A late winner for Levan Kobiashvili helped Georgia defeat Croatia 1-0 in Euro 2012 qualifying on Saturday, while Israel beat Latvia.
Group F leaders Croatia controlled the first half at the Lokomotivi Stadium in Tbilisi and might have taken the lead through a Dejan Lovren header 26 minutes in.Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic had a shot saved by Georgia goalkeeper Nukri Revishvili, who also denied Nikola Kalinic.Out-of-favour Tottenham man Niko Kranjcar went close early in the second half, before Kobiashvili had Georgia s first real chance of the match.Visitors Croatia continued to dominate, with Ivan Perisic the next man to threaten. But the breakthrough never arrived.Volga Nizhny Novgorod forward Otar Martsvaladze enjoyed a rare chance for the hosts but saw his shot saved by Cr…
Phil Neville is hoping Portland Timbers can build some momentum with back-to-back victories when they take on Minnesota United FC at Allianz Field on Saturday.
The Timbers recovered from two goals down at half-time to beat San Jose Earthquakes 4-2 in their most recent match, snapping a three-game losing run and a nine-match wait for three points.
Portland are now back up to 11th in the Western Conference, but Neville accepts there is plenty to do if his side are to challenge for a play-off spot.
The spirit in that second half [against San Jose] was bigger than anything I ve seen in football, and I ve seen an awful lot in football, Neville said.
Those supporters willed the team, willed the ball into the back of the net and that’s what makes me proud t…
Arsenal are interested in signing Javi Guerra from Valencia in the summer of 2025, according to . The report has claimed that Jorginho and Thomas Partey are out of contract at the end of the season, and that Arsenal are keen on bringing in Guerra as a potential replacement.
Guerra is one of the best young midfielders in Spain and has been superb for Valencia since breaking into the first team. The Spain Under-21 international has made two starts and two substitute appearances in La Liga for Valencia so far this season and scored four goals and provided one assist in 28 starts and eight substitute appearances in La Liga for Los Che in 2023-24.
Arsenal are fourth in the Premier League table at the moment with seven points from three matches, two points behind Manchester C…
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With plenty of pressure on their shoulders on Tuesday night, England will meet Slovenia in Cologne for their final Group C showdown.
England
Starting with England, while the Three Lions might have opened this summer’s European Championships pencilled in as a leading contender to get their hands on a first piece of international silverware since 1966, Gareth Southgate’s camp have drastically struggled to find any real fluidity. Despite collecting four points from their opening two EURO 24 appearances and sat in the driving seat to finish as Group C winners, England are still waiting to click into gear. Signing off their pre-tournament preparations with an infamous 1-0 defeat at the hands of Iceland in north London, the Three Lions h…
Germany will be without Bayern Munich s Aleksandar Pavlovic for Euro 2024 after the 20-year-old came down with tonsillitis three days before their Group A opener against Scotland.
Pavlovic was set to feature in his first international tournament for his country despite only earning his first cap in a recent friendly against Ukraine.
However, he has since been ruled out after being absent from training in Herzogenaurach on Monday and Tuesday.
Die Mannschaft coach Julian Naglesmann was quick to name his replacement, welcoming Borussia Dortmund captain Emre Can to his ranks.
Can helped guide his side to the Champions League final where they lost to Real Madrid at Wembley, with Nagelsmann identifying the former Liverpool midfielder, who has 43 caps for Ger…
Juergen Klinsmann believes his native Germany have the quality to overcome the challenge of Spain and win Euro 2012.
The Germans were knocked out in the semi-finals of both the 2006 and 2010 World Cups and were runners-up at Euro 2008.
However, the USA coach said Germany now boast a squad with many talents at their disposal, and believes they can lift the trophy in Poland and Ukraine.
I hope that Germany can prevail this time. I believe that we now have a team with many different strengths, a team that can leave their mark on the Euros and win the title in the end, he told Frankfurter Rundschau on Thursday.
I think that we have the conviction, the inner-strength to say, No matter what comes next we can overcome it, whether it s Spain or anyone else.’ <…
Midfielder Alex Scott has completed his move to Bournemouth from Bristol City but a knee injury will delay his Premier League debut.
Robins boss Nigel Pearson confirmed on Wednesday evening that Scott had been given permission to talk to the Premier League side and both clubs announced on Thursday that the transfer was complete.
The 19-year-old, who was named the Sky Bet Championship’s young player of the season for 2022-23, had attracted plenty of attention from Premier League clubs for his standout performances.
We re thrilled to announce the signing of highly-rated midfielder, Alex Scott
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— AFC Bournemouth (@afcbournemouth)
Scott, whose move to the Cherries is believed to be worth in excess of £20million, missed Bri…
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe claims this year’s summer transfer window is the toughest he has been through.
The Magpies have attempted to be active in the market but, despite the wealth at their disposal, have so far been unable to make the major moves they would have liked.
Their situation was complicated by a need to sell players in order to comply with the Premier League’s financial rules, with youngsters Yanukba Minteh and Elliot Anderson leaving in big-money switches to Brighton and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Newcastle have signed Lloyd Kelly, Odysseas Vlachodimos and William Osula, though have so far been frustrated in their attempts to sign England international Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, while they reportedly remain in the marke…
Brazil have won back-to-back competitive matches for the first time in over a year, having followed their 2-1 win in Chile last week with a 4-1 victory over Peru on Tuesday.
The hosts did have an initial scare though, with Edison Flores breaking clear to slot the ball past Ederson after 12 minutes, though the flag was immediately raised for offside.
Raphinha then hammered against the crossbar in the 24th minute, before putting his team a goal ahead from the penalty spot in the 38th minute six minutes after the kick was initially awarded for handball against Carlos Zambrano, following a lengthy VAR review.
The Barcelona man then killed the game as a contest by scoring a second penalty nine minutes into the second half, also conceded by Zambrano.
Brazil con…
Mikel Arteta pointed to Arsenal’s growing maturity as a key factor in driving their Premier League title challenge ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Brighton.
Victory at the Amex Stadium will see the Gunners finish Saturday back on top of the table with leaders Liverpool not in action until Sunday, as they chase a first league crown since 2004.
At 20 years it is the club’s longest streak without winning the top flight since they were first champions in 1930-31.
Mikel has provided a fitness update on Saka
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
The last two decades have seen Arsenal consistently written off as being psychologically lacking when it comes to the title-race home straight.
There have been a number of significant collapses in form, partic…