Scaloni open to making changes to Argentina squad ahead of World Cup

Lionel Scaloni will consider making changes to Argentina s squad ahead of their World Cup campaign getting under way should players not prove their fitness.

Argentina head coach Scaloni named his 26-man travelling part for Qatar 2022 on Sunday ahead of his side s opening Group C fixture against Saudi Arabia on November 22.

Paulo Dybala made the cut after recently returning from injury for club side Roma, though he played no part in Wednesday s 5-0 win over the United Arab Emirates.

Teams can make injury-enforced changes to their squad from a list of 55 players previously submitted until the day before their opening game, something Scaloni is open to.

We have some little problems and still have some days to decide the list, he told TyC Sports. We can make…

Drogba dismisses Villa rumours

Montreal Impact striker Montreal Impact Didier Drogba has laughed off reports linking him with a move to Aston Villa.

Social media went into overdrive when Villa owner Tony Xia claimed the Championship club were closing in on a world class striker.

Chelsea great Drogba emerged as a possible arrival, given he worked under Villa boss Roberto Di Matteo at Stamford Bridge, with the pair winning the 2012 Champions League.

But the 38-year-old Ivorian dismissed the speculation, using Twitter to apparently distance himself from any possible move.

Just come out of training at a million messages trending on Twitter saying I was in Birmingham today

— Didier Drogba (@didierdrogba)

Just come out of training at @impactmontreal a million messages …

Queens Park Rangers 1/7 to suffer relegation from the Premier League

Competition: Premier League
Market: QPR to be relegated
Odds:

Queens Park Rangers suffered a 3-1 defeat away to London rivals Crystal Palace on the weekend that now sees them in a precarious position in the table. Rangers have been a yo-yo side, earning promotion to the Premier League in 2010/11, before suffering relegation in 2012/13, and instant promotion last season.

The Hoops are currently 19th in the table after 29 games, and manager Chris Ramsey doesn’t look capable of getting them out of the bottom three in time this season, and their form suggests their fate could be sealed in a matter of weeks.

The London outfit have lost four on the bounce in the Premier League, and have picked up just one win in 12 games. Eight defeats in their last nine…

Goalkeeping woes, Stones and tactical confusion – How Guardiola is making life difficult for himself

Pep Guardiola accepted Manchester City s Premier League title bid was as good as over on Sunday, with the wounds of a punishing 4-0 defeat against Everton still raw.

The abject nature of City s second-half collapse at Goodison Park opens up the very real possibility that a manager who has reached at least the semi-finals of the Champions League in each of his seven attempts may miss out on Europe s elite competition altogether next season, particularly in light of Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester United s relentless form over recent months.

The imbalanced, aging squad Guardiola inherited when he took the reins from Manuel Pellegrini in June – only Stoke City, West Brom and Watford had a higher average age this weekend than City s starting XI on Merseyside – appears…

Inter 1 Cagliari 2: Icardi penalty miss proves costly as pressure piles on De Boer

Much-criticised Mauro Icardi missed a penalty as Samir Handanovic s calamitous own-goal ensured that Inter s poor form under Frank de Boer continued with a 2-1 home defeat to Cagliari in Serie A.

Icardi had been blasted in the run-up to Sunday s encounter following comments made in his autobiography regarding Inter s support, with the club s largest ultras faction Curva Nord demanding the striker be stripped of the captaincy.

Inter vice-president Javier Zanetti confirmed before kick-off at San Siro that the armband may well be taken from the Argentine, who did not help his cause with a terrible attempt from 12 yards out midway through the first-half.

Joao Mario s first Inter goal had appeared to cancel out that miss 10 minutes after the interval, with Handanovic …

Pochettino: I don´t know if Eriksen has played last game for Tottenham

Mauricio Pochettino bristled at being asked if Chrstian Eriksen has played his last game for Tottenham after he was named on the bench for their 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United.

Denmark international Eriksen had asked to leave the club during the close-season amid reported interest from Manchester United and Real Madrid.

The former Ajax playmaker was not included in the starting XI on Sunday, coming on in the 62nd minute as Joelinton condemned Spurs to a frustrating home loss.

Speaking in his post-match media conference, Pochettino said: I don t know [if Eriksen has played his last game].

Why do you ask me? Do you know something? It is so difficult the situation.

Pressed on why he did not pick Eriksen, Pochettino replied: I can only pick 11. I …

Sakho leaves West Ham to complete Rennes move

Diafra Sakho has completed his protracted return to Ligue 1, joining Rennes from West Ham to end his unhappy spell in the Premier League.

Sakho scored 10 Premier League goals in 2014-15 after joining West Ham from Metz but subsequently struggled with injuries and form.

In a bid to force through a move to Rennes in the previous transfer window, Sakho underwent a medical at the club without West Ham s permission.

And the 28-year-old has now got his move away from London Stadium, leaving West Ham in a deal reported to be worth £8million.

I am very happy to join Rennes and Ligue 1, Sakho told his new club s website. I never wanted to join another club than Rennes.

The president [Olivier Letang] has worked hard for my transfer. I felt it and his spe…

Messi, Ronaldo, Neymar all in UEFA TOTY as Van Dijk is also included

Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar are three of the superstars who have been voted into UEFA s Men s Team of the Year by fans, with Virgil van Dijk also included despite missing a chunk of 2020 through injury.

Fans had from November 30 to January 6 to cast their votes, and a host of predictable names made the cut, though Champions League winners Bayern Munich dominate.

There are five players from Bayern s treble-winning 2019-20 in the team, including Robert Lewandowski – winner of The Best FIFA Men s Player of the Year award – and Thiago Alcantara, who has since joined Liverpool.

The other Reds player in the side is Van Dijk even though the Dutch centre-back has only played five Premier League games this season due to a serious knee injury.

 …

Inter and Croatia star Brozovic tests positive for COVID-19

Inter midfielder Marcelo Brozovic has tested positive for coronavirus while on international duty with Croatia. 

The Croatian Football Federation (HNS) announced Brozovic s COVID-19 result on Friday, along with a member of staff, and confirmed he is in self-isolation. 

Additional testing took place prior to Saturday s Nations League clash with Sweden after Croatia defender Domagoj Vida returned a positive test in Istanbul on Wednesday. 

The test results showed two positive results, for the national team member Marcelo Brozovic and a staff member of the national team, a statement read. 

Both were immediately isolated from the other members of the national team. Inter were informed of the positive test.

 Rezultati dodatnog testiranja h…

Rumour Has It: Juventus and Atletico Madrid monitoring Arsenal´s Saka

Bukayo Saka only turned 20 earlier this month but he is a player on the rise.

The Arsenal forward was part of England s side that reached the Euro 2020 final in July.

Saka has put in plenty of eye-catching displays for the Gunners too.

 

TOP STORY – JUVENTUS AND ATLETICO KEEN ON SAKA

Calciomercato claims that Juventus and Atletico Madrid  are both monitoring Arsenal s England international forward Bukayo Saka .

The Gunners are believed to want £43million (€50m) to sell the 20-year-old, who signed a four-year deal in July last year.

Saka has become a key player at Arsenal, making 32 Premier League appearances last term.

Juventus and Atletico Madrid are plotting a potential swoop for Bukayo Saka

— MailO…