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The Italian Football Federation (FIGC) has confirmed that the national team will take the knee as a sign of solidarity if their next opponents Belgium choose to do so, but says doing so is not in support of the Black Lives Matter campaign.

The statement comes after centre-back Giorgio Chiellini said that the team would kneel if an opponent did so.

Amid confusion on whether players were free to kneel, the federation backed that viewpoint, saying that taking the knee will be done to show solidarity with their opponents.

What was said?

“As Chiellini explained, the team will kneel in solidarity with the opponents,” the federation said, according to La Repubblica.

“Not for the campaign itself, which we don’t share. The Austrian players didn’t kneel and ours remained standing. If those from Belgium do so, ours too will in solidarity with them.”

The FIGC went on to add in a second statement: “The Italian Football Federation, in reaffirming its unconditional stance against racism and any form of discrimination, considered it opportune to give the team freedom to adhere to the ‘Black Lives Matter’ campaign.

“As President Gabriele Gravina already affirmed not more than a week ago, the FIGC considers the imposition of any behaviour in itself a form of speaking and sustains the squad’s decision for Euro 2020 games, including against Belgium on Friday.

“The sensibility of each member of the Italian national team in defence of human rights is in the Azzurri DNA, as proven by multiple initiatives and declarations, and cannot be subordinated by the adherence to one – not the only – manifestation of support for the fight against racism.”

What has happened so far?

To date, there has been confusion about Italy's stance as only a handful of players took the knee prior to the team's group stage match against Wales.

Andrea Belotti, Matteo Pessina, Emerson Palmieri, Rafael Toloi and Federico Bernardeschi all knelt alongside the entire Wales team, prompting a discussion on how Italy would handle such situations going forward.

After the incident, former Prime Minister Enrico Letta slammed the players that did not kneel, saying: "I appeal to our players to take the knee all together. Five took the knee and the others didn't – frankly, it was not a good spectacle.

"If they can all agree on the tactical plan in the dressing room beforehand, maybe they can do the same about taking the knee. It's a positive gesture. Looking at it on Sunday, with all the Wales players kneeling and only half the Italian players doing it, was not a good image."

His frustrations were echoed by former Italy star Claudio Marchisio.

“There’s freedom of choice, but this is a very important protest, and I would have preferred everyone to kneel down,” he told RAI Sport.

Further reading

Ikechukwu Ezenwa says Mexico are beatable ahead of next month’s international friendly billed for the United State of America.

The Super Eagles – made up of Nigeria Professional Football League stars - will square up against the Concacaf nation on July 3 at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

As the African side continues with their preparations, the goalkeeper dismisses any claims of fear in the team.

“Mexico are beatable. Remember that we defeated them at the 1996 Olympics, and we played a draw in our last outing,” Ezenwa told Goal.

“They are a good side no doubt and they are very fast too, but we will have to give out our best to make Nigerians proud.

“For me, no game makes me panic. All that I do is stay calm and relax my nerves if I am in goal.

“I can remember vividly the World Cup qualifier against Cameroon, it was a very big game that had so much tension, however, I was dressed for action and did very well.

“Also, I don’t put games in mind – I take it as it comes – and that is my own philosophy.”

After a few days of training, Ifeanyi Anaemena (Rivers United), Christopher Nwaeze (Kwara United), Dayo Ojo (Enyimba) and Shaibu Suleman were axed from the final squad.

In his assessment of the team handled by Augustine Eguavoen and Paul Aigbogun, the 32-year-old described them as ‘quality’, stating they all merited their invite to the Nigerian team.

“The invited players are made up of quality players,” he added.

“I am sure if they are not doing well for their respective clubs, they won’t have the opportunity to be called up.

“So, once you are invited to the national team, it means such a player is deserving of such a call-up.

“All they need to do is go out there and make a name for themselves, their families and fans.”

Nigeria and Mexico will be meeting for the sixth time ever with four of their previous encounters ending on a no-winner, no vanquished note.

