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Italy avoid old tormentors: the draw for the European play-offs
Italy will face Northern Ireland in the semi-finals of the European play-offs for the four remaining World Cup spots. This was determined by Thursday afternoon’s draw.
Grote Ivan gets his way: Gattuso and his frightened followers have fallen
Because of the trouble with Gennaro Gattuso, Ivan Perisic’s (international) career was in danger of fading away. The 36-year-old forward refused to accept that. Perisic got back up, played his 150th international match on Monday, and now stands on the verge of his fourth World Cup. And we’re going to make ourselves seen.
Jamaica head coach resigns after failing to secure direct qualification
Jamaica head coach Steve McClaren resigned after a 0–0 draw against Curaçao cost the team direct qualification for the 2026 World Cup. Despite dominating and needing a win to go through automatically, Jamaica were held to a draw and must now try to reach the tournament via intercontinental play-offs in March. The federation will appoint a new coach to lead the team into these crucial games.«
Remarkable request: Lewandowski was told by Barça not to score anymore
A book about Robert Lewandowski has caused quite a stir in Spain and Poland. In the book Lewandowski: The Real One, it emerges that the Polish striker had to stop scoring for Barcelona in the 2022/23 season, because otherwise the club would have had to pay extra money to Bayern Munich.
Huijsen asks for advice
After a blistering start at the Bernabéu, Dean Huijsen has hit his first rough patch amid a broader team dip. How simplification, stable partnerships, tactical tweaks, veteran guidance and repetition can help the 20 year old centre back reset and reclaim his early season form.
Two Dortmund players ruled out in Luxembourg
Julian Nagelsmann still faces uncertainty over Nico Schlotterbeck’s availability ahead of the World Cup qualifier in Luxembourg. A second Dortmund player is definitely out.
Controversial incident in England
Howard Webb accepts the decision made by the refereeing team in the match against Manchester City.
Amoura and Daghim return early one pace-setter is definitely out
VfL Wolfsburg face Bayer Leverkusen with important fitness concerns: Adam Daghim is definitely out with back problems, while top scorer Mohammed Amoura returned early from Algeria duty with a minor muscle issue and is racing against time to be fit.
Mbappé on Upamecano: There are better clubs than Bayern
Kylian Mbappé is not surprised that Dayot Upamecano is being courted by top clubs. On Wednesday he voiced his high regard for the Bayern defender and joked.
Adeyemi speaks for the first time about Mystery Box and BVB orders community service
Karim Adeyemi and BVB have cleared the air. The 23-year-old regrets his mistake and spoke for the first time about the illegal possession of weapons. Dortmund have ordered community service.