List of All Articles with Tag 'al'

Alexis Mac Allister's father explains why his son signed for Liverpool this summer despite rival transfer interest from Chelsea and Manchester City, citing Jurgen Klopp as an influence.

Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill has recalled Jamal Lewis and Callum Marshall to his squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers against San Marino and Slovenia. O’Neill’s side play San Marino and Slovenia in a Group H double-header on October 14 and 17 respectively, with both games at Windsor Park. Newcastle defender Lewis, on loan at Watford, missed last month’s defeats in Slovenia and Kazakhstan through injury. Striker Marshall has forced his way back into O’Neill’s plans after scoring nine goals in 12 appearances for West Ham Under-21s. Midfielders Brad Lyons (Kilmarnock) and Paddy Lane (Portsmouth), defenders Eoin Toal (Bolton) and Brodie Spencer (Motherwell) and QPR winger Paul Smyth have all retained their places in the squad. Oxford defender Ciaron Brown has not been included after sustaining injury against Slovenia last month, while Blackpool striker Shayne Lavery and Portsmouth winger Gavin Whyte have also been left out despite recently returning from injury for their clubs. O’Neill will be without defender Craig Cathcart, who announced his retirement last month, while experienced midfielders Steven Davis (Rangers), Corry Evans (Sunderland), Stuart Dallas (Leeds) and Shane Ferguson (Rotherham) are still recovering from long-term injuries. Liverpool wing-back Conor Bradley and Nottingham Forest defender Aaron Donnelly are also unavailable through injury. Northern Ireland’s qualification hopes are over after O’Neill’s injury-hit squad slipped to five straight group defeats and the former Stoke boss is now building for the future. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard believes Bukayo Saka would be a miss for any team in the world as the England winger faces an anxious wait to see if he will be fit to face Manchester City. Saka limped out of Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat in Lens, with manager Mikel Arteta admitting afterwards that it “didn’t look good” for the 22-year-old. It was the third game in a row that Saka had started and failed to finish having also been forced off against Tottenham and in Saturday’s 4-0 win at Bournemouth. He recovered from those two knocks to start at the Stade Bollaert-Delelis, where he teed up Gabriel Jesus to put the visitors ahead early on. However, an error from David Raya led to Adrien Thomasson equalising before Saka’s night came to a premature end when he hobbled off with just 34 minutes on the clock. Elye Wahi went on to hit the winner for the home side, who were hosting their first Champions League game in over two decades. Meanwhile, Saka – who has featured in Arsenal’s last 87 Premier League games – now faces a race against time to be fit for the visit of reigning champions City on Sunday. “We still have some great players, but I think every team in the world would miss Bukayo,” Odegaard said in the aftermath of the surprise loss. “But we have to see what happens in the next few days. Hopefully it’s not too bad and he’s going to be ready. “It’s a big game coming up and everyone is excited for the game. It will be a good game to play in. We have to look forward, make sure we’re ready and show up on the Sunday.” This is Arsenal’s first season back in the Champions League in six years and – after thrashing PSV Eindhoven 4-0 in the opening Group B clash – their largely-inexperienced squad was given a reminder of how tough Europe’s top-tier club competition can be. Asked if having to juggle Premier League and Champions League football could become a challenge, Odegaard replied: “I don’t think it’s an issue. “Of course it’s tough to play in Europe. We played a good team, they were strong. They made it very difficult for us. “We have to look at ourselves, learn, move on. I’m sure we’re going to get better and better so we take the lessons and move on. “We want to win every game we play. Of course we’re disappointed now, but I think we got some good lessons today so we have to look at it in that way and make sure we learn.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Wales’ Gareth Thomas has first-hand experience of Georgia threat Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill recalls Jamal Lewis and Callum Marshall Key questions answered surrounding the review of how VAR is used in English game