The only win in the series belongs to Mexico, who defeated Nigeria in a US Gold Cup fixture in Texas.

Jonathan Akpoborie put the Super Eagles ahead inside the Cotton Bowl Stadium, albeit, the Mexicans clawed back to record a 2-1 victory courtesy of goals from Alberto Garcia Aspe and Ignacio Ambriz.

Alvaro Morata has joined Fernando Torres as Spain's top scorer at European Championships.

The striker struck in extra-time as La Roja beat Croatia 5-3 over 120 minutes to progress to the quarter-finals of Euro 2020.

Morata now has two goals to his name in the tournament, having also found the net in the 1-1 draw with Poland in matchday two.

What record has Morata matched?

Having netted three times in Euro 2016, the 28-year-old's tally in European Championships now stands at five.

That puts him level with Fernando Torres and one ahead of Barcelona great David Villa.

A first ever for Spain

Five different scorers were involved in Spain's win against Croatia.

It's the first time they have had five different players hit the net in one game at either a European Championship or World Cup.

The 5-3 win comes just days after they trounced Slovakia 5-0 and it is the first time any team at a Euros has scored five or more goals in consecutive matches.

Azpilicueta sets a Spain record

Cesar Azpilicueta picked a good time to get his first goal for La Roja. The Chelsea star headed in Spain's second goal to give them the lead.

At 31 years and 304 days, he is his nation's oldest scorer at a European Championship. 

Further reading

Former Ghana U17 captain Eric Ayiah has revealed he rejected bids from AC Milan and Porto to join French outfit Monaco in 2018.

After impressing for the Black Starlets at the Africa Cup of Nations in Gabon and the World Cup in India, the striker, then with Ghanaian lower division side Charity Stars, became subject of transfer speculation and ultimately settled for the Ligue 1 side.

At the time, he was likened to France attacker Kylian Mbappe, who had just burst onto the scene and joined Paris Saint Germain after developing through the Monaco youth ranks.

“If I recall, I had offers from Porto, AC Milan as well as Anderlecht. I was ready to play in Europe but I didn’t have any preference for a particular team back then," Ayiah said, as reported by Sportsworldghana.

“It wasn’t my choice [to sign for Monaco], but I liked it. While on holiday in Portugal after the World Cup, my representatives and I met [renowned player representative] Jorge Mendes because Charity Stars had links with him.

"Mendes decided to sign me after watching some of my videos from the tournament. He praised my talent and decided to help me.

“He had initially wanted me to join Wolves in England, but he held talks with the Monaco president and things moved on from there.”

Three years into his move to Monaco, Ayiah still plays for the club's youth set-up, having struggled to break into the first team.

His lack of progress has affected his international time with Ghana, having never received a call-up since the move. 

"Our facilities here [Ghana] are not up to what they have in France," Ayiah told Original FM.

"I think it is a better place to start from if only you have the aim to play football and also, the academy that I have played for about two and a half years now has helped me to learn a lot.

“If I watch some of my past videos, I can see there is a lot of improvement in many aspects of my game.

“I don’t regret the decision to move to Monaco. Joining Monaco has really helped me in terms of their facilities and what we have here in Ghana."

Ayiah netted four times at the U17 Afcon and on three occasions at the World Cup.

Paris Maghoma will remain at Brentford for the 2021-22 Premier League season after the Bees confirmed they have extended his contract by another year.

The midfielder left Tottenham U23 on Jan 16, 2020, to team up with the English second-tier side for an undisclosed fee.

Despite being a regular member of Brentford’s B team, he was part of Thomas Frank’s men that squared up against Wycombe Wanderers in a Carabao Cup fixture in September 2020.

Also, he joined the first team for a pre-season training camp – where he took part in several friendly matches.

“Brentford B midfield player Paris Maghoma has signed a new contract. The England youth international has signed for one season with The Bees, until June 2022,” a statement from the club website read.

“There is a club option for an extra year. Paris joined the Bees in January 2020 from Tottenham Hotspur.

“His time in West London has been interrupted by injury and the Covid-19 pandemic.

