Gareth Southgate hailed the togetherness and spirit demonstrated by England, but acknowledged the need to improve ahead of their Euro 2024 quarter-final with Switzerland.
The Three Lions were considered one of the pre-tournament favourites to go all the way in Germany, but have produced generally underwhelming displays in their four matches so far.
England topped Group B despite winning just one of their three games, and were just seconds away from a humbling last-16 exit against Slovakia, until Jude Bellingham s sublime acrobatic effort spared their blushes.
Harry Kane then completed the turnaround in the early stages of extra time, as Southgate s relieved side scraped through to the last eight by the skin of their teeth.
Nevertheless, the England boss i…
Sam Vokes has signed a new contract with Burnley, the club have .
Vokes started out at Bournemouth in 2006 and moved to Wolverhampton Wanderers two years later. After a host of loan spells across England, he finally arrived at Turf Moor in 2012 and he s been there ever since, accumulating 246 appearances and bagging 63 goals for the Clarets so far. He also has 11 strikes to his name from 60 caps for Wales, including a stunning goal against Belgium at UEFA s Euro 2016 in France.
Vokes 20 goals in the 2013/14 season were a very important factor in Burnley s promotion to the Premier League as he struck up a formidable partnership with Danny Ings, and having returned to the Championship the following season, Vokes was once again of huge influence as they finished the 2015/1…
Romelu Lukaku marked his Champions League bow with a goal as Manchester United cruised past Basel 3-0 on their return to the competition.
Lukaku netted his sixth goal in as many games for United, back in the competition for the first time in two years, to help them secure all three points at Old Trafford.
Jose Mourinho handed Paul Pogba the captaincy, but his time wearing the armband was shortlived as a hamstring injury forced the midfielder off in the 19th minute.
Ironically, that moment led to United s opening goal with Pogba s replacement, Marouane Fellaini, nodding home Ashley Young’s centre in the 35th minute.
Any hope of a Basel comeback was snuffed out 10 minutes after half-time when Lukaku powered a strong header into the corner.
A fine…
Watford have completed the signing of Alessandro Diamanti on a season-long loan from Chinese outfit Guangzhou Evergrande.
The 32-year-old attacking midfielder arrives at Vicarage Road for the 2015-16 Premier League season subject to international clearance.
Diamanti headed to China from Bologna in 2014 having previously spent a season in England s top flight with West Ham.
The 17-times capped Italy international scored seven goals in 28 matches during his previous Premier League stint in 2009-10 and will be charged with helping his new club avoid relegation back to the Championship.
Diamanti spent the second half of last season on loan at Fiorentina and counts Brescia and Livorno among his other former clubs.
Watford have opened their campaign w…
Chelsea star Eden Hazard said he will decide his future at the end of the season amid ongoing links with Real Madrid.
Hazard s Chelsea contract expires in 2020 and a potential move to Champions League holders Madrid continues to dominate headlines.
After reaching a century of goals for Chelsea in their 2-1 win over Watford in the Premier League on Wednesday, Hazard said: I am just focused on the pitch.
The 27-year-old added: I will see at the end of the season.
Belgium international Hazard – who has 101 goals for Chelsea since arriving from Lille in 2012 – has found the back of the net 10 times in the Premier League this season while tallying nine assists.
Chelsea are fourth and 11 points off the pace ahead of Sunday s trip to Crystal Palace…
Leicester City were crowned champions of England on Monday, leaving Andy King stunned by his journey from League One midfielder to Premier League winner.
Wales international King was part of the Leicester side that secured promotion from the third tier in 2008-09 and was able celebrate reaching the pinnacle of the domestic game after Tottenham s 2-2 draw at Chelsea meant Claudio Ranieri s side could not be caught with two matches remaining.
I thought I d seen everything with this club, but I never thought I d see this, King told BBC Sport.
It s difficult to put into words. The players deserve it, the gaffer and the staff deserve it, and the fans deserve it. It s been an unbelievable season.
Leicester were in administration as recently as 2002 and King,…
Manchester United are planning a swoop for AC Milan s Hakan Calhanoglu next season, according to La Gazzetta dello Sport.
The 50-time Turkey international was a product of the youth setup at Karlsruher. He also played for Hamburger SV and Bayer Leverkusen before joining the Rossoneri in 2017 for a reported fee of around €23 million. Since then, he has played 137 times for the club in all competitions, scoring 27 goals and laying on 40 assists. In this Serie A campaign, he is yet to find the opposition net after five games, though he has assisted his teammates twice.
Calhanoglu s contract with Milan expires at the end of the season, and the talks over a new deal have reportedly reached an impasse. United are apparently keen to take advantage of the situation and sign t…
Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal are poised to make their long-awaited debuts for Barcelona in Wednesday s Copa del Rey clash with city rivals Espanyol.
Signed from Atletico Madrid and Sevilla during pre-season, the duo have been forced to miss all of Barca s competitive fixtures so far this term due to the FIFA-imposed ban on new signings being registered.
But with that sanction having now expired, Arda and Vidal, given the number seven and 22 shirts respectively, can make their first appearances for Luis Enrique s side in the round-of-16 first leg at Camp Nou.
I am happy that they are almost ready to make their debut, the Barca boss said last week. They have been waiting for this moment for a long time. They will add something extra to the team that we need.
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Argentinian football is imploding, and Lionel Messi s international retirement will put more focus than ever on the national Football Association (AFA).
This was supposed to be the year. Argentina s last senior international trophy came in 1993, when a double from Gabriel Batistuta who Messi surpassed as their record goalscorer with his 55th strike in the Copa America Centenario semi-final against United States guided La Albiceleste to the Copa trophy with a 2-1 win over Mexico.
After the disappointment of losing the 2014 World Cup final to Germany in extra time and the Copa showpiece to Chile the following year, not forgetting defeat at the final hurdle in the 2007 edition, 2016 looked like time to end the 23-year drought.
Messi appeared destined to resto…
Market: Las Palmas double chance
Odds: 4/5 @
Looking to make another La Liga statement on Saturday evening, a high-flying Las Palmas will travel to the El Sadar when they meet Osasuna.
Starting with the hosts, while Osasuna might have opened up the 2023/24 campaign with their sights set on snatching what would be a famous European finish, Los Rojillos find themselves in the midst of a public struggle. Last seen putting in another nightmare performance as they eventually fell to an action-packed 4-2 loss at home against Girona, Jagoba Arrasate’s side have come tumbling out the top-half of the La Liga standings. Losing three of their last four appearances, fans around El Sadar will be hugely concerned by their side’s rather glaring defensive issues. Including …