Italy coach Roberto Donadoni said in an interview published in La Repubblica on Tuesday that as things stand he will take Alessandro Del Piero to Euro 2008.

Del Piero, who started the season on the Juventus bench, has been in fine form since the turn of the year and the clamour for his return to the national team set-up has been growing.

The veteran striker has been left out of Donadoni s recent squads but his 18 goals in Serie A this season seem to have forced the coach into a re-think.

Asked if he would call up Del Piero for the tournament in Austria and Switzerland in June, Donadoni said: Ten months ago no but now yes.

The facts speak for themselves but I ll only talk about my squad when the time is right.

It seems that many people want t…

Real Sociedad defensive midfielder Martin Zubimendi is eager to join Liverpool in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Liverpool are confident of getting a deal done for Zubimendi.

“GMS sources have been informed that Liverpool were confident they had made a breakthrough in their pursuit of Zubimendi on Wednesday evening, having initially insisted that they were merely exploring the possibility of a deal rather than actively progressing in their attempts to provide the likes of Wataru Endo with fresh competition,” states the report.

Zubimendi has been on the books of Sociedad since 2011 and has established himself in the first team after coming through the Spanish club’s youth system. The 25-year-old Spain international defensive …

Odion Ighalo’s tenure at Manchester United will end further than originally expected. The Nigerian forward was scheduled to leave the side at the end of his current agreement on May 30, but such won’t be the case anymore. Instead, the talented forward has extended his agreement and now will remain at the club until January 2021.

The main reason why Manchester United managed to keep Ighalo for a longer period of time was the fact that the player was against leaving Old Trafford. A Manchester United supporter in his early years, Ighalo said time and time again that playing for The Red Devils was a dream come true. Shanghai Shenhua accepted that, and allowed Ighalo to remain on English soil for several more months.

Ighalo’s tenure will eventually end, though. As BBC …

Barcelona s longtime captain Carles Puyol on Friday signed a three-year extension to his current contract which will keep him at the Spanish and European champions until June 2013.

I am very happy with the trust that my peers and the club has shown in me, the 31-year-old Spanish international defender told Barcelona s website after signing his new contract.

The fans also played a key role in my decision to stay since they have constantly supported me, in the good times and the bad, he added.

The release clause of Puyol s new contract was set at 10 million euros (14.7 million dollars), the club said in a statement. It provided no other financial details.

Puyol rose through the ranks of Barcelona s youth team and has been a mainstay of the Catalan giants…

Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick and registered two assists as Argentina crushed Bolivia 6-0 in a 2026 World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires.

Having been held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela last time out, the Albiceleste – who remained top of the CONMEBOL qualification group – took out their frustrations on Oscar Villegas visitors.

Messi latched onto Lautaro Martinez s pass before coolly dispatching his finish past the oncoming Guillermo Viscarra for a 19th-minute opener, then a quickfire double on the stroke of half-time took the game away from Bolivia.

Messi unselfishly squared for Martinez to tap home their second in the 43rd minute, then recorded his second assist by finding Julian Alvarez with a quick free-kick three minutes into stoppage time, with the Atletic…

Lionel Messi has edged out Robert Lewandowski to the 2021 Ballon d Or award, a seventh of his magnificent career.

World football s most prestigious individual accolade was back up for grabs this year, with the ceremony taking place in Paris on Monday, where Messi was announced as the winner with Lewandowski second.

The Bayern Munich striker would almost certainly have won his maiden Ballon d Or in 2020, only for France Football to decide not to hand out the award due to the coronavirus pandemic, and was pipped by Paris Saint-Germain star Messi this year in the running for the 2021 iteration.

Lewandowski did get the consolation prize of the inaugural Striker of the Year award.

Was it the right choice, though? Using Opta data, Stats Perform assesses wh…

England’s all-time record scorer Harry Kane opened his international goal account within 80 seconds of making a “dream” debut on this day in 2015.

Kane netted almost immediately after coming on as a 70th-minute substitute against Lithuania at Wembley, wrapping up a 4-0 win with a thumping far-post header.

The then 21-year-old, who had already scored 29 goals for Tottenham that season, was given a standing ovation as he took to the field and it did not take him long to get the sell-out crowd back on their feet as, with one of his first touches, he found the back of the net.

Wayne Rooney, Danny Welbeck and Raheem Sterling scored England’s other goals, but the headlines belonged to Kane after a one-sided Euro 2016 qualifier.

Lithuania are opponents t…

The Carolina Panthers will attempt to flip their fortunes once again when they visit the New York Giants in Week 7.

The NFL betting odds have the Panthers as field goal favorites, bringing a three-game slide into MetLife Stadium after starting 2021 with a 3-0 record. New York is desperately trying to get healthy bodies on the field, losing two straight with a long list of key players dinged up.

Check out our NFL free picks and predictions for Panthers at Giants on October 24.

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After two joint practices this week, the New England Patriots and Las Vegas Raiders will cap off their preseason with a Friday night showdown at Allegiant Stadium.

Starters are not expected to get much run and with Bill Belichick knowing Josh McDaniels and Jarrett Stidham well, it will be tough for the Patriots not to be prepared.

Find out where my best bet lies in my NFL picks and predictions for Patriots vs. Raiders.  

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The San Francisco 49ers and the Las Vegas Raiders each have something to prove this season, but in very different ways. 

Sunday’s visiting 49ers have been a near-constant in the Super Bowl discussion in the Kyle Shanahan era, but still have yet to win their sixth title. Meanwhile, the Raiders have to bounce back after a terrible 6-11 season which saw them miss out on the playoffs.

As usual, a lot of this preseason discussion is about who isn’t there, whether that’s starting quarterbacks or Raiders running back Josh Jacobs, who is holding out. Don’t miss our NFL picks and predictions for 49ers vs Raiders on Sunday, August 13.

49ers vs Raiders odds

49ers vs Raiders predictions

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