CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout claimed the federation had to work hard to keep their 4.5 qualifying spots for the World Cup.
The South American federation held onto their allocation of spots for football s showpiece, after the FIFA Congress decided in May that the spots-per-federation allotment would remain the same from the Brazil World Cup through to Qatar.
Napout revealed it was not simply a matter of FIFA signing off on the same numbers, stating CONMEBOL desperately defended the extra half-spot they have held since the 2002 World Cup in South Korea/Japan.
[They] have great value, the 57-year-old told CONMEBOL.com, referring to the half-spots they held onto for the Russia and Qatar World Cups.
They are football conquests in recognition of South…
Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas believes Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is the man to bring Champions League football back to Anfield.
The Portuguese boss is preparing to host Rodgers Liverpool at White Hart Lane in the Premier League on Wednesday, knowing a win can take Spurs into the top four, but with their opponents on an eight-game unbeaten run of their own, he remains wary of the threat they pose.
At the moment they (Liverpool) are on a good run in terms of form, Villas-Boas told reporters.
They would want ideally to turn the draws into wins. In a couple of games there were very close to winning but they didn t get the result that they wanted.
They are in an awkward position in the league at the moment but the distance between the teams (in …
French TV station TF1 is reporting that Atletico Madrid have been showing interest in Paris Saint-Germain winger Lucas Moura.
Los Colchoneros appear to be in the market for attacking reinforcements and the Brazilian footballer is one of the players they are looking at.
The 24-year-old has done pretty well this season, scoring 9 goals in 34 Ligue 1 appearances, but he hasn’t quite managed to establish himself as an undisputed starter.
Lucas Moura appears to be behind Angel di Maria and Julian Draxler in the pecking order and he may be ready to consider his options.
The Brazilian had joined Paris Saint-Germain in a €40 million deal from Sao Paulo back in January 2013, after the Saints hijacked Man Utd’s move.
Moura has since scored 30 goals i…
Mousa Dembele believes that Mauricio Pochettino has changed the culture at Tottenham, with the north-London side now confident in their ability to claim silverware.
Tottenham face in-form Everton on Sunday at White Hart Lane as they look to close the 10-point gap between themselves and Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Dembele joined Tottenham in 2012 and he believes the switch in mentality at the club is testament to the impact Pochettino has had in the past two-and-a-half seasons.
I think any team wants to win something [trophies], but I think for us, we believe we have the quality to do something, the Belgium midfielder told Sky Sports.
It s not something you can just explain to the camera it s a certain lifestyle at the club. Everything around it ch…
When the team sheets landed, it looked like Diego Simeone might have thrown his bottomless reserves of menacing caution to the wind.
Atletico Madrid lined up to face Chelsea in the Champions League with Angel Correa and Joao Felix either side of Luis Suarez in attack.
Marcos Llorente – a goalscoring revelation from midfield both this season and, famously, at Anfield at the same stage of the 2019-20 tournament – was at right wing-back, with Thomas Lemar arguably an even more offensive option on the other flank.
Hold onto your hats or, at the very least, your dark overcoats.
By half-time, Atleti had managed no shots on target and one attempt on goal overall.
Despite inviting mirth such as that immediately above, Simeone s men did not start by ma…
Zinedine Zidane has no doubts Martin Odegaard will succeed at Real Madrid despite his limited appearances for Los Blancos this season.
The 22-year-old was recalled by Madrid in August after a stellar campaign on loan at Real Sociedad, where he scored four goals and assisted a further six in 31 LaLiga appearances.
He has struggled to make an impact back at his parent club this term, though, and has been limited to just three league starts.
Not only has he failed to score in those appearances, Odegaard has also not created a significant chance for a team-mate or completed a dribble either.
In contrast, last season Odegaard crafted 10 big opportunities and 62 chances in total – with 27 from set-pieces.
However, Zidane is confident the Nor…
At the start of last season in the Premier League, Chelsea played a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge. In that game, there was an incident apparently missed by referee Anthony Taylor when Spurs defender Cristian Romero pulled Chelsea s Marc Cucurella by the hair inside the box.
Mike Dean was on VAR duty for that game and most astonishingly, he chose not to sent Taylor to take a look on the pitch-side screen. He later said he didn t do so because Taylor was a mate , causing plenty of uproar in the world of English football. However, Dean has come out to speak on the subject again, and he claims his words have been taken out of context.
Former referee Mike Dean addresses the controversy surrounding his recent comments on the decision not to send Anthon…
Barcelona are interested in signing Mohammed Kudus from Ajax in the January transfer window, according to . The report in the British tabloid has claimed that Eredivisie club Ajax are willing to sell the Ghana international midfielder for £40 million in the middle of the season.
Kudus is one of the best young players in the world and did well for Ghana at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. The 22-year-old has progressed a lot at Ajax, and it would make sense for the Dutch giants to cash in on Kudus when his stock is high.
The midfielder has made five starts and nine substitute appearances in the Eredivisie so far this season, scoring five goals in the process. Kudus has also made five starts and one substitute appearance in the UEFA Champions League so far this campaign, scor…
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has insisted there will be no confusion over his working relationship with director of football Joe Kinnear.
Kinnear was controversially appointed to the role in June by chairman Mike Ashley, with his arrival leading to suggestions that Pardew could be facing the sack.
But, while the English boss has admitted to previously harbouring concerns over Kinnear s remit, he insists the pair can work well together.
I think initially people thought Joe was definitely babysitting for me here, for things not to go well and Joe to become manager, he told The Times.
I think that s what people s first perception was. And I have to say it was a perception I was a bit concerned about, too.
I needed to speak to Mike and Joe about that and say, …
that Arsene Wenger is pondering a move for French midfielder Mathieu Flamini.
The Gunners boss is desperate to reinforce the squad following the disappointing start to the Premier League campaign and he seems ready to lure the Frenchman back to the Emirates.
Flamini has been a free agent since leaving AC Milan in June, meaning he would be arriving on a free transfer.
The Frenchman has expressed his desire to return to English Premier League and was linked with Fulham and West Ham, but his high wage demands proved to be obstacle to any deal.
Namely, the 29-year-old wants £75,000 per week, which is more than mid table Premiership clubs can afford, but not exactly outside Arsenal s price range.
Flamini has been battling with numerous injuries ever…