Spain head coach Julen Lopetegui believes Dani Carvajal will play a part in the World Cup but the Real Madrid right-back may miss the opening two matches in Group B.
Carvajal suffered a hamstring strain during Madrid s 3-1 Champions League final win over Liverpool at the end of last month but joined up with Lopetegui s World Cup squad to continue his rehabilitation.
Featuring in Spain s much-anticipated tournament opener against Portugal in Sochi next Friday appears unlikely but Lopetegui is satisfied with the 26-year-old s progress.
You have to hold him back slightly, but I m sure he ll be ready, the former Porto boss told a news conference ahead of La Roja s final warm-up match against Tunisia on Saturday.
You want him to take two steps forward inste…
The United States first international friendly on Cuban soil since 1947 ended with Chris Wondolowski and Julian Green inspiring a 2-0 win, as the hosts wasted several chances.
The two countries restored diplomatic relations in July 2015 after decades of political tension and Friday s meeting was their first in Cuba in any capacity since a World Cup qualifier in 2008.
USA unsurprisingly looked superior technically, but the Cubans enjoyed the better chances throughout, with Ethan Horvath forced into a few saves before the break.
Horvath was then rescued by the post in the second half as Maykel Reyes went close, just a few moments before substitute Wondolowski opened the scoring at the other end.
Cuba struck the post again through Alejandro Gomez and were m…
Paris Saint-Germain s Edinson Cavani continues to benefit from the departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and could have the Swede s club scoring record in his sights after moving second on the all-time list.
Cavani netted twice as PSG brushed aside Bordeaux 4-1 away from home in the semi-finals of the Coupe de la Ligue on Tuesday.
His strikes at Stade Matmut Atlantique saw him draw level on 109 goals with club great Pauleta, who lit up the Parc de Princes from 2003 to 2008.
109 has now equalled Pedro Miguel Pauleta scoring his 109th goal with Paris in all comps. Legend.
— OptaJean (@OptaJean)
Cavani has some way to go if he is to catch Ibrahimovic, who has 156 PSG strikes to his name.
But at 29, the Uruguay international has plenty of time …
According to the , Arsenal are working hard to strengthen every department within Mikel Arteta s squad this summer.
As the battle for the signature of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice intensifies, Arsenal are expected to make another offer soon. They ve already seen two of them rejected, followed by one from Manchester City that was also shot down by the Hammers, who apparently want no less than £100 million to let their captain go.
Rice has expressed a desire to join Arsenal already, but it is thought that the interest of the 2022/23 treble winners might cause some mixed feelings for the 24-year-old England international.
Meawhile, an agreement with Chelsea over the transfer of forward Kai Havertz is believed to be already in place, and the move of the Germany …
Milan beat Barcelona 4-3 on penalties after a 2-2 friendly draw in which Robert Lewandowski scored twice for the Blaugrana.
The Rossoneri stormed into a 2-0 lead inside 15 minutes at M T Bank Stadium on Tuesday.
Having teed up Luka Jovic s opener with a neat ball across the six-yard box, United States star Christian Pulisic further delighted the American crowd with a dazzling run and finish to double Milan s lead.
Cutting in from the left, Pulisic skipped beyond his marker before lashing a fine effort high into the roof of the net from a tight angle.
Yet Barca were back in the contest in the 22nd minute when Lewandowski coolly picked out the bottom-right corner from the edge of the area.
A slick move from Hansi Flick s team saw them draw level mi…
RedBird Capital Partners have agreed a €1.2 billion deal to complete their takeover of Milan.
The American private investment firm on Wednesday confirmed a definitive agreement has been reached to acquire the Serie A champions from Elliott.
RedBird, who have a stake in Liverpool s owners Fenway Sports Group, are expected to officially take the Rossoneri over in September.
Elliott will retain a minority financial stake in the club and its own representatives on the board of directors,
A statement on Milan s website said RedBird s aim will be to get Milan back to the top of world football on the back of the club s first Scudetto in 11 years.
Gerry Cardinale, founder and managing partner of RedBird, said: We are honoured to be part of the ill…
There s a real problem in English football when it comes to recognising our failures. As a society, and as a country, we ve spent years being told that England and the United Kingdom as a whole is one of the greatest entities in politics, sport and pretty much every other facet of life.
We ve built entire songs and cultures around our love of the beautiful game and while that s a great thing, it does mean we put a little bit too much emphasis on our success stories. Alas, the success stories only seem to count when a piece of silverware is involved, which is why the year 1966 is still so important in the present day.
The last couple of years have seen genuine pride being restored to the England national team for the first time, arguably, since 1990, when Bobby Robson gu…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said his management style is inspired by legendary Manchester United boss Alex Ferguson after landing the role of caretaker manager at Old Trafford until the end of the season.
Former striker Solskjaer was confirmed as an interim replacement for Jose Mourinho on Wednesday after the Portuguese had been relieved of his duties 24 hours earlier.
Solskjaer spent 11 years playing under Ferguson, winning six Premier League titles, two FA Cups and the 1999 Champions League final, in which he scored the winning goal to complete a famous treble.
I get my managerial style from him [Ferguson], Solskjaer told MUTV. He s been the biggest influence, but I m a different personality. I ve got to be myself.
I like people, speak to people, engage with…
Manchester City will get the chance to defend their EFL Cup title in the final against Aston Villa after beating Manchester United 3-2 on aggregate, despite Nemanja Matic – who was also sent off – inflicting a 1-0 defeat in Wednesday s second leg.
City produced a wonderful display in the first meeting at Old Trafford and were arguably unlucky to only win 3-1, though it proved to be enough to send Pep Guardiola s men to Wembley even though they failed to meet expectations at home.
Despite finding themselves under extreme pressure at times in the first half, United managed to go into the break ahead thanks to Matic s satisfying strike in the 35th minute, casting some uncertainty over City s command of the tie.
But United were unable to use that goal as a launch…
Manchester United must splash the cash to sign Tottenham striker Harry Kane and become title challengers, insisted Danny Murphy.
Kane s future at Tottenham is up in the air after the Spurs star said he will not stay for the sake of it as the England frontman eyes silverware.
Premier League rivals United and LaLiga giants Real Madrid have been linked to the 26-year-old, who won back-to-back Golden Boot awards in 2016 and 2017.
Former Tottenham and England midfielder Murphy believes Kane is the last piece of the puzzle for United, who have not claimed the Premier League title since 2012-13.
Manchester United are closer to challenging for the Premier League title and Champions League than many people think, Murphy wrote in a column for the Daily Mail.<…