PLANNING TO DRIVE IN FRANCE?

There are reports of fuel scarcity in France ahead of the continental games due to start next month. The collision between the French government and the country’s largest union federation threatens to paralyze the country two weeks before the Euro 2016 football championship.

One quarter of all French petrol stations were closed or running short of fuel after the militant CGT union federation blockaded refineries and depots in a dispute over reforms of employment law. The government sent in riot police to clear pickets from a large refinery near Marseille and it forced the union federation to retaliate by calling for strikes in all eight of the country’s refineries. Continue reading “PLANNING TO DRIVE IN FRANCE?”

WALCOTT DISAPPOINTED WITH AXE

Arsenal forward, Theo Walcott, “disappointed” not to make England squad for Euro 2016 but accepts the decision of the coach, Roy Hodgson.

Manchester United teenage sensation Marcus Rashford and Andros Townsend were named ahead of Walcott in the provisional 26-man squad, which will be cut down to 23 by the end of this month. Continue reading “WALCOTT DISAPPOINTED WITH AXE”

Jurgen Klopp confident on Jordan Henderson

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp remains confident that midfielder Jordan Henderson will be able to make it into the England squad for the Euro 2016.


Henderson has come a long way since being labelled as a disappointment following his move from Sunderland in 2011. He has become important members of the squad especially in the last two years. Henderson has been groomed as a successor for Steven Gerrard, but Liverpool have been unable to implement it due to succession of injury problems for the 25-year-old. After making 54 appearances in all competitions last season, Henderson has been able to appear in less than half of the games so far.

The midfielder’s current injury problem is a ligament tear in the knee that occurred during the Europa League quarter-final against Borussia Dortmund. He was straightaway ruled out for two months back then. It would have spelt an end to his hopes of featuring for England at the Euro 2016. Now that Liverpool’s season has been extended by their involvement in the Europa League final against Sevilla on May 18, Liverpool are hoping to get the midfielder fit for this game. It would eventually make him available for the Euro 2016 as well, according to Klopp. Continue reading “Jurgen Klopp confident on Jordan Henderson”

Louis van Gaal has ruled out the possibility of Bastian Schweinsteiger

Louis van Gaal has ruled out the possibility of Bastian Schweinsteiger featuring for Manchester United this season, but he says that the German midfielder could feature at the Euro 2016. Schweinsteiger joined United in the summer on a free transfer.

Even though his impact at Old Trafford has not been as big as he would have liked, the midfielder has been a key player. He was expected to play a major role in the club’s push for a Champions League place this season. However, he suffered a knee injury while with Germany on international action on March.

Van Gaal confirmed the devastating news on Friday confirming that the 31-year-old is unlikely to be seen for United this season. Given that the Euro 2016 is still a month and a half away, German fans have been anxious to hear about the fitness status of the player. Van Gaal says that there is a little possibility that Schweinsteiger could be back for the world champions just in time for the Euro 2016. Germany bossJoachim Loew has not closed the door shut on Schweinsteiger’s chances of being named in the squad. Loew says that Schweinsteiger has always been a top professional and will work hard towards getting fit. Continue reading “Louis van Gaal has ruled out the possibility of Bastian Schweinsteiger”

Antonio Conte confirms about his Future with Italian National Team

Antonio Conte has confirmed that his future with the Italian national team is not dependent upon the results at Euro 2016.

The former Juventus boss recently announced his departure from the national team at the end of the tournament. His contract comes to an end in June and he has decided not to renew the deal. The announcement has triggered a lot of speculation that he is about to become the next Chelsea manager. The blues have been reportedly holding talks with Conte for a few weeks and they believe that they have a deal.

No precontract agreement has been signed between the two parties, but Conte is expected to come into Chelsea once Guus Hiddink’s time comes to an end in the summer. Hiddink is at Chelsea only as an interim manager. It was previously thought that Conte’s inability to get highflying results with the national team has been seen as a reason behind his departure. There are also rumours about the Italian FA placing unreasonable demands of the boss at the Euro 2016. Conte has swiftly ruled out those rumours. If the 46-year-old takes charge of Chelsea, he will be the second Italian to manage the club in the last decade. Carlo Ancelotti had immense success in his first season at the club. Continue reading “Antonio Conte confirms about his Future with Italian National Team”

Robbie Fowler believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should take striker Daniel Sturridge

Former Liverpool forward Robbie Fowler believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should take striker Daniel Sturridge to the Euro 2016 even if the player is only half-fit.

