Romania have appointed Mirel Radoi as their coach ahead of next year s Euro 2020 play-off with Iceland, the Romanian Football Federation (RFF) has announced.
His appointment was ratified by members of the RFF s executive committee on Tuesday and he will succeed Cosmin Contra after he resigned from the role last week.
Radoi moves up to the senior squad after impressing as the coach of Romania s Under-21 side, who reached the semi-finals of this year s UEFA European Under-21 Championship.
That performance meant Romania qualified for the Olympics for the first time in 56 years, earning promotion for Radoi.
He will lead Romania into a play-off in Reykjavik in March with the winners of that tie taking on either Bulgaria or Hungary for a place at Euro…
Luis Suarez has hailed best in the world Lionel Messi after his former Barcelona teammate helped Argentina qualify for the 2022 World Cup final.
Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 34th minute and set up Julian Alvarez s second goal in the 69th minute to round out an impressive 3-0 victory over Croatia on Tuesday.
The seven-time Ballon d Or winner now has a shot at his first World Cup title, and Argentina s first since Diego Maradona led them to glory in 1986, with Messi having been a runner-up in 2014 when Germany edged La Albiceleste 1-0 in Rio de Janeiro.
You never get tired of showing that you are the best in the world, Suarez, who spent six years with Messi at Barcelona from 2014 to 2020, wrote on Instagram.
The whole world stops …
Manchester City and Manchester United both lost on Saturday, breaking a decade-old wait for the two rivals to fall to a defeat in a 3pm kick-off.
It is rare for both United and City to play in the traditional Saturday slot, but that was the case as Erik ten Hag s side hosted Crystal Palace and Pep Guardiola s Premier League champions headed to Wolves.
Yet neither team will be in a rush to remember this particular afternoon in a hurry, as they both lost in a 3pm Saturday kick-off for the first time since September 28, 2013.
United lost 1-0, with Joachim Andersen s goal making Roy Hodgson the first manager to go unbeaten in five successive Premier League trips to Old Trafford. City, meanwhile, went down 2-1 at Molineux, with Hwang Hee-chan getting the winner for W…
The Champions League quarter-final draw threw up no shortage of intrigue – particularly for Pep Guardiola.
The Manchester City manager will face Bayern Munich for the first time since leaving Germany in 2016.
But that is not the only reunion in the last eight as Carlo Ancelotti again goes back to Chelsea 12 months on from an epic tie at the same stage last season.
It might not be Ancelotti s last meeting with a former side either, potentially facing Bayern in the semi-finals and then Napoli or Milan in the final.
The Madrid coach has a mixed record facing sides he has previously coached, however, while Guardiola has some painful memories to get over.
Stats Perform looks at how the most dominant coaches of the modern era have fared against former…
Kevin De Bruyne has insisted he is not ready to call time on his international career following another influential display for Belgium in their win over Romania.
The Manchester City midfielder scored the Red Devils second goal in Cologne to ensure their first victory at Euro 2024, having lost their Group E opener to Slovakia.
De Bruyne registered five shots against Romania, his most in a European Championship match since 2016 against Hungary (7). No player on the pitch had more shots, shots on target (3), made more tackles (4), or won more fouls (4) than the Belgium captain.
The 32-year-old was the centrepiece of his nation s golden generation that has underachieved on the international stage as a new wave of talent emerges into the limelight, but continues to…
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone took the positives from his side s performance in a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
It marked Atleti s third draw in LaLiga this season, with Simeone s side six points back from leaders Barcelona.
Atleti earned a point at Vallecas Stadium thanks to Conor Gallagher s strike after the break following a sloppy first half in which Isi Palazon had put the hosts ahead.
Next up for Atleti is a derby clash with second-place Real Madrid, and Simeone remained optimistic despite his team s indifferent form.
In the first half we had more scoring situations than gameplay. Then we saw intensity, involvement, a lot of people in the opposition s half, attacking in different ways, Simeone told reporters.
I always focus o…
Scotland are falling short in big matches due to the finer details, said Scott McTominay after a self-inflicted defeat to Poland.
McTominay scored a 76th-minute equaliser at Hampden Park on Thursday, as Scotland looked all set to take a 2-2 draw from their Nations League opener.
Yet deep in stoppage time, Nicola Zalewski put away Poland s second penalty of the night to condemn Steve Clarke s team to defeat.
Scotland, who crashed out of Euro 2024 with a whimper, are now winless in their last five home games, their longest such run in 16 years.
It s a difficult one to be honest, McTominay, who has now scored nine in his last 16 appearances for Scotland, told ITV Sport.
I thought we were good in the game, I felt like at half-time when we were 2-0 d…
Everton old boy Anthony Gordon saw a penalty saved on his return to Goodison Park as Newcastle United were held to a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Gordon had been Newcastle s spot-kick hero a week earlier, winning and converting a penalty to earn a point against Manchester City, but his failure this time cost the Magpies.
After James Tarkowski s foolish foul on Sandro Tonali gave Gordon, who left Everton for Newcastle in January 2023, his opportunity from 12 yards, he could not find a way past England team-mate Jordan Pickford.
The save from Pickford was heartily celebrated by the Everton fans, though their fury was directed at referee Craig Pawson midway through the second half, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin felt he too should have had a penalty.
Idrissa Gueye miss…
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Italy captain Fabio Cannavaro was ruled out of the upcoming Euro 2008 championships on Monday after suffering a left ankle injury according to Ansa press agency.
The replacement for the 34-year-old Real Madrid defender capped 116 times will be announced soon, the Italian Football Federation informed Ansa.
Cannavaro who will hold a press conference on Tuesday suffered the injury during a training session at their Austrian base, just hours after Italy arrived in the country.
He underwent scans at a hospital in Modling, 15 kilometres south of Vienna, after colliding with Giorgio Chiellini during the practice match and was subsequently transferred to another hospital in Vienna.
Cannavaro underwent an MRI scan, after which the doctor Franz Maria Kainberge…