Brazil laid down a marker ahead of the World Cup as they ended defending champions Germany s 22-game undefeated streak with a 1-0 friendly win at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

The game marked the first senior meeting between the heavyweights since a remarkable World Cup semi-final in 2014 when Germany thumped the stunned hosts Brazil 7-1 in Belo Horizonte.

While the result will not erase the humiliation of one of Brazilian football s darkest nights, the nature of their performance suggests they are approaching their best as they look to land a sixth World Cup.

Just as they were in that clash at the Mineirao, the Selecao were without the injured Neymar on Tuesday. However, they now possess another superstar in Manchester City striker Gabriel Jesus and he powere…

Borussia Dortmund head coach Marco Rose is optimistic Erling Haaland will return to action this weekend, though he will not take any unnecessary risks regarding his star forward.

Haaland has missed three consecutive league games due to a thigh injury as Dortmund prepare for Saturday s Bundesliga clash with Mainz, while he was also absent for Norway during the international break.

As Haaland nears a comeback, Rose told reporters: One by one, the boys are coming back. As a matter of fact, we don’t have [exact] comeback dates for certain players.

Erling is in a sort of integrative training. We will see how the situation will be on Saturday. We will try everything and Erling wants to play so bad. But time is running thin.

Our game changes substantially wh…

Kai Havertz admits he s had a difficult start to life with Chelsea since his off-season move and that many people still have doubts about him.

The 21-year-old Germany international joined Chelsea in September after a blistering 2019-20 campaign with Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.

But Havertz has struggled to make the expected impact, coming in and out of the side, making 29 appearances in all competitions and only scoring one Premier League goal.

Havertz has only made 13 Premier League starts, although he played a key part in Chelsea s opening goal, named as a Ben Godfrey own goal, in the 2-0 win over Everton on Monday.

Yes, it is difficult to say [if it is my best performance for Chelsea] but the first few months were difficult for me, Havertz told…

Borussia Dortmund ace Mario Gotze will join German Bundesliga champions FC Bayern Munich this summer, .

The Bavarian giants have agreed to pay the €37 million release clause in the 20-year-old s contract.

A statement on Bayern’s official website read: FC Bayern Munich confirms they have agreed with Germany international Mario Gotze, 20, that he will play for Bayern Munich from July 1, 2013. FC Bayern is ready to meet the release clause agreed between Borussia Dortmund and Mario Gotze.

Bayern intended to publicise the transfer following the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid on Wednesday, but the news came out prematurely.

This morning, Dortmund released an official statement to the press c…

Market: Vitoria win

Odds: 21/20 @

Hoping to extend their buffer at the top of the Serie B standings late on Friday night, Vitoria will welcome Mirassol to the Barradao.

Starting with the hosts, while Vitoria might have been last seen having to settle for a 0-0 stalemate away at Atletico Goianiense, the mood in Leo Conde’s camp still remains at a red-hot high. Continuing on a real Serie B purple patch this season, the Bahia-based outfit open this weekend’s fixtures holding a three-point buffer at the top of the table. Along with mustering seven points from their last three second-tier showdowns, the Colossal will certainly be smelling the chance to make another statement here. Breezing their way to a Serie A return in 2023, Vitoria have also suffered just a s…

Brazilian midfielder Denilson will be leaving Arsenal at the end of the month, the player s agent has revealed.

The 25-year-old had a year left on his deal at the Emirates, but his contract will be terminated at the end of the month by mutual consent.

Denilson s official representative Alexandre Soares has confirmed reports linking his client with a summer exit.

I can confirm Denilson and Arsenal have agreed to terminate his contract at the end of this month, Soares .

Denilson is free to move to another club and a number of clubs are interested in him.

I do not want to name teams, but there is interest from Brazil as well as Russia, Italy, Germany and Turkey and I am talking to them.

Denilson joined Arsenal from Sao Paulo in the summe…

Lionel Messi could face a prison sentence and a huge fine if he is convicted of tax fraud, a lawyer has said.

The Barcelona striker and his father are under investigation in Spain for allegedly defrauding the state of more than four million euros.
Officials claim that Messi and his father, Jorge Horacio, filed fraudulent tax returns for 2007 to 2009 a crime that could see them jailed for more than two-and-a-half years and fined up to 24 million euros if they are found guilty.
Messi denied the claims in a statement on his Facebook page on Wednesday, with the Argentine insisting that we have always fulfilled all our tax obligations .
However, lawyer Jeff Callow admitted the consequences would be severe if it is proved that the World Player of the Year has committed tax fraud.
He …

In his first major interview since receiving an 18-month ban for breaching betting rules, Joey Barton claims Luis Suarez, John Terry and Eric Cantona all escaped more lightly at the hands of the Football Association.

The 34-year-old midfielder was suspended in April after admitting an FA misconduct charge and received a £30,000 fine for placing 1,260 bets, including on matches his team was involved in, over a 10-year period.

Barton was released by Burnley at the end of the season and it remains to be seen if he will play professionally again. 

The outspoken former Manchester City captain, who has regularly courted controversy on and off the field, remains adamant his punishment is disproportionate.  

Luis Suarez racially insults Patrice Evra. He bites…

Algerian winger Sophiane Feghouli has sparked plenty of transfer rumours with his current transfer situation and reported refusal to renew his contract with Spanish side Valencia.

The 26-year-old Algeria international has last month despite the club’s most recent struggles, expressing his willingness to help his team overcome the difficulties.

However, the suggest that the situation has now changed as Valencia and Feghouli cannot make an agreement on the economic details of the new contract.

The Algerian winger is demanding €3 million per year, but los Che are unwilling to pay the requested amount.

Feghouli’s current deal expires at the end of the season and Don Ballon also suggest that there are five European powerhouses currently engaged in a c…

Valencia s club president Anil Murthy has once again stated that Rodrigo has a €120 million release clause, as speculation continues to grow over his future. European champions Real Madrid are the primary team being linked with a switch for the 27-year-old, but as it stands, the Spanish international remains a Valencia player as they prepare to take on Atletico Madrid tonight.

The financial side of things likely isn t going to pose much of a problem for Real, given that they ve spent that kind of money on a handful of players over the years. Rodrigo has been with Valencia since 2015 and has always been viewed as a fan favourite, making the jump from Benfica where he spent five years of his career.

Part of Rodrigo s actual youth development came at the Bernabeu with t…