“He played his first games for Brentford B soon after joining but the Covid-19 outbreak curtailed the 2019/20 campaign for the young Bees.”

Coach Neil MacFarlane is glad that the DR Congo prospect will continue his development with the club at least for another year.

“We are delighted that Paris will be remaining with us for the coming season,” he said.

“He has immense ability and is a player that can control games for us. He fits our style of play perfectly.

“We are really happy that we can continue to work with him when we return to training this week.

“There are aspects of his game that need to develop. We will work with him on those this season.

“He had a stop-start season last year so we hope he gets an injury-free and Covid free one this time so he can continue to improve himself.”

With Brentford featuring in the English top-flight, Maghoma - Gillingham FC's Christian and SC East Bengal's Jacques - would be hoping to break into the Bees’ first team.

On the international scene, the midfielder had represented England at U18 and U19 levels before making his U20 debut in October 2020 against Wales.

Even at that, he remains eligible to switch allegiance to two-time African kings, DR Congo.

Liverpool assistant manager Peter Krawietz has described Sadio Mane as the 'most unbelievable player' in their 4-0 thrashing of Barcelona in the Champions League match in 2019.

The German coach singled out the Senegal international for praise on the occasion of his fifth anniversary at the club.

Mane has proven to be an all-round player in Jurgen Klopp’s team since his signing from Southampton in 2016, and he has a tally of 97 goals so far in over 200 games in all competitions.

“We all know Sadio wants to score goals as well, but the value he has for us is different,” Krawietz told the club website.

“To give one example, in our famous 4-0 win against Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final Sadio didn’t score. But one thing is clear for us, for everybody in the coaching staff and for the manager as well: that the most unbelievable game and the most unbelievable player on the pitch was Sadio Mane. That day, he was not-to-stop. He defended everything and he was dribbling with the ball, he was the value of two players in one. He was just everywhere!”

In that fixture at Anfield, two goals each from Georginio Wijnaldum and Divock Origi helped the Reds overturn a three-goal deficit with a 4-3 aggregate win that powered them to the victorious final.

“We have that in our mind [and] everybody who was in the stadium saw that. In the statistics books, there are of course the goals and he didn’t score, but everybody who saw that game saw that it was one of the most unbelievable performances of an offensive player I ever saw,” Krawietz continued.

“This is a little bit the problem with all these awards and statistics. Everybody is looking at the guys who are scoring the goals but like I said, there is no measurement for playing a good performance apart from successful passes, goals and whatever.

“But all these other things, it is not possible to express them in numbers and this is a little bit the thing where we feel the value of Sadio and this is why we appreciate it so much what he is doing for years for this team.”

Emmanuel Dennis has joined international teammate William Troost-Ekong in the Watford squad as they commenced their pre-season campaign on Monday.

With the presence of the Super Eagles vice-captain, the 23-year-old would be hoping to settle down quickly at Vicarage Road.

Following their promotion to the Premier League last season, manager Xisco Munoz will be hoping to lead the Hornets to an impressive 2021-22 campaign.

To achieve that, the manager met with his players for the first time at the Watford training ground. The assembly had Dennis and Troost-Ekong in attendance as well as Ben Foster plus captain Troy Deeney.

After five seasons at Club Brugge where he won two Belgian First Division A titles in the 2017–18 and 2019–20 seasons, he joined the Vicarage Road giants on a five-year contract.

A switch that saw him become the eighth African in Munoz’s squad after Troost-Ekong (Nigeria), Tom Dele-Bashiru (Nigeria), Adam Masina (Morocco), Isaac Success (Nigeria), Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Imran Louza (Morocco) and Kwadwo Baah (Ghana).

His failure to tie down a regular place at the Jan Breydel Stadium saw him getting loaned to FC Cologne for the 2020-21 campaign.

Nonetheless, he struggled to get regular playing time at the Bundesliga outfit – featuring in nine German elite division games with no goals to his credit.

During his time at Club Brugge, he scored a brace as the Blue-Black held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw in a Champions League game played two seasons ago.