A review of how VAR is used in the English game is under way after miscommunication between officials led to a Liverpool goal being wrongly disallowed on Saturday. Here, the PA news agency provides an update on where we are. What happened? On-field referee Simon Hooper and his assistants flagged Luis Diaz offside after he fired in what would have been the opening goal in the Reds’ Premier League match at Tottenham on Saturday. Crucially, VAR Darren England thought the on-field decision had been onside. So although he followed the correct procedure in drawing lines and identifying that Diaz was onside, by telling the on-field officials “check complete” they thought their decision to give offside had been upheld by the check. Only in the seconds which followed did the VAR operators realise their error, by which time play had restarted. Current protocols do not permit a decision to be revisited once that has happened. How did Liverpool react? The club issued a statement on Sunday night saying that sporting integrity had been undermined by the error and that they would “explore the range of options available given the clear need for escalation and resolution”. The club requested – and were sent – the audio of the incident before it was released publicly on Tuesday evening. What happens next? The first thing to say is that Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) admitted on Saturday evening that a “significant error” had occurred. As well as standing down England and the assistant VAR Daniel Cook for duties on Sunday and Monday, plus the weekend to come, it has identified some “key learnings” from the incident. These include the development of a new communications protocol to enhance clarity between referees and VARs. Phil Bentham has been brought into PGMOL from rugby league to improve communication between officials and will no doubt be key to this work. VARs will now also confirm the outcome of their check with their assistants in the booth, before relaying the final decision to on-field officials. PGMOL and the Football Association will also review the policy allowing officials to be involved in domestic league matches overseas, after England and Cook were part of a team which oversaw a game in the United Arab Emirates last Thursday, arriving back in the UK on Friday morning. What has the Premier League said? The league issued a statement saying that the Diaz incident highlighted “systemic weaknesses” in the VAR process and said a wider review to seek consistently-higher standards would now take place. Besides improving communication between officials, what else could change? The incident has led to renewed calls from fans and pundits to allow the conversations between VARs and referees to be broadcast live. Eighty per cent of fans supported this being introduced in a Football Supporters’ Association survey published in the summer and the boss of TNT Sports – one of the league’s key broadcast partners – said in July it was a “huge missed opportunity” not to have such a system in place. While the Premier League has never publicly given its view on live audio, it was part of a World Leagues Forum poll published in June which found 25 out of the 41 leagues surveyed supported its introduction. Crucially though, the International Football Association Board (IFAB), which sets the game’s laws, is understood not to have received any requests so far in the current cycle to trial a live audio system. What about in-stadium announcements like we had at the Women’s World Cup? To date this has been a FIFA-only trial, but IFAB is prepared to open it up to allow other competitions to take part. However, the announcements are limited to decisions where an on-field review is conducted by a referee at a pitchside monitor. Offside decisions such as the Diaz incident are not checked in this way. What about semi-automated offside? This is in operation in a number of major competitions, having first been trialled at the men’s World Cup in Qatar. However, the Premier League has so far opted not to introduce it. It can also be argued that it would not have helped in a situation like Diaz – the existing technology was used to identify that Diaz was onside, the mistake was human error, pure and simple.

Boss Gareth Southgate will be sweating on Bukayo Saka’s fitness ahead of naming his England squad to face Australia and Italy on Thursday. The Arsenal forward came off in the first half of the Gunners’ 2-1 Champions League defeat at Lens on Tuesday night. Saka suffered a hamstring injury and boss Mikel Arteta admitted it was a concern ahead of Arsenal’s Premier League clash with Manchester City on Sunday. Doubts over Saka’s fitness could open the door for Newcastle’s Anthony Gordon after his impressive start to the season. Winger Gordon helped England Under-21s win Euro 2023 in the summer and has two goals and two assists in the league. Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins is pushing for a recall with seven goals in all competitions this season, including two hat-tricks after his treble in the 6-1 thumping of Brighton on Saturday. Watkins, who has two goals for England in seven caps, was left out of last month’s squad to face Ukraine and Scotland but is a strong contender for a return, especially with Callum Wilson managing a hamstring issue. With Saka a doubt and Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze sidelined for six weeks there are gaps in England’s forward line for the friendly against Australia on October 13 and Euro 2024 qualifier with Italy on October 17. Eze suffered a hamstring injury in Palace’s 1-0 win at Manchester United on Saturday. Chelsea’s Raheem Sterling could be one to profit having been left out of the last three squads. Ben Chilwell also has a hamstring injury, leaving Southgate short of options at left-back with Luke Shaw already out with a muscle problem. Brentford’s uncapped Rico Henry is also sidelined for the season with a serious knee injury so Southgate could opt for Chelsea’s Levi Colwill to fill in. The squad is also likely to come too soon for fellow Blues defender Reece James, who has been nursing his own hamstring injury. Harry Maguire has managed just three minutes of Premier League action since last month’s wins over Ukraine and Scotland – although he played the full game when Manchester United beat Palace 3-0 in the Carabao Cup last week. There are no suggestions Southgate is about to drop the centre-back, although Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa should be under consideration. John Stones is back in training with Manchester City, having been out since the Community Shield in August, but is lacking minutes. Kalvin Phillips continues to struggle for game time at City but is expected to be included. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Aaron Ramsey and Brennan Johnson out of Wales’ crunch qualifier with Croatia Kyle Sinckler: Rugby’s updated eligibility rule an improvement to the game Rasmus Hojlund says Manchester United must ‘stick together’ in ‘tough period’

