A superb volley from Luka Modric secured a 1-0 win for Croatia over Turkey as Group D of Euro 2016 got under way at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
The midfielder was part of the Real Madrid side that lifted the Champions League trophy late last month, and a celebratory couple of weeks continued with his stunning first-half winner in Paris.
In Saturday s media conference, Croatia coach Ante Cacic insisted his team were about more than just Modric and midfield counterpart Ivan Rakitic, highlighting the depth in quality throughout his squad.
But with four minutes to go until the interval, it was indeed Modric who produced a supremely difficult piece of technical skill, volleying a dropping ball beyond Volkan Babacan from distance to spark wild celebrations among Cr…
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Two nations who know they re just a single victory away from a gold medal showdown, Mexico and Brazil will face off at the Kashima Soccer Stadium on Tuesday morning.
Mexico U23
Starting with Mexico, while El Tricolor might have opened their quarter-final meeting against South Korea tipped as a leading contender, few would have expected what was an action-packed display in Yokohama. Managing to avoid what could have been a real second-half collapse on Saturday lunchtime, Head Coach Jaime Lozano eventually saw his side land a stunning 6-3 romp. Knowing that they have the chance to enjoy a real flurry this summer with their senior side still leading the chase to defend their Gold Cup crown, The Greens have largely impressed with their Oly…
Torino striker Andrea Belotti and Roma goalkeeper Antonio Mirante have returned to the Italy squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Greece and Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Belotti emerged as an important player for Italy during their 2018 World Cup qualification campaign, but their failure to qualify for the tournament did not reflect well on him.
On top of that, the striker s form suffered last season when he scored just only 10 times in 32 games, 16 fewer goals than the season before.
He was last included in an Italy squad in September last year, but his form has picked up, scoring eight times in Serie A in 2019 to take his tally for the season up to 15.
Uncapped Mirante also returns, having not been in a squad since 2014.
The 35-year-old di…
Manchester City and Arsenal will be able to call upon two masters of their craft as they chase EFL Cup final glory at Wembley on Sunday.
Sergio Aguero is already City s all-time top goalscorer and two shy of bringing up 200 for the club, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang s prolific exploits at Borussia Dortmund meant there was tangible excitement when he arrived as Arsenal s £56million record signing last month.
Aguero s returns over the past five seasons are remarkably consistent and he is on course for his most prolific campaign yet, despite doubts persisting over how much faith City boss Pep Guardiola truly has in his star forward.
The Argentina international is on 29 this term, following on from hauls of 29, 33, 29, 32 and 28. Despite frequent struggles with …