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      Emotional Lionel Messi reacts to Argentina pal Nicolas Otamendi’s ‘more than special’ tattoo after World Cup win

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      LIONEL MESSI hailed a “more than special” tattoo Argentina team-mate Nicolas Otamendi has had inked to celebrate their World Cup triumph.Lionel Scaloni’s side are still flying high after their glorious triumph in Qatar back in December.
      Lionel Messi (L) and Nicolas Otamendi (R) both played key roles in Argentina’s World Cup successCredit: EPA
      The defender now has a tattoo of his legendary team-mateCredit: Instagram
      Following a thrilling 3-3 draw with France, Argentina held their nerve in the shootout to win the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
      A huge party back in the South American nation ensued for several days after they returned home with the trophy.
      They returned to action last week in front of INCREDIBLE scenes at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires that left Messi fighting back the tears.
      The 36-year-old Paris Saint-Germain then helped fire them to a 2-0 win over Panama by scoring a free-kick.
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      He then followed that up with a hat-trick in Wednesday’s 7-0 thrashing of Curacao.
      Meanwhile, defender Otamendi also played a key role as part of Scaloni’s backline at the World Cup and played every minute at the tournament.
      The 35-year-old recently shared a clip of himself receiving his latest tattoos on Instagram.
      And one of his inkworks was of Messi with his hand over the World Cup trophy and another of him doing his iconic celebration.
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      It did not take long for the legend to see his international colleagues’ grand gesture.
      And on Instagram Stories he replied to the ex-Manchester City ace’s tribute.
      Messi wrote: “I saw a lot of spectacular things that were done to because of the World Cup, but that a colleague, a friend like Otamendi getting this tattoo is something more than special!!! Thank you very much Ota!”
      Messi provided his response to the inkwork on InstagramCredit: Getty More

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      Crucial England tournament CANCELLED in huge blow to Gareth Southgate’s plans to see stars of the future

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      ENGLAND’S Young Lions have been left up in the air after Fifa stripped the upcoming Under-20 World Cup from Indonesia less than two months before it was due to start.Ian Foster’s team, including Spurs duo Alfie Devine and Dane Scarlett, Juventus midfielder Samuel Iling-Junior and Borussia Dortmund striker Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, were supposed to discover their group opponents on Friday.
      Fifa have taken the decision to strip Indonesia of the Under-20 World CupCredit: EPA
      It has left the young Three Lions in a lurchCredit: PA
      But the draw in Bali was cancelled after the island’s Governor said he would not accept the presence of the Israel side, one of five Uefa qualifiers.
      That sparked a series of urgent conversations between Fifa and organisers, with the decision taken to “remove” Indonesia after a meeting in Zurich.
      Officially, the decision was because Indonesia has not recovered from the massive earthquake that hit the world’s most populous Islamic-majority nation.
      But the row over Israel was the final straw as Fifa would not allow itself to be told who could play in its own competitions.
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      It means a scramble to find a stand-in host at short notice, although Fifa remain adamant the tournament will take place.
      On the decision, a Fifa statement said: “Fifa has decided, due to the current circumstances, to remove Indonesia as the host of the Fifa U20 World Cup 2023.

      “A new host will be announced as soon as possible, with the dates of the tournament currently remaining unchanged.
      “Potential sanctions against the PSSI (Football Association of Indonesia) may also be decided at a later stage.”
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      The U20 tournament is due to start on May 20 and run until June 11.
      Indonesia, who have no formal diplomatic ties with Israel, were awarded the tournament in 2019.
      The country has seen increased criticism towards Israel as protesters recently held marches against their participation in support of Palestine.
      Just half an hour before the announcement, Arya Sinulingga, an executive committee member of PSSI, said he was “very pessimistic” about the country keeping the rights to host.
      He added: “If we make political requirements in sports, it’ll always be like this. We will be exiled from the football ecosystem.
      “It’s very tough for all of us. We’re headed into a calamity in sports. We have to separate football or sports and politics.” More

