Fulham boss Marco Silva relieved to have Aleksandar Mitrovic back from long ban

Marco Silva is happy to welcome back Aleksandar Mitrovic from his eight-match ban this weekend.

Fulham have been without their top goalscorer since he grabbed referee Chris Kavanagh during the FA Cup loss to Manchester United in March.

Mitrovic, who has trained every day with the team since his ban started, has scored 11 times in 21 Premier League games on Fulham’s return to the top division, following his record-breaking haul of 43 in last season’s Championship.

“Mitrovic is back and it’s always good to have him back,” said Silva, whose side travel to bottom-club Southampton on Saturday.

“It’s been tough, I won’t hide it from you. His behaviour has been really good all this period, with support from ourselves. He knew from the first day i…

Prediction: Uruguay vs Bolivia

Verdict: Uruguay scores over 2.75 goals

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Looking for more glory at the Copa America, Uruguay can book their tickets for the knockout phase with a win against Bolivia. The match will be played at MetLife Stadium representing Bolivia s last hopes of progressing further in the competition.

Uruguay

Being the joint most successful team in Copa America s history alongside World Champions Argentina with 15 trophies, Uruguay are looking for further glory in the most prestigious Southern Emishpere national tournament. Appointing legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa as head coach, had an instant impact on Uuruguays international results, since taking over the job in May 2023.

Although the retirement of legends Edinson Cavani and Diego …

Gullit: Ronaldo will star at Euro 2012

Former Netherlands international Ruud Gullit has backed Portugal star Cristiano Ronaldo to shine at Euro 2012.

Ronaldo netted an impressive 46 goals in 38 La Liga appearances for Real Madrid to help the side to the title, and Gullit will be keeping a close eye on the 27-year-old in Poland and Ukraine.

While there are many stars determined to leave a mark in Poland and Ukraine, I will be keenly following the performance of a select few in the tournament, those whose quality should determine how their respective teams perform in the competition, he wrote in a column for the Times of India.

One of them would be Cristiano Ronaldo. He has come into his own under Jose Mourinho at Real Madrid and will be keen to replicate that form in the national colours.

World Cup 2018: Stalin´s bunker, a space museum and Serbian specials in Samara

The space museum, Joseph Stalin s bunker and Serbia s spectacular winner were among the highlights from week one of Russia 2018 in Samara.

Aleksandar Kolarov s sensational free-kick earned his side a 1-0 Group E win over Costa Rica in the first World Cup game to be held at Samara Arena.

Denmark and Australia played out an entertaining 1-1 draw at the same venue four days later, while off the field there has been no shortage of colour, history and culture to take in.

Enjoy our recap of a busy few days in Samara, with our Twitter moment below:

 

Czech squad for Euro 2008 announced

National manager, Karel Bruckner, just announced his 23-man squad for the 2008 European Championships this summer.

Most notably, the Czechs will be without two of their biggest stars, Paul Nedved (Juventus) and Tomas Rosicky (Arsenal). Nedved, has chosen to stay retired from international football, and Rosicky had to withdraw due to long-time injury that forced him to miss most of the latter part of the season with Arsenal.

GOALKEEPERS
Jaromir Blazek (FC Nurnberg, Germany)
Petr Cech (Chelsea, England)
Daniel Zitka (Anderlecht, Belgium)

DEFENDERS
Zdenek Grygera (Juventus, Italy)
Marek Jankulovski (AC Milan, Italy)
Michal Kadlec (Sparta Praha)
Radoslav Kovac (Sparta Moskva, Russia)
Zdenek Pospech (Kobenhavn, Denmark)
David Rozehnal (Lazio, Italy)
Tomas S…

Flick hopes Gundogan will stay at Barca

Hansi Flick expects Ilkay Gundogan to remain with Barcelona this season, despite speculation linking the midfielder with a move away from Camp Nou.

The Germany midfielder, who arrived from Manchester City in 2023, has less than 12 months remaining on his contract with the Blaugrana.

Spanish media reports suggested Gundogan may depart the club following the arrival of Dani Olmo, with Jose Mourinho s Fenerbahce rumoured to be interested in acquiring his services.

The 33-year-old missed Barca s 2-1 victory over Valencia on Saturday, having suffered a head injury in their Joan Gamper Trophy defeat to Monaco earlier in the week.

Nevertheless, Flick is hopeful his compatriot s future will be at Barca.

[He] hurt his eyebrow on Monday and that s why he s…

Belgium boss Martinez refuses to comment on future after Euro 2020 exit

Belgium head coach Roberto Martinez refused to comment on his future after the country s Euro 2020 elimination at the hands of Italy, insisting the situation is too raw .

Italy booked their spot in the semi-finals against Spain after overcoming Martinez s Belgium 2-1 in Munich on Friday.

Nicolo Barella and Lorenzo Insigne put Italy two goals ahead by the 44th minute, but Belgium pulled one back before the interval courtesy of a Romelu Lukaku penalty. 

Despite going close, Belgium – one of the pre-tournament favourites – were unable to find an equaliser against red-hot Italy as the Red Devils lost in the quarter-finals of the European Championship like they did in 2016.

Attention swiftly turned to Martinez, who is contracted through to the 2022 World …

Euro 2012 quarter-final: Czech Republic 0 Portugal 1

Cristiano Ronaldo s goal saw Portugal defeat the Czech Republic 1-0 on Thursday and book their place in the semi-finals of Euro 2012.

A cagey contest at the National Stadium, Warsaw, produced few real chances, with Portugal dominating possession but struggling to break down a stubborn Czech side.

Ronaldo was the chief threat throughout, sending an early bicycle kick wide of goal, before striking the post in each half.

It was the Real Madrid star who eventually broke the deadlock, stooping to meet Joao Moutinho s cross and heading beyond Petr Cech to register the winning goal with 11 minutes remaining.

Paulo Bento s team will face either France or arch-rivals Spain in the semi-finals.

The Czech Republic started well, and managed to claim the upper…

Wembley likely to host 2011 CL final

The 2011 Champions League final is likely to be hosted by Wembley Stadium in London. This was confirmed by UEFA sources on Friday.

Wembley was one of five venues mentioned for the 2011 final. Mestalla (Valencia), Olympiastadion (Berlin), Allianz Arena (Munich) and Lansdowne Road (Dublin) have apparently lost their bid to the Londoners.

Wembley initially targeted the 2010 final but a tax-related disagreement between the British government and the UEFA made it impossible to host the game.

Britain s main stadium which was recently demolished and rebuilt using a new design has been used to host the tournament final before:

1963 AC Milan 2-1 Benfica
1968 Manchester United 4-1 Benfica
1971 Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 Panathinaikos
1978 Liverpool 1-0 Club Bruges
199…

United States 1-0 Bosnia-Herzegovina: Debutant Bassett caps stellar 2021 for USA with late winner

Cole Bassett scored a last-gasp winner on debut as the United States capped a strong 2021 with a 1-0 friendly win over 10-man Bosnia-Herzegovina in Carson on Saturday.

Colorado Rapids midfielder Bassett, 20, swooped on a rebound to break the deadlock in the 89th minute, with Bosnia goalkeeper Nikola Cetkovic unable to hold Jonathan Gomez s effort.

The result extends USA s unbeaten run to four games and makes it 17 wins in the calendar year in their final fixture of 2021.

The visitors had been reduced to 10 men in the 40th minute when Amar Begic was given a straight red card from a hard challenge on Kellyn Acosta.

Jordan Morris had come closest to opening the scoring in the first half, with a header brilliantly saved by Cetkovic with his outstretched leg i…