John Stones, standing in as England captain, expressed his deep disappointment following England’s 2-1 defeat to Greece in a dramatic match on Thursday evening.

England had seemingly salvaged a draw with Jude Bellingham’s late equalizer, only for Vangelis Pavlidis to score the winning goal for Greece in injury time, leaving England stunned.

The match held special significance for Greece, as they were playing in honor of their teammate George Baldock, who tragically passed away the day before.

Stones acknowledged the emotional weight that Greece carried into the game, making their victory even more poignant.

Despite the defeat, he expressed his respect for Greece’s resilience and determination during such a difficult time, but admitted that the loss left him and his England teammates “absolutely gutted.”

Stones said: “On a personal note, absolutely gutted.

“First time with the armband, and a result like this. It’s hard to put into words to be honest after every emotion yesterday, today we prepared how we normally do and it didn’t come off so it’s just a shame it was on a night like this.

“We have got to give credit to them, from the start they put us right under pressure. We found it difficult to come out from the back, and play our normal football to break the lines. They were very compact so it was disappointing from us.”

He added: “For everyone in the dressing room and The FA, condolences to his family.

“A few of the boys were close to him. We knew it wasn’t an easy day for them. (England reserve goalkeeper) Dean Henderson was close to him, it wasn’t easy for him with that news.”

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Manchester City players showcased their dominance in the FIFPRO World Men’s Team, which FIFA unveiled at an awards ceremony in London. The team, comprised of the best men’s players from the previous season, was determined by votes from over 28,000 professional footballers.

Six stars from Manchester City, who achieved a remarkable Treble last season, featured prominently in the team. Surprisingly, there was no representation from Manchester United players. Lionel Messi was the sole player outside of Europe to secure a spot in the team, which adheres to a 3-3-4 formation and highlights the best men’s players.

In addition to the player accolades, Pep Guardiola, the manager of Manchester City, was named the Best FIFA Men’s Coach. Guardiola guided several of the City stars included in the team to extraordinary success during the previous season.

The recognition solidifies Manchester City’s exceptional achievements and the impact of their players and coach on the world football stage.

2023 FIFA FIFPRO Men’s World XI

Goalkeeper: Thibaut Courtois.

Defenders: Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias.

Midfielders: Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Jude Bellingham.

Forwards: Lionel Messi, Erling Haaland, Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior.

🚨 Introducing the 2023 FIFA FIFPRO Men's #World11, voted for exclusively by players.#TheBest | @FIFAWorldCup | @FIFAcom pic.twitter.com/nZjisXo8OQ

— FIFPRO (@FIFPRO) January 15, 2024

Speaking on the six players included in the team, Man City director of football Txiki Begiristain said: “To win five trophies in 12 months is incredible and we are delighted to see so many of our players recognised for their incredible contribution.

“The whole squad were outstanding and the club is very proud to have six players named in the Team of the Year.

“Everyone at the club worked incredibly hard and they continue to have a determination to bring even more success.

“It’s a very special group of players and this is a deserved tribute to the hard work and desire that runs throughout the club.”

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Manchester City has omitted three key players from the Champions League squad to face RB Leipzig on Wednesday.

John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, and Kevin De Bruyne won’t be playing for Manchester City against RB Leipzig.

Stones has been out with an injury for the previous two weeks, but De Bruyne and Laporte both started Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest, with the former completing 88 minutes and the latter playing the full 90.

Just a few days later, Pep Guardiola’s squad will head to Germany to face Leipzig in the first leg of their last-16 tie without either De Bruyne or Laporte.

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Kyle Walker, a defender, did not participate in training leading up to the game but was nonetheless named to the starting lineup.

De Bruyne and Laporte’s absences have not been explained.

In their stead, Guardiola gave Maximo Perrone, a January signing, his first experience of European football. The 20-year-old was a substitute for City during their loss to Tottenham after joining from Velez Sarsfield, but he hasn’t been seen since.

While this is the first match in which De Bruyne won’t be travelling with the team, he was unexpectedly left out of the starting lineup to face Tottenham that day and only started three of City’s six group-stage matches in the Champions League.

Shea Charles of Northern Ireland, a promising midfielder, and Alex Robertson, a 19-year-old midfielder who was on the bench for a Carabao Cup match against Liverpool earlier this season, are both included in the team.

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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has revealed that key defender John Stones will not participate in Saturday’s derby against Manchester United.

Despite recent victories over Chelsea in the FA Cup and the Premier League, City is still aiming to rebound from one of their worst performances under Guardiola, when they were eliminated by Southampton in the Carabao Cup in midweek.

The defending Premier League champions have been in a rut since the beginning of November, losing points to Brentford and Everton while also losing Ruben Dias at the back, which has caused them to fall behind Arsenal in the developing title fight.

Stones’ departure increases the pressure on an immensely improved Manchester United.

