All posts by Liam

The 2016 Euro’s qualifying matches have been taking place in these past few days and weeks with nations from all over the globe facing each other with hopes of advancing through the next stages of this international tournament. A number of friendly games are also being played as a way for managers to experiment with different combinations and formations of players for their respective teams.

France will be the hosts of the tournament which kicks off in 2 years and this means that they don’t have play matches like the rest of the nations in order to secure their qualifying spot, since they are the hosts they are automatically qualified. France has played a series of friendly matches so far against Spain and Serbia.

The French squad managed to claim a 1-0 victory against Spain and Karim Benzema did not hesitate in displaying his joy concerning their triumph against the team of Vicente del Bosque.

When the friendly match ended and France won, Benzema expressed his satisfaction about the victory as he told the media: “It’s good, it’s always nice to win against big teams, especially to do it with style, and we did it tonight. We went head to head with one of the best teams of the world, so it’s good for the French team and for our confidence. After the World Cup, we needed to start working again and play a big game. We work together, we’re a really good team and we just need to keep working.”

France would later go on to play Serbia in a game that finished in a 1-1 draw. Their next match is against Portugal as Karim Benzema will be playing against his Real Madrid teammate C.Ronaldo on October 11.

Everton recently brought in defender Muhamed Besic from Hungarian outfit Ferencvaros for a fee believed to be in the region of £ 4 million. Upon his arrival, Besic has claimed that he is ready to play in the Premier League. The Bosnia international was one of the standout players in the national teams World Cup campaign. Even though Bosnia failed to reach the knockout stages of the World Cup, Besic was one of the players who caught the eye with his impressive performances. He was exceptionally good in the match against Argentina.

After keeping both Angel di Maria and Lionel Messi quiet for most of the 90 minutes, Besic says that he can do the job over the course of a season in the Premier League. Much will be expected from Besic despite the player being just 20 years old. This is because of Everton’s fifth-place finish last season, while they could have even secure a top four spot had it not been for some indifferent performances towards the end of the campaign. After recently signing Romelu Lukaku from Chelsea on a permanent contract, there is a buzz around Everton going into the new campaign.

The player has signed a five-year contract with the Merseyside club and will be hoping to start on a regular basis straightaway.

“I must be honest, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be. You see always these good players (on TV) but it was my first time that I’d played against good teams. I think I did a good job. It was a great experience to play against Messi and Angel Di Maria but I think I did my job well. Was I nervous beforehand? No. Normally two or three hours before I am but in the game I was not nervous,” said Besic.