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      World Cup winner Alexis Mac Allister’s favourite South American restaurant closes

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      WORLD CUP winner Alexis Mac Allister’s favourite South American restaurant is closing down.Cafe Malbec is shutting its doors for the final time after opening in 2017.
      Cafe Malbec in Brighton is closing downCredit: Xavier D. Buendia / XDBPhotograp
      Alexis Mac Allister and Brighton’s stars often eat in the restaurantCredit: Getty
      The restaurant in Hove, known for it’s tapas and wine, is a hit with a number of Brighton’s players, claim The Argus.
      South American stars to have played for the club over the years, like Leonardo Ulloa, Moises Caicedo, Jeremy Sarmiento and Mac Allister have all dined in the restaurant.
      Cafe Malbec revealed the news on Instagram, saying: “After six years, it’s time for us to say goodbye.
      “We thank you so much for all your support as we hold so many wonderful memories over the years, wine and good times, especially Argentina winning the 2022 World Cup, so we felt like this was the right time to say goodbye on a high.”
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      However, Mac Allister and his team-mates do have an alternative situated next door.
      LatinoAmerica is an Argentinian steakhouse ran by the same owner Damian Kelly.
      Mac Allister has even taken his World Cup winners’ medal into the restaurant for photos.
      The 24-year-old midfielder is enjoying a fine season at Brighton, helping them mount a challenge for a European finish.
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      He has played 26 times for the club this season, scoring nine goals.
      And his good form has caught the attention of top sides like Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City.
      Mac Allister supposedly wants to remain playing in the Premier League if he did leave Brighton.
      Alexis Mac Allister has taken his World Cup accolades into the restaurantCredit: LatinoAmerica Argentine Grill More

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      Marcelo Bielsa in talks to become international team manager 13 months after Leeds sacking

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      MARCELO BIELSA is in talks to become an international manager, according to reports. The former Leeds boss has been out of work since being sacked by the club in February 2022.
      Marcelo Bielsa is set to take over as Uruguay head coachCredit: Reuters
      But the 67-year-old now looks set to return to management on the international stage.
      According to TyC Sports, Bielsa is “very close” to becoming the new head coach for the Uruguay national team.
      The report indicates Bielsa has been one of their main managerial targets since sacking previous boss Diego Carlos, who saw Uruguay crash out of the World Cup at the group stage.
      The Argentine’s contract will run until the end of the 2026 South American World Cup qualifiers, with an option to extend further should they qualify.
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      Bielsa has previous experience in the hot seat for a national team, having previously coached Argentina and Chile.
      Uruguay drew with Japan 1-1 and beat South Korea 2-1 in recent friendlies under interim coach Marcelo Broli.
      In January Bielsa was touted as Frank Lampard’s successor at Everton.
      However, the Toffees turned to Sean Dyche instead as it was revealed Bielsa had some peculiar demands to take over, including coaching the Under-21s for the first six months.
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      When Bielsa left Leeds the club were facing relegation, but under successor Jesse Marsch they managed to clinch safety.
      However, things did not fare much better for the American, with the Whites being dragged into another relegation scrap and Marsch’s dismissal 12 months on from Bielsa.
      Former Watford boss Javi Gracia is currently in charge at Elland Road.
      The Spaniard has won two matches out of four in the Premier League. More

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      Lionel Messi begged by ALL 23 Curacao players for his shirt after Argentina clash… but keeper got there first

