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      ‘Happy he’s injured’ – France World Cup winner TEARS into Neymar after PSG superstar is ruled out for rest of season

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      A FRENCH World Cup winner tore into Neymar and declared: “I’m happy he’s injured.”The Paris Saint-Germain forward, 31, was stretchered off in tears during 4-3 win over Lille on February 19.
      Neymar was stretchered off with an ankle injury in February and needs surgeryCredit: Getty
      And it was confirmed the Brazilian will miss the rest of the season because he needs surgery in Qatar to repair ankle ligaments.
      That ruled him out of playing around his sister Rafaella’s birthday on March 11 for the ninth time in ten seasons.
      The news comes as a big blow to PSG in their hopes of overturning the deficit in their Champions League second leg against Bayern Munich.
      But Christophe Dugarry incredibly celebrated the world’s most expensive player’s latest woes – and thinks his long-term absence is good news for the Ligue 1 leaders.
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      The World Cup 1998 and Euro 2000 winner – who looks unrecognisable these days – blasted in a scathing assessment: “I’m happy for PSG that Neymar is injured.
      “I think this is an incredible opportunity, an amazing stroke of luck for Christophe Galtier.
      “The team is much more balanced with five defenders, three midfielders and Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi up front.
      “I can’t bear to see him anymore, I can’t stand him anymore.
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      “I find him insufferable in his dribbling and with that attitude.
      “I don’t want to see him on the field anymore, I’m tired.”
      Neymar’s injury has seen Messi and Mbappe partner up front together in a new-look 3-5-2 formation.
      However, Dugarry worries for PSG should either man be ruled out for any period of time due to a severe lack of depth in the squad’s attack.
      The 20-year-old Hugo Ekitike, on loan from Reims, is the only other senior forward at manager Galtier’s disposal.
      Ex-Barcelona and Birmingham man Dugarry added to RMC Sport: “Hugo Ekitike has shown that he is still not at the desired level and the other attackers are also mediocre.”
      Christophe Dugarry slammed Neymar and reckons PSG are better without himCredit: AFP More

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      England could face World Cup chaos thanks to Championship play-offs with a host of Under-20 stars facing fixture clash

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      ENGLAND’S Under-20 World Cup bid could be wrecked by the Lions cubs playing in promotion play-offs.Ian Foster’s squad heads to Indonesia for the tournament kicking off on May 20 — although some of the players will be needed by their clubs.
      Striker Joe Gelhardt, on loan at Sunderland from Leeds, is one of the starlets who could be involved in the play-offs for a Prem placeCredit: Rex
      Callum Doyle is boosting Coventry’s bid for a Championship play-off spotCredit: Getty
      Sunderland loanee Joe Gelhardt, Sheffield United striker Daniel Jebbison and Middlesbrough’s Aston Villa loanee Aaron Ramsey look sure to be picked.
      But all three are looking likely to be involved in the end-of-season Championship shootout for a Prem place.
      Bristol City midfielder Alex Scott could have a dilemma if his team makes a late charge.
      Coventry duo Callum Doyle and Brooke Norton-Cuffy may face a club-v-country clash.
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      The tournament will be Indonesia’s first ever senior Fifa event.
      England won the cup – held every two years – in 2017.
      Ukraine won the last tournament two years later.
      Covid then put paid to the 2021 event.
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      Of the Lion cubs’ celebrated squad from six years ago, Dominic Calvert-Lewin has proved the most successful.
      The Everton striker, 25, has won 11 senior caps amid links to major Prem rivals.
      Others include fellow full intentionals in AC Milan defender Fikayo Tomori, Southampton full-back Kyle Walker-Peters and Bournemouth forward Doninic Solanke.
      Meanwhile, Atalanta goal machine Ademola Lookman graduated to England U-21s but switched allegiance to Nigeria last year. More

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      ‘It is beautiful’ – Smug Tottenham ace Cristian Romero opens up on celebrating in Mbappe’s face as he makes NO apologies

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      CRISTIAN ROMERO claims it was “beautiful” to celebrate in Kylian Mbappe’s face during Argentina’s World Cup final triumph over France.The Tottenham centre-back even appeared to blame his antics on the hat-trick scorer “saying very bad things” to Enzo Fernandez.
      Cuti Romero: “The photo is beautiful. We are always the bad guys in the movie, but Mbappé was saying very bad things to Enzo. Leo just scored the goal and it came from inside me to do that.” @gastonedul 🗣️🇦🇷 pic.twitter.com/vfLNiVcE4V— All About Argentina 🛎🇦🇷 (@AlbicelesteTalk) March 3, 2023

