Tributes pour in after former Scotland manager Craig Brown dies aged 82

Tributes have poured in for Craig Brown, the last man to lead Scotland to a World Cup and one of the most popular characters in Scottish football.

Brown’s family announced the 82-year-old had died in hospital in Ayr following a short illness.

The former schoolteacher took Scotland to a World Cup and a European Championship finals and was involved in a coaching capacity in three other major tournaments. He also led the country’s under-16s to a World Cup final and the under-21s to the last four in Europe.

Brown was combining a career in education with his duties as manager of part-time Clyde when an old friend, Sir Alex Ferguson, changed the course of his life in 1986, and the former Manchester United manager was among those paying tribute to a “thoroughly wo…

Dani Alves: Brazil must improve to qualify for 2018 World Cup

Dani Alves says Brazil have to improve to qualify for the 2018 World Cup after Dunga s side needed two late goals to secure a point in Tuesday s 2-2 draw with Paraguay.

Dario Lezcano and Edgar Benitez had put Paraguay in control of the CONMEBOL qualifier, but Ricardo Oliveira and Dani Alves hit back in the closing stages.

Brazil are sixth in the qualifying section and in their next fixture face a trip to Ecuador, who are joint top of the group alongside Uruguay after six matches.

I believe we have to improve, said Barcelona defender Dani Alves.  We gave a lot of space for them.

But I think [the media] is not the place to talk about it. It is behind the scenes, talking and doing our part, because I believe that this is the Brazilian…

Erik ten Hag says Marcus Rashford going out after Man City defeat ‘unacceptable’

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag says it was “unacceptable” of Marcus Rashford to go a nightclub party after last weekend’s embarrassing derby defeat to Manchester City.

The homegrown talent has managed just one goal for the misfiring Red Devils during a poor start to the season on both an individual and collective level.

Rashford has looked a far cry from the player that plundered 30 goals for United last term and his off-field decision-making came into question after last Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to City.

Full backing from the boss, ||

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

Reports emerged the following day that the England international, who turned 26 on Tuesday, had gone to the Chinawhite nightclub for a pre-arranged birthday party hours…

Wolves´ Mosquera set to miss rest of season with ACL injury

Yerson Mosquera is expected to miss the rest of the 2024-25 season for Wolves with a serious knee injury.

The defender was stretchered off in the 82nd minute of their 3-1 defeat to Aston Villa after twisting his knee following a challenge from Morgan Rodgers.

Mosquera has since undergone scans, with Wolves revealing that he has suffered injuries to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Wolves head of high performance, Phil Hayward, said in a statement: We will be visiting specialists in the coming days to finalise the plan for surgery; this will take place in the next two weeks.

Clearly, there is a long recovery period ahead for Yerson, and the club will be providing all the support he needs to ensure a successful…

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou agrees deal to join Tottenham – reports

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager on a two-year contract, according to reports.

The 57-year-old told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night of his decision to leave the Glasgow club and has now agreed a deal in principle with Spurs, with the option to extend.

Former Australia head coach Postecoglou admitted on Saturday, after Celtic’s Scottish FA Cup final win over Inverness had secured them the domestic treble, that his celebrations would soon be disrupted.

Neither club have commented but reports claim an announcement will be made when the finer details of the contract have been finalised.

Tottenham have been searching for a permanent new manager since sacking Antonio Conte in March, with…

Former Manchester United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admits Cristiano Ronalo mistake (Video)

Cristiano Ronaldo returned to Manchester United in 2021, when the team was coached by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, after nine years with Real Madrid and three with Juventus.

However, things didn t go too well for the Portuguese superstar during his second spell at Old Trafford, and looking back on those days, Solskjaer admits bringing Ronaldo back may have been a mistake.

Maybe other players felt less important

Former Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer believes that in hindsight, signing Cristiano Ronaldo may have been a mistake during his time at the club

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews)

Prediction: Dynamo Kyiv vs Partizan Belgrade

Best odds: 8/13

Bookmaker:

Dynamo Kiev will face Partizan at the NSK Olimpijs kyj on Tuesday in the first leg of their second-round qualifying matchup for the Champions League.

Both teams secured second-place finishes in their respective leagues last season, earning automatic qualification for the second qualifying round via the league path.

Dynamo Kyiv

Dynamo Kiev narrowly missed out on their first Ukrainian Premier League title since the 2020/21 season, finishing just two points behind champions Shakhtar Donetsk. This second-place finish granted the Blue and Whites a spot in the league path of the revamped Champions League qualifying phase, starting in the second round against Partizan.

This matchup marks Dynamo Kiev s first attempt at Champio…

Millennium Stadium to host 2017 UEFA Champions League final

Cardiff s Millennium Stadium will host the UEFA Champions League final in 2017, while the same year s Europa League final will take place at Stockholm s Friends Arena.

UEFA confirmed the decisions at its Executive Committee meeting in Prague on Tuesday.

Wales will therefore play host to the Champions League final for the first time, although the Cardiff City Stadium did previously serve as the venue for last year s UEFA Super Cup between Real Madrid and Sevilla.

The news was welcomed by Wales and Real star Gareth Bale, who said: These are exciting times for Welsh football.

I know how passionate the Welsh football fans are so it’s great the UEFA Champions League Final is coming to my home city of Cardiff.

I loved playing in the UEFA …

Euro 2020 team of the group stage: Who joins Ronaldo?

With the group stage of Euro 2020 now over, we can get down to the important business: arguing over who have been the best players until now.

The first three matchdays produced some enthralling spectacles, a handful of shocks and one or two rather forgettable encounters of which there is no need to speak any more.

We have seen some rather obvious star turns, such as a certain Portugal striker equalling the record for international goals in men s football, while other standout performers have flown a little more under the radar.

Here, using Opta data for added insight, Stats Perform presents the Euro 2020 team of the group stage. Please do read on for a few explanations before starting on those angry comments

 

GK: DANNY WARD

Wales battle…

Premier League Relegation Odds – Early Predictions for 2022/23 Campaign

The Premier League is set to return next month and ahead of that moment, we thought it d be a good idea to run through a few early doors predictions that we ve got for the campaign ahead specifically, down the bottom end of the table.

Thanks to our friends at , there s a full list of relegation odds currently available with the following five clubs being deemed the most likely to slip through the trap door and into the Championship.

Bournemouth 8/15

The Cherries were fairly solid in bouncing back up to the Premier League but there s a part of us that thinks they aren t built to survive as they once were. The gap between the two divisions is getting wider and wider and it can become quite easily to fall into the yo-yo habit, especially if you haven t got the flex of bei…