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Ligue 1 : Kaito Mizuta, deuxième japonais à rejoindre le Havre
En fin de contrat avec Rot-Weiss Essen, club de D3 allemande, le milieu offensif japonais Kaito Mizuta a signé avec le Havre et devient le deuxième japonais à évoluer dans le club doyen.
Le Havre AC a officialisé, ce mardi, son premier renfort estival avec la signature du milieu offensif Kaito Mizuta. Le japonais de 26 ans s’est engagé pour trois ans, soit jusqu’en juin 2029. Il arrive en provenance du Rot-Weiss Essen, où il marque 9 buts en troisième division allemande, complétée de 12 passes décisives en 36 matchs. Il devient le deuxième Japonais à porter les couleurs du club havrais, après Ayumu Seko.
« Après sept saisons en Allemagne, notamment à Bielefeld et au Rot Weiss Essen, il est prêt à monter d’un cran et à découvrir la Ligue 1 ! Se définissant comme travailleur et adorant distiller des passes décisives, Kaito qui s’est engagé pour trois saisons portera le numéro 17 », a écrit le Havre dans son communiqué amunra-opinie.pl
The post Ligue 1 : Kaito Mizuta, deuxième japonais à rejoindre le Havre appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.
ALG : Le 5 juillet et l’attitude de «coach Vlad»
Qu’est-ce qu’ils n’ont pas tissé comme superlatifs et louanges pour le rendre le meilleur sélectionneur au monde, alors qu’il n’a rien accompli d’extraordinaire ni d’exceptionnel ! Vladimir Petkovic, que certains se sont évertués à lui coller affectueusement le surnom de « coach Vlad », n’a fait que surfer intelligemment sur les acquis de son prédécesseur afin d’atteindre ses objectifs contractuels. Ni plus, ni moins.
Ils ont beau lui offrir le Saint Coran, le jour de sa présentation à la presse, lui mettre un burnous de chez nous sur les épaules, lui faire aussi la tournée des musées et de nos belles villes et régions, lui faire goûter la gastronomie algérienne jusqu’au fameux «Zefiti» et bien d’autres privilèges que nul autre entraîneur n’a eu avant lui, jamais ils n’ont réussi à faire de lui le sélectionneur que les Algériens voulaient.
Certes, les résultats lors des éliminatoires de la Coupe du monde 2026 et de celles de la Coupe d’Afrique des nations 2025 ont été obtenus, mais depuis quand devait-on s’inquiéter pour une qualification à la CAN ? De 2019 à ce jour, cette étape était devenue presque une formalité. Quant au Mondial-2022, cela ne sert à rien de revenir sur l’épisode dramatique du match contre le Cameroun, car le peuple algérien est convaincu de ce qui s’est vraiment passé.
De plus, démarrer les éliminatoires avec un matelas non négligeable de six points dans un groupe à sa portée, un effectif déjà prêt et des conditions de travail idéales, la qualif ne devient plus une grosse performance (Injaz). Tout comme dépasser le 1er tour de la CAN- 2025, sous prétexte que les Verts ont failli en 2021 et 2023.
La vraie performance, c’est celle de décrocher un titre majeur, comme la CAN-2019, et faire sensation dans une compétition aussi prestigieuse et exposée que la Coupe du monde, comme l’a si bien réalisé le Cap-Vert, par exemple. En dehors de cela, l’Algérie est plutôt en phase avec son standing et son potentiel.
Mais, au-delà de toutes ces considérations purement sportives, là où Vladimir Petkovic a vraiment échoué, c’est qu’il n’a jamais fait l’effort, sciemment ou inconsciemment, de connaître un peu plus l’Algérie et les Algériens, en dehors des images de cartes postales et des beaux discours diplomatiques.
On l’a dit et souvent répété dans ces mêmes colonnes, que le fait que Petkovic ait toujours refusé de parler une langue compréhensible (le français), comme l’a fait avant lui Vahid Halilhodžić, est plus qu’une maladresse, un manque de considération. Quand un Pep Guardiola, débarquant au Bayern, s’est exprimé en allemand, ou qu’un Luis Enrique a fini par maîtriser la langue de Molière, ce sont des messages forts pour les supporters et le pays d’accueil.
Certainement briefé par ceux-là mêmes qui, aveuglés par leur haine obsessionnelle envers son prédécesseur, ont poussé Petkovic à commettre une erreur fatale. Il aura fini par tomber le masque à travers une attitude que le peuple algérien ne lui pardonnera jamais.
Chacun sait où commencent et où s’arrêtent les limites du fair-play et de la bienséance, mais tomber avec un rire béat dans les bras des joueurs suisses tout en ignorant ses propres joueurs, «coach Vlad» a montré tout le respect et l’estime qu’il avait pour la nation algérienne, la veille de la célébration du 5 juillet, fête de l’indépendance.
