SWEDEN DETHRONE USA

The United States women’s football team is very used to losing at the Olympics. The team last suffered a defeat to Norway in the Sydney games in year 2000. On Friday, they lost another memorable one as Sweden sent them crashing out of the tournament.

Sweden took the lead in the game played in the country’s capital Brasilia. Stina Blackstenius opened the scoring in the second half, just after the hour mark. Thirteen minutes out of regular time, Alex Morgan equalized for the United States. Both teams try to get the goal that would separate them but they couldn’t. After a short break, the 30 minutes extra time went underway, yet the sides could not be split.

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Gotze may return to Dortmund

German club Borussia Dortmund is currently working on a bid to bring Mario Gotze back from Bayern Munich.


The player who joined Bayern Munich in 2013 has failed to make an impact at his current club and might be favorable to a return to Dortmund.

Borussia Dortmund will be leaving for China for their pre-season preparation but are still active on the transfer market. The manager is keen to strengthen the team so as to be able to compete in the Bundesliga.

Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has admitted that there are talks in progress between the two clubs, but they have yet to finalize a deal. The player currently has one year contract remaining with Bayern Munich, but he may be available for the right fee.

Hans-Joachim Watzke said that no agreement has been achieved so far and that they still have to talk with Bayern Munich’s representative as well as the player himself. He stated that it would be a great thing for Mario Gotze to return to Borussia Dortmund but at the moment there is nothing concrete.

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Roy Hodgson feels Selection was not a Issue with Slovakia

Almost the entire country is critical of his selections for Slovakia game, but, Roy Hodgson is not feeling as if he made any sort of mistake by playing the XI that he played.at Saint Etienne on Monday night.


That decision is not giving Hodgson sleepless nights. He says even that second string unit he used was always on top of the opposition. If the new faces had been lethargic and not in control of the game, he might have wondered if he was correct or not but, they were dominating from the first to the last minute. So, it was alright.

As per England supremo, he did not want any of his players who had already had full 90-minute appearances in the last two matches to push themselves any further as a little more of playing time might have broken them down which, entering the important phases of the competition, would not have held the Three Lions in a confident state.

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Carlos Carvalhal says that a sleeping giant has been woken up

Sheffield Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal says that a sleeping giant has been woken up after the club reached the play-offs final by beating Brighton and Hove Albion 3-1 on aggregate.


Brighton were the overwhelming favourites coming into the game. After all, they had just missed out on the automatic promotion spots by the skin of their teeth. Chris Hughton’s men have been one of the most consistent teams throughout the Championship 2015-16 season, but they suffered a major setback in the first leg after losing 2-0. Since no team had managed to come back from suffering a two-goal deficit in the first leg, the odds were heavily stacked against Brighton.

Even though they put up a spirited fight in the second leg against Wednesday, they were unable to get anything other than a 1-1 draw thus seeing Wednesday progress to the play-off final 3-1 on aggregate. Wednesday only narrowly managed to finish the play-offs after getting a win over Cardiff in the final few games of the season. However, they clearly seem to have the confidence factor over Brighton. After having been out of the Premier league since 2000, Wednesday are now aiming for a return to the top division. Carvalhal says that a giant has now been woken. Wednesday could face either Derby County or Hull City in the final.

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PODOLSKI NETS TURKISH CUP FINAL WINNER

Former Gunners centre forward, currently at Turkish giants, Galatasaray FC, helped them move past their fierce Istanbul rivals Fenerbahce.

The striker swooped at the back post to score what proved to be the crucial goal of an intense clash, and the side stood firm to take the trophy. The solitary goal was enough to send their rivals on their way to a 1-0 Turkiye Kupasi final victory.

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Francesco Guidolin happy about Swansea City

Francesco Guidolin is happy to see Swansea City achieve safety in the division following a 3-1 win over Liverpool this weekend.

Even though the club were never really considered as being in a relegation battle going into the last few matches, Guidolin has been very keen on reaching the psychological safety barrier of 40 points. The win over Liverpool means that it is mathematically impossible for Swansea to be relegated. After having secured Premier League football for next campaign,Guidolin says that the club can afford to relax in the remaining two matches.

There is still uncertainty surrounding the future of Guidolin, who was appointed on an interim basis. There have been reports that Swansea are set to be taken over by new owners. Chairman Huw Jenkins has failed to concretely suggested that Guidolin will be provided a permanent position at the club. Irrespective of his future, the 60-year-old has managed to get the club to safety and he will see this achievement with pride. It was only a few years ago that the club won the League Cup under Michael Laudrup, but they have failed to create anything of significance in the last two years.

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Rafa Benitez was confident that Newcastle will be able to avoid relegation

Despite watching his team extend their winless run to 7 games in the Premier League, manager Rafa Benitez was confident that Newcastle will be able to avoid relegation.

The club remain six points behind Norwich City in the final spot that will guarantee safety. The club’s latest loss came against Southampton, who were chasing a European spot. The 3-1 loss was much more convincing than the defeat against Norwich last week. However, the club may rue dropping points against teams in and around them. Benitez became the replacement for Steve McClaren a few weeks ago, but he is still waiting for his first win.

There was a lot of euphoria surrounding the appointment of Benitez, who has won major trophies like the Europa League and the Champions League. However, this is the first experience of the Spaniard of a relegation struggle. Newcastle’s inability to get a win under the new management will be a worrying aspect for the owners and fans. The club spent heavily in January to try and stay in the division. Players like Anderson Townsend came from Tottenham for £ 12 million, but they have made a little impact on the results. Since the turn of the year, Newcastle have been able to win just two games in the league.

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Eric Dier says that Mauricio Pochettino helping in growing New Players

Eric Dier says that manager Mauricio Pochettino has had a major effect in improving the homegrown players at the club.

Tottenham have had a huge influx of young English players coming into the first-team over the last 12 months. They have had a major influence on the proceedings and this has directly resulted in the club challenging for the league title after a long time. The effect of Tottenham’s homegrown players has even spread into the England national team. Harry Kane and Dele Alli played a starring role in the 3-2 victory for England against archrivals Germany in a friendly game.

It must be important to note that England were trailing 2-0 when the game changed completely at the hands of these two Tottenham stars. They have also been extremely effective in the club’s challenge for the domestic title. There were several players in the England team against Germany who were coached by Pochettino. They included the current Tottenham stars – four names – followed by Nathaniel Clyne and Adam Lallana, who played under the Argentine during his stint at Southampton. Other players who have made an impact at England level after being coached by Pochettino include Calum Chambers, Ryan Mason, and Luke Shaw.

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Leicester title charge gains momentum

Leicester City supporters can perhaps be forgiven for finally starting to believe that their side can pull off one of the biggest shocks in English football history, after their latest victory over Newcastle United left them five points clear at the top of the table, with just eight games remaining.

Claudio Ranieri’s men have taken the division by storm this campaign, and despite writing off their chances for much of the season, will be looking at their run in with a sense of optimism.

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