      Defender Cristian Romero had a right old tussle with France striker Kylian Mbappe before Argentina won the World Cup final on penaltiesCredit: Alamy
      Romero clenched his fists and roared at Mbappe from point-blank range after Lionel Messi had put Argentina 3-2 up in extra time.
      Mbappe’s spot-kick then took the Qatar showpiece to a shootout that Argentina won 4-2 – helped by keeper Emi Martinez controversially leaping around.
      And questioned about his reaction in the December 2022 final, Romero revealed he is delighted the incident has been immortalised in picture form.
      He told TyC Sports: “The photo is beautiful.
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      “We are always the bad guys in the movie, but Mbappe was saying very bad things to Enzo.
      “Leo just scored the goal and it came from inside me to do that.”
      Romero also claimed that, although winning the World Cup has taken the pressure off his career, he can’t revel in it too much as it makes his Spurs team-mates “angry”.
      He said: “Surely for the next few years I’ll be more calm, without this pressure in the national team for having achieved everything.
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      “Being world champion is the most important thing to happen to me as a player, but recently, I have relaxed a little. 
      “I leave it a bit aside otherwise my Tottenham team mates get a bit angry.”
      Romero’s Argentina colleagues Lisandro Martinez and Fernandez returned from Qatar to help inspire Manchester United to third in the Premier League.
      But while the Red Devils are still in the hunt for the Quadruple, Romero’s Spurs only have Champions League glory left as a realistic target. More

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      Ivana Knoll reveals she’s the victim of shocking robbery and has ‘nothing to wear’

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      IVANA KNOLL has revealed she was robbed after arriving in Paris and has been left with little to wear after her dresses were stolen. The model, who shot to stardom at last year’s World Cup, is trying to remain upbeat after one of her suitcases was pinched.
      Ivana Knoll explained to fans that one of her suitcases had been takenCredit: @knolldoll
      The model was left with only one case of clothes and complained of having little to wear during the nightCredit: @knolldoll
      Not long after coming to London, Ivana has jetted off to another one of Europe’s most illustrious cities.
      But she told fans on Instagram that, once again, she had fallen victim to theft in the French capital.
      The influencer snapped a picture of her sole remaining suitcase and let her followers know what happened to the other one.
      Ivana wrote: “Just arrived and they already stole my smaller suitcase. Always very welcome by thieves in Paris.”
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      She then recorded a video of herself to give worried fans some more detail.
      The Croatian said: “Hello from Paris. Just to let you know, I am fine.
      “They just robbed me as usual in Paris. When I arrived last time they took my bag and wallet and now they took my suitcase.
      “They took all my dresses. I don’t know what I will wear tonight.
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      “But let them be.”
      The 30-year-old then winks at the camera and sticks her tongue out as she tried to remain in good spirits.
      Ivana has spent much of the year globe-trotting since returning from cheering on Croatia in Qatar.
      In recent days she has been seen partying with boxing legend Floyd Mayweather and she enjoyed her New Year hanging out with Hollywood actor Jamie Foxx.
      Ivana recently visited LondonCredit: Splash
      She shot to fame in Qatar where she became known as the ‘World Cup’s hottest fan’Credit: Getty More

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      Inside Man Utd star Lisandro Martinez’s pre-match ritual credited with winning Argentina World Cup after Saudi defeat

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      CRISTIAN ROMERO has spilled the beans on Lisandro Martinez’s unique pre-match ritual.The Manchester United defender introduced the habit following Argentina’s shock defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening World Cup game – and the squad did not look back.
      Lisandro Martinez became superstitious after Argentina lost their first World Cup gameCredit: Getty
      After helping his country to win the World Cup, Martinez has enjoyed even more silverware at club levelCredit: Rex
      They went on to win Jules Rimet trophy for the first time since 1986.
      Now back to club action with Spurs, Romero has reflected on “Licha” and his superstitious behaviour which coincided with the turnaround in form.
      The 24-year-old told TyC Sports that Martinez bought a bunch of palo santo, which are small pieces of wood which releases a pleasant smell of pine and lemon.
      Romero said: “Licha believes in everything, he’s very superstitious.
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      “After the game against Saudi Arabia we decided to change the bad energy, so every time before the games, Me, [Nahuel] Molina and Licha were in the [dressing] room and lighting palo santos everywhere to change the energy.”
      It is not known if Martinez has repeated the same move at Manchester United to help spark their incredible 2023 form.
      But it certainly seemed to do the trick for Argentina.
      After that loss to Saudi Arabia, Argentina managed to get out of the group with wins over Mexico and Poland.
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      On his 1,000th career appearance, Messi then came up with the goods to get past Australia in the last 16, before Argentina needed penalties to get past the Dutch after a dramatic 120 minutes of football.
      Croatia fell in the semi-final before Argentina overcame France in perhaps the greatest World Cup game of all time. More

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      I play for Chelsea and captained England Under-15s… but now I’ve been called up for Cameroon

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      CHELSEA youngster Ben Elliott has been called up to represent Cameroon – having previously captained England Under 15s. The starlet qualifies for both countries as he was born in England but has a Cameroonian parent.
      Attacking midfielder Elliott is among Chelsea’s most exciting youth prospectsCredit: Rex
      England could now miss out on a potential star of the future after the African country swooped for the 20-year-old.
      Elliott is an attacking midfielder and among the most exciting young prospects playing at Chelsea.
      He is now part of Cameroon’s 34-man squad for the upcoming international break.
      They have two matches against Namibia, home and then away five days later, as the pair scrap for African Cup of Nations qualifications.
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      The matches are set to be Cameroon’s first games since their shock 1-0 victory over Brazil in the World Cup in a tournament which yielded encouraging results but also saw conflict within the squad.
      Elliott will be hoping to feature as he looks for another milestone in his promising career.
      He signed for Chelsea at the age of eight on a youth contract before singing a professional deal in November 2019.
      Since the 2020/21 season he has been appearing with Chelsea U18s.
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      The next season saw early parts of Elliott’s campaign blighted by injury before he bounced back.
      He has yet to make an appearance for Chelsea’s senior team.
      But he will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of players like Mason Mount, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Tammy Abraham who have all broken into the first-team ranks in recent years. More