The 26-year-old has struggled with recurring injury problems in the last two years and it has limited him to less than 30 appearances in the league. Sturridge, however, is an accomplished goalscorer and he has proven his quality in the years leading up to the 2014-15 season. The England international almost became the top scorer had it not been for Luis Suarez during the 2013-14 season.

After being criticised by manager Jurgen Klopp for failing to overcome minor injuries, Sturridge recently made a comeback and featured in the starting line-up against Aston Villa. He once again proved his worth by scoring yet another league goal. Even though he failed to complete the full 90 minutes, it was a major step in the right direction for the former Manchester City and Chelsea forward. Even though Hodgson has a lot of options other than Sturridge, Fowler reckons that the pace and quality provided by the Liverpool forward will be second to none especially when a tactical changes required in the second half. Continue reading “Robbie Fowler believes that England manager Roy Hodgson should take striker Daniel Sturridge”

Republic of Ireland’s reward for qualifying to the Euro 2016

Republic of Ireland’s reward for qualifying to the Euro 2016 will be a group that involves former world champions Italy.

Manager Martin O’Neill conceded that it will be difficult to get out of the group, as it also involves teams like Belgium and Serbia. Belgium have been one of the best teams in the world over the last few months. Ireland had to go through a play-off in order to qualify for the Euro 2016 and the prospect of facing a former world champion will only strike more fear. O’Neill admitted that this was one of the toughest groups that his team could have come up against.

Belgium have done exceedingly well in recent times and they are currently ranked as the second best team according to FIFA. They will be the favourites to qualify from the group as the winners whereas Italy will always remain in contention despite their recent poor form. Manager Antonio Conte took over the national team since the disappointing World Cup 2014. He has managed to impart his own style that has proved successful in recent high-profile friendly matches. Despite the tough group, O’Neill remains confident that the team will be able to get past the group stages. Continue reading “Republic of Ireland’s reward for qualifying to the Euro 2016”

Wales have become one of the surprise packages ahead of the Euro 2016

Wales have become one of the surprise packages ahead of the Euro 2016 after qualifying victories for this major tournament.

It has given enough confidence for midfielder Jack Collison, who says that the team can repeat the heroics of teams like Greece. France will be holding the next European championships in the summer of 2016. A number of teams like Germany will be heading into the tournament as favourites, but there are also a few dark horses like Wales and Belgium in the list. Propelled by the inform Aaron Ramsey and Gareth Bale, the national team recently achieved qualification to the tournament by finishing only behind Belgium.

Even though this means that Wales could potentially face a tough team in the group stages of the tournament, they have already overseen a number of challenges and it could give them a lot of confidence. Greece came into the Euro 2004 not expected to even qualify for the knockout stages, but they ended up winning the tournament. Collison reckons that Wales are good enough to come up with such a surprise in this upcoming competition. The major strengths for Greece back then was a strong defence, as they did not concede even a single goal in the knockout stages on the way to the title. Continue reading “Wales have become one of the surprise packages ahead of the Euro 2016”

Spain have become favorites

Spain have become favourites to top their group after a 1-0 win over Macedonia saw them move to points ahead of Slovakia in the second spot.

The former world champions were overwhelming favourites to win their group, but they suffered from a hangover after the World Cup 2014 to lose ground in the early parts of the qualification campaign. Slovakia claimed full advantage by opening a substantial advantage, which has since been reduced to a two-point deficit following impressive form from Spain. The Spaniards needed to defeat Slovakia in order to overtake them and they exactly achieved it with a 2-0 victory a few days ago.

This has been followed up by a narrow win against Macedonia. Spain were definitely not at their fluent best and their performance was later criticised by manager Vicente del Bosque. He claimed that it was only by chance that Spain managed to defeat their less illustrious opponents. The game was expected to be a walk in the park for a team containing the likes of Andres Iniesta, Diego Costa, and Cesc Fabregas. After all, Macedonia lie at the bottom of the group after having conceded 16 goals in just 8 games. Only a Pachovski own goal saw Spain grab three points from this encounter. Continue reading “Spain have become favorites”

HODGSON WILL STAY ON

Roy Hodgson expressed his desire to stay on as the England manager despite a very poor World Cup 2014. His wish was granted after his contract was extended until Euro 2016, but growing speculation about his future has led to the manager stating that he would step down if he is no longer needed.

England have managed to win all their Euro 2016 qualifying matches up until now. This has put them in an excellent position as far as reaching the tournament final in France is concerned. However, doing well in a major tournament is a totally different aspect and it is something has Hodgson struggled with. Continue reading “HODGSON WILL STAY ON”