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The Barcelona midfielder scored the fifth goal in Spain’s 7-0 win vs. Costa Rica

Gavi announced his arrival at the World Cup on Wednesday with a stellar performance as Spain hammered Costa Rica 7-0. 

The Barcelona midfielder started the game and scored the fifth, becoming the third youngest scorer in the competition since Pele. 

Pele was 17 years and 239 days old when he scored in 1958 World Cup. Manuel Rosas scored in the competition aged 18 years and 93 days.

Gavi becomes the youngest scorer for Spain in the World Cup at 18 years and 110 days and the youngest in the finals since Pele 64 years ago. 

Dani Olmo opened the scoring for Spain, Marco Asensio added the second and Ferran Torres made it three on the half hour mark from the penalty spot as Spain wrapped the game up in the first half. 

Ferran was again on target after the break before Gavi’s goal. Carlos Soler and Alvaro Morata got in on the act late on. 

The Spanish team debuted in Qatar with a resounding 7-0 win over Costa Rica
Earlier, Japan gave the surprise of the day by defeating Germany

Spain began its World Cup adventure in style. With the win (7-0) over Costa Rica, La Roja finished the opening day of group E in first position. In short, an unbeatable start for Luis Enrique’s team. Japan, who beat Germany earlier, also have three points but are second on goal difference.

The first match of the sector was played by Germany and Japan. At 2:00 p.m., peninsular time, the action of the group from Spain began. İlkay Gündoğan opened the scoring for the Teutons with an accurate penalty shot at minute 33. Hansi Flick’s team had more chances in that first half to increase their lead, but they didn’t know how to take advantage of it and would end up paying for it. In the second half, Ritsu Dōan, at 75, and then Takuma Asano, at 83, consummated the Japanese comeback. The 2-1 final for Japan was the big surprise of the day and a result that leaves the German National Team touched.

At 17:00 it was Spain’s turn. In Doha, La Roja started quite powerfully and in half an hour they were thrashing Costa Rica 3-0, with goals from Dani Olmo, Asensio and Ferran Torres from a penalty. In the second half Ferran Torres scored again and Gavi was in charge of closing the score with the final 7-0.

CLASIFICACIÓN GRUPO ESPAÑA MUNDIAL

España – 3 puntos

Japón – 3 puntos

Alemania – 0 puntos

Costa Rica – 0 puntos

The Portuguese midfielder will have a big call to make if Barça make a bid

Pep Guardiola’s contract renewal with Manchester City may have an important effect on the transfer market. Several players from the English team were awaiting the decision of the coach, who was out of contract in June, to make a decision about his future. One of them is Bernardo Silva, wanted by Barcelona and who could now edge away from them since Guardiola still considers him key to his project. Pep wants to renew the Portuguese player’s contract and the club has already set to work to convince him.

Guardiola’s influence on the players is huge. He has a great relationship with Bernardo Silva. He is one of his favourite players and his goal is to persuade him to stay. Despite that, though, Guardiola previously made it clear that he would open the door for him if he really wanted to leave. “We will only have players who want to be with us.” And Bernardo Silva asked City to listen to Barça, although in the end the Blaugrana did not make a bid.

The scenario is complicated again. Bernardo Silva wants Barça to make a decision now on whether to bid for him or not in order to answer City about the renewal proposal. It seems impossible that he can sign for Barça in the January window because he is playing in the Champions League and would prioritise leaving in June, but Barça’s financial situation is difficult and it will be necessary to see if they can sign players within their LaLiga-imposed spending limit. In any case, City will ask for a lot of money and, even more, after Guardiola’s renewal.

Another of the players who could renew is Ilkay Gundogan, whose contract ends at the end of the season. Barça are following him as they consider him an interesting option for their midfield. Especially if he goes free. The German player already made it clear that he would decide his future in the spring, so he will not leave in January, and that he was aware of Guardiola’s future. With the coach renewed until 2025, Gundogan could yet stay, too.

Dortmund’s youthful striker will be one of the attractions of the World Cup

Youssoufa Moukoko has already become one of the exciting prospects of the World Cup. At the age of 18, he was unfazed as addressed the German national team’s press room, answering questions about his future with unusual panache.

