European Champion Italy took a big step Tuesday toward being able to defend its title. The highest-stakes game of the evening was centre stage at gambling sites and saw Italy secure a vital 2-1 win over Ukraine in the UEFA Euro Qualifiers 2024 as they finished second in the group led by England. Two first-half goals by Davide Frattesi in his home stadium at San Siro gave new coach Luciano Spalletti a first win after a tension-filled draw at North Macedonia on Saturday.
Italy's improved and more energetic performance survived Ukraine forward Andriy Yarmolenko cutting the lead before halftime. Italy and Ukraine are tied on seven points with North Macedonia, which beat Malta 2-0. But they have the most demanding schedule, trailing six behind England. Spalletti's team must face them at Wembley Stadium next month. A possible scenario is a decisive final-round game between Ukraine and Italy on Nov 20.
Italy would like to secure their spot as soon as possible after not qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2022. They are the defending UEFA Euro Champions but couldn't qualify for the biggest competition of World Football after getting knocked out by North Macedonia. The players are keen to play in the UEFA Euros again to build upon this.
In the other game, North Macedonia defeated Malta by 2-0 which also saw them with 7 points.
UEFAPresident Aleksander Ceferin responded to recent criticism of footballers playing an excessive number of matches and warned that reducing the number of matches can result in less revenue and lower wages for the players.
According to The Sun, the UEFA President stated:
"When we say that footballers are modern gladiators, we are exaggerating a bit. The better the footballer, the bigger the star, the more protected he is by the referees, who are also constantly in the fans' teeth."
"It is true that the players play a lot and that the match calendar could not be more full."
"But I would not agree that only those at the highest level are the most burdened. The players from my country, Slovenia, play as often as, for example, those from Real Madrid. Except that they are paid 500 times less."
"If we were to reduce the number of matches, we would end up with the result that the salaries of football players would also fall because the clubs would have less income."
"It's a vicious cycle. The compromise is that no new competitions are introduced."
Ceferin sparked controversy after the General Assembly of the European Clubs Association, held in October 2024, where he stated that only the high-paid players expressed dissatisfaction, while those who earn less did not make any public statement regarding the issue.
The European calendar of football and its unbalance were discussed in the assembly though Ceferin admitted that the schedule in congested and reached the maximum limit.
The long-growing displeasure
UEFA and FIFA had already been slammed by footballers and coaches about the increasing number of games per season.
UEFA faced severe criticism after introducing the UEFA Nations League, back in 2018 with a new format including promotion and relegation. Controversies started hovering as various theories suggested this tournament to be a series of friendlies branded into a tournament to generate more revenue for UEFA.
The Nations League matches are played during the international breaks when European teams used to feature in friendlies or take part in the qualifiers matches.
However, many prominent footballers and managers did not welcome the idea of this new tournament. Following the 2021 UEFA Nations League third-place play-off match between Italy and Belgium on 10 October 2021, Belgian goalkeeperThibaut Courtoispublicly criticized FIFA and UEFA in the post-match interview with Sky Sports:
"This game is just a money game and we have to be honest about it,"
"We just play it because for UEFA it's extra money.
"They can be angry about other teams wanting a Super League but they don't care about the players, they just care about their pockets.
"It's a bad thing that players are not spoken about. And now you hear about a European Championship and a World Cup every year, when will we get a rest? Never."
"So in the end top players will get injured and injured and injured. It's something that should be much better and much more taken care of,
"We are not robots! It's just more and more games and less rest for us and nobody cares about us."
Former Germany coach Hansi Flick addressed his concern about the increasing number of matches in a press conference on 10 June 2022. Flick responded to a question:
(Image Credit | Football365)
"This should be looked at and we need to ask ourselves how we can offer players a break because that is important,"
"UEFA or FIFA should look into these things and take some measures."
In a very recent interview ahead of Belgium's clash against Israel in the Nations League in September 2024, Courtois' national team-mate Kevin De Bruyne addressed the same issue along with the expanded FIFA Club World Cup, which is set to be played in 2025.
