Cancelo tests positive for COVID-19, Dalot called up by Portugal

Alberto Zaccheroni is eager to see the improvement Japan have made since last year when they open their FIFA World Cup campaign on Saturday.

Japan featured at the Confederations Cup last June after winning the 2011 Asian Cup but they failed to win a game in Brazil.

The Asian champions were beaten by host nation Brazil (3-0), Italy (4-3) and Mexico (2-1).

Japan are now back in Brazil a year later and Zaccheroni said he believes his team have matured on the eve of their Group C clash against Ivory Coast.

I don t like to make proclamations, I m a man who has his beliefs, said the Italian. I believe the team has improved.

In the last important competition, the Confederations Cup, we failed the maturity test.

Since then, 12 months have gone, in the meantim…

Benfica boss Jorge Jesus has added fuel to speculations linking star forward Rodrigo Moreno with a summer switch to Liverpool.

The talented footballer was recently purchased by an investment fund, and he is widely tipped to leave Estadio da Luz at the end of the season.

Following some very good displays in Primeira Liga and Europa League, Rodrigo has been linked with Premier League giants Liverpool.

And speaking after the Europa League clash against Tottenham, Jorge Jesus has all but confirmed the transfer talk.

It s normal. Every Benfica player is in a big window, Jesus told reporters. The league is full of high quality players so it s normal for other clubs to be interested. Rodrigo is going through a good moment.

Rodrigo Moreno Machado joine…

Two of the Premier League s form sides meet on Saturday when AFC Bournemouth host Crystal Palace, and Eddie Howe is delighted by the way his team have handled life in the top flight.

Famous wins over Chelsea and Manchester United were followed up by a victory over West Brom, results that see Bournemouth unbeaten in five games and up to 14th in the table, four points clear of the bottom three.

Howe has been impressed by how his players have remained level-headed in their approach through good and bad times this season ahead of the match against Palace.

I would say we have been pretty consistent I wouldn t say the spirit is any higher than it has been at any other time, he said at his pre-match media conference.

People may find that hard to believe, b…

Keylor Navas will never be good enough for Real Madrid / Image via bluemaize.net

 
He cried himself to sleep on the transfer deadline day in 2015, disappointed that his efforts were never quite appreciated at Santiago Bernabeu.

But waking up the very next morning to the news that David de Gea’s agreed transfer to Real Madrid collapsed because of the papyrology and missed deadline, Costa Rica international goalkeeper decided to turn the new page and work harder than ever to prove his worth to the Real Madrid hierarchy.

The 30-year-old shot stopper signed a six-year contract with Real Madrid in 2014 which was the biggest prize and acknowledgment of his fantastic FIFA World Cup in Brazil, when Navas kept three clean sheets in five matches and dazzled with a string…

Mauricio Pochettino will be without Neymar and Leandro Paredes for Paris Saint-Germain s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig on Tuesday as his list of absent players continues to grow.

Brazil star Neymar returned from the international break with an adductor issue after impressing with a goal and two assists in a 4-1 win over Uruguay.

Paredes, meanwhile, was replaced in the second half of Argentina s 1-0 victory against Peru due to a problem in his right quadriceps and will also be unavailable.

The pair join Sergio Ramos – who is still yet to make his PSG debut – on the injury list, while Angel Di Maria is suspended and Mauro Icardi is a doubt after missing training due to personal issues.

The priority is always the health of the players,  Poche…

Beijing Guoan and Shaanxi Chanba both were 2-0 winners in the opening round of the Chinese Super League on Sunday.

Beijing Guoan s 2-0 victory at Jiangsu Shuntian saw them claim top spot in the league after just one match, with both goals coming in the space of three second-half minutes.

After a cagey opening, the 2009 champions claimed the lead after 58 minutes when Wang Changqing hit the back of the net after he was left unmarked at the far post.

The hosts hit back with an attack of their own, but were hit with the ultimate sucker punch when Guoan grabbed their second on the counterattack.

Honduran international Walter Martinez kick-started the move with a nice run, before cutting in from the left and setting up Australian Joel Griffiths, who made no m…

A report in newspaper Bild has claimed Germany coach Joachim Loew is the frontrunner to succeed Louis van Gaal at Bayern Munich.

The news comes despite the fact Loew is still under contract to the national squad until the end of the 2011/12 season.

The 51-year-old has been manager of Germany for four-and-a-half years since stepping up from his role as Jurgen Klinsmann s assistant in the wake of the 2006 World Cup, with impressive performances at Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup further bolstering his credentials.

Bayern have struggled to build on the successes of last Bundesliga season, which saw them complete a domestic double and finish as runners-up to Inter Milan in the UEFA Champions League.

A 3-1 defeat to Hannover at the weekend finally forced …

Niko Kranjcar will spend a second consecutive season on loan at QPR, after signing on again for the London club from Dynamo Kiev.

Kranjcar, 30, represented QPR 31 times in the Championship last season, helping the Loftus Road outfit back into the Premier League.

The Croatia international, who has worked under Harry Redknapp previously at Portsmouth and Tottenham, said QPR was a club close to his heart after signing up for another campaign on Monday s deadline day.

It s a great feeling to be back, it feels like home. I felt a special emotion with the club and the fans, Kranjcar said in a press release.

The fans were phenomenal last season. I had a great relationship with them and hopefully it s only going to get better.

I really feel happy here,…

Ivory Coast coach Sabri Lamouchi has warned that qualifying from Group C at the FIFA World Cup will be easier said than done.

Lamouchi s team will take on Colombia, Japan and Greece in Brazil, with their opening fixture coming against Alberto Zaccheroni s side on Saturday.

Many see an Ivorian team containing the likes of Yaya Toure, Didier Drogba and Gervinho as favourites to progress to the last 16.

However, the African nation were eliminated in the pool phase at both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups, leading to Lamouchi to call for a sense of perspective when it comes to their chances this time around.

If you know football, you could say that it s open (and) evenly balanced, but certainly not easy, he told L Equipe.

I think that the four teams are level. Each…

Martin O Neill has signed a new deal with Republic of Ireland, which will keep the manager in the role through the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign.

Along with O Neill, assistants Roy Keane, Steve Guppy, Seamus McDonagh and Steve Walford have also agreed new contracts.

Former Leicester City, Celtic and Aston Villa boss O Neill was appointed to the job in November 2013, following their failed bid to reach the 2014 World Cup under Giovanni Trapattoni.

O Neill successfully led Ireland to Euro 2016, as they came through a two-legged play-off with Bosnia-Herzegovina, prevailing 3-1 on aggregate.

Their European Championship campaign gets under way with a Group E meeting with Sweden on Monday, and Tuesday s news comes as a welcome boost ahead of a tough-looki…