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Tuesday's briefing: Chelsea a Samba step away from Club World Cup final spot

Tuesday's briefing: Chelsea a Samba step away from Club World Cup final spot

World champions Spain continue to throw down the gauntlet to their rivals at the women's European Championship in Switzerland, while Bayern Munich striker Jamal Musiala is already on the road to recovery.
Maresca relishing selection dilemma
Levi Colwill is suspended for Chelsea's Club World Cup semi-final (Bradley Collyer/PA)
Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca is confident he will find the right answers to the selection problems he is facing for their Club World Cup semi-final.
The Blues take on Brazilian side Fluminense in New York on Tuesday for a place in Sunday's final.
Striker Liam Delap and defender Levi Colwill are both suspended after receiving their second bookings of the tournament in the quarter-final win against Palmeiras.
Midfielder Romeo Lavia has not recovered from a muscular problem and the fitness of captain Reece James continues to be monitored after a knock.
Speaking at his pre-match press conference at the MetLife Stadium, Maresca said: 'I think in the last game we had Romeo out, Moi (Caicedo) out, Reece out and we found a solution with Andrey (Santos) playing in midfield. Now with Levi and Liam out, we will find different solutions.'
Spain close in on quarter-finals
Spain thrashed Belgium at the European Championships in Switzerland (Til BuergyAP)
World champions Spain closed in on the quarter-finals of Euro 2025 with a convincing 6-2 win over Belgium in Thun.
Alexia Putellas had put Spain in front in the 22nd minute, only for Justine Vanhaevermaet to swiftly equalise when she nodded in from a corner.
Defender Irene Paredes powered in a header of her own to restore Spain's lead just before half-time, but Hannah Eurlings had Belgium level again shortly after the restart.
Esther Gonzalez's angled drive then quickly restored Spain's lead in the 52nd minute and Arsenal midfielder Mariona Caldentey added a fourth on the hour from close range after a corner.
Claudia Pina curled in a fine 20-yard strike and Putellas then clipped home her second with four minutes left.
Musiala undergoes 'successful' surgery
Jamal Musiala has undergone 'successful' surgery on a broken leg (Andrew Milligan/PA)
Jamal Musiala has undergone successful surgery on the serious injury he sustained during Bayern Munich's Club World Cup quarter-final defeat to Paris St Germain.
The 22-year-old fractured his fibula and broke and dislocated his ankle after a collision with PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma during the 2-0 win for the French side in New Jersey.
Despite fears Musiala could miss the majority of next season, Bayern issued a statement intimating they were optimistic for a speedier return.
Bayern's statement read: 'He (Musiala) will begin his first rehabilitation sessions tomorrow, Tuesday and will be unavailable to the German record champions for the next few months.'
What's on today
Chelsea face Fluminense in New Jersey with a place in the final of the inaugural Club World Cup at stake.
Germany face Denmark and Poland meet Sweden in the women's European Championship, while Champions League qualifying gets under way with Welsh champions The New Saints taking on Shkendija of North Macedonia.
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João Pedro leaves it to Chelsea fans to celebrate after double against old side
João Pedro leaves it to Chelsea fans to celebrate after double against old side

The Guardian

time26 minutes ago

  • The Guardian

João Pedro leaves it to Chelsea fans to celebrate after double against old side

This time last week, João Pedro was on a Brazilian beach; now he's in the Club World Cup final, handed a standing ovation by old fans and new. The 23-year-old forward had been on holiday in Rio de Janeiro when they called to say his £60m transfer to Chelsea had been completed and could he come straight here. Two days and a single training session later, he made his debut in Philadelphia, more than 4,000 miles north of home, a promising glimpse of a future. Four days after that, he was given his first start in New Jersey. It took 18 minutes to get a glorious goal. By the time he headed off, an hour in, he had another. He didn't celebrate either, but there will be another chance soon. He'll be back here on Sunday, Chelsea delivered to the final day. He, perhaps more than any of them, knows what this means. 'I can't stop doing my job,' he had said the day before this semi-final against Fluminense; no one expected him to start doing it quite so quickly, and definitely not quite so well. Yes, he had prepared – 'I was in Brazil with friends but I have a personal trainer; imagine if I didn't train and Chelsea called me to come,' he said – but still. This was something else, certainly compared to the Chelsea strikers who have gone before. He might not even have had the chance to play at all but for the suspension of Liam Delap – but by the time he walked his work was done, a case made to start on his own merits. As he departed, João Pedro applauded the Chelsea fans to his left. Then he applauded the Fluminense fans to his right. Please allow me to introduce myself. And: sorry about that. Both applauded back, from Rio de Janeiro to the MetLife and a whole new life, this was his moment. He had scored two, both of them brilliant strikes, and had been as good as his word. The first bent into the top corner; the second battered off the bar and into the net. No, he had not promised to score, still less like that, but he had promised not to celebrate if he did. And so after each, up went the hands, in apology. The team he had just defeated was his boyhood club. He had joined Fluminense at 10, travelling to live in Rio with his mother. 'I went there and I didn't have nothing. They gave me everything and they showed me to the world. I am very grateful,' he said after the match. 'I am very sorry what happened to them, but I am a professional.' The last of the Brazilian sides that have given this tournament so much, that have made it feel a little like, well, like a World Cup, now he it was who halted their journey. 'It's not about trying to end that,' he had said the day before. 'I know how important it is for Fluminense and I believe it's also very important for us. I'm so grateful for everything Fluminense have done for me, but I can't stop doing my job. May the best team win, and may it be a great spectacle.' The best team did win, although Marc Cucurella did clear one off the line and Chelsea did need a VAR interception to avoid a Fluminense penalty at 1-0. But in truth it wasn't especially spectacular. The game wasn't, anyway. The goals really were. Sign up to Football Daily Kick off your evenings with the Guardian's take on the world of football after newsletter promotion Out across the Hudson, in a place that is more parking lot than anything else, supporters had begun early occupying the vast, exposed expanses surrounding the MetLife. Heat rose from the floor, the smell of hot Tarmac mixing with tailgate barbecues the Brazilians brought. Huge great grills of meat under gazebos. Fluminense fans outnumbered Chelsea supporters but there were a lot of blue shirts, too. There was no sign of João Pedro's 20 among them yet. Cole Palmer, who looks out over Times Square accompanied by the slogan 'Scary Good', appeared the most popular. Others brought a nostalgic touch – there were lots of Lampards out there. By the time they had gone through the gates, past the sign warning that no weapons were allowed inside, they had missed the US national anthem, belted out to empty stands an hour before kick-off at every game here. They weren't entirely full by the time the teams came out one player at a time – João Pedro wasn't the most cheered then, but he would be – but with tickets on sale 17 times cheaper than for Madrid against Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday, it got quite close: 70,566 came. There was the countdown to kick-off, 3pm on a working day. And then they played. This wasn't always the fastest game, nor the most dramatic. It was hot down there – that was shown when it wasn't just the players who escaped inside at half-time but the fans, too – and it never truly felt like Chelsea would not win. Nor was it a surprise. The identity of the man who carried them there was, and it was written. 'We're the ugly duckling,' the Fluminense coach, Renato Gaúcho, had said, but one of them had grown, and flown, something beautiful celebrated all round this stadium, his moment shared with everyone.