Le peuple algérien a réagi violemment, car il considère qu’on a touché à son amour-propre et aux symboles de la nation. Les larmes de Halilhodžić, à l’issue de l’élimination face à l’Allemagne en 2014, et celles de Belmadi après le drame du Cameroun, sont là pour rappeler la différence entre un vrai coach engagé pour la nation, étranger soit-il, et un mercenaire froid venu rafler la mise et repartir.
– LAFORDASSE
L’article ALG : Le 5 juillet et l’attitude de «coach Vlad» est apparu en premier sur Foot Afrique.
Scots’ biggest weapon set to fire at Boks
Scotland coach Gregor Townsend says star flyhalf Finn Russell is ready to take on the Springboks at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday. SIMON BORCHARDT reports.
The 33-year-old missed Scotland’s 47-38 Nations Championship victory against Argentina in Córdoba last week because of a calf injury, with Tom Jordan starting at 10 and Fergus Burke coming off the bench.
However, Townsend expects the experienced playmaker to return for Scotland’s toughest assignment of the year against the world champions, who hammered England 45-21 at Ellis Park.
TUIPULOTU: Boks a different animal
“Yeah, he should be fit,” Townsend told the media on Tuesday when asked about Russell. “He trained fine today.
“He trained fully with the team last Wednesday, did his own thing on Friday and then had a session after the team run on Saturday.
“He trained fine again today, so he’s definitely over the calf injury.
“He would have been fit [to play against Argentina] at the weekend. We just felt he needed more training to be fully ready for the tough Test matches ahead of us, especially this one.”
VAN GRAAN: Russell can hurt Springboks
Scotland will, however, be without tighthead prop Elliot Millar-Mills, who has returned home after suffering a calf injury early in the match against Argentina.
“Yeah, it is a blow,” Townsend admitted.
“It’s a real blow for Elliot, getting the chance to start for Scotland in such a big game and building on the form he’s shown with his club [Northampton Saints] and with us over the last season.
“But the one position we came here with real depth was tighthead prop. We were lucky that we brought four tightheads, so there’s no change to our group.”
ALSO: Kilted Saffa wary of Bok bench
Townsend also dismissed concerns about the travel factor.
“Our players are much more used to travelling now because of the URC and European [Cup] rugby [which involves South African teams].
“It was a long flight and we’re five hours ahead of where we were a few days ago. But the players recover so well now. We see it in how they train, in the monitoring data and just by speaking to them. They’re in a really good place.
“I think they’re really enjoying being in Johannesburg. We’ve got a good hotel, a nice training ground and it’s warmer than it was in Córdoba, so that has definitely boosted everybody’s mood.”
MORE: Scots ‘not going to Loftus to lose’
Photo: Stu Forster/Getty Images
The post Scots’ biggest weapon set to fire at Boks appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Sony’s baffling decision to region lock Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has united the FGC, as its potential as an esport now hangs in the balance
Sony is on a generational speed run of bad PR in recent days after announcing its intent to completely discontinue disc production for its consoles. However, I believe that the biggest issue they have right now involves Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls and its region lock in over 130 countries, according to SteamDB.
It’s such a huge issue that it has united the fighting game community (FGC), a community known for infighting and debates over what the best fighting game really is. So, what exactly is happening here?
- “EWC isn’t about prestige, it’s about value”: Arslan Ash on too many Evo’s, getting more W’s ahead of retirement, and being alone at the top
- Okay, Evo Vegas 2026 changed my mind about 2XKO: It will survive, but only as an esport
- “I want to be an icon like SonicFox”: Hikari wins 2XKO tourney at Evo Vegas 2026
Sony seems to have forgotten the Helldivers 2 lesson
In my opinion, it’s most likely that developers Arc System Works have nothing to do with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls’ region lock. The developers have been around the FGC since the late 90’s and have produced amazing fighting games such as Guilty Gear, BlazBlue, and Dragon Ball FighterZ. The last one is particularly important, as it falls into the same category as Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, a developer using an existing IP to make a fighting game out of it.
So, what exactly is the “Helldivers 2 lesson?” This refers to the time when Sony was forced to remove all region locks on their PC games after player backlash. It started when Sony announced in 2024 that the game would require players to have a PlayStation Account to log in.
Hearing this, Helldivers 2 players began review-bombing the game, forcing the company to eventually lift the restrictions not just for Helldivers 2 but also for other Sony studio games available on PC a little over a year later. It’s also worth noting that during the controversy, Arrowhead Studios, the developers of Helldivers 2, apologized even though the decision to region-lock the game is entirely Sony’s decision.
Now, Sony is attempting another Helldivers 2 situation with Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls. As the former owners of Evo, I can’t fathom what’s going on in their heads when they set up the game to be like this. The company should know that fighting games are a universal language. Even if players don’t speak the same spoken language, everyone understands the frustration of jumping in and getting hit by Guile’s flash kick five times in a row.
With that said, the FGC is fighting back, but I have my own concerns.
The FGC fights back, but is it enough?
