Dortmund's stance on loanee Chukwuemeka revealed
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
23 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Infantino awaits his ‘big bang' as Club World Cup refuses to slide away
Like Dr John Hammond and his scientists in Jurassic Park, Gianni Infantino and his fawning Fifa lickspittles have spent recent years so preoccupied with whether or not they could, that they didn't stop to think if they should. The upshot is that a preposterously lucrative tournament described by its creator as 'a big bang' has been crowbarred into an already jam-packed calendar. And the largesse of its in-no-way unethically sourced prize-money for those participating now threatens to destroy several already under-threat footballing ecosystems around the world. Excessive heat, often sparse crowds, overambitious stadium bookings, concerns over immigration raids, exhausted players, that Juventus video from the Oval Office, Saudi money, individual player walk-ons, discordant mismatches, lengthy weather delays – the list of snags that need to be ironed out in the inevitable future editions of Copa Gianni goes on and on. But if you can see past the Fifa overlord's self-aggrandising and disingenuous bombast, this brain-fart of his is a wheeze that's not entirely without merit. And with the quarter-finals upon us, the tournament might finally live up to the garrulous hype with which Fifa's equivalent of The Simpsons' monorail guy Lyle Lanley has long been trying to sell it to us marks. First up are Al-Hilal and Fluminense in Orlando, the stuff of lurid Infantino fantasies that will ensure either a Saudi Pro League side or a Brazilian team will make the final four. One of two remaining Brazilian sides left in the competition, Fluminense have thoroughly enjoyed their stateside sojourn and are favourites to see off the self-styled plucky Saudi underdogs who have spent just £412m on transfers over the past two years. While most of their fans will be in bed, Chelsea take on Palmeiras, but may have to make do without one of their players of the tournament, Pedro Neto, who is mourning the sudden loss of his great friend Diogo Jota. 'In terms of Pedro, he is very sad,' said Enzo Maresca. 'Probably more than sad. I had a chat this morning with Pedro. We support him. Any decision he will take is the correct one.' In what would certainly have been billed as the Bellingham Brothers derby if Jobe hadn't gone and earned himself a spell on the Naughty Step, Dortmund play Real Madrid at the MetLife Stadium in Noo Joyzee, while Bigger Cup winners Paris Saint-Germain go toe-to-toe with Bayern in Atlanta. 'We feel that when we're at our best, we can beat anyone,' chirruped Harry Kane, reading from his Big Book of Pre-Match Platitudes. 'We'll approach this match with the same feeling.' As for the plodding dinosaurs who've been brought back from extinction? Well, their eagerly-awaited reunion tour kicks off later in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and, unlike at Copa Gianni, the dynamically priced tickets are sold out. Join Barry Glendenning at 5pm (BST) for Euro 2025 updates on Denmark 0-0 Sweden and Scott Murray will be on hand at 8pm for Germany 0-0 Poland. I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy. I could talk about him as a player for hours, but none of that feels like it matters right now. It's the man. The person. He was such a good guy. The best. So genuine. Just normal and real. Full of love for the people he cared about. Full of fun. He was the most British foreign player I've ever met. I can't believe we're saying goodbye. It's too soon, and it hurts so much. But thank you for being in my life, mate – and for making it better' – Liverpool's Andy Robertson remembers his friend, Diogo Jota. And Miguel Dantas reports on how the deaths of Jota and his brother André Silva have shaken Portugal, where mourners are gathering in Gondomar for the funeral on Saturday. Diogo Jota, an opponent that you'd have in your team in a heartbeat, and that's from a Toffee' – Ian Taylor. Regarding Chinese third-tier club Changchun Xidu and the superstitious paper charms (yesterday's News, Bits and Bobs, full email edition). Are they effective if you want to put off a co-worker competing for the same promotion? Asking for a friend' – Steve Mintz. Please send your letters to This is an extract from our daily football email … Football Daily. To get the full version, just visit this page and follow the instructions.
The Independent
23 minutes ago
- The Independent
Chelsea reach Club World Cup semi-finals as late own goal downs Palmeiras
Chelsea scored a fortuitous late own goal to snatch a 2-1 victory over Palmeiras and reach the Club World Cup semi-finals. Extra time was looming at Lincoln Financial Field when Malo Gusto's cross took deflections off Agustin Giay and goalkeeper Weverton and ended up in the back of the Brazilians' net in the 83rd minute. The London side had led early on through Cole Palmer but were pegged back by a superb strike from Estevao Willian, the 18-year-old winger who will join them after the tournament. Palmeiras had been threatening to finish the stronger but Gusto's late stroke of luck ensured it was Chelsea who went through to face Fluminense in the last four. The contest was played in vibrant atmosphere with the crowd, perhaps helped by the dynamically-priced tickets having dropped as low as £8 earlier in the day, an impressive 65,782. That was despite the counter-attraction of a free Independence Day concert and firework display in downtown Philadelphia – albeit one for which headline act LL Cool J pulled out. The soundtrack to the evening was provided by the constant drumbeat and singing of Palmeiras' sizeable following. It was a noise Chelsea could not silence but, despite being forced into a late reshuffle after captain Reece James was injured in the warm-up, they settled the quickest. Pedro Neto started despite having considered missing the game following the death of his Portugal team-mate Diogo Jota, the Liverpool forward, and he held up a shirt bearing his name, and that of his brother Andre Silva, during a pre-match moment's silence. Palmer had already forced a good save from Weverton when he opened the scoring following a fine run and finish on 16 minutes. The England international wrong-footed a defender with a quick turn and he then swerved past another challenge before delivering a left-foot shot into the bottom corner. Chelsea could have increased their lead as Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez tested Weverton and Trevoh Chalobah and Christopher Nkunku missed the target. With Cucurella giving Estevao a tough time until this point, Palmeiras struggled to create openings. They finally threatened just before the interval but Robert Sanchez comfortably saved Vanderlan's header and Bruno Fuchs nodded over after the restart. It proved the start of a good spell for the Sao Paulo side and the equaliser came as Estevao took a pass from the right and lashed in a shot from a tight angle. It was a stunning finish and Chelsea immediately responded by sending on Joao Pedro for his debut following his £60million move from Brighton. Chelsea had a scare when Allan drove narrowly wide and Levi Colwill needed to make a last-gasp interception prevent another Palmeiras chance. But they had a good opportunity themselves when Cucurella shot over and then edged in front when Gusto's cross took a ricochet and fooled Weverton. It was a decisive blow and Noni Madueke almost added a third when his late shot was tipped onto the post by Weverton. Liam Delap and Colwill will miss the semi-final after being booked.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Palmeiras 1-2 Chelsea: Late own goal sees Blues reach Club World Cup semi-finals after Estevao stuns future team-mates with brilliant strike
Chelsea will play in the semi-finals of the FIFA Club World Cup on Tuesday after overcoming Brazilian side Palmeiras in Philadelphia on Friday night. The Blues needed a late own goal, scored by Agustin Giay, to see off impressive opposition, led by Estevao Willian playing in his final game for Palmeiras before moving to Stamford Bridge. Cole Palmer fired Chelsea in front in the 16th minute before Estevao equalised with a stunning finish from a narrow angle early in the second half. But Enzo Maresca 's men eventually prevailed after Malo Gusto's heavily deflected effort hit the net seven minutes from time. More to follow.
