Spain call up uncapped Barcelona teenager Balde following Gaya injury

Stefano Pioli wants Rafael Leao to lead a Milan resurgence as he warned his team their Champions League run must not come at the expense of a top-four finish.

The Milan head coach said Zlatan Ibrahimovic is not yet ready to start games after making two substitute appearances since returning from major knee surgery.

They cannot therefore look to the inspirational Swedish veteran, but in 23-year-old Portuguese winger Leao they have a proven match-winner and last season s Serie A MVP.

Beaten by Fiorentina in the last round of games, Milan host Salernitana on Monday, and victory would vault them back into the top four.

The Rossoneri were on a high after booking a Champions League quarter-final spot on Wednesday, edging through at Tottenham s expense.

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Best Odds: 7/10

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Looking to keep up their momentum before this year s World Cup finals, Argentina will meet Jamaica at the Red Bull Arena in the early hours of Wednesday.

Argentina

Returning from the summer break last weekend with a thumping display against Honduras, Argentina appear to be riding a real wave. Eventually cruising their way to a 3-0 victory against Honduras in Florida, Lionel Scaloni s men are remarkably unbeaten in each of their last 34 straight contests across all formats. With that stellar purple patch stemming all the way back to July 2019, the south American giants have been tipped to potentially cause a real upset at this year s World Cup finals. With their run highlighted by a 3-0 victory against European champions Italy three mo…

Mauricio Pochettino said club bosses must be “clever” enough to ignore abuse directed at footballers and managers via social media after Reece James revealed that he had been targeted online after undergoing surgery.

The Chelsea captain wrote on his Instagram account on Thursday that he had received “significantly more hate and negativity” since sustaining the hamstring injury that forced him off during the team’s 2-0 defeat to Everton.

It is the second significant injury the 24-year-old has suffered this season, having also missed a large part of the last campaign, with Pochettino indicating a lay-off of “several weeks” possibly stretching to months.

Former Chelsea manager Graham Potter last season gave an alarming account of the abuse directed at …

Scottish Gas has filled the void for Scottish Cup sponsorship in a deal understood to be worth about £5million a year.

A five-year contract has been agreed with the Scottish Football Association which will see the energy firm become the title sponsor of both the men’s and women’s competitions. The deal will also provide a major boost to grassroots football projects.

The deal was announced just before the SFA annual general meeting, which saw Alloa owner Mike Mulraney confirmed as president following the end of Rod Petrie’s four-year term. Hamilton’s Les Gray replaces Mulraney as vice-president.

Scottish Gas will become the first title sponsor of the Scottish Cup since William Hill’s nine-year partnership ended in 2020.

The men’s competition w…

Some of the Premier League s top clubs are reportedly keeping a close eye on Borussia Monchengladbach striker Marcus Thuram – including Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham.

Thuram, 25, is a towering presence up front, standing at six-foot-four and, after arriving at Gladbach from Ligue 1 s Guingamp in 2019 for a fee of €12million, he has continued to grow as a goalscorer.

Through just 15 Bundesliga games this season, Thuram has matched his career-high tally of 10 league goals, including strikes against both Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund.

His recent run of form has seen him earn a late inclusion into France s World Cup squad as they look to defend their title, and although he may not receive a start, he was worked his way onto the radar of some of the world…

Julen Lopetegui praised goalscorer Gareth Bale and European champions Real Madrid as the former Spain boss celebrated his first LaLiga victory.

Taking charge of his maiden LaLiga match as Madrid head coach after replacing Zinedine Zidane, Lopetegui oversaw Madrid s 2-0 win over Getafe at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Madrid suffered a 4-2 extra-time defeat to rivals Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup last time out but Lopetegui s men bounced back thanks to Bale and Dani Carvajal.

After Carvajal opened the scoring in the 20th minute, Bale – headlining Madrid s forward line following Cristiano Ronaldo s move to Juventus – doubled the lead six minutes into the second half.

Tonight s goalscorers!

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— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadride…

Verdict: HT 1

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In the opening round of the latest Nations League competition, the Netherlands takes on Bosnia Herzegovina. The two teams compete in the Nations League Group A, the top division of European football. The game will be played on Saturday night at Philips Stadium from Eindhoven, where over 35000 fans expect to see a win for the Clockwork Orange.

Netherlands

After an impressive output in Germany at the European tournament that ended with a defeat against England in the semi-final, the Netherlands seek now redemption in the UEFA Nations League. The hosts are familiar with this competition, which they were close to winning in the previous edition but failed short again in the semi-final against Croatia.

Despite c…

Brazil s World Cup shoot-out defeat by Croatia brought back memories of Italy s loss to the Selecao on penalties in the 1994 final for former Azzurri boss Arrigo Sacchi.

The five-time champions crashed out in the quarter-finals, as the 2018 finalists held their nerve from 12 yards to prevail 4-2 following a 1-1 draw at Education City Stadium.

Sacchi oversaw Italy s run to the 1994 showpiece at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, where Brazil denied them glory on penalties with Franco Baresi and Roberto Baggio notably shooting over the crossbar.

The 76-year-old Sacchi empathises with Tite s side, but also saluted the desire demonstrated by Croatia.

The Croatians never gave up and hid the ball from the Brazilians, he wrote in his La Gazzetta Dello Sport column. The…

Tunisia coach Alain Giresse said his players are prepared for the Egyptian heat and are full of desire to go all the way at the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time since 2004 as they ready themselves to face Angola in their opening match.

The Carthage Eagles get their finals campaign underway at Suez Stadium in Ismailia on Monday with every reason to be confident after beating World Cup finalists Croatia 2-1 in their penultimate warm-up game.

Giresse s men are favourites to top Group E, which also features Mali and tournament debutants Mauritania, and the former France midfielder said he is satisfied with his players preparations.

We hope to make an exceptional Cup of Nations, he told reporters.

All players are motivated by the desire to negotiate …

Market: Over 1.5 goals

Odds: 4/11 @

Two sides who have their sights set on clinching a play-off ticket this season, Palermo will travel to Catanzaro on Friday night.

Starting with the hosts, while Catanzaro might have gained a string of plaudits since making their Serie B return this season, Vincenzo Vivarini’s men are in the midst of an extended wobble. Making an immediate return to losing ways last weekend as they eventually slumped to a woeful 3-0 drumming at the hands of Feralpisalo, the Southern Eagles have lost four of their previous five second-tier appearances a run that stems back to December 9th. Signing off 2023 with a 1-0 defeat against Reggiana, the former Bari boss will also have a mounting headache over his side’s continued defensive issues. D…