Wales captain Aaron Ramsey and Brennan Johnson will miss next week’s vital Euro 2024 qualifier against Croatia. Both players have been omitted from Rob Page’s squad for their friendly against Gibraltar on October 11 and Group D qualifier at Cardiff City Stadium on October 15. Ramsey damaged his right knee in training last month and there are fears the 32-year-old midfielder may need surgery after missing Cardiff’s last five games. Tottenham midfielder Johnson sustained a hamstring injury in his side’s recent 2-2 draw at Arsenal and sat out Saturday’s win against Liverpool. The pair’s absence is a huge blow to under-pressure Page, whose side sit fourth in their group after winning only two of their first five matches. Johnson had been expected to be included after Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou said before the Liverpool game that his injury was “nothing too serious”. Wales are also without QPR defender Morgan Fox and Rangers winger Rabbi Matondo (both knee), while Reading midfielder Charlie Savage and Liverpool defender Owen Beck have received their first senior team call-ups. Leeds winger Daniel James returns to the squad after missing last month’s Euro 2024 qualifying victory in Latvia. Bournemouth striker Kieffer Moore is available for the Croatia game after missing the last two Euro qualifiers due to the red card he received against Armenia in June. Page eased some of the pressure on him last month with Wales’ 2-0 victory in Latvia. But his side still face an uphill battle to secure automatic qualification for next summer’s finals in Germany through a top-two finish. Wales realistically need to avoid defeat against 2022 World Cup semi-finalists Croatia and win their final two games in Armenia and at home to Turkey in November to do so. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Kyle Sinckler: Rugby’s updated eligibility rule an improvement to the game Rasmus Hojlund says Manchester United must ‘stick together’ in ‘tough period’ Football rumours: Jadon Sancho keeping contact with Borussia Dortmund

The UK and Ireland are poised to host Euro 2028 with their bid now unopposed due to Turkey’s withdrawal. The joint bid between England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland, which was up against Turkey ahead of next week’s Uefa announcement, will secure hosting rights subject to final approval from the governing body’s executive committee. Turkey will now join forces with Italy to host Euro 2032 instead, with Germany the hosts for next year’s Euro 2024. Uefa officials are yet to confirm how the hosts would qualify for Euro 2028, with discussions over the prospect of teams participating in qualification to secure competitive preparation for the tournament. However some teams could still qualify even if knocked out. The Independent reported in July that Uefa were unlikely to grant all five nations a place in the 24-team tournament. While Uefa sees benefits to the joint bid in terms of commercial potential and most of the infrastructure already in place, the number of teams hosting brings an unprecedented element. Issues related to sporting integrity as regards qualification may now emerge, with Uefa likely to award a maximum of three guaranteed places. The anticipated expansion of the tournament to 32 teams is not expected to happen until 2032. The prospect of a mini-tournament before qualification officially starts is thought to be on the table. While the Independent understands there is a very minor possibility the tournament could have just four hosts if Northern Ireland's planned stadium of Casement Park in Belfast isn't reconstructed in time. But that isn't currently seen as a challenge, given five years until the competition. There is no confirmation on who would host the final, though Wembley Stadium would seem the likely favourite, meaning a second European final in three editions of the competition. England lost to Italy in the final of Euro 2020 at Wembley, which took place in 2021 after its postponement due to Covid. Wembley is one of 14 venues across the five countries to have been shortlisted in the bid, with nine English stadia in total, two in the Republic of Ireland and one each in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The inclusion of Casement Park, a Gaelic sports venue which is in the process of being redeveloped, means Belfast is set to host matches should it remain when the final list of 10 stadia is submitted to Uefa in April. The nine English stadia include three in London – Wembley, the London Stadium and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium are on the provisional list, as are Newcastle’s St James’ Park and Sunderland’s Stadium of Light. Everton’s new ground at Bramley-Moore Dock is on the shortlist, as is Villa Park in Birmingham. The Aviva Stadium and Croke Park are the shortlisted venues in Dublin, while the Principality Stadium in Cardiff and Hampden Park in Glasgow complete the list. Gareth Bale was due to help the bid by joining a Welsh delegation in Geneva this month. The legendary winger, who is Wales' most capped player and record goalscorer, retired from football in January, but the 34-year-old offered to help Wales secure joint-hosting rights. Football Association of Wales chief executive Noel Mooney said: “We are hoping for a successful bid and Gareth is very much part of the FAW and what we do. He has been identified as one of the faces of the bid presentation. Gareth is globally famous. You can get into a taxi in Sydney or Peru and if you mention you are from Wales they will say ‘Gareth Bale’. It is an instant reaction. “When I go home to the west of Ireland the first thing people say to me is ‘how is Gareth Bale?’ Gareth is so good for us. We went to him and asked him if he would get involved in the Euro ’28 bid and he just said: ‘What can I do for Wales?’ It was instant – ‘how can I help you get the bid over the line?'” Turkey now looks set to host the major tournament in 2032, eight years after falling short in the race to host Euro 2024, with Germany outpointing them 12-4 in the voting. The Uefa Executive Committee will officially appoint host associations on 10 October at the governing body’s headquarters, the House of European Football, in Nyon, Switzerland. Read More UK and Ireland’s Euro 2028 bid unlikely to secure five automatic places Gareth Bale part of Welsh delegation to help UK and Ireland Euro 2028 bid UK and Ireland shortlist 14 stadiums for Euro 2028 bid Gareth Bale part of Welsh delegation to help UK and Ireland Euro 2028 bid UK and Ireland bid for Euro 2028 to be unopposed after Turkey withdraw interest Ed Sheeran and Ipswich players celebrate win with dressing room sing-along

