Amidst talks of a European Premier League in the works spearheaded by the management of Manchester United and Liverpool, FIFA Boss Gianni Infantino has completely played down talks of being interested in a contest of such stature.
There was information circulating about the possibility of FIFA backing the proposed European Premier League. UEFA were labelled as the prime opposition to the plan, owing to their intent of ‘saving football’ and in turn, the Champions League.
Now, the Champions League is the most-watched and talked about sporting event in the entire world. The fact that the competition has been running smoothly for over two decades in its current format goes to show how well planned the European competition really is.
On the other hand, the European Premier League seems like a greedy attempt at raising big money by United and Liverpool.
Here is what the FIFA President had to say regarding the proposed change in European competition:
“As FIFA president, I’m interested in the Club World Cup, not the Super League,” Infantino told the Press Association.
“For me, it’s not about Bayern Munich against Liverpool, but Bayern against Boca Juniors.”
The President’s words sound much more promising as a neutral football fan. There were talks about the Club World Cup expanding to as many as 24 teams, and a move like that would add to the importance of the annual event.
For Infantino, the mission is to bridge the gap between European football and the rest of the world. His comments on last year’s Club World Cup final are a testament to that fact.
“Liverpool have 180 million fans worldwide. Flamengo have 40 million fans and 39 million of them are in Brazil. Liverpool have maybe five million fans in England and 175 million fans around the world.”
“I want clubs from outside Europe to have global appeal in the future. That’s my vision: to have 50 clubs and 50 national teams who can become world champions.”
One of the main highlights of the recent Merseyside derby was Van Dijk’s injury. He has been Liverpool’s backbone in recent times. His injury is a big blow to Jurgen Klopp.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford came out of his box and made a strong tackle on Van Dijk which caused an ACL injury. He has been showered with criticism from all ends.
Carlo Ancelotti has now come out in support of his goalkeeper. He labelled Pickford’s tackle as mistimed and thinks he has been criticised too much.
The Everton boss told at his press conference: “To be clear, we are really sorry for the injury of Virgil van Dijk. Every one of us hopes he can recover soon and well.”
“There was this contact with Jordan Pickford: it was mistimed contact. But the fact the Premier League is so fast, it is not so difficult to arrive a little bit later.”
“Jordan arrived a little bit later but his intention was to try to reach the ball. It was not to hurt Virgil van Dijk.”
“To say it was premeditated, and this and that, in my opinion, is too much. Virgil van Dijk knows this.”
“Jordan is really sad, really disappointed [that Van Dijk is injured].”
“It was a strong contact, maybe mistimed, but sometimes in football it can happen.”
Liverpool has a tough task on their hands to temporarily replace Van Dijk at the back. But the major concern is can Van Dijk return to his old form after this major injury?
Gareth Bale left Tottenham Hotspurs for Real Madrid in 2013 for a then record transfer fee. He was deemed to be the next Ronaldo at Madrid but he failed to keep up with the massive expectations of the Bernabeu crowd.
Despite winning 4 Champions League trophies and 2 LaLiga titles, he found himself as a bench warmer in the last part of his Madrid career.
So now after 7 years, he is back at Spurs on a season-long loan. He played in Tottenham Hotspurs 3-0 win against Europa League opponents LASK.
Lucas Moura and Heung-min Son scored for Spurs, while Bale had forced an own goal. The Welshman was happy with Tottenham’s performances and felt amazing to be back.
Gareth Bale said: “We know these games are important. We went out there and did a great job. It wasn’t our best performance but we were solid and most important is the three points.”
“I am a bit stiff. It is like a mini pre-season for me and I am trying to get minutes into the legs. Hopefully it won’t take me long to get back up to full speed and I am enjoying being on the pitch and being back at this amazing club.”
Asked about his return to Spurs, Bale added: “It is amazing. It is a big reason why I play well and why I came back. You want to be loved and appreciated. I will give everything for this shirt.”
“This is a great squad that has a lot of depth, hopefully, we can use that to our advantage. It is always good to have a competition to keep you on your toes.”
