Gareth Bale wants to inspire another famous Wales tournament odyssey at Euro 2020 before he returns to the Real Madrid ranks next season.
The €100million man played a leading role as Wales reached the semi-finals of the last European Championship in 2016.
Widely unfancied before that tournament, Wales were only denied a place in the final by eventual champions Portugal as Cristiano Ronaldo got one over his then Madrid team-mate Bale.
Now Wales go again on the big stage, with Bale coming off a strong finish to the season on loan at Tottenham.
He finished the campaign with 16 goals and three assists in 34 games, starting just 19 of those matches but showing enough flickers of his best form to suggest there is more to come from the 31-year-old. He far exc…
Wednesday saw Portugal win the first Euro 2016 semi-final while build-up continued to the high-profile clash in Marseille between hosts France and world champions Germany. But, as always, there was plenty going on away from the match action, and you can find the best of it in our diary
RED DRAGONS AND GOLDEN OLDIES
We have a certain stereotypical picture of the singing, chanting and howling football fan; beer in hand, slightly pink from sunburn and with a belly hanging over a pair of shorts.
A group of French men and women in their autumn years brandishing songsheets don t really fit in with the scene.
But that was exactly what happened in Lyon s old town when travelling Wales fans were joined by some scene-stealing locals ahead of their last-four…
Erling Haaland has informed Borussia Dortmund of his wish to stay at the club for another year, with director Sebastian Kehl recently confirming that the striker is in total agreement with that. However, according to AS, it is all a part of a plan which would see him join Real Madrid in 2022.
The 20-year-old, who has so far scored 37 goals in 38 games in all competitions this season, is under contract with the Bundesliga side until 2024, which puts Dortmund in a strong position together with claims that the release clause, believed to be in the region of €75 million, does not come into effect until next year. Dortmund have maintained that Haaland would not be sold this summer, and it s clear that nothing but an offer well in excess of €100m would tempt them into reconsideri…
Germany kicked off their Euro 2012 campaign in efficient fashion, grinding out a 1-0 win over Portugal on Saturday.
Mario Gomez s pinpoint header after 72 minutes earned the beaten 2008 finalists to a crucial three points, and equal top of Group B with Denmark after their tournament opener.
The match was certainly not one for the purists, with clear-cut chances hard to come by. Both sides gave a disciplined, if not dynamic performance on the field.
Neither side were in any hurry to take control early, though Cristiano Ronaldo did cause a few hearts to flutter when he flashed a low centre across the face of goal.
With just under a quarter of an hour gone, Germany keeper Manuel Neuer was floored by a dreadful late challenge from Helder Postiga, who was pe…
Napoli moved top of Serie A following a routine 2-0 win over Monza at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
First-half goals from Matteo Politano and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia did the trick for Antonio Conte s side, who leapfrogged Juventus to the summit of the table.
The hosts broke through in the 22nd minute as Politano rounded off a strong run by drilling a low shot beyond Stefano Turati in the Monza goal.
The visitors were then victims of their own downfall as Napoli doubled their lead 11 minutes later.
Turati pass out from the back went straight to Frank Anguissa, who then combined with Scott McTominay to set up Kvaratskhelia to volley home.
Though Monza improved in the second half, they were unable to truly trouble Napoli, who held out for the three po…
Ralf Rangnick expressed frustration at aspects of Austria s defensive showing but lauded their entertainment factor after the exit at Euro 2024, where other games have been difficult to stay awake for .
Austria topped Group D ahead of France and the Netherlands but were exposed from two corners in their last-16 defeat against Turkiye, who triumphed 2-1 in Leipzig on Tuesday.
Merih Demiral capitalised just 57 seconds into the encounter after Arda Guler s set-piece caused carnage, before the same combination provided another telling blow in the second half.
Austria have now fallen at the first knockout stage in back-to-back editions of the Euros, though Rangnick was far from displeased with his battling side.
We didn t have the necessary luck, the Austria …
It is safe to say Real Madrid did not miss Cristiano Ronaldo in the first game of a five-match ban.
Los Merengues cruised their way in the 2017 Spanish Super Cup second leg against FC Barcelona. Led by an inspiring performance from Marco Asensio and a solid dominant effort that annulled Lionel Messi, Real Madrid did not have problems to win their second title of the season. Real won 2-0 at Santiago Bernabeu and 5-1 on the aggregate score. And honestly, the final outcome in this second leg should have been bigger.
Dominant First Half For Madrid Thanks To Asensio s Early Blast
Barcelona looked lost early on and Real Madrid did not waste any time. In fact, Los Merengues broke the deadlock before the fifth minute thanks to Asensio, easily one of the best players on the Ber…
Competition: Premier League
Market: Liverpool to finish outside of the top-four
Odds:
With Liverpool set to lose their influential striker Luis Suarez potentially to Barcelona this summer, while the Merseyside club will be in a very demanding Champions League campaign that can often play havoc with league form in 2014/15, it could be a very disappointing Premier League season for the Reds.
They finished runners-up last season to Manchester City, which has earned them their first Champions League campaign for a number of years. The extra fixtures in midweek can cause fatigue ahead of the typical weekend league games, which in turn will affect results if Liverpool don’t have strength in depth.
Their top scorer last season Luis Suarez scored 31 league…
Spain are Euro 2024 champions.
La Roja got the job done on Sunday in Berlin, with Mikel Oyarzabal s late effort seeing off England in a 2-1 victory.
But with the tournament now done and dusted, which teams and players really stood out and, conversely, which ones disappointed?
Here, with the help of Opta data, we take a look.
THE TOPS
Spain
An obvious one, but where else to start but with the champions? La Roja crashed out of the 2022 World Cup, losing to Morocco on penalties, but what Luis de la Fuente has done since replacing Luis Enrique is outstanding.
While Luis Enrique had a possession obsession. De la Fuente has added a direct aspect to that possession-based build-up. Nico Williams and Lamine Yamal (more on him to come) were …
American billionaire Shahid Khan withdrew his offer to buy Wembley Stadium from the Football Association on this day in 2018.
The proposed deal was worth £900million and the FA was planning to spend the money on transforming grassroots facilities across the country over the next 20 years but the idea of selling the stadium, which cost £757million to build, proved to be controversial with many in the game.
The owner of Fulham and NFL side the Jacksonville Jaguars felt his offer to buy Wembley proved more divisive than initially anticipated and decided to pull out.
In a statement, FA chief executive Martin Glenn said: “Shahid Khan has informed us today that he will be withdrawing his offer to buy the stadium – and we fully respect his decision.
“At …