Van der Vaart returns to Hamburg

Wales manager Rob Page was relieved to gain an important point in their World Cup opener against the United States, and praised Gareth Bale s intelligence in winning a second-half penalty.

The United States took a deserved first-half lead through Timothy Weah, though an improved Welsh side came back in the second and equalised via Bale s 82nd-minute spot kick.

The 1-1 draw leaves both two points behind England after the first games in Group B in Qatar after the Three Lions beat Iran 6-2 earlier on Monday, but Page was happy enough with a point and suggested his team were the ones who could have won it late on.

It was a really important point for us, he told reporters at his post-match press conference. I thought for the last 10 minutes if anybody was going to go…

Dusan Vlahovic confirmed he is staying at Serie A outfit Fiorentina, despite top proposals from clubs across Europe.

Vlahovic enjoyed a breakout season in 2020-21, scoring 21 Serie A goals, and his exploits have sparked reported interest from Premier League champions Manchester City and LaLiga holders Atletico Madrid as well as Arsenal, Tottenham and Inter.

Contracted to Fiorentina until 2023 with a value around €70-80million (£59-68m), Vlahovic opened his Serie A account for 2021-22 with a fine header in Saturday s 2-1 victory over Torino.

Afterwards, the 21-year-old Serbia international pledged his commitment to Fiorentina for at least one more campaign.

Dusan Vlahovic 
Miglior Under 23 della 2020/21  

— ACF Fiorentina (@acffiorentina)…

Market: Bolton win

Odds: 8/15 @

Looking to extend on their rampant start to the season, Bolton will welcome a struggling Fleetwood to Toughsheet Community Stadium on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, laying down a real marker over the weekend as they stormed their way to a stellar 3-0 romp away at Cheltenham, Bolton are enjoying what has been a hugely impressive start to the 2023/24 campaign. With the mood around the Toughsheet Community Stadium at a red-hot high, Ian Evatt’s side have won all of their first three appearances across all competitions and they open the midweek fixtures leading the chase at the top of the League one standings. While the Trotters might have suffered play-off heartbreak last season, the former Barrow boss will be smelling the…

Japan will successfully defend their Women s World Cup title against United States in Vancouver on Sunday, after Olivia the parrot predicted on Friday.

In scenes reminiscent of Paul the Octopus at the men s FIFA World Cup in South Africa 2010, 10-year-old Olivia a grey parrot had little hesitation in selecting the Japanese flag over the American one at her home, the Nasu Animal Kingdom in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan.

Paul the Octopus correctly predicted all of Germany s seven matches at the 2010 World Cup, and Olivia has also showed her prowess so far.

For Japan s semi-final against England, she twice selected the English flag before changing her mind and eventually landing on the Rising Sun much to the joy of the locals.

The match was England s for the ta…

that Arsenal’s Mathieu Flamini is set to secure a move to Galatasaray after the two clubs agreed terms on a deal for the midfielder.

The France international started just fifteen Premier League games for the Gunners last season, having returned to the club from Milan in the summer of 2013.

Across two spells, the 31 year old has racked up just shy of two hundred appearances in all competitions under Arsene Wenger, scoring eleven goals and winning three FA Cups – one of which came prior to his move to Italy.

He has three caps for his country, but hasn’t featured for them since coming on as a substitute in a 2-1 win over Serbia in 2010 World Cup qualification victory over Serbia almost seven years ago.

Galatasaray have already made one signing fr…

Milan coach Sinisa Mihajlovic defended Nigel de Jong, after the Dutchman was involved in a heated stoush with Pep Guardiola at half-time of a club friendly.

Guardiola s Bayern Munich were 3-0 winners over the Serie A outfit at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday, but the former Barcelona boss was aggrieved with the treatment of his players in an exhibition match for the second time in 12 months.

The Spaniard seemingly took exception to De Jong s early challenge on Joshua Kimmich, who was forced from the field with a resultant injury in the 21st minute.

In August 2014, Guardiola refused to shake hands with MLS All-Stars coach Caleb Porter when Bayern lost 2-1 in an exhibition clash in Portland after he was unhappy with Will Johnson s tackle on midfielder Bastian Schweins…

Chelsea midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah has joined Napoli on a season-long loan deal, .

The England U21 international has been at Stamford Bridge for a decade, after moving to the club’s academy from Fulham’s aged ten.

He is yet to make a senior appearance for the Blues, but has racked up almost one hundred games across loan spells with Watford, Nottingham Forest, Middlesbrough, Burnley and most recently Reading, who he joined for the second half of last season.

He has been capped twenty-one times for the U21s having also represented England at every level from U16s.

The Sierra-Leonne born midfielder was part of England’s squad that won the European U17 Championships in 2010, and was named England’s Youth Player of the Year in 2013.

…

Germany boss Joachim Low believes the 7-1 humiliation his side handed Brazil in 2014 served as a motivation for the five-time world champions to change and improve.

The two heavyweight footballing countries meet on Tuesday in Berlin for the first time at senior level since that remarkable World Cup semi-final in Belo Horizonte, which left the host nation stunned.

Low s side went on to lift the trophy, beating Argentina 1-0 in extra time, while Brazil began the long process of getting the loss out of their system during Dunga s underwhelming second spell as head coach.

But the Selecao have established themselves as one of the favourites for Russia 2018 under Dunga s successor Tite, after cruising to top spot in the notoriously unforgiving CONMEBOL qualifying secti…

Harry Kane took pride in the special achievement of retaining the Premier League Golden Boot after scoring a second hat-trick this week in Tottenham s 7-1 hammering of relegated Hull City.

Kane netted four as Spurs put Leicester City to the sword 6-1 on Thursday and Mauricio Pochettino s second-placed side underlined there was no hangover associated with missing out on the title to Chelsea as they ran riot at the KCOM Stadium.

The England striker s first two arrived inside 13 minutes and he completed his treble as a dispirited Hull faded during the closing stages.

He amassed a haul of 29 goals in 30 Premier League appearances despite two separate injury absences, ensuring he finished ahead of Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez at the top of the standings.

…

Tottenham Hotspur are in talks to sign Fiorentina striker Dusan Vlahovic, according to . It has been reported that the Premier League club are keen on securing the services of the 21-year-old striker and have also started talks over bringing the Serbia international to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Vlahovic is one of the best young strikers in European football and has been in great form for Fiorentina for a while. The striker has scored four goals and provided one assist in seven Serie A games so far this season. During the 2020-21 campaign, the youngster scored 21 goals and gave three assists in the league.

Harry Kane is the number one striker at Tottenham and, at the age of 28, remains a player at the top of his game. However, Spurs need to find a long-term replacement …