For a team that has had precious little to laugh about recently this week s night out at a popular Parisian comedy club will have come as welcome relief to Raymond Domenech s France team.
After France s dismal Euro 2008 campaign when they returned home with one goal and one point, it looked as if Domenech s time as coach was up.
Yet rather than wielding the axe his French Football Federation employers elected to put the 56-year-old on probation and shake-up the national team s management structure.
Results since then have been mixed.
France got their 2010 World Cup campaign off to an embarrassing start with a 3-1 loss to Austria, ranked 105th in the world, in Vienna.
Then followed a 2-1 home win against Serbia to hand Domenech a much needed …
Barcelona head coach Ronald Koeman insisted the LaLiga giants will never have a player like Lionel Messi as the superstar stands on the cusp of equalling Pele s record.
Messi is within one goal of matching Pele s one-club goals record ahead of Wednesday s showdown against leaders Real Sociedad.
Six-time Ballon d Or winner Messi has netted 642 goals for Barca across all competitions following his strike in last week s 1-0 victory over Levante.
On the looming record, Koeman told reporters of the 33-year-old attacker: Well, [Messi s] stats are amazing. I don t think we ll ever have another player at this club who has given that much in terms of effectiveness.
That s why he is the number one. He is a very important player, as we saw the other day [against …
Netherlands beat England in the Nations League semifinal played in Guimaraes, Portugal, by 3-1. With the 2018/19 Premier League title race coming down to the last day and eventually won by Manchester City, City winger Raheem Sterling and Liverpool centre-back Virgil van Dijk took the opportunity to prolong the battle past the end of club season.
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Italian newspaper that AS Roma have received a number of lucrative offers for midfielder Miralem Pjanic.
It is no secret the Bosnian midfielder has caught the eye of top European clubs, but the Giallorossi are doing everything in their power to keep hold of their prized asset.
Il Corriere dello Sport has suggested that Chelsea, Tottenham and Manchester City all submitted proposals for the highly rated footballer, but these were swiftly rejected.
It is believed the highest offer was in the region of £18 million, but sporting director Walter Sabatini once again reiterated that Pjanic was not for sale.
Miralem Pjanic, 23, has developed into a key player at Stadio Olimpico quickly upon arriving at the club from Lyon in the summer of 2011.
He has bee…
Schalke confirm talks for Khedira
Bundesliga outfit Schalke have moved to confirm they are hoping to lure Real Madrid midfielder Sami Khedira to Veltins Arena.
The Germany international will be out of contract in the summer and he has already decided not to extend his stay at Santiago Bernabeu.
As a result, there have been quite a few top clubs showing interest in his services, with Schalke clearly leading the chase.
I have a high opinion of Sami Khedira because he s a leader who can improve the team, Schalke chairman Clemens Tonnies told Sport1.
He has an incredible reputation with the national team. We ve spoken (to Khedira) several times.
Now, Horst Heldt (club s sporting director) and Khedira s agent must find a satisfactory soluti…
Scotland gave France an early fright before suffering a chastening 4-1 loss to their classy hosts in Lille.
The Scots went into the friendly knowing they had qualified for the 2024 European Championships at the weekend after Spain beat Norway to ensure Steve Clarke’s side a top-two finish in Group A.
Clarke took the opportunity to utilise his squad, giving a debut to Liam Kelly among eight changes from last week’s game in Seville and they stunned the home side when midfielder Billy Gilmour guided in the opener after 11 minutes – his first ever senior goal.
However, France defender Benjamin Pavard scored twice with headers by way of a rapid response and skipper Kylian Mbappe added a third from the spot before the break.
Substitute Kingsley Coman hamm…
Spanish club Valencia have confirmed they have held talks with Manchester City over a potential move for star striker David Villa, according to BBC Sport.
The La Liga side have been plunged into financial troubles and are likely to lose many of their star players in the summer in order to ease their financial worries.
Villa was instrumental in Spain s Euro 2008 triumph where he was top scorer of the competition with 4 goals.ÂÂ
However, Valencia vice-president Fernando Gomez has revealed that although the two clubs have met, City are yet to make a bid for the striker.
Gomez said: Yes, it s true but they didn t make us an any offer. The president Vicente Soriano asked for a significant amount and they didn t agree.
Gomez al…
Prediction: West Ham win
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Merry Christmas, football fans! This may not be the festive season that any of us would ve anticipated this time last year, but such is the nature of the global pandemic that we re currently in the midst of. While the news can be a depressing place right now it s important to focus on the positives in life and even though it may seem like a small thing, the escapism of sport can t be undervalued. Today, we re going to be previewing what should be an intriguing showdown between two fascinating teams: West Ham United and Brighton Hove Albion.
West Ham
West Ham United s season has already gone above and beyond what many had expected of them, to the point where a top half finish doesn t seem like such a rid…
Freddie Ljungberg said Mesut Ozil would not have been involved for Arsenal in Saturday s Premier League contest against Everton even if injury had not ruled him out.
Interim boss Ljungberg named a youthful line-up for his final game in charge before handing the reins to new boss Mikel Arteta, who was appointed the Gunners new head coach on Friday.
Ozil, who reacted petulantly to be subbed off in last week s defeat against Manchester City, was conspicuous by his absence and, while he confirmed a foot problem for the ex-Germany international, Ljungberg cast more doubt on the midfielder s long-term future in north London by admitting he would not have been part of his plans at Goodison Park.
Ljungberg told BT Sport: Mesut has something on his foot, but we have thing…
Barcelona striker Luis Suarez says he enjoyed the return of the fabled MSN forward line as the Spanish champions hammered Celtic 7-0 in their opening Champions League Group C game.
Suarez partnered Lionel Messi and Neymar for the first time this season, and the trio combined to devastating effect to record Barca s biggest ever margin of victory in Europe s top competition.
Former Liverpool striker Suarez scored the final two goals after earlier laying on an assist for Messi, who scored a record sixth hat-trick in the tournament and teed up his Uruguayan team-mate s second strike.
Neymar, meanwhile, added four assists including one for Andres Iniesta s sumptuous volley to cap a dazzling display in which he also curled home a fine free-kick.
And Suarez …