Gareth Bale is expected to form a trio with Son and Kane and at least help Mourinho’s side to have a top-four finish. Tottenham may then like to make his loan move permanent.
When Bale is fit and in a happy mental state, he is one of the best players. So Spurs has taken a good gamble on their former player. Now time will tell whether Bale still has it in him to succeed at the highest level.
Researchers at The University of Leedsinvestigated what really goes on inside our mind and body when playing FIFA.
Despite the game being renowned for causing rage in its players, results showed a reduction in stress and anxiety post-play for all participants. They also found that in certain conditions, playing the game can raise your heart rate to levels that equate to a moderate work-out.
The research reveals:
When a goal was scored there was a spike in heart rate, this tended to be higher when the opposition scored which is indicative of a surge in emotion
All players demonstrated an increase in heart rate whilst playing the game
Heart rate responses were more elevated across the board when playing against an unknown player, reaching levels of a moderate cardio workout when goals were scored on either side
Blood pressure was slightly elevated after a game against an unknown player, indicating a level of anxiety and frustration
70% of participants had an elevated heart rate for the duration of the game once the opposition had scored
Despite all of the above factors, all participants reported a reduction in state anxiety post-playing.
Playing against an unknown player who really exists clearly caused a higher level of arousal, and goals scored against participants in those games had a marked impact on heart rate.
The heart rate spikes in this condition approached up to 140 beats per minute, indicating a real surge in emotional activity when a goal is scored. This kind of escalation is comparative to what individuals within the participant’s age range would see when engaging in a moderate cardio work-out such as a brisk walk (around 135 BPM).
Despite blood pressure and heart rate results both indicating a surge in emotional activity and rage when playing the game, participants across the board pre and post all indicated a decline in anxiety. This shows that despite the commonality of experiencing “FIFA Rage”, playing the game can actually reduce the players’ perception of stress and anxiety.
Match 41 of the Indian Premier League will feature a classic IPL rivalry as defending champions Mumbai Indians will take on arch-rival Chennai Super Kings.
This rivalry won’t be as intense as it has been in the past as both sides are at opposite ends of the spectrum. Chennai already has a foot outside the door, however, they’ll have to win all their matches to at least give themselves a slight chance before run rate comes into the play. A loss will for sure have CSK out of the tournament.
However, despite almost being down and out, CSK can be a party spoiler for other teams. They’ll look to do the same against MI as the defending champs are gunning for that number 1 spot. MI is coming off a close double super over loss against the KXIP. CSK, on the other hand, is coming off a loss against RR.
Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians have won six of their seven matches. The defending champions have looked flawless in their dominating reign this year. They would like to continue with what they’re already doing. Every aspect of their game looks sharp and on point. They would like to get those two wins to qualify for the playoffs as soon as possible.
(PC- CricShots)
Chennai Super Kings
CSK after much trial and error had finally found a stable combination. However, the injury of Dwayne Bravo has added an insult to injury. They are struggling in almost every department of the game. However, the three-time champs still have what it takes to win their remaining four matches.
Fantasy XI team
QUINTON DE KOCK (9.5)(C) – De Kock has regained form with his innings against SRH, RR, DC, KKR, and KXIP. He’ll be our captain.
SAM CURRAN (9) (VC) – Sam Curran has bowled consistently this IPL. He also scores crucial runs in the lower middle-order. There are chances that he can be promoted as well. He’ll be our vice-captain.
ROHIT SHARMA (10.5) – Hitman has been timing the ball beautifully. He has been in the top-five of the highest run-scorers and also set a platform for Hardik Pandya and Kieron Pollard to explode. He’ll be our vice-captain.
SHANE WATSON(9) – Watson has scored a phenomenal 83 off just 53 balls against KXIP. He scored another fifty against KKR. He has been performing really consistently even at the number 3 position.
FAF DU PLESSIS (10.5) – Du Plessis hasn’t been in great form, however, with shorter boundaries in Sharjah, he could be effective.
HARDIK PANDYA (8.5) – Pandya has been consistently scoring important runs in the middle-order.
RAVINDRA JADEJA (9) – Jadeja has been in great form with the bat. He has been giving CSK the punch they always needed. He can be useful with the ball as well.
