History will be made when hosts Qatar get the World Cup under way with a clash against Ecuador and head coach Felix Sanchez says you never know what can happen .

Al Bayt Stadium will be the venue for the opening match of the tournament on Sunday and Qatar s first World Cup game.

The 2019 AFC Asian Cup champions are not expected to qualify from Group A, which also includes Netherlands and Senegal.

Sanchez is realistic over the host nation s prospects but is relishing the challenge of trying to defy expectations.

The Spaniard said: Obviously, I m not talking about Qatar winning the World Cup, but competing at a good level against those three teams is our challenge.

Then this is football, and you never know what can happen.

Ecuador are 44th…

Ruben Neves of Wolverhampton Wanderers could be of interest to Liverpool, says Pep Lijnders, one of the assistants of Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp.

Lijnders worked with the 22-year-old midfielder during his time with Porto from 2008 to 2014, and speaking to , he said was well acquainted with his ambitions, as well as his professionalism and passion for the game. He knows this players is capable of giving a lot to a team, and reiterated that Liverpool are always interested in that kind of players.

Neves arrived to the Molineaux from Liverpool s Champions League opponents FC Porto two years ago for a fee of £15.8 million, which is very considerable given that Wolves were playing in the Championship at the time. Since then, he has impressed in his deep midfield role, w…

Mauricio Pochettino called for measures that prioritise rest time for players after a run of three games in seven days for Chelsea.

The 3-2 victory over Luton at Kenilworth Road on Saturday, which ended a streak of four consecutive away losses in the Premier League, was the eighth match his team has played in December.

The Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), which represents the interests of players, is understood to be exploring the possibility of taking legal action over the number of games in which teams are expected to take part.

It comes ahead of the imminent launch of a new format for the Champions League which could see as many as four extra games added to clubs’ schedules, while the 2026 World Cup will feature 48 countries for the first time.…

Ajax twice went ahead but were held to a 2-2 draw by Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

Erik ten Hag s team rifled in 20 goals in the group stages and picked up where they left off at the Estadio da Luz as Dusan Tadic struck first, before Sebastian Haller s own goal levelled things up.

Haller made amends by restoring Ajax s lead just four minutes later, becoming just the fifth player to score in seven straight games in the competition, yet Roman Yaremchuk equalised with 18 minutes remaining.

A hot-tempered finale did not produce a winner, with the draw leaving it all to play for in the return leg on March 15 at the Johan Cruijff ArenA.

Tadic showed composure to nudge his side ahead after 18 minutes with an exper…

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Looking to make a heavyweight Premier League statement on Sunday afternoon, Tottenham will travel to Old Trafford when they meet Manchester United.

Manchester United

Starting with the hosts, while Manchester United might have extended on their FA Cup adventure earlier in the week as they secured a 2-0 victory away at League One outfit Wigan, Erik ten Hag still finds mounting pressure on his shoulders. Coming under a huge amount of scrutiny last month as they came crashing out of the Champions League, the former Ajax boss is desperate for some much-needed stability. Signing off 2023 with another worrying display as they slumped to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Nottingham Forest, United have won just a pair of their previous seven appearan…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Raphinha from Barcelona in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Barcelona, who won the La Liga title last season, have made Raphinha available for transfer, and that Newcastle, who are aiming to finish in the top four of the Premier League table this campaign, are keen on bringing the winger to St James’ Park.

Raphinha has been on the books of Barcelona since the summer of 2022 when he joined from Leeds United. The Brazil international winger has won the La Liga title once and the Supercopa de Espana on one occasion with Barca so far.

The winger has made eight starts and eight substitute appearances in La Liga so far this season. Raphinha has scored three goals and given five assists in those…

Daley Blind revealed his shock move to Bayern Munich has received the backing of Louis van Gaal and Erik ten Hag.

Former Netherlands boss Van Gaal, who stepped down after the World Cup, is a former Bayern head coach, while Manchester United manager Ten Hag previously had a spell in charge of Bayern s reserve team.

Both think Blind has made a smart move by joining the German champions in a step that few saw coming.

The 99-cap Netherlands defender had been heavily linked with Royal Antwerp, but he jumped at the chance to join Bundesliga leaders Bayern, who are chasing an 11th consecutive league title.

Blind has committed to a six-month contract, with the 32-year-old adding the Bavarian giants to his illustrious list of clubs, having also had a four-year sti…

Sergio Ramos did not play on Tuesday against Sweden, but already picked up a milestone during the current international break. By playing against Norway during the Euro 2020 Qualifiers, the Spain captain won his 168th cap for La Roja. With that in mind, he became Spain’s most capped player in history.

Ramos had already equalled Iker Casillas’ previous record of 167 back in September against the Faroe Islands. But Ramos is not planning on stopping there. He already said he wants to become the first player in football history to reach 200 caps with his country.

Which players sit ahead of Sergio Ramos in the all-time caps list?

The 33-year-old defender, who has represented Spain in two Euro Championship titles (2008 and 2012) and one World Cup title (2010), is on a go…

Ryan Giggs is back in football as director of football at Salford – a post he has held for much of the season, the PA news agency understands.

The former Manchester United star is one of the Sky Bet League Two club’s co-owners, with March 27 marking the 10th anniversary of the Class of 92’s high-profile takeover.

Nicky Butt replaced fellow co-owner Gary Neville as Salford’s chief executive in October and PA has learned Giggs has this season stepped up to the position of director of football.

It is the 50-year-old’s first job back in football since standing down as Wales manager in June 2022 in the run up to the World Cup in Qatar due to a then upcoming trial.

Giggs was cleared of domestic violence allegations made by his ex-girlfriend last July …

Liverpool returned from facing Newcaslte at St. James Park with new three points on Saturday, courtesy of early goals from Darwin Nunez (10 ) and Cody Gakpo (17 ). Newcastle goalkeeper Nick Pope earned a straight red card five minutes after the second goal, making his team s task of getting back into the contest extremely difficult and ultimately unachievable.

Liverpool s expensive signings start flickering

Plenty has been said about Nunez and his wastefulness in front of goal. The former Benfica striker, who joined Liverpool last summer for €100m (providing all the add-ons are triggered), has been displaying smart movement and a tendency to get into goalscoring positions quite frequently, but his finishing left a lot to be desired. It should be said that his return of 10 go…