David Beckham insists England won t be motivated by revenge when they bid to seal World Cup qualification against Croatia on Wednesday.
Beckham was part of the England team denied a place at Euro 2008 by Croatia s 3-2 victory at Wembley in November 2007.
That dismal defeat signalled the end of Steve McClaren s reign and ushered in a new era under Fabio Capello.
Under Capello s no-nonense leadership, England have gone on an impressive run of seven successive qualifying victories to move within one more win of reaching next year s finals in South Africa.
The chance to achieve that aim against Croatia at Wembley would be a cathartic experience for England. But LA Galaxy midfielder Beckham is adamant that the players are focused solely on qualification rathe…
Arsene Wenger is certain Thierry Henry will return to Arsenal one day after the striker announced his departure from New York Red Bulls.
Henry s Red Bulls stay came to an end after they lost the MLS Eastern Conference final to New England Revolution at the weekend.
The 37-year-old is yet to reveal his next move, but French compatriot Wenger is confident an Emirates Stadium return is one the cards at some stage.
I understand that he wants to reflect for a while on what he wants to do, Wenger said on Tuesday.
Certainly one day he will come back here. In what capacity, I don t know.
Henry initially moved to Arsenal in 1999 and became a huge hit at the London club, going on to become their record goalscorer with over 200 in all competitions.
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Cristiano Ronaldo is growing a lucky goatee after a joke with Portugal team-mate Ricardo Quaresma.
The Real Madrid superstar headed an early winner as Portugal edged out Morocco on Wednesday, putting the Euro 2016 champions within a point of qualifying for the knockout stages.
Following his hat-trick in Friday s pulsating 3-3 Group B draw with Spain, Ronaldo is leading the race to win the World Cup Golden Boot.
Ronaldo displayed new facial hair for the game and revealed the inspiration for the goatee in his post-match press conference.
Portugal s captain said: This goatee? It s a joke I had with [Ricardo] Quaresma.
We were in the sauna [before Friday s match against Spain] and I started to shave and I left the goatee I said if I score to…
West Ham have reached an agreement with Manchester City over a transfer of Kalvin Phillips, according to several sources. The agreement includes a loan move, with the Hammers having the option to make it permanent at the end of the season.
Phillips has been very keen to leave the Etihad in January. Being an England international, he understandably aims to play at the European Championship this year, and that wasn t likely to happen with the amount of game-time he was getting from Pep Guardiola at City.
Newcastle were long believed to be leading the race for Phillips, needing an addition in the middle of the park to replace the suspended Sandro Tonali. Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Juventus were mentioned as well, all with different suggestions concerning the shape …
Kenya faces a second international stadium ban following outbreaks of fan violence during the last World Cup qualifier against Mozambique in June, football officials said on Thursday.
FIFA s Disciplinary Committee is seeking action after home supporters threw plastic bottles on the pitch as they celebrated the national team s 2-1 victory at the Kasarani stadium on June 20.
The world s football governing body has already banned the favoured Nyayo National stadium from staging qualifiers after Kenya failed to implement safety recommendations.
FIFA also imposed a restricted attendance to 60 percent of the 60,000-capacity at the Kasarani stadium during the match against Mozambique in a bid to maintain the safety of the fans.
These incidents appear to be a v…
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has learned from the mistakes of Rafael Benitez in deciding how to handle Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Bixente Lizarazu.
Benitez missed an opportunity to single out Ronaldo as the best player in the world soon after succeeding Carlo Ancelotti at the Santiago Bernabeu in June 2015.
Having made a bad start, the former Valencia and Liverpool boss then reportedly struggled to win the full support of the Portugal captain and was dismissed in January last year.
Benitez s replacement Zidane appears to have been far shrewder in managing his prized asset, while guiding Madrid to Champions League glory last season.
I can … see how clever he s been with Cristiano Ronaldo, unlike Rafael Benitez, who criticised him when he arriv…
“I am really happy and ever since I first heard about the move I wanted to move here,” Esteve said.
“I have followed the Premier League since being a young child and had only pictured myself ever being here, so I am really excited,” he said.
Plenty more deals look set to be done ahead of the 11pm cut-off, with Fulham chasing a loan deal for Chelsea striker Armando Broja.
PA understands West Ham’s Pablo Fornals has permission to discuss a £7million move to Real Betis, while Said Benrahma is in France undergoing a medical at Lyon.
Mason Holgate signs on loan from Everton for the remainder of the season
— Sheffield United (@SheffieldUnited)
Sheffield United announced Mason Holgate’s arrival on loan until the end of the season…
Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque has recalled Chelsea striker Diego Costa for the forthcoming international friendlies against England and Belgium.
Costa was suspended for Spain s Euro 2016 qualifier against Luxembourg on October 9, although he would have been available to face Ukraine three days later.
Del Bosque opted to omit the former Atletico Madrid star entirely, selecting Juventus Alvaro Morata as his main centre-forward, but names both men this time around.
Midfielders Andres Iniesta and Koke return after injury absences but Manchester City playmaker David Silva remains absent due to the ankle problem he sustained against Luxembourg.
Spain host England in Alicante on November 13 before travelling to face Belgium – recently elevated to number one i…
Milan are reportedly leading the race to sign Dominik Szoboszlai, but the Salzburg midfielder insists he has other options available.
Hungary international Szoboszlai is expected to follow in the footsteps of Erling Haaland and Takumi Minamino and leave Salzburg in the near future.
Inter, Lazio, Arsenal and Leicester City have all been credited with an interest in the 19-year-old, though it is Milan who are said to be in pole position to secure his signature for a fee in the region of €30million.
Szoboszlai has scored four goals and supplied as many assists in 29 appearances for Salzburg in 2019-20.
Asked whether he could see himself playing at Milan or in Serie A in general, Szoboszlai told Stats Perform: I can t say anything about that. If it is going…
Roberto Soldado is desperate to maintain his goalscoring start to the season when Tottenham face Arsenal in Sunday s north London derby.
The Spaniard who joined from Valencia in August has already proved his worth to the club with two goals from the penalty spot in as many league games so far, sealing 1-0 victories against Crystal Palace and Swansea City.
And with the derby match looming, Soldado insists he understands the significance and is determined to continue his goal streak in the coveted fixture.
It’s always important to score goals, especially if they are important to the team and I hope to keep on doing this for the team, he said.
My team-mates have already told me about playing Arsenal it’s the most beautiful derby, the one with the biggest rivalry…