Sports

A World Cup without Italy doesn t feel quite right.

The Azzurri s run of consecutive tournament appearances stretches back further than the World Cup trophy itself.

However, a goalless draw with Sweden on Monday consigned Italy to a 1-0 aggregate play-off defeat that sees them fail to qualify for the first time since 1958.

Italy are not the first major nation to miss out on the World Cup, and they certainly will not be the last.

Here we take a look at some of the biggest shocks from qualifying campaigns gone by.

The were left in tears after the 0-0 draw with Sweden means they won t go to the World Cup.

— Italy (@azzurri)

ITALY/SPAIN 1958

Italy s only other failure to qualify for the World Cup came 60 years ago. …

Stoke City manager Mark Hughes is ready to offer Peter Crouch a new contract, according to Sky Sports.

The veteran striker turns thirty-seven in January but the Potters manager believes that he is no way near retirement and still has something offer.

All eight of the former Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur man’s outings this season have come from the bench and last week he broke Shoala Ameobi’s record for the amount of Premier League substitute appearances.

In total, Crouch has played two hundred and eleven times since signing from Spurs in the summer of 2011 a tally far higher than that he has achieved with any of his former sides.

He also has a personal record of fifty-eight goals for his current side while fifty-two of his total Premier League …

Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing Nathan Wood from Swansea City in the summer transfer window, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano on . The Italian reporter has claimed that Tottenham are monitoring the performances of the 20-year-old England Under-21 international central defender.

Wood has been on the books of Swansea since the summer of 2022 when he joined from Middlesbrough. The youngster has made 36 appearances in the Championship for the Swans so far this season, providing one assist in the process. Wood has also made one substitute appearance in the Carabao Cup and has played twice in the FA Cup for the Welsh club so far this campaign.

Nathan Wood, attracting interest after 2002-born CB impressed on England U21 debut and been outstanding for Swansea…

Kemar Roofe s second-half double ensured Oxford United conjured up the biggest upset of the FA Cup third round by beating Premier League strugglers Swansea City 3-2.

Oxford have lost just three times in League Two this season to sit third in the table and Swansea discovered why they have been so hard to beat at the Kassam Stadium on Sunday.

Jefferson Montero s cheeky finish to put the Welsh side in front in their first game since it was confirmed that Alan Curtis would remain in charge for the rest of the season, but Liam Sercombe levelled from the penalty spot just before half-time.

Midfielder Roofe then stole the show after the break, cutting in from the left before finding the far corner of the net with his right foot from just outside the penalty area and the…

Orlando City have sacked long-serving coach Adrian Heath, the MLS side announced on Wednesday.

With just two wins in 12 matches, Orlando decided to part ways with the 55-year-old, who had been with the club since their foundation in Austin, Texas in 2008.

Heath led Orlando City to two USL Championships and three USL regular-season titles, before guiding the team to within five points of the play-offs in their first MLS campaign in 2015.

It is always a very difficult decision to part ways with a head coach and not one that the board of directors has taken lightly. It is even more difficult when that coach has been instrumental in the growth of the club since its inception over eight years ago. Adrian has served this club with passion and enthusiasm, said Orlando …

Real Madrid have found their successor to Zinedine Zidane and it came as a shock to most when Spain coach Julen Lopetegui was announced as the man to take the reins at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Lopetegui only signed a new deal to stay on as La Roja coach until 2020 in May, but the lure of taking over the Champions League s dominant force has seemingly proven too good to turn down and his new role will start after he has led Spain at the World Cup.

The 51-year-old represented Los Blancos during his playing career and now has the unenviable task of succeeding club great Zidane, who won nine trophies during two-and-a-half years at the helm.

Here, we take a look at the time of Lopetegui s career.

PLAYING CAREER | 1985-2002:

Born in the Basqu…

Former Manchester United winger Nani says a clash with fierce rivals Liverpool can propel Jose Mourinho s side to greater success in the Premier League.

Jurgen Klopp s high-octane side are one of the league s form teams on the back of four consecutive top-flight wins and will welcome United to Anfield on Monday looking to open up a six-point advantage over their rivals.

Nani now at Valencia enjoyed six wins over Liverpool in 11 contests as a United player, scoring once spectacularly in a 3-0 victory at Old Trafford in March 2008.

The Euro 2016 winner revealed the famous fixture s heightened sense of importance often gave Alex Ferguson s United an extra boost in their title charges.

When you play that kind of game it gives you great motivation, the Portug…

Tottenham have reached an agreement with K League 1 side Gangwon FC over the signing of South Korea youth international Yang Min-Hyeok.

The 18-year-old winger will join Spurs in January on a deal that will run until 2030.

Yang has progressed through Gangwon s youth ranks to become a key first-team player, scoring eight goals and providing four assists in 25 appearances this season.

He has also represented South Korea at the World Cup and Asia Cup at under-17 level.

Yang is Spurs fourth signing of this transfer window, along with Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and George Feeney.

토트넘에 오신것을 환영합니다!

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

…

Best Odds: 8/11

Bookmaker:

Two sides who find themselves seeking a much-needed boost on Thursday night, Fulham will welcome Aston Villa to Craven Cottage.

Fulham

Starting with the hosts, while Fulham might have shocked many across the Premier League with their eye-catching start back in August, Marco Silva s side have largely failed to keep up that momentum. Despite coming from behind twice last weekend as they played out a 2-2 draw at home against fellow top-flight returners Bournemouth, the one-time Everton boss has seen his side muster just a single victory from any of their previous five appearances on either side of September s international break. Opening October with back-to-back 4-1 and 3-1 losses at the hands of Newcastle and West Ham, the Cottagers fe…

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has told his players they need to create their own buzz at Parkhead after a flat afternoon against Motherwell.

With the Green Brigade ultras group still banned, the visiting fans were generally more audible than the home support during Saturday’s 1-1 draw.

Apart from David Turnbull’s goal, the biggest noise from Celtic fans was pre-match when the ultras group welcomed the team bus before heading away from the stadium.

Celtic struggled to break down a dogged Motherwell side, who had a similar amount of efforts at goal as their hosts in the first half.

It was one-way traffic for the vast majority of the second half but Luis Palma saw a penalty saved by Liam Kelly and Yang Hyun-jun missed a sitter before Jonathan Obika head…