In the process, Dennis became the third Nigerian to score against Los Blancos in the European club competition.

Others to have achieved this feat are former Nigeria internationals Yusuf Ayila and James Obiorah.

In addition, his first strike against the Spaniards was the earliest goal scored by the Belgians in Champions League history.

Dennis could make his debut when Watford take on Colchester United in a friendly encounter on July 16. Subsequently, they will take on West Bromwich Albion, Stevenage, Nantes, Dover Athletic and Serie A giants Udinese.

They will begin their campaign with a home game versus Aston Villa on August 14. The Claret and Blue Army boast Marvelous Nakamba (Zimbabwe), Trezeguet (Egypt) and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) in their ranks.

Leicester City loanee Rachid Ghezzal said he wants to continue his career at Besiktas following a successful loan stint at the club.

The Algeria international has fallen out of favour at the King Power Stadium having spent the last two seasons on loan in Italy and Turkey and he is apparently out of Brendan Rodgers’ plans.

Last season, he rejuvenated his career in Istanbul where he matched his best goalscoring tally in a league season with eight goals in 31 Super Lig appearances for the Black Eagles.

Ghezzal’s performances helped Besiktas dominate Turkish football in the 2020-21 campaign with the Super Lig and Turkish Cup titles, and he is looking forward to making his stay at the Vodafone Park permanent.

The 29-year-old is also interested in playing European football again, with his last appearance dating back to a Champions League game in December 2017 when he was at Monaco (vs Porto).

“Because Turkey is a Muslim country and I want to be in the Champions League in the new season, I want to continue my career in Besiktas," Ghezzal told Fanatik, as per Leicester Mercury.

"From the Middle East, Europe or another club in Turkey... my priority is Besiktas, no matter who makes an offer.

"If I cannot agree with Besiktas, I will consider other options. However, I know that Besiktas wants me very much and (has) tried everything to get me.”

Ghezzal who joined Leicester City from Monaco in August 2018, has a year left on his contract with the Foxes.

The Algeria star only featured for Leicester in his first full season at the club and he went on to play 23 matches in all competitions with three goals to his name.

Brendan Rodgers’ side has reportedly placed a €6 million price tag on the former Fiorentina and Lyon player who is attracting interest from Galatasaray and Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr.

AFC Leopards head coach Patrick Aussems has stated the team is not thinking about the Football Kenya Federation Premier League title and the main objective is to concentrate on the matches at hand.

The 13-time league champions are currently placed third on the table with 40 points from the 21 matches they have played. They won their recent game against Wazito 2-1 to end their three-match winless run. 

Ingwe are aiming at toppling Tusker FC and KCB FC to secure their first league title since 1998.

"The quality of the FKF Premier League is very good and I am happy with how our players are playing and the amount of work they put in during matches," Aussems told BetKing Kenya.

"We cannot think about the title now, we just go one game at a time and see what the season holds. I am really impressed with the quality of our performances. We created the chances and took them. Now we have to look into Wednesday again and hope to go on in this way."

The 56-year-old former Simba SC coach went on to give credit to his charges for their good performances last weekend. Michael Owino had put the Francis Kimanzi-led charges in front, but a goal from Bienvenue Shaka and Elvis Rupia's penalty ensured Ingwe emerged winners after losing the previous game against Mathare United.

"We have played nine games in the last 30 days and most of these players have played 90 minutes in all of the games," Aussems continued.

"It was important that we give some of them a rest to ensure they remain fresh. Those who came in really impressed and I must say they have given me some trouble in my head for the next game."

On Sunday, July 4, the tactician will be leading Ingwe in the FKF Shield Cup Mashemeji Derby final against sworn rivals Gor Mahia at Ruaraka Stadium.

Ingwe qualified after eliminating minnows Equity FC in the semis while K'Ogalo made it to the last hurdle after getting past Bidco United.

The winner will represent the country in the Caf Confederation Cup next season.

The words 'England' and 'penalties' are enough to spook even the most ardent Three Lions fans and the prospect of a shootout is usually a source of dread due to the heavy hand of history.

