Author: Akshat Mehrish

Akshat Mehrish is a football expert who has a keen interest in tactics and player recruitment aspects of the sport.

A 68th-minute goal from Napoli striker Giacomo Raspadori proved to be the difference between Italy and England in a repeat of the 2020 Euro final, with the former, once again, getting the better of the latter. Resultantly, England dropped down to the UEFA Nations League B. Head coach Gareth Southgate, however, remained upbeat, looking at the positives in the 1-0 reverse. England have had a poor 2022/23 Nations League campaign, with the numbers behind their poor performances making their relegation look even worse. The Three Lions have scored just once in five games, that too from the penalty spot, meaning…

Read More

Tottenham’s record signing Richarlison has revealed his reasons behind choosing Spurs over fierce rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, both of whom were linked with an eleventh-hour move for the attacker. In July, Spurs beat rivals to sign Brazilian attacker Richarlison, paying a fee which could rise up to 60 million pounds if the additional add-ons are achieved, on a contract until 2027. According to reports, Tottenham withstood an eleventh-hour assault from Chelsea for the player while Arsenal, too, attempted to sign the forward sometime over the course of the transfer window.  Credit; Getty Images Speaking in an interview, the 25-year-old revealed…

Read More

FC Barcelona are studying methods to bring back Lionel Messi to Camp Nou – either as a player or as an ambassador – once his stint with Paris Saint-Germain is over. A teary-eyed Messi bid farewell to Barcelona, his club for 21 years, in a press conference midway through the 2021 summer transfer window. Deep in financial distress, the Catalans had to reluctantly part ways with the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, whom they allowed to leave for free for French giants PSG. Credit: FC Barcelona However, accepting that the club still owes the Argentinian a proper farewell, president Joan Laporta recently promised…

Read More

The Three Lions will play the next campaign of the UEFA Nations League in the second division. They dropped to League B following a narrow loss to Italy, the same opponent that beat them on penalties to win the European championships last summer.  https://twitter.com/OptaJoe/status/1573415128099438593 Gareth Southgate’s side enjoyed a dominant first half but were unable to create any clear-cut opportunities to take the lead. The closest the away side came to taking the lead was through Harry Kane, whose effort from long range sailed comfortably over the bar and away to safety. Reece James had attempted his luck prior to Kane’s chance, but the Chelsea…

Read More

Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been crowned England Men’s Player of the Year 2022, beating Tottenham Hotspur star and Three Lions’ captain Harry Kane and West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice to the award – Kane finished third in the running and Rice second. The 21-year-old was presented the award in a special press conference featuring young grassroots footballers hosted by England at their St George’s Park headquarters. Later on, he expressed his delight at being given the honor. “To play for England is special; to get picked to play for your country is another level of honour and proudness…

Read More

Manchester United striker Cristiano Ronaldo has been offered a transfer to Udinese by the club’s goalkeeper Marco Silvestri. The suggestions came in response to Ronaldo’s claims at a recent award gala that he wishes to continue playing at the highest level of football, at least, until the next two major events have passed – the 2022 FIFA World Cup and the 2024 European Championships. “It has been a long road, but I would like to take the opportunity to say that my road is not over yet. I feel motivated, my ambition is high. I am in the Selection with…

Read More

Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud scored a goal each in France’s 2-0 win over Austria in UEFA Nations League A, Group 1. In the same group, Croatia beat Denmark 2-1 and climbed into the top spot with a game to go. Les Bleus were out of the running for the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League finals spot long before matchday four of the tournament, but that didn’t stop Didier Deschamps’ side from putting on a masterclass against Austria – a month and a half before they begin their campaign to retain the FIFA World Cup title.  Credit: FFF Austria’s Patrick Pentz kept his team in the…

Read More

The Netherlands are in prime position to qualify for the final four of the 2022/23 UEFA Nations League from League A, Group 4. The Oranje pulled themselves three points clear at the top with a game left to play with a 2-0 win over Poland, away from home. The Oranje took the lead 13 minutes after kick-off with a well-worked team goal. Steven Berghuis drifted out to the right and played the ball into the feet of Memphis Depay, who, without missing a beat, threaded the pass between two defenders for the onrushing Denzel Dumfries. The right wing-back pulled the ball across the face…

Read More

Bayern Munich have publicly backed manager Julian Nagelsmann despite a poor run of form in the Bundesliga and reports that former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain manager Thomas Tuchel is waiting in the wings. Despite winning both of their UEFA Champions League group stage games with ease, the Bavarians are winless in four in the Bundesliga. They lost their final match before the international break, 1-0 to Augsburg, and were involved in three straight draws before that. The club’s president Herbert Hainer and CEO Oliver Kahn both came out in support of Nagelsmann, with the former even pushing the blame for the team’s poor run onto…

Read More

Lionel Messi’s sixth goal of the season in all competition proved to be the difference between Paris Saint-Germain and Olympique Lyonnais in Sunday night’s big French clash. The Argentine dodged a defender and arrowed the ball into the feet of Neymar before taking up a position just inside the box for the return pass, which he pushed around Anthony Lopes for the game’s only goal.  https://twitter.com/PSG_English/status/1571814608892993538 Lyon youngster Castello Lukeba prevented Messi from scoring his fifth in the league this season – and seventh overall – when he headed his effort away on the goal line. Meanwhile, Lopes, too, kept the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner and…

Read More