Latest Football news, Euro and World Soccer

Robson adds to Scots’ injury woes
Celtic midfielder Barry Robson misses the friendly against Argentina at Hampden after straining his groin in training.

Tottenham sack Hans Leitert as Harry Redknapp looks to Portsmouth for help
Hans Leitert has left club which could pave way for Portsmouth’s highlyrated goalkeeping coach David Coles to join.

Yossi hints at Anfield departure
Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun has stated that he is prepared to leave Anfield in order to find regular first-team football.

Diego Maradona butchers England’s 1966 win to become the King of Scotland
The Daily Bung: Diego Maradona is Idi Amin and William Wallace rolled into one.

MM has first-team future - Blues
Chelsea’s latest England star, 20-year-old defender Michael Mancienne, has been told he has a first-team future at Stamford Bridge.

Walcott faces anxious injury wait
Arsenal winger Theo Walcott could be out for up to three months after dislocating his right shoulder during England training.

Council in a flap over Liverpool’s bird symbol
The owners of Liverpool Football Club apply to register the Liver Bird as their trademark, much to the dismay of the city council.

World Week In Pictures, Nov. 19
Click here for the sporting week in weird, wonderful and wacky images from clear across the globe!

Mancini targets Real rescue mission
Former Inter Milan boss Roberto Mancini has revealed he would jump at the chance to coach Real Madrid if they decide to part ways with Bernd Schuster.

FA plays down Capello rift reports
FA director of communications Adrian Bevington has played down talk of a rift between England boss Fabio Capello and top Premier League clubs.

Pearce determined to take stars to Sweden
England Under-21 coach Stuart Pearce has insisted he will decide which players travel to the European Championships in Sweden next summer and that the concerns of club managers are of no interest to him.

Carrick: No “meaningless” friendly
Michael Carrick has insisted he is delighted to be part of the England side in Germany this week and is adamant the game is not “meaningless”.

Germany and England depleted by injuries
The withdrawals of many stars have left Germany and England with a chance of using their friendly to test new players.

Football: Republic of Ireland woo England with Lansdowne Road friendly

The Football Association of Ireland is hoping to persuade England to accept an invitation and take part in the first match at Dublin’s redeveloped Lansdowne Road when it re-opens in August 2010.

The last time the two countries met, in February 1995, English fans made a premature a case for renovating the stadium by tearing up bits of it to use as weapons. The ensuing riot led to the match being abandoned midway through the firsthalf, with the Irish leading 1-0.

Since proper work began on transforming Lansdowne Road into a 50,000 all-seater stadium, Ireland have been playing their home games at Croke Park and the FAI chief executive John Delaney has admitted it would be virtually impossible to host England there because of the historical associations with Bloody Sunday in 1920. However, he is eager to invite England to Lansdowne for a game he insists his country is owed.

“At some stage, I would like to see England play in Lansdowne Road because there is a game owed,” said Delaney. “There was a time when we drew England all the time, back in the late 80s and 90s, but we haven’t come across them too much in the last couple of years. Murphy’s Law is that if you do organise for them to come to Ireland, you’ll draw them in a competitive game. Bringing them to the old Lansdowne Road would have been difficult, and bringing them to Croke Park wouldn’t have been correct given the history.”

Memories of 1995 would inevitably raise security issues, although Delaney is confident the potential problems are not insurmountable. “There are heightened issues when England play, we all know that,” said Delaney. “But at some stage, we have to get over the issue of the game being abandoned. The English FA have promised a game for many years to make up for that incident. There are heightened issues, but that could happen in a qualifier. A friendly should be a more benign fixture.”

If the game does go ahead and the countries’ current managers are still in situ by the time it comes around, the match will be given even more intrigue by the fact that it will see two of the greatest ever Italian managers, Fabio Capello and Giovanni Trapattoni, pit their wits against each other.

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Tuesday’s football transfer rumours: Ronaldo to Manchester City?
Manchester City have goalkeeping crisis | Arsène Wenger eyes new wonderkid | Manchester United chase Norwegian striker | Spurs to replace Gomes

Vidic predicts strong second half from United
Nemanja Vidic is convinced Manchester United will show their true Premier League title credentials in the second half of the season.

John Toshack puts his faith in Welsh youth

Wales will be relying heavily on raw talent in tomorrow’s friendly in Denmark. John Toshack, the manager, flew to Copenhagen yesterday with the youngest squad in the country’s history, which included seven teenagers and 12 players still eligible for the Under-21s.