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      LIONEL MESSI’S shirt was in high demand after Argentina’s friendly against Curacao on Tuesday night.One lucky player managed to get his hands on the shirt as the World Champions romped to a 7-0 win in their international friendly.
      Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room was the lucky man to get Messi’s shirt despite conceding seven goals on the nightCredit: AFP
      Lionel Messi scored his 57th career hat-trick against CuracaoCredit: AFP
      Messi scored a hat-trick and in the process notched his 100th, 101st and 102nd goals for Argentina.
      Prior to the game Curacao players pleaded with Messi to give ALL 23 squad members a shirt.
      One even joked that they could end up fighting amongst each other if only one was up for grabs.
      In the end it was Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room who was the lucky recipient.
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      The stopper, who plays in the MLS for Columbus Crew, left the pitch with a massive smile on his face despite being beaten three times by the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner.
      After the match Room was interviewed by Argentine channel TyC Sports and couldn’t hide his excitement.
      He said: “The jersey of Messi, it’s really special, it’s unbelievable, a dream come true.
      “Everybody is a fan of Messi. Now I’ve played against him.”
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      Room – who joked he would be sleeping with the jersey – revealed that the World Cup-winner had complimented him during the match on some good saves he had made.
      He added: ” It was a tough game, he scored some goals against me but I also saved some good shots from him. After that he told me that I made some good saves so that means a lot to me.”
      Enzo Fernandez, Angel Di Maria, Nicolas Gonzalez and Gonzalo Montiel were the other names on the scoresheet. More

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      England U21s 1 Croatia U21s 2: Lee Carsley’s troops head into Euros on a downer despite Gibbs-White’s late penalty

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      LEE CARSLEY’S Young Lions signed off for this summer’s Under-21 Euros on a downer.This was the last friendly before the squad is announced for June’s finals in Georgia and Romania.
      Curtis Jones shows England’s frustration after Croatia went 2-0 upCredit: Rex
      Young Lions boss Lee Carsley was left with plenty to think aboutCredit: Reuters
      But none of the England team starting at Craven Cottage last night did their case for inclusion any favours with a disappointing defeat.
      A promising opening was undone by Martin Baturina’s sublime free-kick ahead of the break, before Dion Drena Beljo’s penalty shortly after it.
      Sub Morgan Gibbs-White won and converted a late penalty to reduce the arrears in front of the watching Gareth Southgate.
      This fixture brought memories screaming back of the final group game at the last Under-21 Euros.
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      England needed to win by two clear goals and hope the other group’s result went their way to sneak into the quarter-finals two years ago.
      It was all going their way until Aidy Boothroyd’s men had their hearts broken by a long-ranger stunner from Croatia’s left-back in injury-time.
      Boothroyd’s side were too often reliant on a piece of individual brilliance but Carsley’s team are much better at creating chances, as they did in Saturday’s 4-0 thumping of France.
      Carsley made ten changes for this clash, with Noni Madueke, Curtis Jones and Jacob Ramsey – all scorers off the bench against Les Bleus – in from the beginning.
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      Morgan Gibbs-White netted what turned out to be just a consolationCredit: Reuters
      Defenders Rico Lewis and Nathan Wood were also handed debuts.
      England dominated the early proceedings, with Cole Palmer providing their best chance of the first half as he cut back for Jones who saw his shot repelled at the near post.
      But then the visitors took the lead against the run of play – and what a goal it was.
      Lewis was booked for stopping a rampaging run from Lukas Kacavenda 25 yards out.
      Dinamo Zagreb’s Baturina then curled the free-kick home with David Beckham-esque accuracy into the top corner.
      England responded by moving Jones, who had been deployed at false nine, out wide and Madueke put through the middle, but it had limited success.
      Carsley was getting creative given the man he really would have liked to have deployed through the middle, Flo Balogun, was absent and may not be coming back.
      The Arsenal whizkid, having a sensational season on loan in France with Reims, pulled out of the squad with a tight hamstring.
      But he has since been spotted in the US, for whom he is also eligible and who are doing their level best to convince him to switch allegiances.
      Things got worse shortly after half-time when Luke Thomas was caught out of position by a good pass and then hauled down Matija Frigan in the box.
      It was about as nailed-on a penalty as you are likely to see, and goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, on at half-time for his debut, could do nothing to keep out Beljo’s spot-kick.
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      Gibbs-White did ensure England did score when rolling home the penalty he had won in the 86th minute after being taken out by the goalkeeper.
      It was not a bad display overall – but one that will serve as a warning for when the real stuff begins in Georgia in just over two months. More

