Quick Report: Austria 3-1 France

Hungarian football fans know a thing or two about Golden Generations.

And while the likes of Ferenc Puskas and the rest of the Magnificent Magyars belong to a different time, consigned to a chapter in a football encyclopedia, the term continues to be bandied around every time a country turns up at a major tournament with a crop of promising players.

For some it s a millstone ask any England or Portugal fan of the past 20 years but for some it becomes a welcome pressure, an added responsibility on which they thrive.

At his pre-match press conference prior to the last 16 clash with Hungary in Toulouse, Belgium coach Marc Wilmots welcomed the tag of match favourites. We ll need to play like a big nation, like a favourite, he said. Earlier in the week, he said he d h…

Real Madrid target David Villa, the top scorer at Euro 2008, has ended speculation about his future by extending his contract with Valencia until 2014, the Spanish first division club said Wednesday.

The best striker in Europe will remain at Valencia, the club s president, Vicente Soriano announced.

The Internet site of sports newspaper Marca said Valencia would make the 26-year-old the best paid player in their history, with an annual salary of more than three million euros.

Villa s contract was extended by one season from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014.

I am grateful to Valencia for this gesture and for all that (the club) has given me and to Vicente Soriano for the effort he has made, Villa said.

The news is a further blow to Real Madrid, who wer…

The 2018-19 Serie A season has ended and now it’s time to analyse what happened in Italy’s top-flight. The biggest news was Juventus winning the title and the fact that three other teams will join them in the UEFA Champions League next year: Napoli, Atalanta and Inter Milan.

Yes, you read that right. Atalanta will play in the Champions League next season and their overall campaign has been quite a story. They have undoubtedly become Italy’s most surprising side during the season and their accomplishment is especially huge given how they started the season.

Atalanta’s rise will be one to remember

You might not remember this, but Atalanta looked like a team destined to fight against relegation in the first few weeks of the season. They only gained six of their fi…

Antonio Conte has stressed Gary Cahill should not be held responsible for Ryan Mason being forced to retire prematurely due to injury.

Mason suffered a skull fracture after clashing heads with Cahill in an aerial challenge during a game between Chelsea and Hull City at Stamford Bridge in January 2017.

The one-cap England international had hoped to be able to return to the pitch but Mason confirmed this week he has called time on his career after taking medical advice.

Chelsea face Mason s former club Hull in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Friday and Conte believes the midfielder s retirement ought to be considered an unfortunate side-effect of football.

For sure, this is a question for Gary, Conte said when asked how Cahill had responded to Mason s re…

New Southampton manager Ronald Koeman has revealed they are hopeful of sealing a deal for Feyenoord s Graziano Pelle in the coming days.

Southampton had been linked with a move for the 28-year-old forward but Koeman s comments – in his first press conference as the club s new coach – suggest the transfer is close to being finalised.

The situation about Pelle…it will be near to have another one in the team, Koeman said on Friday.

It s close. But it s still not signed. But it s coming close.

We hope maybe this weekend to have him as the second new player of Southampton.

Koeman knows all about Pelle, having coached him at former club Feyenoord, where he has been prolific since joining from Parma, initially on loan, in 2012.

Pelle �…

Atletico Madrid and Juventus have been linked with a cut-price move for out-of-favour Manchester City forward Stevan Jovetic,.

Wilfried Bony’s arrival at the Etihad Stadium from Swansea City back in January saw the 25 year old former Partizan and Fiorentina man fall further out of favour, with both Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero also ahead of him in the pecking order in Manuel Pellegrini’s side.

Jovetic has made just sixteen appearances in all competitions so far this season, and started only nine games in the Premier League.

He hasn’t featured at all since the 1-1 draw with Hull City over a month ago, while he has scored just once since netting in the 3-2 win over Sunderland on New Year’s Day.

The Montenegro international moved to the Manches…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp thinks it is crazy how quickly critics were on the backs of Darwin Nunez and Erling Haaland in pre-season.

Uruguay striker Nunez joined the Reds from Benfica in a transfer potentially worth £85million (€100m) in June, while Manchester City sealed a reported £51m (€60m) deal with Borussia Dortmund for Haaland a month earlier.

Both major investments were seen as deals that could widen the gap between them and the rest of the Premier League, though each player has courted criticism.

For Nunez, the flak arrived as early as his first pre-season game after missing a big chance in a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United.

Haaland was then ridiculed for a difficult day against the Reds as Klopp s side won the Community Shield at …

Fabrizio Romano has claimed on that Pedri will not leave Barcelona in the summer transfer window. The well-known and well-respected journalist has reported that Barcelona want the Spain international midfielder to be part of their team for a long time.

Romano has said that Barcelona want to offer Pedri a new and improved contract once they have sorted their current financial problems. The teenage midfielder is out of contract at the Spanish giants in the summer of 2022, but the former La Liga and European champions do have the option to extend it for two years.

https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1412829161383673856

reported in April that Liverpool are interested in signing Pedri from Barcelona in the summer transfer window. It was claimed that the forme…

Verdict: Draw

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Many fans like to bemoan the international break, especially when the games played are only friendlies, and this kind of match will fall perfectly into their criticisms. Albania and Norway are two run of the mill European sides in desperate search of some kind of relevance, as they aim to build some momentum over the next few months before their kick off their attempts to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020.

Albania

The Albanians appeared to be gathering some momentum towards the end of their World Cup qualifying campaign, only for games against Spain and Italy to cut them at the knees. Their appearance at Euro 2016 gave fans hope that they could carry their form over to the next competition, but it wasn t to be, and now …

Victor Wanyama s late goal ended Tottenham s five-match winless run with a 1-0 victory against Crystal Palace at White Hart Lane to extend their London rivals away-day woes.

Spurs had not tasted victory since the 4-0 win over Stoke City in April at the bet365 Stadium the same ground where Palace last won on their travels in the league in December 2015.

But Wanyama marked his home debut in fine style with a close-range header to seal the points for Mauricio Pochettino s men.

Vincent Janssen made his first start for Tottenham, and he missed a number of great chances as he sought his maiden goal in English football.

Alan Pardew s visitors had won at White Hart Lane in the FA Cup last season, but rarely troubled Michel Vorm, standing in for injured capt…