Arsenal’s Director of High Performance Darren Burgess has said that Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira have excelled to the training and fitness sessions with the club. Burgess joined the north London side from Port Adelaide in 2017 and he has since been in charge of the fitness, nutrition, and rehabilitation progress of the first-team squad.

In a report covered by Optus Sport, Burgess was complimentary about the workrate levels of Torreira and Xhaka in training and said that the central midfield duo like to take every session personally, he said: “I’ll tell you who I really like, the two central midfielders; Lucas Torreira and Granit Xhaka. I love the fact that Lucas Torreira, in every single drill, takes it personally if someone gets by him.
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Brazil international Gabriel Jesus has said that he made the right decision to join Manchester City shortly after the club’s 1-0 triumph over Brighton & Hove Albion in the FA Cup semi-final. The younger striker has cut a frustrated figure on numerous occasions this term with Sergio Aguero preferred ahead of him, but he made the key difference at the weekend where he scored the winning strike in the fourth minute.

Speaking to the club’s official website, Jesus said that he is pleased to have made the decision to join the Citizens and he is hoping to guide the club to plenty of trophy success, he told: “When I decided to come to City I spoke with my family and my mum and I said I wanted to come here to win titles – to be champions. I looked at the players and the manager and said ‘This is my place’. I am glad I did, as I made a good decision. I’m so happy to be in the FA Cup final as we want the titles.Of course we want to win the Quadruple but we think just about the next game.”
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Former Brazil goalkeeper Dida has hailed the qualities of Alisson Becker and believes he is one of the strongest shot-stoppers in Europe’s top leagues at the moment. The 26-year-old made the switch from AS Roma during last summer’s transfer window and he has since been efficient between the sticks for the Reds with 16 clean sheets in the Premier League alone.

Speaking to The Liverpool Echo, Dida was pleased with the performances of Alisson since his Premier League move. He added that he was already aware of the player’s qualities from his youngster days and his compatriot can be regarded as one of the best goalkeepers working in Europe at present, he said: “I could see his qualities from the very beginning. He was very agile and quick to read the offensive schemes.
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Qatar can be helped out by Kuwait, UAE, and Oman when it comes to expanding the World Cup 2022 to 48 teams. FIFA are very keen on increasing the total number of teams from 32 to 48, and it would make the upcoming edition of the World Cup as the biggest in history. FIFA president Gianni Infantino recently claimed that the decision to increase the total teams will be taken shortly but the decision has been delayed due to the geopolitical tensions. Qatar’s relationship with the likes of Saudi Arabia have been completely cut off for the last two years and the latter may be one of the best choices for helping Qatar to expand the total World Cup teams.

However, it now appears that the likes of Oman and Kuwait are arriving to help the nation. Qatar has also been assisted by UAE, who have claimed that they would like to host some of the matches but everything remains in the hands of Qatar. If the geopolitical tensions continue to exist, it may become difficult for the likes of UAE to help out Qatar. The additional countries already have the infrastructure and the stadiums necessary for the World Cup matches, and they also happen to meet the FIFA requirements. This eliminates the need to construct new stadiums, which may be very difficult with only three years left for the tournament.
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Jose Mourinho has confirmed that he is unlikely to be stepping into the World Cup 2022 as a national team manager or as a pundit, as he is planning a swift return to club football management. The Portuguese recently was sacked from his role at Manchester United after just under three years.

He is once again on the lookout for a new job with the likes of Paris St Germain being interested in his services. The Portuguese was recently seen visiting Qatar in order to look at the various preparations going on for the World Cup 2022 – including the construction of several new stadiums. (more…)

Mexico have confirmed the appointment of Tata Martino as their new manager following the veteran’s success with Atlanta United in Major League Soccer. The former Barcelona star had a storybook season with Atlanta during the previous campaign where he guided them to MLS Cup success in just their second season in the top tier.

Speaking after joining El Tri, Martino revealed that he has committed to the nation for the next four years and the ambition is to reach the quarter-final of the World Cup with the country being knocked out at the round of 16 stage in the previous seven editions, he said: “I’m getting onboard with the objective of playing in the fifth match of the World Cup. But before that, I want to put in place a system of play and a clear idea. We won’t just magically arrive there. The spirit of the contract is that of the World Cup cycle of four years.”
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Former England player and Under-21 manager Stuart Pearce believes Gareth Southgate has vastly improved the performances of the national side since taking charge at the helm. The Three Lions managed to reach the semi-final stage of the World Cup for only the third time in their history during the summer but they was some sort of disappointment after Croatia denied them the opportunity to reach the final event.

However, Southgate and his team managed to overcome the setback by securing a dramatic 2-1 comeback win over the Croatia on Sunday and the victory has offered England with the chance to vie for potential silverware after progressing to the Nations League finals. Speaking on Sky Sports News, Pearce highlighted that Southgate has become a better manager as his time with England has progressed and feels the 48-year-old does not have second thoughts with his selection for any matchday.
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FIFA chiefGianni Infantino has claimed that Qatar neighbours could ultimately join hands to host the 2022 World Cup. This tournament will encompass 48 teams and it is a substantial increase over the previous editions which featured only 32 teams. As a result, there will be plenty of requirements for stadiums across the host nation. It would allow 64 matches will be played at eight different stadiums over the course of 28 days.Qatar has been in a rift with neighbours, who have boycotted all forms of economy and travel with the oil-rich state.

Infantino admitted there was tension between countries like the Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. However, he says that the possibility of sharing games is quite feasible and that leaders should consider giving it a try since it would send a good message to the world. The FIFA chief has compared the situation to the 2026 World Cup edition, which will feature games hosted jointly by Canada, United States, and Mexico. Even though the three countries are involved in several trade disputes, they have joined together in order to host the event. At the same time,Infantino admitted that it is highly unlikely that most of the Middle East states will be joining hands with Qatar considering that they have little to gain from such an arrangement.
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Former Brazil manager Vanderlei Luxemburgo has backed Neymar to be the best player at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The Paris Saint-Germain star struggled with a foot injury during the backend of the previous league campaign and this partly hampered his performances for Brazil at the World Cup finals in Russia.

Moreover, he was also heavily criticised for the diving antics whenever he was fouled at the global tournament but Luxemburgo believes the attacker will be better prepared for the next World Cup in the Middle East, he told Omnisport: “Of course it has an impact on him. You can be sure of what I will say now: Neymar will be the best player of the next World Cup.
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Brazilian soccer star Robinho confirmed that the familiar faces at Real Madrid, as well as the chance to play at the Santiago Bernabeu helped him decide to move to the Spanish capital in such an important phase of his career development, rather than join their rivals Barcelona.

The forward, who has had quite a career, said the large group of Brazilian faces, and the coaching staff that was familiar faces helped him decide to join them, though he added that Barcelona also had a similar mix of players he knew at the time, and were interested. What swung it at the time was the fact that Robinho would be playing in the massive Bernabeu stadium on a weekly basis – as a child he had always dreamed of playeing there rather than in the Maracana or the Camp Nou. (more…)