Joachim Low will continue as Germany head coach after intense scrutiny over his future following the 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Spain.
Pressure on the World Cup-winning boss grew immeasurably following the Nations League humbling earlier this month and the German Football Association (DFB) said there would be a timetable to assess the situation .
On Monday, the governing body reaffirmed its support for the 60-year-old to lay to rest any speculation his long tenure was about to come to an end.
The news follows crunch talks between Low, who has been in the job since 2006, and senior members of the DFB, including national team director Oliver Bierhoff.
It was important for the national coach to discuss the current situation, the defeat against Spa…
Antonio Conte will return to Tottenham on Sunday ahead of the Champions League clash against Milan.
The Spurs head coach remained in Italy following the first-leg last month, a 1-0 defeat at San Siro, to recover from gallbladder surgery.
In his absence, Spurs secured back-to-back 2-0 victories in the Premier League against West Ham and Chelsea, resulting in Conte s nomination for the Manager of the Month award for February despite not being in the dugout.
However, Spurs also suffered a shock exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Sheffield United on Wednesday and require a turnaround in the second-leg against Milan at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium next week to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Conte will be back for that clash, as confirme…
Gabriel Jesus may miss up to two months after picking up an injury in Manchester City s 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace, Pep Guardiola has said.
The Brazil international went over awkwardly early on at Selhurst Park, overstretching as he inadvertently did the splits.
He had to be withdrawn shortly after for Sergio Aguero, with Jesus limping off the pitch in tears.
Kevin De Bruyne added to their injury worries late on when he was clattered by Jason Puncheon and taken off on a stretcher with his leg in a brace.
The Belgian was later seen hobbling without the brace and Guardiola believes De Bruyne has escaped a potentially serious injury, but he feels Jesus might be facing a couple of months out.
Hopefully it will not be tough, maybe one month or two m…
Robert Lewandowski is confident Barcelona will enjoy a better campaign to last season after he made his pre-season debut.
The Poland international secured a move from Bayern Munich to Camp Nou earlier this month, ending one of the summer s longest-running transfer sagas.
Despite his prolific form over the past two seasons he won the European Golden Shoe in both campaigns Lewandowski did not find the net in his first game, a friendly against Real Madrid.
But with fellow new recruit Raphinha delivering a moment of magic with his finish to beat Madrid 1-0 in Nevada, the forward certainly feels the future is bright.
This season will be better than the previous ones, for sure, he stated. If you play for Barcelona, you always think about winning titles.
…
RB Leipzig rejected the chance to sign Jamie Vardy two years ago because the Leicester City striker was deemed too old .
Vardy has scored 22 Premier League goals this season, inspiring Leicester to the brink of a stunning title triumph, while his form has also earned him a place in Roy Hodgson s England plans.
Leipzig coach and sporting director Ralph Rangnick has now revealed that he passed on the opportunity to bring the forward to the second tier of German football in 2014 because of his stance on only recruiting players under the age of 24.
We desperately wanted to sign Joe Gomez, who later chose Liverpool, and we were flying back from London to Leipzig with his agent, Rangnick told Sport Bild magazine.
On the plane, the agent said to me: Mr Rangnic…
Championship high-flyers Brentford have completed the signing of Rangers midfielder Lewis MacLeod for an undisclosed fee.
The 20-year-old midfielder has put pen-to-paper on a three-and-a-half year deal, which will take effect when the transfer window opens on Saturday, at Griffin Park.
MacLeod, who earlier this year earned his first call up to the Scotland national team but has yet to make his debut, has made 20 appearances in all competitions for Rangers this season, scoring eight goals.
He is a player who can play in all midfield positions, he has two excellent feet and an eye for goal, manager Mark Warburton told Brentford s official website.
He will be an excellent addition to the playing squad and I am sure he will play a key role in the secon…
Fabio Capello has guaranteed England will qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
Capello is in confident mood ahead of the World Cup qualifying campaign, which begins against Andorra on September 6, and the Italian believes England have more than enough quality to reach the finals.
The main obstacle to England s progress will be Croatia, who stopped Steve McClaren s team reaching Euro 2008 when they won 3-2 at Wembley last year.
But Capello isn t concerned about any opponent and made the kind of bullish prediction that could come back to haunt him in two years time.
We will qualify for the World Cup. We will be in South Africa. I am sure of it, he said. We are a very good team. It is always the same. For us, the opponent is not important. Th…
Football means different things to different people. For some people it is their living. For some people it is a passion. For some people it is almost a religion. Some love it, some like it and some find it quite enjoyable. Of course, many people think it is a waste of time and many others actually dislike it with an intense hatred.
So what is it about the game that can bring about such different extreme reactions in people?
It isn’t like art or music or a film or TV Programme. People can be passionate about these things but it is rare for someone to hate them in the way that some people hate football. Even those who are passionate about these subjects are unlikely to spend a majority of their salary on them, have the name of who or what they like tatto…
Michael O Neill has signed a four-year contract extension, committing his future to Northern Ireland through to 2024.
O Neill, who led the team to the second round at Euro 2016, turned down the chance to take charge of Scotland.
Northern Ireland narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2018 World Cup, losing a play-off 1-0 on aggregate to Switzerland.
And the 48-year-old has now agreed to extend his six-year reign by putting pen to paper on a new long-term deal.
It s official! Michael O Neill signs on till 2024! Here s his vision for the future
— Northern Ireland (@NorthernIreland)
The IFA came to me very quickly after the disappointment of defeat by Switzerland in the World Cup play-off and indicated that they would like to ext…
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos defended Zinedine Zidane, pointing to the club s trophy haul under the coach.
Zidane has come under fire after Madrid s struggles in LaLiga this season, with his side sitting 17 points behind leaders and rivals Barcelona.
A 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie is sure to ease the pressure on the Frenchman.
But Kroos dismissed any criticism of Zidane, who has led Madrid to eight trophies since taking the helm at the start of 2016.
In a team like Real Madrid, arguments always arise when things are not going well, Kroos said, via Marca.
Zidane has won eight titles in two years, that s more than enough.
3-1
Zinedine Zidane
— Real Madrid C.F.…