List of All Articles with Tag 'ball'

Jude Bellingham has revealed David Beckham sent him a good luck message after joining Real Madrid. The 20-year-old has become just the seventh British player to join the Bernabeu club following his 103million euros (£88.5m) move from Borussia Dortmund last month, following in the footsteps of the likes of Beckham, Gareth Bale and Michael Owen. Beckham was perhaps the highest profile to make the switch to the Spanish capital following his 2003 move from Manchester United, which only heightened his global profile, and the former England captain recently got in touch with Bellingham. And the new Bernabeu star said he might tap into Beckham and other former players’ knowledge of playing at Madrid. “David Beckham messaged me briefly to wish me all the best,” Bellingham told the PA news agency. “It is one of those moves where everyone has their input from the outside so you do hear a lot of things and advice, I am quite good at filtering out the good from the bad, so far it has been really positive from ex-players. “I will try and take that on board and at some point maybe get in touch with them and see how they adapted to life in Spain.” One of the things Bellingham will be doing to adapt to his new lifestyle in Spain is to learn the language. The midfielder has started using a learning app, aiming to build on the vocabulary he got at school. “I have got it on my phone, I’ve got a good little streak going at the minute,” he added. “It’s nine days since I started taking it properly seriously. “It is one of those things where you hear it and you start to pick up little things and you see it on TV with interviews of other players, so it comes a bit more naturally than you think. “It is a lot easier than trying to learn German at least. I did Spanish at school up to year 9, obviously, in hindsight, I would have carried it on.” Bellingham is now an ambassador for McDonald’s Fun Football programme, the largest grassroots programme in the UK for 5-11 year olds, where 250,000 children have had access to free football in the last 12 months. He used to attend similar events but admits that it was not immediately obvious that he was destined for greater things. “For the first year or so of going to things like that I was more interested in British Bulldog and some of the fun games,” he said. “So for me it was a process of getting into the game, but it was made easy because there was no pressure on me. “For my parents that was the main thing, just getting that social aspect of it and something that is healthy and good for me.” :: Jude Bellingham was speaking at the largest ever McDonald’s Fun Football session to celebrate the landmark of over 250,000 children across the UK benefiting from access to free football this season. Sign up to a free session near you at www.mcdonalds.co.uk/football Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live On this day in 2009: Serena Williams reclaims Wimbledon title off sister Venus Roger Federer returns to Wimbledon for a celebration on an action-packed day two Stuart Broad thinks Pat Cummins will regret handling of Jonny Bairstow dismissal

What the papers say Steven Gerrard could target his successor as Liverpool captain after taking over as manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq. The Daily Mail reports England midfielder Jordan Henderson, 33, has emerged as a potential target for Gerrard, along with Chelsea striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, 34. Chelsea are in talks with Southampton about bringing their former youth player Tino Livramento, 20, back to Stamford Bridge, according to the Daily Mail. The England Under-21 right-back is valued at £38 million with Newcastle also showing interest. The race to sign Spanish midfielder Gabri Veiga from Celta Vigo is hotting up, according to the Guardian. Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City are all interested in the 21-year-old but Paris St Germain are moving into pole position. Granit Xhaka‘s time at Arsenal is almost over. The Sun reports that the Switzerland midfielder, 30, will complete a £21.5 million move to Bayer Leverkusen this week. Social media round-up Players to watch Romeo Lavia: Liverpool are favourites to beat Chelsea in the race to sign the Belgium midfielder, 19, from Southampton. Callum Hudson-Odoi: Nottingham Forest are among those chasing the England winger, 22, from Chelsea. Read More Dominik Szoboszlai inspired by Steven Gerrard to wear number eight at Liverpool A closer look at England’s recent hat-tricks as Bukayo Saka celebrates his first ‘I won’t be taking that offer’: Gerrard rejects coaching job in Saudi Arabia

Joey Votto is a cool guy with an untucked shirt.

Georgia football legend Aaron Murray thinks a west coast contender could end the Dawgs'championship run.The Georgia Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships. Kirby Smart is not only defensive genius and schematic master; he's also the best recruiter in the sport. The Dawgs...

RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol has expressed an interest in joining Manchester City, the German club’s sporting director has revealed. Max Eberl has told a German newspaper that the Croatia international has informed the Bundesliga outfit of his desire to move and that “talks” are ongoing. There is no indication City have officially submitted a bid for the player and the treble winners have not commented on Eberl’s claims. Eberl told Leipziger Volksnachrichten: “Josko and his advisers have submitted the wish to us for a transfer to Manchester City. “We are in talks with Manchester. There is nothing more to say about it at this moment.” Gvardiol, 21, has long been linked with City and caught the eye when he scored against them in the Champions League last season. Leipzig reportedly value Gvardiol at around £86million (100million euros) but are under little pressure to sell as the player is contracted until 2027. The club have already sold one key player this summer, with Hungary midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai moving to Liverpool for £60million at the weekend. City have already made one new signing, with £30million midfielder Mateo Kovacic arriving from Chelsea. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Newcastle have completed their swoop for AC Milan star Sandro Tonali as they gear up for a return to Champions League football. The 23-year-old Italy midfielder has signed for an undisclosed fee – understood to be in excess of £50million – on an initial deal which will keep him at St James’ Park until 2028. Tonali, who has 14 senior caps, has captained his country at the European Under-21s Championship in Georgia and Romania in recent weeks and the announcement of his signing came a day after the Italians exited the competition. The former Brescia player said: “First of all, I want to thank Newcastle United because they are giving me a huge opportunity for my career. “I want to repay the trust on the pitch, giving it my all, as I always have. I’m really excited about playing at St James Park, I can’t wait to feel the warmth of the fans.” Tonali is the kind of marquee signing Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has been targeting since guiding the club to a top-four Premier League finish last season to end a two-decade exile from Europe’s most prestigious club competition. Howe has signalled his intention to recruit quality rather than quantity this summer while remaining within the bounds of the spending limits under which a club which had invested more than £250million in the first three transfer windows under its new Saudi-backed owners must operate. He has acknowledged the difficulty of competing on the domestic and European fronts next season and knows a repetition of a remarkable league campaign will be made all the tougher by the demands of rubbing shoulders with the continent’s big boys once again. However, landing a player of Tonali’s stature is an indication of the direction Newcastle hope to take and the 45-year-old was delighted to have got his man. Howe said: “I’m delighted to welcome Sandro to Newcastle United. He is an exceptional talent and has the mentality, physicality and technical attributes to be a great fit for us. “At 23, Sandro already has important experience as a key player in one of Europe’s top leagues and in the Champions League, as well as playing for his country. “But he also has the opportunity and potential to grow and evolve with us, and I’m excited to add him to our squad as we approach the exciting season ahead.” Tonali began his career at Brescia, where he helped the club win promotion to Serie A, and moved to Milan during the summer of 2020, initially on a season-long loan deal. He leaves with 130 appearances to his name in the Italian top flight and having played in all 12 of the Rossoneri’s Champions League fixtures last season as they made it to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by arch-rivals Inter. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Ben Stokes’ record since taking over as England captain after latest heroics Sir Geoffrey Boycott urges Australia to ‘apply some common sense’ and apologise Roger Federer to visit Wimbledon for celebration of his career on Centre Court

Ohio State recruiting could reach epic levels with a new five-star commit in Justin Scott and possibly much more to come.Ohio State has the best pound-for-pound recruiting class in college football as July gets underway.The Buckeyes picked up their fourth five-star commitment on Sunday with ...

There are so many factors that have prevented running backs from winning the Heisman Trophy in recent college football seasons.Not since Derrick Henry starred for 2015 Alabama has a running back won a Heisman Trophy. Even more alarming, the last running back to even be invited to New York for th...

