Switzerland coach Ottmar Hitzfeld believes that it will be difficult for European teams to triumph at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil.
Football s marquee tournament has been hosted by a South American country on four previous occasions and each time a nation from that region has gone on to win the trophy.
This year s World Cup begins in Brazil on Thursday, with reigning champions Spain and Germany considered among the favourites to challenge from the European contingent.
However, Hitzfeld stated it will be tricky for European nations to go all the way.
Speaking to laureus.com, he said: (It is) very, very difficult (for a European team to win).
It cannot be a coincidence that a European team couldn t win a World Cup held in South America.
Not in Uruguay,…
Former England captain David Beckham has expressed his disgust at his nation s failed attempt to win the rights to the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
England s bid team consisting of Manchester United legend Beckham, England Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William managed only one vote, losing the bid to Russia.
Beckham, who plays for Major League Soccer side Los Angeles Galaxy, said he felt sick that England s bid failed to attract more than the solitary vote.
The situation we see now leaves a sick feeling in your mouth, Beckham told the Daily Mirror.
We were happy with the bid we put forward and it gives you a real sick feeling not getting it.
There was so much hard work that went into that bid. Nobody could have done any more.
When…
Belgium boss Marc Wilmots will not attempt to man-mark Gareth Bale out of the game when his side face Wales in the quarter-finals of Euro 2016.
The Real Madrid forward has netted three times at the finals in France making him his country s top scorer at major tournaments and it was his cross that forced Gareth McAuley s own goal in the last-16 victory over Northern Ireland.
Bale also scored the only goal of the game when these sides met in qualifying last June, with Wales following up a 0-0 away draw with a 1-0 victory in Cardiff that helped propel them into the finals.
But Wilmots, who wants his own players to display some of the ruthlessness which saw them put four past Hungary in the last round, says dealing with Bale is a collective responsibility.
W…
Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng is looking forward to working under Carlo Ancelotti and expects the Italian to be a similar coach to Jupp Heynckes.
Heynckes guided Bayern to a historic treble in 2012-13, before making way for Pep Guardiola.
Ancelotti in turn will replace Guardiola as the man in charge ahead of the 2016-17 campaign and Boateng has little doubt the 56-year-old is the right man for the job.
It s not like I started calling people right away to find out what kind of coach Ancelotti is, Boateng told Abendzeitung.
You simply know stuff like that already. Toni Kroos and Sami Khedira, who worked with him at Real Madrid, had already told me about him before.
He is a bit like Heynckes. He is pretty calm, talks a lot to his players a…
Cristiano Ronaldo was frustrated on his return to international duty as Portugal were held to a 0-0 draw by Ukraine in their opening Euro 2020 qualifier.
Having not featured for Portugal since their defeat to Uruguay at World Cup 2018, Ronaldo was back for Friday s encounter in Lisbon, but failed to inspire a victory as the Euro 2016 champions began their Group B campaign on a flat note.
Andriy Pyatov played a key part in frustrating the hosts, twice denying Ronaldo in the first half before pulling off an exceptional save from Andre Silva.
And Pyatov s heroics paid dividends as Ukraine held firm to secure a hard-fought point, with the onus now on Portugal to respond when they face Group B s other big hitters Serbia on Monday.
Pyatov did well to tip over …
Tottenham moved up to third in the Premier League as they opened their new stadium with a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Wednesday.
Mauricio Pochettino s side had to be patient to make their bow at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after the estimated £1 billion project suffered a string of delays, but they immediately made themselves at home to end a five-game winless run in the league.
After a frustrating first half – which saw the Eagles comfortably keep the hosts at bay – Son Heung-min gave the home supporters something to cheer in the 55th minute, finding the bottom corner after a heavy deflection off Luka Milivojevic.
Christian Eriksen then added a deserved second 10 minutes from time as Spurs moved one point above Arsenal, who do have a game in han…
What the papers say
Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku, who was on loan at Inter Milan last season, is reportedly willing to take a £1million pay cut for a permanent move to the Italian club, the Telegraph reports. Lukaku featured in the Champions League final for Inter, scoring 10 goals and assisting six times in his 25 matches in Serie A last year.
Bayern Munich have reportedly sent a revised offer of £70million plus add-ons to Tottenham for Harry Kane, the Guardian said.
The Daily Mail says Al-Ettifaq manager Steven Gerrard is keen to sign free agent Wilfried Zaha, who saw his Crystal Palace contract expire this summer, for around £16million per season.
Ajax defender Jurrien Timber has completed a medical at Arsenal and the Metro says he has returned home for a…
According to , as related by , Arsenal are open to letting Hector Bellerin leave on loan in the summer transfer window. Inter Milan are interested in securing the services of the Spanish right-back, and the Gunners are willing to do a deal.
Arsenal are wiling to offload Bellerin. Inter, who won the Serie A title last season, are keen to sign the 26-year-old former Barcelona youngster. The Italian giants want to sign the defender on a loan deal. Arsenal are fine with that, but they want an obligation from Inter to make the deal permanent fo €20-25 million.
Inter, though, want an option to buy Bellerin, not an obligation. That is the sticking point in the deal. But Arsenal and Inter remain in talks. Bellerin scored one goal and gave two assists in 25 Premier League game…
Hoffenheim have appointed Markus Babbel as their new head coach as a replacement for the sacked Holger Stanislawski.
The former Stuttgart boss has signed a contract until the summer of 2014 with his new club.
The Sinsheim side were in the market for a new coach after they gave Stanislawski the sack on Thursday following their disappointing results in the 2011-12 Bundesliga campaign.
The 39-year-old Babbel started his coaching career at Stuttgart in November 2008, but was fired 13 months later.
He then took over at Hertha Berlin in the summer of 2010 and guided them back to the Bundesliga in his first season. However, he was dismissed earlier this season after revealing that he would not sign a contract extension with the Berlin side.
Babbel will …
Declan Rice has completed his transfer from West Ham to Arsenal in a British record £105million deal.
The England midfielder’s departure from the club he joined a decade ago was confirmed by the Hammers on Saturday afternoon, with Arsenal announcing the switch had been completed.
Rice’s move to the Emirates Stadium on a long-term contract sees him become the most expensive English player in history and follows on from the former Irons captain having guided his old club to victory in the Europa Conference League final against Fiorentina.
A new chapter begins.
— Arsenal (@Arsenal)
Earlier on Saturday, Rice had penned an open letter to West Ham fans, revealing the desire of playing in the Champions League – which Arsenal will next season �…