Australia defender Matthew Spiranovic believes his team s recent road trips will hold them in good stead for Thursday s World Cup qualifier against Jordan.
The Asian champions have enjoyed wins in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to start their qualifying campaign for Russia 2018.
The Socceroos, who top Group A, face another tricky trip as they prepare to face Jordan in Amman.
Spiranovic said the tough trips had made Ange Postecoglou s men better.
The more games the team plays together we’re exposed to those environments and crowds it puts us in a much better position for future challenges, he told FFA TV.
A lot of us boys have that experience now and we can use that to our advantage when we play teams that we re going to face next.
While Au…
Carlos Tevez wants Argentina to unite ahead of the FIFA World Cup and end debate about his non-selection.
The Juventus striker capped 64 times by his national team has not played since Alejandro Sabella took the job as Argentina coach after the 2011 Copa America.
He bagged 19 Serie A goals this season, leading Juve to their third successive Scudetto, leading to calls for his return to the international fold.
But Tevez missed the cut in Sabella s provisional 30-man squad for the World Cup that was announced on Tuesday.
Despite his absence, Tevez – who says his international career is not over – wants the focus to be on Argentina s preparation and not him.
Quoted in the Italian media as saying on Twitter, Tevez claimed: Through this medium I want to thank…
Ingolstadt have been relegated from the Bundesliga as a result of their 1-1 draw with Freiburg on Saturday.
The stalemate at Schwarzwald Stadion had looked set to be good enough to keep them alive heading into the final week of matches, with Hamburg losing 1-0 to Schalke at Veltins Arena.
However, an injury-time equaliser from Pierre-Michel Lasogga snatched a draw for HSV that ensures they stay four points above Ingolstadt in the table and confirms the latter s relegation.
Ingolstadt fans thought they had been granted a reprieve when news filtered through of a stoppage-time Schalke goal from Sead Kolasinac, but it was ruled out after Lewis Holtby s corner was adjudged to have gone out of play before being turned in by the defender.
Maik Walpurgis side, wh…
Frank Lampard feels Chelsea are suffering from a lack of leadership and personality in the dressing room this season, and blames that for their disappointing Premier League title defence.
Along with the likes of John Terry, Didier Drogba and Petr Cech, Lampard was an integral part of the dominant Chelsea side that won three league titles, four FA Cups, two League Cups, the Champions League and Europa League between 2004 and 2013.
However, only Terry remains of that quartet and he looks set to leave Stamford Bridge at the end of the season when his contract expires.
This season has been one to forget for Chelsea in the league as a disastrous start left them languishing in the lower echelons of the table and saw Jose Mourinho sacked in December.
Guus Hidd…
Jurgen Klopp hailed a special performance from record-breaking Mohamed Salah as Liverpool roared to a sensational 7-1 Champions League win over Rangers on Wednesday.
Salah came off the substitutes bench to fire home a hat-trick in just six minutes and 12 seconds – the fastest ever in Champions League history.
A Roberto Firmino brace and a fine strike from Darwin Nunez had earlier overturned Scott Arfield s opener for Rangers, while Harvey Elliott added a seventh after Salah s quick-fire treble.
The win means Liverpool need just a point from their final two Group A games against Ajax and Napoli to qualify for the knockout stages, and Klopp was delighted with his side s display.
9 Since Opta have full touch data for the (2003-04), there have been 112 hat…
The United States will visit Egypt for a football friendly against the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions on February 9 at Cairo, the US Soccer Federation announced Monday.
The Americans have beaten the seven-time Africa Cup winners in their only prior meetings, the most recent a 3-0 triumph over the Pharoahs at the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa.
The other US triumph also came at a neutral venue, a 3-1 victory at Seoul in 1987.
US coach Bob Bradley was excited about the chance for the American side to play a first-ever match in Egypt ahead of next June s Gold Cup tournament, the North American continental championship.
Egypt is an extremely talented and competitive team, Bradley said. Their performances in the Confederations Cup and…
Former president Seigo Watanabe quit the club last month after admitting to inflating the number of people attending games in order to fill a league quota.
Newly elected president Shigeru Suzuki vowed to clean up the attendance saga when he was voted in last month.
I plan to make a concerted effort to clean up this club, which is a bed-rock of the local community and dear to all of its fans, Suzuki said in October.
Omiya were caught exacerbating their home attendance figures by a collective 110,000 people across three years, but were fined the same amount as city rivals Urawa Reds, for harbouring violent fans in 2008.
The club is 14th in the Japanese top flight with 34 points from 30 games this season.
…
Ciro Immobile is a summer transfer target for Lazio,
The 26-year-old Italy international returned to Torino during the January transfer window, having sealed a loan deal from Borussia Dortmund until the end of the season with an option for a permanent move.
Immobile actually came back to Italy from Sevilla, however, who still have the option to buy him outright at the end of the season.
Should Rojiblancos opt against such a move, Lazio will offer €11 million for the signature of the Italian striker.
Biancocelesti president Claudio Lotito has made Ciro Immobile his No. 1 transfer target and the Italy international himself is believe to be eager to make a move to Rome-based club.
Having been crowned Serie A Capocannoniere with Torino in 2013-14 …
Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has laughed off suggestions he does not get on with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Reports have suggested that the two have had a frosty relationship since the Welshman arrived in Spain in 2013, with Ronaldo apparently angered by the fact Madrid paid a world-record fee to sign Bale from Tottenham.
Ronaldo recently fuelled that speculation when he stated he does not need to be friends with his team-mates in order to perform.
But, speaking ahead of Madrid s Champions League semi-final first leg against Manchester City on Tuesday, Bale addressed the issue.
He speaks English which helped me when I first came here, Bale told The Times. We also have that link from the Premier League. We get on really well. The press make a lot of things that…
Joachim Low believes Germany have the right mix in attack to cause France problems as the two heavyweight nations prepare to do battle at Euro 2020.
Tuesday s huge clash pits the previous two World Cup winners against each other in Munich, with reigning European champions Portugal and Hungary the other nations in Group F.
France have been boosted by the international return of Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid striker joining Antoine Griezmann, Kylian Mbappe and Olivier Giroud who is five goals shy of Thierry Henry s record of 51 goals for Les Bleus as attacking options for head coach Didier Deschamps to utilise.
However, on the eve of the contest, Low has made clear he is not short of talent in his own squad, meaning defenders for both sides will have to be on high…