Gabriel Agbonlahor hopes an impressive season for Aston Villa can earn him an unlikely place in England s FIFA World Cup squad.
The 27-year-old striker has three caps but has not featured for England since 2009 when he played 66 minutes of a 3-0 win over Belarus.
While he is yet to score for Villa this season, Agbonlahor hopes a surge in form can put him in Roy Hodgson s plans for the tournament in Brazil next year.
I ve always been desperate to play for England. World Cups, European Championships, qualifying matches even a friendly it doesn t matter to me, he told The Sun.
It s always an honour to play for your country. Every time you pull on an England shirt is an honour as far as I m concerned.
There must be reasons why I haven t been in the squad as m…
Rachel Daly feels the calendar in the women’s game needs to be looked at, describing the amount of games as “excessive”.
England boss Sarina Wiegman last week said the matter was something she was “very worried” about as she named her squad for matches against Scotland at home on Friday and the Netherlands away four days later in the inaugural Women’s Nations League.
The Lionesses’ World Cup campaign concluded with the final on August 20, and there have been Champions League qualifying fixtures since then.
Day two training in the bag.
— Lionesses (@Lionesses)
Daly told a press conference: “I do think the calendar is something that does need to be addressed moving forward.
“You’ve seen a significant amount of injurie…
Guangzhou Evergrande s AFC Champions League defence will be tested when they meet Western Sydney Wanderers in the quarter-finals.
In the stand-out tie of the last eight, the Chinese champions face somewhat of an unknown quantity in Asian competition.
Formed in 2012, Western Sydney are making their first appearance in the Champions League and overturned a 3-1 first-leg deficit to progress from their last-16 clash against Sanfreece Hiroshima.
They are just the second Australian side to reach the quarter-finals of the competition, after Adelaide United reached the 2008 showpiece.
Tony Popovic s side meet a Guangzhou side who also toppled Japanese opposition Cerezo Osaka to reach the last eight.
The first leg will be played in Australia with Guangzhou to host t…
The season started with a bang for Erling Haaland. The 22-year-old striker has so far bagged 23 goals in 18 matches in all competitions for Manchester City, but he and his Norway teammates were reduced to spectators as the World Cup took the central stage for the past month.
The 22-year-old is obviously raring to go as club football returns this week, and he ll have a chance of making a big impact on Thursday, when City face Liverpool in the Carabao Cup. He has so far played twice against the Merseysiders since joining the Premier League champions, but he s yet to score or avoid defeat against them. This will surely be a good opportunity.
Erling needs games
How Erling Haaland has been coping during the Premier League break
— Football Daily (@football…
Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Lucas Moura said he was unhappy at the Ligue 1 club as he continues to be left out.
Lucas, 25, has played just six games in all competitions for PSG this season.
The Brazil international has been linked with moves to Arsenal and Tottenham in January.
Lucas, who arrived at PSG in 2013, said he was shattered he was being given little game time by the Ligue 1 giants.
It s a brutal blow. I m gutted that I m no longer playing, to no longer be able to express myself as I was doing before, he told L Equipe.
I m not happy. I thought I d built something solid with this club, but that s clearly not the case.
While Lucas continues to be linked with a Premier League switch, the midfielder feels he may be better off wi…
Nemanja Matic has fueled speculation that he could be set to leave Chelsea after being pictured with his agent in Milan, .
The Serbia international was linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge in the summer with Juventus his most likely destination.
However, he has been a regular in Antonio Conte’s side so far this season playing in all seven of their games so far.
This is the twenty-eight year old’s second spell with the Blues, having been briefly with them before joining Benfica in January 2011.
He returned to Chelsea three years later and in total has played for them one hundred and twenty times, scoring five goals and was part of the squad that won both the League Cup and the Premier League title in 2015.
He has been capped twen…
Porto s Primeira Liga title defence is all but over after they suffered a 2-1 loss at Nacional on Sunday and fell 15 points behind Benfica.
Another defeat for the third-placed Porto means realistic chances of catching leaders Benfica are done dusted with just five matches to play.
Benfica – who won 1-0 at Sporting Braga on Sunday – are seven points ahead of Sporting Lisbon, who sit second.
Porto have now lost five of their last 11 league matches, a far cry from their usual imperious form, after fifth-placed Nacional strengthened their push for European football with an impressive win.
Candeias gave Nacional an early lead in Madeira, only for Jackson Martinez to level for Porto just after half-time.
Colombian Martinez is the league s top scorer, but his …
Lionel Messi is a one-off and football will not see a player like the Barcelona and Argentina star again, says Erik Lamela.
Messi struck a hat-trick against PSV to get Barca s Champions League campaign off to a flying start this week, while he has hit four goals in four LaLiga games.
Even Messi could not inspire Argentina to success at the World Cup, though, as Jorge Sampaoli s side crashed out at the round of 16 stage to eventual winners France.
International disappointment has plagued Messi s career, with the 31-year-old on the losing side in three Copa America finals, as well as at the 2014 World Cup.
Messi missed Argentina s matches against Guatemala and Colombia in the September international break but team-mate Lamela is in no doubt as to the Barca …
Swansea midfielder Ki Sung-yueng has emerged as a summer transfer target for Serie A side AC Milan.
The Italian media report that Rossoneri have already made an approach towards the South Korean’s representatives over a summer switch to AC Milan with Ki said to have given his nod to AC Milan sporting director Massimiliano Mirabelli.
Ki Sung-yueng’s contract with Premier League strugglers Swansea is set to expire at the end of the season and the South Korea international will be joining the Italian behemoths as a free agent.
The 29-year-old has been with the Swans since his 2012 move from Celtic. Ki Sung-yeung is seen as a valuable option for AC Milan who are looking to add depth to their squad with a versatile player capable of filling in a number of positio…
is no longer happy at and the player is already contemplating a move away from Bianconeri, the has suggested.
The Argentina international is said to be eyeing a move to either or as he is growing increasingly frustrated at Juventus.
Paulo Dybala has apparently burnt the bridges with Juventus boss Max Allegri after with the head coach at the weekend and is already pondering a summer move to a top Spanish side, according to reports.
Premier League club are also believed to be keen on the 23-year-old star, but Dybala himself is said to be determined to push for a summer move to Spain, rather than England.
Paulo Dybala is on a valid contract with Juventus which expires in 2020 and the latest breakdown in his relationship with Allegri will scrap the cl…