September 3rd 2010
The two teams were placed in the same group during the World Cup qualifiers with both games between the teams ending in entertaining draws. This time, both Iceland and Norway will be looking to come on top of this Nordic derby, because with Portugal and Denmark also in their group every point can be extremely important.
Some few years ago Eidur Gudjohnsen was the only Icelandic player who you might have heard of, but with the increasing number of Icelanders moving to bigger European leagues, they now have a bunch of very good players in the squad. Nevertheless, the national team are still unable to realize their full potential and challenge for the place at a big tournament as they seem to lack balance in the side. Players like Hreidarsson and Gudjohn…
Wolfsburg s Algerian international Karim Ziani is expected to be out for two to three months because he needs a hip operation, the Bundesliga club announced on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old, who arrived at Wolfsburg in July 2009, has struggled with a pain in his groin and needs an operation to fix the problem.
Experts consulted have determined that Karim Ziani could not do without a hip operation, said the 2009 Bundesliga champions on their website.
It is expected he will be out for two to three months.
The midfielder was part of Algeria s World Cup squad and despite 13 appearances, including three this season, for Wolfsburg, has yet to win a game with the Bundesliga club.
Wolfsburg, who are second-from-bottom of the German league, are at Hamburg o…
Andre Villas-Boas has described Jose Mourinho as a pioneer and a winner and backed him to come through his current problems at Chelsea.
Mourinho s side are 15th in the Premier League having lost six of their opening 11 games, while the Portuguese s regular run-ins with authority mean he will not be at the Britannia Stadium for the clash with Stoke at the weekend as he serves a one-game stadium ban handed out following his red card at West Ham on October 24.
Villas-Boas knows all about dealing with the pressure at Stamford Bridge having been sacked by Chelsea in March 2012 after less than nine months in the job, but he is backing his countryman to get the club back on the track.
Speaking ahead of Zenit s Champions League game at Lyon on Wednesday, he said: It s…
Bolton Wanderers have confirmed their players are yet to receive their November wages as the financial crisis engulfing the club deepens.
The Lancashire club have seen debts spiral out of control since their relegation from the Premier League in 2012 and announced a deficit of £172.9million in April of this year.
Reports emerged late on Sunday that the senior squad had demanded a meeting with manager Neil Lennon after learning that their salaries for the past month had been withheld and the club have since admitted that wages have not yet been paid.
Trevor Birch, who was appointed as an advisor to help to orchestrate a takeover of the club and resolve their financial plight, insists the problem will be resolved swiftly and has called a meeting with the players t…
Central Coast Mariners kept their first A-League clean sheet since February 2018 as Giancarlo Gallifuoco s fortuitous strike secured a 1-0 win over Western United to move them off the foot of the table.
United would have risen into third place with a victory in Gosford on Sunday, but the struggling Mariners held firm to claim their second win of the season.
Former Italy international Alessandro Diamanti went close for United with a free-kick late in the first half, but it was Central Coast who made the breakthrough four minutes after the interval when Gallifuoco s volley took a wicked deflection off Aaron Calver.
Filip Kurto did his best to react, yet could only push it in off the inside of his right-hand upright.
Clean sheet
3 points
*chef s ki…
Leroy Sane rebutted the suggestion that he could make a shock move to Manchester United and insists playing for Manchester City s rivals is not something he ever expects to do.
City boss Pep Guardiola said the club is working on a new contract for Sane, whose current deal expires in 2021, but reports in the media surfaced linking the 22-year-old with a potential move to Old Trafford.
United have scored 14 fewer goals than City in the Premier League this season and the addition of Sane would significantly boost their attacking threat, but the Germany international was unequivocal in his response to the suggestion of what would be a controversial move.
That won t happen! That won t happen, Sane told reporters after completing the scoring in Sunday s 6-1 thumping…
Market: Mohamed Salah to score anytime
Odds: 19/20 @
Smelling a real chance to lay down a marker on Saturday lunchtime, Liverpool will make the trip to Vicarage Road when they face off against a struggling Watford.
Starting with the hosts, last seen heading into the international break with a 1-0 loss away at Leeds, Watford once again start a new era on Saturday lunchtime. Making the decision to bring in new boss Claudio Ranieri earlier in the month, the Hornets know that they re in a real battle to avoid an immediate Championship return. Looking over their shoulder and knowing that they face a stern test on home soil this weekend, the one-time Leicester hero will be desperate to try and find some kind of boost. Crashing out of the EFL Cup thanks to a 3-1 defeat…
Reigning MLS champions New York City FC are one step closer to going back-to-back after comfortably handling Inter Miami 3-0 in the first round of the MLS Playoffs.
City were in control throughout, creating 16 shots in the first half compared to just four for Miami, but they went into halftime tied at 0-0 after hitting the woodwork three times.
In one instance, a turnover from Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender handed City s Heber a golden opportunity to break the deadlock, but his chip was cleared off the line into the crossbar, with the rebound then being hacked off the post by a second defender.
City s dominance was rewarded in the second half, with Santiago Rodriguez brilliantly working his way into the Miami penalty box before dishing it off for Gabriel Pereir…
Stoke City goalkeeper Asmir Begovic has insisted he is happy at the club amid ongoing speculation linking him with a summer exit from the Britannia Stadium.
The Bosnia and Herzegovina international, 26, has established himself as one of the best goalkeepers in the English Premier League over the past two seasons and is rumoured to be attracting interest from Arsenal and Real Madrid ahead of this summer s World Cup in Brazil.
Begovic, who joined Stoke from Portsmouth for £3.25 million in the winter of 2010, has two years remaining on his current deal with the Potters and is valued at around £10 million.
It s a good place to be, it s an exciting place to be. We are trying to push forward, Begovic told .
I have two years left on my contract an…
League One side Notts County have appointed former England international Alan Smith as player-coach, .
The 33 year old has spent the last two seasons with MK Dons, having initially moved to the club on loan from Newcastle United in January 2012.
Notts manager Shaun Derry is a huge admirer of the striker-come-midfielder, labelling him the ‘best player on the pitch’ when MK Dons faced County at Meadow Lane back in March.
Smith began his career with Leeds United, turning out for them over two-hundred times before moving to Manchester United following the Yorkshire side’s relegation to the Championship.
In three years at Old Trafford, he won the Premier League title and the League Cup, while he added to his collection of silverware by landing the se…