Argentina got their Group B campaign at the Olympics up and running with a 3-1 victory over Iraq, with Thiago Almada, Luciano Gondou and Ezequiel Fernandez scoring.
Javier Mascherano s side made a losing start against Morocco on Wednesday, going down by a 2-1 scoreline in a chaotic match that featured almost 20 minutes of second-half stoppage time and a two-hour delay due to crowd trouble.
They bounced back against Iraq despite Aymen Hussein cancelling out Almada s opener, with Gondou and Fernandez on target in the second half in a deserved victory.
Argentina hit the front after 14 minutes as Julian Alvarez improvised to chest a deflected cross down to Almada, who lashed into the bottom-left corner on the volley.
But Iraq grew into the contest and got th…
Wilfried Nancy has insisted that his full focus remains with Columbus Crew amid links to the vacant United States managerial position ahead of their meeting with Atlanta United this weekend.
The Crew extended their unbeaten run to six matches in the MLS following their 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC in midweek as they aim to keep pace with the top two in the Eastern Conference.
Nancy’s side sit third in the standings, five points behind FC Cincinnati following their defeat to Chicago Fire last time out, with Inter Miami now at the summit of the table.
Despite their recent form, Nancy is hungry for more success with Columbus, going on to rubbish the rumours linking him with a move to the international stage following Gregg Berhalter’s dismissal last week.
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Jack Wilshere hopes his comeback for Arsenal s Under-21 side will prove to be the first step towards winning a place in England s squad for Euro 2016.
The 24-year-old midfielder has not played in 2015-16 after breaking his leg in pre-season, but made his comeback with a 65-minute appearance as the second string defeated Newcastle United 3-1 at Emirates Stadium on Friday.
Wilshere was spoken to by the referee after clashing with Henri Saivet, shot wide with a long-range effort and created a golden opportunity for Chris Willock during an outing he hopes will begin a productive end to the campaign.
I want to go to the Euros. To do that I have to get in the Arsenal team, so I have to show the Arsenal and England managers what I can do, Wilshere told Arsenal Player.<…
Raheem Sterling scored a hat-trick for England as the Three Lions secured a 5-0 win in Euro 2020 qualifying at Wembley Stadium on Friday evening.
The Manchester City man gave Gareth Southgate s men the lead mid-way through the first period as he stabbed home Jadon Sancho s excellent cross. Harry Kane then extended the advantage in the final seconds of the first period with a powerful spot-kick. Sterling was then on the scoresheet twice more as he showed great instincts to curl home before netting again via a deflected strike only six minutes later.
A late own goal from Tomáš Kalas rounded off a perfect evening for the Three Lions.
Simple finish for Sterling
England dominated the ball in the opening stages but it could have been the visitors who took the lead…
Bristol City manager Nigel Pearson’s first return to Leicester City since leaving the club in 2015 ended in defeat with a 1-0 victory for his former team who moved back to the top of the Championship.
The match-winning goal came from Jamie Vardy, a player Pearson brought to the King Power Stadium 11 years ago.
When Pearson was in charge, for his second spell at the club, he kept Leicester up in their first season back in the Premier League before being sacked that summer. But he was credited with building the core of Claudio Ranieri’s squad that went on to win the Premier League title in 2016.
Now manager of Bristol City, Pearson came back to Leicester on crutches due to a back problem. But there were to be no celebrations as Vardy’s 67th-minute penalty, af…
Former Southampton and Northern Ireland defender Chris Nicholl, who captained Aston Villa to League Cup glory, has died at the age of 77.
Nicholl, who also managed Southampton before taking charge of Walsall, had been living with dementia, specifically chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which he attributed to brain damage caused by repeatedly heading balls over his lengthy career.
The former central defender’s death was confirmed in a family statement on his daughter Cathy’s Facebook account.
It said: “It is with a heavy heart that we write this. Chris Nicholl (our dad) sadly passed away peacefully on Saturday evening in hospital.
“He fought a very long battle with CTE, caused by his dedication to football. Words can’t describe how much we’ll m…
Competition: Euro 2016
Market: Germany to win against Ukraine
Odds:
Germany face the Ukraine in their Euro 2016 Group C opener at the Grand Stade Lille Métropole, and are big favourites to pick up all three points to get off to a perfect start this evening.
The world champions are fancied for a deep run in the Euros, and a win against Ukraine today will boost their hopes of qualifying for the knockouts given the expanded format.
Germany come into this summer’s tournament off the back of inconsistent form, having suffered three defeats from their last five games against France, England and Slovakia. They did, however, enjoy a 2-0 win over Hungary in their final friendly before the Euros so they have some momentum ahead of their clash with the Ukrai…
Lazio got their Serie A campaign off to a winning start with a 3-1 victory over newly promoted Venezia.
Visitors Venezia took a shock lead through Magnus Kofod Andersen just three minutes into the match, but Lazio roared back through Valentin Castellanos eight minutes later.
A penalty from captain Mattia Zaccagni put Lazio ahead on the stroke of half-time. The Italy international has now directly contributed to 35 goals in Serie A since the start of the 2021-22 campaign, second only to Antonio Candreva (40) among midfielders.
Venezia mustered seven shots in the second half, but their comeback hopes were extinguished when Giorgio Altare turned into his own goal late on.
Lazio s city rivals Roma did not fare as well, only managing a goalless draw away to Ca…
Best odds: 21/20
Bookmaker:
Canada will look to break a two-decade winless streak against Mexico on U.S. soil when they face El Tri in a friendly at AT T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Tuesday.
The Canucks held on for a 2-1 win against the USA in their last match, while Mexico secured a 3-0 victory over New Zealand.
Mexico
Javier Aguirre made a strong start in his third stint as Mexico s manager, ending a two-match winless streak with a win on Saturday. Mexico s three goals in that match matched their total from the previous four games combined, and it marked their second victory by a three-goal margin this year.
Defensively, Mexico have been solid, conceding only once in their last four competitive matches. All their wins this year have come o…
Eric Ramsay is set to take over at Minnesota United and become the latest British coach to take a management job in Major League Soccer.
The 32-year-old will become the youngest ever head coach in the United States and Canada’s top division when the Manchester United coach completes his move to the Twin Cities.
PA understands Ramsay has agreed a deal to take over at Minnesota following next weekend’s Manchester derby and the Welshman will swell the number of British head coaches in MLS to six.
Gary Smith is in charge of Nashville, John Herdman is at Toronto and ex-England international Phil Neville recently took charge at the Portland Timbers having previously managed Inter Miami.
Dean Smith, the former Aston Villa and Leicester boss, is another recen…