June 18, 2022
The brief from today:
Euro U-19 kicks off
The European Under-19 championship commenced today in Slovakia after two years off due to COVID, and it will run until July 1. Some of Europe’s best prospects will be vying for some silverware, but one of the big names: Italian, Willy Gnonto, will not be present. His club side, FC Zurich, refused to grant him permission to participate after allowing him to represent Italy’s senior team in the UEFA Nations League matches earlier this month. Gnonto, 18, recently became the youngest player to score in a competitive match for Italy when he got a goal against Germany in a 2-5 Nations League loss. Spain, the current U-19 champions from the last edition in 2019, failed to qualify this year so a new name will be on the title in two weeks.
Nketiah stays
23 year old, Eddie Nketiah, has officially signed a five year contract extension with Arsenal. His previous agreement was due to expire at the end of June, and until an impressive end to the 2021/22 season, he seemed destined to leave. An opportunity to play in the starting lineup during the final months of last season saw him score an impressive five goals in eight league games, which resulted in the new deal. Nketiah, an Arsenal academy graduate, will now take the famed number 14 jersey formerly worn by club legend: Thierry Henry, and will hope to do it justice.
Egypt doctor gives second opinion
According to Egypt national team doctor, Mohamed Abou El Ela, Mohamed Salah, played last month’s Champions League final while not being fully fit. The adductor muscle injury he sustained in the FA Cup final against Chelsea, two weeks prior to the match against Real Madrid, had not healed by the time the match in Paris took place. Salah reported for international duty shortly after the Champions League loss to join Egypt for two AFCON qualifiers, and that’s when Abou El Ela assessed the situation. He said the typical protocol between national teams and clubs is to, “Send and receive players with medical reports, and Liverpool’s said that he had pain and should get an X-ray.” In his opinion, Salah was clearly not fully fit, and the decision to play him in Champions League final was based on pain management. Of course, Egypt then opted to play to Salah in their first AFCON qualifier against Guinea, so there’s that.
Salah going down in the FA Cup final: the injury in question