Football news

Former Ukraine national team player Oleg Shelaev spoke about what he expects from tomorrow’s match of the main stage of the Champions League between Dutch PSV and Donetsk Shakhtar.

"Since the opponents are close to each other in the standings, as they say, it will be a battle for six points. I assess the chances as 70 to 30 in favor of PSV.

I follow the Dutch championship, and PSV’s play makes a strong impression. Moreover, the rivalry will take place in Eindhoven, where the hosts will have strong fan support.

PSV is an aggressive team, its players are strong in duels, and they have active flanks. It will be difficult for Shakhtar to withstand the pressure from the opponent. However, it is not excluded that the miners may benefit from quick counterattacks and home-prepared set pieces," said Shelaev.

President of Madrid’s "Real" Florentino Perez commented on the large number of injuries among his players.

“The lack of rest and all these games affect the health of the players. Bellingham will turn 21, and he has already played 251 games. At his age, Beckham only played 54 matches. The physical and psychological pressure is disproportionate. There is no time to rest, so the risk of injury increases,” — Perez is quoted by AS.

The management of "Leicester" is focused on appointing Ruud van Nistelrooy as head coach after Graham Potter declined.

According to talkSPORT, Potter did not want to coach the "Foxes" for the same reasons that stopped him from working with the club last summer. Now, the main candidate to replace Steve Cooper is Van Nistelrooy, who started this season as an assistant to Erik ten Hag at "Manchester United," later worked four matches as interim coach, and left the club without securing a position in Ruben Amorim's staff.

The International Centre for Sports Studies (CIES) published a ranking of footballers aged under 20 years who can be considered discoveries of 2024.

It concerns 100 footballers with the most playing experience in 2024, who played less than 900 official game minutes at the adult level in the previous year.

There was a place for a representative of Kyiv's Dynamo in this ranking: the defender of the "white-blues" Taras Mikhavko took the 15th spot.

TOP-15 young player discoveries of 2024 according to CIES

1. Pau Cubarsi ("Barcelona") — 91.5 points

2. Kobbi Mainu ("Manchester United") — 83.3

3. Julio Soler ("Lanus") — 77

4. Estevao William ("Palmeiras") — 74.9

5. Semih Kılıçsoy ("Besiktas") — 73

6. Claudio Echeverri ("River Plate") — 72.9

7. Jack Hinshlewood ("Brighton") — 72.3

8. Tobias Palacio ("Argentinos Juniors") — 71.8

9. Yan Min Hek ("Gangwon") — 71.5

10. Breno Bidon ("Corinthians") — 70.9

11. Ivan Roman ("Palestino") — 70.8

12. Alexey Batrakov ("Lokomotiv") — 70.7

13. Pedro dos Santos ("Zenit") — 70.3

14. Taras Mikhavko ("Dynamo") — 70.3

15. Jan-Carlo Simic ("Anderlecht") — 69.4.

Javier Mascherano has officially become the head coach of Inter Miami, as reported on the club's official website.

The contract of the Argentine specialist is set until 2027. Mascherano will lead a team where four of his former Barcelona teammates play: Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Jordi Alba, and Sergio Busquets.

Additionally, before his trip to the USA, Mascherano worked with the Argentine youth national team, which he led to the quarterfinals of the Olympics.

Well-known Ukrainian journalist and commentator Roberto Morales has prepared a forecast for the Champions League group stage match PSV — «Shakhtar».

— The Eindhoven club in 2023 invited Peter Bosz to lead its main team. This step was fully justified: the coach immediately won the Super Cup and finished the championship with a confident victory, overtaking «Feyenoord».

In comparison, «Shakhtar» traditionally won the championship and the Cup of Ukraine. But now the «orange-blacks» are not impressing even in the UPL. They are lagging not only behind the usual rival Kyiv's «Dynamo» (six points), but also behind «Oleksandriya» (three points). And in the Champions League, things are not going well either. After holding a 0:0 draw on the field of «Bologna», they then lost to «Atalanta» and «Arsenal», although an own goal by Riznyk decided it there. Only a struggling «Young Boys» was defeated, largely thanks to the benefice of the young leader, Sudakov. Currently, «Shakhtar» holds a series of five consecutive victories.

PSV is currently leading in the Eredivisie with a five-point lead over «Utrecht». Traditional rivals «Feyenoord» and «Ajax» are even lower. The team's play looks quite balanced. There is a very strong center of defense and a class pair of forwards, Luuk De Jong and Ricardo Pepi. The bet is on the victory of the hosts and goals from both teams, — said Morales.

Current odds for the match PSV — «Shakhtar» >>>

Napoli midfielder Khvicha Kvaratskhelia may continue his career in England, reports the Sportmediaset portal.

According to the source, Manchester United is serious about the transfer of the Napoli leader and is ready to offer Kvaratskhelia a 5-year contract with a salary of 8 million euros per season plus bonuses.

The new head coach of United, Ruben Amorim, who plays in a 3-4-3 formation that perfectly suits Kvaratskhelia, is personally interested in the transfer of the Georgian midfielder.

In turn, Napoli is offering the midfielder a new contract, but on more modest terms. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, it is quite possible that in the summer the Neapolitan club will have to make a deal with United. The transfer fee could reach up to 100 million euros.

Six individuals connected to France national team player Paul Pogba will face trial for attempted extortion and blackmail amounting to several million euros.

The case in the criminal court of Paris has shaken the French football world, primarily because among those involved are three childhood friends of Pogba, as well as the footballer’s brother, Mathias. The six individuals are accused of attempting to extort 13 million euros from Pogba. His brother Mathias posted a video on social media in August 2022, promising revelations about his younger brother that would allegedly be “explosive.” In a subsequent video, Mathias accused Paul Pogba of profanity towards his national team partner Kylian Mbappe.

Later, Pogba's lawyers and his agent Rafaela Pimenta stated that the videos “emerged in the context of threats and attempts at blackmail.”

Forward of «Oleksandriya» Oleksandr Filipov, who played for «Saint-Truiden», commented on the Belgian national team, which became an opponent of Ukraine in the Nations League.

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As reported by UA-Football, in winter "Oleksandriya" plans to sign one of the best scorers of the first league.

The player in question is Andrii Riznyk, a forward from Ternopil’s "Nyva". Despite the fact that Yurii Virt’s team finished the first part of the championship in fifth place and is not contending for promotion by the end of the season, the 24-year-old player ranked second in the scorers' list.

In ten matches, Riznyk scored seven goals and earned one penalty. However, he did not take any penalties himself. In the scorers' list, he only trails Danil Kravchuk, but the representative of "Epicenter" has played four more matches.

"Oleksandriya" is not the only club in the list that wants to acquire Riznyk. However, according to the source, it is the most likely option for Andrii’s career continuation.

Midfielder of Cherkasy LNZ Denis Oliynyk, who once played for the Dutch "Vitesse", shared his prediction for the match PSV — "Shakhtar" in the Champions League.

— Points can be taken from any team. The game against "Arsenal" showed that under different circumstances, a draw could have been brought. I am sure that the coaches of "Shakhtar" will demand the players to tune in as much as possible. Except for "Atalanta", "Shakhtar" has given a fight to each of the opponents in the Champions League. There will be chances with PSV, "Brest", "Bavaria", and Dortmund. We must believe, give all our strength and hope for luck, — said Denis.