The 2023 Major League Baseball regular season marks the 20th anniversary of the publication of Moneyball, Michael Lewis’

Scouts from Arsenal, Liverpool, Man City, Man Utd and Tottenham have all been impressed by the performances of Feyenoord midfielder Quinten Timber. The midfielder is the twin brother of Gunners defender Jurrien.

Gonzalo Pineda had praise for his team ahead of their clash with Philadelphia Union.

Rasmus Hojlund says Manchester United must stick together if they are to emerge from a “tough period” that has put Erik ten Hag’s side under intense scrutiny and pressure. Having won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup final and finished third during the Dutchman’s first campaign in change, things have gone dramatically awry this term. United have lost four of their opening seven matches for the first time in the Premier League era and are pointless after their first two Champions League group games. There was no disgrace in the 4-3 loss at Bayern Munich a fortnight ago, but Tuesday’s 3-2 collapse at home to a Galatasaray side that had never won in England before is something else. “Of course it’s not about the individual performance,” Hojlund said. “It’s about getting the three points and at the moment we’re not doing good enough. “We need to remember we can’t get goals (go in) right after we score. “We’ve had a few games now where they just score after we scored. “We need to go back and analyse that tomorrow and talk about it in the group. “Of course it’s a tough period now but we need to stick together and that’s the only way we can get out of this period.” Hojlund opened the scoring on Tuesday with his first Old Trafford goal, only for grinning former United forward Wilfried Zaha to level for Galatasaray. Summer signing Hojlund raced through to score a superb second after he saw an earlier effort ruled out for offside, but Kerem Akturkoglu quickly equalise for the visitors. That goal sent United into a tailspin. Andre Onana’s horror pass led to Casemiro getting a red card and the Turkish champions winning a penalty, which Mauro Icardi missed but quickly atoned for when racing through to dink home. “We need to get some points now if we want to play in Champions League after the group stage,” Hojlund said ahead of matches home and away to former club FC Copenhagen. “I am looking forward to playing against them because it’s a former club, my brothers are playing there, and I have a big heart for Copenhagen. “But now I play in Manchester United and we need to get some points out of them.” United players kept their heads down as they walked through interview area after a chastening loss in which Hojlund’s display was the only highlight. The Old Trafford giants went for promise over a proven goalscorer when signing the 20-year-old international from Atalanta in the summer and he enjoyed his breakout moment on Tuesday. I like to call that a signature Rasmus goal Rasmus Hojlund on his second goal “It’s about getting in there,” Hojlund told MUTV. “For me, I always try to get into the dangerous positions. “Today I got the ball three times (there), if you count the offside goal as well. “I’ve been bought to be scoring goals and now I was happy to score two today. “Marcus (Rashford) and I talk to each other and he knows that I’m going to be there. “He knows that I can keep up with his pace when we go on the counter and we saw a glimpse of that today. “(The second goal) was a good feeling. I got cheated a little bit before because of the offside (with my second goal) but, yeah, it was an incredible goal. “I like to call that a signature Rasmus goal – on the left side, running a lot so, yeah, it was nice.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: Jadon Sancho keeping contact with Borussia Dortmund On this day in 2008: Leeds beat St Helens to win Super League Grand Final Dan Sheehan says Ireland ‘fully aware of what we need to do’ against Scotland

What the papers say Jadon Sancho is looking increasingly likely to call time at Old Trafford in January. The Daily Mail, citing Sky Germany, says the 23-year-old winger has been in regular contact with former club Borussia Dortmund, amid his stand-off with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag. Staying with the Red Devils, Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite has emerged on the club’s radar for a potential January move. According to the Mail, the centre-back is viewed as a potential replacement should Harry Maguire depart the club in the new year. Branthwaite is also wanted by Manchester City, having impressed on loan at PSV Eindhoven. And The Telegraph reports former Chelsea boss Frank Lampard is open to replacing Michael Beale as Rangers manager. Social media round-up Players to watch Lionel Messi: The Daily Mirror says the Inter Miami forward will return to his first club, Newell’s Old Boys, when his contract expires in 2025. Jeremie Frimpong: The left-back is set to re-sign with Bayer Leverkusen, according to the Daily Record. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live