England Under-21s’ match-winner Anthony Gordon was frustrated not to have taken more chances to make their 1-0 European Championship quarter-final victory over Portugal more comfortable. However, he praised the resilience of the side after a fourth successive clean sheet at the tournament. England’s youngsters came under late pressure from their opponents, who came closest to equalising when Henrique Araujo’s header rebounded off the crossbar. “You’re going to get chances and it’s up to me to finish them,” Newcastle winger Gordon, playing as a central striker, said in his post-match press conference after sweeping home in the 34th minute. You're going to get chances and it's up to me to finish them Anthony Gordon “I probably should have had one or two more, which I’m a bit gutted about. “I’m extremely tired but happy for the win, happy for the character we showed as a team, the way we dug in. “We’ve had a lot of top performances so far in this tournament and today was a completely different challenge, a completely different game where they had a lot of the ball and we came through it and dug in as a team. “We haven’t had that test (previously). We haven’t had that opportunity to show we’ve got that side to our game and tonight we got to – and we definitely proved ourselves in that.” England are into the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since 2017 and they will meet Israel, whom they beat 2-0 in the group stage, on Wednesday. “We found the game against Israel difficult. They are such a compact, well-organised team and we will have to be at our best to beat them,” said England manager Lee Carsley, who was also impressed with his side’s defensive display against Portugal. He added: “I definitely consider Portugal one of the best teams we have played. “We had to show different parts of our game tonight; not only were we good in possession, what was most pleasing was the team spirit and the way they stuck together in the second half.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Tottenham have agreed personal terms with Manor Solomon over a deal to join the club on a free transfer, the PA news agency understands. Attacker Solomon spent last season on loan at Fulham and was set to return to parent club Shakhtar Donetsk this summer. However, FIFA in May extended its temporary employment rules relating to the war in Ukraine, which will allow Solomon to cancel his deal with Shakhtar and sign for Spurs. Due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year, foreign players contracted to clubs affiliated to Ukrainian or Russian football associations can “unilaterally suspend their employment” until June 30, 2024, provided teams are informed of the suspension in writing by July 1. With Solomon’s terms with Shakhtar due to expire on December 31, he can become a free agent now after exercising the right to suspended his current employment with the Ukraine outfit. It opens the door for Tottenham to complete Solomon’s signing next week and make him the fourth addition since new manager Ange Postecoglou was appointed last month. Israel international Solomon impressed during his loan with Fulham despite a serious knee injury delaying his debut until January. When Solomon was fit, he turned into a key figure under Marco Silva and scored five goals in 24 appearances from a left wing position, but he will now continue his time in the Premier League at Spurs. Solomon will provide competition in attacking areas at Tottenham and could face his old club Shakhtar in a friendly fixture on August 6. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Anthony Gordon’s second goal of the European Under-21 Championship secured a 1-0 win over Portugal and booked England’s place in the semi-finals for the first time since 2017. The Newcastle winger, operating as a central forward in Lee Carsley’s team, pounced 10 minutes before half-time to clinically finish a good passing move. Despite some late Portuguese pressure which saw Henrique Araujo’s effort rebound off the crossbar with goalkeeper James Trafford beaten, England – who have yet to concede a goal at the tournament – held on to set up a meeting with Israel, whom they beat 2-0 in the group phase, on Wednesday. The only downside on the night in the Shengelia Arena in Kutaisi, Georgia, was a booking for Norwich right-back Max Aarons which rules him out of the semi-final. Early exchanges saw Liverpool’s Curtis Jones guide a shot wide from just outside the penalty area and Wolves’ Pedro Neto have an effort turned around the post by Trafford. Gordon’s first sight of goal in the 23rd minute from Jacob Ramsey’s through-ball was easily saved by Celton Biai but the Portuguese goalkeeper had no chance with his next effort. Noni Madueke played in Morgan Gibbs-White and he cleverly cut back the ball to Gordon loitering near the penalty spot to confidently sweep home first time. In first-half added time Taylor Harwood-Bellis produced an important block to deny Tiago Dantas and, after Aarons was booked early in the second half, Levi Colwill did similarly to prevent Araujo having a chance to equalise. Seconds later the Portugal forward was unsuccessfully appealing for a penalty after a tangle with Harwood-Bellis in the six-yard area as they challenged for a cross before coming even closer to scoring when his header hit the crossbar. With seconds remaining of regulation time, Neto drilled a free-kick into England’s defensive wall and when Nuno Tavares fired over in the final minute of six added on, Carsley’s side were safe. Read More England Under-21s could make changes but keen to continue momentum England book quarter-final spot at U21 Euros after beating Israel Lee Carsley praises England Under-21s’ ‘brilliant spirit’ after winning opener

Matt Rhule's Nebraska football program went into Miami's backyard and got a fantastic recruit in three-star wide receiver Jacory Barney Jr. for their 2024 class.Not all recruits are viewed the same manner, but Matt Rhule's Nebraska Cornhuskers getting Jacory Barney Jr. out of Miam...