His breakthrough in the Bundesliga has been drawing attention from all over the continent, with his contract expiring on 30th June.

Barça have decided to enter the bidding because the player would be delighted to play at Camp Nou.

Moukoko is an oustanding talent. With Dortmund, he has six goals in eight starts. The German coach has not hesitated to take him to the World Cup and he could be a key player.

His explosion has taken place in the last year of his contract and Dortmund are trying to renew him, but it remains difficult.

The player and his entourage have not said anything about his future, but the only certain thing is that Moukoko would prioritise staying at Dortmund because, in sporting terms, they have put their faith in him.

He does impose two conditions: one, that the team gets into the Champions League, something that is not guaranteed and, secondly, that there is an exit clause, like the one Haaland had, with a stipulated sale price.

At the moment there is no agreement and many European clubs are trying to sign him. There is talk of exorbitant transfer fees and Barça are interested in the matter.

Moukoko has not hidden his fondness for Barça since he was a child and would love to play at Camp Nou.

No one at the club doubts his impressive talent, but the operation would only be viable within rational economic parameters. He is 18 years old and Barça do not want to break the wage structure given that their dressing room is full of great young players. An exorbitant paycheck would distort everything.

The Blaugrana club already knows what Moukoko is asking for and Moukoko and his entourage know what Barça’s plan would be. An agreement is difficult, although not ruled out if his desire to wear Blaugrana is so great.

Mateu Alemany already warned that the free player market would be a priority for Barça. And Moukoko is a crown jewel amongst the rest.

The midfielder is happy at Camp Nou but singled out the board for criticism this weekend

Frenkie de Jong is back in the spotlight after making some statements in which he has expressed his discomfort at how Barcelona managed his situation in the summer.

The Dutchman hinted that the Blaugrana wanted to sell him, which has drawn a denial from Joan Laporta’s adviser Enric Masip in Catalonia.

In England, Chelsea and Manchester United are still very interested in the footballer and attentive to see how his future evolves because, despite the fact that he wants to continue at Camp Nou, they are willing to bid for him if there is an opportunity.

De Jong already seemed happy at Barça, where he has become a starter again after playing fewer minutes than usual at the start of the campaign.

But the Dutch international wanted to publicly explain his feelings by making it known that he has no relationship with the board.

At Barça, there is calm because they have De Jong tied down for the future, but it is also true that it would be very helpful if he agreed to lower his salary, which remains very high after the deferrals made during the pandemic.

Chelsea and United have told De Jong’s camp that they are still very interested in him.
Chelsea are going to change almost the entire midfield next season and they want him no matter what, although Frenkie has made it clear that he only plans to continue at Barça.

Masip says Laporta fought hard to ensure De Jong stayed at the Catalan club

Frenkie de Jong was happy to single out the Barcelona board for what happened last summer, when, according to him, there were moves by the club to sell him.

The midfielder complained about it this weekend and Enric Masip, an adviser to president Joan Laporta and a member of the sporting committee, has responded via Twitter.

Masip say that Laporta was the one who fought the most for the continuity of the Dutch international and that “he never considered selling him — NEVER… even with the club’s delicate [financial] situation.”

He added: “I can say with knowledge of the facts that the person from the club who has most defended the continuity of Frenkie de Jong has been one person who has a first and last name: Joan Laporta.”

The tension between the club’s hierarchy and the footballer is growing, although the player has no intention of leaving the club, as he has assured in the same statements in which he criticised the board.

The Roma coach is on the hunt for a right-back in January

Roma coach Jose Mourinho has called Barcelona to request the loan of Héctor Bellerín after being left without a right-back due to his fallout with Rick Karsdorp, whom he accused of being a traitor after the league game against Sassuolo (1-1) and showed him the door to leave.

The Dutch player was not called up for the next Roma match. He went on vacation after saying goodbye to his teammates and traveled with his family to Amsterdam, taking advantage of the World Cup break, a move that is understood as the confirmation of his goodbye to Roma, who are determined to transfer him this January.

