Argentina coach Diego Maradona says there are roughly 10 undecided places up for grabs in his squad for this summer s World Cup in South Africa.
The outspoken former national team great, speaking after watching his charges beat Costa Rica 3-2 in a friendly on Tuesday, said he had already decided on 60 percent of his squad.
Tuesday s match, featuring only home-based players tuning up for the resumption of the Argentine championship next weekend, provided few clues as to the likely make-up of Maradona s group for the June 11-July 11 tournament.
A victory which didn t provide the necessary answers, was the verdict of Argentine daily La Nacion following a victory over a side that has not qualified for the World Cup and which was mostly comprised of under-21 players…
Swansea City s Ashley Williams thinks the Premier League could soon see new clubs competing for Champions League qualification.
Garry Monk s side finished eighth in the top-flight last season, 14 points adrift of Manchester United in fourth position.
However, the Swansea captain believes a new club breaking into the top four and achieving Champions League qualification is on the horizon.
It s very difficult to get into that top group, especially the top four, Williams told Sky Sports.
But you d like to think, for the good of the league, that a team can push in there. We had a good season last season, Southampton as well, so it s getting a bit closer.
You ll always get one that will make a go of it, and I think it makes for a more entertaining…
Aitor Karanka hailed the revival of Victor Valdes after the goalkeeper helped Middlesbrough snatch a 1-1 draw at Manchester City.
Valdes held City s incessant attack at bay, save for Sergio Aguero s 150th goal for the club, until Marten de Roon fired home a stoppage-time header to earn a point for the Teessiders at Etihad Stadium.
Having lifted the European Championship and World Cup with Spain, as well as multiple LaLiga and Champions League titles at Barcelona, Valdes has enjoyed regular action this season for the first time since a serious knee injury prematurely ended his Camp Nou career in March 2014.
Having established himself as Karanka s first choice ahead of Brad Guzan and Dimi Konstantopoulos, Valdes is making a strong impression on the Premier League, …
Fulham want to keep Paris Saint-Germain-owned goalkeeper Alphonse Areola at the club beyond the summer of 2021, according to . Areola joined the Cottagers on loan from PSG in the summer of 2020 and is the first-choice custodian at the Premier League club.
Areola has kept nine clean sheets for Fulham so far this season. Scott Parker’s side are third from bottom in the Premier League table at the moment with 26 points from 28 matches, level on points with 17th-placed Brighton and Hove Albion, who have played 27 games.
It has been reported that if Fulham are able to escape the dreaded drop to the Championship at the end of the season, then they plan to activate a clause to keep Areola at Craven Cottage next season and beyond.
…
Nice handed one-point deduction after Marseille chaos, Ligue 1 fixture to be replayed on neutral gro
The Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) docked Nice two Ligue 1 points, one of which was suspended, due to their involvement in the chaotic scenes with Marseille last month.
The August 22 clash was suspended and then abandoned after home fans stormed the Allianz Riviera pitch in response to Marseille s Dimitri Payet, who was hit on the back of the neck, throwing a bottle back into the Nice crowd.
The LFP had summoned the two teams to a disciplinary hearing on August 25 to explain the unsavoury scenes, which saw a melee break out on the pitch and subsequently in the dugout.
On Wednesday, the LFP announced its decision to punish Nice with a one-point deduction, while also subjecting the French club to three games behind closed doors.
For inciting the crow…
that AC Milan defender Didac Vila is set to sign a season-long loan with Real Betis.
The player has landed in Seville this morning after the two clubs reached an agreement over the loan deal and he is set to undergo a medical.
This is unlikely to be a mere formality seeing as how his proposed move to Valencia fell through last summer as he failed his medical due to a sore pubis.
In case there are no problems, the 24-year-old will put pen to paper this afternoon and immediately travel to Manchester to join the squad for pre-season training.
Didac Vila joined AC Milan from Espanyol in January 2010, but he went on to make just one league appearance for the Rossoneri.
After spending the 2011/2012 season on loan at Espanyol, scoring 2 goals in 37 La …
Everton s Steven Naismith hopes Nikica Jelavic can continue his good form against Valencia in the International Champions Cup on Tuesday.
The Croatia international has been named on the bench for the first two games of the tournament, and has scored three times in pre-season so far, including one in the 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
And as the two sides go head-to-head for fifth spot in the prestigious competition, in what will be their last game in the USA, Naismith feels that Jelavic can prove to be the difference.
Throughout pre-season he has looked sharp and he has got a bit of confidence back. I think last season he lost a bit of that through not playing every week, the Scotland international told the club s official website.
Naismith also believes that anoth…
Fenerbahce are not interested in signing Moussa Sissoko from Tottenham, the Turkish club said in a statement.
Sissoko became Tottenham s joint-record signing when he joined from Newcastle United for a reported £30million in 2016.
But the France international, left out of his country s World Cup-winning squad, has struggled to make an impact at White Hart Lane.
Sissoko started 15 Premier League games last term and has only featured in one top-flight match so far in 2018-19, starting the 2-1 win at Newcastle.
He was not in the squad for Monday s victory at Manchester United and reports indicated Fenerbahce were keen to take the 29-year-old to Istanbul.
3 points for a good start
— Moussa Sissoko (@MoussaSissoko)
However, a c…
Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool will pay no attention to being talked up as potential Premier League champions.
Heavy investment on the likes of Alisson, Naby Keita and Fabinho has seen many pundits tout Liverpool as the most likely challengers to Manchester City, who won the title by 19 points in 2017-18.
A 4-0 demolition of West Ham at Anfield on Sunday saw forwards Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah pick up where they left off last season and enhanced suggestions they can contend.
Liverpool top the Premier League table after the first round of games but Van Dijk says Klopp s men will stay grounded.
We ve seen the media writing about us as the new champions and stuff but we don t really look at those things, Van Dijk said.
We need to just focus ga…
Manchester City are waiting for updates on Jack Grealish after an injury to the England midfielder took the shine off an impressive Champions League return in Denmark.
Grealish was forced off with a groin problem after 21 minutes of the holders’ largely straightforward 3-1 victory over FC Copenhagen on Tuesday.
Bernardo Silva also left the action before the end of the first leg of the last-16 tie after a blow to the ankle but it was Grealish pulling up that caused the most concern.
WWWWWWWWW
That s NINE wins in a row, the longest streak by any English side in the competition s history
— Manchester City (@ManCity)
“He wanted to continue but we didn’t want to make the damage even worse,” said manager Pep Guardiola after the game…