Kylian Mbappe shouldered the blame for Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, which saw them exit the Champions League semi-finals 2-0 on aggregate.
Mbappe, who is set to leave PSG at the end of the season, was unable to inspire the Ligue 1 champions as they fell short in their latest quest to land the European crown.
The France captain registered a game-high three shots on target and 12 touches in the opposition box during the second leg at Parc des Princes, but his tally of just 51 touches overall was the second-lowest recorded by any PSG player.
And the 25-year-old admitted he should have made a more significant contribution towards his team's cause.
"I tried to help my team as best as I could, but I didn't do enough," he said. "I'm the guy who should score goals and be decisive. When things are good, I take all the limelight and when they are not, you have to take the shadow.
"That's not a problem. The first one who should have scored tonight was me. That's life, and we have to move on - me and the team."
PSG enjoyed the lion's share of possession (69.5 per cent) during the second leg and registered four times as many shots as their opponents did (30 to seven), hitting the woodwork four times.
"In decisive Champions League matches, when you're not effective in both boxes, it's difficult to get through to the next round," Mbappe added. "Even more so when we're talking about a final.
"We're certainly disappointed, but it's not all doom and gloom. We need to build on that and keep working, because I'm sure we'll get there."
Reus determined to end Dortmund career with European glory
Long considered one of the most talented players of his generation, Borussia Dortmund's Marco Reus has failed to taste major success throughout an injury-plagued career, but he is desperate to leave his boyhood club as a Champions League winner.
The 34-year-old is leaving Dortmund after 12 years at the club and hopes to do so on a high by beating Real Madrid in the Champions League final at Wembley stadium on Saturday.
"Borussia Dortmund means everything for me," Reus said this week. "When you are 12 years at a club then it just has to mean everything."
The former Germany international, who also spent a decade at the Ruhr Valley club as a youth player, has scored 170 goals in 428 matches for Dortmund.
Known for his sublime skills, goalscoring ability and clever play, Reus has been dubbed a "living legend" by Dortmund coach Edin Terzic, having captained the team for five years and won the DFB-Pokal on two occasions.
However, those remain the only major titles of his career, which has been continually hampered by fitness problems.
He missed out on Germany's 2014 World Cup win after suffering an injury in their final warm-up game, while other injuries ruled him out of Euro 2016 and the 2022 World Cup.
Reus also lost out on the Bundesliga trophy in 2023 when Dortmund slipped up against Mainz on the final matchday.
"Marco was 12 years here as a pro and also as a youth. He is not yet done," said coach Terzic.
"In London he wants to experience an amazing game with a positive outcome so as to complete the circle.
"I need him on Saturday. I need his qualities because he has this experience and he has played on this stage before."
Reus is no stranger to a Champions League final or to Wembley, having lost the 2013 showcase game there, against Bayern Munich.
"That was 11 years ago. Now it is a different opponent and different players," Reus said.
"There are worse ways to complete your career at a club than to start with a Champions League final in 2013 and end it with a Champions League final in 2024."
Hoping for the best: Eve on edge about players' fitness as T&T faces tight window ahead of qualifiers
Having selected what he believes is the best crop of players to secure qualification to the 2026 Fifa World Cup, Trinidad and Tobago’s Head coach Angus Eve is no hoping everything will go accordingly, both where performances and player fitness is concerned.
In fact, Eve, who named his provisional 39-player squad last Friday, would love nothing but to have his final Soca Warriors squad –when narrowed down –hit the ground running with positive results to start their Concacaf World Cup qualifying campaign against Grenada and then Bahamas on June 5 and 8 respectively. They will host Grenada at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, before visiting Bahamas a few days later.
"These 39 players are the ones we think can give us the best chance to start off on a positive head and try to win these two matches and start off with six points in the qualifiers, one game at a time,” Eve said in a recent interview with the Trinidad and Tobago Football Association (TTFA) media.
The tactician, who is aiming to host a camp between June 1 and June 3, pointed out that it was a challenge to gather the team earlier due to players’ club obligations. It is for this reason that he is hoping players will come into camp fit and ready to go, given that they will only assemble a few days before kick off.
“Players' safety (is a concern) and all these kinds of things. It is terrible that the window starts on (June) 3rd and we have to play on the 5th, so players have to travel on the 3rd, most of the players. On the 1st and 2nd we still have players playing matches outside. We have the locally-based players playing in a final this coming week, a couple days before the game. We still have to look and see who will come through those games unscathed,” Eve shared.
That said, Eve explained the reason behind gifting players such as Tyrese Spicer, Dantaye Gilbert and Steffen Yeates, their first senior team invitation. While Spicer, 23, and Gilbert, 19, has represented the twin island republic at the youth level, Yeates, 24, is breaking into his first national team.
“Young Spicer has been doing tremendously well for Toronto FC. We did try to get him and [Wayne] Fredericks for the two Jamaica friendlies, but he [Spicer] had an injury at that point in time and also Fredericks had an injury in that time, so we never got them. It is a delight for us to actually have the opportunity to call him [Spicer] up,” Eve noted.
