A host of fringe players will hope to impress Louis van Gaal ahead of the FIFA World Cup when Netherlands host Ecuador on Saturday.
Van Gaal named his 30-man preliminary squad for the finals on Tuesday and half of those players will have the chance to shine in their attempts to make the final cut.
Five more individuals Ajax goalkeeper Kenneth Vermeer, his club-mate Davy Klaassen, PSV winger Luciano Narsingh, Chelsea midfielder Marco van Ginkel and Twente striker Luc Castaignos make up the rest of the 20-man party for Saturday s game at the Amsterdam Arena, though their hopes of making Brazil are already over.
Each of the players still in with a shout count their caps in single figures, ensuring the competition for places will be stiff.
Feyenoord duo Terence Kongo…
Manchester City have signed Monaco playmaker Bernardo Silva for a reported fee of £43million.
The arrival of the Portugal international, who is thought to have penned a five-year contract at the Etihad Stadium, represents a major statement from boss Pep Guardiola.
City s manager has moved swiftly into the transfer market after a trophy-less first season at the helm and the release of senior professionals Pablo Zabaleta, Bacary Sagna, Gael Clichy, Jesus Navas and Willy Caballero at the end of their contracts.
Silva was one of the stars of the Monaco team that stormed to a first Ligue 1 title since 2000.
He scored 11 goals and supplied 12 assists in all competitions, featuring in both legs as Monaco dismissed City in the last 16 of the Champions League o…
Manuel Pellegrini believes Manchester United s midweek defeat to West Ham has placed a different kind of pressure on Manchester City ahead of their final-day trip to Swansea City.
City head to south Wales occupying the Premier League s fourth and final Champions League qualification spot, two points better off than United in fifth.
Pellegrini s men twice shelled leads established by Sergio Aguero and Kevin De Bruyne to be held to a 2-2 draw by Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium last time out, meaning victory for United in east London would have lifted Louis van Gaal s side into the top four before their home match with AFC Bournemouth.
But, in a more dramatic collapse than that endured by their neighbours, United saw a 2-1 advantage become a 3-2 defeat as West Ham bid…
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer knows there are no guarantees over Harry Maguire s form after a tumultuous close-season for the Manchester United captain.
Maguire was arrested after an incident with police while on holiday on the Greek island of Mykonos last month.
At a trial on the neighbouring island of Syros, the 27-year-old was found guilty of aggravated assault, resisting arrest and attempted bribery.
He was handed a suspended prison sentence but maintains his innocence and Maguire s pending appeal nullifies the conviction under Greek law.
The process will keep on going, Solskjaer said ahead of United s Premier League opener at home to Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Knowing Harry, he s a very strong character so hopefully he can put that apart but natura…
Masterful tactics, signing Kante and Moses´ reinvention: How Antonio Conte won Chelsea the Premier L
Antonio Conte has signed an improved two-year contract at Chelsea, with his squad in the early stages of preparations to try and emulate last season s excellence.
The Blues utterly dominated as Conte took a successful first swing at England s top flight, a streak of 13 wins on the spin late in 2016 sending them well clear of a chasing pack that spent most of the campaign tripping over each other.
But former Juventus and Italy boss Conte had to show his mettle before it became plain sailing, with a pivotal tactical a
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lteration and shrewd management of a certain big dressing room ego the latter move now looking very much a means to an end laying vital foundations.
CONTE S TACTICAL MASTERSTROKE
Saturday September 24, 18:15 This is w…
Dusan Vlahovic has already made it clear he will not re-sign with Fiorentina.
The in-demand Serbia international is wanted by a host of European clubs.
Juventus are reportedly ready to make their move.
TOP STORY – VLAHOVIC TO TURIN IN JANUARY?
Juventus are eyeing a January swoop for Fiorentina star Dusan Vlahovic, according to Tuttosport.
Vlahovic has no plans to re-sign with Fiorentina and the Serbia forward has been linked to Juve, Inter, Atletico Madrid, Arsenal, Manchester City and Tottenham.
But Juve are believed to be desperate to prise Vlahovic from Florence amid their struggles, while Gazzetta dello Sport claims contact has already been made.
ROUND-UP
The Daily Star reports Manchester U…
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The group stage of UEFA Euro 2020 is officially in the books and now, we can focus our attention on the knockouts. We begin our journey with the Round of 16 and while there are plenty of standout games to discuss, we re going to focus our energy on Italy vs Austria. The Azzurri have been on fire up to this point whereas the Austrians have a few tricks up their sleeve that could turn this into quite a shootout, with a place in the last eight being on the line.
Italy
In the blink of an eye, Italy have emerged alongside the Netherlands and Belgium as the only teams with any major momentum heading into the next round. They were considered to be dark horses before a ball was kicked but now, they ve been able t…
Toni Kroos believes Germany did themselves credit by qualifying for Euro 2012 with a 100 percent record.
Germany, beaten finalists at the 2008 European Championships, won all 10 of their matches in Group A of qualifying, booking their place at next year s finals in Poland and the Ukraine.
Their passage to the tournament was assured with two matches to spare, but they still managed to defeat Turkey away and Belgium at home, with 3-1 the result in both fixtures.
And Bayern Munich forward Kroos considers finishing up with the perfect record to be an indication of the national team s professionalism and determination.
It could have been tricky to stay focused having already qualified. But we managed it, despite struggling in the first 20 minutes, Kroos sai…
Steve Clarke remains confident that Scotland will be ready for Euro 2024 this summer despite their winless run being extended to seven games with a 1-0 friendly defeat by Northern Ireland at Hampden Park.
The Scotland boss was looking for a response following a 4-0 defeat to the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Friday night but midfielder Conor Bradley’s first international goal gave Northern Ireland a first win in Mount Florida in 50 years.
Scotland have not been on a seven-game winless run since August 2004 to March 2005 and they take on Gibraltar and Finland in June friendlies before facing Euro 2024 hosts Germany in the opening game of the tournament at the Allianz Arena.
“I’m not counting,” said Clarke, who revealed captain Andrew Robertson will be assess…
Germany s Miroslav Klose has become the all-time leading goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history.
The veteran striker had 14 World Cup goals, scored between 2002 and 2010, before the tournament and he has now surpassed the record of 15 set by Brazil s Ronaldo in 2006.
Klose levelled the tally with the equaliser in Germany s 2-2 Group G draw with Ghana and his strike against hosts Brazil on Tuesday saw him edge clear of Ronaldo.
The 36-year-old made his first World Cup appearance in 2002 in South Korea and Japan and his return of five goals was bettered only by Ronaldo, who scored twice in the 2-0 victory over Germany in the final.
Germany played host for the next instalment of the marquee tournament in 2006 and Klose claimed the golden boot by again netting…