The loss of captain Michael Ballack is a blow to their chances of claiming their fourth World Cup crown in South Africa, but Germany have a habit of raising their game for the big tournaments.
Since the 1982 finals in Spain, Germany have the enviable record of reaching at least the quarter-finals at each of the previous seven tournaments.
They were third in 2006 and second in 2002, but take a young side to the Republic who will need to cope with the significant loss of their leader.
Cool under pressure, Germany tend to cope best on the world stage in the cauldron atmosphere of a knock-out match.
They have won all four penalty shoot-outs they have faced at World Cup finals and the last penalty missed by a German player again dates back to 1982 when Uli St…
Atletico Madrid climbed to second in LaLiga following a commanding 3-0 victory over Osasuna at Civitas Metropolitano on Sunday.
Yannick Carrasco, Saul Niguez and Angel Correa were on target as Diego Simeone s side leapfrogged rivals Real Madrid, who play Valencia later on Sunday, with an eighth straight home win.
The hosts broke through a minute before half-time. Saul s throughball released Antoine Griezmann, who claimed his 13th assist of the season by putting the ball on a plate for Carrasco to tuck away his fifth goal in 11 appearances.
Saul doubled the lead in the 62nd minute when he rifled into the top corner, while substitute Correa sealed Atletico s 10th straight victory over Osasuna when he slotted home Rodrigo de Paul s throughball eight minutes from tim…
Juventus new boy Paulo Dybala insists he will not be weighed down by his transfer fee following a high-profile switch from Palermo.
The 21-year-old forward struck 13 goals in 34 Serie A appearances last term, earning himself a move to the Italian champions and UEFA Champions League runners-up.
Juve could end up paying up to €40million for Dybala, who cost Palermo a reported €12million when he arrived from Argentina s Instituto in 2012.
I think that since I have arrived in Italy, there s always some talk about my price tag and never about how I feel like an individual, he said. At Juventus it s happening again.
At Palermo, it was the same when they paid that fee for me, but then I showed that this didn t put extra pressure on me and I ll try to sh…
Newcastle bid for Alexandre Lacazette
French daily newspaper that Newcastle United have submitted an official proposal for Lyon striker Alexandre Lacazette.
It is no secret that Magpies boss Steve McClaren is in the market for a high-quality centre forward with summer recruit Aleksandar Mitrovic and Papiss Cisse having failed to impress this term.
Newcastle appear to have made Alexandre Lacazzette their number one target and they have started the bidding at £19 million.
But, despite the fact that Lyon value their prized asset at £23 million, the latest reports suggest the striker is not interested in moving to St James Park.
This is hardly a surprise considering that Europe s top clubs are after his signature, so it remains to be seen whether …
Atletico Madrid defender Filipe Luis insists Lionel Messi is the best footballer in the world, despite his omission from the shortlist for the Best FIFA Men s Player award.
Despite inspiring Barcelona to a domestic double of LaLiga and the Copa del Rey in 2017-18, Messi was overlooked for the final three-man list in favour of Cristiano Ronaldo, Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah.
Antoine Griezmann claimed it was bizarre a FIFA award will not recognise any of France s World Cup-winning stars, but his Atletico team-mate thinks it is ignoring Messi that ruins the credibility of the prize.
The award is for the best player in the world. For me, today, it s Messi. Just like in previous years, he told Globoesporte.
When he s not there, it loses credibility. It does…
Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing a move for Bournemouth’s Nathan Ake, according to Talksport.
The North London side are the lookout for potential replacements for Jan Vertonghen, who is currently injured and out of contract at the end of the season.
Ake has been one of the stand out performers for Eddie Howe’s side since signing from Chelsea, initially on loan in 2016, racking up fifty-nine appearances for the club, scoring six goals.
He made just seventeen appearances during his time at Stamford Bridge getting more game time with temporary spells at Reading and Watford.
Since moving to the Vitality Stadium, he has become a senior Netherlands international and has now made seven appearances, scoring his first goal for his country in a 1-1 friendly da…
Grace Clinton described scoring on her England debut as “what dreams are made of” after the Lionesses completed a 7-2 rout of Austria in the first of two international friendlies in Spain.
Clinton headed home Lauren Hemp’s delivery in the 19th minute at the Estadio Nuevo Mirador for her first senior international goal, having minutes earlier seen an effort come back off of a post.
The 20-year-old looked comfortable throughout her 62 minutes on the pitch and her performance drew praise from boss Sarina Wiegman.
Clinton told ITV: “It’s what dreams are made of. I’m very happy. I did picture this moment since I was a child, definitely, but I didn’t know it would be with my head!
All the love for Grace Clinton
— Lionesses (@Lionesses) …
Best Odds: 11/10
Bookmaker:
Hoping to find a route into the play-off places in midweek, Real Salt Lake will welcome LA Galaxy to America First Field in the early hours of Thursday.
Real Salt Lake
Starting with the hosts, putting in another gritty display last weekend as they snatched a 1-1 draw away at Western Conference rivals Minnesota, Real Salt Lake are enjoying an eye-catching flurry. With another play-off spot at the top of their agenda in 2023, the Claret and Cobalt will be looking to make an MLS statement here. Unbeaten in each of their last four domestic appearances, Pablo Mastroeni’s men have also suffered just a single loss from any of their previous 10 contests. With that extended flurry stemming all the way back to April 15th, the Reds have also …
Hannover have parted company with head coach Mirko Slomka after a disappointing first half of the Bundesliga season.
The two-time German champions are 13th in the table at the halfway stage of the league and sit just four points off the relegation play-off place.
Following their 2-1 defeat to Freiburg last time out, speculation intensified around the German s position, with the club confirming his exit on Friday.
Slomka, who was appointed by the club in 2010, secured the club their Bundesliga status in his first season after spending much of the season in the drop zone.
He then guided the club to a fourth-place finish in his second season thereby qualifying for the UEFA Europa League before finishing seventh and ninth in his next two campaigns.
We have …
China said Sunday it had formally launched investigations of three more former football officials including the ex-head of the Chinese Football Association in a widening gambling and match-fixing probe.
Authorities were investigating former CFA chief Xie Yalong, the national team s ex-manager Wei Shaohui, and Li Dongsheng, the former director of Chinese soccer s referee committee, the police ministry said in a statement.
State media had previously reported the three men had been taken into custody for questioning, but there had been no official confirmation.
China s professional leagues have been plagued with allegations of gambling, match-fixing and crooked referees for years.
That, coupled with the national side s poor performances, have long made the …