JASPRIT BUMRAH (9) – Bumrah has been superb as the tournament progresses. He’s among the top wicket-takers of the tournament.
TRENT BOULT (8.5) – Boult has been doing a good job by keeping things tight and picking wickets as well.
DEEPAK CHAHAR (8.5) – Chahar has been contributing with crucial wickets especially in the powerplay overs.
JOSH HAZLEWOOD (8.5) – Hazlewood has been good in the chances he has got so far.
PREDICTION
It’s difficult to say to CSK have found a decent combination unless they actually start winning. MI, on the other hand, have found their combination more or less from the first match of the IPL 2020 itself and have been dominant in all three departments of the game. Mumbai Indians will therefore defeat the Chennai Super Kings.
For the past few days, two new smartphones of the OnePlus Nord series has been making rounds on the internet, revealing one or two hints. But yesterday a famous Twitter leakster revealed some valuable information about these smartphones. Famous tipster @Sudhanshu1414 has revealed the specifications of both the smartphones and has also revealed the launch date.
Thanks to Onleaks for revealing the specifications of Nord N100 and Nord N10 5G. Now let’s see what these phones have got. Before jumping in the specifications it is pretty much the launch date
The Nord N100 is said to pack in a 6.52-inch HD+ LCD. The phone will be powered by Snapdragon 460 processor paired with 4GB RAM and 64GB internal memory. Coming to the camera part it will pack in a 13MP primary camera paired with a 2MP macro and a 2MP bokeh sensor. It will also have an 8MP front camera. The phone will be powered by a 5,000mAh huge battery and it will support 4G connectivity only, Dual-SIM, charging via USB-C, and headphone jack.
The Nord N100 is said to pack in a 6.49-inch FHD+ display with a 90Hz refresh rate. The phone will be powered by a Snapdragon 690 5G processor paired with 6GB RAM and 128GB internal memory. Coming to the camera part, it will pack in a quad-camera setup at the back, where we can expect a 64MP primary camera paired with an 8MP ultra-wide and two 2MP sensors. It will also have an 8MP front camera. The phone will be powered by a 4,300mAh huge battery and it will support 5G connectivity.
After the launch of the Samsung Galaxy S20 series this year, there is a lot of news in the market regarding the launch of its successor series, dubbed as the Galaxy S21 series. The S21 series is meant to be released in the next year. A lot of leaks regarding the specs and pricing has already on the internet regarding the series. As per some of the recent leaks from some renowned leaksters, the three smartphones of the Galaxy S21 series will feature flat and curved screens.
If we want to clarify this thing, we find that the Galaxy S21 and the S21+ will get a 2D screen which means a flat display. There will be no curved display. On the other hand, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is expected to have a curved display. As per the reports, all four side bezels of this phone will be symmetrical. that means, there will be no extra bezel on the chin. If we check the leaked images, we can find every phone of the S21 series has a small punch-hole to hold a selfie camera. That means, now it is confirmed that there will be no under-display selfie camera in those smartphones. In terms of ports and buttons, the images show that the S21 Ultra has a USB Type-C port, a microphone, and a speaker grille at the bottom. On the right side, the volume and power buttons are there and the top edge holds a SIM tray slot.
The three products in the Samsung Galaxy S21 (S30) series are designed with four sides of equal width. Among them, S21 and S21+ are 2D screens, and S21U is a curved screen.
Apart from this, we also have some other leaks regarding this series. Regarding the cameras, there will be a triple rear camera setup (quad camera setup in the case of the Galaxy S21 Ultra). But the internal specifications of the camera setup is still a mystery. So, we can expect some improvement in it. As per the selfie snapper, the S21 will feature a centered hole-punch camera which is also similar to the Galaxy S20. Moreover, there will be no curved display. You will get a completely flat display on the Galaxy S21.
If we talk about the dimensions, the S21 will have measurements of 151.7mm x 71.2mm x 8mm whereas the Galaxy S20 dials in at 151.7mm x 69.1mm x 7.9mm. So both of them are almost the same, but the upcoming S21 will be slightly wider than its predecessor and 0.1mm thicker too.
