Joachim Low is set to experiment with his Germany side in Wednesday s friendly against Australia, having seen Manuel Neuer ruled out with a knee injury.

The World Cup holders play their first game of 2015 against Asia s champions in Kaiserslautern, before continuing their Euro 2016 qualification campaign against Georgia on Sunday.

Bayern Munich goalkeeper Neuer will not feature on Wednesday but Holger Badstuber and Ilkay Gundogan will likely play along with captain Bastian Schweinsteiger after their respective injury troubles.

Manuel Neuer will not play against Australia. He has a knee problem so we won t risk him and he will play on Sunday, Low told a news conference. 

I m still not 100 per cent sure on how we will set up against Australia but it s po…

Didier Deschamps believes France s patience paid off as they edged to a narrow victory over a cautious Belgium side at Euro 2024.

Billed as the match to look out for in the round of 16, the game did not live up to expectations, though France got the all-important goal when Jan Vertonghen inadvertently turned Randal Kolo Muani’s shot into his own net.

France will now face either Portugal or Slovenia in the last eight, and they have done so without scoring a goal from open play, with two own goals and a penalty making up their current tally.

Deschamps has credited France s persistence following the win against who he believes are a tough side to face.

We made a lot of progress and I think that the opponent was obviously a little bit more cautious, even t…

AC Milan s Suso has raised the tensions slightly ahead of the Milan Derby on Sunday, by saying he was targeted by city rivals Inter for two summers in a row when he spoke to Tuttosport.

Suso s career started at Liverpool in 2012, and in his first season there he made 20 appearances for the five-time European champions. However, he spent the next season on loan at Almeria before joining AC Milan on a permanent basis in 2014. Since then, he had a loan spell with Genoa, but for Milan he has so fa played 103 times and scored 17 goals. Two of those goals came this season, coupled with six assists, and he s been one of the best performers in his team.

Suso revealed Inter tried to sign him both in 2017 and 2018, but changing club colors has never been on his agenda since he ar…

Zlatan Ibrahimovic loved the moment Carlo Ancelotti kicked a cardboard box at his head during a half-time dressing-down of a Paris Saint-Germain match, according to Paul Clement.

The Swansea City boss has worked extensively as assistant coach to Ancelotti and enjoyed a successful spell in the French capital, winning the 2012-13 Ligue 1 title, the club s first since 1994.

Ibrahimovic was a key part of PSG s initial revival following the takeover by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011 and went on to become the club s all-time leading goalscorer.

The striker, who re-signed for Manchester United last month, enjoyed a strong rapport with Ancelotti but the experienced coach admitted last year that Ibrahimovic bore the brunt of his loss of temper during a Coupe de France …

Barcelona recruit Arda Turan insisted returning to former club Galatasaray on loan was never an option.

Turan moved to La Liga champions Barca from rivals Atletico Madrid for an initial fee of €34million last month, though the Turkey international midfielder is not eligible to make his debut until January due to the club s transfer ban.

Galatasaray, where Turan emerged from the youth ranks before joining Atletico in 2011, were considered a short-term solution for the 28-year-old.

However, at an event in Istanbul on Saturday, Turan said: Galatasaray didn t try to take me on loan.

To do that, they would have spent all of the money which they have reserved for the youth team and I don t want Galatasaray to spend a lot of money on me.

Besides, Lui…

Tottenham Hotspur have today confirmed that they have activated a year-long extension on Jan Vertonghen’s contract, meaning that the Belgian will be remaining in North London until at least 2020.

This was a move that was anticipated by many, and it’s a move that kicks the conversation about the 31 year old’s future further down the road. He has been with Spurs ever since 2012 when he made the jump over from Ajax, and with over 200 appearances in the famous white shirt to his name, it’s fair to say that he’s become something of a fan favourite.

Spurs have made no secret of the fact that they want to lock down their top stars to long term deals, and it’s not like anyone can blame them. The likes of Vertonghen, Kane, Alli, Eriksen and more represent what Totten…

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke has highlighted Mats Hummels honesty in making public his desire to join Bayern Munich, stating the defender has behaved impeccably .

Hummels came through the ranks at Bayern before joining Dortmund in 2008, initially on loan, and has gone on to make close to 300 appearances in all competitions, winning two Bundesliga titles and one DFB-Pokal in the process.

The Germany international, whose contract expires at the end of next season, is now hoping to secure a return to the Allianz Arena in a move that has angered the Dortmund faithful.

Watzke, however, was keen to indicate Hummels had followed the right process in admitting his wish to leave and urged the Dortmund fans not to target the 27-year-old in Sa…

Tottenham go in search of a rare Premier League win at Chelsea on Sunday on a high from a stunning victory at Leicester City and David Moyes could return to haunt Manchester United.

Steven Bergwijn scored twice deep into stoppage time as Spurs snatched a 3-2 win at the King Power Stadium on Wednesday, moving above Arsenal into fifth place.

Tottenham have a poor Premier League record at Stamford Bridge, but the European champions have picked up only three points from four Premier League matches.

Moyes takes his fourth-placed West Ham side to his former club on Saturday for a clash between two Champions League hopefuls, while second-placed Liverpool head to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Leaders Manchester City are on the road at Southampton and struggling N…

Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke said it is a dream to play for his boyhood club and believes his team can go all the way in the Champions League this season.

Koke joined Atletico at eight years of age and remembers idolising his team-mate Fernando Torres before the Spanish striker moved to Liverpool.

All of the kids wanted to be like him, Koke told AS.

We’d say: If he can do it, so can we. We had that dream And I was lucky enough to see it come true.

Since making his first team debut in 2009, Koke has played with the likes of Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan and said it was hard to choose one who impressed him the most, but said the current crop could achieve something special in 2016.

[Personally, 2015] was a bit of everything – some compli…

Red-hot Juventus have now closed the gap behind leaders Napoli to mere two points and no doubts they are in a good position to extend the impressive run against AS Roma. The Giallorossi have recorded just one win in last eight matches on all fronts, meaning new coach Luciano Spalletti will have to produce some magic if his side are to avoid defeat in Turin.

Juventus

Juventus experienced plenty of problems in the opening exchanges as the squad rebuilding process lasted longer than expected, but the team started raising their form from September and are now back to their best. The Bianconeri closed the serious gap behind their title rivals in Italian Serie A in no time, while progressing from a very difficult Champions League group, although they were quite unfortuate to be pitt…