Bastian Schweinsteiger criticised Germany s defence after a shock 2-1 defeat in their World Cup opener against Japan on Wednesday.

The former Germany international and 2014 World Cup winner singled out Niklas Sule, who was utilised at right-back by head coach Hansi Flick instead of his usual position as centre-back.

Germany took the lead through an Ilkay Gundogan penalty in the first half, before goals from Ritsu Doan and Takuma Asano dramatically turned things around in the second.

Speaking to German broadcaster ARD, Schweinsteiger said: We made big mistakes again in defence, and as long as we do that we will lose games, it s that simple!

The former Bayern Munich and Manchester United midfielder then went into detail on Doan s equaliser, highlighting Su…

Harry Kane is fit to face Wales, but Gareth Southgate stopped short of confirming the England captain would start.

Kane sustained a foot injury in England s World Cup opener against Iran, only to recover in time to lead the Three Lions out again against the United States.

The Tottenham forward struggled to impact that goalless draw, however, and there have been calls for him to be dropped for the final group game against Wales.

England are not yet through but would have to lose by four goals at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday to fall short of the knockout stage.

Discussing his team selection, Southgate outlined the need to balance freshness with stability .

Ahead of playing the United States, the England manager said it would be a brave decision …

Luis Diaz insists Liverpool are not favourites to beat Real Madrid in Saturday s Champions League final, as he prepares for a dream appearance in European football s showpiece event.

Having already lifted the EFL Cup and FA Cup this season, Jurgen Klopp s team are looking to make up for missing out on the Premier League title by being crowned European champions for a seventh time in Paris.

Such a triumph would see Liverpool draw level with Milan s tally of European Cup/Champions League successes, leaving only Madrid (13) with more titles in the competition s history, as well as avenging their 2018 final loss to Los Blancos.

Liverpool have been touted as favourites after ending their domestic league campaign with a 19-match unbeaten run (16 wins, three draws), whi…

Enzo Maresca has urged Chelsea s supporters to trust the idea and promised to instil an enterprising, aggressive style of play at Stamford Bridge.

Maresca led Leicester City to the Championship title last season before making the move to West London after Mauricio Pochettino s surprise departure.

Pochettino led Chelsea to a sixth-placed Premier League finish in his only campaign at the helm, also overseeing their penalty shoot-out defeat to Liverpool in February s EFL Cup final.

Despite an upturn in the second half of 2023-24, Pochettino failed to win over Chelsea s fanbase after the Todd Boehly regime sanctioned an outlay of around £390million (€464m) before the season began.

Maresca s Leicester were known for their progressive brand of football, rank…

Pele has congratulated fellow Brazilians Vinicius Junior and Marcelo for their contributions to Real Madrid s triumphant Champions League campaign, which he hailed as a beautiful adventure . 

Vinicius converted Federico Valverde s cross in the 59th minute to fire Madrid to a 1-0 final win over Liverpool at the Stade de France, as Los Blancos were crowned European champions for a 14th time seven more occasions than any other team.

With his decisive strike, Vinicius became the first Brazilian player to score the winning goal in a Champions League final since Juliano Belletti did so for Barcelona against Arsenal in 2006, also in Paris.

The winger s sixth goal in the Champions League this season, combined with his previous four assists, made him the first South A…

Tottenham head coach Antonio Conte has outlined an aim to win the Champions League and Premier League ahead of his side s Premier League opener against Southampton this weekend.

Spurs finished last season strongly to pip rivals Arsenal to fourth place and Champions League qualification.

They have since been very active in the transfer window in order to beef up their squad as they look for silverware this upcoming campaign, having not lifted a trophy since 2008.

Richarlison, Everton s top goalscorer last season, arrived in a £60million deal, while Ivan Perisic, Yves Bissouma, Djed Spence and Clement Lenglet, on loan, have all also been signed.

This business has raised expectations at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, but that is no issue for Conte, who …

An outstanding 2017 resulted in Kane finishing 10th in the Ballon d’Or list but Spurs have endured a difficult few seasons since they made the Champions League final in 2019.

With Kane aware his chances of winning silverware were reducing at Tottenham, the forward made the decision to leave the north London club after a 19-year association.

He hinted part of the decision to leave Spurs was to play in the Champions League and have no regrets at the end of his career.

Kane added: “If you’re winning your league, winning the Champions League and we obviously have the European Championship next summer as well, I think as we’ve seen with the Ballon d’Or, you have to be winning team trophies to achieve that.

“Yeah, if I am scoring goals and we’re w…

Juventus have confirmed their withdrawal from the European Super League project and requested to rejoin the European Club Association (ECA).

Juve were one of 12 European clubs that signed up to form a breakaway Super League in April 2021, a plan that sparked widespread protests from fans.

Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, Milan and Inter were also part of the original breakaway group.

As a result of the announcement, those teams were also excluded from the ECA.

However, following the backlash from supporters and threats of sanctions by UEFA, nine of the clubs backed out swiftly, with the project collapsing within 72 hours.

They were then readmitted to the ECA, and …

Northern Ireland resume their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign on Friday night when they face Denmark in Copenhagen.

Here the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the Group H fixture.

The hardest task?

On paper, Friday’s match is the toughest on Northern Ireland’s fixture list, away to the top seed in the group. Denmark’s squad boasts elite-level talent and rich experience in every department. The likes of Christian Eriksen, Simon Kjaer, and Andreas Christensen have been operating at the top level for years, while in 20-year-old striker Rasmus Hojlund they have one of the hottest properties in European football. But Denmark are coming off a shock defeat away to Kazakhstan in March, showing they are far from infallible.

Bouncebackabil…

Republic of Ireland defender Marc Wilson has been ruled out of Euro 2016 having suffered a setback in his recovery from a serious knee injury.

The 28-year-old has not played for club side Stoke City since January having damaged knee ligaments, but was hoping to make the tournament in France and had been named in manager Martin O Neill s 35-man provisional squad.

However, O Neill revealed that Wilson has had an additional problem and subsequently will not be fit in time to play at the Euros.

Marc Wilson has had a setback, he said. The best thing for him is to take four of five weeks off. He will be out.

Ireland goalkeeper and club team-mate Shay Given added: I have worked with Marc Wilson in the gym this season. 

It s a big shame for him. The s…