England are in good shape to go on a long run at Euro 2016 in France next year, according to their former defender Ledley King.
Roy Hodgson s men have already booked their ticket to the tournament, having won all eight of their Group E qualification matches so far and will attempt to make it a perfect 10 in their last two encounters against Estonia and Lithuania.
King who was capped 21 times between 2002 and 2010 has seen significant improvements in England s displays and feels the faster pace of their attack could prove to be a huge benefit at the finals next year, which begin in June.
I think there is a good youthful squad at the moment, he told Omnisport.
Obviously previous tournaments were disappointing but I believe the players would have learned a…
Czech Republic coach Pavel Vrba heaped praise on his unheralded team, who became the second team to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016 on Sunday.
After Group A rivals Iceland qualified and Turkey accounted for Netherlands 3-0, the Czechs booked their spot at next year s tournament thanks to a 2-1 win in Latvia.
First-half goals from David Limbersky and Vladimir Darida inspired the visitors, who opened up an unassailable lead at the top of the group alongside Iceland.
Vrba and Co. achieved the feat with a squad predominantly made up of locally based players, with 15 of the 23-man squad playing their trade in the Czech Republic.
Only Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech, 33, plays for an elite European club, a stark contrast to the Euro 2008 squad that had players represe…
Italy coach Antonio Conte insisted there was nothing routine about their route to Euro 2016 despite qualifying with a game to spare on Saturday.
Conte s men booked their place in France for next year s competition courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Group H rivals Azerbaijan Eder, Stephan El Shaarawy and Matteo Darmian on target in Baku.
It means the pressure is off going into their qualification finale against Norway in Rome, with Conte pleased to have finished the job.
Now that we have qualified it might have seemed easy, but there was nothing easy about it, he told Rai Sport.
I am happy as we are working well and I saw a team growing, so we must continue this work.
Our fitness levels were important, but we also changed on a tactical level. Th…
Inter were brought crashing back down to earth after their Supercoppa Italiana win as they were deservedly defeated 1-0 by Empoli at San Siro on Monday.
Simone Inzaghi s side looked to be set for a big second half to the season after dismantling champions and rivals Milan in Saudi Arabia last week.
But the Nerazzurri s return to action in Serie A saw them completely out of sorts and beaten by teenager Tommaso Baldanzi s goal following a first-half red card for Milan Skriniar.
Defeats such as these may not now cost Inter in the race for Champions League qualification due to Juventus points deduction, but any remote title hopes appear to have been quickly quashed.
4 Tommaso is the third youngest player able to score at least 4 goals in the Big-5 European l…
Cristiano Ronaldo s 50th club career hat-trick dug Manchester United out of a hole against lowly Norwich City as the under-par Red Devils won 3-2 at Old Trafford.
The 37-year-old s treble was his second in his past three Premier League appearances and took him to 21 goals for the season, going through the 20 barrier for a 16th consecutive campaign.
Ronaldo moved to 99 Premier League goals in his career, and United could only thank him for sparing them a potentially embarrassing afternoon.
He put United two up early on, but Norwich hit back through Kieran Dowell and Teemu Pukki, only for former Real Madrid and Juventus star Ronaldo to lash a free-kick winner through the grasp of Tim Krul in the 76th minute.
David de Gea sprinted from his line to expertly …
Mikel Arteta was impressed by the fighting spirit from Arsenal in a 1-0 Premier League win at Burnley.
The Gunners secured back-to-back victories to double their points tally courtesy of Martin Odegaard s sublime first-half free-kick at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Burnley were flat in the first half but applied pressure after the break, and they were awarded a penalty when Aaron Ramsdale was adjudged to have upended Matej Vydra 20 minutes from time.
Referee Anthony Taylor reversed that decision after being advised to check the pitchside monitor by the VAR.
Arsenal stood firm to win consecutive top-flight games 1-0 for the first time since December 2014 and boss Arteta was impressed with the way they dug in, but knows there is plenty of room for improvement…
Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets admitted the embattled LaLiga giants needed to beat Espanyol after the Xavi era opened with a 1-0 victory in Saturday s derby.
Xavi s first match in charge resulted in three points against city rivals Espanyol at Camp Nou, where Memphis Depay s 48th-minute penalty settled the contest.
Barca have struggled this season, leading to the sacking of Ronald Koeman and prompting the return of club great Xavi, who had been in charge of Qatari outfit Al-Sadd.
Reflecting on the result, which saw Barca move within eight points of top spot before Real Madrid s fixture at Granada on Sunday, Busquets welcomed the win.
We needed this victory for the team to continue to grow and regain our confidence. We have a new coach, a new philosoph…
With the Premier League title chase looking like it will be going right down to the wire, we have what could be a season-defining affair on Tuesday night when Arsenal welcome Chelsea to the Emirates.
Likewise, with definitive battles from across England’s professional tiers throughout Tuesday night, there are plenty of eye-catching betting markets.
For those of you looking to stick on a midweek flutter, we have found a pair of the mist intriguing betting tips that are available.
19:45 Cheltenham vs Peterborough
While Peterborough might have been somewhat disappointed this season as they missed out on the chance to secure an automatic Championship return, Tuesday’s hosts should find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Breezing their way to ano…
Xavi Simons will return to RB Leipzig for 2024-25 after the Bundesliga side agreed another season-long loan deal with his parent club Paris Saint-Germain.
Simons enjoyed an impressive campaign on loan at Leipzig in 2023-24, contributing eight goals and 11 assists as Marco Rose s men finished fourth.
Bayer Leverkusen s Alex Grimaldo was the only player in the Bundesliga to better that latter figure, while only Kevin Stoger (127), Franck Honorat (89) and Julian Brandt (80) bettered his 79 chances created.
He was linked with the likes of Manchester United and Bayern Munich after returning to the French capital, but Leipzig have now moved to bring him back to Germany.
A statement from the club read: Speculation surrounding Xavi s future can finally be put to …
A little over two minutes before the moment that will forever define his career, Manchester City hero Sergio Aguero showed sharpness in the QPR goalmouth that would not have been out of place at Old Trafford.
Old Trafford cricket ground that is, just down the road from City s bitter rivals Manchester United and their home of the same name.
As Edin Dzeko s equaliser from David Silva s right-wing corner bounced back off the netting, Aguero pounced, snaffling it like a short-leg fielder and darting back to the centre circle for City s final tilt at the improbable. It was 2-2, the Premier League title could still be won.
There was certainly nothing wrong with striker Aguero s movement after Joey Barton brazenly tried to dead leg him – one of many surreal and key in…