Di Maria dreamed of Copa America success in final Argentina outing

Enzo Maresca says that Chelsea are not ready to compete for major trophies against Manchester City and Arsenal this season.

The Blues have made a strong start to life under Maresca, losing just two of their 10 matches so far.

They are currently on a five-match winning run in all competitions, most recently seeing off Gent 4-2 in their Conference League opener on Thursday.

So far, Chelsea have scored 27 goals under the Italian, with 15 of those coming in the league, outperforming their 12.2 expected goals (xG), and only failed to score in their opening Premier League match against City.

However, Maresca has insisted people should not get carried away by Chelsea s recent form, playing down their chances of lifting any silverware this campaign.

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Best Odds: 7/10

Bookmaker:

Getting their EURO 24 adventure underway on Saturday night, defending champions Italy will meet Albania at Signal Iduna Park.

Italy

Starting with Italy, while they might have only just about dragged themselves to this summer’s European Championships, the Azzurri should find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Signing off their pre-EURO 24 preparations with a 1-0 victory against Bosnia Herzegovina, Luciano Spalletti’s men do appear to have found top gear at a crucial time. With some potentially billing the defending European champions as potential dark horses over the next month, the former Napoli boss has seen his squad suffer just a single defeat from any of their previous 11 consecutive appearances across all competitions …

Louis van Gaal believes the Netherlands must improve considerably if they are to win the World Cup, acknowledging Ecuador were much better than the Oranje in Friday s 1-1 draw.

The Netherlands and Ecuador sit locked together on four points in Group A after Enner Valencia cancelled out Cody Gakpo s opener at the Khalifa International Stadium, with the stalemate condemning hosts Qatar to an early exit.

Van Gaal s side were fortunate to hold off a much-improved Ecuador team after Valencia s equaliser, having scored with the only shot they mustered before the interval.

The Netherlands will only need a draw against bottom side Qatar to claim their place in the last 16 on Tuesday, but Van Gaal believes they must do better with sterner tests to come.

If you wan…

Michy Batshuayi scored the only goal as Belgium scraped past a spirited Canada 1-0 in their 2022 World Cup opener at the Ahmed Bin Ali Stadium.

Leading the line in Romelu Lukaku’s absence, Batshuayi s 44th-minute strike was enough to settle a nervy Group F clash in the Red Devils favour.

Roberto Martinez s side were grateful to Thibaut Courtois, who saved an early Alphonso Davies penalty, as they generally struggled against the nation ending their 36-year absence from the finals.

Nevertheless, Belgium stretched their group-stage winning streak to eight matches, with no side enjoying a longer run in the competition s history (level with Brazil).

Belgium endured a shaky start against the Canucks, who were awarded a penalty when VAR ruled Yannick Carrasco …

Neymar has been ruled out of Brazil s final World Cup group match against Cameroon, while Alex Sandro has joined the superstar forward and Danilo on the injury list.

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar hobbled off in the 80th minute of Brazil s 2-0 win over Serbia last week with a lateral ligament injury to his right ankle.

The 30-year-old sat out Monday s victory over Switzerland, in which Casemiro scored a late winner, but no official timeframe was given for his recovery.

However, team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar confirmed on Tuesday that Neymar will play no part against Cameroon, with Brazil requiring a point to guarantee top spot in Group G.

Team-mate Danilo, who has a similar ankle problem to Neymar, will also not recover in time for Friday s match at Lusail S…

Best odds: 8/13

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The time has come for the season to end completely as far as European clubs are concerned, and as always, it ends in the biggest contest of them all, the final of the Champions League. It s bee a great season in UEFA s elite competition, full of twists, turns and upsets against the odds, and all club affinities aside, it s been quite enjoyable to watch. So in the end, on Saturday May 28th, at the Stade de France in Paris, Liverpool will be facing Real Madrid in a game that has been played a couple of times before.

In 1981, Liverpool triumphed over Real, in Paris no less, courtesy of a solitary strike by Alan Kennedy in the 82nd minute. In 2018, in Kyiv, Real Madrid won 3-1 after Sergio Ramos controversially escaped two possible red car…

Al-Ettifaq boss Steven Gerrard says it would be a dream for Lionel Messi to follow Cristiano Ronaldo to the Saudi Pro League for one last head-to-head battle.

Messi and Ronaldo both turned their backs on European football in 2022-23, the Portugal great swapping Manchester United for Al-Nassr and the Argentine moving to MLS outfit Inter Miami.

Those moves look to have ended one of the most iconic rivalries in football history, with both players unlikely to represent their national teams at the 2026 World Cup.

Al-Hilal attempted to lure Messi to Saudi Arabia before he opted to move stateside, but Gerrard has not given up hope of seeing him play in the country, even suggesting his club as a landing spot.

It would be a dream for me to have Messi at Al-Ettifa…

Manchester City are looking to add a couple more signings after already securing the signatures of Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez, chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak has confirmed.

Having wrapped up their fourth Premier League title in six years with a dramatic final-day win over Aston Villa earlier this month, City are set to benefit from the acquisition of Norwegian star Haaland, who scored 86 goals in 89 appearances during a two-year spell at Borussia Dortmund.

Pep Guardiola s men also announced the signing of young River Plate forward Alvarez back in January, as City look to restructure their forward line one year on from the departure of club legend Sergio Aguero.

Having already made headlines with their transfer business, in particular the signing of Haaland �…

Few things will have made football fans feel stranger than seeing Lionel Messi wearing any other club shirt than that of Barcelona.

That is what happened in 2021 though, when the legendary Argentine made the move to Paris Saint-Germain due to the financial mess at the Camp Nou.

What could be stranger than that? Perhaps a Ballon d Or shortlist of 30 names being released and not seeing Messi s among them?

On Friday, that once ludicrous suggestion became reality as the nominees for the 2022 award were announced in batches of five, only the familiar mention of the seven-time winner never came.

Of course, it was not especially a surprise. Messi struggled to make an impact at PSG after his free transfer to the Parc des Princes, scoring just six goals in 26…

Football Association chief executive Mark Bullingham would not rule out the possibility that Lionesses boss Sarina Wiegman could one day lead the England men’s team.

The 53-year-old’s stock as a serial winner has risen steadily since securing the European championship trophy with her native Netherlands in 2017, then doing the same with England last summer.

She has now guided England to a first-ever World Cup final, in the process becoming the only manager to do so with two different nations in the women’s showpiece after steering her home country to the same stage four years ago.

Sarina. Wiegman.

— Lionesses (@Lionesses)

Asked if Wiegman could be seen as a potential successor to Gareth Southgate, Bullingham said: “I think it’s a bit …