World Cup 2022

PATRICE EVRA has urged Gareth Southgate to continue as the England manager.The former Manchester United defender hailed the Three Lions boss as the “future of England”.
Patrice Evra has urged England fans to give the team more creditCredit: AFP
Evra has also said that Gareth Southgate should stay on as managerCredit: Getty
Southgate is statistically the best England manager of all time, having led the side to a World Cup semi-final and Euros final before this tournament’s quarter-final defeat to France.
Following the exit from the tournament in Qatar, there have been question marks over Southgate’s future as manager of England – with the FA giving him Christmas to think about it.
Some have argued that he is not capable of leading the team past the top international teams.
Whereas others have argued that he has done better than any other manager since Sir Alf Ramsey won the World Cup in 1966.
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But Evra believes that he should be kept on as manager.
He told Sky Sports: “This England squad is not better than the England squad when you had like Paul Scholes, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand and all of that.
“But they play as a team, and he built that.
“So that is why I don’t even understand why there is a debate. He should stay, or should he leave?
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“Southgate should stay, Southgate is the future of England.
“But I sometimes think, with personal reasons, when you feel like you’re doing great, and you’re still being criticised, maybe some people from your family would say, ‘you know what? You need to retire’.
“But people forget that England was in the final of the Euros, and now they lose against France.
“Of course, they could have won that game. But please, I ask the fans in England, and I love the English fans… give more credit to your team and your players because they are doing a fantastic job”.
Southgate, along with the FA, is currently reviewing their positions.
He has a contract to be the manager until after the Euros in 2024. More

PAUL POGBA could not resist a playful dig at the haircut of Weston McKennie. World Cup star McKennie returned to club side Juventus sporting a red, white and blue hairdo.
Paul Pogba jokes with Weston McKennie upon his return from the World CupCredit: instagram: @paulpogba
McKennie pictured back in Juventus trainingCredit: https://www.instagram.com/juventus/?hl=en
McKennie debuted the hair in QatarCredit: Getty
And former Manchester United star Pogba, known for his own flamboyant trims, joked that American McKennie was actually supporting another country with the same colours.
McKennie appeared alongside Pogba on the Frenchman’s Instagram story, with the 29-year-old wrapping his arm around the shoulder of his team-mate.
He then joked: “My guy supporting France,” with the pair sharing a laugh after the comments.
McKennie put on a strong showing at the World Cup alongside midfield partner Tyler Adams, with the latter being linked with a move to Man Utd after his exploits.
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The 24-year-old helped his country to progress from a tough group containing England, Iran and Wales.
However, they fell at the Last 16 hurdle as their high-octane style was rendered dull by Louis van Gaal’s pragmatic Dutch approach.
Pogba has been welcoming back his team-mates in Turin after missing out on the World Cup through injury.
Despite initial hope he would not require surgery on top of his nation’s title defence, Pogba eventually opted to undergo surgery on a thigh injury.
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With his recovery seemingly going well, he was then ruled out of the World Cup for sure at the end of October after experiencing a setback.
However, despite the absence of Pogba and N’Golo Kante, who marshalled their 2018 campaign, France have still managed to make it all the way to the final – the first nation to do so since Brazil in 2002.
The partnership of Aurelien Tchouameni and Adrien Rabiot (Youssouf Fofana in the semi-final) has worked wonders and gives France the chance to become the first nation to successfully defend the World Cup since the Samba Boys in 1962.
But they will face an Argentina side which have been getting better and better with every game, not to mention Lionel Messi who is having his best ever World Cup.
Furthermore, Les Bleus have been ravaged in their preparation as virus and injury have swept through the squad, with FIVE stars missing training earlier today. More

OUSMANE DEMBELE has revealed how Lionel Messi told him off for DRIBBLING too much.The French winger hopes to wreck his former team-mate’s World Cup dream in the final against Argentina.
Ousmane Dembele played with Lionel Messi while at BarcelonaCredit: AFP
Dembele has said that the Argentine star told him to dribble lessCredit: Getty
Dembele, 25, played with Messi, the ultimate dribbler, for four years at Barcelona before the superstar moved to PSG.
He said: “I was 20 when I arrived and Messi was amazing.
“I was doing lots of things like dribbling by myself so he taught me to play in a team, taught me to be more composed and to do assists.
“In the dressing room, he is a very simple person. He is modest, helps the younger players and taught me a lot.
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“It is difficult to play against him but we will do everything we can. He is very, very dangerous.
“I have had some great times with Messi. I always said he’s a dream person to play with. I am happy to have had four great years with him.”
France beat Morocco 2-0 in the semi-final and there is confidence they can deliver back-to-back World Cups for the first time since Pele’s Brazil in 1962.
Dembele said: “We are the French team, we are in a World Cup final, we are fighting for our country, the team.
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“The road we have been on and all the players want the French people to be proud of us. It would be great for Lionel to win but we want to win.”
Dembele is likely to start for France as part of the side’s dangerous front three alongside Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe.
Messi was the man of the match in Argentina’s semi-final win over Croatia but has insisted that he knew the team was capable of reaching the final.
He said: “To see these people, the family thought the World Cup was something incredible.
“And we are where we wanted to be. We started off losing but we asked the people to stay confident with us because we knew.
“This group is crazy, we did it. It makes me think of my family.” More

FRANCE’S preparation for the World Cup final has been thrown into chaos after a number of first-team stars missed training. The 2018 champions will be defending their title against a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina on Sunday.
Raphael Varane missed France training ahead of the finalCredit: Getty
Aurelien Tchouameni has been added to the growing list of absenteesCredit: Getty
Semi-final goalscorer Theo Hernandez missed training due to a knee issue.Credit: Getty
However, they have suffered an early dent to their aspirations of being the first team to defend the Jules Rimet since Brazil in 1962 with a number of stars missing training through illness and injury.
Semi-final centre-backs Raphael Varane and Ibrahima Konate were both reported to be missing training due to flu earlier today.
Kingsley Coman has since been added to those absent with flu, with the winger also feeling feverish before the Morocco clash.
Midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni and full-back Theo Hernandez have been added to the list of absentees.
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RMC report the pair are missing due to physical issues rather than viral.
Tchouameni, who has been one of the shining stars of the tournament, was missing due to a hip bruise.
Meanwhile, Hernandez is said to be missing due to a knee problem.
Les Bleus suffered a pair of absentee’s ahead of the semi-final as Adrien Rabiot and Dayot Upamecano were forced to sit out due to illness.
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Boss Didier Deschamps bemoaned how the flu-like virus was affecting training.
He said: “In Doha, temperatures have fallen a little bit, you have air conditioning which is on all the time.
“We’ve had a few cases of flu-like symptoms.
“We are trying to be careful so it doesn’t spread and players have made great efforts out on the pitch and obviously their immune systems suffer.
“Dayot Upamecano felt sick immediately after the match (against England).
“It happens when you make such an effort, your body is weakened and you are more prone to be infected by these viruses.
“We are taking all necessary precautions, we are trying to make sure it doesn’t spread but viruses are of course infectious and we have to take precautions against it.
“We separated him from others and Adrien as well.” More