France s surprise 2-1 loss to Denmark in the opening game of their Nations League title defence was down to a lack of sharpness, according to assistant boss Guy Stephan.
Substitute Andreas Cornelius scored twice for Denmark in Friday s contest at Stade de France, where Les Blues had taken the lead through Karim Benzema s 51st-minute strike.
The defeat is France s first inside 90 minutes in a competitive game on home soil since losing 1-0 to Spain in March 2013.
It is also the first time the reigning World Cup winners have lost a game in which they have led since going down 3-2 to Colombia in a friendly a little over four years ago.
And at the end of a long season, France coach Stephan – filling in for Didier Deschamps, who is mourning the passing of his…
Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann has signed a new contract to extend his role until after the 2026 World Cup.
Former Bayern Munich boss Nagelsmann was appointed in September last year as successor to Hansi Flick, who was sacked after a poor run of results.
The German FA said: “The 36-year-old’s new contract runs until the conclusion of the next FIFA World Cup in 2026 in the USA, Canada and Mexico. In September last year, Nagelsmann initially signed a contract up to and including EURO 2024.”
Julian bleibt! Alle Infos zur Vertragsverlängerung mit unserem Bundestrainer:
— DFB-Team (@DFB_Team)
Germany, who are hosting the European Championships in June and July, have won their last two friendly internationals, beating France 2-0 in Ly…
Lionel Scaloni believes Lautaro Martinez deserved the Ballon d Or more than anyone after his stellar 2024.
The forward excelled for club and country this year, earning his place on the 30-man shortlist for this year s prize.
Martinez topped Serie A s goalscoring charts as Inter won their 20th Scudetto last season, netting 24 goals in 33 matches, eight more than his closest rival, Juventus Dusan Vlahovic.
His 0.81 goals per 90 minutes was the best of any player in the division, while he outperformed his expected goals (xG) of 17.64.
He carried that form into the Copa America, scoring five goals to win the Golden Boot despite playing just 221 minutes as Argentina won the competition for the second consecutive edition.
Martinez s tally was the joint-…
Mauricio Pochettino has called for calm following his first defeat as the United States boss, insisting he needs more time to get the best out of his players.
Pochettino watched on as the Stars and Stripes fell to a 2-0 loss to Mexico at the Estadio AKRON, with Raul Jimenez and Cesar Huerta on target for the hosts.
The United States struggled for large parts of the contest, managing just one shot on target from the five they attempted, ending with an expected goals (xG) total of just 0.27.
An even bigger cause for concern was that the USMNT s xG came from Brandon Vazquez (0.12), Kristoffer Lund (0.11) and Haji Wright (0.04), all of whom started on the bench.
We all feel disappointed because I think we didn t have all the players that we wanted to have…
Competition: Euro 2016
Market: France to win Group A
Odds:
France have enjoyed a solid international break, picking up two wins from their two friendlies against Netherlands and Russia, and manager Didier Deschamps couldn’t wish for better preparations ahead of this summer’s European Championships.
Les Blues have been in fantastic form over the last 12 months, and boast one of the strongest squads in Europe. The summer tournament is in France which will give them a real advantage, and they’re expected to progress in their group into the knockouts.
Switzerland, Romania and Albania are the three other sides in Group A along with France, and the latter are favourites to top their table to make it through with consummate ease. Switzerland will prov…
Alex McLeish has called up Marc McNulty and Liam Palmer to the Scotland squad for the first time.
Scotland get their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign up and running away to Kazakhstan on March 21 before travelling to San Marino three days later.
McLeish has a big decision to make in goal as regular number one Allan McGregor has retired from international football ahead of the qualifiers.
Jordan Archer, Scott Bain and Jon McLaughlin will compete to wear the gloves for Scotland, while Oliver Burke is recalled.
It s a great blow for us, McLeish told reporters of McGregor s retirement. Allan has been in great form this season for club and country, but I kind of knew this day would come.
We wanted to help him. I gave him a couple of days to th…
Best odds: 4/6
Bookmaker:
Looking to improve on their runners-up finish from last season, Feyenoord will kick off their 2024/25 Eredivisie campaign on Saturday afternoon, hosting Willem II at De Kuip.
While Feyenoord have solidified their place among the dominant forces in Dutch football, their opponents are newly promoted and eager to quickly adapt to the challenges of the top flight.
Feyenoord
Feyenoord spent much of the 2023/24 Eredivisie season chasing PSV Eindhoven at the top but ultimately had to concede their domestic title with two league games remaining. Under the guidance of then-coach Arne Slot, now at Liverpool, De Stadionclub finished seven points behind PSV despite accumulating a club-record 84 points.
The Rotterdam outfit closed l…
England head coach Sarina Wiegman and Spain boss Jorge Vilda will lead their teams into the World Cup final in Sydney on Sunday.
Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at the two coaches.
Dutch courage brings England Euro joy
Having guided her native Netherlands to success at Euro 2017 and then on into final of the 2019 World Cup, where they lost to the United States, Wiegman took over the Lionesses in September 2021. Wiegman, a former captain of the Dutch national team during her playing career who also worked as a PE teacher, went on to lead England to Euro 2022 glory on home soil with victory over Germany at Wembley last summer. The only defeat of Wiegman’s tenure so far came in a friendly against Australia at Brentford in April – and England fans will be h…
Andrea Pirlo has no qualms with Italy head coach Antonio Conte after he was overlooked for the Euro 2016 squad.
Pirlo has played in eight major tournaments for his country, including 2006 s World Cup triumph and a run to the Euro 2012 final.
A move to New York City has scuppered his international hopes, however, with Sebastian Giovinco also failing to impress Conte sufficiently despite an impressive spell in MLS with Toronto FC.
Pirlo was at his playmaking best on Sunday to set up a David Villa goal as NYCFC drew 2-2 with Orlando City, but remained calm on his international snub afterwards.
. earns Star of the Match!
— New York City FC (@NYCFC)
The 37-year-old told Sky Italia: I spoke with the coach. I already knew what I had to do an…
Switzerland booked their spot at Euro 2020 after cruising to a 6-1 win over Gibraltar at Victoria Stadium on Monday.
Their nervy 1-0 win over Georgia on Friday kept them top of Group D ahead of the final round of fixtures and they never looked in danger of relinquishing that position with a dominant display.
Cedric Itten – who scored the winner against Georgia – set them on their way after 10 minutes, with Ruben Vargas and Christian Fassnacht adding further goals after the interval.
The hosts pulled one back through Reece Styche in the 74th minute – just their third goal of the qualifying campaign – but Switzerland reasserted their superiority through Loris Benito, a second goal from Itten and a late strike from Granit Xhaka.
The result meant Vlad…