England s 2018 World Cup campaign chiefs confirmed Tuesday they have made a formal complaint following disparaging comments about London by the head of Russia s rival bid.
In a recent interview with Russian daily Sports Express, Russia 2018 bid chief Andrei Sorokin referred to London s high crime rate and youth alcohol problems, breaching FIFA rules on talking about rival bidders.
Sorokin later apologised but insisted his remarks were true prompting English officials to lodge a complaint against Sorokin to FIFA last week.
We can confirm a complaint has been made to FIFA, a spokesman for England 2018 confirmed.
English officials are believed to be seeking a formal apology from Sorokin rather than have the case heard by FIFA s executive committee ahead of…
N Golo Kante has been named as a surprise inclusion in France s squad for Euro 2024.
Kante has not played for Les Bleus since 2022, but despite the long exodus from the squad, the Al Ittihad midfielder has been named in head coach Didier Deschamps 26-man squad for the upcoming tournament in Germany.
The squad is headlined by Kylian Mbappe, who has plied his trade for Paris Saint-Germain since 2017 but looks set to move to Real Madrid in the upcoming window. Mbappe s PSG team-mate Bradley Barcola makes the squad for the first time.
Also making the journey to Germany will be Olivier Giroud, Antoine Griezmann and William Saliba, though Bayern Munich s Lucas Hernandez misses out through injury.
Among the notable exclusions are Chelsea s Christopher Nkunku and…
England will not be overly reliant on Jude Bellingham at Euro 2024, so says Gareth Southgate.
Bellingham has shined for Real Madrid this season, helping Los Blancos win LaLiga and the Champions League, scoring 23 goals in the process.
He has also become an increasingly important figure for the Three Lions, who are among the favourites at Euro 2024.
Bellingham was given a break in the wake of the Champions League final, and so sat out England s friendlies against Bosnia-Herzegovina and Iceland, with the Three Lions failing to impress in a 1-0 loss in the latter match.
When the topic of Bellingham was raised following that defeat at Wembley, Southgate said: We are not putting everything on Jude.
We ve got a lot of good players and it is a collectiv…
Hosts Ivory Coast will continue to draw strength from adversity as they seek to complete one of the great Africa Cup of Nations comebacks against Nigeria in Abidjan on Sunday.
The Elephants looked down and out after a 4-0 group stage defeat to Equatorial Guinea that led to the sacking of Jean-Louis Gasset and left their tournament destiny out of their hands.
But after squeezing through as one of the best-placed third-placed sides, Emerse Fae has led his side past defending champions Senegal and within 90 minutes of an improbable third continental crown.
Fae, who was given the role on a temporary basis when his side’s future in the tournament was still unsure, said the uncertainty had proved a uniting force in turning their campaign around.
“The way we…
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With what could prove to be an opening weekend thriller from the London Stadium, West Ham will welcome Aston Villa to the capital.
West Ham
Starting with the hosts, getting a new era underway this summer as they appointed Julen Lopetegui, West Ham appear to have plenty of expectations on their shoulders. Despite falling short last season in the race to book another European spot, the Hammers have been heavily active during the summer transfer window and the mood around east London appears to be at a real high. However, struggling to find much of a boost during their pre-season preparations over the past few weeks, the former Wolves boss will know that defensive stability is key. Along with remarkably failing to muster a single Premier …
The Club World Cup will be held in the United Arab Emirates in early 2022, FIFA has confirmed.
The annual tournament featuring the champions of six global confederations, along with the hosts national champions, was originally scheduled for Japan in 2021.
The Japan Football Association (JFA) were preparing to stage the competition for the first time in five years, but a rise in coronavirus cases in the country led to questions as to whether hosting would be profitable.
The JFA subsequently pulled out following discussions with FIFA in September, with president Gianni Infantino announcing on Wednesday that the UAE who have staged the tournament four times before will instead play host to the tournament.
s 6th trophy in 9 months.
becoming the 1st …
Palmeiras are among the favourites to win the Copa Libertadores this year (Luis Moura/WPP/Lancepress!)
Even though the tournament is currently on a break – considering there will be Copa Sudamericana action – it is always a good time to analyse the Copa Libertadores, South America’s equivalent to the UEFA Champions League.
A competition historically dominated by Brazilian and Argentinian teams, this year things might be a bit different. For the first time in the tournament’s history, the Copa will be played from January to November. That’s quite a big change, because last year’s edition went from January to July. There was also an increase of the teams participating, as the number went up from 38 in 2016 to 47 in 2017.
However, more teams don’t nec…
Joselu thanked Real Madrid for everything you have helped me to feel throughout my life , after his departure from Santiago Bernabeu was confirmed.
Los Blancos triggered the option to sign the Spain striker on a permanent basis on Thursday, having spent the 2023-24 season on loan from Espanyol.
However, it was announced just 24 hours later that the 34-year-old, who was previously with Madrid between 2009 and 2012, will depart the club for a second time to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Gharafa.
Despite largely appearing as a substitute, Joselu chipped in with an impressive 18 goals from 49 appearances for Carlo Ancelotti s side last season, including a brace to secure victory in their Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich.
Although, …
Georginio Wijnaldum has given a unique insight into special Jurgen Klopp s man-management methods after revealing the Liverpool boss addressed his team ahead of the 2018 Champions League final wearing Cristiano Ronaldo-branded underwear.
The Reds boss has carved a reputation for his jovial antics and, according to midfielder Wijnaldum, the German s pre-match team-talk for the showdown against Real Madrid for whom then-star player Ronaldo was the chief threat was no exception after he lightened the mood in his own inimitable style.
We saw he was wearing the boxer shorts of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Netherlands midfielder told The Athletic.
He did the meeting with his shirt stuffed inside his CR7 boxers. The whole changing room was on the floor laughing their head…
Isco scored a brilliant double as Spain defeated Italy 3-0 to take a huge step towards World Cup qualification.
The Real Madrid star, playing at his home ground of the Santiago Bernabeu, scored both of his goals in the first half as he continued his magnificent individual year for club and country.
Isco opened the scoring with a superb free-kick and made it two with a low effort, moving on to four goals in his last five internationals as Spain impressed after opting not to start with a recognised number nine.
Italy were more threatening after the break but could not find a way past David de Gea, with Spain substitute Alvaro Morata sealing victory late on as the visitors hopes of reaching Russia suffered a blow.
The convincing win sees Spain, who play Liec…