Radamel Falcao scored his first World Cup goal as Colombia revived their hopes of reaching the World Cup knockout phase with a 3-0 victory over Poland, who now cannot reach the last 16.

Monaco striker Falcao stroked home his 30th international goal, making him the first player from Colombia to reach such a milestone, midway through the second half of a cagey encounter in Kazan, where defeat for either side would have meant elimination from the competition.

Barcelona defender Yerry Mina scored the opener, powering a header beyond Wojciech Szczesny five minutes before half-time to enliven the contest, and it was the creativity and industry of Juan Cuadrado and James Rodriguez that picked apart Poland s tightly stitched seams.

The presence of James, fully fit again …

Wayne Rooney has been described as extraordinary by former team-mate Louis Saha, who believes the Everton forward will continue to excel at the highest level for some time to come.

Rooney, 31, has made a superb start to his return to boyhood club Everton, scoring twice in the opening three Premier League matches of the season.

Deemed surplus to requirements at Manchester United, many questioned Everton s decision to re-sign a player they sold in 2004.

However, England and United s all-time leading scorer has reinvigorated himself at Goodison Park – bringing up his 200th Premier League goal against Manchester City before the international break – and Saha heaped praise on the former Three Lions and Red Devils captain.

Rooney is an immense player w…

France coach Didier Deschamps has recalled Mamadou Sakho, Kurt Zouma and Lucas Digne to the national squad, while there is also a place for the uncapped Tanguy Ndombele.

Crystal Palace defender Sakho could make his first appearance for Les Bleus since March 2016, while Zouma earned the last of his two caps in November 2015.

However, the duo are back involved with the World Cup winners ahead of the friendly against Iceland and the Nations League clash with Germany this month, replacing injured duo Samuel Umtiti and Adil Rami.

Digne comes in at left-back with Benjamin Mendy ruled out, while the absence of Corentin Tolisso has resulted in 21-year-old Lyon midfielder Ndombele receiving his first call-up.

Tanguy is a player at a very good level, he knows how…

Didier Deschamps has now won more games in charge of France than any other coach after guiding his side to a 1-0 victory over Bulgaria on Saturday.

The 48-year-old, who has been at the helm since 2012, has now overseen 42 wins, overtaking Michel Hidalgo and Raymond Domenech who both oversaw 41 triumphs.

Deschamps led France to the quarter-finals at the 2014 World Cup, while they were runners-up at Euro 2016 on home soil.

Les Bleus were a long way from their fluent best in Sofia, but a third-minute goal from Blaise Matuidi propelled them back to the summit of Group A in Russia 2018 qualifying.

They now go into Tuesday s game against Belarus knowing victory will secure their spot at the World Cup in Russia next year.

42 Didier Deschamps has now b…

According to Marca, James Rodriguez is desperate to make his long-awaited return to Real Madrid following his loan spell with Bayern Munich. While the Colombian has enjoyed some success with the German club he wants to prove that he can still get the job done at the highest level which, by many, is considered to be in La Liga.

Rodriguez, 26, is coming off the back of a somewhat disappointing World Cup campaign which saw him miss out on Colombia s Round of 16 defeat to England through injury. Now, he s in the process of picking himself back up as he attempts to help fill the void which has been left by Cristiano Ronaldo s move to Juventus.

James first joined Real back in 2014, although some early injuries hampered his ability to make an immediate impression. While Real h…

Inter made a poor start to life under Frank de Boer as they slumped to a 2-0 defeat at Chievo in their Serie A opener courtesy of Valter Birsa s second-half double. 

The former Ajax boss, appointed following Roberto Mancini s departure earlier this month, only took charge of one friendly, and his side looked like one who had endured a chaotic pre-season with a sub-standard performance.

Birsa s cool strike opened the scoring  the first goal Inter have conceded on the opening weekend of a league campaign since Luis Muriel netted for Lecce in 2011 and the same man added a second from distance with nine minutes remaining.

The Milan club started last season winning five straight matches by a one-goal margin, including this fixture, but struggled to find consistency …

AC Milan are interested in signing Olivier Giroud from Chelsea in the summer transfer window, according to . The Italian giants have made contact with the entourage of the former Arsenal striker and already have made an agreement in place with them.

Serie A outfit Milan are ready to pay Giroud as much as €4 million per year as salary, including bonuses, and will hand the France international striker a two-year contract. However, with Chelsea having trigged a clause to extend the 34-year-old’s contract by a year, Milan will have agree on a transfer fee with the European champions.

Giroud has been at Chelsea since 2018 when he joined from London and Premier League rivals Arsenal. The Frenchman has struggled for playing time at the Blues in recent seasons, and it is un…

Prediction: Mohamed Salah first goalscorer

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Liverpool will be aiming to continue their perfect start to the Premier League season on Saturday afternoon as they travel to the King Power Stadium to do battle with in-form Leicester City.

Jurgen Klopp’s Reds arrive in the East Midlands top of the table after taking maximum points in their opening three league games. Meanwhile, Claude Puel’s men will look to halt their terrific run with another victory.

Leicester City

Despite the surprise at Puel keeping his job at the King Power Stadium at the end of last season, the Frenchman finally appears to be silencing the doubters in the East Midlands. The Foxes were unfortunate to lose their opening Premier League game against Manchester…

Manchester United are interested in signing Leon Goretzka from Bayern Munich in the summer transfer window, according to . It has been reported that the Premier League giants will make a move for the Germany international midfielder if Paul Pogba leaves.

Goretzka has been on the books of Bayern since 2018 when he joined from Schalke. The 26-year-old has established himself as one of the best players for the German giants and has won the Bundesliga title thrice and the Champions League once.

Bayern are one of the biggest clubs in the world and will not sell their best players. United will have to offer a lot of money for the Bundesliga outfit to even consider selling Goretzka, who scored five goals and gave five assists in the Bundesliga and scored two goals and provided…

Arsenal have been urged to show patience with Mikel Arteta and allow him the time and space to build a successful team.

A 3-1 win over Chelsea on Saturday took some of the heat off manager Arteta, after it had been building during a grim seven-game winless streak in the Premier League.

But matches against Brighton and Hove Albion on Tuesday and West Brom on Saturday are just as important, and should Arsenal slip back to losing ways then Arteta will again come in for scrutiny.

He is a year into his Arsenal coaching career, with the former captain looking to rebuild after Unai Emery s reign proved a disappointing follow-on from the Arsene Wenger era.

Emery s long-serving assistant Juan Carlos Carcedo also left Arsenal as the club decided to clear out the fi…