Belgian great Meunier signs for Premier League side Sunderland

London: Veteran Belgian defender Thomas Meunier said he was "hugely excited" to "begin a new chapter" after he signed for Premier League side Sunderland on a free transfer on Wednesday.

The 34-year-old -- one of Belgium's 'golden generation' whose last hurrah was a World Cup quarter-final exit to Spain -- signed a two-year contract. truewildgame.online

The 83-times capped Meunier, who has played club football at the top level in his homeland, Germany, Turkey and France, had been at Ligue 1 side Lille.

"I am hugely excited and honoured to join Sunderland," said Meunier in a statement on the Sunderland website.

"I'm very happy to be here and to begin this new chapter in my career.

"The Premier League is one of the most competitive and exciting leagues in the world, and it's a challenge I've wanted to experience.

"When I spoke with the club, I was impressed by the ambition, the project and the desire to keep moving forward.

"Competing in Europe (the Europa League) was also a big factor in my decision because, as a player, you always want to test yourself against the best teams and compete for trophies."

Meunier, who won three Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain during his spell there from 2016-2020, "brings a wealth of experience, leadership and professionalism", said Sunderland's director of football Florent Ghisolfi.

"Thomas is a player who understands what it takes to compete for success, and we're confident his mentality and character will have a positive influence on the squad," added Ghisolfi.

"We believe he'll make an important contribution on and off the pitch, and we're excited to see him begin this new chapter with us.

"It feels like a great fit."

أعلنت دار سوذبيز للمزادات اليوم الخميس عن بيع القميص الذي ارتداه أسطورة البرازيل بيليه عندما سجل هدفين في نهائي كأس العالم لكرة القدم 1958 مقابل 4.9 مليون دولار في مزاد علني، ليصبح القطعة التذكارية الأغلى قيمة المرتبطة بأسطورة كرة القدم.

ذكرت دار المزادات أن القميص الذي يحمل الرقم 10، وارتداه بيليه عندما كان يبلغ من العمر 17 عاما فقط ليقود البرازيل للفوز على السويد صاحبة الأرض 5-2 في ستوكهولم والتتويج بلقبها الأول في كأس العالم، جذب عشرة عروض من أكثر من خمسة مزايدين.

جعلت هذه الصفقة القميص ثاني أغلى قميص كرة قدم يُباع في مزاد علني على الإطلاق، خلف قميص دييجو مارادونا الذي ارتداه عندما سجل هدفه الشهير بيده للأرجنتين في مرمى إنجلترا بكأس العالم 1986، والذي بيع مقابل 9.3 مليون دولار في عام 2022.

سجل بيليه، الذي توفي عام 2022 عن 82 عاما، هدفين في نهائي 1958، ولا يزال يحتفظ برقم أصغر لاعب يسجل هدفا في مباراة نهائية لكأس العالم.

كان القميص قد بيع في وقت سابق بمزاد علني عام 2004 مقابل 70505 جنيه إسترليني (ما يعادل 105600 دولار)، وفقا لدار سوذبيز.

The post بيع قميص بيليه في نهائي كأس العالم 1958 مقابل 4.9 مليون دولار appeared first on كويت نيوز.

Al Ahly have reportedly reached an agreement with Dinamo Zagreb to sign Algerian forward Monsef Bakrar in a deal worth €3 million.

According to Croatian reports, Dinamo Zagreb have completed the agreement for Bakrar’s move to the Cairo giants.

The Croatian champions will receive a fixed €3 million fee, while performance-related bonuses could increase the total value of the transfer to €4 million.

Dinamo have also secured a 10% sell-on clause, which would entitle them to a share of any future transfer fee received by Al Ahly.

However, Bakrar is not expected to leave Zagreb immediately. Dinamo negotiated for the 25-year-old to remain available for both legs of their UEFA Champions League second qualifying-round tie against Swiss champions Thun.

The first leg will take place in Switzerland on July 21, before Dinamo host the return fixture on July 28.

