Michael Duff looking for Barnsley ‘hero’ as Tykes chase Championship return

Barnsley head coach Michael Duff has challenged one of his players “to step up and be the hero” in their Sky Bet League One play-off final against Sheffield Wednesday.

Wednesday will start as the bookmakers’ favourites for Monday’s Wembley showdown against their local rivals after overturning a 4-0 first-leg deficit in their thrilling semi-final win against Peterborough.

Barnsley finished fourth in the table, 10 points behind Wednesday, but backed up their 2-0 league win at Hillsborough in September with a 4-2 victory over the Owls at Oakwell in March.

The countdown is on! |

— Sky Bet League One (@SkyBetLeagueOne)

Duff, who took over last summer following the club’s relegation from the Championship, said: “I bet if you look at the…

Koeman: Netherlands proved they have heart in comeback win over Turkiye

Reaching the semi-finals at Euro 2024 proves just how much heart the Netherlands have, so says Ronald Koeman.

The Netherlands came from behind to beat Turkiye 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a header from Stefan de Vrij and Mert Muldur s own goal in Berlin.

That victory set up a semi-final clash with England in Dortmund on Wednesday.

And Koeman suggested his team have proved their doubters wrong with the spirit they have shown through their run to the last four.

I think for the whole nation it s something special, he said, as quoted by The Athletic.

We re a small nation and we re part of the semi-finals with England, France and Spain. We re really proud to have the opportunity to play it on Wednesday.

It was a really emotional match and we ha…

Prediction: Fulham vs Manchester City

Best Odds: 4/5

Bookmaker:

Looking to take another giant step towards this season’s Premier League crown, Manchester City will make the trip to Fulham on Saturday lunchtime.

Fulham

Starting with the hosts, while Fulham might have sprung a real upset last month as they secured a deserved 2-0 victory away at West Ham, the Cottagers have continued to struggle with their constancy since returning from March’s international break. Last seen missing out on the chance to claim west London bragging rights as they had to settle for a 0-0 stalemate away at Brentford, Marco Silva’s men have recorded just a single victory from any of their previous seven Premier League appearances. More than aware that they face another monumental challenge on Saturday lunchtime, the …

Prediction: Lazio vs Nice

Best Odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

Looking to make it back-to-back Europa League victories on Thursday night, Lazio will welcome Nice to the Stadio Olimpico.

Lazio

Starting with the hosts, while Lazio might have largely limped their way over the finishing line last season, the Eagles do appear to have made plenty of improvements this time around. Getting their Europa League adventure underway with a thumping performance last week as they stormed their way to a routine 3-0 romp against Dynamo Kyiv over in Hamburg, Marco Baroni’s men should be smelling the chance to lay down another early European marker here. Likewise, putting in another eye-catching performance over the weekend as they secured an action-packed 3-2 victory away at Torino, the Sky Blues have certainly…

Sydorchuk hopeful of keeping Ukraine´s Euro 2024 fairytale alive against Belgium

Serhiy Sydorchuk is hopeful of keeping Ukraine s fairytale journey at Euro 2024 alive heading into their final group game against Belgium.

The Blue and Yellow conclude their Group E campaign in Stuttgart on Tuesday, knowing a win will secure their place in the last-16 of the tournament.

Slovakia face Romania in the other game, and with all three sides level on points heading into Matchday 3, the emphasis on winning has heightened.

Sydorchuk said his team know a triumph in their first meeting with the Red Devils would see them through to the last-16 as one of the top two, but he did not want to tempt fate.

When you say something very loudly, the echo will be very loud as well, so I think we should be silent and we should do what we can do, and we ll se…

Frank´s focus not on Toney as transfer deadline looms

Thomas Frank refused to discuss the future of striker Ivan Toney, instead choosing to focus on the players he definitely has at his disposal at Brentford.

Toney has been the subject of interest from Saudi club Al-Ahli, while Chelsea have long been admirers of the striker and have reportedly made a move this week.

The England international has been left out of Brentford s first three games of the season.

And Frank did not want to entertain the subject after Brentford s EFL Cup third round win over Colchester on Wednesday.

He said: Similar to yesterday. I am not speaking about Ivan.

I want to speak about the 21 lads in the dressing room who did well to get through to the next round of the EFL Cup against a Colchester team who deserve a lot of prais…

Barcelona-linked Gosens unsure of any interest after impressing at Euro 2020

Atalanta defender Robin Gosens is unaware of any interest from Barcelona but suggested he is open to discussing a move now that Germany s Euro 2020 campaign is over.

The left wing-back produced one of the standout performances of the tournament with a goal and an assist in Germany s 4-2 victory over Portugal in the group stage.

He started all four of his nation s matches, including 87 minutes of the 2-0 loss to England that brought an end to their campaign at the last-16 stage.

Only Joakim Maehle, Thomas Meunier and Luke Shaw (all three) have played a direct part in more goals among defenders than Gosens so far at Euro 2020.

The two big chances created by the 26-year-old, meanwhile, is behind only Jordi Alba and Shaw (both four), which includes that assi…

Euro 2012 quarter-final preview: England v Italy

England and Italy will contest their first competitive fixture for 15 years in the last quarter-final of Euro 2012 on Sunday.

Roy Hodgson s England defied gloomy pre-tournament predictions to top Group D and avoid an early meeting with holders Spain in the last eight.

They kicked off their campaign in Poland and Ukraine with a somewhat fortunate 1-1 draw against France.

That was followed by a rollercoaster 3-2 victory over Sweden, in which England took the lead, fell behind, and then rallied to take all three points, thanks to goals from Andy Carroll, Danny Welbeck and substitute Theo Walcott.

They were outclassed for long periods of their final Group D match against Ukraine, who were desperate for victory to continue their participation in the tournamen…

Vancouver awarded MLS expansion team for 2011

Vancouver, the western Canada city which will play host to next year s Winter Olympics, will be home to a Major League Soccer expansion team starting in 2011, the US-based league said on Wednesday.

The city was among four candidates for two new clubs set to open in two years for which MLS had been seeking 40 million dollars. St. Louis, Portland and Canadian capital Ottawa still chasing the other expansion club.

Vancouver s approval as the 17th MLS club, the second in Canada after the 2007 debut of Toronto FC, comes on the eve of the debut of the 2009 season and the league s 15th club, the Seattle Sounders.

A 16th MLS team, Philadelphia, is set to begin play next year.

Vancouver will play at BC Place Stadium, which is set to undergo about 365 million doll…

Rice made a mistake! – Bonucci reveals England midfielder fired Italy up ahead of Euro 2020 final

Leonardo Bonucci has continued to rub salt into the wounds of England after Italy s success in the Euro 2020 final, saying Declan Rice played a part in motivating the tournament winners.

West Ham midfielder Rice said ahead of the final in July that England would be 10 times more ready than their opponents for the Wembley showpiece.

Those words, and the repetitive playing of England s Three Lions song after the country s semi-final win over Denmark, fuelled Bonucci and his team-mates, who ultimately won the competition on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

We didn t pay much attention to it [the Three Lions song] until the Spain game, Bonucci, who ridiculed England s  It s Coming Home catchphrase on the pitch after Italy s win, said in an interview with The Athletic.…