Sweden will face Denmark in an all-Scandinavian affair in the Euro 2016 play-offs.
Paris Saint-Germain star Zlatan Ibrahimovic s bid to return to major tournament football, after Sweden missed out on the 2014 World Cup, will conclude with a short trip to Denmark after Sweden play host in the first leg.
The Republic of Ireland, who secured a stunning 1-0 Group D win over world champions Germany to help them towards a play-off spot, will face Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Alongside Sweden and Bosnia, Ukraine and Hungary were the other two seeded nations in the draw at UEFA s headquarters in Nyon. They will face Slovenia and Norway respectively.
Sweden boast superiority in the head-to-head record against their near neighbours, winning 45 to Denmark s 40, though the…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer would not rule out Manchester United players leaving following the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, saying the Portugal star was not signed to sit on the bench .
The Red Devils announced on Friday that they had agreed a deal with Juventus, reportedly worth an initial £12.8million (€15m), to bring the 36-year-old back to Old Trafford subject to personal terms, a visa and a medical.
The signing could not be completed in time for United s Premier League clash with Wolves on Sunday, which was settled by a Mason Greenwood strike in the 80th minute as Solskjaer s men set a new English league record of 28 away games unbeaten.
With an international break now coming up, Ronaldo s first chance to turn out for the club he left in 2009 is likely to be aga…
Dwight McNeil vowed to get my stats up under manager Frank Lampard after the winger joined Everton from Burnley.
The Toffees completed their second transfer raid of the close season on their former Premier League relegation rivals as 22-year-old McNeil followed James Tarkowski from Turf Moor to Goodison Park.
Burnley s slide into the Championship has seen a flood of senior stars leave the club, as Vincent Kompany becomes the permanent successor to manager Sean Dyche and looks to shape them for a shot at an immediate return to the top flight.
England Under-21 international McNeil leaves after 147 appearances for Burnley, including their brief Europa League campaign of 2018-19, and has signed a five-year deal, with the deal reportedly worth up to £19million.
When Graham Potter landed his first managerial role in the fourth tier of Swedish football in January 2011, few would have expected him to be leading one of the Premier League s elite teams within little over a decade.
But after overseeing Brighton and Hove Albion s fine start to the Premier League season, Potter has stepped up to succeed Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea.
It remains to be seen how Potter, a coach with high potential, fares with new owner Todd Boehly but his arrival in west London marks the culmination of one of the most intriguing coaching journeys in recent memory.
From Ostersunds to Chelsea, Potter s rise has been Football Manager-esque.
Here, Stats Perform delves into his coaching career to date and what it could mean for the Blues.
Fr…
Pat Noonan says it was always just a matter of time before FC Cincinnati found their feet, as they look to set a new club record for successive MLS wins against Toronto FC at BMO Field.
Last year s Supporters Shield champions have won their last six matches, equalling the best streak in their league history, which they achieved last campaign.
They trail Eastern Conference leaders Inter Miami by just one point with a game in hand, having turned their season around after a slow start.
Noonan believes time spent on the training ground, particularly with offseason arrivals, has been the major factor.
I think it s just about the understanding of some of the roles. With new faces, that always takes time, Noonan said.
We ve had 13 or 14 games together …
Steve Mandanda has extended his Marseille contract until 2024.
The OM captain and goalkeeper had been set to leave the club at the end of the 2020-21 season.
A three-year extension will, a Marseille statement said, allow Mandanda to add even more to the legend .
The 35-year-old, who will be 39 when his new deal expires, has made a club-record 549 appearances for OM.
An
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Mesut Ozil described Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest athletes in sports history and does not believe his former Real Madrid team-mate is being shown sufficient respect in the twilight of his career.
Free agent Ronaldo has fallen out of favour at club and now international level, having been named among the substitutes for Portugal s 6-1 win over Switzerland on Tuesday.
The five-time Ballon d Or winner is also currently without a club after his contract with Manchester United, where he struggled for playing time, was terminated by mutual consent.
Ronaldo s replacement on Tuesday, Benfica youngster Goncalo Ramos, scored a hat-trick against Switzerland and is now set to keep his place for Saturday s quarter-final tie with Morocco.
Um grupo demasiado…
Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma paid tribute to Azzurri coach Roberto Mancini after Saturday s 2-0 win over Greece secured their place at Euro 2020 with three matches to spare.
Italy went into the match at Rome s Stadio Olimpico having won each of their first six Group J matches and knew another victory would confirm their participation in next year s tournament.
It was by no means plain-sailing against a Greece side who set up to frustrate Italy, with Mancini s side barely troubling the visitors defence in the first half.
But Andreas Bouchalakis blocked a Lorenzo Insigne shot with his arm just past the hour and Jorginho dispatched the penalty, before Federico Bernardeschi s late strike wrapped the win up.
And Donnarumma applauded the impact of Manc…
Getting the new Premier League campaign underway on Friday night, Manchester United dragged themselves to a late 1-0 victory against Fulham at Old Trafford.
Watching Bruno Fernandes miss a pair of golden opportunities in the first-half Erik ten Hag’s side appeared destined to settle for an uninspiring start to proceedings here.
However, while Fulham might have enjoyed large spells of dominance on either side of the half-time break, the Cottagers were eventually left heartbroken as summer recruit Joshua Zirkzee opened his Premier League tenure with a sensational cameo appearance.
Coming off the bench and sweeping home with just three minutes left on the clock, United would have simply been glad to have got the new campaign with a crucial victory on home soil.
Pep Guardiola has claimed Manchester City would be “killed” if they spent the sort of sums being coughed up by Chelsea over the last 12 months.
City’s spending has long been scrutinised since Sheikh Mansour’s takeover in 2008, with the club still facing 115 Premier League charges for alleged breaches of financial regulations.
But Guardiola insisted their approach had always been prudent, in contrast to that taken by Todd Boehly’s ownership group at Stamford Bridge, where the arrival of former City academy star Romeo Lavia this week had taken spending to nearly £1billion since the start of last summer.
on the grind!
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
City, who have signed Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic in this window, could go back into…