champions League title with a tough Group E fixture against Italian outfit Juventus on Wednesday.
Chelsea who were not at their best in the English Premier League throughout last season surprised the football world with a series of terrific aggregate wins in the competition before defeating Bayern Munich on penalties in the final.
It was the first time the West London club had been crowned champions of Europe, something which will make their task of defending their title almost impossible according to manager Roberto Di Matteo.
Every opposition is going to play with extra motivation against the holders, Di Matteo said.
So it makes our lives more difficult. Even in the Premier League, I m sure (QPR manager) Mark H…
Chelsea will be looking to new signing Pedro to provide an attacking spark this season
Yesterday Premier League champions Chelsea completed the signing of Spanish winger Pedro from Barcelona for a fee in the region of £21.4million.
The deal came as a big surprise considering the World Cup winner looked to be heading to Premier League rivals Manchester United.
Coup
The signing is something of a coup for the Blues, as it was heavily speculated that Pedro was indeed joining Old Trafford.
Instead apparently a chat with current Chelsea central midfielder and Spain teammate Cesc Fabregas led to Pedro heading for London.
Excellent
At 28-years-old Pedro may not have much of a sell-on value, but for a club like Chelsea that may not matter…
Kyle Walker s adaptability for club and country this season has prompted Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola to liken him to Bayern Munich and Germany great Philipp Lahm.
Walker joined City for an eyebrow-raising £50million from Tottenham last July, becoming the most expensive English footballer of all-time.
But the 27-year-old has proved a solid investment, establishing himself as a vital member of Guardiola s side, who head to Everton on Saturday two wins away from adding the Premier League crown to last month s EFL Cup triumph.
Along with lending width and penetration to City s attack from full-back, Walker s adherence to what Guardiola demands of his wide defenders – composure in possession and a willingness to come in-field and build play – has also i…
Chelsea head coach Thomas Tuchel believes Newcastle United will soon be Premier League title contenders following their lucrative takeover.
The long-awaited change of ownership at Newcastle was approved by the Premier League on October 7 after it received legally binding assurances the club would not be controlled by Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia s Public Investment Fund (PIF) took an 80 per cent stake in the club, ending Mike Ashley s 14-year ownership, while Amanda Staveley s PCP Capital Partners and the Reuben brothers RB Sports Media each took on 10 per cent.
There have been concerns over the separation between Saudi Arabia and its PIF, while the Premier League has also fielded significant criticism over its approval of the deal, particularly with regards to Sau…
Jurgen Klopp was lamented his side s late mistake as Liverpool gave up a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday.
The Reds were on top after a quick start as Emiliano Martinez gifted them an opener inside the first 61 seconds. Though Youri Tielemans equalised for Villa, Cody Gakpo and Jarell Quansah put Liverpool back in control.
Jhon Duran scored twice late on, netting in the 85th and 88th minutes to deny Klopp’s side three points.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the game, the German admitted that though they could not see out the win, he was proud of his team’s performance.
He said: It got away from us. We played really good football. We were really good, played a lot of good stuff and caused a lot of problems.
<…
Antoine Rabillard s 96th-minute goal salvaged a dramatic point in a 1-1 draw for 10-man Marseille against Lille in Ligue 1 on Friday.
It looked as though Marseille were heading for defeat in front of their home fans at Stade Velodrome as Sebastien Corchia gave Lille the lead before the hosts saw Abdelaziz Barrada harshly sent off.
But Rabillard proved to be in the right place deep into stoppage time as Marseille rescued a point, with many of their faithful having already left the stadium.
Marseille without injured goalkeeper Steve Mandanda for the first time in the league since May 2010, a run of 212 games fell behind in the 57th minute when Corchia broke through Georges-Kevin N Koudou s tackle on the byline and lifted the ball over replacement keeper Yoha…
Paris Saint-Germain star Marco Verratti denied giving an interview in which he apparently told the Ligue 1 giants to sign champions to keep him.
Verratti is linked with a switch to Barcelona despite being contracted to PSG until 2021.
The Italy international was quoted as telling La Gazzetta dello Sport that he would be happy to stay if PSG signed champions .
But later on Saturday, Verratti posted an image of the newspaper on Instagram, adding multiple question marks and the phrase SOS .
After the journalist who conducted the interview, Alessandro Grandesso, confirmed its validity, Verratti denied it took place.
I did not give an interview with anyone and I have never discussed with PSG the situation presented in the article this morning, the 24-…
Chelsea s Ruben Loftus-Cheek has expressed his and announced the possibility of departing Stamford Bridge if he isn t given the opportunity.
The 22-year-old broke into the Chelsea team in 2014/15 but made only four appearances in his debut season. In total he played 32 times for the London Blues before going out on loan to Crystal Palace last summer. For the Eagles he played 25 games in 2017/18 and scored twice. He has been named in Gareth Southgate s England World Cup squad and made a substitute appearance in the Three Lions first game against Tunisia.
Having broken into the national team, Loftus-Cheek is keen on keeping the status of an England international and he s fully aware he needs to be playing regularly to achieve that goal. Once touted as the first player li…