Dinamo had previously rejected two Al Ahly offers before negotiations entered their final stages. But the clubs seem to have reached an agreement, although neither club has issued an official statement.

Bakrar joined Dinamo from New York City FC in August 2025 and signed a multi-year contract with the Croatian club. He scored 10 goals and provided four assists in 29 Croatian league appearances during the 2025/26 season.

The Algeria international previously represented ES Setif and Istra 1961 before moving to Major League Soccer in 2023.

He made 70 appearances across all competitions for New York City, scoring 10 goals.

The post Al Ahly Reportedly Agree €3m Deal for Monsef Bakrar appeared first on KingFut.

Houston: Canada became the first of the co-hosts to exit the World Cup as a clinical Morocco won 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals on Saturday in Houston.

The 2022 semi-finalists Morocco will face title favourites France or Paraguay as the business end of the tournament in North America approaches.

After a first half littered with more bookings than shots, midfielder Azzedine Ounahi fired the opener on 50 minutes.

Canada -- playing the biggest game in their footballing history -- pushed for an equaliser, but Ounahi scored his second to finally see off the resistance of Jesse Marsch's men.

Substitute Soufiane Rahimi slipped in the third with the last kick of the match.

It was tough on Canada, who were the better side in the opening period in front of a crowd of 68,777 as they sought to make more history.

They came into the contest in uncharted territory, having won a World Cup match and then a knockout game for the first time to get to the last 16.

They were clear underdogs and their fans were outnumbered by Morocco supporters at the air-conditioned Houston Stadium.

Yet they looked the more confident at the start, Tani Oluwaseyi turning sharply in the box and forcing Morocco's Montreal-born goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to save with a stretched-out leg after 10 minutes.

From Canada's fourth corner of the half, defender Alistair Johnston failed to make the most of a free header. Morocco were rattled.

After 20 minutes Mohamed Ouahbi's team suffered a big injury blow, Bayern Munich-bound Ismael Saibari -- who had scored three times at the tournament -- coming off for Rahimi.

Immediately after the drinks break Rahimi had a go optimistically from distance, registering Morocco's first shot on target with a quarter of the game gone.

There was a flashpoint shortly before half-time when Morocco captain Achraf Hakimi and defender Richie Laryea had a brief shoving match, with both shown yellow cards.

Referee Michael Oliver booked six players -- four from Morocco -- in a half high on niggly fouls and low on goal-mouth action.

The build-up to the last World Cup game of seven in Houston, with the United States celebrating its 250th birthday, was the highlight until that point.

Morocco, who beat Canada in the group phase at the 2022 World Cup, came out for the second period transformed.

Five minutes after the restart Hakimi pinged a low free-kick to Ounahi unmarked outside the box and he swept in first time.

Canada goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau had his view blocked by two of his defenders and the ball also went through Rahimi's legs.

On 82 minutes, Ounahi was the man in the right place again on the breakaway with another right-footed first-time finish, before Rahimi pounced in the 98th minute.

Washington: Folarin Balogun admitted yesterday that the suspension of his red card in the World Cup after President Donald Trump intervened put added pressure on the US team.

Balogun said in an interview with CBS he was “definitely in shock” when he was sent off for treading on the foot of a Bosnia-Herzegovina defender in his side’s 2-0 group-stage win.

“When something is not intentional it should never be a red card,” he said.

But days before the next match, the last-16 knockout game against Belgium, world football’s governing body FIFA announced the red card had been suspended, clearing the way for Balogun to play.

Trump then admitted he had called FIFA president Gianni Infantino to ask for the card to be reviewed.

The US went on to lose 4-1 to Belgium and Balogun made little impact despite starting the game.

“It was just an unfortunate situation and it put a lot more pressure on us than we needed,” said Balogun, 25.

“My initial reaction was I was happy to be back in the team but when I kind of started to reflect on it, I knew it was going to cause a lot of controversy.”

He added: “I could almost see within my teammates a bit of nerves because it’s something that’s so unique.

“The closer it got to the game I just tried to focus as best as I could. It was difficult, a lot of outside noise, and that’s hard to avoid.”