Sampdoria striker Antonio Cassano has been in excellent form in the 2008-09 campaign, but has not been chosen by Italy coach Marcello Lippi, since he took charge of the national team this past summer.

Cassano? He should check his ID if he is between 18 and 40, then he must continue to play well and when I make my choices there is a chance he will be there [in the squad], The former Juventus boss said in an interview with Sky Sport 24.

I have nothing in particular against him, nor anyone else. My decisions are simply based on my technical ideas.

…

Goalkeeper Luis Cardenas saved two penalties and scored the decisive spot-kick as Monterrey beat Al-Hilal 4-3 in a shoot-out to finish third at the Club World Cup after a 2-2 draw in normal time.

Carlos Eduardo gave Al-Hilal the lead with the only goal of the first half, but a weakened Monterrey side hit back through quickfire goals from Arturo Gonzalez and Maximiliano Meza before the hour.

Substitute Bafetimbi Gomis scored six minutes after being introduced from the bench to ensure Saturday s match at the Khalifa International Stadium in Qatar went all the way to penalties.

And it was Antonio Mohamed s men who prevailed in dramatic circumstances, with Cardenas proving the spot-kick hero by keeping out attempts from Eduardo and Mohamed Kanno before converting fro…

Thiago Alcantara is unlikely to travel to St James Park for Liverpool s Premier League clash against Newcastle United as his recovery from a knee injury must not be rushed.

Thiago has made just two Premier League appearances this season, suffering his setback in a 2-2 draw with Everton on October 17, but he returned to first-team training last week.

Jurgen Klopp is not willing to take any risks, however, as Liverpool aim to return to winning ways at Newcastle following a disappointing 1-1 draw with struggling West Brom on Sunday.

I like watching all my players play, Klopp told reporters.

Jürgen Klopp sat down after Sunday s game to preview our final meeting of 2020 |

— Liverpool FC (@LFC)

With Thiago, he had a few minutes until …

Mauricio Pochettino lauded Tottenham s achievement after a 1-0 victory over Newcastle United secured their place in next season s Champions League.

A well-taken goal from Harry Kane proved to be the difference between the two sides on a tense night at Wembley, where Spurs found themselves under pressure from a Newcastle side playing with freedom, having already avoided relegation from the Premier League.

The result moved Spurs up to third and put paid to fears of their season ending in failure following a slump in form and set up a season of Champions League football in their new stadium.

To achieve the top four is a massive achievement, Pochettino told reporters. I want to congratulate the players first of all and then the staff.

Another season of foot…

Napoli s deserved 2-0 triumph at Sampdoria was not enough to maintain a Serie A title challenge as Juventus  latest triumph was confirmed on Sunday.

Victory away at Juve looked to have given Napoli the opportunity to push all the way for a first Scudetto since 1990, but a failure to win either of the subsequent two matches put paid to their challenge.

And so, with Juventus drawing at Roma, a dominant Napoli display at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris counted for little, despite a marvellous strike from substitute Arkadiusz Milik just 75 seconds after his introduction that was followed by a Raul Albiol header.

The Partenopei had looked destined for a frustrating third winless game after Dries Mertens saw an early goal contentiously ruled out and Samp s debutant goalkee…

Thomas Vermaelen will spend next season on loan at Roma with the Serie A club also having the option to purchase the Belgium international at the end of 2016-17, Barcelona have announced.

Vermaelen arrived on Sunday to undergo his medical and the 30-year-old has now completed his move to the Italian capital.

The centre-back joined Barca from Arsenal in August 2014, but injuries prevented him from making an impact at Camp Nou. He made just one appearance in his first season at the Catalans, before making an additional 20 appearances last term.

Vermaelen won two domestic doubles as well as the Champions League, UEFA Super Cup and FIFA Club World Cup during his time at Barcelona.

Roma previously already brought in Alisson, Mario Rui, Juan Jesus, Federico Fa…

Vincent Kompany was replaced with an apparent injury as Belgium and Portugal continued their World Cup preparations with a low-key 0-0 draw in Brussels.

Jan Vertonghen, already Belgium s most-capped player, made his 100th appearance for the national team, the Tottenham centre-back lining up in Roberto Martinez s back line, but the coach will be concerned about Kompany after he was substituted early in the second half.

It was defences on top for the majority of Saturday s clash of the European heavyweights at the King Baudouin Stadium, goalkeepers Beto and Thibaut Courtois untested during a flat first half.

Vertonghen s strike produced a fine save from Beto in the 55th minute, while Martinez avoided further selection headaches after opposite number Courtois shook …

Huddersfield Town have announced that head coach David Wagner has signed a new three-year contract.

Assistants Christoph Buhler and Andrew Hughes have also extended their deals, which were due to expire next year, until 2021.

I m very happy that we can announce David, Christoph and Andrew s new contracts today on the back of a superb debut Premier League season, Huddersfield chairman Dean Hoyle told the club s official website.

We have a fantastic working relationship and we re looking forward to taking on the challenge of establishing Huddersfield Town in the Premier League together.

Wagner took Huddersfield into the Premier League for the first time with a penalty shoot-out victory in the 2016-17 Championship play-off final over Reading.

The …

World Cup winner Romario is to run for election to the national parliament as he fights off debts and fraud charges.

The 43-year-old, who scored 70 goals in 80 games for Brazil and was part of the 1994 World Cup-winning squad, was to join the socialist party and stand in the 2010 federal elections, the daily O Globo reported Tuesday.

Romario will have policies and can t just depend on the votes of his supporters, the party s Rio state chairman Alexandre Cardos told the paper.

In August, Romario, who also faces tax evasion allegations and is embroiled in an illegal betting probe, was forced to sell a luxury penthouse appartment here, which fetched 4.37 million dollars.

All profits from the sale were seized by the judicial authorities to help pay his debt…

Rubin Kazan s championship aspirations are at risk after the defending champions lost their second league match in a row. Spartak Moscow beat Amkar Perm and reduced the gap with the leaders to just one point.

At Lokomotiv Moscow, Rubin couldn t deal with Peter Odemwingie who scored in the 2nd and 35th minute to give the hosts a comfortable lead. Lasha Salukvadze got one back in the 75th minute, but Rubin wouldn t get another.

Spartak Moscow earned a 1-2 win at Amkar Perm, despite conceding a goal from Martin Kushev in the 26th minute. Williton leveled 11 minutes after the break and German Malik Fathi netted the winner in minute 71.

Zenit St Petersburg remain in third place thanks to a 2-1 win over Dinamo Moscow. Leandro Fernandez first put the guests ahead in th…