๐จโ ๏ธ De Bruyne: โThe PFA and other player associations have tried to find solutionsโฆโ.
โThe issue is UEFA and FIFA keep adding extra matchesโ.
โWe can raise concerns, but no solutions have been foundโ.
"The real problem will emerge after the Club World Cup...We know there will be only three weeks between the Club World Cup final and the first Premier League match. So, we have three weeks to rest and prepare for another 80 matches,"
"The issue is that UEFA and Fifa keep adding extra matches, and we can raise concerns, but no solutions have been found. It seems that money speaks louder than the players' voices"
via Reuters
Criticism and legal actions regarding the expanded FIFA Club World Cup 2025
The FIFA Club World 2025 will introduce an expanded format that will feature 32 participating teams competing for the glory. This new tournament has further increased the number of matches in a season and resulted in grievances from prominent players and managers.
2024 Ballon d'Or winner and Manchester City's midfielder Rodri expressed his concern about the excessive number of games and said that every player should have an optimum number of matches to play every season.
"From my experience I can tell you that 60-70 [is no good]. Between 40 and 50 is the amount of games in which a player can perform in the highest level. After that you drop because it is impossible to sustain the physical level."
"This year we can go to 70, maybe 80, I donโt know. It depends how far you go in the competitions. It is too much. We have to take care of ourselves. Someone has to take care of ourselves because we are the main characters of this sport or business or whatever you want to call it."
via The Guardian
However, this long-growing cold war between the players or officials and the governing bodies has now turned into a legal battle.
The tension emerged when FIFPro, the worldwide players' union, and the European Leagues, which represents 37 domestic leagues submitted a legal claim against FIFA on 13 June 2024, "challenging the legality of FIFA's decisions to unilaterally set the International Match Calendar and, in particular, the decision to create and schedule the FIFA Club World Cup 2025."
"We don't have enough dates anymore in the calendar."
The Premier League's director of international relations, Mathieu Moreuil, states that legal action is the 'only option' as they allege that FIFA have failed to consult properly regarding football fixtures ๐ฌ pic.twitter.com/GHqgwY8rgF
At the European Commission in Brussels On 14 October 2024, the protesting bodies jointly filed a legal complaint against FIFA over FIFA's imposition on match calendars.
The third international break of the year has already started and the players are on their national duties. But the question remains, will there be any change regarding this distressing issue?
UEFA Champions League 2024-25 League phase draw Highlights | Real Madrid to face Liverpool and Barca to face Bayern in league phase of the new Champions League Era
Catch all the live updates from the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 league phase draw at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco here at Sportzpoint. This draw on Thursday will also be the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Champions League
Hello and welcome to Sportz Point's coverage of the UEFA Champions League 2024-25 League phase draw.
The new season of the UEFA Champions League is set to begin and the league phase draw will take place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco today.
This draw on Thursday will also be the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Champions League. It will see more teams, a different format, and the chance for greater competition, with the tournament beginning on September 17.
This is Abishek Goswami, bringing you all the updates from the web desk.
Real Madrid vs Atalanta UEFA Super Cup Final Match Preview, Head-to-head, Possible Lineups and Fantasy XI Prediction
Read the full match preview, head-to-head stats, possible starting lineups, and Fantasy XI Prediction of Real Madrid vs Atalanta UEFA Super Cup Final at the Kazimierz Gรณrski National Stadium in Poland on 15th August, Thursday.
Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madridwill face Gian Piero Gasperini's Atalanta in the UEFA Super Cup Final match at the Kazimierz Gรณrski National Stadium in Poland on 15th August, Thursday. Los Blancos extended their Champions League title number by 15 while La Dea unexpectedly thrashed invincible Bayer Leverkusen in the Europa League final to lift a European title after 61 years.
