France Olympic Squad Announced

France Olympic squad for Tokyo games has been announces, and there are some big names included in the squad.

France Olympic squad

Coach Sylvain Ripoll announced his 18-man squad who will take part in the Tokyo Games and Mbappe was left out.

Included in the list, however, are the in-demand Eduardo Camavinga who is rumored to be wanted by Arsenal, Real Madrid, Manchester United, and a host of European football clubs, plus Tigres teammates Andre-Pierre Gignac and Florian Thauvin.

Another inclusion that what not expected in Arsenal teenager center back, Willian Saliba, Saliba was signed by Arsenal two years ago and yet to play an official game with the club, he was expected to be given a chance to impress in this preseason but now he is going to miss that chance.

France Olympic Squad for Tokyo Games

Goalkeepers: G. Larssonneur, P. Bernardoni.

Defenders: B. Badiashile, A. Caci, P. Kalulu, C. Michelin, W. Saliba, M. Sarr.

Midfielders: E. Camavinga, M. Caqueret, J. Ikone, T. Savanier, F. Thauvin, L. Tousart.

Forwards: Andre-Pierre Gignac, A. Gouiri, R. Kolo Muani, A. Nordin.

Copa America 2021-All You Need To Know

This summer will we be able to watch a lot of soccer, we have the Euro 2020, the Olympics soccer tournament, and the Copa America 2021. So let take a look at Copa America 2021.
Copa America 2021-All You Need To Know

Where Copa America 2021 will be played?

In the last week, we have seen three changes, originally it was planned that Colombia would host the tournament, but due to political instability in the country it was moved to Argentina, but the coronavirus situation is getting worse, so it was decided that Brazil will host it. 

So the short answer is Brazil will host the Copa America 2021.

How the change of the host was received in South America?

The news was received with mixed emotions, but most of the fans are against the decision, first because it is believed that the coronavirus situation in Brazil is worse than in Argentina so it will be difficult to travel there.

Some fans think that this is a move that will benefit Brazil and there is a conspiracy theory that the CONMEBOL is actually helping Brazil.

Inside Brazil also there are some fans and journalists that oppose the idea, they think the country should be focused on buying Covid-9 vaccines and not using taxpayer’s money to invest in football, it is chaotic right now.

How many teams in Copa America 2021?

10 teams will be competing for Copa America. Brazil will be joined by the national sides of Argentine and Colombia despite their respective nations being unable to stage fixtures. Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay.

They are divided into two groups.

group AGroup B

Is Mexico playing in Copa America 2021?

No, Mexico is not going to participate in this year’s tournament. Mexico has been the most regular invitee, competing in ten consecutive Copas from 1993 to 2016. However, they did not play in the 2019 edition and are not scheduled to play in 2021.

When the Tournament will start?

Conmebol announced that the Copa America 2021 will be played on the stipulated dates. Thus, the opening match will be on June 13 and the final on July 10.

That is what I know about Copa America so far, there are rumors that they might change the hosting nation again, some people even suggesting that the USA could host the tournament, personally, I do not think that will be possible due to the time left between now and the start of the tournament.

Also, there is a chance that CONMEBOL could cancel the tournament, I do not think they will do that, this is because they used a lot of money, and canceling it at this stage will hurt them financially, so unless it is impossible to play, they will not cancel.

All You Need To Know About Men’s Olympic Soccer Tournament

After being suspended for one year due to the pandemic outbreak, Olympics games are back and in this post,  I am going to share with you some information about Men’s Olympic soccer tournament.

All You Need To Know About Men's Olympic Soccer Tournament

Why do we like this competition?

Most of the players who participate in this competition are under 23 years, this is the tournament to watch if you want to see who will become the future superstars, most of the superstars we like to watch played in this competition when they were young, Neymar, Leo Messi, Brazilian Ronaldo to name few of them.

Where men’s Olympic football tournament will be held?

The men’s Olympic football tournament will be played in Tokyo, Japan from 22 July to 7 August 2021 across six Japanese cities.

How many teams go to the Olympics for soccer?

