Arias challenges Colombia to ´make history´

Colombia full-back Santiago Arias has challenged his team to reach their maiden FIFA World Cup quarter-final in Brazil.

The South American nation have never gotten past the round of 16 in their four previous World Cup appearances and Arias wants Jose Pekerman s Colombia side to make history this year.

After missing the past three World Cup finals, Colombia will finally return to football s biggest stage on Saturday when they will take on Group C opponent Greece in Belo Horizonte, and Pekerman s men are rated by many as an outside contender for the title.

While Colombia will be without star striker Radamel Falcao and will line up against an opponent in Greece that has more recent World Cup experience, Arias reckons it is time for him and his teammates to produce somethi…

Time´s up for Diouf, says Kean

El-Hadji Diouf s spell at Blackburn Rovers looks set to end after manager Steve Kean admitted the troubled forward is on his way out.

The Senegalese international has sparked plenty of controversy since moving to the Ewood Park outfit in 2009, most recently incurring a fine of two weeks’ wages after failing to report for pre-season training.

I think it s probably the time for El-Hadji, Kean told Sky Sports News. But it will depend on who is interested. It depends on what happens with the offers that come in.

Meanwhile, Kean is more confident over the future of striker Benjani, and hopes to offer the Zimbabwean a new deal soon.

Benjani had been unhappy with an initial offer from the English Premier League club.

It was a bit of a breakdown in …

Bordeaux complete Toulalan signing

Bordeaux have completed the signing of Jeremy Toulalan from Monaco, handing the midfielder a two-year contract.

Despite having one season remaining on his Monaco deal, Toulalan last week negotiated an exit from the club he joined from Malaga in 2013.

The former France international cited a desire to move closer to his home town of Nantes and undertake a new challenge as motivating factors.

I spent three wonderful seasons with Monaco and I am proud to have contributed to the club s return to the forefront of the French and European stage, he said in a statement.

It is time for me to take on a different challenge that will also allow me to get closer to my home town.

I want to thank my team-mates, the coaching staff and all the members of the clu…

Chelsea in surprise Ben Arfa link

Chelsea have entered the race to sign former Newcastle United man Hatem Ben Arfa, .

After a less than impressive spell in England, the France international has rebuilt his career with a fine spell over the Channel with a fine campaign at Nice.

The twenty-nine year old has scored sixteen goals in twenty-nine Ligue One appearances leading to him receiving a recall for the France national side.

Liverpool have also been linked with a move for Ben Arfa, who played eighty-six times for Newcastle United before having a brief loan spell with Hull City prior to his return to France.

The midfielder has been capped fifteen times for Les Bleus, scoring twice and was part of their squad for the 2012 European Championships in Poland and Ukraine.

Chelsea…

BREAKING NEWS: Morata ends Chelsea nightmare with Atletico Madrid loan

Alvaro Morata s Chelsea nightmare is over after agreeing to join Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of next season.

Morata, 26, joined Chelsea in 2017 for a reported £58million from Real Madrid and initially looked to have settled well, scoring 10 times in the first half of his debut Premier League campaign.

But he netted just once more for the rest of 2017-18, as injuries and poor form severely disrupted his impact.

Maurizio Sarri opted to keep Morata after joining from Napoli, but the Spain international struggled again this season, scoring five times in 16 Premier League outings.

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Agreement with over the loan of for the remainder of the current season and the next one.
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— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish)

Prediction: Wolves vs Manchester United

Verdict: Both teams to score

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Knocking Manchester United out of the FA Cup last month, Wolves will once again host Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s side on Tuesday night.

Wolves

Starting with the hosts, coming off the back of a surprise 2-0 defeat away at Burnley on Saturday, Wolves will know that they must immediately refind their form if they want to secure European football this season. With only their goal difference keeping them in the lucrative seventh spot, Nuno Espírito Santo s side have shown some brief inconsistencies in the Premier League at the back end of the campaign. Despite a 2-1 win over Manchester United securing an FA Cup semi-final showdown with Watford later in the month, Wolves have won just one of their last six to…

Bitesize Prediction: Smouha vs Enppi – 11/07/23

Market: Enppi double chance

Odds: 8/11 @

Looking to spring an upset and extend on their recent purple patch, Enppi will travel to the Alexandria Stadium when they meet Smouha on Tuesday evening.

Starting with the hosts, while Smouha might have all but extended on their Premier League status this season, the Alexandria-based outfit are certainly signing off the 2023 campaign in the midst of a real nightmare. Last seen putting in another woeful display as they signed off June with an action-packed 5-2 drumming away at Pyramids, Ahmed Samy’s downbeat squad have come under real scrutiny on either side of the international break. Along with marking their return from the fortnight interval with a 1-0 loss at the hands of Nogoom while on Egypt Cup duties, the Blues a…

England bend Wembley bedlam in their favour to earn shot at greatness

John Stones extended his arm and held up a palm. Stop. Breathe.

It was time for Jordan Pickford to calm down. No time for bedlam.

The Everton goalkeeper headed into Wednesday s Euro 2020 semi-final encounter with Denmark in superb form, yet to be beaten in the tournament.

In the 27th minute at Wembley, Pickford moved on to 720 minutes without conceding a goal for England, breaking a record set by the great Gordon Banks between May and July 1966. We all know how that tournament ended and how none have ended like it in the 55 years and four semi-final defeats since.

But by the time Pickford pouched that piece of history, events had already started to turn.

After Kalvin Phillips erred to allow a shot from Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Pickford frantically s…

Aimar blushing at Messi praise

Benfica midfielder Pablo Aimar has stressed that he is proud that Barcelona star Lionel Messi sees him as an inspiration.

The three-time Ballon d Or winner once said that he does not have any idols, but then added that he enjoys watching the former Valencia playmaker.

When I was 13 or 14 I loved to watch Aimar. He s brilliant, I enjoy watching him, Messi said about Aimar, and the 32-year-old is over the moon with the Argentine s praise.

He (Messi) is the best player in the world, probably in history, and to hear him praise my game is wonderful, Aimar told the official UEFA website.

False modesty is worse than arrogance. I ve been compared to some huge names. It s not something I aspired to or expected, but it s very reassuring.

Aimar started …

Ella Toone says England players feel at home in Women’s World Cup camp

England midfielder Ella Toone believes the Lionesses’ person-centred approach to the World Cup has prevented players from feeling “like robots” as they deal with the more difficult elements of travelling halfway around the world.

Should the European champions advance from their July 22 Haiti opener all the way to the August 20th Sydney final, they will have spent nearly two months in tournament co-hosts Australia, with a nine-hour time difference and more than 10,000 miles between the Lionesses and loved ones at home.

While England have quickly gotten down to business in their Queensland training sessions, they have also been permitted plenty of downtime including organised whale-watching and zoo trips or casual bonding with team-mates at the tranquil team hotel.