Ronaldo ban upheld, misses three matches

Walid Regragui lauded Morocco for making their country and Africa proud but conceded the small details helped real champions France through to the World Cup final.

Africa s first semi-finalists in FIFA s top tournament largely held their own against Didier Deschamps defending champions, though fell to a 2-0 defeat at Al Bayt Stadium.

Theo Hernandez and Randal Kolo Muani proved the difference as France set up a final against Lionel Messi s Argentina on Sunday.

Regragui reflected on a historic campaign for not only Morocco but the entire continent after defeating Belgium, Spain and Portugal en route to falling narrowly short in the last four.

We realised we made a great achievement already, we know that the media supported us and on the TV, we saw how prou…

Norwich City were denied a last-gasp win against Cardiff City when a late Leroy Fer goal was ruled out to ensure the game ended goalless.

Fer was expected to give the ball back to Cardiff from a 94th-minute throw in given after the visitors had put the ball out of play at Carrow Road, but the Dutchman inadvertently rolled the ball into the net with keeper David Marshall out of his goal.

Rather than award the goal, though, referee Mike Jones ordered Norwich to retake the thrown in much to the disgust of the home supporters.

This controversy came at the end of a match lit up by the heroics of Marshall.

The 28-year-old who played for Norwich between 2007 and 2009 produced a string of fine saves in his first outing against his former club to deny the hosts their seco…

Joel Matip has heaped praise on Liverpool team-mate Ibrahima Konate ahead of Sunday s World Cup final between France and Argentina.

Konate has featured in four of France s games en route to the final, earning plaudits for his display in the semi-final win against Morocco after replacing former RB Leipzig centre-back partner Dayot Upamecano.

The 23-year-old has started three games in Qatar and is averaging 6.9 tackles and interceptions per 90 minutes, the most of any player with three or more starts at the 2022 World Cup.

Speaking to Liverpool s official website, Matip added to the praise Konate has been receiving, with the Frenchman having played a big role in the Reds winning the EFL Cup and FA Cup last season after his move from Leipzig.

6.9 Ibrahima Ko…

Gareth Southgate was delighted to see Jude Bellingham crown a phenomenal year by helping Real Madrid to Champions League glory at Wembley.

Los Blancos completed the double with a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the final, having also regained their LaLiga crown after finishing 10 points clear of rivals Barcelona in second place.

It capped a memorable maiden season at Santiago Bernabeu for Bellingham, who was named LaLiga s Player of the Year after scoring 19 goals in the Spanish top flight a tally only bettered by Girona s Artem Dovbyk (24) and Alexander Sorloth of Villarreal (23).

The midfielder also netted four times in the Champions League, while providing the assist for Vinicius Junior to score the decisive second goal against Dortmund on Saturday.

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Liverpool are interested in signing Arnaut Danjuma from Villarreal in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is keen on adding the former Bournemouth winger to his attacking unit at Anfield.

Danjuma has been on the books of Villarreal since the summer of 2021 when he joined from Bournemouth. The 25-year-old Netherlands international winger has made 16 starts and four substitute appearances in La Liga for the Yellow Submarine so far this season, scoring eight goals and providing three assists in the process. The Netherlands international winger has scored six goals and given one assist in nine Champions League games so far this campaign.

Liverpool are second in the Premier League table at the moment with 72 p…

Mohamed Salah believes that Liverpool have all the ingredients to deliver a first trophy since 2012.

The Egyptian has been in stunning form this season with his goal against Bournemouth on Sunday seeing him become the first Reds player to score 20 goals before Christmas since Ian Rush.

Liverpool have not won a title since 1990 and their last trophy of any kind was the League Cup five years ago.

Salah, however, is confident that Jurgen Klopp is on the brink of finally bringing some silverware back to Anfield.

As a team, I know we haven t won the Premier League for a long time, so I would love to win it with Liverpool, he told the club s official website.

We have a great team, we have a great manager, so everything is good at the club and I am sur…

A £130million takeover of Hull City by a Chinese consortium has been agreed.

The proposed sale was announced in a statement from GreaterChina Professional Services Limited released by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

GreaterChina Professional Services Limited has formed a consortium with Camsing Global to purchase the club from the Allam family, though the agreement requires the approval of the Premier League before it can be completed.

The Allam family had reportedly been looking for £120m for the sale of the club, with a number of bidders said to be interested.

Chinese American businessman Chien Lee had been said to be close to a deal for the Yorkshire club, who are 16th in the Premier League having taken seven points from eight games.

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Verona striker Luca Toni claimed he is in good enough form to play at the World Cup for Italy after scoring the winner against Chievo.

Toni notched his 16th goal of the Serie A season on Saturday as Verona won the Derby della Scala 1-0 against local rivals Chievo, with the 36-year-old striker sitting behind only Carlos Tevez of Juventus (18 goals) and Torino s Ciro Immobile (17) in the goal-scoring charts.

In the 65th minute of the Verona derby, Toni reacted first when Fabrizio Cacciatore s cross bounced in Chievo s penalty area, with the veteran forward stabbing the ball into the net.

Toni has not played for Italy since the 2009 Confederations Cup but he believes he is in good enough form to warrant consideration for Brazil 2014.

Why not? Toni responded Sky Spor…

Jose Mourinho claimed early Champions League exits are not something new for Manchester United as he knocked the club out twice before taking charge at Old Trafford.

Mourinho has reached the quarter-finals eight times in his managerial career but saw his United side humbled 2-1 on aggregate by Sevilla after substitute Wissam Ben Yedder s brace on Tuesday.

Porto and Real Madrid both knocked out United at Old Trafford under Mourinho s stewardship and the Portuguese was quick to highlight the club s previous failings after their shock exit.

I don t want to make a drama of it, we don t have time for that, Mourinho told reporters. We have a match on Saturday [against Brighton and Hove Albion in the FA Cup], we have no time to be sad for more than 24 hours. That s foo…

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure wants to eclipse Manchester United after earning a reprieve in his Eastlands career.

Toure s decorated spell with City looked set to reach an unseemly end after a public spat between manager Pep Guardiola and the player s agent Dimitri Seluk left him out of the first-team picture.

The 33-year-old made a belated public apology and returned to City s starting line-up in memorable style last month, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win at Crystal Palace.

Guardiola s men have won all four Premier League matches started by Toure this term and the former Ivory Coast international played a stylish, assured hand to lay the foundations for Sunday s second-half turnaround against Arsenal.

Toure is out of contract at a club he joine…