Messi is ´human´ and ´can miss´ penalties, says Netherlands´ Noppert ahead of World Cup quarter-fina

Bristol City have completed the loan signing on Tomas Kalas, according to BT Sport.

The twenty-five-year-old has joined the Robins for the entirety of the 2018/19 campaign having spent most of his time in England away from Stamford Bridge on loan.

He spent the last two seasons on loan at Fulham and was part of the squad that won promotion to the Premier League through the play-offs last term.

Prior to his spell at Craven Cottage, he spent eighteen months at Middlesbrough and helped them up to the top flight in 2016.

He has played just four times for the Blues, with his last appearance coming in a 2-1 win over Cardiff City on the final day of the 2013/14 campaign.

Bristol City got their first win of the season on Tuesday evening, beating bott…

Former FIFA vice-president Jack Warner says the publishing of the Garcia Report will not prevent prospective World Cup hosts using gifts and other favours to land tournaments.

Warner resigned from his role at world football s governing body, as well as CONCACAF president, after being suspended in the wake of bribery allegations in 2011.

Prior to that, however, he was considered one of the global game s most powerful men a fact borne out in England s bid for the 2018 World Cup targeting the Trinidadian to curry favour  in their attempt to host the competition which was awarded to Russia.

According to the Garcia Report , Richard Sebro considered an adopted son by Warner was found jobs at Tottenham and Aston Villa by England 2018, who were also keen to facilitate a…

It was meant to be time for celebration but instead, Bert van Marwijk is looking for another job despite guiding Saudi Arabia to next year s World Cup in Russia.

Van Marwijk – out of contract at the end of the AFC qualifying campaign – was replaced by former Argentina boss Edgardo Bauza as Saudi Arabia s new head coach on Thursday following his arrival from United Arab Emirates.

The Saudis secured their fifth World Cup appearance and first since 2006 thanks to Van Marwijk and their win over Japan earlier in September.

However, former Netherlands coach Van Marwijk – who led the Dutch all the way to the 2010 World Cup final – was unable to agree on a new deal with the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF), who wanted the 65-year-old to reside permanently…

Neymar has pledged to stay at Paris Saint-Germain for the coming season and try to take the final step in the Champions League with the Ligue 1 giants.

The 28-year-old Brazil forward helped PSG to the final of the 2019-20 competition in Lisbon, where they were edged out by a second-half Kingsley Coman header in a 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.

Neymar insists that near miss has redoubled the determination within Thomas Tuchel s squad to claim Europe s biggest prize.

In an interview with PSG s official club magazine, he pledged to be part of that quest.

I am staying at PSG next season, Neymar said. And with the ambition to return to the Champions League final, this time to win it.

I like this idea of doing everything to leave my name in the history…

Chelsea have said they are astonished by FIFA s decision not to delay their two-window transfer ban while their appeal is heard.

FIFA s Disciplinary Committee sanctioned Chelsea in relation to 29 cases where the Premier League club were found to have breached regulations relating to the international transfer and registration of players under the age of 18.

Chelsea immediately said they categorically refute FIFA s claims and signalled they would appeal against the decision.

Confirmation an appeal had been filed was made this week and FIFA announced on Friday that the ban preventing Chelsea from registering players for two windows will still stand while the appeal is heard.

In a statement published on its official website soon after FIFA s announcement,…

A Spanish journalist by the name of Eduardo Inda, who works for El Chiringuito, Isco Alarcon wants to leave Real Madrid with Manchester City his preferred destination.

Real reportedly beat City for the transfer of Isco from Malaga in 2013, but even though he made over 40 appearances for Los Blancos every season since then, most of them were cameos off the bench, or filling in for injured players, or purely for rotational purposes. In that time, Real went through four different managers, and now with Santiago Solari as the fifth, Isco s role hasn t changed.

He has been reluctant to consider moving away from Santiago Bernabeu so far, but at the age of 26, the question of how long would he have to wait for a proper chance to become a regular member of the starting XI may …

Uruguay will need to end a barren run in front of goal if they are to topple unbeaten Chile in Copa America Group A on Monday. 

La Celeste fell 1-0 to Argentina on Friday in their tournament opener, marking the fourth consecutive game in which Uruguay were unable to find the back of the net dating back to November. 

Oscar Tabarez s side will need more from the seasoned attacking duo of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez, who each played a relatively quiet 90 minutes against their rivals. 

Uruguay did not manage to put a shot on goal despite having the majority of the possession, and will need a better effort against a confident Chile side. 

But Tabarez believes his side has time to figure things out in the remaining group-stage matches against Chile, Para…

Gennaro Gattuso was named AC Milan coach on Monday following the sacking of Vincenzo Montella, and the new man in charge faces a huge challenge to restore the Rossoneri to the glory days he enjoyed as a player at San Siro.

Montella paid the price for failing to get the best out of a squad that underwent an expensive transformation in the off-season.

But despite the significant outlays made by the club s new Chinese owners, picking a combined XI from the players Gattuso shared the field with in the 2003 Champions League final and the group he will have at his disposal this season lays bare the extent of the club s sad decline.

The slowing down of Silvio Berlusconi s glittering tenure as owner, heralded by the departure of Thiago Silva, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Andre…

England captain Leah Williamson gave a brutal assessment of the serious knee injury that has ruled her out of the Women s World Cup, saying: Ultimately, I think it s just my time.

The 26-year-old, who led England to Euro 2022 glory, has become the latest Arsenal player to suffer a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament.

Her misfortune follows that of England striker Beth Mead and Netherlands forward Vivianne Miedema, club-mates of Williamson who are also both set to miss the July-August tournament in Australia and New Zealand.

It is an injury that is far more prevalent in the women s game than among men, and Williamson is struggling to express her sorrow over the crushing blow she has suffered. She may not play again this year.

She issued a statement shortl…

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho continued his public spat with Antonio Conte by bringing up past accusations that the Italian failed to report alleged match fixing.

Conte was implicated in a 2011 scandal while in charge of Siena and later served a four-month ban, but always denied any wrongdoing and was later acquitted by an Italian judge in May 2016. 

The Chelsea manager has been involved in back-and-forth verbal sparring with Mourinho, after it was suggested the Portuguese had aimed a dig at Conte when he said he prefers to act in a mature manner on the touchline, rather than crazy or like a clown .

Conte hit back on Friday by suggesting that Mourinho was suffering from memory loss and had himself in the past been guilty of exuberant antics on the si…