Real Madrid's total of five UEFA Super Cup titles puts them at the top of the charts while Atalanta will be playing for the first time. Real Madrid have proved again and again that they don't need to sign 4-5 players each summer to strengthen their squad and the Mbappe's statement signing is enough for them for now. Atalanta had a poor pre-season campaign but they can prove everyone wrong just like they did in the Europa League final.
How to watch the Real Madrid vs Atalanta UEFA Super Cup Final match?
The Live streaming of the final match between Real Madrid vs Atalanta will be on the Sony Liv app. The match will also be telecast live on India's Sony Sports TV network.
Real Madrid vs Atalanta: Head-to-Head stats
Madrid and Atalanta have met twice before and Los Blancos have won on both occasions.
Trophies won by England in International Football (Men's)
Despite being the joint oldest national team in football, England have won only one major trophy which is their only significant achievement on the global stage to date.
England is the joint oldest national team in football. They played in the World's first International football match in 1872 against Scotland. Despite being the oldest nation to play the game, they haven't tasted much success. FA controls the England Men's Football Team, the governing body for football in England. It is affiliated with UEFA and comes under the global jurisdiction of world football's governing body FIFA.
Several greats have played for England but couldn't win titles with their nation. Since winning the World Cup in 1966, they are trophyless. Under present manager Gareth Southgate, England have been successful in terms of their finishes in big tournaments but are still yet to win their second major title. Southgate's team is in the final of the UEFA Euro for the second consecutive time and it will be interesting to see if they manage to win the title this time.
A brief history of England Men's National Football Team in Major Tournaments
The relationship between England and FIFA wasn't good at first and England had to leave FIFA in 1928. They rejoined in 1946 and as a result, they did not compete in a World Cup until 1950. In the 1954 FIFA World Cup, England reached the quarter-finals for the first time but lost 4โ2 to reigning champions Uruguay. They have qualified for the World Cup sixteen times.
England won the 1966 FIFA World Cup final on home soil, making it one of eight nations to have won the World Cup. It is their only significant achievement on the global stage to date. Despite being the oldest football-playing nation, they have not won any important international trophy in almost six decades.
Every European Nation that has won a World Cup also has a Europan Championship in their trophy cabinet. But, England have not won a single Euros. Their best performance came in 2020 when he finished as the runners-up, losing to Italy in penalties.
England Men's National Football Team Trophies List
Alf Ramsey's England finished top of Group 1 with only four goals but didn't concede a single one. They also became the first World Cup-winning team not to win its first game in the tournament. In the quarter-final, the only goal between Argentina and England came from England's Geoff Hurst. They qualified for the semi-final to face Portugal.
Bobby Charlton scored both goals in England's win, with Portugal's goal coming from a penalty in the 82nd minute. England booked their spot in the Final to face West Germany. In the 13th minute, Helmut Haller put West Germany ahead, but Geoff Hurst leveled the scoreline four minutes later.
Martin Peters put England in the lead in the 78th minute but Wolfgang Weber scored for Germany to take the game to extra time. In the 98th minute, Hurst helped England take the lead. There was a debate about whether the ball crossed the line or not. He scored another one as England beat Germany 4-2 in Extra time to lift their first and only World Cup title. he became the first player to score a hat-trick in a World Cup final
Major Titles:
FIFA World Cup: 1966 UEFA European Championship Finalists: 2024; Runners-up: 2020 UEFA Nations League - Third place: 2019
Regional:
British Home Championship: 54 (including 20 shared) Rous Cup: 1986, 1988, 1989
Spain vs England UEFA Euro 2024 Final Highlights: Spain beat England by 2-1 to become the most successful team in Euro history
Go through the Spain vs England UEFA Euro 2024 Final Highlights as Spain defeated England by 2-1 to become the most successful team in Euro history with their fourth title. Rodri won the Player of the Tournament award.
Hello and Welcome to SportzPoint for another UEFA Euro 2024 Live. The Final between Spain and England will kick off at 12.30 am IST. Stay tuned for all the live updates. We will see Real Madrid sensation Jude Bellingham representing his nation England against Barcelona talent Lamine Yamal's Spain in Berlin.
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