Salah starts for Egypt against Russia

Arturo Vidal believes Chile deserved their 2-1 win over Peru as they got their 2018 World Cup qualifying bid back on track.

After winning their opening two games, La Roja has tasted victory just once in seven matches prior to their clash with Peru on Tuesday.

However, Vidal his country s one shining light in a difficult campaign netted both goals and insists the South American champions are firing on all cylinders again.

I m happy because the team returned to winning ways, and this is deserved, he said afterwards. Today was a good game.

We went back to what we have done before, when we won two championships [2015, 2016 Copa Americas]. The team is very involved [in the qualification race] and we hope to reach the World Cup.

[This win] is best en…

Juventus manager Antonio Conte is anticipating his side s recent dominance of Serie A to be challenged next season.

Conte has guided Juventus to consecutive Italian titles since taking over in 2011.

The Turin club start their 2013-14 campaign at Sampdoria on August 25.

Conte s men finished nine points clear of second-place Napoli last season, but the 44-year-old is expecting a tougher fight next term.

The values of clubs are changing, our rivals are getting stronger, he told Gazzetta dello Sport. It will be a very open championship.

Juve, Milan and Inter are traditionally title contenders. Napoli have spent €75m-€80m and have reinforced with Rafael Benitez, a great coach who has won it all.

Fiorentina have legitimate hopes. Not only do they have …

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The most anticipated match of the season is upon us as Real Madrid and Liverpool prepare to lock horns in the Champions League final this Saturday. A mouth-watering clash between the two powerful sides will decided on who will get a privilege to lift the coveted trophy and place a crown on a difficult season already in the rearview mirror.

Real Madrid

Los Blancos have endured a difficult time domestically and will be looking to salvage the entire 2017/18 season with a win in Kyiv. Real Madrid are the Champions League defending champions and 12-time winners who are competing for their third successive European title. Having already eliminated the likes of PSG, Juventus and Bayern Munich on their road to the final…

James Harden has joined MLS club Houston Dynamo s ownership group.

The Dynamo announced on Thursday that the Houston Rockets superstar had become part of the group led by Gabriel Brener, also owners of the NWSL s Houston Dash.

Harden, arguably the face of Houston sports and winner of the NBA MVP award in 2018, joins six-weight world champion Oscar De La Hoya in the group.

I m very excited about the opportunity to join the ownership group of the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash and proud to be a part of a club with tremendous history and a great future,  Harden said in a statement.

Houston is my home now, and I saw this as a way to invest in my city and expand my business interests at the same time. Soccer in general, and especially MLS, have exploded in…

Germany captain Michael Ballack insists his team will give everything they have to beat Russia in Moscow on October 10 and earn themselves an automatic place at the 2010 World Cup.

Germany are just one point clear at the top of the Group Four table ahead of deadly rivals Russia, but should Ballack s team beat the home side at Moscow s Luzhniki Stadium they will be uncatchable.

We are devoting all our focus, energy and commitment to the match, said the Chelsea star.

We can t let the artificial pitch be an excuse for us we ll just have to adapt to the conditions.

Russia have got a strong team and they have got results in the past, so we will have to be at our very best if we are to get something out of our trip to Moscow.

We re confident that w…

Turkey coach Fatih Terim said he will resign after his side, which failed to qualify for the World Cup finals after a 2-0 defeat to Belgium on Saturday, play their final qualifier against Armenia.

The match we play against Armenia will be my farewell match, said Terim on the Turkish federation s official website Sunday.

Turkey play Armenia in Bursa, northern Turkey on Wednesday but a win against the Group 5 basement side will not be sufficient.

With only three wins so far Turkey are third in the group, seven points behind play-off bound Bosnia-Herzegovina and 15 behind automatic qualifiers Spain.

Terim led Turkey to the semi-finals of the 2008 European championships, won by Spain, but in the World Cup qualifiers his side went from bad to worse having at…

Borussia Monchengladbach defender Alvaro Dominguez claims that, since the World Cup, everyone in Spain wants to play in the Bundesliga.

With Germany replacing Spain as world champions, Dominguez, who joined Gladbach from Atletico Madrid in 2012, declared the Bundesliga has become a very attractive destination for Spanish footballers, although he concedes it can make it more difficult to get into the national team.

Dominguez rates the Bundesliga s crowds and its stadiums above those of La Liga and, with the German top flight shown more on Spanish television than in the past, he predicts that more of his compatriots will arrive in Germany in the coming years.

It s getting more and more coverage on Spanish TV, Dominguez told the Bundesliga s website.

Since…

Inter president Massimo Moratti says he admires the way Mario Balotelli has matured since leaving the club in the summer of 2010.

Sporting director Pier Ausilio claimed in January that the Nerazzurri had first refusal if Manchester City were to sell Balotelli, but the 2010 Champions League winners did not take up their option as the 22-year-old joined arch-rivals AC Milan instead.

I have no regrets over Balotelli. We knew that we wouldn t re-sign him, unfortunately because of what happened in the past, Moratti told the club s official website.

If anything, I admire Balotelli for the fact that he s becoming more and more professional, and that s a very good thing.

That was the only problem he perhaps had and which he doesn t seem to have anymore.

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The experienced Slovenian shot stopper Samir Handanovic is ready to quit Inter in January in favour of a move to a Champions League side and Inter are believed to be actively seeking the proper replacement.

According to reports from the , the Brazilian goalkeeper Ederson Moraes has been pinpointed as the top January target for the Nerazzurri.

The 23-year-old Ederson moved to Benfica from Rio Ave in 2015 and is contracted to the Portuguese side until 2020.

The Serie A side are hopeful that the talented shot stopper could be persuaded to join Inter, but the Italians are unlikely to get their man on the cheap.

Ederson Moraes is regarded as huge prospect and the future of Benfica, who are ready to give him more playing time in the first team this season.

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Jose Mourinho revealed Christian Eriksen has not played his last match for Tottenham after saying the Inter target will face Norwich City on Wednesday.

Midfielder Eriksen has looked set for a switch to Serie A this month, with Spurs knowing this will be their last chance to cash in on the Dane before his contract expires in July. 

Although Inter are reportedly set to make a fresh offer to last season s Champions League runners-up, it seems Eriksen is going nowhere for now.

Tottenham s steadfast position has the hallmarks of a power move and in Mourinho they have an operator who knows how to work the transfer market.

He will not want to lose Eriksen, but if Tottenham bring in the right money for the player who turns 28 next month, it could strengthen t…