International Football
Premier League clubs unite to fly South American stars back to UK
Several Premier League teams are joining forces to hire a private jet to ensure their South American stars are back for the weekend.
Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City are among those coming together to organise the transport that will cost a six figure sum.
Nine players will cross the Atlantic and head back to the UK immediately after Brazil’s World Cup qualifier with Uruguay, which kicks off at 1.30am on Friday, UK time.
Manchester United duo Edinson Cavani and Fred, City’s Ederson and Gabriel Jesus are among those heading straight back to the British Isles.
Leeds star Raphinha, Chelsea’s Thiago Silva, Aston Villa midfielder Douglas Luiz and Liverpool duo Alisson and Fabinho will also be on their way back, reports the Daily Mail.
Clubs must deem whether their players are fit enough to play this weekend, with all of them facing a tight turnaround.
Changes to the UK red list means four of the affected teams won’t have to watch their players go into quarantine.
Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay are among the countries that have been removed from the red list which is now down to seven nations.
purs intend to fly their quartet – Argentina’s Giovani Lo Celso and Cristian Romero, Colomba’s Davinson Sanchez and Brazilian Emerson Royal – via a private jet.
Liverpool have the tightest timescale of any team, with 35 hours between Brazil’s qualifier and their Saturday lunchtime game at Watford.
City, United, Leeds and Aston Villa are all 3pm kick-offs later that day.
Chelsea meanwhile have 40 hours from Brazil’s clash until they host Brentford in a west London derby on Saturday evening.
Aston Villa’s Emi Martinez, Spurs’s Lo Celso and Romero, United’s Cavani and Newcastle’s Miguel Almiron will not have to undergo the 10 days in isolation following a recently agreed exemption.
Players who visit red list countries formerly had to spend 10 days in quarantine once they arrived back in England providing they are fully vaccinated.
Now, as per the agreement, they will be allowed out to train and play, but must quarantine otherwise. Those who have benefitted from the red-list changes won’t have any such restrictions placed on their movement and be free to stay at home.
Brazil’s nine Premier League players returning this weekend will have to quarantine however having played a qualifier in Colombia, which remains on the red list.
Spurs defender Sanchez and Everton’s Yerry Mina will also have to quarantine.
-Mirror
International Football
German Thomas Tuchel becomes 3rd foreign manager for England
Former Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has been named the new head coach of the England national team, the country’s Football Association said in a statement on Wednesday.
The German, who is England’s third foreign manager, after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello, will be assisted by Englishman Anthony Barry, the statement added.
“We are thrilled to have hired Thomas Tuchel, one of the best coaches in the world and Anthony Barry who is one of the best English coaches to support him,” FA CEO Mark Bullingham said.
Tuchel replaces Lee Carsley, England’s under-21 manager, who has been in temporary charge since the resignation of Gareth Southgate after England’s defeat by Spain in the Euro 2024 final in July.
-Reuters
International Football
Factbox on England head coach Thomas Tuchel
German Thomas Tuchel has been appointed head coach of the England national team on Wednesday.
Born: Aug. 29, 1973 in Krumbach, Germany.
PLAYING CAREER
* Tuchel played for his local club TSV Krumbach, before moving to FC Augsburg’s academy at the age of 15.
* He never played for Augsburg’s senior side and joined German second division team Stuttgarter Kickers in 1992.
* After eight league appearances for Kickers, Tuchel moved to fourth-tier SSV Ulm.
* Tuchel made 69 league appearances for Ulm as a central defender before he was forced to retire in 1998 at the age of 25 due to a knee injury.
COACHING CAREER
* Tuchel began his coaching career with a youth team role at VfB Stuttgart in 2000, working with future Germany internationals Mario Gomez and Holger Badstuber.
* He returned to Augsburg and took charge of their reserve team for the 2007-08 season.
* Tuchel was appointed Mainz 05 manager in 2009, replacing compatriot Juergen Klopp.
* He guided Mainz to Bundesliga stability during his five-year stint at the club, gaining plaudits for his team’s high energy, attacking style of play.
* Tuchel took over from Klopp as Borussia Dortmund coach in 2015.
* He led Dortmund to a 2-1 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 2017 German Cup final. He was sacked by Dortmund three days later.
* Tuchel joined Paris St Germain in 2018 on a two-year contract, replacing Unai Emery.
* He won two Ligue 1 titles, including a domestic quadruple in his second season, and guided the club to their first Champions League final, where they lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich.
* Tuchel was sacked by PSG on Christmas Eve in 2020, despite the club finishing top of their Champions League group and sitting third in the Ligue 1 table.
* He was named Chelsea manager in January 2021 on an initial 18-month contract following the dismissal of Frank Lampard.
* Tuchel revived the team’s Premier League season and guided the London club to the Champions League final, where they beat Manchester City. Chelsea also won the Super Cup and Club World Cup.
* Chelsea sacked Tuchel in September 2022 following a shock 1-0 defeat at Dinamo Zagreb in their opening Champions League group game.
* Bayern Munich appointed Tuchel to succeed Julian Nagelsmann in March last year.
* Bayern decided to let Tuchel go at the end of the 2023-24 season despite a contract until 2025. Tuchel steered Bayern to the Bundesliga title in 2022-23, but they finished the last campaign without any silverware for the first time in more than a decade.
* Tuchel will become England’s third foreign manager after Sweden’s Sven-Goran Eriksson and Italian Fabio Capello.
* Tuchel will take over the team in January ahead of the qualification campaign for the 2026 World Cup.
-Reuters
International Football
Portugal call up same player named in England Under-18 squad
Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mane has become hot property after Portugal named the 17-year-old in their Under-18 squad on Friday, one day after England included him in their squad.
Mane was called up for a second successive England youth camp by coach Liam Bramley before the team travel to Marbella for a four-team tournament this month.
Mane is eligible for both teams having played for the Portugal Under-17 side last season. As the Under-18 team is a non-UEFA age group, both nations are entitled to call the player up.
He made his England international debut last month against the Portugal Under-18 side who have named Mane in their squad for a four-nation tournament this month.
With both tournaments running concurrently, Mane can only play for one team and Wolves and England confirmed he would feature in Bramley’s side.
Reuters has contacted Portugal’s football association for clarification.
While players with multiple nationalities have played for more than one country if they are eligible, they are not allowed to switch allegiances at senior level – unless they have played only in friendly matches for the first country.
-Reuters
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