England should not have called up Marcus Rashford for Euro 2016 with it being so unlikely that he will get on the pitch, according to Andy Cole.
The Manchester United striker, 18, scored eight goals for the club after making his first-team debut in February and netted within three minutes of his first appearance for England against Australia last month.
But ex-United and England attacker Cole disagrees with the viewpoint that Rashford will benefit from the experience of being taken to France if he is not being used in matches by manager Roy Hodgson.
Asked if Rashford was being rushed, Cole said: Yes. I think Marcus has had a fantastic season but he gets in the Euros squad to sit on the bench or to sit in the stands.
People say experience, but for me t…
Market: Moldova win
Odds: 2/5 @
Looking to extend on their recent purple patch, Moldova will welcome Andorra to the Stadionul Zimbru on Thursday evening.
Starting with the hosts, while Moldova might have eventually fallen short last year in the race to book a maiden major tournament ticket, the Tricolours have continued on what has been a real flurry. Opening their Nations League adventure with a routine performance on home soil last month as they cruised their way to a 2-0 victory against Malta, Serghei Clescenco’s men should find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Securing an action-packed 3-2 win against Cyprus over the summer, Moldova should be smelling another golden opportunity here. In fact, Thursday’s hosts have won four of their previous five…
Qatar 2022 World Cup consultant Mike Lee has dismissed accusations of bribery continually aimed at the winning bid.
Qatar 2022 World Cup consultant Mike Lee has dismissed accusations of bribery continually aimed at the winning bid.
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Numerous allegations of bribery and corruption have been
levelled since FIFA announced in December 2010 the Middle Eastern country would
host football s biggest spectacle.
But Lee, who also worked on the London 2012 Olympics bid,
insists it was no different to any other he had worked on.
There have never been any accusations that have
produced evidence about bribes being paid, he said.
Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes forward Jermain Defoe could solve England s current attacking problems.
Despite finding opportunities at Spurs limited this term, Defoe has still managed a return of 13 goals, a better record than that of Danny Welbeck, Daniel Sturrdige and Fraizer Campbell who were included in the last England squad.
With England missing talisman Wayne Rooney for the opening two games of Euro 2012 as well as Darren Bent set to miss the tournament through injury, Redknapp believes Defoe could be the Three Lions solution.
I m sure he could. There s a shortage of strikers, isn t there? Bent is out for the season. So suddenly he has every chance. It is certainly a problem position for England, Redknapp said.
Him playing well for T…
Erik ten Hag is not worried about Bruno Fernandes fitness ahead of Manchester United s final game of the Premier League season.
Fernandes impressed in an attacking midfield role in United s 3-2 win over Newcastle on Wednesday.
The Portugal international was forced off through injury late on, yet Ten Hag is not overly concerned.
Bruno didn t miss so much and he s fit, Ten Hag told United s media channels.
I would say that is one of my least concerns, if he can keep going. He s fresh and he s in very good form but the others you mentioned, it s important [to get game time].
They missed some games. [Marcus] Rashford, of course. [Lisandro] Martinez missed, I would say, almost the whole season. So every minute that he can get, we have to give him. …
Denmark lit up Euro 2020 on Monday as they thumped Russia 4-1 to finish second in Group B and progress to the last 16.
Belgium ran out winners in that group after a 2-0 win over Finland, with Markku Kanerva s side finishing third by virtue of an inferior goal difference to Denmark.
In Group C, the Netherlands sealed top spot with a 3-0 victory against rock-bottom North Macedonia, with Austria joining them in the knockout stages after overcoming Ukraine, who finished third.
Using Opta data, Stats Perform takes a look at some of the best facts from Monday s games.
3 games, 3 wins, 8 goals
The Netherlands = Group C winners
— UEFA EURO 2020 (@EURO2020)
Russia 1-4 Denmark: Hjulmand s side progress in spectacular fashion
…
Gary O Neil believes one victory is all it will take to provide lift-off for Wolves season, as the Premier League s bottom side prepare to visit Brentford on Saturday.
Wolves have taken just one point from their first six matches of the season, having last failed to win any of their first seven games of a top-flight campaign when they finished bottom in 2003-04.
They fell to a 2-1 defeat to leaders Liverpool at Molineux last week and have also faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Newcastle United and Aston Villa in a daunting start to 2024-25.
O Neil believes their performances have warranted better results and insists his team retain the backing of supporters, saying: The lads always show that they re not a group that can t bounce back.
When we lost to Arsenal, we …
Just when you thought that Euro 2008 was going to be an excellent but predictable tournament a game comes along that throws the whole thing wide open.
Up until day six, Germany, Portugal, Holland and Spain were beginning to look invincible. The game against Croatia looked like a relatively tough one for the pre-tournament favourites Germany, but was surely not a game that they could lose.
As an England fan I was totally behind Croatia because if they could do well it would make me feel better about our abysmal failure to beat them in our unsuccessful qualification campaign. The somewhat tepid performance they had produced in beating Austria the other day didn’t look too good for them. Germany, on the other hand, had looked pretty impressive in their win…
The fevered speculation around the future of Kylian Mbappe has at last come to an end.
The 18-year-old France sensation has left Ligue 1 champions Monaco to join rivals Paris Saint-Germain.
PSG will take the forward on loan for the season but with an option to buy him next year for a reported fee of €180million, making him the second most expensive player in history behind new team-mate Neymar.
While it is said the deal has been structured to allow PSG to avoid Financial Fair Play complications, it is nonetheless a staggering outlay on a teenager with only one year in senior football, even though he has been linked with practically every top club on the continent.
So just how good was Mbappe last season? Is he really worth this level of investment? Wit…
11 Manchester City
Poor old Sven Goran Eriksson was sacked after leading City to ninth in the Premiership an improvement of five places on the previous season. What more can a manage do to please his chairman?
Mark Hughes is an excellent manager, but with the controversial former Thai Prime Minister and club owner Thaksin Shinawatra increasingly medalling in team affairs, his position could become compromised. Recent media speculation has suggested Hughes already feels unsettled by communication difficulties between him and his board.
Jo is capable of scoring 20 Premiership goals in his first season and in Micah Richards, City have one of the best defenders in England. But with lack of harmony behind the scenes, that will translate on to the pitch.
12 Su…