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      Football chiefs reveal shock new law to clamp down on ‘s***housery’ – with rule coming into effect THIS SUMMER

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      FOOTBALL chiefs will today confirm a new law to ban Emi Martinez-style shoot-out antics.The game’s law-making body, the International FA Board, has agreed a major clampdown after Aston Villa keeper Martinez used every trick in the book during Argentina’s World Cup shoot-out wins over the Netherlands and France.
      Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez sparked a rule change after his World Cup anticsCredit: Getty
      IFAB is set to end Emi Martinez-styled mind games on penalty kicksCredit: AFP
      Emiliano Martinez has been using mind games with Aston Villa and ArgentinaCredit: Getty
      SunSport revealed the plans were being strongly discussed in January.
      And at its annual general meeting in London today, Ifab will confirm the law change to come into effect from July 1.
      The amendment to Law 14 will state: “Goalkeepers must not behave in a way that unfairly distracts the kicker at a penalty kick or during penalties.”
      That means bookings and eventually dismissals for keepers who deliberately engage in gamesmanship tactics at spot-kicks or in shoot-outs.
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      Martinez’s outrageous behaviour in Qatar was the spark for the law change.
      The Villa gloveman engaged in a series of acts against both Holland in the last eight clash and the final against France, including booting the ball out of the box on one occasion and picking it up, walking back to his line before throwing it away on another.
      That will now be outlawed and bring a yellow card in the first instance and a red for a repeat performance, which would mean an outfield player having to go in goal during a shoot-out.
      In another change, referees will be ordered to add on extra time at the end of each half to take account of goal celebrations as well as substitutions, injury stoppages and VAR interventions.
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      While that does not mean mandating World Cup-style time-keeping in the Prem – England’s opener against Iran lasted 117 minutes – it is anticipated that five or six minutes will be added to the second halves of most games.
      Ifab will also confirm guidelines to determine what is considered “deliberate play” by a defender which will mean an attacking player is not deemed offside if the ball reaches them.
      One example being used would mean Harry Kane’s equalising penalty against Germany in the Nations League last season would now not be awarded because he would be flagged offside with the defender’s touch ruled as unintentional. More

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      Arsenal star Gabriel Magalhaes teases ‘new job’ in subtle dig at boss in now-deleted tweet

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      ARSENAL star Gabriel Magalhaes has issued a now-deleted enigmatic post after missing out on Brazil’s squad.Gabriel has played a major role in the Gunners’ Premier League title challenge this season after forming a strong partnership with William Saliba at centre-back.
      Gabriel Magalhaes issued a now-deleted enigmatic post on Twitter
      Gabriel Magalhaes wasn’t included in Brazil’s squad for the upcoming friendlyCredit: Getty
      However, Brazil caretaker manager Ramon Menezes, who took over from Tite after a poor 2022 World Cup showing, didn’t include the defender for the upcoming friendly.
      The 25-year-old didn’t seem too pleased with that development as he took to Twitter to share an apparent tongue-in-cheek response.
      Gabriel tweeted: “New job”, and accompanied his post with a basketball and a winking emoji.
      That appeared to be a subtle dig at Menezes with the ex-Lille star hinting he may try his luck at another sport.
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      However, the Brazilian deleted his post soon after with his exact message still not confirmed.
      Brazil are scheduled to take on Morocco in Tangier on March 25.
      That will be the Selecao’s first match since their humiliating World Cup exit at the hands of Croatia, who eliminated them from the quarter-finals in Qatar.
      Morocco, on the other hand, will be hosting the Brazilians shortly after becoming the first ever African nation to make it to the competition’s semi-finals.
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      Menezes called up a number of other Premier League stars for the international friendly.
      Those are Manchester City’s Ederson, Nottingham Forest’s Renan Lodi, West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta and Wolves’ Joao Comes.
      Tottenham’s Emerson Royal and Richarlison as well as Manchester United’s Casemiro and Antony also join them.
      Chelsea January signing Andrey Santos has made the squad as well after he was shipped back on loan at Vasco da Gama.
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      Arsenal ace Gabriel Magalhaes appeared to take a dig at Brazil’s caretaker bossCredit: Getty
      There were some other notable omissions, such as Liverpool’s Alisson, Fabinho and Roberto Firmino as well as Barcelona’s Raphinha and Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes.
      Gabriel’s Arsenal’s team-mates Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus are omitted with the latter still injured after the World Cup.
      Paris Saint-Germain superstar Neymar is also not included as he is currently nursing an ankle injury. More