Russia has a good chance of organising the 2018 World Cup, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday.
I think that our country has a good chance of being awarded the organisation of this competition, Putin said, as reported by the Interfax news agency.
Addressing the requirements for prospective host countries set out by world football governing body FIFA, Putin said that a number of taxation problems would be sorted out.
FIFA demands that host countries provide specific taxation and customs facilities as well as easing entry requirements to the country for players, officials and supporters, Putin noted.
Russia s rivals for the organisation of the 2018 tournament are the United States, Australia, England, Japan, the Netherlands/Belgium, Me…
When Jose Mourinho took charge of Manchester United in the summer of 2016, there was a certain expectation that the former Chelsea boss would turn the Red Devils into title contenders once again.
The expectations were justified because of Mourinho’s past record at his previous clubs, which shows the experienced boss as one of the modern greats of the managerial game.
Ferguson a hard act to follow
Despite Mourinho’s presence at Old Trafford, United have struggled to bring back the glory days. The team has improved since the Portuguese’s arrival, but they are nowhere near the same level as under the great Sir Alex Ferguson.
When the great Scot retired from the game, he left a giant pair of shoes to fill. The squad he left behind also had giant holes in too,…
Real Madrid head coach Julen Lopetegui refused to bite back at Jorge Mendes after the agent said it was ridiculous for Luka Modric to beat his client Cristiano Ronaldo to an award.
Modric, who also won the Golden Ball after leading Croatia to their first World Cup final, was named UEFA Player of the Year for 2017-18.
The midfielder was instrumental in Madrid winning the Champions League for the third year in a row under Lopetegui s predecessor Zinedine Zidane, Modric also pipping Liverpool star Mohamed Salah to the prize.
Mendes, though, made his feelings clear in an interview with Portuguese outlet Record.
Football is played on the field and that s where Cristiano won, Mendes said. He scored 15 goals, carried Real Madrid on his back and conquered the Ch…
Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah insists there can be no excuse for missing out on Champions League football.
The 30-year-old admits the team has failed and let fans down this season with a fifth-placed finish.
Manchester United’s 4-1 win over Chelsea means fourth place is now out of reach for last season’s beaten finalists.
I’m totally devastated. There’s absolutely no excuse for this. We had everything we needed to make it to next year’s Champions League and we failed. We are Liverpool and qualifying to the competition is the bare minimum. I am sorry but it’s too soon for an uplifting or optimistic…
— Mohamed Salah (@MoSalah)
Jurgen Klopp’s side have underperformed all season and it was only their current 10-match unbeaten run…
Tottenham head coach Nuno Espirito Santo took responsibility for his side s damaging 3-1 defeat to Arsenal in the north London derby.
Emile Smith Rowe, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Bukayo Saka dismantled Spurs in a thrilling first-half display from Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Son Heung-min pulled back a late consolation, but Spurs have now lost their last three league games by an aggregate score of 9-1. Tottenham are only the second team in Premier League history to win their first three games of a season and then lose the next three, after Everton in 1993-94, who went on to finish 17th.
Nuno s team were top of the table at the end of August, but they will head into October below Arsenal in the standings for the first time in almost 12 months.
Belgium suffered successive defeats for the first time since 2010 on Tuesday, going down 3-2 against Japan in Brussels.
Having lost 2-0 to Colombia last week, Belgium were again beaten at the Stade Roi Baudouin, despite taking the lead.
Kevin Mirallas put Belgium ahead after 15 minutes, thanks to an impressive assist from Everton team-mate Romelu Lukaku, but Japan were soon level.
After 37 minutes, Yoichiro Kakitani was perfectly placed to head home a Hiroshi Kiyotaki cross from the right before Keisuke Honda was on target early in the second half.
Substitute Shinji Okazaki rounded off the visitors scoring, applying a delightful finish to some impressive build-up play with Honda, before Toby Alderweireld headed home 11 minutes from time.
Belgium got off …
Argentinian superstar Lionel Messi will not play in Barcelona s first match in South Korea on Wednesday against an all-star team, Barca coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday.
Guardiola said that Messi whose World Cup ended in disappointment as the Argentinians were humbled 4-0 by Germany in the quarter-finals had only just returned from holiday and was not match fit.
He (Messi) will not play, said Guardiola, who has guided Barca to two successive league titles as well as the 2009 Champions League and the 2009 Spanish Cup.
He has trained just once, and is not yet ready to play. To play him would be risky. He would have played if he had been in shape.
Guardiola, whose side will play in green their first new away strip since the 1996-97 season, said if Bar…
Mario Gotze says he needs to be patient as he bids to make his first Bayern Munich appearance since October, having finally resumed team training this week following a groin injury.
The 23-year-old has not played since Germany s 1-0 loss away to Republic of Ireland in Euro 2016 qualifying on October 8.
His previous Bayern outing came four days prior to that, starting and scoring in a 5-1 home win over former club Borussia Dortmund.
Gotze, who netted the extra-time winner for Germany in their World Cup final triumph over Argentina in 2014, has struggled for form and fitness since moving to Allianz Arena from Dortmund in 2013.
The tactics and team selections of Pep Guardiola have not always appeared to suit the attacking midfielder.
But with the h…
Chelsea are considering a £50m swoop for Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, .
After a below par start to their title defence, Blues boss Jose Mourinho is eyeing possible candidates to bolster his attacking options.
A number of clubs have been linked with a move for Alcacer, who boosted his ever-growing reputation with five goals for Spain in the Euro 2016 qualifiers.
At club level he has netted twenty-nine times in eight-two appearances for Valencia, with his one and only goal so far this season came in last month’s 1-0 win over Sporting Gijon.
He spent the 2012/13 campaign on loan with Getafe, and scored four goals in twenty-four outings.
The reigning Premier League champions ended their three game winless run with victory over lowly Aston V…
Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka believes he is in the best form of his Gunners career and he attributes that improvement to the arrival of freak Unai Emery.
Xhaka joined Arsenal in 2016 in a deal which could reportedly reach £40million having enjoyed four years in the Bundesliga with Borussia Monchengladbach.
But in his first two seasons in the Premier League, Xhaka struggled to convince fans, often looking awkward and overly aggressive in a defensive midfield role.
He toiled in defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea at the start of this season, but Xhaka has steadily improved since, particularly when played alongside the more naturally defensive-minded Lucas Torreira.
And Xhaka is putting his elevated performances down to Emery, who succeeded Arsene…