Steven Defour on Lokomotiv radar

Outgoing coach Ricki Herbert believes he has left New Zealand in good shape, despite their failure to qualify for the FIFA World Cup finals.

Herbert s eight-year tenure ended with a 4-2 defeat in the second leg of their play-off against Mexico in Wellington.

Mexico had all-but sealed their passage to Brazil with a 5-1 victory in the first leg and Oribe Peralta s first-half hat-trick at the Westpac Stadium put them out of sight.

New Zealand showed some fight and after Jeremy Brockie was denied from the penalty spot, Chris James and Rory Fallon pulled goals back before Carlos Alberto Pena had the final say.

Herbert had no complaints after New Zealand were consigned to a 9-3 aggregate defeat to a side ranked 55 places above them in the world rankings.

He said:…

Landon Donovan and Tim Howard were among 14 World Cup players named Wednesday to the 18-man United States roster for next Tuesday s football friendly here against Brazil.

More than 55,000 tickets have already been sold for the Americans meeting with the five-time World Cup champion at the new home of American football s New York Giants and New York Jets.

This game is a great opportunity to showcase many players from the World Cup team who earned the respect and appreciation of fans across the country, US coach Bob Bradley said.

Our goal continues to be to compete and succeed against the best teams in the world. With an extremely talented group of players, Brazil will be another difficult test.

The US lineup, with a dozen players from European-based sq…

Arsenal are keen on re-signing Turkey international Oguzhan Ozyakup, .

The twenty-three year old spent four years with the Gunners before making the switch to Besiktas in the summer of 2012.

He made just to cameo League Cup appearances for Arsene Wenger’s side, coming off the bench in wins over both Bolton Wanderers and Shrewsbury Town.

He was also named as a substitute in the 8-2 Premier League defeat to Manchester United as well as twice in the Champions League but didn’t feature.

Since moving to the Super Lig side, Ozyakup racked up over a hundred appearances in all competitions, scoring thirteen goals as well as making twenty-eight assists.

Internationally, he has been capped twelve times for Turkey and scored his one and only inter…

Michael O Neill wants Northern Ireland to forget the Nations League was ever invented after Sunday s last-gasp loss to Austria left them without a point from all four games.

A fine Valentino Lazaro goal three minutes into stoppage time ensured a poor campaign ended on a low note for O Neill s men as Austria ran out 2-1 winners at Windsor Park. 

Corry Evans had levelled after Xaver Schlager s opener, but the hosts could not hold on and O Neill just wants his side to put the whole competition firmly behind them.

We got punished at the end. Stuart [Dallas] could have put the ball out of play and the game was over, he said.

It was a fantastic finish that separates the teams. It is very sickening to lose the game like that.

There are more positi…

Barcelona s 3-0 success over Sevilla has given them their best LaLiga winning streak at Camp Nou in Luis Enrique s reign.

The defending champions victory on Wednesday, which came courtesy of Lionel Messi s double and a Luis Suarez overhead kick, made it eight home league wins in a row.

The streak has seen Barca beat Espanyol, Las Palmas, Athletic Bilbao, Leganes, Sporting Gijon, Celta Vigo and Valencia prior to the Sevilla clash.

That is their best run since Luis Enrique, who will leave at the end of the campaign, took charge at the start of the 2014-15 season.

The run could reach 12 by the time this season is over, with home LaLiga matches against Real Sociedad, Osasuna, Villarreal and Eibar still to come.

8 Barcelona have won their last eight…

Napoli coach Luciano Spalletti hailed the atmosphere at the sold-out Stadio Maradona as his side fought past Ajax 4-2 to secure their place in the Champions League knockout stages.

Goals from Hirving Lozano, Giacomo Raspadori, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, and Victor Osimhen saw Napoli continue their unbeaten campaign in Group A in front of a raucous home crowd.

It was a result that secured a place in the last 16 with two matches to spare.

Speaking to Sky Sport Italia, Spalletti said about the home support: On evenings like this, you are swept along by the atmosphere. At one point, I felt dizzy and thought I could see stars going around my head.

This qualification is down to the lads and I am fortunate to be working with a group like this. The entire city is pr…

Pedri says it is not possible to emulate Barcelona legend s Lionel Messi s achievements as he prepares to face fierce rivals Real Madrid in El Clasico.

Barca teenager Pedri has emerged as one of world football s most talented prospects, showing maturity way beyond his years with majestic performances in the middle of the park.

The 19-year-old Spain midfielder looks set for a long, successful career and Xavi will be expecting him to step up on the big stage again when the Blaugrana face LaLiga champions Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Pedri has high hopes for what he can achieve, but believes it is too much to ask that he will emulate the feats of the mercurial seven-time Ballon d Or winner Messi.

I hope so, Pedri replied when asked if he would…

TP Mazembe beat Pachuca 1-0 in the FIFA Club World Cup on Friday to set up a semi-final with Internacional.

African champions Mazembe crashed out of their inaugural appearance at the tournament back in 2009, losing to Pohang Stealers of South Korea and New Zealand side Auckland City.

But there was no repeat of that disappointment, with a 1-0 win over Mexican side Pachuca handing the DR Congo s Mazembe their first Club World Cup victory.

Mbenza Bedi grabbed the only goal after 20 minutes at the Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Pachuca, making their third appearance at the tournament, are old hands at the Club World Cup.

With more than a hint of complacency, Argentine coach Pablo Marini left first-choice striker Edgar Benitez on the bench,…

What is Comolli’s role?

The role of Director of football is well established across continental Europe but hasn’t yet really identified a strong-hold in the English game.

Threatened

The old image of the team manager being in charge of everything at the club is still alive and well in England and many managers feel threatened by the implementation of the director role.

Liverpool’s Roy Hodgson has worked all over Europe and may well be one of the few English managers that are comfortable with the role. Whether or not he is comfortable with Damien Comolli being given the role at his club or the fact that the appointment was apparently made without his input or knowledge, is a more difficult question to answer.

Acrimonious

Comolli joined Li…

The Colombian radio station Radio Caracol reports that star has already agreed on a move to .

The reported agreement between Rodriguez and the Premier League giants will be publicly announced once the current La Liga season officially ends, on 21 May.

The Colombian star was given a warm round of applause when he was coming off at the hour-mark against Sevilla and Rodriguez responded by applauding them back in what has since then been interpreted as a goodbye to Real Madrid supporters.

Real Madrid are not prepared to discuss futures of individual players until the full season – Champions League final in Cardiff included – is over with, but the Colombian radio found out that Rodriguez has already given his nod to Jose Mourinho’s side.

Rodriguez join…