Stones absent from England training through illness

John Stones missed England s second training session in Germany through illness four days before the start of their Euro 2024 campaign.

The Manchester City defender featured in the Three Lions 1-0 defeat to Iceland last week, but was substituted at half-time after picking up an injury.

However, he was involved in training on Tuesday in Blankenhain.

Gareth Southgate has had to deal with several absentees and fitness concerns in the build-up to the tournament, with Stones long-term international defensive partner Harry Maguire having been left out of the squad due to injury.

The Three Lions squad is out at training this morning, except John Stones who misses out through illness, England posted to X on Wednesday ahead of their Group C fixture with Serbia…

Kane leaps to defence of under-fire England team-mate Maguire

Harry Kane has launched a staunch defence of under-fire England team-mate Harry Maguire after the defender was jeered by fans, describing the reception as just not right .

Manchester United captain Maguire started Tuesday s 3-0 win over Ivory Coast at Wembley, where goals from Ollie Watkins, Raheem Sterling and Tyrone Mings sealed victory for the hosts.

Despite having been a key figure under Gareth Southgate, even earning a spot in the UEFA Team of the Tournament for his performances at Euro 2020, Maguire has become a target for the boo boys in club and international colours.

Southgate labelled the reaction an absolute joke , and Kane took to Twitter on Wednesday to echo those sentiments, adding that Maguire had the full backing of his international team-mate…

Stones backs ´fearless´ Grealish to quickly settle at Man City

John Stones has backed fearless Jack Grealish to make an immediate impact at Manchester City following his arrival from Aston Villa for a British-record £100million fee.

England international Grealish was confirmed as a City player last week and made his debut as a second-half substitute in Sunday s 1-0 Community Shield defeat to Leicester City.

The 25-year-old played 25 minutes in that annual curtain-raising fixture, managing 25 touches of the ball and completing 15 of his 16 passes during his time on the pitch.

He is in contention to start City s opening Premier League fixture against Tottenham next Sunday and Stones is excited by what his international team-mate will bring to the side.

Jack s an incredible footballer. A raw talent. I think you can s…

Fiorentina youngster set for Bundesliga move

Fiorentina striker Khouma Babacar is nearing a summer switch to Bundesliga outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, .

The 21-year-old returned to Artemio Franchi following a loan spell with Modena, but chances are he will be leaving again this summer.

According to Tuttosport, Eintracht Frankfurt are hot on the trail of the talented forward and they are stepping up their efforts to recruit him.

The same source has suggested the Bundesliga side are close to agreeing a season-long loan for the Senegalese that would include a buy-out clause as well.

Khouma Babacar has shown a great deal of potential since joining Viola from Pescara back in 2009, but he could only make 23 league appearances for the club.

After somewhat disappointing loan spells at Racing Santander…

Arsenal handed Besiktas test, Celtic face Maribor

Arsenal will face a tough trip to Turkey in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League play-offs after being drawn against Besiktas.

Arsene Wenger s side are preparing for their 17th successive season in Europe s elite club competition and will face the Superliga side for the first time in their history when they attempt to secure a place in the group stage.

The two-legged tie will see former Chelsea striker Demba Ba return to London against a club he was linked with before agreeing a four-year deal on July 18.

Ba has already made an immediate impact in Turkey with a hat-trick on his debut against Feyenoord in the third qualifying round.

Ligue 1 side Lille stand in the way of Porto, winners of the competition in 2004, and a fourth successive group stage a…

Koeman, Van Dijk left frustrated over disallowed winner against France

Ronald Koeman and Virgil van Dijk believe Xavi Simon s disallowed goal should have stood after the Netherlands goalless draw with France on Friday.

The midfielder thought he had given his side the lead in the 69th minute after latching onto Memphis Depay s saved shot and picking out the bottom corner.

However, a lengthy VAR check saw the goal ruled out as Denzel Dumfries was judged to be blocking Mike Maignan from getting to it.

The Oranje were not happy with the decision at the time, and their ire continued into post-match, with a frustrated Koeman adamant they should have come away with all three points.

I think the position of Dumfries is offside, that s true, but he isn t disturbing the goalkeeper and when that happens, then it s a legal goal, Koeman…

Melbourne Victory 1 Central Coast Mariners 0: Berisha reaches 100 A-League goals

Besart Berisha became the first man to reach 100 A-League goals as Melbourne Victory defeated Central Coast Mariners 1-0 on Friday.

The Kosovo international   who first moved to Australia with Brisbane Roar in 2011 scored with 10 minutes remaining, blasting in from close range after good work from Jai Ingham to set him up for the hosts.

That took Berisha to his century of goals in Australia s top division and put him in the outright lead for this season s golden boot with 19. Jamie MacLaren and Bruno Fornaroli are one and two goals behind respectively with one regular-season match to play.

Victory were already assured of finishing second, giving them a bye in the first round of the play-offs, but this win ended a three-match stint without a triumph.

Chile v Argentina: History beckons ahead of Copa America final

Argentina and Chile will relish the chance to end long waits for major international trophies on Sunday in the final of the Copa America.

Tournament hosts Chile came through a close-fought semi-final with Peru to move within one win of their first Copa success while Argentina thrashed P
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araguay 6-1 and inched closer to their first major title since 1993.

Gerardo Martino saw Lionel Messi shine in their dismantling of Paraguay last week with this weekend s clash offering the four-time world player of the year the chance to seal his first international honours.

Despite winning a host of titles with Barcelona, Messi s international career has not yet reached the same heights, although victory in Santiago would go a long way to silencing any remaining detra…

Cavani: Poor final season in front of Man Utd fans leaves a ´bitter taste´

Edinson Cavani admits enduring a poor final season with Manchester United after fans returned to Old Trafford left him with a bitter taste , as he prepares to leave after two years at the club.

Cavani is moving on from United as a free agent at the end of his contract, having scored 12 goals in 41 Premier League appearances since joining in October 2020 from Paris Saint-Germain.

The Uruguay international initially impressed for United, scoring 10 goals in his first Premier League campaign as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer s Red Devils finished as runners-up in a 2020-21 season played almost entirely behind closed doors due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the 35-year-old then struggled for game-time under both Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick during his final …

Sheffield United v Tottenham: Clough expects fired-up Spurs for second leg

All eyes will be on Sheffield United on Wednesday to see if they can overturn a 1-0 deficit against Tottenham to reach the League Cup final.

Sheffield United manager Nigel Clough expects a Tottenham side on high alert to arrive at Bramall Lane on Wednesday desperate to avoid a second cup upset in five days. 

Spurs make the trip to south Yorkshire looking to protect a 1-0 lead following the League Cup semi-final first leg between the two clubs last week. 

But Mauricio Pochettino s men are smarting after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Leicester City at White Hart Lane on Saturday. 

Tottenham s exit was one of a number of shock results on a fourth-round weekend that saw League One side Bradford City win 4-2 at Premier League leaders Chelsea, Manchester…