Archive February 19, 2025

Wales and England will play a friendly at Wembley in October, which has been confirmed as the year’s schedule.

The home countries, which first faced off 146 years ago, have set up the game as a key World Cup qualifier for 2026.

The Three Lions’ game against Latvia and Wales at home in Belgium a few days later will be the focus of the friendly on October 9 as preparation for the three Lions’ game.

When England’s Group K World Cup qualifiers against Albania begin next month under Thomas Tuchel, they will officially take over as manager.

The two nations have met each other 104 times since 1879, most recently in the 2022 World Cup where Gareth Southgate’s side eased to a 3-0 win, sending Wales home from Qatar.

England also won 3-0 in the last Wembley fixture between the sides in 2020, a game played behind closed doors during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bellamy did not play much football while with Liverpool, including playing as a substitute in the 2012 League Cup final defeat to hometown side Cardiff City. Despite his impressive playing career, Bellamy only played a small number of games at Wembley. He also featured for Team GB against UAE during the 2012 Olympics.

Wales’ only previous victory at Wembley came in 1977 when they won the Home Internationals, their first win on English soil since 1936.

A friendly game between Wales and Canada will take place on September 9 at the Swansea Stadium.

Following allegations of racist abuse against Preston forward Milutin Osmajic, according to Clarets manager Scott Parker, Hannibal Mejbri from Burnley is “in a good place now.”

The Tunisian reacted furiously to something that appeared to be said to him by Osmajic during Saturday’s goalless draw by putting in a number of minutes in the second half. Hannibal then addressed the referee Andrew Kitchen for a lengthy discussion.

Burnley said they were “aware of an alleged comment” and would offer their full support to the 22-year-old.

Preston claimed that accusations that Hannibal had been made in public were “strongly refuted” by Montenegro international Osmajic.

“He is all right, he is in a good place”, Parker told BBC Sport. Han and I were disappointed by the weekend, and we both remember that.

He has been trained extremely well over the past few days, and the process is ongoing. We will see what happens from there. “

The Football Association is looking into the incident, and Burnley’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) has also reached out to offer its assistance.

We are bringing Hannibal into the picture and making sure he is in the right frame, Parker said.

The weekend incident’s association is unique to me, and it is a first for me. I’m careful to check on someone who is so young like Hannibal, even though it was likely a shock to him.

Heckingbottom said Osmajic, 25, was “upset” and “did not sleep” on Saturday, adding: “We have to show the incident the importance that it deserves and one thing I have been disappointed about is all the nonsense that has been put online and everywhere.

I’ve told everyone in the club not to get involved in it, and I’m not.

Following the conclusion of the game, Lancashire Police informed BBC Sport on Tuesday that they had received a report of racist behavior from the crowd.

They added in a statement:” Since the report, a number of enquiries have been conducted. No arrests have been made. “

On Saturday, March 1, Preston will face Burnley in the fifth round of the FA Cup, according to BBC Sport, who is aware that the FA’s investigation into the allegation is unlikely to be finished by that time.

When asked if he would consider dropping Hannibal from the game, Parker replied, “I don’t have any thoughts about it. I haven’t had any conversations with Hannibal.”

“I don’t see that happening, but it’s definitely something I’ll need to discuss with Hannibal more in the future.”

Parker also said “there may be some dialogue” with Preston closer to the time.

The maximum sentence for those found guilty of racist abuse will now be six matches.

In November, Tottenham midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur was given a seven-match domestic ban by the FA and fined £100, 000 for using a racial slur about team-mate Son Heung-min.

The Los Angeles Chargers will be the NFL’s designated home team in Sao Paulo during the first week of the 2025 campaign.

A later date will be announced regarding their opponents’ plans for the 5 September game at the Corinthians Arena.

In the first NFL game played in South America in September, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers 34-29 at Corinthians Arena.

“We are delighted to confirm the league’s return to Sao Paulo with the Los Angeles Chargers as the designated team in what will be an incredible next chapter in the market,” said NFL Brazil general manager Luis Martinez.

The NFL has already announced three regular-season games in London and one in each of Berlin, Madrid, and Dublin. It has also announced eight league-operated games internationally.

As well as hosting the NFL’s first regular-season game in South America in 2024, the Corinthians Arena served as an official venue for both football’s 2014 Fifa World Cup and the 2016 Olympics Games.

Ademola Lookman, the Atalanta forward, has criticised Gian Piero Gasperini’s comments, calling him “one of the worst penalty takers” and calling him “one of the worst penalty takers” as “deeply disrespectful.”

As Atalanta exited the Champions League against Club Brugge on Tuesday, Lookman scored 34 seconds after starting as a half-time substitute and also missed a penalty.

Lookman was not supposed to take the penalty, according to Gasperini, who claimed the 27-year-old had a “frankly terrible record even in training.”

Lookman responded on Wednesday on social media by posting a message that “being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not the least of which is because of the incredible effort and dedication I have always put in each day to help this club and the incredible Bergamo supporters.”

The Nigerian international added: “In truth, I have experienced many challenging situations during my time here, the majority of which I have never addressed because I believe the team must always be protected and placed first.

This makes the events of last night even more traumatic. Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night’s result. “

According to Gasperini, team-mates Mateo Retegui or Charles de Ketelaere should have taken the spot-kick.

However, Lookman said he was instructed by” the designated penalty taker “to take it.

” Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen, “said Italian Gasperini.

” He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Although Retegui and De Ketelaere were present, Lookman decided to take the ball in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring, which I did not find particularly amusing.

Before last night’s Champions League exit, Lookman had a perfect penalty record for Atalanta, scoring all four penalties he had taken.

The defending African Footballer of the Year has now converted four penalties in his professional career, including one against Fulham when he converted a spot kick in the Panenka style in 2020.

In the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen last year, Lookman scored a hat-trick, and he has now scored 15 goals for his club overall this year.

However, the Serie A side lost to Club Brugge in their second leg, falling 5-2 on aggregate, as they fell short of the last 16.

After his comments on social media, the official X account of Nigeria’s men’s national team posted in support of the forward.