Finally, the Huawei Mate 40 series has gone official today, comes with 5nm chipsets, and some amazing camera setup. So, without wasting any time, let’s just get into the specifications and pricing of the four smartphones of the Huawei Mate 40 series.
Huawei Mate 40 specifications:
The Huawei Mate 40 runs on the Android 10 OS and is powered by an octa-core Kirin 9000 chipset. Coming to the display, this phone offers a 6.5-inch inches OLED (1080 x 2376 pixels) display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. The display has a smaller 68-degrees curve. This phone is available in five different color variants.
The 5nm SoC chipset of this phone is paired with 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage. The storage type is UFS 3.1. Regarding the camera section, this phone offers a triple rear camera setup which includes a 50 MP, f/1.9, primary, a 16 MP, f/2.2 ultrawide unit, and an 8MP f/2.4 3x telephoto camera.
Coming to the battery, this phone is fueled up by a 4,200 mAh battery with the support of 40W fast charging. Regarding the pricing, the Huawei Mate 40 carries a price tag of €899 for the 8GB/256GB variant.
Huawei Mate 40 Pro specifications:
The Huawei Mate 40 Pro runs on the Android 10 OS and is powered by an octa-core Kirin 9000 5nm chipset. Coming to the display, this phone offers a 6.76 inches OLED (1344 x 2772 pixels) display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. This phone is available in five different color variants: Mystic Silver, White, Black, Green, and Yellow.
The 5nm SoC chipset of this phone is paired with 8GB RAM and 256GB internal storage (further expandable). The storage type is UFS 3.1. Regarding the camera section, this phone offers a quad rear camera setup which includes a 50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), a 12 MP, f/3.4, 125mm (periscope telephoto), a 20 MP, f/1.8, 18mm (ultrawide), and a TOF 3D depth sensor. For selfies, this phone has a dual selfie camera setup at the front, which includes 13 MP, f/2.4, (wide), and a TOF 3D depth sensor.
Coming to the battery, this phone is fueled up by a 4,400 mAh battery with the support of 66W fast charging (Fast wireless charging 50W, Reverse wireless charging 5W). Every connectivity facility is there including 5G except the FM radio.
Regarding the pricing, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro carries a price tag of €1199 for the 8GB/256GB variant.
Huawei Mate 40 Pro+ specifications:
The Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus runs on the Android 10 OS and is powered by an octa-core Kirin 9000 5nm chipset. Coming to the display, this phone offers a 6.76 inches OLED (1344 x 2772 pixels) display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. This phone is available in two different color variants: Ceramic Black, and Ceramic White.
The 5nm SoC chipset of this phone is paired with 12GB RAM and 256GB internal storage. The storage type is UFS 3.1. Regarding the camera section, this phone offers a Penta rear camera setup which includes a 50 MP, f/1.9, (wide), a 12 MP, f/2.4, (telephoto), an 8 MP, f/4.4, a 20 MP, f/2.4, (ultrawide) sensor, and a TOF 3D depth sensor. For selfies, this phone has a dual selfie camera setup at the front, which includes 13 MP, f/2.4, (wide), and a TOF 3D depth sensor.
Coming to the battery, this phone is fueled up by a 4,400 mAh battery with the support of 66W fast charging (Fast wireless charging 50W). Every connectivity facility is there including the 5G.
Regarding the pricing, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus carries a price tag of €1399 for the 12GB/256GB variant.
The Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus RS runs on the Android 10 OS and is powered by an octa-core Kirin 9000 5nm chipset. Coming to the display, this phone offers a 6.76 inches OLED (1344 x 2772 pixels) display with a refresh rate of 90Hz. This phone is available in three different color variants: Ceramic White, Ceramic Black, Collector Edition.
The 5nm SoC chipset of this phone is paired with 12GB RAM and 512GB internal storage. The storage type is UFS 3.1. Regarding the camera section, this phone offers a Penta rear camera setup which includes a 50 MP, f/1.9, 23mm (wide), 12 MP, f/2.4, (telephoto), an 8 MP, f/4.4, 250mm (periscope telephoto), a 20 MP, f/1.8, (ultrawide), and a TOF 3D depth sensor. For selfies, this phone has a dual selfie camera setup at the front, which includes 13 MP, f/2.4, (wide), and a TOF 3D depth sensor.