Toshack’s hand has partly been forced after injury ruled out five senior players, but the Wales assistant manager, Dean Saunders, still believes that by selecting a squad with an average age of 21 the manager has shown his willingness to give his prospective stars a chance to shine.

“John has done brilliantly for all of them,” said Saunders. “It has taken a bit of time but there is some extremely good young talent around which bodes well for the future and our chance of qualifying for a major tournament finals in five or six years.”

What has particularly pleased Saunders is that, having been given their debuts by Toshack, some of Wales’ young players such as Aaron Ramsey and Chris Gunter have gone on to secure moves to Premier League clubs.

“It was not so long ago that we had just two or three players in the Premier League,” said Saunders. ” But now we have got a lot more playing against the best players in the world and that can only be a good thing.”

While Wales are drooling over their crop of future stars, Northern Ireland have stepped up the process of finding their own. The manager, Nigel Worthington, has asked to be kept informed on a regular basis about the country’s Under-21, -19 and -17 teams and has promised to watch them in action much more often. The senior side face Hungary in a friendly in Belfast tomorrow night.

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Uruguayan season halted by fans’ riot
The Uruguayan Football Association have called an indefinite halt to Apertura action following Sunday’s riot after the match between Danubio and Nacional.

Clichy fears inconsistency will cost Gunners
Arsenal full-back Gael Clichy has expressed his fears that the Gunners could again end the season without a trophy after he scored an own goal in the home defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend.

Football: No hand of friendship for Diego Maradona as Terry Butcher refuses to forgive and forget
Terry Butcher, part of the England side eliminated from the 1986 World Cup by the Hand of God, has not forgiven Diego Maradona

England v Germany alltime greats: where are they now?
Celebrating five epic encounters in one of football’s great rivalries.

History against Arsenal winning the Premier League title
No team in a 38game Premier League season has lost as many games so early on and won the title.

Manchester United’s future is bright with Sir Alex Ferguson’s focus on youth players
So who are the latest players to follow in the footsteps of Ryan Giggs Paul Scholes and David Beckham?

Spanish La Liga Roundup, Nov. 15
La Liga Roundup: Fabio Canobbio’s second-half goal gave Valladolid a 1-0 win over Real Madrid on Saturday.

Sagna sidelined until December
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has revealed that defender Bacary Sagna will be sidelined until December due to an ankle injury.

City can rival Real Madrid - Robinho
Robinho has pledged his long-term future to Manchester City and believes his new club have the potential to be as powerful as Real Madrid.

Red Bulls earn first-ever MLS Cup berth in Utah
Dave van den Bergh sealed New York’s improbable run to MLS Cup with a 1-0 Conference final win over RSL.

Liverpool owners stall contract talks with manager Rafael Benitez
Liverpool manager reported to have suffered another set back with regard to future at club as contract talks put on hold.

Liverpool owners stall contract talks with manager Rafael Benitez
Liverpool manager reported to have suffered another set back with regard to future at club as contract talks put on hold.

Robinho calls for fellow Brazilian Kaka to join him at Manchester City
Man City striker Robinho has urged his Brazilian team mate Kaka to leave AC Milan and join him at Eastlands.

Preview: Real Salt Lake vs. New York
Real Salt Lake hosts the New York Red Bulls with one set to advance to play for the MLS Cup for the first time.

Bundesliga Roundup, Nov. 15
Bundesliga Roundup: Bayern Munich drew 2-2 at Borussia Moenchengladbach to lose ground in the title race.

Berbatov gripped by Spurs drama
Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov has admitted he is still enthralled by events at White Hart Lane.

Nick Barmby puts England’s famous 51 win behind him as he works to build up Hull
Nick Barmby’s international mementoes may be kept out of sight at his East Yorkshire home but the personal memories of England’s famous 51 defeat of Germany remain as vivid as ever.

Kilmarnock 2-0 Dundee United
Kilmarnock win for the first time in five matches as Dundee United are defeated at Rugby Park.

Southampton 1-2 Wolves
Mick McCarthy’s Wolves side beat 10-man Southampton to cement their lead at the top of the Championship table.

Bolton 0-2 Liverpool
Dirk Kuyt and Steven Gerrard are on target as Liverpool maintain their title push with victory at Bolton.

West Ham 0-0 Portsmouth
West Ham claim their first clean sheet of the season in a goalless draw with Portsmouth.