Japan beat Uzbekistan 1-0 here Saturday to become the first country to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
Shinji Okazaki s ninth-minute goal put Japan on 14 points on top of Asian qualifying zone Group A to assure them of a top two finish and direct qualification to South Africa.
This will be Japan s fourth appearance at the World Cup.
Australia can become the second team to qualify if they win or draw against Qatar in Doha later Saturday.
In what was a remarkable affair from Old Trafford on Tuesday night, Manchester United clinched an action-packed 3-2 victory against Aston Villa.
While Erik ten Hag’s side might have been met by a chorus of boos at the half-time whistle as John McGinn and Leandro Dendoncker handed Villa a deserved 2-0 lead, the Red Devils produced an iconic comeback on home soil.
With Alejandro Garnacho dragging United back into Tuesday’s showdown following a 12-minute brace, it was eventually Rasmus Hojlund who proved to be ten Hag’s hero at Old Trafford.
Producing a clinical strike in the final 10 minutes and bagging a maiden Premier League strike at the 14th attempt, United also drew a line under their worrying four-match winless run.
However, although it might b…
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Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona will face each other in La Liga this week. The match at San Mames is slated to kick off at 8pm UK time on Wednesday.
Athletic Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao will head into the match against Barcelona at San Mames on the back of a 1-0 victory over Elche at home on Sunday. Iker Muniain, who can operate as a winger or as a forward, scored the only goal of the match in the 25th minute. The result saw the Basque club bounce back from a 1-0 defeat to Real Sociedad on New Year’s Eve.
Bilbao are ninth in the La Liga table at the moment with 21 points from 17 matches, just three points behind seventh-placed Granada, who occupy the final European place. Los Leones finished …
Claudio Ranieri has agreed to become the new coach of Roma, his lawyer announced on Tuesday, hours after Luciano Spalletti left his job as manager of the Serie A heavyweights.
There s an agreement and tomorrow (Wednesday) there ll be a signature, Ranieri s lawyer Mattia Grassani told Italian news agency Ansa.
The contract will be for two years.
Ranieri, 57, was sacked as coach of Roma s rivals Juventus two games prior to the end of last season after a sequence of underwhelming results.
The former Napoli, Fiorentina, Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Chelsea coach agreed to join the Giallorossi after a meeting on Tuesday morning with club president Rosella Sensi.
The move to the Stadio Olimpico represents a return to Ranieri s roots.
Born …
A global recession will reduce earnings at clubs belonging to England s wealthy Premier League, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said in a interview published on Saturday.
Why should the Premier League be untouchable? the Frenchman told the Official Arsenal Magazine.
The recession means fans will have less money, the television companies will have less advertising revenue and that means that football will suffer.
The next television deal (to broadcast matches) could be lower, it depends how much they are touched by it, Wenger added.
The English Premier League is by far the richest in Europe, according to a report in August by Italian internet sports business company StageUp.
Many economists are forecasting a global recession during 2009.
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Stevan Jovetic has completed a loan move from Manchester City to Inter with a view to a permanent switch to San Siro.
The Serie A club announced last Sunday that Jovetic was poised to arrive in Milan for a medical, with the deal finally completed on Friday.
And the 25-year-old Montenegro forward will now seek to revive his career under Roberto Mancini, after struggling to gain regular first-team action at City following his move from Fiorentina in 2013.
City stated that a season-and-a-half loan deal had been agreed between the two clubs, but it would appear that he will remain at Inter beyond then after the Italian side revealed that their new recruit had put pen to paper on a contract until June 2019.
Inter president Erick Thohir expressed his del…
Bastian Schweinsteiger feels a deep sense of gratitude for the experiences he has had with Germany as his international career draws to a close.
Schweinsteiger will play his final game for the world champions on Wednesday when they take on Finland in Monchengladbach.
The Manchester United midfielder will wear the captain s armband left to him following Philipp Lahm s retirement in the wake of Germany s 2014 World Cup triumph for the last time in what will mark his 121st cap for his country.
Injuries prevented Schweinsteiger from becoming Germany s most-capped player but he said in a media conference: I m still very, very happy with the number of games I played for Germany.
I m pleased to have been given the opportunity to play a testimonial.
Wh…
Andy Robertson says it would be a massive achievement if Liverpool go a full year unbeaten in the Premier League.
If Liverpool avoid defeat at home to Sheffield United on Thursday, it will ensure they have not suffered a top-flight defeat for 12 months.
Their last loss came against Manchester City on January 3, 2019 and, after playing Sheffield United, the Reds next league game comes against Tottenham on January 11, 2020.
Robertson believes the feat would say more about the character of the Liverpool players than their obvious talents, but he also knows even if they achieve it the focus would soon move to an FA Cup third-round tie against Everton.
It would say a lot, the defender told Liverpool s official website.
I think it says more abou…
West Ham United are in talks with Swansea over the possibility of signing Lukasz Fabianski and Alfie Mawson, according to .
The report claims the Swans have already rejected bids from the Hammers for both players, but they understand that the talks are still ongoing and the two clubs are nearing an agreement.
Fabianski, who is a part of Poland s squad for the World Cup, has one year remaining on his contract with the Welsh club and therefore shouldn t command a fee too big, even though he stood between the posts in all 38 Premier League games in 2017/18.
West Ham were interested in Mawson in January. The 24-year-old centre-back stood out in the Swansea team and there have been reports of various clubs monitoring him throughout the season. He made 44 appearances …
George Burley s 22-month reign as Scotland manager came to an end Monday when the Scottish Football Association (SFA) terminated his contract with immediate effect.
Burley s assistants, Terry Butcher and Paul Hegarty, were also released, 48 hours after Scotland succumbed to a 3-0 friendly defeat by Wales.
The SFA had decided against dismissing Burley last month following a review of the national squad s failure to reach the World Cup qualifying play-offs.
But Saturday s humiliation in Cardiff proved to be the last straw for SFA chief executive Gordon Smith.
It is with regret that we announce George Burley?s departure, Smith said. We now have four months until our next scheduled match, against Czech Republic, and will therefore utilise the intervening pe…
Holders Chelsea set out on the first steps towards a defence of their FA Cup crown with a home tie against Championship side Watford, finalists in 1984, in the third round draw made on Sunday.
West Ham will host London rivals Arsenal, who last lifted the trophy in 2005 and have not picked up any silverware since, in one of three all Premier League fixtures.
The other two top-flight affairs see Aston Villa host Blackburn and Hull travel to Wigan.
Everton, the side Chelsea beat under then interim coach Guus Hiddink in last season s final, welcome League One side Carlisle to Goodison Park.
The Toffees Merseyside rivals, seven-time winners Liverpool, were drawn against second-tier Reading.
Non-league Kettering could be set for a dream trip to Old Tra…