Coming to the battery, this phone is fueled up by a 4,400 mAh battery with the support of 66W fast charging (Fast wireless charging 50W, Reverse wireless charging 5W). This phone has an under-display fingerprint scanner. Every connectivity facilities are there including 5G except the FM radio.
Regarding the pricing, the Huawei Mate 40 Pro Plus RS carries a price tag of €2295 for the 12GB/512GB variant.
Samsung’s Galaxy S20 FE is one of the best upper-middle smartphones in the market by Samsung. It brings a maximum of the main features of the Flagship S20 series i.e. Galaxy S20 and S20 Plus, and that also at a lesser price. On top of that, the Korean Giant brings five unique color options too for its fans.
This new and amazing Galaxy S20 FE was open to pre-order in India earlier today. But, now, anyone can get it with his/her favorite color options from today at Rs.49,999. The order window is now open to all Indians via Amazon. Here is the buy link.
In case you don’t know about the specs of this Galaxy S20 FE, here are all of those.
This smartphone features a 6.5-inch Super AMOLED FHD+ display with a 120Hz refresh rate to provide a smooth scrolling experience. Considering the screen size, the FE edition lies between the Galaxy S20 and Galaxy S20 Plus. Other than that, the screen is flat compared to the other models.
The back of the smartphone is made up of plastic but with the special touch of Samsung, it gets a “Haze finish”. Samsung claims it feels soft and smooth by touch maintaining the shine, besides also restricts dust as well as fingerprints to stick on the surface. Samsung is offering six color options – Red, Navy, Lavender, Mint, White, and Orange. Basically, it is giving you the opportunity to pick up the right handsets that suit your lifestyle and also enhance your style.
Besides all these, the Galaxy S20 FE is powered by the flagship Snapdragon 865 processor, same as other S20 devices, coupled with up to 8GB of RAM and 128GB or 265GB of internal storage. Coming to the camera, on the rear side, users will get a triple camera setup having a 12MP Ultra Wide lens with f/2.2 aperture, a 12MP Wide camera of f/1.8 aperture, and an 8MP Telephoto sensor with f/2.4 aperture. In the front, there is a 32MP camera for selfies.
Along with all of these specs, the Galaxy S20 FE is packed with a 4,500mAh battery, wireless charging and reverse charging facility, 25W fast charging support, IP68 rating, memory expandability of up to 1TB, and so on.
Manchester United has recently faced a lot of problems in their transfer policies because of its owners. United fans were also against its owners and want them to leave the club as soon as possible.
Many fans thought that the United board will back their manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer after finishing third in the league and qualifying for UCL and making a strong run in all the cup competition. But it didn’t happen. United hierarchy explained that there were some financial issues with which the club is now going through.
After knowing this new report it will surely increase. The report suggests that a lot of companies worldwide have been forced to suspend annual dividend payments in order to keep maintain their debt despite Manchester United due to Covid-19. Their debt growing tremendously. But how this happened it will be a shock to everyone.
Manchester United players and support staff took pay cuts only for the Glazer family to keep their dividends intact.
Man Utd elect not to suspend annual £23.3m dividend payment (mostly to Glazer family) despite revenues falling by more than £100m year-over-year. Glazers borrowed majority of hundreds of millions used to obtain shares that provide dividend and put debt on Man Utd books.
English journalist Dean Rudge tweeted, “Man Utd elect not to suspend annual £23.3m dividend payment (mostly to Glazer family) despite revenues falling by more than £100m year-over-year. Glazers borrowed majority of hundreds of millions used to obtain shares that provide dividend and put debt on Man Utd books.”
A large section of United fans wants Ed Woodward and Glazers to resign as soon as possible because of their bad transfer policies and other so many reasons. The ‘Glazers Out’ movement has already started a long ago by the United fans. After this new shocking report, the situation will be worse for sure.
