Cristiano Ronaldo missed a second training session in a row with the Portugal squad yesterday due to a foot problem ahead of Nations League matches against Croatia and Sweden. “The national team captain... has an infection in his right foot and is undergoing treatment with antibiotics,” the Portuguese FA said in a statement.
Ronaldo, 35, was restricted to a gym session on Wednesday. Lille midfielder Renato Sanches has been ruled out of his country’s first two Nations League games with an undisclosed injury. European champions Portugal won the inaugural Nations League last year, beating the Netherlands 1-0 in the final in Porto. They begin the new campaign at home to Croatia tomorrow before travelling to Sweden three days later.
Man United Van de Beek
honours ex-Ajax teammate Nouri with shirt number
Manchester United’s new signing Donny van de Beek has revealed he will wear shirt number 34 in honour of former Ajax teammate Abdelhak Nouri, who suffered brain damage after an on-pitch heart attack.
United on Wednesday announced they had completed a deal for the Netherlands international worth a reported initial 39mn ($46mn).
Nouri, now 23, suffered brain damage while playing for Ajax in a pre-season game in Austria in 2017. Van De Beek, also 23, explained why he had chosen shirt number 34 in an interview on United’s official website.
“This is a special thing for me because my good friend Abdelhak Nouri... maybe you know the story, he had a heart attack and he’s a good friend of mine. I’m really close with his family and his brother is one of my best friends and I talk a lot with them.
“So I decided to take his old number on my shirt and I want to get good memories with this number.”
Van de Beek, who has signed a five-year deal at Old Trafford, is Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s first signing of the summer transfer window.
Lineker to host
refugee in his home
Former England striker Gary Lineker has agreed to host a refugee to live in his home after criticising the British government’s response to migrants crossing the English Channel.
Lineker, who finished as the top scorer at the 1986 World Cup, recently slammed the government’s approach to refugees as “heartless” and lacking in “empathy”. Conservative MP Lee Anderson had accused Lineker of “virtue signalling” and suggested the pundit should house “the next boat of illegal immigrants”.
Now former Tottenham and Barcelona star Lineker, who works as the host of the BBC’s Premier League highlights show Match of the Day, is prepared to welcome a refugee into his home. The 59-year-old told the Daily Mirror that the charity Refugees at Home would assess his house to see if it was suitable for his potential guest.
Equal pay already in place for England’s national teams
England men’s and women’s senior players have been paid the same match fee for representing their country since January 2020, the Football Association confirmed yesterday.
Brazil on Wednesday joined Australia, Norway and New Zealand on the list of football associations who had publicly committed to paying their men and women players the same amount for earning a senior cap. In March 2019, the US women’s team, the current world champions, sued their federation alleging discrimination over pay and conditions. A judge dismissed their case in May this year but the team have appealed that ruling.
Bundesliga to keep five subs rule for 2020/21 season
Bundesliga coaches will be allowed to make up to five changes during a match for the 2020/21 season, as was the case following the restart after the coronavirus shutdown, league president Christian Seifert said.
Football’s rules makers (IFAB) approved the temporary change to the law in May, and in July extended it into the new campaign due to the short turnaround between seasons. The German FA had already announced the rule permitting five substitutions would apply in the domestic cup and women’s Bundesliga.
The new men’s Bundesliga season is due to begin on September 18 when champions Bayern Munich host Schalke. In mid-August, senior German politicians said they would not back the Bundesliga’s plans for home fans to return across the country. It is now up to clubs to get permission from their local authorities, who manage the preventive measures against Covid-19.
RB Leipzig have received permission to host 8,400 fans – a fifth of the Red Bull Arena’s capacity – for their first game of the season at home to Mainz on September 20. Hertha Berlin said they will allow 4,000 supporters to attend their home opener five days later.
Both the German league (DFL) and German FA have announced they are investing “a seven-figure sum” to finance three scientific studies exploring the conditions required for fans to return to games.
Boca reveal positive virus tests for 18 players
Boca Juniors has announced that 18 of its players have tested positive for the coronavirus, just two weeks before restarting their Copa Libertadores campaign. On Monday the Argentine giants suspended training for 72 hours after detecting what it said was an “outbreak” of Covid-19 at the club’s training centre outside Buenos Aires.
New tests carried out on Wednesday confirmed 18 players had tested positive, but the club declined to identify them. In a statement it described eight of the cases as asymptomatic and the other 10 as mild. Boca are due to play Paraguay’s Libertad in Asuncion when South America’s Copa Libertadores resumes on September 17. President of Argentina Alberto Fernandez cast doubt over the fixture.
“It is very difficult to play in this context. Look at what is happening at Boca. Soccer is a contact sport,” Fernandez said.
Boca’s Buenos Aires rivals River Plate have to visit Sao Paulo in the same competition.
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