Spain boss Vicente del Bosque admits Barcelona and Real Madrid s rivalry has left a negative mark on the national team.
The two La Liga giants were involved in a number of spiteful clashes last season, including a UEFA Champions League tie that led to Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho being suspended, while defender Pepe and Barcelona reserve goalkeeper Jose Pinto were sent off.
Del Bosque, who has been in charge of the world champions since 2008, said he had work to do if he was to restore the good feeling among the squad.
We will have to heal the wounds as soon as possible. The clashes have left their mark because there are people who use the Madrid-Barcelona rivalry to divide and disengage, he told La Vanguardia.
We will look for solutions, without …
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says kit manufacturers “should not mess” with the St George’s Cross as he waded into a row over the new England shirt.
Nike has altered the cross using purple and blue horizontal stripes in what it called a “playful update” to the shirt ahead of Euro 2024. The US firm said the colours were inspired by the training kit worn by England’s 1966 World Cup winners.
Former England winger John Barnes told the PA news agency the row over the flag was “much ado about nothing”, but Sunak said on Friday: “Obviously I prefer the original, and my general view is that when it comes to our national flags, we shouldn’t mess with them.
“Because they are a source of pride, identity, who we are, and they’re perfect as they are.”
Colombia put themselves in the Group C driving seat with a 2-1 FIFA World Cup victory over Ivory Coast on Thursday.
Following a first-half that was low on goalmouth action, the match burst into life in the final 30 minutes.
James Rodriguez set the ball rolling with a powerful header from a Juan Cuadrado corner in the 64th minute, before Juan Quintero doubled the advantage six minutes later.
Gervinho pulled one back for Ivory Coast 17 minutes from time, but it proved to be mere consolation for the African outfit.
Ivory Coast created a number of late openings but Colombia captain Mario Yepes, playing in his 100th international was supreme throughout, repelling everything thrown at him.
Colombia go three points clear at the top of the group, and will…
Germany coach Joachim Low praised Thomas Muller and expects the in-form forward to continue producing at the FIFA World Cup.
Muller, 24, has already struck four times in Brazil to be alongside Neymar and Lionel Messi atop the golden boot standings.
The Bayern Munich star claimed the golden boot at the 2010 World Cup and Low was impressed by the condition Muller was in ahead of the 2014 tournament.
Low, whose team face Algeria in the round of 16 on Monday, believes Muller is difficult for opponents to handle.
Back in the pre-tournament phase it was clear he s in unbelievably good physical and mental shape, Low said.
All our opponents find him hard to handle because his runs are very clever and he keeps popping up in the box.
He s been in…
Napoli forward Gonzalo Higuain is still a long way from a potential move to Juventus, according to the Serie A champions director Fabio Paratici.
Argentina international Higuain has reportedly emerged as a target for Juve, while Arsenal have also been linked with a move for the 28-year-old.
Napoli had described talks of a potential deal with their rivals as nonsense .
Higuain s future is seemingly still a long way from being sorted and Paratici said there were no talks with Juve yet.
All the big clubs know that their top players can receive tempting offers, he said.
At Juve, for example, we have the [Leonardo] Bonucci and [Paul] Pogba interest from many clubs and are prepared for possible replacements. That is what Napoli would be doing as well,…
Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte revealed his frustrations at a crazy transfer market, which has threatened to break the record for most expensive deal of all time.
Gareth Bale s €100million move from Tottenham to Real Madrid in 2013 ranks as the most expensive transfer in football history, but Manchester United are reportedly prepared to break that in order to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba.
Reports suggest United have submitted a bid of around €120m to Conte s former club for Pogba, while the Serie A side have already completed the third-highest transfer of all time this window with the €90m signing of Gonzalo Higuain from Italian rivals Napoli.
Five other deals in 2016 Hulk to Shanghai SIPG (€55.8m), Alex Teixeira to Jiangsu Suning (€50m), Gra…
Fred is certain he can unlock his goalscoring potential at Manchester United now he has Bruno Fernandes as a midfield partner.
The Brazilian midfielder has struggled to find the net in his United career, scoring in a September 2018 draw against Wolves before waiting almost 18 months for his next goals to arrive.
A February double from Fred against Club Brugge in the Europa League took manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer by surprise, with the Norwegian declaring afterwards: I wasn t sure if I was ever going to be alive the next time he scored a goal.
Solskjaer said the lack of goals had been an ongoing joke , but Fred has warned he will be ready to present as a regular threat to opposition when football resumes.
United showed greater fluidity after Fernandes joi…
Kingsley Coman starred as Bayern Munich twice came from behind to earn a 3-2 win at Augsburg that moves the Bundesliga champions two points behind Borussia Dortmund, but he did not see out the match after picking up an apparent ankle injury in the closing stages.
Augsburg ended Niko Kovac s run of seven straight wins in all competitions at the start of his Bayern reign and they again gave his side a headache, opening the scoring in the first minute at WWK Arena on Friday.
But a brilliant individual performance from Coman, who twice scored first-half equalisers before setting up David Alaba for the winner after the interval, ensured Bayern go to Liverpool for the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on the back of an exhilarating victory.
Bayern captain…
Gareth Southgate wants his England squad to heal together following the pain of losing the Euro 2020 final and insisted abuse aimed towards any of his players is unforgivable .
England s hopes of glory at Wembley on Sunday were dashed by Italy in a penalty shoot-out, during which substitutes Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka failed to convert from the spot.
The trio were targets for racist online abuse in the aftermath to the match. The Football Association condemned such behaviour in a strongly worded statement, as well as calling on both the government and social media companies to take action to stop such incidents continuing to occur.
Speaking the morning after his team s heartbreaking defeat, England boss Southgate made clear his squad had be…
Lando Norris admitted he is not in perfect condition ahead of the British Grand Prix, after he had his watch taken from his wrist in an incident after the Euro 2020 final.
Norris, who is fourth in the Formula One drivers championship, was targeted as he walked back to his car following Italy s penalty shoot-out win over England at Wembley on Sunday.
McLaren announced on Monday their star driver was left understandably shaken following an incident which has been reported to the police.
However, the 21-year-old was cleared to race in his home grand prix this weekend.
Norris acknowledged, though, that the preparation has been far from ideal.
I m fine but I ve been better, I can say that. I m not in perfect condition, I m not going to lie, he told…