Sports

Qatar have become the first side to be eliminated from the World Cup, with the host nation bowing out following the 1-1 draw between the Netherlands and Ecuador in Group A.

The Asian Cup winners were undone in their opening group match against the South Americans, losing 2-0, and fell to a 3-1 defeat to Senegal on Friday – becoming the first World Cup host to lose two matches in a single group round.

Qatar s defeat also saw them become only the third host nation to concede three goals in a single group stage match, after South Africa in 2010 and Russia in 2018 – both of whom lost 3-0 to Uruguay.

Felix Sanchez s side now head into their final group game against the Netherlands with nothing but pride to play for, with no host nation having been eliminated earli…

Hugo Lloris saw two mistakes punished as Newcastle United beat Tottenham 2-1 on Sunday to move up to fourth in the Premier League.

Antonio Conte s men hoped to bounce back at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a chastening defeat to Manchester United in midweek, but Newcastle were good value for the win – even if they had a helping hand.

Decent chances fell to Son Heung-min and Harry Kane, but two errors from Lloris helped Callum Wilson and the in-form Miguel Almiron put Eddie Howe s side 2-0 up and leave Spurs stunned.

Kane pulled one back early in the second half, yet Newcastle ensured it was only a consolation as they moved to within two points of their third-placed hosts.

5/61 Miguel Almirón has scored five goals in his last five Premier League appear…

Roy Hodgson has delayed the announcement of his England squad for Euro 2016 until after the final day of the Premier League season.

England manager Hodgson was scheduled to name his party for the European Championship in France on Thursday, but the Football Association (FA) confirmed on Tuesday that his decision will now not be made public until Monday May 16.

An FA statement read: Following a meeting at The FA with his coaching staff this afternoon, the Three Lions boss decided to switch his announcement from this Thursday in order to better assess players  fitness after the final games of the Premier League season.

Doubt surrounds the availability of a number of Hodgson s regular squad members, with the England boss awaiting news on Arsenal forward Danny W…

Jurgen Klopp has described Manchester United as a results machine and backed Liverpool s fierce rivals to compete all the way for the Premier League title.

United travel to Anfield on Sunday unbeaten in 11 matches and having lost only one of their 20 games since the World Cup break, winning 16 of those.

That run of form has propelled the Red Devils within 11 points of leaders Arsenal with a game in hand, while they ended a six-year trophy drought with a 2-0 victory over Newcastle United in the EFL Cup final last Sunday.

Indeed, no Premier League team has won more points than United (23) since the campaign resumed in December, which Klopp believes stands them in good stead to push for the title.

They have turned into a results machine, Klopp said at Frida…

For Paris Saint-Germain, every new season brings a this is it feeling with regards to their Champions League hopes.

It s been the club s obsession ever since the Qatari state poured in their petrodollars back in 2011, and after a few years of building up a head of steam domestically, European success has been the chief aim.

Each pre-season sees the arrivals of new superstars, most years bring a new coach who has the ownership group s vain ambitions thrust upon their shoulders. The faces change, the goal doesn t – and neither, until now, has the ultimate destination.

Here we are in March 2023 and PSG still haven t won Europe s top prize. They find themselves 1-0 down after the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie with Bayern Munich, meaning they need …

Champions League holders Real Madrid resume their European campaign on Wednesday as they once again go up against English opposition in Chelsea.

Now with Frank Lampard in charge again, Chelsea realistically need to win the Champions League just to qualify for it next season, with the Blues languishing 11th in the Premier League.

But after brushing Liverpool aside in ruthless fashion in the last round, Madrid will be massive favourites in the eyes of most people.

Wednesday s other Champions League duel is almost as intriguing. Serie A rivals Milan and Napoli will tussle in San Siro, with any of the four teams in that side of the draw likely fancying their chances of reaching the final.

Ahead of two potentially engrossing matches, Stats Perform picks out th…

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez has warned his team s perfect Euro 2024 qualification record will count for nothing at next year s tournament, though he is content with their group-stage draw.

Portugal were drawn into Group F at Saturday s draw in Hamburg, alongside Turkiye, the Czech Republic and a yet-to-be-decided play-off winner.

Georgia, Luxembourg, Greece and Kazakhstan will battle for the final place in Portugal s group in March s play-offs.

Portugal have won all 10 of their games since Roberto Martinez replaced Fernando Santos in the aftermath of last year s disappointing World Cup exit, scoring 36 goals and only conceding two as they dominated their qualification group.

Having led Belgium to the last three major tournaments, Martinez is experien…

Brendan Rodgers will kick off his second spell as Celtic boss with a home game against Ross County on Saturday, August 8.

The curtain raiser for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions at Celtic Park will be televised live on Sky Sports with a 12:30pm kick-off.

Rangers start their first full season with Michael Beale at the helm with a trip to Kilmarnock later the same day, as they seek to win just a second title since 2011 after finishing seven points adrift of Celtic last campaign.

The game at Rugby Park will kick off at 5:15pm and will also be televised live.

The Glasgow rivals meet in the first Old Firm Derby of the season on matchday 4 with the champions travelling to Ibrox on September 3 for an early test of Rodgers’ second incarnation since r…

England triumphed in the so-named Battle of Britain against Wales, Northern Ireland stunned Ukraine and Germany were thwarted by Poland in another eventful day at Euro 2016.

As ever, we present the pick of the more seldom-seen moments of gold from the tournament in France, featuring England s coronation of a new hero and Will Grigg on you-know-what

MARSEILL-EASE

After a frantic few days in Marseille, it was reassuring to find the pace of life had slowed down significantly on Thursday.

Following the carnage of the weekend when Russian fans went on the rampage around the Old Port and inside the Stade Velodrome not to mention the scenes of anti-social behaviour from thousands of England fans Marseille barely had time to recover before France and …

Manager Phil Parkinson was full of praise for the way his Wrexham side battled with 10 men after a first-half goal from striker Ollie Palmer gave them a 1-0 victory at Crawley.

Wrexham came back three times after having a player sent off to clinch a 3-3 draw at Crewe a fortnight ago and the Red Dragons held firm for the last 24 minutes at the Broadfield Stadium with a man down to move above Crawley and into the top seven.

Palmer’s 13th-minute goal against his former club proved decisive and Parkinson was delighted with the way his men dug in after substitute Andy Cannon received a straight red card for bringing down Adam Campbell only seven minutes after coming on.

Parkinson said: “It was a huge win and there is a great togetherness about this group.

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