Over-35 World Cup: Mesut #Ozil Eyes ‘2nd #World Cup’, To Compete With #Ronaldinho In #Football Again

Published

2 years ago

February 5, 2024

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Over-35 World Cup: Mesut #Ozil Eyes ‘2nd #World Cup’, To Compete With #Ronaldinho In #Football Again—-A new over-35s World Cup competition is set to be held in England this summer, with some of football’s greatest legends being lined up to play.

Plans are in place to launch an eight-team tournament involving England, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay – the past champions of the FIFA World Cup.

Seven matches are scheduled to be staged in the same stadium over one week at the start of June. While the venue is still being finalised, Mail Sport understands talks have taken place with some of the Premier League’s biggest northern clubs.

The competition is being organised by the Elite Players Group (EPG) – a group of top-level former footballers and sports businessmen who joined forces last year – and will be known as the EPG Cup.

Under their proposals, only players who are aged 35 or over and have been capped by their country or made 100 top-flight appearances will be eligible to take part in the tournament.

The captains of each country are founders of the EPG. Steve McManaman is set to lead England while the other skippers are Esteban Cambiasso (Argentina), Emerson (Brazil), Christian Karembeu (France), Kevin Kuranyi (Germany), Marco Materazzi (Italy), Michel Salgado (Spain) and Diego Lugano (Uruguay).

The provisional squads being circulated and seen by Mail Sport include five former Ballon d’Or winners – England’s Michael Owen, Brazilian trio Kaka, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo, and Fabio Cannavaro of Italy.

England are also said to have already enlisted Ashley Cole, Joe Cole, Rio Ferdinand, David James, Frank Lampard and Robbie Fowler.

Other stars supposedly being lined up to feature include Brazil’s Cafu and Roberto Carlos and France’s Thierry Henry and Marcel Desailly.

Argentina are said to have Hernan Crespo and Pablo Zabaleta involved, while Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira are on Germany’s draft list.

The Spanish squad being circulated includes David Villa and Carlos Puyol, while Francesco Totti is down to play for Italy and Diego Forlan is listed for Uruguay.

EPG Cup games will be 11-a-side, but over 70 minutes rather than 90, and teams can use roll-on substitutes utilising their 18-man squads.

The quarter-finals are scheduled to be played on June 4 and June 5, with both semi-finals on June 8 before the final on June 11.

Organisers have deliberately chosen the window between the Champions League final on June 1 and the start of Euro 2024 on June 14 – and believe they can get all logistics in place despite having less than four months to plan.

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SC Freiburg Make History with Dominant Win Over Celta Vigo to Reach Europa League Semis

Published

9 hours ago

April 16, 2026

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SC Freiburg Make History with Dominant Win Over Celta Vigo to Reach Europa League Semis—-Freiburg booked a historic place in the UEFA Europa League semi-finals for the first time after a commanding 3-1 win over Celta Vigo, sealing a 6-1 aggregate triumph.

Julian Schuster’s side, who carried a 3-0 advantage from the first leg in Germany, finished the job in style away from home with goals from Igor Matanović and a brace by Yuito Suzuki.

Freiburg effectively ended the contest before half-time, scoring twice in quick succession. Matanović opened the scoring in the 33rd minute with a powerful volley after a clever build-up involving Matthias Ginter and Jordy Makengo.

Suzuki doubled the lead six minutes later, combining neatly with Jan-Niklas Beste before finishing calmly. The Japanese midfielder added his second early in the second half, converting from close range after a flowing team move set up by Vincenzo Grifo.

Celta Vigo managed a late consolation through Williot Swedberg, but it did little to change the outcome as Freiburg cruised through.

Having already broken new ground by reaching the quarter-finals, Freiburg now advance to their first-ever European semi-final, where they will face either Real Betis or Sporting Braga.

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Ousmane Dembélé Hits Brace as Paris Saint-Germain Knock Out Liverpool from UCL

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2 days ago

April 14, 2026

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Ousmane Dembélé Hits Brace as Paris Saint-Germain Knock Out Liverpool from UCL—-Ousmane Dembélé starred with a brace as Paris Saint-Germain secured a 2-0 victory over Liverpool at Anfield, sealing a dominant 4-0 aggregate win to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals.

The French forward proved decisive on the night, scoring twice to end Liverpool’s European campaign and send the defending champions into the last four for a third consecutive season.

Liverpool’s night was further marred by a serious injury to Hugo Ekitiké, who was forced off in the first half with what appeared to be a severe leg issue, raising concerns over his availability for the remainder of the season.

Manager Arne Slot made bold selection calls, leaving Mohamed Salah on the bench initially, though the forward was introduced early following Ekitiké’s injury and nearly made an instant impact.

Despite flashes of pressure from Liverpool, PSG remained composed and dangerous on the counter. Dembélé broke the deadlock in the second half with a fine curling effort before adding a second in stoppage time from a Bradley Barcola assist.

Liverpool’s hopes of a comeback were also dashed when a penalty awarded for a challenge on Alexis Mac Allister was overturned following a VAR review.

The defeat confirms a disappointing end to Liverpool’s European campaign, while PSG continue their title defence and will face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid in the semi-finals.

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