European Super Football

Greece 0 - 3 England England are poised to return to the top tier of the UEFA Nations League with a win over the Republic of Ireland at Wembley on Sunday, following an impressive victory against Greece in Athens. Author - Peter Grainger from GMCR Football Lee Carsley's team avenged their disappointing defeat to Greece at Wembley in October, making Thursday's triumph even sweeter for the interim manager, especially given the squad was hit hard by player withdrawals. The emphatic result not only erased the memory of that 2-1 loss but also ensured England hold the upper hand in their head-to-head record with Greece, leaving the Three Lions in control of their own destiny. Ollie Watkins justified his selection over captain Harry Kane by giving England an early lead after just seven minutes, turning in a superb cross from Noni Madueke, who had carved open the Greek defence with a brilliant run. Jordan Pickford was pivotal when called upon, standing firm during rare moments of...

Manchester United 2 - 0 PAOK Amad Diallo’s second-half brace handed Manchester United a crucial win over Greek champions PAOK, jump-starting their Europa League journey and giving incoming manager Ruben Amorim a real chance at securing a top-eight spot. Author - Olivia T Amad was United’s standout attacking threat, breaking the deadlock just five minutes into the second half with a looping header into the far corner. The Ivorian then wrapped up the win with a curling shot from the edge of the box, 13 minutes from time. PAOK’s best opportunity fell to Tarik Tissoudali, who couldn’t find the target from eight yards out with only Andre Onana to beat. Onana also pulled off an acrobatic save to deny Mady Camara, helping United through a relatively uneventful first half. This victory marks United’s second win in their last 12 European matches, and their first of this season after a run of t hree straight draws in the expanded Europa League. In three weeks, United will take on Norwegian s...

England 1 - 2 Greece England's interim manager, Lee Carsley, saw his attacking gamble backfire spectacularly as they suffered a shock defeat to Greece in the UEFA Nations League at Wembley. Jude Bellingham appeared to have salvaged a point for England with an 87th-minute goal, following Vangelis Pavlidis' cool strike that had given Greece a well-earned lead just four minutes into the second half. However, Greece responded swiftly and deservedly snatched victory as Pavlidis struck again deep into stoppage time, capping off a humbling night for both England and Carsley. Click here for more UEFA Nations League news and stories The Big Discussion: What do you think of the international break?  A closer look at what happened With captain Harry Kane sidelined through injury, Carsley opted not to field a recognised striker, deploying Bellingham in a false nine role while supporting him with Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon, Bukayo Saka, and Cole Palmer. The outcome was a disjointed and ...

England v Greece 2001 With England playing Greece in an upcoming UEFA Nations League match, we thought we should take you back to a dramatic encounter between the two nations.  It was one of David Beckham's finest performances for his country. At times, the soon-to-be former Man United number 7 was almost playing Greece alone. No player worked harder to make sure England qualified for the 2002 World Cup. The wider context Sven Goran Eriksson 's England side were trailing the Greeks 2-1 deep into injury time and they looked destined for a potentially difficult play-off against Ukraine. David Beckham was having none of that. He had failed to score from five previous free kicks, and secured qualification for Japan and Korea with a dramatic goal in stoppage time.  Despite a bad start, this turned out to be a pretty memorable qualifying campaign for England. Only a few weeks earlier, they thrashed Germany 5-1. This is considered the best England performance of the modern era....

Ajax 0 - 1 Panathinaikos It finished 1-1 on aggregate with Ajax winning 13-12 on penalties Ajax beat Panathinaikos on penalties after an epic shootout featuring 34 spot-kicks to reach the Europa League qualifying play-off round. Ajax Goalkeeper Remko Pasveer saved five penalties and scored one, while defender Anton Gaaei scored the winning kick for Ajax. The Dutch side won despite Netherlands striker Brian Brobbey missing two spot-kicks, with Bertrand Traore and Youri Baas were also off target for the home side.  This was the second-highest penalty shootout score in a European competition, just behind Glentoran's 14-13 loss to Gzira United in last season's Conference League qualifiers. The match went to penalties after the Greek team secured a 1-0 win in Amsterdam, bringing the overall score to 1-1. Tete's goal in the 89th minute forced extra time. The match ultimately ended without any further goals. Best reaction William, a Liverpool fan from Bradford, watched the...

 Aston Villa 2 - 4 Olympiakos "Everything that could have gone wrong, did." Those were the words of one Aston Villa fan as their chances of reaching a first European final since 1982 were severely dented against Olympiakos. The star man on the night for the visitors was Ayoub El Kaabi. He scored a hat-trick, netting twice early on. Ollie Watkins then reduced the deficit for Unai Emery's side and Moussa Diaby equalised moments after the interval. Villa Park was rocking at this point, creating an atmosphere that had not been seen at the famous old stadium for many years.  However, Olympiakos roared back into a two-goal lead with a El Kaabi penalty and a deflected strike from Santiago Hezze.  Douglas Luiz missed a late penalty, meaning Villa must overturn a two-goal deficit in the second leg.  The Greek Super League side have actually never reached a major European final. They played without fear and attacking verve as they pressed and harassed Villa into defe...

This player might be Brazilian, but like his friend Ronaldo, his impact across Europe was huge.  Icons: Ronaldo (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Let's explore Rivaldo's fantastic career A brief introduction Rivaldo played mainly as an attacking midfielder. However, he was also used as a second striker and occasionally as a wide midfielder or a winger. He was renowned for his bending free kicks, bicycle kicks, feints, and powerful ball striking from a distance. Rivaldo also had the ability to both score and create goals. In 1999, he won the Ballon d'Or and was named FIFA World Player of the Year. With his huge success, he is one of nine players to have won the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League and the Ballon d'Or. Early career  He started his career in 1991 with Brazilian club Santa Cruz, moving on to spells at Mogi Mirim, a loan spell at Corinthians, and Palmeiras. People across the major European leagues were impressed, and it was inevitable that a move was...