Meanwhile, Mourinho is looking at other options and, according to Estadio Deportivo, he has settled on Bellerín, whom he knows well from his time in London and who is not having regular minutes under Xavi Hernández at Barcelona. The Portuguese coach considers that Bellerín is the most suitable player for his style of play in Rome, 3-5-2.

Roma have transferred their interest to Barça for what would be a low-cost transfer of Bellerín or, taking into account that his contract ends in June, a loan for the second part of the season.

However, Roma arrive late considering that Bellerín has already committed to Betis when his contract with Barcelona expires.

The Brazilian star, Neymar Jr., was surprised by a nice gesture that was waiting for him inside his residence room in the Qatari capital, Doha, in preparation for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

Neymar published, through his official account on the “Instagram” application, a picture of his room in the residence hotel, where the organizing committee put a picture of the Brazilian star as a young child in a Santos club shirt.

And the Brazilian club interacted, through its Twitter account, with the image that Neymar published, with a tweet saying: “There is no symbolic image more than that. We wish Neymar success, and that he return to the sixth World Cup in the history of Brazil.”

Neymar also published a picture documenting the moment the Brazilian national team’s delegation arrived at Doha airport in official uniforms, and commented on it, saying, “A football player in an artist’s suit.”

Brazil, which dreams of winning the World Cup for the sixth time in its history and strengthening its record as the most crowned team, is participating in Group G of the World Cup, along with Switzerland, Serbia and Cameroon.

The 22nd edition of the World Cup, which will be held for the first time in the Arab world, will start later today, with a meeting between Qatar and Ecuador, where the tournament will continue until December 18.

Getafe’s technical director revealed that they had a look at the player and that an agreement was close.

Alejandro Balde, the most recent addition to Spain’s World Cup squad, is in the best moment of his career. At the age of 19, he is living the dream of all aspiring football players. His first-ever senior call-up will be to play in the most important competition in the world.

Everything could have been much different if things had turned out differently this summer.

Ramón Planes, ex-coach of FC Barcelona, confirmed in ‘Onze’ of Esport 3, that this summer the fullback of Dominican origin was close to joining Getafe.

“I have a very good relationship with him and his family. This summer we were very attentive. We followed Marcos Alonso’s story very closely. I took advantage of this personal relationship to tell him that we liked him very much. There was a possibility that Barça, as they did with Nico and Abde, wanted a way out to look for minutes. But everything changed”, said Planes.

“In football, everything is a matter of key moments. All this indeed hinged a lot on the Alonso case that dragged on throughout the summer. With Marcos and Jordi Alba, Xavi had two very good full-backs. But Xavi wanted to bet on the youngster. He had a very good Gamper and the coach realised that he was at a great level”, he added.

The Spanish coach had an insight that Barcelona possesses a defender with tremendous capabilities, and therefore he insisted on not loaning the young Spaniard and involving him in the Blaugrana matches, in which he appeared at a more than wonderful level, which made him get praise from the opposite sides.
It is worth noting that Barcelona is seeking these days to extend the contract of the 19-year-old, and fortify him with a penalty clause of one billion dollars.

The Barça player does not want to decide anything until after the World Cup

Barça have named a price target for Memphis in the January market. The club wants to reduce the wage bill and the player knows he will have to settle for a secondary role.

For now, there are no offers on the table, but his entourage are looking towards the Premier League, where there are several clubs interested.

As in the summer, the player’s entourage are informing interested clubs that the striker will arrive for free if he decides to leave. The club however still hope to cash in.

Another possibility is that Memphis gives up part of his fee, something that did not happen in the summer.

United, Arsenal and Chelsea have shown interest and await the Dutchman’s performance at the World Cup before making the plunge.

The Blaugrana club could agree on some kind of compensation in the form of a future discount on a player from these clubs to make things easier.

In the summer transfer window, the club had agreed with Juventus not to pay Pjanic’s transfer bonus if they gave Memphis his release, but in the end, the player did not reach an agreement with the Italians.

Memphis has made it clear that he will not leave for a second-tier club. He wants a good contract and a top-level sporting project. That is why a few months ago he ruled out Tottenham and now he is not even considering the option of playing for Sevilla.