Japan defender Maya Yoshida is targeting the country s best finish at a FIFA World Cup by reaching the quarter-finals in Brazil.
The Southampton man will be competing in his first World Cup after missing the 2010 tournament due to an ankle injury.
But Yoshida has been named in Alberto Zaccheroni s squad for next month s finals and is hopeful of a strong showing.
Japan s best result at a World Cup came in 2002, when the joint-hosts reached the last 16, an achievement they replicated in 2010 and one that Yoshida is looking to better this time around.
Four years ago, I felt frustrated and watch the World Cup on TV, Yoshida said. So I’m happy with I’ve got a chance to take the stage of the World Cup.
I want to do my best to get a good result better than th…
Athletico Junior continued their total domination of Group Two in the Copa Libertadores with a 2-1 away win over Oriente Petrolero.
The win was Junior s third straight this season and confirmed their place at the top of the table with maximum points.
The home loss was Oriente s third consecutive defeat and left them without a point at the bottom.
Victor Cortes gave the Colombian visitors the lead after 27 minutes and Luiz Paek made it 2-0 a minute after the half-time break.
The Bolivian club s Juan Arce pulled a goal back two minutes into stoppage time but it was too little, too late.
Penarol striker Luis Aguiar scored the only goal in the 58th minute against LDU Quito in Montevideo as the Uruguayans moved top of Group Eight.
Aguiar found…
Captain Vincent Kompany will miss Manchester City s crunch Premier League clash against Arsenal but the full extent of his latest injury is not yet known.
Kompany was substituted during the early stages of Wednesday s 1-0 Champions League semi-final defeat to Real Madrid having suffered the fifth injury of a heavily disrupted season.
The 30-year-old s problem on this occasion appeared to be a groin strain as opposed to a recurrence of the calf injuries that have dogged his progress and called into question whether he can continue to hold a prominent role in the City squad under Manuel Pellegrini s successor Pep Guardiola next season.
City expect to know how severe the latest setback is for Kompany on Monday, with the centre-back also poised to skipper Belgium at …
When it comes to their star names, Sevilla s historic Europa League successes have come at a heavy cost.
Captain Ivan Rakitic delivered a man-of-the-match display in the final win over Benfica two years ago and a transfer to Barcelona was sealed within a month. A year later, Aleix Vidal collected another winners medal before following suit.
And if Kevin Gameiro – who scored the winning penalty in 2014 and featured last year – can fire Sevilla to victory over Liverpool on Wednesday, the Camp Nou vultures may be circling again.
Like Rakitic, Gameiro has caught the eye of Barca after his best season with Sevilla to date, having scored 28 times in all competitions. Like Rakitic, Gameiro has regularly produced at the biggest moments, scoring five times across…
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.
…
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…