Canada could cause an upset at the Qatar World Cup, with Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos suggesting they will fly under the radar in a similar fashion to Croatia.
The Maple Leafs secured a long-awaited return to the biggest tournament in world football with a 4-0 victory over Jamaica in Toronto on Sunday.
It ends a 36-year exodus from the World Cup, since Canada s only previous appearance was at Mexico 1986, where they lost all three group-stage matches without scoring against France, Hungary and the Soviet Union.
But Santos – the NFL s first Brazilian player and a keen footballer as a child – feels Canada will have nothing to prove to themselves when they step out onto the pitch later this year looking to make history, drawing comparisons with 201…
Paris Saint-Germain have completed the free transfer of Ander Herrera following his Manchester United departure.
Herrera, 29, ran down his contract at Old Trafford and has subsequently signed a five-year deal in Paris.
United struggled to challenge for major honours on a regular basis during Herrera s time at the club, and he highlighted PSG s recent record of winning titles as a major reason for choosing them.
Paris Saint-Germain are the greatest club in France, he told PSG s website. They keep on improving and compete to win every possible title.
I was looking forward to coming to Paris and to wearing those colours. I hope to continue to make history with the club. Joining this club is an amazing feeling.
I also love the city. Paris is the mo…
Per Mertesacker was taken aback by the standing ovation he received as the retiring Arsenal defender played his final match at the Emirates Stadium.
It was an emotional day in London, where outgoing Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger and Mertesacker featured in their last home game as the Gunners routed Burnley 5-0 in the Premier League on Sunday.
Mertesacker – who arrived from Bundesliga outfit Werder Bremen in 2011 – came off the bench with 13 minutes remaining.
And the 33-year-old German, set to become Arsenal s academy manager next season, was overcome with emotion as he bid farewell to the Emirates as a player.
It s s turn next and he s received a very special guard of honour
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— Arsenal FC (@Arsenal)
It was a…
Daniele De Rossi will not join former team-mate Francesco Totti among the greatest one-club men in football history after his Roma departure was confirmed.
De Rossi has never played for a club other than the Giallorossi but the 35-year-old has indicated he will seek to play on elsewhere before aiming to become a coach.
Defensive midfielder De Rossi was part of the Italy squad that triumphed at the 2006 World Cup and he is expected to leave Serie A for the end of his playing career.
It had been widely anticipated De Rossi would see out his career with Roma, but who are some of the finest players to have only played for one club?
615 Only Francesco Totti (786) has played more games than Daniele De Rossi (615) for AS Roma in all competitions. Legend.
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Market: Belgium win and over 2.5 goals
Odds:
Belgium will be confident of beating Japan and reaching back-to-back World Cup quarter-finals on Monday.
For Roberto Martinez s Red Devils, although they may have made nine changes to the side that faced England last week, Belgium came away with a 1-0 win that saw them top Group G as champions. Now unbeaten in any competition since September 2016, one man Martinez will be looking to carry on his own individual run of form is Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku. Now his countries all-time leading international goalscorer, despite missing the England match with a minor injury, their talisman now has four goals already in the tournament.
As for Akira Nishino side, although nobody expected The Samari Blue to…
Jurgen Klopp says he prefers the rivalry between Liverpool and Everton to other adversarial relationships in the world game, revealing opposition fans are friendly towards him in taxis and pubs.
Klopp s men host Everton at Anfield on Saturday looking to extend a run that has seen them not suffer a derby defeat since 2010.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach knows the importance of the clash to Liverpool supporters, but praised the Merseyside rivalry in comparison to the fierce one his old club have with Schalke in the Bundesliga.
The difference in this derby is that I really like the respect we have for each other in the city, Klopp said to Sky Sports.
In the game there is nothing more important than the result but it is not more than that. That is how s…
Rangers will face Gibraltarian side St Joseph s in the first qualifying round of the Europa League.
St Joseph s beat nine-man Prishtina 2-0 in Tuesday s second leg to progress through the preliminary rounds with a 3-1 win on aggregate.
But Rangers do not know when the first leg of their qualifier will take place as St Joseph s local rivals Europa may also advance, with their match against Sant Julia not taking place until Thursday.
Only one stadium is able to host UEFA-approved fixtures in Gibraltar, so Steven Gerrard s side must wait another couple of days before they can finalise travel plans for their first competitive match of the 2019-2020 campaign.
The second leg will take place at Ibrox on July 18.
will play St Joseph’s of Gibraltar in…
According to Turin-based media outlet , Paul Pogba intends to leave in January and return to Juventus.
It seems the French international s entire career is set to revolve around Manchester United and . He started his professional career in 2010 at Old Trafford and was sold to Juventus having made only seven first-team appearances over two seasons. He established himself as one of world s brightest talents and most coveted players during the four years he spent in Turin, making a total of 178 appearances and finding the ned 34 times from his central-midfield position.
His return to United in 2016 had broken the world-record transfer fee at the time, reported around €100million. It was the signing that, coupled with the arrival of Jose Mourinho to the dugout, was suppo…
Argentina head to their first World Cup since Diego Maradona s death but the Albiceleste great will be there in spirit.
That was the message from Maradona s former agent Guillermo Coppola at the opening of CONMEBOL s Tree of Dreams in Doha to celebrate South America s rich football heritage.
Lionel Scaloni s side are among the pre-tournament favourites in Qatar ahead of Tuesday s Group C opener against Saudi Arabia, searching for a first World Cup crown since a Maradona-inspired triumph in 1986.
There has not been a South American winner of FIFA s top tournament since Brazil in 2002, but Coppola hopes that will change for Argentina in their first outing since Maradona passed in November 2020.
This is going to be the first World Cup that [Maradona] is not…
Liverpool s pursuit of Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi has ended, with the 25-year-old informing the Merseysiders about his decision to stay with the Basque club, according to multiple sources.
Liverpool were prepared to pay the 60 million release clause to sign Zubimendi, with head coach Arne Slot keen to add what he believed was the perfect choice of a new No. 6 for his team. Sociedad, however, exerted strong pressure on the player who, not wanting to spoil the relationship with his boyhood club, decided to stay put as a result.
As for Liverpool, they re now unlikely to pursue an alternative target, with the 2024/25 season starting this week. According to Paul Joyce of , their attempt to sign Zubimendi was an opportunistic one, a chance to sign a player that…