However, recent successes - against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup and Switzerland in the 2019 Nations League finals - have given them reason for optimism.

At Euro 2020, Gareth Southgate explained that his squad had "a process that works for us" and they have followed the same approach when the prospect of a shootout arises.

But, which players are England's best penalty takers? Goal takes a look at the stats.

Who are England's best penalty takers?

Of the current crop of England players, Harry Kane is the undisputed best when it comes to scoring penalties.

In March 2021, the Tottenham captain became the Three Lions' all-time leading penalty scorer when he netted his 10th goal from the spot against Poland, surpassing Frank Lampard in the process.

His record going into Euro 2020 was 10 penalties scored from 12 taken, which means he has a conversion rate of over 80 per cent from 12 yards. At the same time, at club level, he had scored 32 from 36 penalties, which meant his overall record was 42 penalties scored from 48 taken - an 87.5% conversion rate.

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford is England's next most accomplished penalty taker, but has taken significantly fewer than Kane across his career so far.

*Does not include penalty shootouts. Senior club & international games only. Correct as of June 28, 2021.

Across club and country, Rashford has taken a total of 14 penalties, scoring 12, with the arrival of Bruno Fernandes at Old Trafford impacting his spot-kick responsibilities. His conversion rate is nevertheless similar to Kane at 85%. Interestingly, he had a flawless record for England ahead of Euro 2020, scoring each of the three penalties he hit.

Jadon Sancho can lay a credible claim to being England's next best penalty taker, having taken three and scored three for Borussia Dortmund in 2020-21, though he has never stepped up for the Three Lions at senior level.

Others who boasted a 100% record from penalties heading to Euro 2020 - with an admittedly low sample size, include Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored his only penalty for England against the Republic of Ireland in a 2020 friendly game, and Mason Mount (one from one for Chelsea).

Manchester City forward Raheem Sterling has scored the only penalty he has taken for England (against Iceland in 2020), but his record at club level leaves cause for concern as he scored only one of four penalties taken. That means his conversion rate is lower than 50%.

Penalties for England only

*Penalties scored in senior England games only. No penalty shootouts. Correct as of June 28, 2021.

As well as the aforementioned specialists, some unlikely faces have stepped up to hit penalties for England in shootouts.

When they won against Colombia at the 2018 World Cup, Kane and Rashford scored, as did defenders Kieran Trippier and Eric Dier, with defensive midfielder Jordan Henderson missing.

Against Switzerland in the 2019 Nations League third-place play-off, Dier and Sterling stepped up again to score, along with Harry Maguire, Ross Barkley, Jadon Sancho and even goalkeeper Jordan Pickford. 

What is England's record in penalty shootouts?

*As of 2019 Nations League finals.

England have been in nine penalty shootouts across the World Cup, European Championship and Nations League, losing six and winning three.

Their three victories came against Switzerland in the 2018-19 Nations League, Colombia at the 2018 World Cup and Spain at Euro 96.

Read more about England's record in penalty shootouts here.

Spain became the latest victim of an unfortunate own goal as self-inflicted errors continue to dominate Euro 2020.

Goalkeeper Unai Simon's nightmare moment came early on in Spain's Round of 16 clash with Croatia, giving the 2018 World Cup runners-up a 1-0 lead.

On a backpass from Pedri, Simon completely missed his touch as the ball ran straight into the back of the net to give Croatia the early advantage.

A historic amount of own goals

The calamitous own goal was the ninth of Euro 2020, which means this tournament has now featured the same amount of own goals as every other European Championship combined.

Indeed, it's a tournament that began with an OG, with Merih Demiral unfortunately turning the first goal of the tournament into his own net.

Since then, Lukas Hradecky, Mats Hummels, Wojciech Szczesny, Ruben Dias, Raphael Guerreiro, Martin Dubravka, Juraj Kucka and, now, Pedri have all been on the end of own goals throughout the tournament.

