El Shaarawy set to extend AC Milan stay

Italy coach Roberto Donadoni is going to be sacked and replaced by reigning World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi, the Italian press reported on Tuesday.

The fate of 44-year-old Donadoni will be decided early next week, Ansa news agency reported, following Italy s elimination from the Euro 2008 quarter-finals by Spain, 4-2 on penalties after the match ended goalless.

Italian federation (FIGC) president Giancarlo Abete is expected to meet Donadoni on Monday June 30 or Tuesday July 1 in Rome.

Donadoni s contract was extended until 2010 just before the June 7-29, 16-nation tournament co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland.

Italy s 2006 World Cup victory in Germany, with Lippi at the helm, heralded the start of Donadoni s stint in the post. Donadoni s rec…

After Frank Ribéry, another French veteran has openly supported national team coach Raymond Domenech. If it is up to Willy Sagnol, the manager stays at least another two years.

After the disappointing performance at Euro 2008, it was expected that the French football association would sack Domenech.

But Ribéry then revealed that he would prefer for the coach to stay on longer and now, his words are supported by fellow Bayern Munich defender Sagnol.

He has had my support for four years now and our horrible performance at the European Championships doesn t change anything, said Sagnol.

The French FA will make a decision on Domenech s future on July 3rd.

…

Market: Under 3.5 goals

Odds: 1/2 @

In a matchup between two sides who have shown a host of issues at the back end of the campaign, Central Coast will welcome Western United to New South Wales on Saturday morning.

Starting with the hosts, while the Central Coast Mariners might have been handed a golden chance earlier in the week, it was nothing short of a woeful display from Alen Stajcic s side. Coming up against a Newcastle Jets side who found themselves in the midst of a nightmare 14-match winless run, The Yellow Navy were hit with a deserved 2-0 defeat on home soil, a result that saw them come under real scrutiny. Largely failing to build off of what was an extremely eye-catching start to the 2021 campaign, Central Coast have now managed to muster just a pair…

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed he considered international retirement following the World Cup in Qatar.

Portugal crashed out at the quarter-final stage after defeat against Morocco, with Ronaldo losing his spot in the starting line-up for the knockout stages.

Fernando Santos dropped Ronaldo to the bench for the last-16 tie against Switzerland, with his replacement Goncalo Guedes scoring a hat-trick in a dominant 6-1 victory.

Ronaldo would continue as a substitute for the clash with Morocco, which almost spelled the end of his Portugal career.

I m not going to lie. In our life, we have to put everything on the scale, Ronaldo said ahead of a Euro 2024 qualifier against Liechtenstein.

We thought, we reflected, me and my family, but then we came to …

Virgil van Dijk insisted Liverpool were not worried about potentially finishing the season without a trophy after their heavy defeat to Barcelona.

Jurgen Klopp s men were left on the verge of a Champions League semi-final defeat after suffering a 3-0 loss in the first leg at Camp Nou on Wednesday.

Liverpool have enjoyed a great season, but they are also a point adrift of Manchester City in the Premier League with two games to go as their chances of winning a trophy in 2018-19 slip away.

But star defender Van Dijk said that was not yet a consideration at Liverpool, who make the trip to Newcastle United on Saturday.

We re not going to think about that, he told DAZN after the loss to Barca.

We re having a good season and we will try to win somethin…

Verdict: Both teams to score – yes

Best Odds:

Bookmaker:

Chelsea and Arsenal continue their three-match January battle with the second clash in just a week. Wednesday night will see London rivals lock horn in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final tie which promises to be a hotly-contested affair.

Chelsea

Meetings between Chelsea and Arsenal have become quite tense over the past couple of years and last Wednesday’s Premier League game most certainly maintained the standard given that we witnessed a pulsating clash which ended in a 2-2 draw.

Expectations are high ahead of this week’s clash as both sides head into the semi-finals knowing that this competition could very well be their biggest chance of landing a piece of silverware t…

Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has urged Mario Balotelli not to waste his chance to shine on the big stage at the FIFA World Cup.

The Milan striker is expected to lead the line in Italy s Group D opener with England, a match that will mark his first appearance at the World Cup if he gets the nod.

Balotelli did, showcase his talent at a major international tournament with three goals in Italy s run to the final of UEFA Euro 2012.

The 23-year-old scored 14 goals in 30 Serie A appearances last term, but at times was subjected to criticism as Milan endured a torrid season that saw them finish eighth.

However, Prandelli believes the mercurial striker has the perfect opportunity to silence the doubters by starring in Brazil.

Balotelli is an important player for the…

Paris Saint-Germain and Istanbul Basaksehir players united for anti-racism messages prior to the resumption of their suspended Champions League clash.

On Tuesday, the Group H match was halted after 13 minutes with Basaksehir accusing fourth official Sebastian Coltescu of using racist language towards assistant coach Pierre Webo.

Basaksehir substitute Demba Ba was seen remonstrating with Coltescu, while both sets of players headed down the tunnel after a lengthy delay.

UEFA has announced it is investigating the incident.

The game was later suspended and rearranged for Wednesday at the Parc des Princes, with players from both teams wearing No To Racism t-shirts during the warm-up.

A banner bearing the same message was displayed in the stadium, while…

Jose Mourinho can understand why Dele Alli was unhappy at not being used in Tottenham s 2-0 win over Royal Antwerp and has defended Harry Winks for heading down the tunnel after being substituted.

Winks was one of nine new faces in Tottenham s starting line-up from last weekend s win over Arsenal but lasted just an hour before being replaced by Moussa Sissoko, two minutes after Carlos Vinicius had opened the scoring.

Whereas Vinicius and Gareth Bale headed for the bench, Winks made his way past Mourinho and straight to the dressing room area.

But Mourinho says he gave the 24-year-old, who has started 10 games in all competition this term, permission to go and get changed

I told him to go, I told every player that left the pitch to go because when the wea…

Just three days ago Lionel Messi was at his usual sparkling best as he set up both goals in Barcelona s Copa del Rey triumph against Sevilla his 28th trophy with the Catalan club.

Now, Messi immediately has to shift his focus to the Copa America Centenario, where Argentina are looking to end a 23-year trophy drought. 

The 28-year-old left Barcelona on Tuesday and will link up with his Argentina team-mates ahead of Friday s international friendly against Honduras in San Juan. 

The match at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario is Argentina s only warm-up game before their Copa America tournament begins on June 6 with a 2015 final rematch against defending champions Chile. 

Argentina who have lost all three of their final appearances since winning the …