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      Tony Adams: Bukayo Saka is second only to Lionel Messi… Arsenal should build entire side around him to conquer Europe

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      WHEN Manchester City paid £100million to sign Jack Grealish 18 months ago, I couldn’t believe that they didn’t even try to buy Bukayo Saka.Even now I’m gobsmacked that Arsenal have been able to hang on to a kid who is already one of the best talents in the world.
      Tony Adams has rated Bukayo Saka alongside Lionel MessiCredit: Louis Wood
      Hopefully, they will soon get Bukayo tied down to a lengthy new contract, so I can stop worrying.
      Like me, he’s a London-born Arsenal fan who graduated through the academy and has the club in his blood.
      But even though the Gunners hierarchy are pretty confident he’s never going to leave them, they should never take that loyalty for granted.
      If Arsenal hadn’t shown the level of commitment I was looking for at the time, I would have been out the door like a shot when Manchester United wanted to buy me in 1996.
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      But they proved their ambitions by signing Patrick Vieira and Nicolas Anelka and that was good enough for me to sign on the dotted line.
      Now Mikel Arteta and the board have to convince Bukayo to stay by going big again in the transfer market this summer.
      Playing in the Champions League next season will be a whole new ball game for this Arsenal team.
      And it’s going to be really difficult for the current squad to compete at that level while also challenging for the title.
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      We all saw what happened when Mikel rested a couple of his big boys in the Europa League the other week.
      The back-up players looked bang average and were played off the park by Sporting Lisbon.
      At the moment they need Bukayo, Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Thomas Partey, Gabriel Jesus and Oleks Zinchenko playing every week because they have a team that almost picks itself.
      But I’m sure they’ll give Bukayo that hefty new contract to keep him at the Emirates because they know he is irreplaceable.
      If there’s a better player in world football at the moment, someone who both scores and makes goals, the only one I can think of is Lionel Messi.
      Bukayo is absolutely on fire and the reason Arsenal are top of the table.
      Erling Haaland might be scoring hundreds of goals for Manchester City and Marcus Rashford is also having a phenomenal season for United.
      Messi is the only player Adams rates above SakaCredit: Getty
      Adams says Saka is the Footballer of the YearCredit: Alamy
      But Bukayo is, hands down, the Footballer of the Year because he was England’s best player at the World Cup and he’s been the best player for the team eight points clear at the top of the Premier League.
      The first time I saw him was about five years ago in a youth team game at Forest Green and I could immediately tell he was something special.
      I reached out to him straight away because I wanted to know who was looking after him, did he have a good family and a decent agent.
      He told me: “I’m all right, Mr Adams, my family are good, this is OK, I speak to this person.”
      I knew then he would go a long way.
      We’ve kept in contact ever since and I reached out to him after he missed that penalty in the shootout in the Euro 2020 final.
      He appreciated the contact and the next time I saw him at the Emirates he gave me a big hug.
      If there’s a better player in world football at the moment, someone who both scores and makes goals, the only one I can think of is Lionel Messi.Tony Adams on Bukayo Saka
      He’s such a lovely boy, so respectful and polite. The kid has talent but he also has brains.
      And he still calls me ‘Mr Adams’.
      I still don’t understand why Gareth Southgate took him off 15 minutes from the end of England’s World Cup quarter-final against France.
      Mind you, I’m still baffled that Gareth, Arteta and Unai Emery have all tried to play him at left wing-back at one time or another.
      It was interesting that England didn’t pick Ben White for this week’s Euro qualifiers against Italy and Ukraine after he came home early from the World Cup.
      I can understand Gareth thinking he has better right-backs available but I don’t think White will give a monkey’s.
      He likes what he’s doing at Arsenal and he likes the players he’s playing with, so he’ll just get on with it.
      Adams has urged Arsenal to tie Saka down to a lengthy contractCredit: Getty
      Ben White was snubbed in England’s latest squadCredit: AFP
      He claims he doesn’t really like football but some guys I played with used to say that too.
      It’s a defence mechanism and some young guys need that.
      Fine, it’s only because they care.
      In my early career I much preferred going to the pub than joining up with the England squad because I was scared of being in that environment and I wasn’t comfortable in those surroundings.
      There were a lot of very big characters looking out for themselves and it was a real dog eat dog world.
      I was thrown to the wolves after the 1988 Euros and there was no one putting an arm around my shoulders like I did with David Beckham and Michael Owen when I was England captain ten years later.
      And on top of all that I had the illness of my addiction at the time, which is why I was always so keen to listen to George Graham when he would tell me I was injured and should pull out of international duty.
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      Mikel will know just how George felt after losing Jesus to injury during the World Cup and then seeing Rodri’s tackle on Odegaard the other day.
      He wants everyone fit and available for the title run-in because, even though Arsenal have a big lead going into April, they still have no margin for error.
      Arsenal legend Tony AdamsCredit: PA More

