Louis van Gaal feels history is on the Netherlands side as they bid to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016.
The 1988 champions have been drawn in Group A alongside Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Iceland and Kazakhstan, with the top two qualifying automatically for the finals in France.
And Van Gaal, who is set to leave his position as head coach following this year s FIFA World Cup, is confident Netherlands will have no problems in making it out of the group.
History has taught us that most of the time we have beaten these opponents, he said.
The Oranje should be able to qualify for the final tournament automatically.
And Latvia boss Marians Pahars echoed those comments, stating his belief that the Netherlands were capable of comfortably winning the group, but was…
Neymar has roared back to form for Paris Saint-Germain after accepting he fell short of his high standards last season, according to coach Christophe Galtier.
The Brazil star has been PSG s outstanding forward, managing 10 goals and seven assists in eight starts and one substitute appearance so far.
He is close to matching last season s returns already, having scored a modest 13 times and assisted eight goals in 28 games during the 2021-22 campaign.
It has been a return to the Neymar of his prime Barcelona days, and PSG are enjoying the benefits.
I think it would be disrespectful to think it is just down to me and my technical staff, Galtier said. Neymar has an awareness of the fact that his performances were not as good last season.
He has high…
France s recent faltering form continued as they slumped to a humbling 1-0 friendly defeat at the hands of Albania.
The Euro 2016 hosts have been far from convincing in friendly encounters in the last few months, which have included a 3-1 defeat to Brazil and a 4-3 reverse against Belgium last Sunday.
But their performance on Saturday will have been particularly worrying for coach Didier Deschamps, with France second best to a side of inferior international pedigree.
Albania dictated matters for the majority of the game in Elbasan, showing signs of continued improvement as they bid to qualify for Euro 2016.
A well struck free-kick from midfielder Ergys Kace late in the first half proved to be enough for the eastern European side to claim a surprise …
Liverpool assistant head coach Pep Lijnders has described Liverpool s attackers as being like raptors from Jurassic Park after the 5-0 hammering of Manchester United.
The Reds have been potent this season, their tally of 41 goals in all competitions bettered only by Bayern Munich (60) among teams from Europe s top five leagues.
Mohamed Salah has been responsible for 15 of those goals, making him the second-highest goalscorer among Europe s elite this season behind Robert Lewandowski (17).
Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino have six each, while, and Diogo Jota – who scored against United on Sunday – has four to his name.
Each of Liverpool s forwards have been in fantastic form and Lijnders puts that down to Jurgen Klopp s men going back to basics.
Christian Eriksen s agent Martin Schoots says it is not the right time to discuss the Inter midfielder s future following his return to training with Danish side Odense.
Denmark international Eriksen has not played since suffering a cardiac arrest during his country s opening Euro 2020 game in June.
The 29-year-old was given CPR before subsequently undergoing successful heart surgery.
He has since been fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), meaning he is unable to play for Inter in Serie A due to not meeting the requirements of achieving sporting fitness in Italy.
Eriksen would be allowed to play in other domestic leagues across Europe, however, and it was revealed on Thursday that he is now training with Odense, the club he represen…
Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Leicester City midfielder Caleb Okoli, according to a report in . The report has noted that Newcastle United and West Ham United are also keeping tabs on the 23-year-old Turkey international midfielder.
Okoli has been on the books of Leicester since the summer of 2024 when he joined from Atalanta. The 23-year-old central defender has done well for the Foxes and has established himself as an important player in the team. The youngster has played in five Premier League games and has played twice in the Carabao Cup for Steve Cooper’s side this campaign.
Leicester are playing in the Premier League this season after winning promotion from the Championship at the end of the last campaign. The Foxes are 15th in the Premier League t…
Croatia are mourning the death of their former coach Miroslav Blazevic, who led them to a third-place finish at the 1998 World Cup.
Blazevic enjoyed a coaching career spanning 47 years up until his retirement in January 2015.
He won trophies with six different clubs and described ending Dinamo Zagreb s 24-year wait for the Yugoslav First League title in 1982 as his greatest honour.
The former winger spent six years in charge of Croatia and guided them to a bronze medal at France 98 in their first World Cup finals appearance.
Croatia s Football Federation (HNS) confirmed Blazevic s passing in a statement on Wednesday, two days before his 88th birthday.
The statement added: HNS would like to express the deepest condolences to his loved ones, on beha…
Brendan Rodgers is intent on improving Celtic’s fortunes in Europe as he prepares to return to the Champions League stage.
The newly-appointed Hoops manager had two cracks at the continent’s elite competition during his previous stint at the club in 2016 and 2017, but mustered only three points on each occasion.
When the Hoops got back into the Champions League group phase last year under Ange Postecoglou, they collected just two points.
Rodgers admits the tournament poses a formidable challenge for any Scottish club, but he believes it is possible for Celtic to become more competitive.
“Your bread and butter is always Scotland, you have to ensure that you have dominance here,” he said. “But I’d like to think we can do something in Europe.“I…
Basketball star Russell Westbrook has revealed he is a part of the consortium led by 49ers Enterprises which is poised to take full ownership of Leeds.
Los Angeles Clippers point guard Westbrook, who won the NBA’s most valuable player award in 2017, has followed American golfers Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas in becoming a minor stakeholder in Leeds.
Westbrook, according to Forbes the 14th highest-paid athlete in the world, said he had invested in the Yorkshire club at a sports and entertainment summit held by Sportico.
. mentioned on stage at our that he is part of the investor group led by the that is taking over Leeds United
— Sportico (@Sportico)
The 34-year-old said: “I was lucky enough to have conversations with some of the partne…
Cristiano Ronaldo has been touted as a total genius for winning Portugal s controversial penalty in the 3-2 victory over Ghana in the World Cup by a FIFA member.
The 37-year-old tucked home Portugal s opening goal from the spot to become the first player to score in five separate World Cup tournaments, though the decision to award the penalty left Ghana furious.
However, a FIFA member has suggested that the awarding of the penalty was down to the play of Ronaldo, who was deemed to have been fouled by Ghana s Mohammed Salisu.
In a briefing in Doha, FIFA technical study group (TSG) member Sunday Oliseh declared forwards were getting smarter and believes it was Ronaldo s intelligence that led to the awarding of the spot-kick.
Maybe the strikers are getting …