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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BREAKING: PSG Set Up Arsenal Champions League Final After 6-5 Aggregate Win Over Bayern Munich

Published

1 day ago

May 6, 2026

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BREAKING: PSG Set Up Arsenal Champions League Final After 6-5 Aggregate Win Over Bayern Munich—-Reigning European champions Paris Saint-Germain have secured their place in yet another UEFA Champions League final after overcoming Bayern Munich in a fiercely contested semi-final clash.

Paris Saint-Germain have booked their place in the 2026 UEFA Champions League final after edging Bayern Munich 6-5 on aggregate in a dramatic semi-final clash.

The decisive moment came early in the second leg, when Ballon d’Or holder Ousmane Dembélé fired home from close range after being picked out by Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, giving PSG a crucial lead that ultimately proved to be the winner.

Despite the fast start, the game soon became defined as much by controversy as by clear-cut chances. Bayern were left frustrated after Nuno Mendes appeared to handle the ball while already on a booking, but the referee opted against issuing a second yellow card.

Further anger followed when another potential handball incident involving João Neves went unpunished, with officials ruling that the ball had deflected off a teammate in the build-up—therefore not meeting the criteria for a penalty.

Bayern, managed by Vincent Kompany, dominated large periods of the match and created several opportunities. Michael Olise and Jamal Musiala both came close, while goalkeeper Matvéi Safonov was called into action multiple times.

The German side eventually found the net through Harry Kane in stoppage time, but it proved too little, too late as PSG held on to secure their place in the final.

The result extends Bayern’s wait for another European title to six years, while PSG now have the opportunity to win back-to-back Champions League trophies, just a year after claiming their first.

Attention now turns to the final on May 30, where PSG will face Arsenal. The showdown promises high stakes, with either a historic first Champions League title for Arsenal or consecutive triumphs for the French giants on the line.

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BREAKING: Saka Fires Arsenal Into First Champions League Final in 20 Years

Published

2 days ago

May 5, 2026

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BREAKING: Saka Fires Arsenal Into First Champions League Final in 20 Years—-TCN reports that Arsenal have qualified for the 2026 UEFA Champions League final after a narrow victory over Atlético Madrid, with Bukayo Saka scoring the decisive goal.

Saka’s strike proved to be the difference as Arsenal secured a 1-0 win in the second leg, progressing 2-1 on aggregate following a 1-1 draw in Spain.

The result sees the North London club reach the Champions League final for the first time in two decades, marking a significant milestone in their European journey.

Arsenal will now face either defending champions Paris Saint-Germain or German giants Bayern Munich in the final scheduled for May 30.

This will be only the second Champions League final appearance in Arsenal’s history. Their first came in 2006, when they were narrowly defeated by FC Barcelona.

The Gunners will now be aiming to go one step further and claim their first-ever Champions League title.

Developing story…

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