Wales newcomer Niall Huggins is ready to step onto the international stage after expressing fears that a mystery injury which left him with weak bones would end his career.
Huggins joined up with the senior Wales squad for the first time this week ahead of decisive Euro 2024 qualifiers against Armenia and Turkey after what the Sunderland defender called a “horrendous” period.
The 22-year-old made just a couple of league starts in his first two seasons at Sunderland after joining from Leeds in August 2021, with the full-back becoming increasingly concerned over his football future.
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Naby Keita scored the only goal as a much-changed Liverpool beat in-form Newcastle United 1-0 at St James Park to climb above Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp, who this week signed a contract extension to keep him at Anfield until 2026, had complained about the timing of this early kick-off and made five changes following Wednesday s 2-0 win over Villarreal in the Champions League.
Mohamed Salah, Thiago Alcantara and Trent Alexander-Arnold watched on from the bench as Keita – one of those recalled – drilled in a contentious goal with 19 minutes gone.
Newcastle goalkeeper Martin Dubravka kept his side in the game but Liverpool saw out the victory to move two points above City ahead of the reigning champions trip to Leeds Unite…
Carlo Ancelotti has conferred the Champions League favourites tag upon Manchester City but the Real Madrid head coach insisted there may be some “surprises at the end”.
The most successful side in Europe’s premier club competition with 14 wins, including lifting the trophy five times in the last decade, Madrid are often tipped to progress into the latter stages at the outset.
But Real, who open their Group C campaign on Wednesday against Union Berlin at the Bernabeu, were eliminated in ruthless fashion at the semi-final stage by Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning City side in May.
It is the Premier League giants that have a target on their backs, according to Ancelotti, who nevertheless intimated no team can ever take anything for granted.
“City are…
Monza have been promoted to Serie A for the first time in their 110-year history thanks to a 6-4 aggregate win over Pisa after extra time in the second leg of their Serie B play-off final.
Although a 2-1 win in Thursday s first leg had Monza in charge ahead of the return game in Tuscany, Pisa raced into a 2-0 lead inside nine minutes on Sunday.
Monza brought it back to 2-2 on the day and appeared to have done enough to seal promotion, but Giuseppe Mastinu struck in the 90th minute to level the aggregate score and force an extra 30 minutes.
Former Juventus defender Luca Marrone scored for Monza early on in extra time and Christian Gytkjaer got his second of the day with 101 minutes played.
Eugenio Lamanna was then shown a straight red card, though the back…
It took the man in the waistcoat to turn the tanker.
In a year s time, England will be at the Qatar 2022 World Cup with serious aspirations of bringing back the trophy. And while there are a number of key figures who have made that prospect realistic, nobody stands out quite like Gareth Southgate, who on Tuesday celebrated a five-year anniversary as manager.
Greg Dyke was a newly appointed chairman of the English Football Association (FA) when he declared in a famous 2013 speech: English football is a tanker that needs turning.
He spoke that day of wishing to create an England team that could be successful on the world stage.
The two targets I have for the England team are – one, to at least reach the semi-finals of Euro 2020 and two, win the World …
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In what could prove to be an enjoyable Champions League showdown from the Estadio da Luz on Tuesday night, Benfica will welcome Real Sociedad to Portugal.
Starting with the hosts, while Benfica might be seeking a minor miracle in their bid to punch a Champions League knockout stage ticket, Roger Schmidt’s side are enjoying another real domestic flurry. Making real history last season as they got their hands on a first Primeira Liga crown since 2019, the Eagles have their sights firmly set on defending their Portuguese title this time around. Desperate to put their first Group D points on the board in midweek, Benfica certainly picked up some real momentum over the weekend. Putting in a stellar display as they cruised their wa…
Stephen Frail claims former team-mate Craig Levein’s appointment as St Johnstone boss will have no impact on Motherwell’s focus ahead of their crucial clash on Tuesday night.
The 59-year-old former Scotland boss signed a contract for the cinch Premiership’s bottom side which runs until May, 2026.
Levein, whose previous clubs include Hearts, Dundee United and Leicester, succeeds Steven MacLean, who left the Perth club last week and he will face the struggling Lanarkshire side in his first game at McDiarmid Park.
Well assistant manager Frail, who played with Levein at Tynecastle, said: “Craig is a very experienced manager, I know him well from my playing days at Hearts and I wish him well in the job.
“The last time he was involved in the dugout wa…
Son Heung-min hit a blistering hat-trick as Tottenham stamped their authority on the race for fourth place with a 4-0 win at Aston Villa.
Boosted by Arsenal s earlier defeat to Brighton, Tottenham moved three points past their north London rivals after a clinical second-half effort at Villa Park showed Antonio Conte s team at their best.
All the momentum, for now, is with Spurs, and they led from the third minute when Son fired in off the left post.
Harry Kane helped to create the second for Dejan Kulusevski and also set up Son to stretch the visitors lead to 3-0, before Kulusevski fed Son to fire in his third of the game.
Tottenham snatched a fortuitous lead when a wayward Kane strike hit Villa defender Matty Cash and bounced kindly to Son, whose fini…
Stefano Pioli says Milan are ready to approach the final eight Serie A games with energy, strength and motivation as they battle to end an 11-year title drought.
The Rossoneri have not won the Scudetto since 2011, but they are three points clear of second-placed Napoli with seven weeks of the season remaining.
Rivals Inter are six points adrift of Milan – albeit with a game in hand – after faltering before the international break, and the defending champions face a tough Derby d Italia clash with in-form Juventus on Sunday.
Leaders Milan go into a San Siro meeting with Bologna on Monday looking to extend their unbeaten run to 11 matches in all competitions and secure a fourth consecutive victory.
Head coach Pioli is backing his players to maintain…
Massimiliano Allegri says Juventus do not need to change their style to see the best of Dusan Vlahovic, as the striker prepares to face former club Fiorentina in the Coppa Italia semi-finals.
However, Allegri did acknowledge the Bianconeri must improve their attacking returns after seeing nine Serie A outfits outscore them this season.
After winning the first leg 1-0 in Florence, Juventus, who have progressed from each of their last six Coppa Italia semi-finals, remain among the favourites for a sixth domestic cup triumph in eight seasons, having lifted the trophy in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2021.
The Bianconeri are, though, just the 10th-highest scorers in Serie A despite Vlahovic netting seven goals in 14 appearances in all competitions since his January a…