Arsenal consider player swap in £68m Eberechi Eze transfer with Crystal Palace
Arsenal consider player swap in £68m Eberechi Eze transfer with Crystal Palace

Metro

timean hour ago

  • Metro

Arsenal consider player swap in £68m Eberechi Eze transfer with Crystal Palace

Arsenal are considering offering a player as part of their bid to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace, according to reports. Eze is on Arsenal's shortlist for the summer transfer window with Mikel Arteta keen to recruit a versatile attacking player alongside a new striker. Palace, however, are standing firm over Eze's availability and are demanding that Arsenal, or any other interested club, pay the 27-year-old's release clause, which could total £68 million after bonuses. Arsenal have already spent £55m on signing Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad, plus a further £5m on Kepa Arrizabalaga, while they are also close to agreeing a €80m (£69m) deal with Sporting CP to sign Viktor Gyokeres and are set to sign Brentford captain Christian Norgaard for £12m. Eze would represent another significant outlay and according to The Sun, Arsenal are considering the prospect of including a player as part of their bid to Palace. Wake up to find news on your club in your inbox every morning with Metro's Football Newsletter. Sign up to our newsletter and then select your team in the link so we can send you football news tailored to you. The report adds that Eze is open to joining Arsenal, who are willing to offer Palace a 'promising defender' as a makeweight in the deal to sign Palace's talisman. Liverpool have also considered a move for Eze while last month, Paul Scholes urged Manchester United to sign the midfielder after he emerged as one of the only positives from England's 3-1 defeat to Senegal. Speaking after last summer's transfer window, Palace chairman Steve Parish admitted he was 'astounded' by the lack of interest in Eze. More Trending 'I was really worried from a club point of view of losing Michael [Olise] and Ebbs in the same window and we didn't have in Ebbs the interest that I thought we would have,' Parish told Sky Sports. 'I was astounded. Genuinely astounded. I mean, the guy's just an outstanding footballer, an outstanding person.' Eze, meanwhile, has made no secret of his desire to join a club that can challenge for the Premier League title. 'Everything there is for me to win, I want to win, and I'll do anything I possibly can to win the Premier League,' he told Sky Sports in May. For more stories like this, check our sport page. Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. MORE: Moises Caicedo injury update as Chelsea reach Club World Cup final MORE: John Obi Mikel makes Nicolas Jackson prediction after Joao Pedro Chelsea heroics MORE: Thiago Silva sends message to Chelsea over Joao Pedro ahead of Club World Cup final

Portaluppi hopes Fluminense run gets Brazilian coaches more respect
Portaluppi hopes Fluminense run gets Brazilian coaches more respect

Reuters

time3 hours ago

  • Reuters

Portaluppi hopes Fluminense run gets Brazilian coaches more respect

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., July 8 (Reuters) - Fluminense's trip to the Club World Cup semi-final should net Brazilian coaches more respect, the club's manager Renato Portaluppi said on Tuesday, after their improbable deep run in the tournament ended in a 2-0 defeat to Chelsea. The former striker, who steered the team to the 1995 Rio de Janeiro championship as a player, turned them from relegation battlers into tournament threats in the span of just three months as manager, and the club received a hero's sendoff from fans at MetLife Stadium. A critic of the influx of foreign coaches in Brazilian club football, Portaluppi hopes the strong showing will shine a light on talent among Brazilian managers . "I hope that not only the rest of the world but Brazil, as well, can look at Brazilian coaches in a different way and appreciate them a little more," said Portaluppi, known as Renato Gaucho. "I have nothing against coaches from other places in the world but people talk a lot about them but pay little attention to Brazilian coaches... This Club World Cup allowed for Brazilian coaches to be seen in a better light and I hope that continues to be the case." South American fans brought a party atmosphere to the Club World Cup and their teams produced some thrilling surprise results against their European counterparts, in a tournament that organisers hoped would showcase the sport's global talent. The final South American team in the tournament can leave with their heads held high, said Portaluppi, promising to maintain momentum for their fans back home. "Our fans are now more excited, they're happier," he said. "They will expect the same performance from us back in Brazil."

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