The Helldivers 2 situation worked out because of the sheer number of people who fought back against the corporation. Funnily enough, Helldivers 2 is all about spreading democracy, and a company region-locking a game is not democratic at all. But I digress; the problem I’m talking about is numbers.
Let’s face it: it’s true that fighting game player numbers can’t compare to first- or third-person shooter numbers. Helldivers 2, at its most popular, had almost half a million players on Steam alone. Street Fighter 6, the most popular fighting game at this time, only had around 76,000 players at its most popular phase, according to SteamDB. That’s only a fraction of the people Helldivers 2 had.
Now, my concern is: Does the FGC have enough voice or power to convince a huge corporation like Sony? Sure, top players such as Justin Wong and Michael “Yipes” Mendoza are speaking out about the problem, but is it enough? The main strength of the FGC is that the game is specifically created for the community. That same community also doesn’t have the same player pool as other genres.
Some fans, after finding out that the game would be region-locked, have been second-guessing whether to buy it. With player counts already being a problem in the FGC, players have been cautious about investing in another fighting game that might eventually die after a few months at worst or a year at best. While this doesn’t sound like a good thing, this is actually the FGC’s biggest weapon against Sony.
As I’ve mentioned, the FGC already has a limited pool of players, and companies want to maximize their profits. If that’s Sony’s intent, then there’s no reason for them to region-lock the game. Now, people are talking about boycotting the launch and letting their wallets speak, but there’s also a petition launched to show Sony that the game should be available for all players who want to play it.
As of writing, the petition is about to reach 2,000 signatures.
The Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls’ region lock could wreak havoc on the competitive scene
If Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls releases with region lock still in place, this might be the first modern-day fighting game that will release in that way.
Back then, when arcade cabinets were the console of choice for fighting games, Japan usually had the advantage in tournaments because the cabinets were released there first. The United States would get them a few months later, and in the worst case, this could take years. This practice was also prevalent in home console releases, with games such as Tekken 4 releasing first in Japan on PlayStation 2. The NA and EU versions followed six months later.
In recent years, fighting game developers have adopted simultaneous worldwide releases to ensure that every competitor and player starts on a level playing field. However, Sony might have other ideas this time. Personally, I really don’t understand why the company is so insistent on requiring a PlayStation account for all their games, when the service isn’t even available in all countries.
In the case that Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls launches as is, fighting game communities of those locked out from the game’s release would fall behind in competition compared to those who have been playing it since launch. There was already outrage in tournaments when 2XKO’s competitive integrity was challenged because a certain tournament allowed beta testers to participate in tournaments, as they were allowed to play champions that weren’t released to the public yet.
And that was only a couple of hours, maybe days, of playtesting.
Ultimately, I really have no idea what the outcome of this whole situation will be. The petition is getting considerable attention, and the top players are voicing their disappointment in Sony’s decision.
Marvel has always been close to the FGC’s heart. Marvel vs. Capcom 2 is a beloved game in the community and is widely considered one of the best fighting games ever made. Robbing the new generation of a new Marvel game will be heartbreaking.
In my opinion, there’s a good chance Sony will announce that the game will be available in all regions. As I’ve mentioned, the company surely wants to maximize its profits, and releasing it in all regions is the best way to do it. Not only does it increase their revenue, but the support of big names in the FGC makes the issue impossible to ignore. To add more hope, even if the game isn’t available in a specific region, its Steam page is still accessible.
With that said, I’m hopeful that we will all be able to play the game on day one.
The post Sony’s baffling decision to region lock Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls has united the FGC, as its potential as an esport now hangs in the balance appeared first on Esports Insider.
Stade Rennais : Thomasson a hâte d’évoluer aux côtés d’Esteban Lepaul
Le Stade Rennais a organisé, ce mardi, une conférence de presse pour présenter aux médias, les quatre premières recrues avec Adrien Thomasson, Issa Soumaré, Goncalo Oliveira et Nicolas Lemaître.
Arrivé de Lens où il était en fin de contrat, le meilleur passeur de Ligue 1 ,avec 10 offrandes et capitaine de la formation nordiste, s’est exprimé sur son choix de rejoindre le club breton. « Pour moi, ça a été un choix naturel. Dès les premières discussions, ça m’a paru logique. Je me suis senti en phase avec le projet de Rennes. J’ai pris le temps de réfléchir, car j’avais d’autres opportunités. Je voulais être fixé à la fin de saison, c’est pour ça que j’ai dit oui au Stade Rennais. », a-t-il justifié dans les colonnes de Ouest-France.
Questionné sur son association future avec le meilleur buteur la saison passée en championnat, Esteban Lepaul, auteur de 21 buts, Thomasson a hâte. « Je suis content de jouer avec Estéban Lepaul. J’ai regardé des matches, et il est très impressionnant. J’ai hâte de jouer avec lui. », a ajouté Thomasson dans le quotidien régional.
The post Stade Rennais : Thomasson a hâte d’évoluer aux côtés d’Esteban Lepaul appeared first on AfricaFootUnited.