France coach Raymond Domenech on Tuesday opted for youth over experience with veteran goalkeeper Gregory Coupet overlooked in the 20-man squad for a friendly against Sweden in Gothenburg on August 20.
The 35-year-old Coupet paid the price for his first team place not being assured in his new club Atletico Madrid and his mediocre performance at the European championships where he conceded six goals during their first round exit.
Rennes right back Rod Fanni and Yoann Gourcuff of Bordeaux have been given their first call-up.
Gourcuff has returned to France after a forgettable passage at AC Milan, who have loaned him to Bordeaux, while Fanni has been called in to fill the gap left by injured Bayern Munich defender Willy Sagnol and Lyon s Francois Clerc.
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Newcastle United would benefit from a change of manager in the close-season as opposed to sticking with John Carver, according to former defender Robbie Elliott.
Carver was appointed until the end of the season in January after former boss Alan Pardew left for Crystal Palace.
But with Newcastle stuttering towards the end of another mid-table campaign, Elliott has urged owner Mike Ashley to bring a fresh face into the dugout.
I think it s easier for Ashley to keep John in the role but I don t know if that s the right thing for the club, Elliott told Perform.
I feel we need a clean break and it s a very difficult role. Look at the managers we ve had over the years how successful they have been at other clubs, then they come to Newcastle.
You d …
Arsene Wenger has not given up on a top-four finish in the Premier League after Arsenal moved past their points tally from last season with a 2-0 win over Sunderland on Tuesday.
The Gunners finished second in the table behind Leicester City in 2015-16, but are in danger of missing out on Champions League football this time around, sitting fifth ahead the final round of matches.
Wenger who has yet to sign a new contract with the club has received his fair share of criticism following their underwhelming results, but the Frenchman feels their potential failure to clinch a top-four finish is very much down their rivals improvements rather than their own struggles.
However, the Frenchman refuses to throw in the towel ahead of their clash with Everton on Sunday.
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Gianfranco Zola believes there is little prospect of social media platforms becoming safe spaces for sports stars, warning: Bad people will always be there.
England footballers Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho were subjected to racist abuse online after their penalty shoot-out misses in the Euro 2020 final.
Those failures from the spot helped Italy to land their second European Championship triumph.
There have been calls for the likes of Twitter, Instagram and Facebook to police their platforms more effectively, with 19-year-old Saka urging the three tech giants to each step up their game.
Former Italy and Chelsea forward Zola told Stats Perform: Racial abuse is unjustifiable, unforgivable and unacceptable. I reckon that youngsters have to u…
Challenging for the Premier League title may bring back painful memories for Liverpool after their failed attempts in 2009 and 2014, but Jurgen Klopp wants the Reds to embrace the battle this season.
Liverpool s most recent attempts to claim the crown for the first time since 1990 have both ended in disappointment, as they finished runners-up behind Manchester United and City respectively.
As the current campaign enters the second half, the Reds sit level with Tottenham in second place, seven points adrift of leaders Chelsea.
But rather than being worried about another missed opportunity, Klopp wants his side to relish the challenge and enjoy the remainder of the season.
The only thing I want is that, as a club, we really enjoy this situation because…
According to a recent report from Sky Sports News, AC Milan have made an approach for Nottingham Forest defender Matty Cash, with an aim to put forward a bid in the January transfer window.
The youngster has enjoyed a strong campaign for the East Midlands side up to this point as they continue to go in search of promotion back to the Premier League. Now, though, Forest are under pressure from bigger clubs to sell as we get closer and closer to the end of the window.
Alongside AC Milan, Southampton are also very interested in the prospect of bringing Cash on. They are also looking at Kyle Walker-Peters from Tottenham who is set to go out on loan, but their primary target is still said to be Matty Cash.
For the next nine days, it certainly seems as if Forest…
Barcelona have confirmed the sacking of the club s under-19 coach Victor Valdes.
Former goalkeeper Valdes was appointed to the role in July but lasted only three months in charge of the Juvenil A team.
Valdes reportedly clashed with former Barcelona striker Patrick Kluivert, who is now in charge of La Masia, prior to his departure.
Although Barca s U-19s are sitting in second place behind Real Zaragoza in the league, they lost their opening two UEFA Youth League fixtures to Borussia Dortmund and Inter under Valdes leadership.
Barcelona have informed Victor Valdes on Monday that he is no longer U19A coach and no longer employed by the club, said a brief club statement.
The 37-year-old won the 2010 World Cup with Spain and a raft of honours at Ba…
There s a full deck of Premier League fixtures this weekend, bookended by two major clashes between the four teams that once dominated the competition.
League leaders Arsenal square off with Manchester United on Sunday.
First, Liverpool and Chelsea go head-to-head in a battle between two sides who are desperately in need of a return to their best form on Saturday.
In between, champions Manchester City face Wolves, high flyers Newcastle United make the trip to Crystal Palace and Everton meet West Ham in a basement battle.
Ahead of the latest slate of matches, test your football expertise with our Opta-powered Premier League quiz. The answers are at the bottom.
5 Manchester City have now avoided defeat in each of the last five Premier League matches…
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has vowed to not stand still in his ambition to drive further positive change in the area of the club’s stadium.
An in-depth analysis of Spurs’ socio-economic impact from the 2021-22 season by law company EY has found the club now contribute around £900million of gross output to London’s economy, generating an additional £478m of Growth Value Added (GVA) in London.
A total of £296m of this GVA is for the borough of Haringey specifically, which is a vast increase on the £120m GVA per annum being generated in 2015 when the club called 36,284-seater White Hart Lane its home.
Don’t miss out as global music star brings her Summer Carnival tour to N17!
Saturday 15 June 2024 Sunday 16 June 2024
General Admiss…
Ange Postecoglou will be the first Australian to manage in the Premier League after taking up the reins at Tottenham.
Australia will be the 25th nation to provide a permanent Premier League boss and one of nine to be represented by just a single manager.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the one-offs.
Australia – Ange Postecoglou
Tottenham – 2023 –
The Premier League’s last recruit, Postecoglou arrives at Tottenham having significantly enhanced his curriculum vitae with what he achieved at Celtic. The former Melbourne Victory and Yokohama F Marinos boss was recruited after completing a domestic treble in Scotland to take his tally to five major trophies in just two seasons.
Austria – Ralph Hasenhuttl
Southampton – 2018-2022
H…