Spain coach Vicente del Bosque said on Tuesday he was confident his squad would go to the World Cup in good shape despite fitness doubts over stars such as Liverpool forward Fernando Torres.
There s still a month and a half to go before we get to work and I think there is time for pretty much everyone to be fine, said the former Real Madrid coach, who added that injuries were part and parcel of things for this stage of the season. I think almost everyone will get there in good shape.
But he added that we can t go with five or six men in cotton wool and so should someone not make it, there are some great guys waiting in the wings .
On Monday Torres said he felt sure he would recover from knee surgery in time for the World Cup finals in South Africa.
Th…
Former president Nelson Mandela welcomed the World Cup trophy to South Africa on Thursday before the coveted gold statue begins a tour of the country ahead of next month s World Cup.
For us there was no way that the trophy would arrive in the country and not being brought first to Mandela, FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke said in a statement.
Nelson Mandela was one of the architects of this FIFA World Cup.
Football governing body FIFA sent the gold-and-malachite trophy on a 134,014-kilometre (83,272-mile) world tour that stopped in every African country ahead of the June 11 kick-off of the continent s first World Cup.
The trophy will head next to the township of Khayelitsha outside Cape Town, where it will start the final leg of its tour, stopping…
Josh King revelled in a special moment as his second-half strike was enough for AFC Bournemouth to sink his former club Manchester United 2-1 at the Vitality Stadium.
Pacy forward King spent five years at Old Trafford before departing for Blackburn Rovers on a permanent deal in 2013, joining Eddie Howe s side in the most recent close-season.
And the 23-year-old was the hero for Bournemouth as he finished a wonderfully worked corner in the 54th minute to settle Saturday s Premier League contest as the hosts recorded another famous win following their shock 1-0 victory at Chelsea last week.
It meant a lot. Coming from United, I was there five years and spent a lot of time there, he told Sky Sports.
I ve moved on now. I just try to do my best every we…
Nicolas Anelka has been appointed player-manager of Indian Super League side Mumbai City.
Anelka was retained by Mumbai in June after making seven appearances for the club in the inaugural Super League season.
And the former Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal, Real Madrid, Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea player has now been given control of the team, with Mumbai naming him as successor to Peter Reid.
The Frenchman s only coaching experience came at Shanghai Shenhua, where he spent a brief stint as player-coach in 2012.
Anelka first game in charge comes on October 5 as Mumbai host Pune City in their season opener.
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Real Madrid played Deportivo Alaves at their Castilla side s stadium of Alfredo Di Stefano on Friday evening in the game that rounded of the 35th round of the 2019/20 La Liga season. The hosts were playing for the points to get away from Barcelona who came within a point in the title race, and Alaves came hoping for anything to help them secure top-flight survival, hanging just three points above Mallorca who topped the relegation zone.
Team News
Real boss Zinedine Zidane was without captain Sergio Ramos and right-back Dani Carvajal through suspension. Eden Hazard was believed to be out due to a reported recurrence of an ankle problem, but the former Chelsea winger made the bench.
Thibaut Courtois was in goal. Raphael Varane and Eder Militao paired up in the heart of d…
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Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen will face each other in the Bundesliga this week. The match at the Allianz Arena is slated to kick off at 7:30pm UK time and promises to be a cracking game of football.
Bayern Munich
Bayern Munich are at the top of the Bundesliga table at the moment with 68 points from 29 matches, seven points ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig. The German giants will head into the match against Bayer on the back of a 3-2 victory over VfL Wolfsburg away from home in the league.
The build-up to the game on Tuesday evening, from Bayern’s perspective, has been overshadowed by the decision of head coach Hansi Flick to announce in public that he wants to leave at the en…
(GSM) Spanish playmaker Mikel Arteta is reportedly set to snub a potential move to Manchester United by committing his future to Everton.
The Sunday Mirror claims Arteta will pledge his future to the Toffees this summer because he feels he owes the club his loyalty after they helped him through his injury problems.
United are monitoring Arteta s negotiations over a new contract, with Sir Alex Ferguson plotting a £10million bid for the talented Spaniard.
Arteta s contract at Goodison runs out next year and there has been a deadlock in negotiations so far this summer.
But the midfielder who was left out of Spain s World Cup squad is set to sit down with Everton boss David Moyes during the tournament in South Africa and will commit himself to the club.
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As South Africans savoured the final days of the World Cup, the government Thursday hammered out plans to use the tournament s good spirits to stamp out simmering anti-immigrant sentiments.
The nation has rallied around fellow African teams in the tournament and celebrated with foreign fans, but government is concerned at fears among poor immigrant communities of xenophobic violence.
Anti-foreigner attacks left 62 people dead across South Africa in May 2008, and community groups say tensions have risen again.
The police ministry, the ruling African National Congress, and even Nelson Mandela s foundation have all made forceful statements against xenophobia.
Government later Thursday was set to lay out plans to ease anti-foreigner sentiments, after the Wor…
Alan Shearer has hit out at Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal over his inability to build a winning team and has accused the Dutchman of letting his team play boring football.
United currently sit fifth in the Premier League table with seven points from four games and Shearer is not impressed with their performances so far this campaign, stressing that Saturday s match versus Liverpool is a must-win for the Old Trafford side.
I would argue Louis van Gaal cannot even afford to draw the game against Liverpool, Shearer writes for The Sun.
He has been asking for more time for his team to blend, for young players to develop etc. Time is up I m afraid the time is now.
You cannot oversee the changes he has made, backed by hundreds of millions, and …
Southampton F.C. manager Ronald Koeman is prepared to give midfielder Gaston Ramirez another chance to prove himself at St Mary s.
The Uruguay international, 24, joined the Saints from Italian Serie A side Bologna for a then club-record fee of £12 million in the summer of 2012.
However, Ramirez s three-year spell in Hampshire has been largely unsuccessful. The 24-year-old s last start for the Saints came on 12 April 2014 against Cardiff City.
But Ramirez came off the bench in Wednesday s 6-0 Capital One Cup rout of MK Dons, and Koeman has suggested more first-team opportunities could be on the horizon for the Uruguayan.
What s changed? What has changed is we passed the transfer window, the Koeman said. We had some injuries with some p…