Revealing the French national team's lucky charm; Croatia's Luka Modric faces prison sentence

Argentine referee to officiate World Cup final

FIFA has selected Nestor Pitana to referee the 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia next Sunday. Assistant referees to Nestor Pitana are compatriots Hernan Maidana and Juan Belatti.

This is the fifth time Mr. Pitana has officiated a World Cup final and the second time he has officiated a match between France and Croatia. Mr. Pitana officiated France's 2-0 win over Uruguay in the quarter-finals and Croatia's win over Denmark in the round of 16. However, the French are still worried because Mr. Pitana is from Argentina, whose team was eliminated by France in the round of 16.

Luka Modric faces prison sentence

Midfielder Luka Modric has been accused of making a false statement about his transfer from Dinamo Zagreb to Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, the Daily Star newspaper reported.

Modric has been accused by prosecutors of lying in court during the tax fraud trial of former Dinamo Zagreb CEO Zdravko Mamic. If the evidence presented by prosecutors is correct, the Croatian could face a prison sentence after the end of the 2018 World Cup.

Revealing the French team's lucky charm at the 2018 World Cup

According to information posted on the Mirror, before each match, the French players will touch and stroke the mustache of defender Adil Rami. It is believed that this superstitious action of the "Rooster" players will bring them luck and strength.

President Putin invites North Korean Vice President to watch World Cup final

According to European press, Russian President Vladimir Putin has invited North Korean Vice President and President of the country's Football Federation, Mr. Ri Ryong-nam, to attend the 2018 World Cup final between France and Croatia on the night of July 15.

Real fans want Mbappe to replace Ronaldo, underestimate Neymar

Take part in the newspaper's pollMarca(Spain), about 54% of respondents want Mbappe to return to Real Madrid this summer.

The other candidates all received significantly lower votes. Eden Hazard came second with around 15%, Neymar just 14%, while Harry Kane got 10%. The remaining 6% was reserved for other players.

Real fans favor the 19-year-old player, Mbappe, not necessarily Hazard or Neymar. Photo:Reuters

Mbappe is having a very impressive performance at the World Cup. While the teenage star shines, Neymar is not playing successfully. The Brazilian striker did not leave many positive professional impressions and was eliminated in the quarterfinals with the Brazilian team.

MU speeds up signing Gareth Bale

Metro newspaper said that MU has intensified negotiations in recent weeks to sign Gareth Bale from Real Madrid.

Mourinho still wants Bale.

Bale is not Zidane's preferred choice and the midfielder has signaled his intention to leave if he does not get more playing time, after his brilliant performance in the Champions League final, helping Real beat Liverpool 3-1, winning the trophy for the third consecutive time.

However, even now that Real Madrid have a new manager, Bale still doesn't know if his future is secure. And while waiting for Bale to talk to Julen Lopetegui, MU has stepped up its approach to this midfielder and persuaded him to return to the Premier League, playing at Old Trafford.

Barca successfully recruited Clement Lenglet

Barcelona have completed the signing of Clement Lenglet after the 23-year-old defender triggered his release clause in his contract with Sevilla. Lenglet agreed personal terms on a five-year contract with Barca last week, before speaking to Sevilla about his intention to join the Camp Nou outfit.

This made Sevilla angry, refusing to negotiate with Barca. In the end, Lenglet had to release himself by paying 35.9 million euros to Sevilla to freely go to Camp Nou. In the 5-year agreement with Lenglet, Barca inserted a release clause of up to 300 million euros.

Cahill considers leaving England team

Centre-back Gary Cahill will hold talks with manager Gareth Southgate about his England future after Saturday's third-place play-off against Belgium.

Cahill has just had a very difficult season at Chelsea, but fortunately he was still selected by coach Southgate in the 23-man England squad for the 2018 World Cup. However, in Russia, the Chelsea captain only started 1 match, in a 0-1 defeat to Belgium in the final round of the group stage.

In his recent statement, Cahill spoke about the possibility of leaving the Three Lions after the 2018 World Cup ended: "I will have a talk with coach Southgate about my future in the England national team next month."