“[Stones] is not ready. I think everyone else is fit,” Guardiola said on Friday.

Stones has been an important player for City this season, starting almost every Premier League game when fit.

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His absence now means Guardiola may turn to Aymeric Laporte for the first time in a league game since the World Cup, or even keep Kyle Walker at centre-back.

Guardiola appeared to hint City were not sufficiently prepared to face Southampton, while Ilkay Gundogan questioned the desire and the hunger in the squad following the defeat.

The City boss insists he is not concerned about any lingering hangover from that one.

“Normal preparation for a game,” he said.

“City fans cannot complain what this team is able to do, have done, do and will do. We cannot talk on behalf of the fans, they are brilliant. I know what they think.

“What happened didn’t surprise me, it happened. It happens because we do four Premier League titles in five years. Sometimes this competition shows me in terms of consistency what we have to do. This is our strength in previous seasons.

“After back-to-back [titles] two times, this could happen. We are not ready to go there and be ourselves. Not talking about winning the Carabao Cup or winning games, be ourselves. I was a little concerned it could happen, I don’t know if it will happen again.”

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Chelsea and USA winger Christian Pulisic is set to miss a few months on the sidelines after leaving Chelsea’s 1-0 loss to Man City last week with a knee injury.

Pulisic left the January 5 fixture just 22 minutes in, and Chelsea boss Graham Potter revealed Wednesday that the player could be out of action until March.

‘Christian [Pulisic] is a couple of months we think. Raheem [Sterling] is less, hopefully less than that,’ he told reporters.

Pulisic was holding onto a ball in the box when a hard John Stones challenge looked to injure the American. This might have averted a goal.

Pulisic has battled injury issues throughout his Chelsea career and only started 13 games in the league last season.

But he appeared to be back in favour following an impressive World Cup with the United States, as he had started Chelsea’s last three league matches before being subbed off vs. City

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The injury could affect his long-term as well as the immediate future.

Pulisic was potentially set for a move away from the club in January – a prospect that could now be scuppered by his latest setback.

The winger has one goal and two assists in all competitions this season.

He recorded identical figures while the USA advanced to the round of 16 in Qatar, having contributed to all of the team’s goals and unfortunately enough to hit the crossbar against England.

Pulisic’s injury is one on a long list for Chelsea at the moment.

Key players like Reece James and N’Golo Kante were among the ten players who were absent from Sunday’s FA Cup loss to Manchester City.

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Norwegian professional footballer, Erling Haaland has opened up on players that had reached out to him to make his move to Manchester City over other clubs.

Erling Haaland’s move to Man City, which continues to shock the football world today, has remained a topic of discussion to this day.

The Norwegian forward opened up in a recent interview with players who had reached out to him, offering words of advice and urging him to choose the blue side of Manchester.

This occurred shortly after the 2021 match between Borussia Dortmund and Manchester City.

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Haaland revealed that he had received calls and messages from over 15 players mentioning four key stars that had urged him to select City. These players were Phil Foden, John Stones, Ruben Dias, and Kevin de Bruyne.

Haaland revealed:

“It’s the best sporting project in the football world right now… it’s where I think I’ll do the best.

After City-BVB in 2021, almost 15 people said I should come. Stones, Dias, Foden, de Bruyne

Erling Haaland on Man City: “It’s the best sporting project in the football world right now… it’s where I think I’ll do the best”, says on ‘Haaland – the big decision’ 🔵 #MCFC

“After City-BVB in 2021, almost 15 people said I should come. Stones, Dias, Foden, de Bruyne…”. pic.twitter.com/5TqGsjsPAb

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) September 29, 2022

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As the Premier League resumes, Manchester United have a huge game against Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium, which will be a stern test for Erik ten Hag‘s team.

The Reds face the unbeaten Blues on their home turf in their first league game since 4 September, hoping for no rustiness after the break. The big question is whether everyone has returned from international duty unscathed.

An injury forced Martin Dubravka to withdraw from the Slovakia team, and Harry Maguire was visibly limping at the conclusion of England’s thrilling 3-3 draw with Germany at Wembley.

Scott McTominay missed Scotland’s group-winning draw against Ukraine but that was due to suspension and he has been back in training at Carrington already.

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During Friday’s press conference to preview the game, Ten Hag will provide updates on injured strikers Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.

Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to play in the derby despite being charged by the FA for an alleged incident that occurred at the conclusion of Everton’s league game last season.

Donny van de Beek has taken a hit, and we’ll see if there is any new information on his condition.

NEWS OF THE CITY TEAM

John Stones looks set to miss out after suffering a hamstring problem while on England duty.

The defender has been playing right-back this season, but his absence could be at least partially made up for by Aymeric Laporte’s expected return from a knee injury.

Kalvin Phillips is definitely sidelined after shoulder surgery.

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