Former skipper David Beckham will personally deliver England s bid book to host the 2018 World Cup to FIFA president Sepp Blatter on Friday, bid officials said.
The handover will take place at the FIFA s headquarters in Zurich.
Football Association and bid chairman Lord Triesman said: It s fantastic news that David s schedule has enabled him to present and head our bid in Zurich.
It is entirely appropriate that he does so as our bid is about football and the passion for it in our country.
Nobody represents that better than David. He is a fantastic footballer and a global role model.
Beckham, who last met Blatter in Cape Town before the World Cup draw in December, is likely to play an even bigger role in the bid after his ruptured Achilles tend…
Scotland midfielder Lewis Ferguson is out of Euro 2024 after suffering a serious knee injury.
Bologna confirmed their captain had suffered cruciate ligament damage, an injury which is likely to keep him on the sidelines for the bulk if not all of the remainder of 2024.
A statement from the Serie A club read: “Lewis Ferguson today underwent a medical examination which revealed that he has sustained an injury to his cruciate ligament.
“He will undergo an operation, after which his recovery time will be assessed.”
Fitness update: Lewis Ferguson.
— Bologna FC 1909 (@BolognaFC1909en)
The 24-year-old went off injured during his side’s goalless draw with Monza on Sunday, which kept them in fourth place and on course for a Champions Lea…
Chelsea have agreed a season-long loan deal with Roma for Romelu Lukaku, the PA news agency understands.
The Serie A side will pay £8million to take the wantaway striker for a year as a solution to the stand-off between player and club appears finally to be in sight.
PA understands that there is no obligation for the club to make the deal permanent.
The uncertainty surrounding Lukaku, who joined Chelsea for £97.5m in 2021 but scored only eight Premier League goals in 26 games before being loaned out to Inter Milan last season, has hung over the early weeks of Mauricio Pochettino’s time in charge.
The manager hinted last week that he would be willing to consider reintegrating the Belgium international into his squad if no deal for him to leave could be…
Atletico Madrid cruised to a convincing 3-0 home win over LaLiga s bottom side Valencia on Sunday, with Conor Gallagher and Julian Alvarez scoring their first goals for the club.
Marcos Llorente and Samuel Lino went close in the first half before Atletico took the lead in the 39th minute, new signing Gallagher finishing into the bottom corner after latching onto a delightful pass from Rodrigo De Paul.
Valencia fought hard for an equaliser, with Javi Guerra s long-range effort going wide, but they were unable to prevent Antoine Griezmann from making it 2-0 after Lino s header fell into his path nine minutes after the break.
Another new recruit, Alvarez, put the icing on the cake with his first goal in the Spanish top flight since arriving from Manchester City, whe…
Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney says a friendly with England before the Euro 2012 finals is now highly unlikely .
Republic of Ireland coach Giovanni Trapattoni had given the fixture his backing, but the English FA are reluctant to commit to a match in May as the two nations could meet in the quarter-finals of the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
Delaney has confirmed that an exhibition match is in the offing, however, and could well be at Lansdowne Road after Euro 2012.
The England game is looking less likely for May, he told Sunshine FM.
The fact from the English perspective that we could play them in the quarter-finals they re not that keen to do it in May, but they re keen to come sooner rather than later after that.
Manchester United are unlikely to sell Harry Maguire in the January transfer window, according to . Maguire is struggling for playing time at United at the moment, but it is unlikely that the former Premier League and UEFA Champions League winners will let him go in the middle of the season.
Maguire has been on the books of United since 2019 when he joined from Leicester City. The 31-year-old England international defender has not always been at his best and has been often criticised by the Red Devils’ fans.
The England international defender has made 246 appearances in the Premier League so far in his career. Maguire has scored 13 goals, given 10 assists and kept 60 clean sheets in those games. Erik ten Hag’s side are 14th in the Premier League table at the momen…
Cucho Hernandez is certain the top players from across MLS and Liga MX will give everything to win when they face off in Wednesday s All-Star Game at his club home in Columbus.
Lower.com Field – home to MLS Cup holders the Columbus Crew – will play host to the 28th edition of the MLS All-Star Game, with a team comprised of Mexican football s finest the opponents.
This will be the third edition of the All-Star Game to use the inter-league format.
The MLS All-Stars beat their Liga MX counterparts on penalties in 2021, then triumphed 2-1 in a repeat fixture in 2022 with Carlos Vela and Raul Ruidiaz scoring.
Though Inter Miami stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez will miss Wednesday s game due to injury, Hernandez is expecting a high-quality contest and is…
There was more drama on day four of Euro 2020, although the pace of the tournament slowed just a little in Seville.
The Czech Republic and Slovakia claimed precious wins before attention turned to Spain and Sweden, the two presumed favourites in Group E.
But neither team had the imagination to forge a breakthrough, even if Spain were completely dominant.
That stalemate features as Stats Perform reviews the action with the best Opta data.
Scotland 0-2 Czech Republic: Schick shocks Scots from record-breaking range
Patrik Schick s brilliant brace at Hampden Park gave the Czech Republic their first win over Scotland since October 2010.
The Bayer Leverkusen striker s double was the first from a Czech player at a major tournament since Tomas Ro…
Ian Maatsen labelled Aston Villa head coach as brilliant as he prepares for the club s maiden appearance in this season s Champions League.
Maatsen completed his £37.5million switch from Chelsea while on international duty with the Netherlands at Euro 2024.
The 22-year-old, who did not feature for Ronald Koeman s side in Germany, signed a six-year deal at Villa Park following an impressive loan spell with Borussia Dortmund last season.
Maatsen made 16 Bundesliga appearances, scoring two goals and helping Die Schwarzgelben reach the Champions League final, playing the full duration of their 2-0 defeat to Real Madrid at Wembley.
Emery led Villa to a fourth place finish in the Premier League, and has become well known for his success on the European sta…
Italy midfielder Andrea Pirlo has announced plans to retire from international football following the 2014 World Cup.
The 33-year-old Juventus star feels the time is right to move aside to allow the next generation of players to flourish.
Pirlo made his senior Italy debut in 2002 and was part of the side that won the 2006 World Cup in Germany, holding his nerve to score in the penalty shoot-out victory over France in the final.
Having represented his country for over a decade, Pirlo is ready to focus his attentions fully on extending his club career, insisting he will carry on playing for Juventus.
We have to leave space for the youngsters to come through, said Pirlo at the launch of his new autobiography.
At club level I will continue playing as long as I feel the desire,…