Tottenham Hotspur eye PSG midfielder Idrissa Gueye

Carlo Ancelotti saluted the performance of Vinicius Junior in Wednesday s Club World Cup win over Al Ahly as the Real Madrid forward managed to ignore the recent furore around him.

Vinicius has been become a regular target for racist abuse from fans this season, with footage on social media appearing to show discriminatory remarks being directed at him during Madrid s 1-0 defeat to Real Mallorca on Sunday.

LaLiga launched an investigation into that incident the following day, though it was by no means the first example of Vinicius being abused this term.

The 22-year-old was subjected to racist chanting in both of Madrid s matches with city rivals Atletico Madrid, while LaLiga filed hate crime charges to Spanish courts after similar incidents in December s game wi…

Manchester City director of football Txiki Begiristain is confident that Erling Haaland can get even better  working with Pep Guardiola following confirmation of his transfer to the Premier League champions. 

The 21-year-old has established himself among the best strikers in the world following exceptional displays at Salzburg and Borussia Dortmund, boasting a remarkable record of 86 goals in 89 appearances for the Bundesliga side. 

That provides a daunting task for opposition defenders in the Premier League, and Begiristain has issued a further warning by backing Norway international Haaland to continue to improve and develop under the guidance of Guardiola. 

We have been monitoring Erling for several years now, so we are delighted to bring him here to Manc…

Market: Colorado Rapids win

Odds: 4/6 @

Looking to make an immediate return to winning ways in the early hours of Friday, Colorado will welcome Sporting KC to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.

Starting with the hosts, left frustrated last weekend as they eventually slumped to a routine 3-0 drumming away at Los Angeles, the Rapids will be seeking an immediate response here. Nevertheless, still mustering nine points from their previous four MLS appearances, Chris Armas’ men are still battling it out at the top of the Western Conference table. Appearing to cruise their way to a play-off ticket and making a string of improvements since opening up the 2024 campaign, the former New York Red Bulls boss will be smelling a golden opportunity here. Pencilled in as a standou…

Julian Nagelsmann was frustrated to see Germany s chances of winning a home tournament slip away with defeat to Spain, although retiring midfielder Toni Kroos found cause for optimism for the years ahead.

Despite Florian Wirtz s late strike to cancel out Dani Olmo s opener on Friday, an even later goal from Mikel Merino, in the 119th minute, sent Spain through at the hosts expense.

The 2-1 defeat was tough for Germany to take having worked so hard to get back into the match against perhaps the tournament s standout side in Spain.

Indeed, coach Nagelsmann felt his team deserved more, explaining: It s difficult to hold back the tears. They did not deserve to lose today.

We reacted well after the break. Spain had only two chances in the second half, and we …

A prospective Saudi Arabia World Cup is taking football back to a “dark time”, according to Human Rights Watch.

FIFA confirmed on Tuesday that Saudi Arabia is the sole bidder for the 2034 tournament after a process lasting less than a month and with only interest from Asian and Oceanian federations permitted.

While it still needs to be rubber-stamped, probably at FIFA’s Congress late next year, this appears little more than a formality.

FIFA receives declarations of interest in hosting FIFA World Cup editions in 2030 and 2034

— FIFA Media (@fifamedia)

In a statement to the PA news agency, Minky Worden, director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, said: “FIFA awarding the World Cup without any competition or transpare…

BUFFON ON… SQUAD NUMBERS

I chose 88 because it reminds me of four balls and in Italy we all know what it means to have balls: strength and determination. And this season I will have to have balls to get back my place in the Italy team.

BUFFON ON… VAR

You told us that VAR would be used in clear-cut incidents where there were mistakes, but now you are even checking the replays for a trodden toe or a finger in an ear. It s no longer football… it s turning into water polo. It takes too long. I didn t celebrate when we were awarded a penalty because six minutes had passed.

Six clean sheets in a row for the first time in our history.

— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen)

BUFFON ON… HIS GOAL

More than 25 years ago I made my v…

St Johnstone interim manager Steven MacLean stressed their fate was in their own hands after a home defeat by Motherwell left them in relegation danger.

Saints failed to test Motherwell goalkeeper Liam Kelly during a 2-0 defeat at McDiarmid Park.

Results elsewhere mean they are only five point off the bottom of the cinch Premiership and three ahead of 11th-placed Ross County, with Kilmarnock only two points behind.

Saints now face two away games at Rugby Park and in Dingwall before finishing their season at home to Livingston.

MacLean said: “We aren’t really interested in the other teams. It’s in our hands, we’d rather be in our position than the teams below us.

“We will go to Kilmarnock and be positive. The boys are disappointed but I w…

Luka Modric says now is not the time to discuss his future as Real Madrid prepare for a huge Champions League showdown with Paris Saint-Germain.

Modric s contract expires at the end of June but the Croatia captain has expressed his desire to stay at Santiago Bernabeu.

Madrid will be counting on the midfield maestro to pull the strings when they attempt to overcome a 1-0 deficit and reach the Champions League quarter-finals with home advantage on Wednesday.

The playmaker says he is in no rush to agree terms on a new deal.

i don t really want to talk about this now, there are more important things ahead like Wednesday s game, he said. 

It is a huge game for the club on Wednesday night and i m only focusing on that match.

Modric believe…

Thousands of fans turned out at Old Trafford to bid a final farewell to Manchester United great Sir Bobby Charlton.

The 1966 World Cup winner’s funeral cortege was welcomed with gentle applause as it drove past the stadium’s East Stand and the United Trinity statue, which features Charlton himself, George Best and Denis Law.

Representatives of the club’s under-18 and under-21 teams formed a guard of honour flanking the statue and, behind it, there were numerous black and white photographs depicting Charlton’s long and illustrious career as a player and then a director at the club.

High on the glass wall of the East Stand were two huge black and white photographs – one of Charlton in his Busby Babes playing days and the other of him as the club’s elder…

With the FA Cup making its return this weekend, we have another stacked schedule from across Europe on our hands. So, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found a handful of helpful tips that are worth keeping an eye out for.

Saturday March 19th

BST 14:30 Furth vs Frieburg

Starting with Saturday s guests, last seen putting in another impressive display as they eventually claimed an action-packed 3-2 win away at Wolfsburg, the mood in Freiburg s camp should be at a red-hot high. Gaining a host of plaudits from across Germany this season, it is no secret that Christian Streich s men have their sights set on booking a shock Champions League spot this season. Opening this weekend s fixtures sat with just their goal difference keeping them …