While most eyes may be on the Confederations Cup in South Africa, another important tournament is about to start in Sweden this Monday as eight European times battle for this year s Under-21 crown.
The Netherlands, who won the latest two editions of this tournament, failed to qualify for the 2009 edition. As such, the trophy will certainly change owners.
Bookmakers predict that Spain have the best chance of victory in Sweden, closely followed by England Italy. Germany are considered no more than outsiders.
Serbia and hosts Sweden will need to give it their all if they want to trouble the favorites, say bookmakers, while Belarus and Finland aren t even taken into consideration for a possible final victory.
The tournaments starts with a Group B game betwee…
Mauricio Pochettino praised Emiliano Martinez after the Aston Villa goalkeeper produced a string of saves to deny his Chelsea side in their goalless FA Cup fourth-round meeting at Stamford Bridge.
Villa are five places and 12 points ahead of Chelsea in the Premier League table but there was little to separate them here, although the hosts will reflect on chances missed in the first half by Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer as a shot at settling the tie slipped away.
Martinez was the decisive actor on both occasions, spreading himself well and blocking in one-on-one situations.
Outstanding tonight, Dibu.
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial)
John McGinn had Villa’s best opportunities, first when his clipped effort sailed inches over the bar on the stroke …
Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur are hot on the trail of Benfica winger Eduardo Salvio, .
It is no secret Spurs are in the market for attacking reinforcements and the Argentine footballer is one of the first names on their hit-list.
London Evening Standard has learned that Tottenham had scouts present as Salvio played for Benfica against Vitoria Setubal at the weekend.
Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino likes the fact that the Argentine can play just about anywhere in the final third and is believed to be readying a summer bid for his services.
And while Benfica are open to selling their prized asset, the Eagles are holding out for £25 million.
Eduardo Salvio, 24, has been in fine form ever since he arrived at Estadio da Luz from Atletico …
As Chelsea prepare to welcome former boss Jose Mourinho back to Stamford Bridge, head coach Antonio Conte said the London club remain scarred from last season s failed title defence.
Chelsea coasted to Premier League glory under the guidance of Mourinho in 2014-15 but things quickly turned sour the following campaign as the team flirted with relegation before the Portuguese manager departed in December last year.
The Londoners went on to finish 10th, ultimately missing out on European qualification, something that still haunts Chelsea, according to Conte ahead of Manchester United s visit on Sunday.
When there are these types of season – very bad seasons, because we finished 10th in the table – it s normal that something remains in the players, said Conte.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has come to the defence of record signing Jack Grealish, saying he is not being judged on how many goals and assists he creates during his time on the pitch.
Grealish, 27, arrived at the club last year in a £100million move that made him the most expensive British player in history, but has only been able to contribute six goals and four assists in a City shirt.
He has started one Premier League game this season, and both Champions League fixtures so far, although he has been substituted off in both continental games, including in this past week s 2-1 win against Borussia Dortmund.
Guardiola made an effort to shift the blame away from Grealish when his performance against Dortmund was questioned, pointing the finger at his supp…
Victor Osimhen saw one penalty saved before scoring another as Napoli marked their Scudetto celebrations with a 1-0 win against Fiorentina amid a carnival atmosphere.
Having ended a 33-year wait to win Serie A on Thursday, Luciano Spalletti s men were greeted by a jubilant crowd at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, but two much-changed lineups made for a low-key opening.
Osimhen thought he had missed the Partenopei s best chance for victory when he had a second-half spot-kick saved by Pietro Terracciano, but a foul on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia gave him the chance to atone.
Serie A s top goalscorer hammered home at the second time of asking, ensuring Napoli s long-awaited Scudetto party was capped with three points.
Fiorentina gave Napoli a pre-match guard o…
Former Northern Ireland international David Healy has announced his retirement from international football, .
Healy began his career with Manchester United, though his senior debut – a 3-0 League Cup defeat at Aston Villa turned out to be his only appearance for the club.
The striker then had brief loan spells with Port Vale and Preston North End, before joining the latter on a permanent basis in 2001.
Having played thirteen games on loan at Norwich City, he moved to Leeds United, then to Fulham, the Sunderland before heading north of the border with Rangers in January 2011.
He also turned out for Doncaster Rovers and Ipswich while still on the books of Sunderland, and most recently played for Bury in League One last season, though he was unable t…
Borussia Dortmund must get past old foes Bayern Munich in this week s DFB-Pokal semi-final at the Allianz Arena if they are to keep alive Jurgen Klopp s hopes of bowing out with silverware.
Klopp will leave Dortmund at the end of the season with Thomas Tuchel the man to replace him and is set to take charge of the club in a Klassiker for the final time on Tuesday.
A difficult season for Klopp s side has meant this term s Bundesliga showdowns between the two rivals have been of reduced importance.
However, victory in Bavaria will put Dortmund within one win of salvaging something from a disappointing season and ending Klopp s seven-year tenure on a high.
Saturday s 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt kept Dortmund in the hunt for UEFA Europa Le…
Donny van de Beek is one of the more targeted players in the transfer market. His incredible campaign at Ajax during the 2018-19 season has seen him become a wish of many European clubs. The most notable of them is obviously Real Madrid, who tried to get the Dutch midfielder during the summer. Despite not being able to do so, Real Madrid are reportedly ready to revive their interest in Ajax player next summer.
According to AS, the most decorated European club will be closely monitoring Ajax and Van de Beek throughout the season. If the player continues performing as well as he did last season, then Real Madrid will go all-in next summer in trying to sign the energetic midfielder. Real Madrid are reportedly also looking at Paul Pogba from Manchester United and that potential dea…
Shortly after Guardiola arrived as City manager in 2016 it became clear Hart did not feature in his plans and a loan move to Torino followed Claudio Bravo s arrival from Barcelona.
Bravo s erratic form and understudy Willy Caballero s departure at the end of his contract were not enough to earn the two-time Premier League winner a route back into the City squad in 2017-18 and another temporary switch to West Ham followed as his parent club secured Ederson in a £35m deal from Benfica.
It proved an error-strewn stint in east London, as Hart was dropped by then Hammers boss David Moyes and missed out on a place in England s World Cup squad.
With his career at a loose end and a year remaining on his Etihad Stadium deal, Hart returned to City colours with substitute…