Andres Iniesta believes Spain s FIFA World Cup humiliation at the hands of the Netherlands will serve as the inspiration for a turnaround.
Vicente del Bosque s world champions suffered the ignominy of a 5-1 hammering in their Group B opener on Friday, as the Netherlands gained a measure of revenge for their final defeat to the Spaniards in 2010.
Doubles from Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben were complemented by Stefan de Vrij s header as Louis van Gaal s side responded superbly after Xabi Alonso s penalty had put the holders ahead.
And Iniesta, who struck the winner in the final four years ago, insists he and his team-mates will try to learn from their humbling.
We have to win the two games that are left. There are small details that tip the balance. But it wa…
The coaches of Ecuador and Honduras will come up against their former employers when the sides meet in the FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Ecuador boss Reinaldo Rueda led Honduras to the previous World Cup in South Africa, while Luis Fernando Suarez was in charge of Ecuador when they played at the 2006 finals.
The two nations meet in Group E having failed to pick up any points from their opening Group E fixtures, with Honduras beaten 3-0 by France and Ecuador going down 2-1 against Switzerland.
Both therefore face an uphill task to qualify for the round of 16, but know a victory would provide renewed hope.
Rueda is highly thought of in Honduras, having ended their 28-year wait for a World Cup finals appearance by securing qualification for the 2010 showpiece.<…
Memphis Depay is looking forward to friendlies against Manchester City and Borussia Dortmund in China to gauge Manchester United s level under new manager Jose Mourinho.
FA Cup winners United had to settle for fifth place in the 2015-16 Premier League but will be looking to challenge for the title this campaign with the Portuguese heavyweight in charge.
Louis van Gaal was dismissed at the end of last season by the United hierarchy, who have signed defender Eric Bailly and striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic, with Henrikh Mkhitaryan expected to follow.
Depay, largely a disappointment following his switch from PSV in June 2015, will be under pressure to perform as part of the new regime, starting with the International Champions Cup match against Mkhitaryan s Dortmund in Sh…
Lucas Moura wants to stay at Paris Saint-Germain and fight for his place, but admits he will be helpless if the club do not want to keep him.
Lucas has progressively made more starts in Ligue 1 since arriving from Sao Paulo in 2013, but he only played the full 90 minutes on 10 occasions in the previous top-flight campaign.
The 23-year-old has been linked with a move to Liverpool but is keen to remain at the Parc des Princes and push for more time on the pitch, but he is unsure if the wishes of the club match his.
I keep the same mentality to help the team. I want to play and start, as all players do. I m not different, Lucas told L Equipe.
I ll give everything to start. There will be competition but I can help the team a lot.
No [I haven t thou…
Richarlison s early goal proved decisive as 10-man Everton eased the pressure on Marco Silva with a 1-0 win over Premier League strugglers Huddersfield Town, with Jordan Pickford pulling off a pair of brilliant second-half saves.
Silva has come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks following a dismal run of two wins in 10 league matches, with Saturday s FA Cup fourth-round defeat to Millwall compounding Everton s misery.
Richarlison s third-minute strike put them ahead, but despite offering little for much of Jan Siewert s first game in charge, Huddersfield were handed a lifeline when substitute Lucas Digne was sent off.
Pickford made a superb stop from the resulting free-kick, and outdid his earlier effort late on to deny Elias Kachunga and secure a much-nee…
Karim Benzema continued his scoring streak as he netted for the sixth time in four games to help Real Madrid cruise to a 3-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday.
The Frenchman struck after 30 minutes of a one-sided contest at Santiago Bernabeu where Gareth Bale made his first start overcoming a calf injury but Vinicius Junior stole the show, including scoring his side s second.
It was the 18-year-old who unlocked the Alaves defence with a killer pass in the build-up to Benzema s opener, and he converted Marco Asensio s low cross to double Madrid s advantage 10 minutes from time.
Substitute Mariano Diaz added a late third as Madrid moved to within two points of second-placed Atletico who lost 1-0 away at Real Betis earlier in the day in the tab…
Republic of Ireland Under-21s international Sinclair Armstrong has spoken of his pride in himself for resisting the urge to punch an opposition player after he was allegedly racially abused.
The 20-year-old QPR striker was warming up on the sideline during Ireland’s friendly against the Kuwait Under-22s in Austria last month when a comment was made which prompted him and his team-mates to walk off the pitch and the game to be abandoned after 60 minutes.
The Football Association of Ireland has backed the stance of the players and manager Jim Crawford and reported the matter to UEFA and FIFA, although the Kuwaiti FA categorically denied the accusation and claimed a halt was called because of “excessive roughness and tension between the players”.
The FAI regre…
Antonio Conte has hailed the improvement in Romelu Lukaku s all-round game after another decisive display from the Belgian in Saturday s 2-0 Serie A win over Genoa.
Lukaku s 10th goal in eight matches this term for club and country put them ahead at Stadio Luigi Ferraris before Danilo D Ambrosio added a second to move the visitors up to third.
The former Manchester United striker now has 22 goals for Inter since his Serie A debut in August 2019, excluding penalties, which is more than any other foreign player in the competition.
Conte says he has been a long-time admirer of Lukaku and has been impressed with how he has added more to his game than just goals over the past 12 months.
Romelu is a different player to what he was a year ago, he told Sky Spo…
Brendan Rodgers believes Celtic are coming to the boil nicely for the title run-in as he prepares to welcome captain Callum McGregor back for Sunday’s mouthwatering showdown with city rivals Rangers.
The Hoops have been hindered by injuries to key men throughout the campaign but the possible return of winger Luis Palma and their influential skipper could restore them to full strength for the trip to Ibrox.
McGregor has been sidelined for the last four matches with an Achilles issue sustained in the 7-1 win over Dundee at the end of February, and Rodgers is relishing the prospect of having the 30-year-old back in the frame at a time when Celtic hold a one-point advantage over a Gers side with a game in hand.
“We’ll do one final run with Callum tomorrow in ou…
Philippe Clement claimed Rangers were “moral winners” of the Old Firm derby after coming from 2-0 down at half-time to draw 3-3 with Celtic in a roller coaster clash at Ibrox.
Daizen Maeda gave the visitors the lead after just 21 seconds and the Light Blues fell further behind in the 34th minute when midfielder Matt O’Riley coolly converted a penalty.
Skipper James Tavernier scored from the spot in the 55th minute as the Gers rallied before striker Cyriel Dessers had the ball in the Hoops’ net two minutes later only for an earlier infringement to rule out a goal.
|
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC)
Abdallah Sima levelled in the 86th minute but a minute later Adam Idah, also on as a substitute, restored Celtic’s lead. There was s…