16 teams from all the continents go to the Olympics for soccer, they will be divided into groups of 4 for the qualifying round.

What teams will be participating in the tournament?

Africa
  1. Côte d’Ivoire
  2. Egypt
  3. South Africa

Asia

  1. Australia
  2. Japan
  3. Korea Republic
  4. Saudi Arabia

Europe

  1. France
  2. Germany
  3. Romania
  4. Spain

North, Central America, and Caribean 

  1. Honduras
  2. Mexico

Oceania

  1. New Zealand

South America

  1. Argentina
  2. Brazil

Men’s Olympic Football Tournament full draw

Group A: Japan, South Africa, Mexico, France.

Group B: New Zealand, Korea Republic, Honduras, Romania.

Group C: Egypt, Spain, Argentina, Australia.

Group D: Brazil, Germany, Côte d’Ivoire, Saudi Arabia.

Did US men’s soccer qualify for the 2020 Olympics?

The United States men’s national team failed to qualify for the Olympic tournament for the third straight Games after losing in the CONCACAF semifinals to Honduras.

When does the tournament begin?

The men’s Olympic soccer tournament of the Tokyo 2020 Games will take place from 22 July to 7 August 2021 across six Japanese cities.

Always among the most popular of the team competitions in the Summer Games, the men’s soccer tournament is made up of youth teams – with each participating country allowed to supplement their squad with three overage players.

That is all I have about the men’s Olympics soccer tournament 2020, what team do you think will win this tournament? let me know in the comment section below.

Barcelona sign Sergio Aguero from Manchester City

Sergio Aguero will join Barcelona on a free transfer from Manchester City when his contract expires next month, the Spanish club announced Monday.

Barcelona sign Sergio Aguero from Manchester City

Aguero, 32, has agreed to a two-year deal with a €100 million buyout clause after announcing earlier this season that he would end his 10-year association with City.

The striker made his final appearance for the club as a second-half substitute in City’s Champions League final defeat to Chelsea on Saturday.

After flying into Barcelona on Sunday, Aguero underwent a medical at the Creu Blanca clinic Monday.

Iconic Aguero Moment

In the final moments of the 2011-12 season, Manchester City clinched the Premier League title with an injury-time goal against Queens Park Rangers.

Sergio Aguero’s effort will stand as one of the most iconic moments in English football history.

Sergio Aguero’s record at City

Sergio Aguero leaves Man City with his status as a club legend firmly intact, having helped the Manchester outfit win five Premier League titles, one FA Cup, and six League Cups during his time in English football.

The Argentinian national, who initially moved to the Etihad for £35 million ($50m) from Atletico in 2011, hit 260 goals in 390 matches across all competitions for City – becoming their all-time record scorer in the process.

I guess this is good news for Arsenal fans, he always used to score against them, English Premier League will miss him, he was one of the best in EPL in the last 10 years.

Cruz Azul beat Santos to end their 23-year championship drought

This weekend was for the blue teams after Chelsea ‘The Blues’ beat Manchester City and won the UEFA Champions League on Saturday, on Sunday in another part of the world, Mexican side, Cruz Azul ( blue cross ended their 23 and a half drought after beating Santos and winning the Mexican league title.

cruz azul

The Mexico City-based club went into the final leading 1-0 from Thursday’s opening leg and managed to hold on for a 1-1 draw at the Azteca stadium on Sunday to clinch their ninth league title and a first since 1997.

Every person who follows Mexican soccer know that Cruz Azul is one of the unluckiest team in the country after being runners-up 11 times, but for now, that curse is gone and Cruz Azul fans are going mental.

Their head coach Juan Reynoso was part of the Cruz Azul team that won the final against León in 1997 when he played for the team as captain and center-back.

Peruvian by birth, but Mexican by conviction, yesterday Reynoso became the first coach to win both as a player and as a coach. He’s usually low-key, but throughout the tournament, I make strategic decisions that weren’t always popular.

Congratulations La Maquina (the machine in Spanish) for winning the Liga MX title, enjoy it.

