Midfield

Thomas Müller's Status In Doubt After Playmaker Suffers Knee Injury

MUNICH, Germany - Four German players nursing injuries from their 4-2 victory over Portugal skipped training on Monday, the team said, with attacking midfielder Thomas Müller's availability in doubt for their next Euro 2020 game against Hungary.

Müller, recalled for the tournament after more than two years out of the team, suffered a capsule injury in his right knee towards the end of Saturday's Group F win over Portugal as he attempted to clear a ball.

What The World Looked Like The Last Time The USMNT Beat Mexico

The U.S. men's national team defeated Mexico in a highly contested match on Sunday to win the CONCACAF Nations League, marking the country’s first competitive victory over its rivals since September 10th, 2013.

The fruitless streak continued so long that I personally graduated middle school, high school and was just one year away from graduating college before the U.S. was victorious again. Christian Pulisic, the American captain who scored the go-ahead goal, was just 14 years old when the U.S. last claimed victory. 

Spain Calls Up 4 Extra Players After Sergio Busquets’ Positive Covid-19 Test

MADRID - Spain have called up four players to take part in a parallel training bubble following captain Sergio Busquets's positive COVID-19 test at the weekend, the national team said on Monday.

The new additions — Rodrigo (Leeds United), Pablo Fornals (West Ham United), Carlos Soler (Valencia) and Brais Méndez (Celta Vigo) — will not stay at Spain's Las Rozas training base or be involved with the rest of the preparations of the squad, who are currently isolating.

Kevin De Bruyne Suffered Fractures To Nose, Eye Socket In UCL Final

Manchester City playmaker Kevin De Bruyne fractured his nose and a bone around his left eye socket in Saturday's Champions League loss to Chelsea, the 29-year-old said on Sunday.

The Belgium international had to go off on the hour mark with a concussion injury in City's 1-0 defeat at Porto's Estádio do Dragão after an accidental clash with Chelsea defender Antonio Rüdiger left him on the ground.

Croatia Finalizes Euro Squad With Modrić, Perišić And Brozović The Leading Lights

ZAGREB - Striker Bruno Petković is expected to fill Mario Mandžukić's big boots at Euro 2020 as Croatia aim to reach the last 16 at the June 11-July 11 tournament, coach Zlatko Dalić said as he named his 26-man squad on Monday.

Mandžukić, who scored an extra time winner in a 2-1 victory over England in their 2018 World Cup semifinal, is one of several stalwarts who hung up their international boots after Croatia were beaten by France 4-2 in the final.

Andrés Iniesta Signs Two-Year Contract Extension With Japan’s Vissel Kobe

TOKYO - Former Barcelona midfielder Andrés Iniesta said on Tuesday he has extended his contract with Vissel Kobe by another two years and wants to keep working towards making the Japanese side the best in Asia.

Spanish World Cup winner Iniesta, who also celebrated his 37th birthday on Tuesday, signed a three-year contract with Kobe in 2018 after leaving Barcelona, where he won nine LaLiga and four Champions Leagues titles.

N'Golo Kanté Takes Real Madrid’s Midfield Crown And Declares Himself King

The greatest Premier League title of them all (2015-16 with Leicester City), another with Chelsea (2016-17), the FA Cup (2017-18), the World Cup (2018), the Europa League (2018-19) and now a chance at the 2020-21 UEFA Champions League crown: N'Golo Kanté is one win away from putting the finishing touch on one of the most illustrious personal trophy cabinets in football history.

Operating alongside Jorginho in what frequently looked like a Chelsea 3-4-3 against Real Madrid on Wednesday, Kanté put in a monstrous performance on both ends of the Stamford Bridge pitch.

Who’s King Of The Nutmeg? The Players Who’ve Pulled It Off Most This Season

When it comes to data and analytics in football, most people prefer looking at the statistical relationship between goals/assists and how that’s going to influence the performance of this goddamn Fantasy Premier League team that’s been tanking since December. 

Just captain Harry Kane and be done with it.

But there’s an overlooked statistic that jams well with probability theory, namely, the player with the most nutmegs in Europe this season is probably the greatest footballer alive.  

New Balance Is Running The Game By Promoting Fearlessly Independent Players

After a year postponed and the swapping of high-profile matches at the home of the Colorado Rapids for individual training sessions in deserted local parks, GAM United’s Elijah Mwenebitu is looking at everything as an opportunity to be chased, which isn’t exactly a new way of operating for the 23-year-old midfield destroyer. 

Cesc Fàbregas Says USMNT Has Shades Of 2008 Spain But ‘Needs To Believe It’

As a player whose obsession with football has only increased over the course of a glittering 17-year career, Cesc Fàbregas never grows tired of learning. That’s why, after a career spent entirely in England and Spain, the World Cup winner opted to give France a try by signing for Monaco back in 2019.

After playing 11 full seasons in the Premier League and three in LaLiga, the 33-year-old admits that the differences in Ligue 1 were pronounced. 

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