INTER MILAN ROUT VENEZIA 5-1; NAPOLI SURVIVES EPIC PENALTY DRAMA
Inter Milan dominated Venezia 5-1, securing their last eight spot. Atalanta also advanced 4-0 and will face Juventus in the Italian Cup quarterfinals.
Napoli edged out Cagliari in the Italian Cup, winning a long penalty shootout after a 1-1 draw on Wednesday.
Conte’s squad won 9-8 on penalties after Cagliari’s Mattia Felici hit the crossbar, and Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, Napoli’s keeper, saved Zito Luvumbo’s attempt.
David Neres could have won it for Napoli on their fifth penalty after Felici's miss, but Elia Caprile saved his shot. Alessandro Buongiorno finally sealed the deal after even Milinkovic-Savic scored his penalty.
The game was tied 1-1 after Lorenzo Lucca's first-half header for Napoli was cancelled out by Sebastiano Esposito in the 67th minute, thanks to an accidental assist by Scott McTominay.
Napoli will now face either Fiorentina or Como in the quarterfinals.
Inter crushed Venezia 5-1 to make it to the last eight. Venezia was the only Serie B team left.
Both Napoli and Inter rested many starters since they're also competing for the Serie A title and in the Champions League.
Andy Diouf, making his first start, scored his first goal for Inter in the 18th minute. Pio Esposito made it 2-0 just two minutes later, and Marcus Thuram's two goals pretty much secured the win.
Richie Sagrado scored for Venezia, but Ange-Yoan Bonny quickly made it a four-goal game again.
Inter will next play either Roma or Torino.
Separately, Atalanta set up an Italian Cup quarterfinal against Juventus with a 4-0 victory over 10-man Genoa.
This was Daniele De Rossi's first loss as Genoa's coach, after he took over last month.
Berat Djimsiti headed in a cross to give Atalanta the lead in the 19th minute. Genoa's job got tougher when Seydou Fini was sent off in the 36th minute for a foul on Raoul Bellanova.
Marten de Roon made it 2-0 early in the second half with a powerful shot from outside the box, and Mario Pasalic scored the third late in the game.
Honest Ahanor, 17, who joined Atalanta from Genoa in July, scored his first senior goal in added time.
Juventus beat Udinese in their match on Tuesday.
THOMAS TUCHEL NAMES EXPANDED ENGLAND SQUAD FEATURING FOUR SURPRISE NEW INCLUSIONS
Thomas Tuchel hands maiden England call-ups to James Garner and Jason Steele while omitting Trent Alexander-Arnold.
James Garner from Everton and Brighton’s goalkeeper Jason Steele have earned their first call-ups to the England squad. Alongside them, AC Milan’s defender Fikayo Tomori and Tottenham’s forward Dominic Solanke have also been included. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw did not make the cut this time.
Jude Bellingham, despite being sidelined since early February due to a hamstring injury, is still part of the squad. Experienced centre-back Harry Maguire, now 33, has the chance to add to his 64 caps, while 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who started in the Euro 2024 final, is also selected. Both last represented England in September 2024 but have been rewarded for Manchester United’s recent good form, which has lifted them to third place in the Premier League.
Luke Shaw, pushing for inclusion, has been overlooked once again. Instead, Tuchel has called up Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, marking his first call-up since Tuchel took over.
This squad is larger than usual, with players arriving in two phases during the international window. Tuchel explained on the Football Association’s website that the first group includes players who haven’t played much recently, aiming to broaden competition for spots in the upcoming US tour. Then, from Friday to Saturday, another group will join, including some who’ve had a short rest, to mix things up for the match against Japan.
England will face Uruguay at Wembley on March 27, followed by a home game against Japan on March 31. Looking ahead, the World Cup kicks off on June 11 in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with England considered among the contenders.
Here’s the full squad breakdown:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle), Jason Steele (Brighton)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)
WHY CAF STRIPPED SENEGAL OF THEIR AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS TITLE
Following a final walk-off, Senegal has lost its AFCON trophy in the boardroom, prompting an appeal to CAS by the FSF.
Moussa Niakhate finally spoke out after the Confederation of African Football’s shocking decision to take Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy away. After that wild walk-off in the final against Morocco, CAF backed an appeal and handed the host nation a 3-0 win by default. Senegalese players were furious; who wouldn’t be?
The boardroom decision completely flipped African football on its head. Two months after the final, the CAF Appeal Board tossed out Senegal’s victory and gave Morocco the win. It all started deep into stoppage time when VAR gave Morocco a penalty. Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s manager, lost it and told his players to leave the field. Eventually, they came back and finished the match. Still, officials said the walk-off broke tournament rules, so they took the title away. Brutal.
Niakhate, the 30-year-old defender who was key in Senegal’s backline, got asked about it before Lyon’s Europa League match with Celta. He’d already posted a photo with his medal and the trophy right after the ruling. He made it clear: nothing a boardroom says can erase what happened on the pitch. He said, “Out of respect for the club and with the crucial match in mind, I don’t want to go into too much detail. You saw my reaction on social media; it’s the same today. What I can say is that nothing has changed for me compared to what we went through in January. I’ll have time to talk about it again in due course; for now, I’m going to stay focused on Lyon.”
That final in Rabat was pure chaos, even before Senegal won 1-0 on the field. Most players followed Thiaw down the tunnel, but Sadio Mane stayed, urging his teammates to come back. Brahim Diaz took the penalty but tried a Panenka, and Edouard Mendy caught it easily. The game went to extra time, Papa Gueye scored, and Senegal thought they were champions again. It didn't matter; the walk-off cost them everything. The committee called it a 3-0 forfeit.
It’s harsh for a team that believed they’d gone back-to-back. Niakhate, who started six out of seven games, is now focusing on Lyon’s European campaign. Still, that boardroom drama isn’t going away, not with the international break coming up. Senegal’s already planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