“We have also been behind Steffen Yeates since last October. We have really been having good conversations with him, but there were some administrative issues. We think we are very close to sorting out his documents, so we wanted to put him in the training squad, so just in case that his documents come through, he will already be in the squad,” he added.
Like Spicer and Yeates, Eve said Netherlands-based Gilbert was always a part of his plans, but he wanted to bide his time with the young midfielder.
“We have been following Dantaye; the tricky thing about these things is that when a young player goes to Europe you want (to allow) him to settle in at his club first before you drag him out of his club. If he stays over there for three, four months and get that quality training in that high-intensity environment then he is going to be better for us when he comes back to the national team,” he ended.
T&T Provisional squad:
Goalkeepers: Denzil Smith (Club Sando), Aaron Enill (Prison FC), Christopher Biggette (Defence Force), Adrian Foncette (Miscellaneous Police FC).
Defenders: Andre Raymond (unattached), Jesse Williams (Chattanooga FC—USA), Sheldon Bateau (SK Beveren—Belgium), Leland Archer (Charleston Battery—USA), Triston Hodge (Hartford Athletic—USA), Ross Russell (Terminix La Horquetta Rangers), Aubrey David (CS Cartagines—Costa Rica), Alvin Jones, Robert Primus (both Miscellaneous Police FC), Isaiah Garcia, Justin Garcia (both Defence Force), Josiah Trimmingham (Montego Bay Utd—Jamaica), Shannon Gomez (San Antonio FC—USA).
Midfielders: Duane Muckette, Michel Poon-Angeron (both AC Port of Spain), Kevon Goddard (Defence Force), Andre Rampersad (HFX Wanderers—Canada), Kristian Lee Him (Eskilstuna), Dantaye Gilbert (Jong PSV—Netherlands), Steffen Yeates (Pacific FC—Canada), Molik Khan (Minnesota Utd II—USA), Daniel Phillips (St Johnstone FC—Scotland), Ajani Fortune (Atlanta United—USA)Matthew Woo Ling (Defence Force), Noah Powder (Northern Colorado Hailstorm—USA).
Attackers: Kaile Auvray, Nathaniel James (both Mount Pleasant FC—Jamaica), Real Gill (Northern Colorado Hailstorm—USA), Reon Moore (Pacific FC—Canada), Malcolm Shaw (Cavalry FC), Levi Garcia (AEK Athens—Greece), Tyrese Spicer (Toronto FC—Canada), Ezekiel Kesar (Point Fortin Civic), Kevon Woodley (Morvant Caledonia Utd), Ryan Telfer (HFX Wanderers—Canada).
De Jong and Depay make final Netherlands squad for Euro 2024, Maatsen cut
Frenkie de Jong and Memphis Depay have been included in the Netherlands' final Euro 2024 squad despite fitness concerns, with Borussia Dortmund's Ian Maatsen among those cut.
Earlier this month, coach Ronald Koeman named a 30-man preliminary squad for the Oranje's Euro 2024 campaign, which begins against Poland on June 16.
De Jong was included despite not playing for Barcelona since April 21 due to an ankle issue, while Atletico Madrid's Depay only recently returned to action following a six-week spell on the sidelines.
Both players have avoided being cut from Koeman's initial selection, with Atalanta's Marten De Roon already confirmed as missing out due to a muscle injury.
Joining De Roon in missing the tournament are Feyenoord's Quinten Timber and Sparta Rotterdam goalkeeper Nick Olij.
Perhaps more surprisingly, Dortmund's Chelsea loanee Maatsen – who will face Real Madrid in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday – has been cut.
After taking on Poland in Hamburg, the Oranje face France in a heavyweight clash in Leipzig then round off their Group D campaign against Ralf Rangnick's Austria.
Final 26-man Netherlands squad: Justin Bijlow (Feyenoord), Mark Fleken (Brentford), Bart Verbruggen (Brighton and Hove Albion), Nathan Ake (Manchester City), Daley Blind (Girona), Stefan de Vrij (Inter), Lutsharel Geertruida (Feyenoord), Denzel Dumfries (Inter), Matthijs de Ligt (Bayern Munich), Jeremy Frimpong (Bayer Leverkusen), Micky van de Ven (Tottenham), Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool), Frenkie de Jong (Barcelona), Ryan Gravenberch (Liverpool), Teun Koopmeiners (Atalanta), Tijjani Reijnders (Milan), Jerdy Schouten (PSV), Xavi Simons (RB Leipzig), Joey Veerman (PSV), Georginio Wijnaldum (Al-Ettifaq), Steven Bergwijn (Ajax), Brian Brobbey (Ajax), Memphis Depay (Atletico Madrid), Cody Gakpo (Liverpool), Donyell Malen (Borussia Dortmund), Wout Weghorst (Hoffenheim).
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