Wayne Rooney will make his final farewell as England’s greatest ever goalscorer in a friendly against the United States on Thursday, but is excited at what a young squad can achieve under “fearless” coach Gareth Southgate in the years to come. Rooney, 33, made the last of his 119 international appearances midway through England’s World…
Italian Antonio Conte will not replace Julen Lopetegui if he is sacked as Real Madrid manager, Spanish media reported on Monday. Following Sunday’s 5-1 Clasico humbling by arch-rivals Barcelona, Real look set to fire Lopetegui after four months in charge and there was speculation they would turn to Conte. Although Real are still expected to…
London: New Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri said Friday he is “very confident” Willian will stay at the club but expressed doubt over the future of goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois ahead of the Community Shield clash against Manchester City. Chelsea are in Sunday’s season curtain-raiser against the Premier League champions after they won the FA Cup win in…
Berlin: Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has reiterated his call for the Bundesliga to scrap the so-called 50 plus one rule which effectively bars big investors from taking over clubs. The rule bars commercial investors from having more than a 49 percent stake in a club, stopping them from taking over clubs and forcing changes…
The Japanese FA said on Thursday that Hajime Moriyasu, coach of the men’s Olympic side, is to take over at the helm of the national team. The JFA confirmed the decision to Reuters via telephone following a council meeting in Tokyo. The move comes after Akira Nishino, who led Japan to the last 16 at…
Warsaw: Poland’s new coach Jerzy Brzeczek said on Monday that he will retain influential striker Robert Lewandowski as captain and bring in younger players gradually to the national team, heavily criticised for a poor showing at the recent World Cup. Poland were the first European side to crash out of the tournament in Russia in the…
France coach Didier Deschamps said he could replace suspended midfielder Blaise Matuidi with Nabil Fekir and called for his side to be patient in order to break down Uruguay’s defensive organization. Speaking to reporters before Friday’s World Cup quarter-final here, Deschamps said: “This Uruguayan side has a different profile from Argentina. We have to be…
London: Rafael Nadal insisted Tuesday that plans by Wimbledon to introduce a 25-second shot clock will kill off the sport’s capacity for epic Grand Slam confrontations. The US Open will have a shot clock for this year’s tournament with Wimbledon poised to follow suit. World number one Nadal is routinely warned for slow play between points. However,…
Moscow: Despite lingering doubts about the use of video assistant referee (VAR) in Russia, FIFA’s refereeing bosses insisted on Tuesday that it will help — not hinder — officiating at the World Cup. The VAR system has been the source of confusing decisions and long delays while situations are checked during testing in both the German…
MILAN: Italy striker Mario Balotelli said Sunday that giving him the captain’s armband would be a signal against racism in the country. “To be captain would not change that much for me, but it would be a signal to the country,” the Nice striker told a press conference in Turin ahead of Monday’s friendly between Italy and the Netherlands. “I’m in…