 

England Euro 2020 Squad Announced

England  Euro 2020 squad has been announced, with Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling, and Marcus Rashford among those included.

England’s squad will be cut to a final 26-man squad for the tournament which will be announced on June 1.

england euro 2020 squad

There are first senior call-ups for Brighton center-back White and Everton defender Godfrey, while Sheffield United goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale joins uncapped Sam Johnstone in the squad as Nick Pope misses out through injury.

Manchester United teenager Mason Greenwood has been recalled for the first time since being sent home after his debut in Iceland, while Eric Dier misses out.

PROVISIONAL 33-MAN ENGLAND EURO 2020 SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Manchester United), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Aaron Ramsdale (Sheffield United

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Godfrey (Everton), Reece James (Chelsea), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City, Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Kyle Walker (Manchester City), Ben White (Brighton)

Midfielders: Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (West Ham), Mason Mount (Chelsea), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds), Declan Rice (West Ham), James Ward-Prowse (Southampton)

Forwards: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Mason Greenwood (Manchester United), Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

Spain Euro 2020 Squad Announced

Spain  Euro 2020 squad has been announced and the main talking point is the omission of Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos.

Spain Euro 2020 Squad Announced

The Spain national team coach Luis Enrique announced his group for the tournament, which was postponed last summer and will begin next month, on Monday morning.

Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, each coach was granted a 26-man allowance for their Euros squad.

Enrique, however, opted to name just 24 players, leaving out Ramos.

Aymeric Laporte included

The Manchester City defender who had the injury plugged season and recent change nationality from France to Spanish was also included in the squad. 

Wolves forward Adama Traore and Paris St Germain’s Pablo Sarabia were surprise inclusions as forwards ahead of Celta Vigo’s Iago Aspas, the second-highest Spanish goalscorer in La Liga this season.

Spain Euro 2020 squad

Goalkeepers: David De Gea, Unai Simon, Robert Sanchez.

Defenders: Aymeric Laporte, Jordi Alba, Jose Gaya, Pau Torres, Eric Garcia, Diego Llorente, Cesar Azpilicueta, Marcos Llorente.

Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Rodri, Pedri, Thiago, Koke, Fabian.

Forwards: Dani Olmo, Mikel Oyarzabal, Alvaro Morata, Gerard Moreno, Ferran Torres, Adama Traore, Pablo Sarabia.

Euro 2020, which has been delayed by a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, starts on June 11.

Spain, who face Portugal and Lithuania in friendlies at the start of next month, are in Group E alongside Sweden, Slovakia, and Poland.

What is the Europa Conference League?

With all first places in the premier league confirmed, and Leicester winning the FA cup, this means the Premier League’s seventh-placed team will qualify for the Europa Conference League next season.

UEFA Europa Conference League will be the third UEFA club competition and run alongside both the Champions League and Europa League

What is it?

The UEFA Europa Conference League will be the third UEFA club competition and run alongside both the Champions League and Europa League.

Who qualifies for it?

In simple terms, it’s the teams who would have entered the Europa League at the preliminary round and first and second qualifying rounds.
I mean most of those teams could not even make the Europa League group stage, I never can pronounce 90% of them.

What do the winners get?

The winner will gain a place in the following season’s UEFA Europa League group stage if they have not qualified for the UEFA Champions League via their domestic competition.

Basically, if you win a mediocre tournament, you get a chance to get into another mediocre tournament.

Why is it being introduced?

The new structure for UEFA club competitions will ensure that at least 34 UEFA national associations are represented in the group stage of one or more competitions.

Where will the UEFA Europa Conference League final be played?

Teams will head to the National Arena in Tirana, Albania, on Wednesday, May 24. The stadium has a capacity of just 21,690.

Will teams drop down from Champions League and Europa League?

Yes, as follows:

Second qualifying round: 20 losers from Champions League qualifying enter.
Playoff round: 8 losers from Europa League third-qualifying round enter.
Group stage: 10 losers from the Europa League playoff round enter.
Knockout stage: 8 third-placed teams from Europa League groups enter.

