World Cup referees selected – Two from MLS, none from Premier League

There will be plenty of fireworks when England and Italy square off in the second match of Group D, with the two sides set to meet the third time in just two years. And while the Three Lions won the friendly game in August 2012, they had been beaten by the Azzurri in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals.

Chances are Roy Hodgson s charges will be very motivated to prove the doubters wrong and edge closer to the knockout stages, whilst Italy will be under pressure as well following the 1-1 draw with weak Luxembourg, which was their seventh straight match without a win.

Taking all this into account, it is important to note that placed on Correct Score, First Goalscorer, Last Goalscorer, Anytime Goalscorer, Half-Time/Full-Time, Scorecast and Spincast markets if a penalty is scored…

Harry Maguire believes he still has a crucial role to play at Manchester United despite falling out of favour under Erik ten Hag this season.

Maguire helped United reach the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday, making a rare start as they built on a 4-1 first-leg lead with a 1-0 win at Real Betis in the competition s last 16.

In the Premier League, Maguire has made just five starts all campaign, with Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez anchoring Ten Hag s favoured United backline.

While Maguire s lack of regular minutes has led to suggestions he may leave Old Trafford at the end of the season, the England defender remains determined to have an impact on and off the pitch.

I have an important role on and off the field at this club and every day I tr…

Andrea Bertolacci is desperate to make a fresh start at AC Milan after an underwhelming 2015-16 campaign.

The 25-year-old joined Milan from Roma in June 2015 for a transfer fee in the region of €20 million, but failed to live up to the high expectations at San Siro.

Bertolacci refuses to make excuses, though, and wants to set the record straight in 2016-17.

I don t want to make excuses. I must learn from the past experiences, both positive and negative, and start again with the will to train hard, the midfielder told the official Milan website.

In the past seasons I always scored four to six goals. Scoring only one, last season, was a real disappointment for the team and for myself.

This year I want a fresh start and I am sure that with dedic…

Arsene Wenger does not expect midfielder Jack Wilshere to return for Arsenal until October at the earliest.

The England playmaker and product of the club s academy has not featured in a competitive game for the Gunners since the July 31 friendly with New York Red Bulls following a series of ankle and knee injuries.

Hopefully, we will get Wilshere back playing for October, Wenger said.

With Abou Diaby returning, it will be like signing two new players. This season, the squad will be strong and competitive.

Wilshere, 20, first suffered the troublesome ankle injury in the Emirates Cup game against the MLS side, hobbling off after just seven minutes and he has since required a number of operations to correct the ligament damage.

More recently, he …

Starting with Wednesday s guests, while Bayern Munich might have continued to show some glaring inconsistencies since opening the 2019/2020 Bundesliga campaign, the reigning champions are coming off the back of arguably a season-best display. Along with booking their spot in the knockout stage of this year s Champions League with a 3-1 win over Tottenham last week, the Bavarians really caught the eye as they hit six past Werder Bremen over the weekend. One man who really shined on Saturday and is enjoying his brightest spell since making a loan switch from Barcelona over the summer is playmaker, Philippe Coutinho. Putting in a Man of the Match display at the Allianz over the weekend, the Brazil international has now bagged five goals in as many appearances and has also found the net in …

Sevilla chairman Jose Castro says Barcelona have not made an offer for defender Mariano but confirmed the club will consider selling Yevhen Konoplyanka for the right price.

Barcelona saw Dani Alves leave for Juventus on a free transfer in the off-season, prompting suggestions they might seek to recruit another Brazilian right-back from Sevilla in the form of Mariano.

But the 30-year-old, who only moved to LaLiga from Bordeaux in July 2015, has not been the subject of a bid from the reigning champions.

We don t have any offer from Barcelona to sign Mariano, Castro told a news conference.

Castro also claimed clubs are yet to make a bid for Ukraine international Konoplyanka, but acknowledged a suitor has made their interest known in rumoured Sunderland targ…

Argentina legend Martin Palermo says the best football memory he has is being involved in the 2010 World Cup squad.

The 38-year-old hung up his boots in 2011 after more than 500 league appearances with Estudiantes, Villarreal, Real Betis and most notably Boca Juniors, where he won six league titles as well as two Copa Libertadores crowns.

The one-time South American Player of the Year revealed that despite being selected for the Argentina squad for the World Cup in South Africa, there were also some unsavoury moments, including his well-documented rivalry with Juan Roman Riquelme.

The most important memory in my career is the World Cup in South Africa, Palermo told Cadena Cope.

Diego Maradona gave me the opportunity to be there and be involved. I ll ta…

Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder Douglas Costa is very happy at the Donbass Arena, and is not looking to leave the Ukrainian Premier League giants when the transfer window re-opens in January despite the player s agent, Cesar Bottega, welcoming reported interest from English Premier League outfit Tottenham Hotspur, .

In January 2010, Douglas Costa, 22, agreed to terms on a five-year deal worth approximately €6 million with Shakhtar Donetsk after spending two seasons with Porto Alegre side Grêmio in Brazil.

The former Brazil Under-20 international is also attracting interest from Napoli, but the 22-year-old s agent has played down a potential move for the attacking midfielder.

The interest of Napoli and Tottenham is very pleasing, Bottega told Tutto…

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has admitted the club will be looking for a late recruit in the transfer window after suffering injury setbacks.

The Gunners maintained their perfect start to the Premier League season with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Wednesday, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring the winner just 151 seconds after Douglas Luiz s equaliser.

Arteta was forced to change his starting ranks in midfield for the second game in a row though, with Mohamed Elneny having suffered an injury in Saturday s 2-1 win against Fulham.

Elneny s setback came after Thomas Partey was ruled out of action through injury, with Arteta having to turn to Albert Sambi Lokonga for the midweek test against Villa.

With Premier League tests a plenty and the Europa League gro…

Dutch international midfielder Rafael van der Vaart will almost certainly be Real Madrid s only new signing of the season, the president of the Spanish champions, Ramon Calderon, said Tuesday.

Rafael van der Vaart is the first recruit of this year and he will almost certainly be the only one, Calderon said during the 25-year-old s official unveiling at Real Madrid s Santiago-Bernabeu stadium.

His comments come amidst growing signs that Real Madrid s bid to recruit Manchester United s Portuguese international winger Cristiano Ronaldo have stalled due to the English side s refusal to sell the 23-year-old player.

Van der Vaart, whose mother is Spanish, signed with Real for five seasons in a deal reportedly worth 13 million euros (20 million dollars).

Th…