Joachim Low believes the World Cup s best teams will have extra motivation to stop Germany and prevent him becoming the first coach in 80 years to win the game s biggest prize for a second time.
After guiding Germany to glory at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Low s side reached the semi-finals of Euro 2016 and won the 2017 Confederations Cup. They are the top-ranked team in the world going into the tournament.
The 58-year-old head coach, who is preparing his squad for Group F matches against Mexico, Sweden and South Korea, said he expects the biggest teams in the tournament to be out to beat his men.
If you are world champion, Confederations Cup winner and number three in the world for three or four years, then you will be especially hunted, he told SID.
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Alexandre Pato remains in love with Italy and has suggested he would be open to moving back to Serie A, with the Brazilian even happy to sign for Inter, rivals of his former club AC Milan.
Pato only signed for Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjiang in January and the 27-year-old has settled in quickly, scoring seven goals in 14 league games for his new side.
But the nomadic forward, who has played for Corinthians and Sao Paolo in his homeland as well as Chelsea and Villarreal in Europe since leaving Milan in 2012, is seemingly already planning his next move.
Inter have appointed Luciano Spalletti as the club s new coach and Pato says he would join Milan s rivals if given the opportunity to return to the city.
I m in love with Italy, Pato told Gaz…
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While the focus for many on the international stage is on the rescheduled UEFA Euro 2020 tournament this summer, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced nations across the globe to start thinking about next year s FIFA World Cup in Qatar. There are still plenty of distractions and problems that could arise before the WC actually takes place, but for England and San Marino, there s no time to rest as they begin their respective qualification campaigns in a David vs Goliath style showdown.
England
After reaching the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup many fans have been left to wonder what the Three Lions will be able to produce at the Euros. Of course, they ve had to wait another year or so to try and prove…
Lionel Messi could retire from international football if Argentina crash out of the World Cup, according to his former team-mate Pablo Zabaleta.
Messi cut an isolated figure as Argentina fell to a humbling 3-0 defeat to Croatia in their Group D clash on Thursday, making a premature exit a distinct possibility for the two-time champions.
Zabaleta, who was part of the team that reached the 2014 final, believes the Barcelona star could call time on his international career should they fail to progress to the last 16.
I just feel so sorry for Lionel Messi, he told the BBC.
This was his last chance to win something with Argentina so I wouldn t be surprised to see him retire from international football after this.
He ll be so disappointed and it s�…
According to as relayed by Chelsea and Manchester City are interested in signing Romelu Lukaku from Inter Milan in the summer transfer window. The report in the Italian publication has claimed that newly-crowned Italian champions are willing to sell the former Manchester United, but only for €120 million.
Lukaku joined Inter from United in the summer of 2019 and has been a big player for the Nerazzurri. The 27-year-old Belgium international played a key role in Inter reaching the UEFA Europa League final last season and has been instrumental in the club winning Serie A this campaign.
According to , Lukaku has scored 21 goals and provided 10 assists in 33 Serie A games and scored four goals in five Champions League games for Inter this season. During the 2019-20 campa…
Christian Ziege believes Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp can rightly be considered the best coach in world football.
Klopp led Liverpool to their sixth European Cup last season, as they beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League final in Madrid.
Their success in Europe came on the back of a 3-1 defeat in the showpiece event in 2017-18, while Klopp s side also finished just one point behind Premier League champions Manchester City last term.
Former Tottenham defender Ziege stressed Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino, along with Bayern Munich coach Niko Kovac, should all be considered, though he places Klopp just above the pack.
I think you have to be careful with that. To rate the Best coach in the world you have to count in all coaches, even the ones wor…
Manchester City and Chelsea were both in the market for a striker ahead of the 2021-22 season.
Although Chelsea sealed Romelu Lukaku s return – for a club-record fee reported to be £97.5million – City were unable to break Tottenham s resolve and sign Harry Kane.
For a brief time towards the end of August, it seemed Cristiano Ronaldo would be heading to the Etihad Stadium. Yet City again came away empty-handed – Ronaldo, like Lukaku, returning to a former club as he joined rivals Manchester United.
Indeed, City were once linked with Lukaku, with the forward himself claiming he had turned down an approach in 2020. But Pep Guardiola s team have, so far, cast aside any doubts that a lack of an out-and-out striker would cost them dearly.
City looked se…
Barcelona boss Ernesto Valverde says the first Clasico of the season against Real Madrid should go ahead as planned at Camp Nou on October 26.
LaLiga has proposed moving the match to the Santiago Bernabeu amid the political unrest in Catalonia, and a reported alternative would be to set the fixture back to December.
Nine Catalan political leaders were given prison sentences ranging from nine to 13 years on Monday for their roles in the region s 2017 referendum and subsequent unilateral declaration of independence.
The ruling sparked a huge backlash and clashes between police and protestors, with Barcelona s main airport briefly closed the following day due to the tension.
A city rally has been called by pro-independence politicians for October 26, the day…
Manchester United have made a bid for Atletico Madrid right-back Kieran Trippier, according to . United are interested in signing the former Tottenham Hotspur star in the summer transfer window and have made a formal move for the defender.
The former Premier League and European champions have submitted an offer of £10 million. However, according to the report, Atletico, who won the La Liga title this past season, have turned down the opening bid from the Red Devils.
Trippier joined Atletico from Tottenham in the summer of 2019. The 30-year-old has done well for the Spanish club and helped them win the La Liga title in 2020-21. However, the right-back reportedly wants to go back to the Premier League. Trippier is with the England squad for the Euro 2020 finals at the mo…
Wayne Rooney is determined to enjoy his final performance for England on Thursday after admitting it was not always fun to play for his country.
The former Manchester United and Three Lions captain is due to come on as a second-half substitute when Gareth Southgate s side play the United States at Wembley.
Rooney scored a record 53 goals in his first 119 international appearances as the spearhead of the so-called Golden Generation , which included the likes of Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard and David Beckham and was criticised for failing to challenge at World Cups and European Championships.
Now 33, Rooney concedes that the pressure to succeed for England meant playing for his country was not always enjoyable – something he does not expect to be the case this …