Venezuela have restrained Lionel Messi in recent years and Salomon Rondon is confident Argentina s superstar will be kept quiet once more in their Copa America quarter-final on Friday.
Messi continues to seek a first major trophy at senior international level and his bid for glory in Brazil is now into the do-or-die stages.
He and head coach Lionel Scaloni will hope the knockout rounds have not come too soon for a team that needed victory over Qatar simply to earn second spot in Group B, a 2-0 win in Porto Alegre easing fears raised by a loss to Colombia and draw with Paraguay.
Brazil loom large as potential semi-final combatants but for now Argentina must find a way past opponents who finished as runners-up to the host nation in Group A and have proved stubborn …
Cristiano Ronaldo netted a brilliant hat-trick to ensure Portugal secured a late draw with Spain in Group B of the World Cup in Sochi on Friday evening.
The Real Madrid superstar got his tournament off to the best possible start as he netted a penalty in only the fourth minute after being tripped by Nacho Fernandez in the box. Diego Costa equalised for the Spaniards, before an uncharacteristic mistake from David De Gea gifted Ronaldo a second just before half-time. Costa again dragged Fernando Hierro s men level with a close-range finish after half-time with Nacho atoning for his error only minutes later to claim the lead.
The headlines were destined to be written by Ronaldo, though. He thundered home a stunning free-kick with only minutes left on the clock to claim a v…
FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja (Wikipedia / Jason Gulledge)
After eight months of great soccer, FC Dallas dream season could be undone by one bad injury and one rough playoff game away from home against the Seattle Sounders.
FC Dallas has been one of the most consistent teams in Major League Soccer in 2016. For the last few months of the season, the team stood at the top of the standings. They finished up with a five-game undefeated run to claim the Supporters Shield, awarded to the team who stood atop the regular-season standings at the end, against the LA Galaxy in the final game of the regular season.
Having also defeated New England Revolution in the US Open Cup final in September, Dallas fans dreamed of a domestic treble and raising their first-ever MLS Cup. …
Holders Germany sensationally crashed out of the first round of the World Cup for the first time since 1938 after losing 2-0 to South Korea, with VAR used to award two injury-time goals.
Joachim Low s side went into the game needing to match or better Sweden s result against Mexico, but they failed to break down Korea s dogged resistance and were undone at the last as Kim Young-gwon and Son Heung-min netted, while the Scandinavians romped to a 3-0 victory.
If World Cup-winning head coach Low thought his problems were behind him after a superb second half in Germany s 2-1 win over Sweden in their second Group F game, he was wrong, and the inclusion of Mesut Ozil in the front four did little to inspire his turgid team.
Korea, with nothing to play for but pride, g…
Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville will be among the stars returning to Old Trafford for Michael Carrick s testimonial in June, with Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard and Michael Owen also set to feature.
Carrick will celebrate 11 years at the club by pitting a Manchester United 2008 XI – also boasting the likes of Rio Ferdinand and Edwin van der Sar – against the Michael Carrick All-Stars XI.
The fixture will raise money for charity through the newly created Michael Carrick Foundation.
Very proud to be awarded a testimonial by in partnership with my new foundation
— Michael Carrick (@carras16)
To have played for the greatest football club for 11 years is something that I m very proud of and it is an honour to have been given a te…
Newcastle complete Sandro Tonali deal
We are delighted to announce the signing of Sandro Tonali from .
The 23-year-old joins the Magpies for an undisclosed fee and has agreed a contract at St. James’ Park initially until 2028.
Welcome to Newcastle United, Sandro!
— Newcastle United FC (@NUFC)
Newcastle have completed and confirmed the transfer of Sandro Tonali from AC Milan.
The Italy international leaves the Serie A with 130 appearances by the age of 23, a notable top-level experience for such a young age. He played in all 12 Champions League games last season as the Rossoneri reached the semifinal of UEFA s elite competition.
The Magpies have agreed to pay a fee of €70 million, including add-ons, for the midf…
Arsenal cruised to a comprehensive 3-0 win over Chelsea to hand Antonio Conte s side back-to-back Premier League defeats in the London derby at Emirates Stadium.
A match expected to be a closely contested affair was blown apart in the 11th minute when Alexis Sanchez capitalised on a dreadful error by Gary Cahill to open the scoring on his 100th Arsenal outing.
Theo Walcott also reaching a milestone in his 350th game for the Gunners added a quickfire second, crowning a glorious passing move, and there was further attacking brilliance as the influential Mesut Ozil made it 3-0 five minutes before half-time.
A first league win over the Blues since October 2011 moves Arsene Wenger s team up to third in the table behind Manchester City and Tottenham, who meet next week…
Andoni Iraola has confirmed that Bournemouth have held talks with Tottenham over a move for Dominic Solanke.
Ange Postecoglou has made it clear that he wants to sign a striker this transfer window, having failed to find a replacement after Harry Kane s departure last year, with Solanke their main target.
Reports now suggest that the two clubs have come to an agreement, with Spurs willing to meet his £65million release clause.
Solanke played in every game for Bournemouth last season, only failing to start in one, while he netted a club-record 19 goals in the Premier League from 38 shots on target.
Earlier on Friday, Iraola confirmed the talks between the clubs were ongoing, and highlighted just how big a miss Solanke will be to the squad, not only due to …
A pulsing light show, a pitch side fire show and the obligatory Kasabian soundtrack. The King Power Stadium was ready to party like it was 2015-16.
Brendan Rodgers vibrant Leicester side might have been knocked off their stride at Manchester City last weekend, but this felt like the ideal time to restate their elite credentials before an adoring and clapper-armed public.
Liverpool were just back from their successful but often torrid Club World Cup exertions in Qatar to play their closest challengers in the Premier League away from home.
Any notion this combination of circumstances represented a deck potentially stacked against Jurgen Klopp s formidable side lasted less than a minute, during which time the runaway leaders almost scored twice.
Kasper Schm…
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Two sides who find themselves battling it out in the top-two chase, Norwich will welcome Blackburn to Carrow Road on Saturday evening.
Norwich
Starting with the hosts, while Norwich might have endured a real October nightmare, it appears that Dean Smith s side have put those issues behind them. Marking their return to action last weekend with an eye-catching display as they claimed a 1-0 win away at Swansea, the former Aston Villa boss has an immediate Premier League return at the top of his agenda. Despite suffering a 2-1 loss at home against Middlesbrough on November 12th, that is the only defeat that they have suffered from their last five Championship contests. Opening Saturday s fixtures sat six points adrift of finding a route …