My Opinion

I spoke with a lot of funs especially from premier league teams, none of them want their team to be in this conference league.

I was chatting with some Arsenal fans, some of them want their team to lose tomorrow so that they can avoid this competition.

The reality is most teams in this competition are of very low quality, and this will not benefit bigger teams participating in it, also there are travel logistics, quality of stadiums, and safety issues, all these distractions will hinder the progress in respective leagues.

The money teams get in participating in the Champions League group stage is bigger than the money that gets the Europa League winner, imagine the money that will get the conference league winner, I do not think it worth the trouble.

 

 

Arsenal Sign Leo Messo

Arsenal announced the signing of a football wonder kid Leo Messo, and it brought confusion among internet users as the name resembles a certain football genius named Lionel Messi.

Leo

The confusion is due to the fact that Lionel Messi is not yet to commit his future with Barcelona and at this moment he can sign a pre-agreement with any team outside la Liga. 

So when some fans saw the news that Leo Messo signed for Arsenal, their mind went directly to the Messi situation, but the reality is that Arsenal signed a young 10 years kid from Kenya.

Who is Leo Messo?

messo

 

The kid was born in a small village in Kenya called Siaya, he is just 10 years old and he plays as a center forward number 9.

According to reports, he is a very good striker for his age, he is a special talent and he has a good eye for a goal, that is the reason Arsenal snapped him from West Ham academy.

Most Kenyan I spoke with online have a huge expectation on the kid, most of them think that he will become the star for their national team, Harambee Stars.

What I saw when I googled him

When I first saw the news that Arsenal signed him, my first instinct was to google the kid, the strange thing is that all the results on the first page of Google were about Lionel Messi.

leo messo

Even after adding Leo Messo Kenya, still, the same results, hope the youngster will develop and be a success at Arsenal and his name dominate in the football community.

The signing of this Kenyan kid is an effort of the academy manager to find new talents the Arsenal academy the Hale end.

Will Leo follow the footsteps of the likes of Saka, Smith Rowe, and others and establish himself as a regular first-team member in the future? we do not know, time will tell.

 

 

 

Germany Euro 2020 Squad: The Complete 26-man Line-up

The Germany Euro 2020 squad has been revealed and includes surprise returns for Thomas Muller and Mats Hummels.

The team includes a couple of surprise inclusions, including Freiburg left-back Christian Günter and AS Monaco striker Kevin Volland.

Germany Euro 2020 Squad

The squad has an unsurprising reliance on Bayern Munich players – eight members ply their trade for the Bundesliga champions, including 17-year-old Jamal Musiala, a breakout star in the German league this season.

Germany Euro 2020 Squad

Goalkeepers:
Manuel Neuer, FC Bayern München
Kevin Trapp, Eintracht Frankfurt
Bernd Leno, Arsenal

Defenders:
Lukas Klostermann, RB Leipzig
Robin Gosens, Atalanta
Matthias Ginter, Gladbach
Mats Hummels, Dortmund
Niklas Süle, FC Bayern
Antonio Rüdiger, Chelsea
Robin Koch, Leeds
Marcel Halstenberg, RB Leipzig
Christian Günter, Freiburg

Midfielders/strikers:
Emre Can, Dortmund
Joshua Kimmich, FC Bayern
Kai Havertz, Chelsea
Toni Kroos, Real Madrid
Timo Werner, Chelsea
Kevin Volland, AS Monaco
Jonas Hofmann, Gladbach
Thomas Müller, FC Bayern
Florian Neuhaus, Gladbach
Leon Goretzka, FC Bayern
Leroy Sané, FC Bayern
Serge Gnabry, FC Bayern
Ilkay Gundogan, Manchester City
Jamal Musiala, FC Bayern

 

Who is Germany playing?

Germany takes on France on June 15 in their first game at Euro 2020. They then face Portugal on June 19 in what is a tough group.

Their last game is against Hungary on June 23.
Germans have been playing bad football since the last word cup when they could not even get out into the group stage, since then they have been struggling.

It is expected that this is the last major tournament for their coach Joachim Low and I am sure he will want to leave on a high note.