United plot twist

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Head Start

Tuchel’s United U-Turn

Last week, Thomas Tuchel met with Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe over the possibility of taking over as manager.

It’s like that scene in The Godfather where Michael Corleone meets with The Turk and Captain McCluskey at Louie’s Italian… 

… shady and potentially the making of a new boss in charge. 

What happened at the meeting?

It’s reported that Tuchel laid out his two main priorities if he were to take the United job. Here are is not so revolutionary ideas… 

• Get the best out of under-performers… like Jadon Sancho and Mason Mount.

• Suggested signing Real Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger. 

Sounds like he’s creating a Chelsea 2.0 if you ask us…

… yet, that didn’t matter. Ratcliffe was apparently impressed with Tuchel’s pitch, according to “insiders” at the club.

But it seems like the German coach has already made a U-turn.

Just after the news broke about the secret meeting, Fabrizio Romano (I mean, who else) Tweeted this…

Maybe Tuchel’s feeling wasn’t mutual after meeting with the United staff.

It’s said that he believes he wasn’t the club’s ideal candidate… a theme that has cropped up at United in recent years.

Well, with Tuchel out of the picture, there’s only a handful of managers left to take Ten Hag’s job: Robert De Zerbi, Mauricio Pochettino, Thomas Frank and Kieran McKenna.

(Side note: Pochettino’s appointment seems “unlikely”).

Hm. The question is: stick or twist, United fans?

Plus…

Liverpool and Scotland legend Alan Hansen is currently “seriously ill” in hospital (More)

Premier League officials are told to disclose WhatsApp messages, texts and emails in Manchester City hearing (More)

A group of international investors led by London-based businessman Vatche Manoukian has joined a list of potential owners of Everton with a £400 million bid (More)

Brighton edge towards appointing 31-year-old as new head coach (More)

Stats Zone

Italy

→ In a run that included their Euro 2020 triumph, Italy went 37 games without a defeat (W28 D9), but they subsequently failed to qualify for the 2022 World Cup.

→ Luciano Spalletti becomes the 10th Italian coach who has taken charge of the side at a European Championship, with no non-Italian manager ever doing so.

Switzerland

→ Switzerland have three players who have won three of Europe’s top five leagues this season: Granit Xhaka (Bayer Leverkusen), Manuel Akanji (Manchester City) and Yann Sommer (Inter).

→ According to Opta, hardly anything separates Switzerland (61.0%), Hungary (59.3%) and Scotland (58.9%) from qualifying for the knockout stages. Germany are clear favourites (88.5%) to win Group A.

Euro 2024

Stats: Euros 2024 predictions 

There are just five days to go before the Euros.

Win or lose, everyone’s going to have a good time. In the UK alone, the tournament is set to fuel a £2.75 billion spending spree.

Anyway, as we’re close to the first whistle, you know what time it is… 

… that’s right, prediction time. 

(Lights dim… thunderous music plays… camera pans to presenter… the audience is at the edge of their seats).

Let’s start with goals and assists. An X (Twitter) account has looked at spread betting markets to see who the bookies are backing… 

Kylian Mbappé and Kevin De Bruyne get the nod for the most goals and most assists across the tournament, respectively. 

Of course, the tournament isn’t just about individuals.

Fortunately, the same data tells us the best projected attacking and defensive teams in the group stage…

… and the hosts Germany are expected to breeze past the group stage more than any other side.

Opta Analyst has a similar outcome in the group stages… but it predicts that Germany are only third-favourites to win the tournament with a 12.4%.

If they do, they will become the first nation to win the Euros on home soil since France in 1984.

In the meantime, expect some heated debates in your group chat this week as everyone shares their predictions…

Tomorrow we’ll be looking at the Euro’s biggest dilemma… attention spans.

Off The Pitch

🎾 Carlos Alcaraz beats Alexander Zverev in five sets to win his first French Open, while Iga Swiatek eases past Jasmin Paolini to win her third consecutive French Open (More)

🚨 TV and radio presenter Dr Michael Mosley’s body was found four days after he went missing on the Greek island of Symi (More)

🧬 Evidence suggests that the pandemic was “most likely” caused because a virus escaped from a research lab (More)

🥤 Dr Pepper ties with Pepsi-Cola for number two, Beverage Digest estimates (More)

🎣 The UN says that more aquatic animals were farmed than fished in 2022 - the first time in history (More)

Photo of the Day

On this day in 1934. Italy became the first European country to host a World Cup tournament. Defending champions Uruguay chose not to take part in retaliation to only four European nations travelling for the World Cup they hosted just four years prior. The British nations too did not participate as they were on a self-imposed exile from FIFA. In the final, in front of around 50,000 at the Stadio Nazionale PNF in Rome on 10th June 1954, hosts Italy became world champions with a 2-1 victory over Czechoslovakia.

Around The Football World

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Manchester City are set to make Phil Foden the highest-paid British player in history (More)

🇸🇪 Zlatan Ibrahimovic holds back tears as he receives a hero’s reception from Swedish fans (More)

🇺🇦 Soldiers and schools help announce Ukraine’s Euro 2024 squad (More)

🌍 African World Cup qualifying is well underway. Click more for full details on the group stages (More)

🇧🇷 17-year-old Endrick scores his third goal for Brazil with a 96th-minute game-winner over Mexico in a preparation match for the 2024 Copa America (More)

🇺🇸 Gregg Berhalter said the United States men's national team got a "wake-up call" in a 5-1 loss to Colombia (More)

Extra Time

A complete visual and audio guide to the Euro 2024 stadiums.

How Robbie Savage got away from a bust-up after games.

Dominik Szoboszlai’s ridiculous free-kick sets the tone for his tournament.

John McGinn pulling pranks in the Scottish camp.

Our editor's favourite goal in Champions League history.

Game Face On

Question: Put the following list of players in order of the number of goals they’ve scored at a European Championship, highest to lowest. 

• Harry Kane.

• Cristiano Ronaldo.

• Alan Shearer.

• Robert Lewandowski.

• Thierry Henry.

• Michel Platini.

Scroll below for the answer.

On Today

FOOTBALL

Friendlies: Czechia vs North Macedonia (17:00 BST)

Friendlies: Poland vs Turkey (19:45 BST) 

Friendlies: Netherlands vs Iceland (19:45 BST)

*EST -5. PST -8. CET +1. CST +8. JST +9.

Answer

• Cristiano Ronaldo - 14

• Michel Platini - 9

• Alan Shearer - 7

• Thierry Henry - 6

• Robert Lewandowski - 5

• Harry Kane - 4

Hottest Take of the Day

Today’s Hottest Take of the Day is: Darwin Nunez is a project player who performs exceptionally well in national competitions. However, his Premier League performance has shown he’s not the generational prospect he was believed to be. Thanks to Zaheer from Pinellas for the entry. Submit another Hot Take of the Day here.