Latest news with #Dias'
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Harimau Malaya show stripes to hold better ranked Cape Verde
COURAGEOUS Malaysia were in a class of their own when they drew 1-1 against Cape Verde, ranked 72nd in the world, in a Tier 1 international football friendly at the Kuala Lumpur Football Stadium in Cheras here on Thursday (May 29). Substitute striker Paulo Josue scored an equaliser with about 10 minutes remaining to save the honour of the Harimau Malaya squad in front of their own fans after defender Sidny Lopes Cabral had put Cape Verde ahead early in the first half. In the first clash between the two teams on the competitive stage, coach Cklamovski signalled the importance of local players when he fielded seven homegrown footballers in the starting XI while the latest naturalised player Gabriel Palmero was given the chance to make his debut for Malaysia. Malaysia, ranked 131st in the world gave an early warning to the visitors when Palmero's shot from outside the penalty area hit the post in the seventh minute, but Cape Verde were first in front through Cabral who cleverly beat Daniel Ting and fired a powerful shot from close range a minute later. Cape Verde (officially the Republic of Cabo Verde) then continued to dominate the game and launched a wave of attacks through a series of powerful shots that forced the national defence led by captain Matthew Davies and goalkeeper Ahmad Syihan Hazmi Mohamed to work extra hard to save the situation. On resumption, Malaysia had a golden opportunity to equalise but Faisal's powerful shot in the 61st minute was cleared by goalkeeper Josimar Dias before Muhammad Ubaidullah Shamsul Fazili arrived to pounce the ball on the goal line. Arif Aiman also missed an opportunity to score when his attempt in a one-on-one situation hit Dias' foot in the 69th minute. However, Harimau Malaya could finally heave a sigh of relief when Josue equalised in the 79th minute after he calmly finished off a pass from Quentin Cheng. The heroic Josue then had the best chance to score the national team's winning goal, but his close-range shot hit the alert Dias' foot in the 86th minute, thus ensuring the 1-1 result remained until the final whistle. Malaysia will once again face Cape Verde in a friendly match behind closed doors at the National Stadium in Bukit Jalil on June 3. The two friendly matches against Cape Verde are in preparation for Malaysia to face Vietnam in the second Group F match of the 2027 Asian Cup Qualifiers at the Bukit Jalil National Stadium on June 10. Vietnam and Malaysia now share the top two spots in the group with three points respectively after having played a match each.
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ruben Dias interview: ‘There were troubled times, but Man City is a strong house'
A Cup tie in London was where it started to go wrong for Manchester City this season. A Cup tie in London could cap a comeback of sorts. They started their campaign with greater objectives than competing with Crystal Palace for a trophy. Yet when it spiralled out of control, the prospect of Champions League qualification and silverware would have amounted to a successful salvage job. The turning point most pinpoint came when Rodri suffered a cruciate ligament injury against Arsenal in September. Yet City were still unbeaten when they ventured to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup on the penultimate day of October, on a run of five straight wins, none of their 14 matches in the campaign ending in defeat. A second injury had a transformative impact. Dias came off at half-time with a calf problem. He sat out their next four games. City lost each of them, too. He was powerless to halt a sudden slide. 'Of course it wasn't easy,' he said. 'You want to be involved and participate and help in every way you can and it wasn't a happy experience.' If injuries to central defenders have been a theme of City's season, there is a case for arguing Dias' absence was among the most significant. Their unexpected relapse, from all-conquering to strangely frail, came without talismanic figures in the spine of the team. It was also, Dias, felt, a side-effect of their success. 'It was definitely the consequence of many things,' he said. 'One of them was the fact we won four Premier Leagues in a row and nobody has ever done that. Maybe this is the cost: the effort and mental discipline that is essential for the game we play. Look back enough to learn and be better but not look back enough to get dragged into what you shouldn't be dragged into.' A man who was outspoken in his criticism of Southampton's defensive tactics when they held City 0-0 on Saturday nevertheless felt some of the interpretations of City's slide were too harsh, that his teammates were written off too soon. 'There was a lot of talking and very little reasoning behind most of the comments,' he said. 'People love to go crazy and they very easily forget about the whole process and everything that was done. They were obviously troubled times for many reasons but you shouldn't doubt each other because of a bad wave. That shows a weak house and we are a strong house. If anyone doubted, maybe they should learn a lesson for the future.' To borrow Dias' phrase, City have looked a stronger house since the March international break, winning seven of eight games before being held by Southampton. They have had new foundations, with Josko Gvardiol proving Dias' latest centre-back partner and one with more staying power than some of his injury-prone predecessors. 'Everyone understands Josko's qualities,' Dias said. 'He is young, driven, passionate and very ambitious.' If there was a shift in personnel in the last couple of months, there was also a different mentality. 'Maybe the feeling,' Dias said. 'This team is made of a lot of individual quality but it's even more made of this mentality and the feeling among each other that we're there and we're going to do it and be strong together. Whenever that feeling is present, things get easier.' That analysis was an admission the feeling was gone before then. But then, how did it feel to be City, the team who churned out victories and hoovered up trophies who were suddenly plunged into kind of results that many another side and player could recognise but which felt utterly alien to them? Now objectives have been altered. 'You can either win the Premier League or not win it,' Dias rationalised. 'We've won the last four in a row and that was never done before. We are in a tough fight to qualify for the top five. We've been defined by the Premier Leagues but I feel we've been defined by all of it.' And the treble of 2023 would have been impossible without the FA Cup. There was an expectation, after the Champions League exit to Real Madrid, that last season would still bring a domestic double. That was upset by Manchester United in the showpiece at Wembley. City, nevertheless, are back for more. 'It's our third final in a row so that is already quite a big achievement,' said Dias. Indeed, City's feat of reaching seven consecutive semi-finals is a record. So far, though, that means they have had four Wembley defeats in the competition in that time. 'We know how good it feels to win the FA Cup,' said Dias. And with City's house stronger than it was, he hopes Wembley can provide a home from home for them.
Yahoo
08-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Dias reaches 200 City appearances
Ruben Dias' selection in our team to face Leyton Orient means he has reached 200 appearances for Manchester City. The Portuguese defender is the 97th man to reach a double century of matches in a City shirt. After four full campaigns, Dias has won nine major trophies including the Premier League title in every single season at the Etihad Stadium. GET YOUR DIAS #3 SHIRT He has also been a key figure across triumphs in the League Cup, FA Cup, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and Community Shield. A member of the squad's leadership team, Dias' fearless defending is just as valued by his team-mates as his relentless desire to win. Dias arrived at City in September 2020 and immediately proved to be an inspired addition to Pep Guardiola's title chasing side – winning the FWA Footballer of the Year, Etihad Player of the Year, Premier League Player of the Season and the UEFA Champions League Defender of the Season in his first term in Manchester. WATCH: Watch: Dias' best City moments as he hits double century That was also his busiest season in terms of appearances so far, playing 50 times across all competitions including 49 starts. 40 matches followed in 2021/22 as we retained our Premier League title before 43 games in 2022/23 as part of our historic Treble-winning season, including being our most used player on the way to Champions League glory. 2023/24 saw Dias play on 45 occasions including 42 starts as we recorded a record fourth successive top-flight title, meaning the 27-year-old has won the top prize every season. In 131 Premier League games so far, Dias has helped City to 46 clean sheets while at the other end of the pitch, he has scored three times in the Premier League and once in the Champions League. He has been named in the FIFPRO World XI on two occasions and The Best Men's 11 last year. Congratulations to Ruben on this milestone in a brilliant City career to date.