While Pedri was the one statistically responsible, the fault no doubt lies with Simon, who left the Barcelona youngster hanging by completely failing to control a ball that was right in front of him.

That mistake continued a difficult trend for Simon, who, at club level, made the most mistakes that led to goals across the top five European Leagues with six.

'What has just happened?!'

Predictably, social media was stunned by Simon's mistake, even if those mistakes have been commonplace this summer.

Further reading

Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder George Maluleka has declared he is happy at the Tshwane giants and is not looking at moving away from the club.

After the midfielder was restricted to just 11 Premier Soccer League appearances as well as featuring in the Caf Champions League twice and one Nedbank Cup game, he was rumoured to be out of favour at Sundowns. 

But the player says he is in a good space at Chloorkop while promising to deliver more.  

“I feel I contributed wherever I could. A lot of people didn’t give me a chance and I played,” said Maluleka as per Sowetan Live.  

“I didn’t play much but I feel like I did well for your first season. If you look at many players who get signed to a new team, most find it difficult to play week in and week out. So I’m happy with my progress. 

“I wouldn’t say I regret moving [from Chiefs] because things happen for a reason. That’s all in the past. I’m here now. I got my first medal with my new club, and what motivates you more than to say I can get another one? 

“So, I’m not looking back. I’m looking forward to it. I’m happy at Sundowns, I’m in a good space. George is happy and he is not going anywhere. I heard about these move rumours. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it is OK. I am a Sundowns player, I’m not going anywhere. “ 

The former Cape Town Spurs player now boasts four Premier Soccer League titles. 

He was crowned PSL champion twice at SuperSport United before winning the 2014/15 title with Kaizer Chiefs and then the latest one at Sundowns. 

“The team has won a lot of trophies and hopefully we can add to the cabinet,” Maluleka said. 

“For me to be already on four is a big thing. A guy like Hlompho Kekana is on eight, so it is good. It also pushes me to say, 'Can I be able to get there?'” 

It is yet to be seen if Maluleka will earn game time at Sundowns next season as they look for a record-extending fifth straight PSL title. 

Galatasaray forward Mostafa Mohamed suffered a knee injury during their first pre-season friendly match against Dinamo Bucharest on Sunday, the Turkish Super Lig club has confirmed.

The Egypt international started Sunday’s pre-season friendly match against the Romanian outfit at the Florya Metin Oktay Facilities but he could not play beyond the opening five minutes after he was hit in the knee.

Mohamed was subsequently replaced by Ali Yavuz Kol as Galatasaray sealed a 2-1 win, thanks to Aytac Kara's double.

The Lions, in their medical report, disclosed that the Zamalek loanee suffered bone marrow edema (build-up of fluid in the bone) and his treatment has commenced.

“After the first examination of our player Mostafa Mohamed, who dropped out of the game in the fifth minute of the friendly match against Dinamo Bucharest, flexing in the leg, edema was detected due to the impact in the left ankle," the club's statement read .

“Bone edema in the left knee and bleeding in the capsule were detected in the emergency MRI examinations. No ligament injury was found.

"In addition, the treatment of our player, who has bone edema and bleeding in the joint capsule in the left ankle MRI, has been started."

Mohamed joined Galatasaray on a one-and-a-half-year loan from Egyptian club Zamalek in February and he instantly made himself a key player in Fatih Terim's squad.

After making a goalscoring debut in the Turkish top-flight against Istanbul Basaksehir on February 2, the 23-year-old scored the match-winning goal as Galatasaray pipped Fenerbahce 1-0 in the Istanbul derby four days later.

He ended the 2020-21 campaign in Turkey with nine goals in 16 appearances in all competitions.

Mohamed’s impressive form made him a strong favourite to make the Egypt squad for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics but Galatasaray are not ready to release him with a crucial Uefa Champions League qualifying match against PSV scheduled for July 20.

“We received an official letter from Galatasaray citing the difficulty of Mostafa Mohamed’s participation in the Tokyo Olympics,” the Egyptian FA President Ahmed Megahed told ONTime Sport .