Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister looks at his World Cup winner’s medal every day and hopes to be able to add one from the Carabao Cup to his collection.
The Argentina international intends to build a trophy room at his home and while his victory alongside Lionel Messi in Qatar will take pride of place his first silverware for the club he joined in the summer would still mean a lot to him.
“It will be my first final with Liverpool and first opportunity to win something so it is going to be something very special for me and the team,” he said.
View this post on Instagram“I look at it (his World Cup winner’s medal) every single day. That is what it means to me and to the country as well.
“It is the biggest game ever for a football player so it is something that I am really proud of and hopefully next week the Carabao Cup medal can be something I will look at as well.
“My plan is to one day create a little museum at home. I have a replica of the World Cup, the medal and some more trophies – all in a safe place for now – and my plan is to be able to have a place for them where I can always see them.
“When I signed for this club I said I wanted to win trophies, that is what every player wants and that is what I want.
“The World Cup helped me to realise that I really want to win more trophies so it is a big opportunity.”
Mac Allister will come up against former Brighton team-mate Moises Caicedo at Wembley.
The Ecuador international was long-destined for Chelsea but haggling over his transfer fee allowed Liverpool the opportunity to hijack the deal and although their £111million bid was accepted the player held out for a move to Stamford Bridge, which he eventually got for a British record fee of £115m.
As a result Caicedo was booed during last month’s 4-1 defeat at Anfield and while there is no such animosity between the ex-team-mates Mac Allister joked Caicedo’s decision to reject Liverpool was annoying.
“I spoke a little with him. Maybe he hurt me a little bit with what happened in the summer – but is completely fine,” he added.
“It is a personal decision. He is an amazing player and a really good guy and I wish him well.”
Tonali set for August return after receiving suspended two-month ban from FA
Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban by the Football Association (FA) after admitting to breaching gambling rules.
The sanction means the Newcastle United midfielder will be eligible to return to action on August 27, 2024, when his 10-month suspension issued by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) expires.
FIFA ratified that ban, causing it to become applicable worldwide, after Tonali admitted to placing bets on matches as part of an investigation into unregulated betting platforms in Italy.
In March, the FA charged Tonali with breaching English football's gambling rules 50 times between August and October last year, leading to fears his spell out of the game could be extended.
However, on Thursday it was confirmed that the FA had suspended Tonali's punishment for the duration of the 2024-25 season, meaning he can return in August if he does not reoffend.
In a statement, Newcastle said: "Sandro Tonali has been given a suspended two-month ban from competitive football by an independent regulatory commission after self-declaring breaches of FA betting rules.
"He has also been fined £20,000 and warned by the FA as to his future conduct.
"Provided that he does not commit any further breach of the FA betting rules during the suspension period, Sandro will not serve any part of the two-month sanction.
"As acknowledged by the FA in the independent regulatory commission's written reasons, the level of assistance Sandro has provided by self-referring and fully cooperating with a subsequent investigation is extraordinary and unprecedented.
"Sandro is continuing to follow a therapeutic plan and educational programme with the club's full support and will continue to train with his team-mates."
Tonali's initial ban has limited him to just eight Premier League appearances since he joined Newcastle from Milan in a £55million deal, while he will also miss Italy's Euro 2024 campaign.
Will Still leaves Reims job with immediate effect
Will Still has left his role as Reims head coach with immediate effect, the Ligue 1 club announced on Thursday.
Still took over as Reims boss – initially on an interim basis – after Oscar Garcia was sacked in October 2022 and went unbeaten through his first 19 league games at the helm.
The 31-year-old was eventually handed the role on a permanent basis and led Reims to an 11th-placed finish in Ligue 1 in 2022-23, with his lack of a UEFA Pro Licence causing the club to be fined €25,000 per match until he began the course.
Reims are currently 11th in Ligue 1 again, though they are winless in their last five games and have lost each of their last three.
In a statement, the club said: "Following a meeting this morning between president Jean-Pierre Caillot, general manager Mathieu Lacour and head coach Will Still, it was mutually agreed that the two parties would not continue the sporting adventure together next season.
"In order to allow Reims to confidently look forward to the next year, it was also decided that Will Still and his deputy Nicolas Still would step down from their respective functions as of today."
Still was linked with the Sunderland job earlier this season and said in February that he would be open to joining an "ambitious" Championship club.
Al Ittihad 1-2 Al Hilal: Holders into King's Cup final
Al Hilal overcame Sergej Milinkovic-Savic's red card as Saud Abdulhamid's late goal sealed a 2-1 victory over Al Ittihad in the King's Cup semi-finals.
Without Karim Benzema, Al Ittihad ultimately lacked the firepower to make their numerical advantage count in Tuesday's clash.
Former Lazio midfielder, who joined Al Hilal as part of their spending spree last year, received a straight red card in the 42nd minute.
Al Ittihad's Abderrazzaq Hamed-Allah cancelled out Micheal's opener, but Abdulhamid popped up with the winner in the 81st minute.
Al Hilal are 10-time King's Cup winners, having won their 10th title last season.
The Saudi Pro League leaders, who are still without the injured Neymar, will now face either Al Khaleej or Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr in the final at the end of May.
Data Debrief: Malcom in the middle
Al Hilal might be missing their star Brazilian Neymar, but his compatriot Malcom is delivering when it comes to playmaking.
The former Zenit attacker set up both of Al Hilal's goals, creating three chances in total and registering a pass accuracy of 92.6 per cent, better than any of his team-mates.
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