Rickie Lambert has heaped praise on England manager Roy Hodgson for instilling confidence in him ahead of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Lambert edged out West Ham striker Andy Carroll for a spot in England s 23-man squad after netting 13 Premier League goals for Southampton this season.
The 32-year-old s selection caps a remarkable rise as, this time four years ago, just prior to the 2010 World Cup, Lambert had just completed his first season with the Southampton, who were still playing in the third tier of English football.
Lambert is now set to compete at his first World Cup, where England will face Italy, Uruguay and Costa Rica, and he lauded the impact of the man that introduced him to international football against Scotland last year.
He has been brilliant f…
Former Lyon midfielder Juninho Pernambucano has agreed to join his former club Vasco da Gama when his contract with Al Gharafa expires next summer.
The 36-year-old was visibly delighted to have returned to the club where he had spent six very successful years before moving to Lyon.
“Coming back to Vasco is fantastic for because of its two institutions – the magnificent supporters and its president, a simple and good man,” Juninho was quoted as saying.
“I needed to come back and I only needed initiative. In 2009, Rodrigo Caetano sent me an e-mail and we talked. It didn’t work. It lacked a project.
”And this year, even with the help of Rodrigo and Fuentes, Roberto came to Recife and sealed my return here. I am very happy.”
The interes…
Pep Guardiola s last match as Bayern Munich boss ended in a dramatic penalty shoot-out victory over Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal final on Saturday.
A 0-0 draw after extra-time ensured the contest was decided by spot-kicks, Bayern winning 4-3 as Manuel Neuer s save from Sven Bender and Sokratis strike against the post proved decisive, meaning Joshua Kimmich s miss went unpunished.
The victory ensures Bayern win a record 18th Pokal trophy as Guardiola finishes his three years in charge with an impressive double prior to joining Manchester City.
Dortmund are now without a major trophy for four seasons. They have lost three consecutive Pokal finals, the 2013 Champions League final and finished runners-up in the Bundesliga three times in the last four years.
Barcelona will be expected to put their first setback of the 2014-15 season behind them when they face Granada on Saturday.
Luis Enrique s side won their opening five matches of the season in all competitions but were toothless at Malaga on Wednesday, failing to register a shot on target in a goalless draw.
The result which did at least yield a sixth consecutive clean sheet left Barcelona level with nearest rivals Sevilla on 13 points apiece, with Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid two and four points off the pace respectively.
The Barca coach paid tribute to Malaga for keeping Messi quiet but also took the positives from the start that he has made to his Camp Nou tenure.
It s to Malaga s credit that Messi wasn t so involved, he said. But we re still unbeat…
The Mirror understands that Everton are set to complete the signing of Michael Keane from Burnley.
The defender is due to complete his medical with the Merseyside outfit on Monday ahead of signing a five year deal worth £90,000 per week.
Manchester United, who were linked with a move for the centre-back, will benefit from the deal to the tune of around £5m after inserting a sell-on clause in the deal that saw him move from Old Trafford to Burnley in the summer of 2014.
Since arriving at Turf Moor the twenty-four year old has racked up one hundred and eight appearances in all competitions, scoring seven goals.
He helped the Clarets to the Championship title twelve months ago, and was key to them securing their top flight status against the odds last…
When Callum Hudson-Odoi signed a new four-year contract with Chelsea in September 2019, the young winger looked destined for a big future with his boyhood club.
Having come through the club s academy and shown flashes of immense potential with the senior side, Chelsea were desperate to tie him down to a new deal as last year had seen Bayern Munich persistently pursue the teenager.
Chelsea are reported to have rejected at least four offers from Bayern for Hudson-Odoi in 2019, and then, having seen plenty of young homegrown talent afforded chances in the first-team at Stamford Bridge, he eventually put pen to paper.
At the time, that appeared to be the end of the story – Hudson-Odoi would surely go on to become a regular with Chelsea and become the superstar h…
Unai Emery believes he missed out on the chance to become the world s best coach during his time at Paris Saint-Germain because there was no VAR.
The Spaniard won seven domestic trophies in two seasons in the French capital but left in 2018 after failing to mount a serious Champions League challenge.
In their first season under Emery, PSG thrashed Barcelona 4-0 in the round-of-16 first leg only to suffer an astonishing 6-1 defeat in the return match at Camp Nou.
A year later, they reached the same stage of the competition only to lose 5-2 on aggregate to Real Madrid, who went on to lift the trophy for the third season in a row.
Emery thinks his fortunes as an elite-level coach might have been better had VAR been in existence for those ties.
In …
Market: Both teams to score
Odds: 10/11 @
In what could prove to be an action-packed affair from the Red Bull Arena this weekend, New York will welcome New England to town in the early hours of Sunday.
Starting with the hosts, although New York might have signed off June with a thumping 4-0 romp against Atlanta, the Red Bulls certainly came crashing back down to earth last weekend. Eventually slumping to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Columbus, Troy Lesesne’s men have managed to win just a pair of their last seven appearances across all competitions a run that stems back to a 2-1 win against Montreal on May 20th. Still trying to find a route into the play-off places, the former New Mexico boss will also have a growing headache over his side’s extended defensive …
With South America stealing most of Monday’s headlines, Argentina’s elite promises us a string of intriguing affairs.
So, for those of you looking to place a Monday flutter, we have found a pair of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.
18:00 Barracas Central vs Argentinos Juniors
While Barracas Central might have spent the majority of last season looking over their shoulder at a looming relegation scrap, Monday’s hosts have shown plenty of improvements since opening up the 2023 campaign. Continuing to gain a reputation for their rugged approach on either side of June’s international break, Monday’s hosts should be smelling the chance to make another statement here.
Putting in an eye-catching performance earlier in the week as th…
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said he is far from the best defender in the world, following Spain s elimination at the World Cup.
Over the past few years, Pique s name has regularly been mentioned when the question of Who is the best defender in the world? is raised.
But Pique s reputation has suffered over the past 12 months.
After playing in Spain s first match in Brazil, which they lost 5-1 to Netherlands, the 27-year-old central defender was dropped for the following match against Chile and was left out for their win over Australia due to a thigh strain.
Spain returned home in disgrace, while the World Cup debacle for the 2010 champions was yet another blow to Pique and his Barcelona team-mates, who finished the 2013-14 season with just the Supercop…