South Korea beat Saudi Arabia in final Asian Cup warm-up game

According to , Aston Villa have begun talks about the prospect of signing Gent s Lovre Kalinić, and they are hoping to agree personal terms with the goalkeeper ahead of a proposed move in January.

Kalinić used to stand between the posts for Hajduk Split, but he also had loan spells with Junak Sinj, Novalja and Karlovac. He moved to Gent in 2017. He has been capped 14 times for Croatia, and he was a member of the squad which saw the former Yugoslav republic reach the World Cup final this year in Russia.

Villa have been hunting for Kalinić for a long time. The Championship side tried to acquire his services in 2016 but failed to secure him a work permit, and then again in 2017 when their efforts were thwarted by the failure to earn promotion to the Premier League.

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Joachim Low is hopeful Germany will seal top spot in Confederations Cup Group B and spare themselves another gruelling leg of travel within Russia.

The world champions are back in Sochi on Sunday, where they defeated Australia 3-2 in an entertaining opener, to face Africa Cup of Nations winners Cameroon.

The side finishing top of Group B Chile are Germany s most realistic rivals for that distinction after the sides shared a 1-1 draw in Kazan on Thursday will also play their semi-final in the Black Sea resort, which hosted the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Sochi and Kazan have both been excellent, perfect conditions for a football match, said long-serving boss Low.

A draw would be sufficient against Cameroon but we would like to win the group. We always play to …

Jack Grealish and Harry Maguire will start England s Euro 2020 Group D match against the Czech Republic at Wembley, with Arsenal s Bukayo Saka a surprise inclusion in Gareth Southgate s XI.

Grealish was a second-half substitute in England s 0-0 draw against Scotland last Friday and Mason Mount being forced into self-isolation after a coronavirus scare has cleared the way for the Aston Villa favourite to start in the number 10 role.

Raheem Sterling – the scorer of England s only goal in the tournament so far – and captain Harry Kane retain their places, with Saka completing the forward line.

The 19-year-old netted his first international goal in a friendly against Austria earlier this month and is preferred to the likes of Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, the…

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders described the abuse levelled at young Reds defender Neco Williams as wrong as he called on supporters to back the teenage full-back.

Williams came under fire on social media following his performance in Liverpool s 7-2 victory over Lincoln City in the EFL Cup, with comments prompting the Wales international to black out his Twitter account.

Lijnders hit out at those who criticised the 19-year-old defender and insisted that his approach to the game is what Jurgen Klopp and the Liverpool backroom staff are looking for.

It s not for me to comment on social media, Lijnders told reporters ahead of Liverpool s EFL Cup clash against Arsenal on Thursday. The only thing I can say is that abuse is wrong, whether it is on social m…

Declan Rice will have plenty of players – past and present – running through his thoughts when he leads England out as captain for the first time on Tuesday night.

As well as reaching a half-century of caps, Rice will also wear the armband at Wembley in what is England’s final friendly before manager Gareth Southgate names his squad for Euro 2024.

While he has never captained his country, Rice was West Ham skipper as they won the Europa Conference League last season – his final game before a club-record £105million move to Arsenal followed.

He has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League this season as the Gunners push for the Premier League title and prepare for a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.

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Atletico Madrid defender Alvaro Dominguez has signed a new deal until the summer of 2015.

The centre-back had a contract until the end of the 2011-12 campaign and clubs such as Inter and Manchester United were reportedly closely monitoring Dominguez s situation.

Nevertheless, the former Spain Under-21 star has decided to snub the interest from abroad and has signed a three-year extension to his existing dea, AS reported.

Dominguez is a product of the Atletico Madrid youth academy and has developed into an important first team member since making his first team debut in October 2008.

The 22-year-old has made 91 appearances for the club.

He was part of the Spain squad that won the UEFA European U-21 Championship in Denmark.

He was called u…

Netherlands talisman Arjen Robben expressed pride despite defeat as the Dutch suffered FIFA World Cup semi-final heartache on Wednesday.

Louis van Gaal s men were beaten 4-2 on penalties by Argentina in their last-four clash at the Arena de Sao Paulo, after the match had finished 0-0 following extra time.

Robben, who had a great chance late in normal time blocked by Javier Mascherano, could not hide his despair at missing out on a final against Germany, although he was still proud of his team.

The Bayern Munich attacker also encouraged the 2010 runners-up to focus on their third-place play-off against Brazil on Saturday, rather than another opportunity missed.

I think we should change our mindset quickly, Robben told NOS.

We ve done amazingly we…

Robbie Fowler has welcomed Liverpool s tough stance on potential player sales and expects reinforcements to arrive in the final weeks of the transfer window.

Liverpool s owners Fenway Sports Group on Friday announced they will not consider any offers for Philippe Coutinho, having reportedly rejected a second bid of £90million from Barcelona for the attacking midfielder.

The Brazil international, who is said to be among the Catalan giants preferred options to replace Neymar, is believed to have submitted a transfer request in the wake of that decision.

The Reds lost star striker Luis Suarez to Barca in 2014 but, when asked about Liverpool s ability to cope with the departure of key players, retired striker Fowler said he remains hopeful the 25-year-old will sti…

Portuguese giants Sporting Lisbon still hope to offload Spanish winger Diego Capel this winter, .

The Lions are desperate to see one of club s highest earners leave at the earliest possibility, considering that he is no longer regarded an important member of the squad at Estadio Jose Alvalade.

As a result, Sporting have lowered their asking price to mere €1.6 million in an attempt to sell Capel on transfer deadline day, but the Spaniard eventually remained at the club despite the reported interest from Southampton and few more clubs.

Nevertheless, with transfer windows still open in Switzerland and Russia, Sporting officials hope Capel will eventually leave the club.

The 26-year-old joined the ranks from Sevilla in the summer of 2011, and has since sco…

Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero saluted Paulo Dybala s incredible start to the season, calling the Argentinian a superstar who has the ability to stay at the club until he retires.

Dybala has looked destined to become one of the world s best strikers ever since he joined Juve from Palermo in 2015 and is on course for his best season yet.

The 23-year-old already has 10 Serie A goals from just seven appearances, leaving him only one short of his tally of 11 from last term and nine off his best haul from the previous campaign.

And Del Piero believes the Argentina superstar is unrivalled in the eyes of Juve fans.

He s raised his level even further at the start of this season, Del Piero told Gazzetta dello Sport.

He s doing exciting things. I m …