🚨 Cristiano Ronaldo scores in Portugal win, Arsenal deal HIJACKED, Chelsea eye Barcelona star, major Liverpool exit, Spurs deal confirmed, & more
Today's headlines and World Cup news clips...
Happy Friday everyone and welcome to the latest Daily Briefing, here as always to give you all today’s top football stories! Thanks for reading, and hope you enjoy :-)
Today’s top stories:
World Cup round-up
Portugal earn dramatic win over Croatia
Portugal beat Croatia in dramatic style thanks to a late winner and some help from VAR.
Ivan Perisic gave Croatia the lead with a fine finish before Cristiano Ronaldo levelled things up from the penalty spot. Goncalo Ramos was then the hero with a late headed winner.
VAR then disallowed what looked like a last-minute Croatia equaliser, and we saw emotional scenes at the end as the Portugal players paid tribute to Diogo Jota, with this game coming on the one-year anniversary of his death.
FT Portugal 2-1 Croatia [Pictures from ITV Sport]
Johan Manzambi shines in Switzerland win
Johan Manzambi is starting to look like the young player of the tournament at this World Cup, with the 20-year-old midfielder producing a stunning assist in Switzerland’s win over Algeria.
The Freiburg ace burst forward to show his superb ability on the ball, taking on the Algeria defence all by himself before perfectly setting up Breel Embolo for a simple finish.
Dan Ndoye scored for Switzerland early on in the second half as they won 2-0 to book their place in the last 16.
FT Switzerland 2-0 Algeria [Pictures from ITV Sport]
Spain ease past Austria with Oyarzabal brace
Spain made easy work of Austria as they won their first World Cup knockout game since the 2010 final.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice and Pedro Porro also powered in a superb header in what proved to be a comfortable 3-0 win.
Spain will be one of the favourites for the World Cup this summer, but they’ll face a challenging tie against Portugal next.
FT Spain 3-0 Austria [Pictures from ITV Sport]
More World Cup news:
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Arsenal
Could Arsenal now turn to these FIVE midfielders after missing out on Mateus Fernandes and Sandro Tonali to Tottenham? Full story here!
Arsenal are considering a surprise move to sign Aston Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa this summer. (Telegraph)
Kepa Arrizabalaga has reportedly informed Arsenal that he wants to leave the club for more first-team football, with an exit now viewed as increasingly likely. (TEAMtalk)
Arsenal are not giving up on getting a deal done for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes this summer. (Sun)
Arsenal are now out of the race for Leicester City wonderkid Jeremy Monga as Manchester City have hijacked the deal. (Fabrizio Romano)
Aston Villa
Ollie Watkins’ Aston Villa future could be in some doubt as this surprise club eye up a move for him this summer - full story here!
Barcelona
This Barcelona star is closing in on a loan move to Ajax - full story here!
Chelsea
Chelsea have been given the opportunity to sign long-term target Jules Kounde as Barcelona could be open to selling for a reduced price of £55m. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Nicolas Jackson is officially set to leave Bayern Munich and return to Chelsea after is loan spell, with the Blues to make a decision on his future soon. (Fabrizio Romano)
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Liverpool
Liverpool have had some interest in Barcelona defender Jules Kounde, who is now available on the market for a cut-price fee of £55m. (Mark Brus, the Daily Briefing)
Richard Hughes is expected to leave his role at Liverpool in due course in order to take up a position at Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal. (David Ornstein, the Athletic)
Liverpool are keeping a close eye on Roma midfielder Neil El Aynaoui as Andoni Iraola looks to reshape the squad he inherited at Anfield. (TEAMtalk)
Manchester City
Arsenal are now out of the race for Leicester City wonderkid Jeremy Monga as Manchester City have hijacked the deal. (Fabrizio Romano)
Manchester United
Manchester United could be back in for Carlos Baleba, with the Brighton midfielder still keen on the move to Old Trafford, though his asking price will be at least £70m. (Give Me Sport)
Ayyoub Bouaddi is a target for Manchester United as they now seem to have muscled their way into the conversation for his signature. (Ben Jacobs)
Manchester United are close to finalising the loan exit of goalkeeper Andre Onana, who is set to return to Trabzonspor. (Daily Mail)
PSG
Bradley Barcola has dropped a hint over possibly leaving PSG this summer amid links with Liverpool and Arsenal - find out more here!
Tottenham
Sandro Tonali has been pictured on his way to London for his medical with Tottenham, but has also talked up a possible future move back to his old club AC Milan. (Fabrizio Romano)
Mateus Fernandes has been officially confirmed as a new Tottenham player and provided some insight into why he chose them over Manchester United - read the full quotes here!
Tottenham are ready to rival Arsenal for Eli Junior Kroupi as they eye the Bournemouth forward in further big spending expected this summer. (Independent)
Three other big-name targets are on Spurs’ radar in the form of Manchester City duo James Trafford and Savinho, as well as AC Milan’s Rafael Leao. (Independent)