Verdict: Both teams to score
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After being held to a 0-0 draw against England on Friday night, Joachim Löw s World Cup winning German side will be hoping to register a morale-boosting performance. Die Mannschaft will welcome Euro 2016 runners-up France to the RheinEnergieStadion in Cologne.
Germany
On Friday night, Joachim Löw s usually ruthless German side were unable to overcome an inexperienced England side that handed debuts to five uncapped players. Although Germany will rue their missed opportunities, Löw s side lacked that bite that saw them claim the World Cup in 2014. The German s 0-0 draw with The Three Lions ended a seven-match winning run.
However, the Germans rightfully stand at the top of the FIFA worl…
Italian defender Domenico Criscito could be about to leave Russian giants Zenit, according to his official representative.
The full-back has been flirting with a return to Serie A for a couple of years now despite playing an important role in the side.
Considering that Criscito will be out of contract in June 2018 and has not yet been offered a new deal, a winter exit could now be on the cards for the Zenit captain.
His agent Andrea D’Amico is clearly surprised the 30-year-old has not heard from the club yet about a contract extension.
“Domenico has already stated he’s proud to play for the St Petersburg club and he’s happy to be the captain,” Andrea D’Amico told Russian news agency Tass.
“To date though there have been no offers fo…
Arsenal are interested in signing Nathan Wood from Swansea City in the summer transfer window, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano on . The Italian reporter has claimed that Arsenal are monitoring the performances of the 20-year-old England Under-21 international central defender.
Nathan Wood, attracting interest after 2002-born CB impressed on England U21 debut and been outstanding for Swansea this season. 🏴
Understand Arsenal and Tottenham are monitoring his performances closely.
Swansea looking to try and extend his contract to prevent summer move.
Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)
Wood has been on the books of Swansea since the summer of 2022 when he joined from Middlesbrough. The youngster has made…
Chelsea avoided an FA Cup upset by comfortably beating League One opponents Scunthorpe United 2-0 at Stamford Bridge in the third round.
The Blues suffered an embarrassing 4-2 home loss to Bradford City in last season s competition, but a goal in either half ensured Guus Hiddink s men extended their unbeaten run to five matches since Jose Mourinho s sacking.
Diego Costa scored for the fourth time in three matches to put Chelsea ahead, before Ruben Loftus-Cheek s first goal for the club sealed their place in the next round of a competition that Hiddink won in 2009, during his last spell in charge of the Blues.
Scunthorpe will rue a penalty decision that went against them when they were only one goal down, referee Craig Pawson opting not to punish Ramires second-ha…
Ever Banega is one of the best midfielders in the world, according to Inter president Erick Thohir.
The Argentina international became the Serie A club s latest recruit on Wednesday, signing a three-year deal after calling time on his spell at Sevilla, where he won two Europa League titles.
And Thohir is confident coach Roberto Mancini has had a top-class player added to his ranks as the San Siro club seek to improve on last season s fourth-place finish.
I m delighted to welcome Ever Banega to Inter, read a statement from Thohir on Inter s website.
He s an extremely talented player, one of the best in the world in his position, and he s shown that at Sevilla and with Argentina.
He s a fighter who s used to winning – he s already won some o…
Andres Iniesta has rubbished suggestions he ever considered reuniting with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.
The 34-year-old signed for J.League outfit Vissel Kobe in May after calling time on a long and decorated career at Barcelona.
Reports in England claimed former manager Guardiola would attempt to hijack the deal by taking him to Etihad Stadium in a player-coach capacity.
But the Spain international asserted he would not join a potential opponent of Barca and has now confirmed no discussions were ever held.
Zero. I have seen that in the press it emerged that there had been contact. I tell you that there were zero conversations in that sense, Iniesta told Spanish radio station Cadena COPE.
I left no room for doubt. I was leaving Barc…
Brazil travel to Merida to meet Venezuela on Tuesday for the 10th round of CONMEBOL World Cup qualification for Russia 2018.
Three consecutive victories under new coach Tite leaves the five-time world champions second in the continent’s 10-team group with 18 points, just one point off top spot.
READ MORE:
Neymar nets 300th career goal | In Stats: Brazil s rout of Bolivia | Coutinho earns Brazil starting role
And with leaders Uruguay facing a tricky trip to Colombia, Tite’s Selecao will be hoping to end the international break on top of the group.
To do so they will likely need to complete a double over Venezuela, who were seen off 3-1 on Matchday 2 thanks to a starring performance from Willian in Fortaleza.
At the time it was a vital win f…
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe says he has held really positive talks with the club amid uncertainty over his future.
While Howe has reiterated his commitment to Newcastle, the former Bournemouth boss did suggest there were some frustrations over the club s dealings and concerns about how he would fit into a new structure under sporting director Paul Mitchell.
At the end of June, Newcastle had to cash in on youngsters Elliot Anderson and Yankuba Minteh in order to comply with the Premier League s financial rules.
Howe, meanwhile, has also been touted as a possible replacement for Gareth Southgate, who resigned as England manager in the wake of the Three Lions loss to Spain in the final of Euro 2024.
But speaking after Newcastle s friendly win over Hull …
Neymar hailed the deserved choice of Karim Benzema as Ballon d Or winner, after the Real Madrid star claimed the prestigious honour for the first time on Monday.
But the Paris Saint-Germain attacker criticised the eighth-place finish for Benzema s Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior, with the Brazil international declaring his fellow Selecao star should have finished in the top three at a minimum .
Benzema was crowned the world s greatest player for the 2021-22 season at a ceremony earlier this week, succeeding Neymar s PSG club-mate Lionel Messi while beating out Bayern Munich s Sadio Mane to top spot.
It came after a campaign that saw him lead Carlo Ancelotti s side to success in LaLiga and the Champions League, scoring 44 goals and adding 15 assists.
Neym…
Tottenham Hotspur striker Alejo Veliz is on the verge of joining Espanyol in the summer transfer window, according to Fabrizio Romano. The well-known and well-respected Italian journalist has claimed that Veliz will move to La Liga club Espanyol on loan for next season from Premier League outfit Tottenham.
Romano wrote on : “Tottenham are signing all docs for Alejo Véliz to join Espanyol on loan, NO buy option clause included. Back at Spurs in June.
“Next up: direct contact with AC Milan to seal Emerson Royal deal for €15m fee plus add-ons, almost there.”
Veliz joined Tottenham from Rosario Central in the summer of 2024. The 20-year-old striker moved to Spanish club Sevilla on a loan deal in the January transfer window and returned to the North Londo…