Former World Cup-winning Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has urged Gerard Pique to continue representing his country after the 2018 World Cup instead of retiring from international football as planned.
Pique announced in October that he will stop playing for Spain once the tournament in Russia is over after growing tired of criticism relating to his perceived pro-Catalonia stance.
The Barcelona centre-back has also often been jeered by Spain supporters during matches.
Del Bosque gave Pique his Spain debut in 2009 and guided the team to success in both the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012, and the 66-year-old wants to see the ex-Manchester United defender continue.
These players have won the right to decide when they want to leave, he said. But I would tell h…
Southampton are interested in signing Danny Ings from Premier League rivals Aston Villa in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Saints are one of three clubs who are keen on securing the services of the former Liverpool striker in the middle of the season.
Ings has been on the books of Villa since the summer of 2021 when he joined from Premier League rivals Southampton for £25 million. The 30-year-old English striker has failed to make a massive impact at the Villans so far, and the club are willing to sell him now.
The former Liverpool striker has made eight starts and eight substitute appearances in the Premier League for Villa last season, scoring five goals in the process. Ings made 22 starts and eight substitute appearances i…
Barcelona star Lionel Messi has lost his appeal against a suspended 21-month prison sentence for tax fraud.
Messi was given the jail term last July after being found guilty of three counts of tax fraud, with it being ruled he had defrauded Spain of €4.1million between 2007 and 2009.
Court documents show the 29-year-old has lost his appeal to the Spanish Supreme Court, with the sentence issued by a Catalan court being confirmed.
Messi will not face time in jail because, according to Spanish law, sentences for non-violent offences under two years in duration can be served under probation and the forward has no previous criminal convictions.
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The Confederations Cup semi-finals are upon us, and players, teams and organisers have been preparing themselves in their own inimitable fashion.
Chile have enlisted the help of former striker Kevin Kuranyi as they prepare to face Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo, who has been the subject of some harsh words from Arturo Vidal this week.
Jonas Hector has done his best to make everybody feel a bit old but Claudio Bravo has been showcasing some skills to prove he is definitely not over the hill.
FIFA reminded everyone of South America s dominance of this trophy with a throwback to the victors of nine years ago.
in 2009, Brazil lifted the after beating USA 3-2 in South Africa
— #ConfedCup (@FIFAcom)
Arturo Vidal was…
North Macedonia fought back to draw 1-1 with Italy in their Euro 2024 Group C qualifier and deny new Azzurri boss Luciano Spalletti a win in his first match in charge.
Spalletti took over following the sudden resignation of Roberto Mancini last month and inherited a side which had already lost to England in their opening fixture.
Ciro Immobile broke the deadlock two minutes into the second half when he headed in a rebound after Nicolo Barella’s volley struck the crossbar.
North Macedonia – who beat Italy in the 2022 World Cup play-offs – got back on level terms with nine minutes left through a fine free-kick from captain Enis Bardhi.
The draw left Italy third in the group, but having played only three matches so far because of their Nations League c…
Monterrey thrashed Sporting Kansas City 5-0 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League semi-final on Thursday.
Dorlan Pabon s brace and goals from Aviles Hurtado, Jesus Gallardo and Nicolas Sanchez saw three-time champions Monterrey all but seal a spot in the decider for the first time since 2012-13.
Sporting will need an incredible comeback in the second leg on April 11, with Tigres UANL – who lead Santos Laguna 3-0 – set to face Monterrey in the final.
It is set to mean a team from the United States has failed to reach the decider since Real Salt Lake in 2010-11.
Pabon opened the scoring in the seventh minute for Monterrey in Guadalupe after a pass from Rogelio Funes Mori.
¡Gol ! El local abre el temprano marcador en el partido de …
Frank Lampard is still trying to work out what sort of player Manchester United s Paul Pogba is but worries that the France international could have too much for Chelsea.
Pogba and United face Lampard s former club Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday, with both sides looking to clinch silverware in a season where they failed to challenge Manchester City in the Premier League.
Former Juventus man Pogba has come in for criticism at times over the course of an inconsistent campaign, and Lampard himself a goalscoring midfielder in his day continues to be confused by his lack of impact.
I don t know what Paul Pogba quite is, Lampard said, speaking at FWA Live. He makes bad decisions as a midfield player, basic decisions, and then he does something fantastic.
Philippe Clement concedes Rabbi Matondo could still leave Rangers before deadline day despite a star turn in the 6-0 Scottish Premiership hammering of Ross County.
The Wales winger has attracted reported interest from Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers in recent weeks but a move has yet to materialise.
If he is to depart the Glasgow giants, he does so on a high having scored twice and assisted two more at Hampden Park – where the Gers have been playing home games while Ibrox undergoes redevelopment work.
Speaking about Matondo s future before the transfer window shuts on Friday, Gers boss Clement said in quotes reported by BBC Sport: There are a lot of rumours [linking him away]. We cannot say no to everything, we ll see this week.
For the moment, Rabb…
In a game that a glance at the Premier League table would ve told us was the game of the season, Leicester City welcomed Liverpool to the King Power Stadium on Boxing Day. It was the 19th round of the campaign and the 19th game for the Foxes, while Liverpool still have a game in hand after missing the encounter with West Ham at the weekend due to the small matter of winning the Club World Cup.
Ahead of the Boxing Day cluster of fixtures, these two teams topped the table with Liverpool in front, and Leicester 10 points behind.
Team News
Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers, who managed Liverpool from 2012 to 2015 and came agonizingly close to winning the title with them in 2013/14, was without the services of midfielder Matthew James who hasn t played for a long time. Winger …
Paris Saint-Germain failed to get off to a winning start under Mauricio Pochettino as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Saint-Etienne in Ligue 1.
Thomas Tuchel oversaw a 4-0 defeat of Strasbourg in PSG s final game of 2020, although it was not enough for the German to keep his job as the defending champions sat third.
And Pochettino was unable to mastermind a victory to kickstart his reign as a rather lethargic PSG struggled to build on Moise Kean s 22nd-minute equaliser.
That goal cancelled out Romain Hamouma s opener, but PSG were ultimately fortunate Saint-Etienne did not snatch a first win over the capital club since 2012, their point enough to move second but three points behind Lyon.
Both goalkeepers were called into action inside the opening 10…