Valencia re-signs David Villa

Juan Antonio Pizzi is confident his Chile side can beat Argentina and the most important player in history Lionel Messi in the Copa America Centenario final.

The 48-year-old took over as coach of the reigning South American champions in January and has inspired an impressive defence of their title in the United States.

However, Chile must now defeat Messi s Argentina at the MetLife Stadium on Sunday night to retain their crown.

The Barcelona star broke Gabriel Batistuta s all-time goalscoring record for Argentina in the semi-final defeat of USA with his 55th international strike, but Pizzi is optimistic despite the scale of the task ahead of his men.

I believe we re going up against the most important player in history, said the Argentine-born coach.<…

England won but looked anything but confident in Andorra for their World Cup 2010 qualifying opener. Joe Cole scored twice to earn Capello s men the victory.

With no goals scored in the first half, England began to show nervous behaviour in the second with pressure starting to pile up.

But Chelsea s Joe Cole saved the day for the side that missed out on Euro 2008, volleying a Frank Lampard free kick past the goalkeeper for 0-1 in the 49th minute.

And another six minutes later, Cole netted his second, this time with preparing work from Wayne Rooney.

England and Andorra were drawn into Group 6, with Croatia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Belarus.

…

Chelsea star Eden Hazard has won the PFA Fans Player of the Year award for the Premier League for 2019.

The Belgium international beat five other nominees from Manchester City and Liverpool to claim the prize, including Virgil van Dijk, the winner of the PFA Players Player of the Year award.

While that particular accolade is awarded based on votes by fellow professionals, the fans prize is determined by a public vote, which concluded on Monday.

Hazard came out on top ahead of Van Dijk, Sadio Mane, Bernardo Silva, Sergio Aguero and Raheem Sterling, who was named the Football Writers Association (FWA) Footballer of the Year.

Hazard s 16 goals and 15 assists in the top flight in 2018-19, the latter of which had already given him the Premier League s Playma…

Bordeaux forward Malcom has reiterated his desire to leave the club at the end of the season, having agreed to delay a January move.

The Brazilian has been linked with London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal following a number of sparkling performances in Ligue 1, scoring eight goals this season, but no transfer took place last month.

However, Malcom is determined that a switch will happen at the conclusion to the campaign, claiming Bordeaux have agreed to do a deal then.

I have already said that I wanted to find a new challenge [in January], he told UOL in Brazil. But I must also remember that Bordeaux have helped me a lot.

I gave my word to Bordeaux that I will stay [this season], to be able to have more time to choose my future club. These next three or …

Augsburg have completed the signing of striker Caiuby from Ingolstadt for an undisclosed fee.

The Brazilian joins on a deal that will keep him at the SGL Arena until June 2018.

Caiuby spent two full seasons at 2. Bundesliga side Ingolstadt, who he joined in 2012 following loan spells with the Bavarian club and MSV Duisburg.

The 25-year-old scored over 20 goals in his stint at the Audi Sportpark and is looking forward to the challenge of playing in the German top flight.

It s nice that I get the chance to play in the Bundesliga again at Augsburg, Caiuby told Augsburg s official website. I am delighted for this challenge.

Caiuby joins an attack that has already been boosted by the arrivals of Tim Matavz, Shawn Parker and Nikola Djurdjic as Augsbur…

Former Juventus man Mauro Camoranesi has urged the club to sign Edinson Cavani in order to help them compete with the rest of Europe s elite.

Cavani spent six and a half seasons in Serie A with Palermo and then Napoli, before a move to Paris Saint-Germain in 2013.

The Uruguay international has netted 18 goals in all competiitons for PSG this season, although there have been reports of a spat between the player and coach Laurent Blanc.

Cavani is a world-class striker, Camoranesi told Tuttosport.

Cavani and [Carlos] Tevez would be a fantastic strike partnership.

Maybe he wouldn t be enough to ensure they [Juventus] won the Champions League, but he d certainly help them make a leap forward in Europe.

It s hard, there s so much competitio…

Aston Villa have confirmed Diego Carlos ruptured his Achilles tendon during Saturday s 2-1 win over Everton.

The 29-year-old, who reportedly cost the Premier League club an initial £26million when he joined from Sevilla in June, was making his home debut.

Diego Carlos arrival was seen as a significant part of Steven Gerrard s attempt to strengthen the spine of the Villa team after an unconvincing end to last season.

But now it looks possible the Brazilian will not play again this campaign after Villa confirmed fears he suffered a serious Achilles injury in innocuous fashion right at the end of the game.

The injury also ends any chance the centre-back – an Olympic gold medallist last year – had of playing for Brazil at the World Cup.

A bri…

Good are every punter’s best friend. They’re lovably risky, and few things can match up to the hype of nailing that 5th selection after a nail-biting bout. With Ladbrokes, you can ensure you’re always one leg up on your next Acca!

Tailored Bonuses for Football Fans

Acca boosts are fairly common in the world of online sports betting, but this bookie decided to take it a step further. Not only can you boost the odds on your multiples, but you can pick from a whole range of accumulator bet bonuses.

Boost: just find the Odds Boost button on your next betting slip, punch it, and watch your betting value shoot up.
Track: the Ladbrokes betting app allows you to keep close tabs on your wagers wherever you are. Sounds good – but the impressive par…

Jack Wilshere has withdrawn from the England squad for Tuesday s international friendly against Italy due to injury.

Wilshere did not travel to Amsterdam for Friday s 1-0 win over Netherlands, Jesse Lingard s first Three Lions goal earning Gareth Southgate s men a narrow victory.

And the Arsenal midfielder, who is suffering from a knee tendon problem, will not be available to face the Azzurri at Wembley.

Jack Wilshere won t feature against Italy and has now withdrawn from the group, England confirmed in a brief statement on Twitter.

Wilshere has not played for England since their shock loss to Iceland at Euro 2016, but forced his way back into Gareth Southgate s plans ahead of the World Cup.

A couple of squad updates as we head to London:

<…

Antoine Griezmann has revealed he had offers to leave Atletico Madrid in the close-season, but never considered a move away.

Griezmann enjoyed a marvellous 2015-16 campaign, scoring 32 goals in all competitions for Atletico before going on to star for France at Euro 2016, netting six times as the hosts reached the final.

The forward was reportedly the subject of interest from a number of Premier League clubs as well as Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain.

However, Griezmann insists he never had any intention of seeking a departure from the LaLiga club.

I have always been clear with my agents: I have no intention of leaving Atletico, Cholo [Simeone] or my team-mates, he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Yes, people came calling but I never list…