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      Scotland 2 Spain 0: Man Utd star McTominay the hero as Scots taste first triumph for THIRTY-NINE years against Spaniards

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      SCOTT MCTOMINAY was Hampden’s unlikely hero yet again as Scotland stunned Spain.The Scots had gone 39 years without even a sniff of a victory over the Spaniards – the last coming in a 1984 World Cup qualifier.
      Scott McTominay celebrates after scoring for ScotlandCredit: Getty

      On that day, Jock Stein was manager, Graeme Souness captain and Kenny Dalglish netted his last ever international goal in a famous 3-1 victory on home soil.
      The Tartan Army finally have new names to sing in the rafters of Hampden Park with Steve Clarke producing a tactical masterclass and skipper Andy Robertson leading from the front.
      In fact, Clarke was in the stands with his father for that ’84 classic.
      On this occasion, standing in the dug-out, he must have been bursting at the seams with pride.
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      Yet it is McTominay who will go down in folklore – the Manchester United midfielder firing past Chelsea’s Kepa in each half to send his nation into footballing dreamland.
      McTominay may appear surplus to requirements at Old Trafford under Erik ten Hag, but he is a vital cog in Clarke’s machine having also scored twice late on to see off Cyprus last weekend.
      A natural goal scorer he is not, or so we thought. Before this international break, McTominay’s one and only strike came against Israel in October 2021.
      He now has five for his country, somehow scoring four in three days.
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      Two wins from two in a tricky qualifying group. These Scottish fans can already taste the frothy German steins awaiting them at the Euros next summer.
      The stars look to be aligning. On the two other occasions Scotland have beaten Spain in a qualifier (1984 and 1957) they have gone on to reach a major tournament.
      Clarke will remain grounded, as he always does, but he could not have dreamed for a better start to this campaign.
      As for Spain, their miserable form continues. They were embarrassed at the Qatar World Cup by Morocco in the Last 16, ultimately costing Luis Enrique his job.
      And now, under Luis de la Fuente, they are still capable of producing damaging performances to forget – their first defeat in a Euros qualifier for nine years.
      De la Fuente’s gamble to make eight changes after their opening 3-0 win over Norway backfired big time, but they still should have had enough to deal with Scotland’s tenacity.
      The hosts’ bright start paid off – Tottenham’s Pedro Porro slipping in his own box allowing Robertson to cut back for an unmarked McTominay after just seven minutes.
      Joselu – making his first start in a Spain shirt – came closest in response, smacking the bar with a header before Porro’s long range shot forced Angus Gunn to tip over.
      Spain failed to learn their lessons after the break with another tepid showing.
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      McTominay grabbed his second with an identical finish in the 51st minute, this time from a Kieran Tierney delivery after a sublime drive from deep.
      A display Spain want etched from their memories, while Scotland rewrote their history books.
      Scott McTominay doubling Scotland’s leadCredit: Reuters More