Davids helps Barnet´s Goliath battle

Having shown plenty of potential in the warm-up games and did their best to prepare in the best possible way for the adverse weather conditions in Manaus, England seem ready to kick off their World Cup campaign with a strong performance against Italy.

The Three Lions will have an added incentive to defeat their rivals after the Euro 2012 quarter-final loss and with the Azzurri largely struggling at the moment, there should be value in backing Roy Hodgson s side, especially with Betfair enhancing the price to 6/1 for all new customers.

Simply using promo code ZSK192 and place your first bet on England to beat Italy at the regular price. If the Three Lions go on to win their opening fixture, you will be paid out immediately at standard odds, while the additional winnings…

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Hoping to find a route into the top-half of the La Liga table on Saturday evening, Celta Vigo will make the trip to the RCDE Stadium when they meet Espanyol.

Starting with the hosts, while Espanyol might have claimed a much-needed boost last month, Diego Martínez s men have failed to keep up that momentum since opening 2023. Last seen putting in a downbeat display away at defending champions Real Madrid as they were hit with a routine 3-1 loss, the Periquitos are firmly looking over their shoulder at the drop zone. Now suffering back-to-back La Liga defeats, the Catalonia-based outfit holding just a one-point buffer from slipping into the bottom-three. Mustering just a pair of wins from their last seven domestic contests, Mart…

There is no doubt Cristiano Ronaldo deserves to win the Ballon d Or ahead of Lionel Messi and Co., according to Real Madrid team-mate Lucas Vazquez.

Ronaldo is coming off a successful season for both club and country, helping European giants Madrid to Champions League glory and guiding Portugal to their first major title at Euro 2016.

And Vazquez is confident the 31-year-old will claim a fourth Ballon d Or, having finished second to Barcelona rival Messi in 2015.

Right now I don t think there s any doubt. Cristiano Ronaldo deserves it more than anyone else and I hope he wins it again, said Vazquez.

Playing alongside him makes everything easier. You often send him a bad pass but he ll score anyway. It s incredible what he s doing.

In 2015-16, Ro…

Former referee Jack Taylor OBE has died aged 82 at his home in Shropshire.

The Englishman awarded the first penalty in a World Cup final when he refereed Germany s 2-1 win over the Netherlands in 1974.

Described by the Football League as perhaps the finest English referee of all time, Taylor officiated in more than 1,000 matches, including more than 100 internationals and was also inducted into FIFA s Hall of Fame.

He went on to work for the Football League after retiring from refereeing.

Taylor, who also refereed cup finals in Europe, South America, South Africa and China, served on the Football League s referees committee and assisted its commercial department with its sponsor management.

Football League chairman Greg Clarke paid tribute to Tay…

Mikel Arteta insists the first-team squad remains united despite Arsenal s struggles this season, with the club needing fighters to help turn their situation around.

There was so much positivity at Arsenal ahead of the 2020-21 campaign after Arteta s early work in charge, including winning the FA Cup in August.

However, the Gunners have won just four games in the Premier League so far this term and, after Saturday s loss away at Everton, worryingly sit 15th in the table.

Stories have suggested there is unrest within the dressing room amid poor results, as well as the decision taken to ostracise Mesut Ozil and Sokratis Papastathopoulos.

Tuesday s EFL Cup quarter-final against Manchester City could provide a welcome distraction from their league woes, …

Hope Solo has expressed her sadness after the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) terminated the star goalkeeper s contract.

Solo has been suspended for six months and had her national team contract ripped up after making controversial comments about Sweden s players at the Rio Olympics.

The 35-year-old labelled her opponents a bunch of cowards after they defeated the USA on penalties following what she perceived to be a defensive performance in the quarter-finals of the women s football tournament in Brazil.

The United States Soccer Federation (USSF) deemed Solo s remarks unacceptable and claimed it took into account her past conduct in determining the punishment the 202-cap veteran was also suspended for 30 days in 2015 for misconduct.

In a statement…

Bayern Munich midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger has warned his team-mates not to disrespect Hannover ahead of Saturday s Bundesliga clash.

Hannover are trailing the Bavarians by 14 points in the league table, but Schweinsteiger feels that they are a team to be reckoned with, likening them to Germany s national side.

Hannover have really developed in recent years and play some very clever football, Schweinsteiger told Bild.

They always wait for their opponents to charge forward, and then try to win the ball and launch a quick counterattack.

Their style of play is quite similar to what Germany did at the 2010 World Cup. That s how Hannover play. They have fast and technical players like (Jan) Schlaudraff who fit this style perfectly.

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Tomas Soucek s strike earned West Ham a 1-1 draw against Tottenham and prevented their London rivals from making their best-ever start to a Premier League season after five matches.

Antonio Conte s side led at half-time at London Stadium through a Thilo Kehrer own goal at the end of a slick attacking move from Spurs, who earlier had a penalty awarded and contentiously overturned.

But Soucek fired past Hugo Lloris in the 55th minute to get West Ham back on level terms and the hosts, who brought on club-record signing Lucas Paqueta for his debut, looked the more likely to win the match from that point. 

Despite failing to see out the win, Spurs remain unbeaten on 11 points from five matches, while West Ham are up to four points for the season after recovering from…

Top flight Portuguese outfit Sporting Braga on Thursday said they had signed Cameroon international striker Albert Meyong Ze from Spain s Levante on a two-year contract.

Meyong has signed a contract to the end of the 2009/2010 season, Braga announced on their website.

Meyong, 27, caused a stir last season in playing in Portugal for Belenenses after already playing for both Levante and Albacete in Spain whereas FIFA regulations stipulated that a player may only appear for two clubs in a single season, even if he may be on the books of three.

Belenenses lost six points as a result after Portugal s Naval lodged a complaint.

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Vahid Halilhodzic has demanded a reaction from Japan against South Korea, having seen his side succumb to an opening-day defeat in the East Asian Cup.

Halilhodzic watched his domestic-based team throw away a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 against North Korea on Sunday as Japan s lack of star quality was exposed by a tidy, well-drilled outfit in Wuhan.

With the competition falling outside the official FIFA calendar, Europe-based talent such as Shinji Kagawa, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Okazaki are all absent from the competition.

While Yuki Muto took advantage of his opportunity to register the opener at the weekend, following a goalless draw against Singapore in World Cup qualification in June, Halilhodzic is facing his first real test as Japan boss.

The f…