Raheem Sterling blamed silly mistakes for England s defeat to Netherlands in the semi-finals of the Nations League.

England were beaten 3-1 in Guimaraes despite having taken a first-half lead thanks to Marcus Rashford s penalty.

Matthijs de Ligt headed the equaliser for Ronald Koeman s side, who capitalised on England s lapses in concentration in extra time.

John Stones error led to a Quincy Promes shot deflecting in off Kyle Walker, then Ross Barkley s mistake allowed the Netherlands substitute to secure a final berth against Portugal.

Sterling captained England on his 50th international appearance but the Manchester City forward accepted his side cost themselves a chance of reaching Sunday s showpiece.

I thought we soaked up pressure well, towa…

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has suggested Romelu Lukaku was unwilling to fight for a place in the club s starting line-up.

Lukaku completed a £28million transfer to Everton on Wednesday, having impressed during a loan spell at Goodison Park last season.

Some observers have questioned the wisdom of Mourinho allowing the 21-year-old Belgium forward, who also enjoyed a productive loan stint at West Brom in the 2012-13 campaign, to move on.

However, the Portuguese has claimed Lukaku s determination to be guaranteed first-team football played a major role in Chelsea accepting Everton s offer, while also acknowledging the financial benefits for the London club.

Romelu was always very clear with us with his mentality and his approach was not highly motivated…

Real Madrid CF defender Dani Carvajal has insisted the the imminent arrival of Danilo will not threaten his future at the club.

Carvajal, a former Madrid youth star who rejoined the club in the summer of 2013 after one year at Bayer Leverkusen, has been Carlo Ancelotti’s first-choice right-back since rejoining the reigning European champions.

However, although the future of the Spain international, 23, is now up in the air following the £23 million signing of Porto right-back Danilo, the 23-year-old has welcomed the competition for the a first-team place.

The signing of Danilo is good, Carvajal. We are at the best club in the world and competition is always good. 

It’s normal that we compete with the best in the world.

R…

=(Picture)=Spanish coach Vicente Del Bosque has indicated he sees England as a re-emerging force in the world game under Italian disciplinarian Fabio Capello, who will seek to confirm that view in Wednesday s friendly in Seville.

Both sides are unbeaten in their World Cup qualifying programme to date.

They may be without one or two players but they have some youngsters coming along well and that makes for an excellent match in prospect, Del Bosque told reporters Tuesday, in dismissing the absences of Wayne Rooney and Steven Gerrard as ones which would not make life easier for Spain.

It s the best match one could have currently in Europe. Under Fabio Capello England have returned to being what they always were while Spain are enjoying a purple patch, the forme…

Manchester United s star striker Cristiano Ronaldo should join Spanish giants Real Madrid, fellow Portuguese player Luis Figo said Saturday.

Real Madrid is the most important club in the world, the best club in the world. I think Ronaldo has already wrapped up a stage at United, the Inter Milan midfielder told Spanish sports daily Marca.

He has won everything he can with the English club, which is another great club, but he should have other goals now, other ambitions, and Real Madrid would allow him to achieve more importance, more relevancy, he added.

That is what I have told him. I don t know what he thinks now, the 36-year-old former Real player added.

Real tracked Ronaldo all of last summer following his Champions League and English Premiership t…

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker:

Looking to immediately bounce back from their EFL Cup defeat in midweek, Everton will make the trip to a downbeat Bramall Lane on Saturday night.

Sheffield United

Starting with the hosts, while Sheffield United might have gained a string of plaudits from across the Premier League last season, it has been nothing short of a disaster this time around. Despite Chris Wilder praising his side s display away at fellow relegation scrappers Brighton last time out, the Blades 10-man side eventually threw away the lead late on and had to settle for a 1-1 draw on the South Coast. Already seen as a landslide pick to be hit with a Championship return this season, United have remarkably managed to pick up just a pair of points since opening the 20…

Lucien Favre vented his frustration after Borussia Dortmund suffered another collapse as their Bundesliga title hopes were dealt a blow.

Andrej Kramaric s 87th-minute goal completed a late comeback for hosts Hoffenheim, who stunned stuttering Dortmund 2-1 on Friday.

Dortmund played out a thrilling 3-3 draw with Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig on Tuesday after squandering a 2-0 first-half lead.

Favre s Dortmund – fourth in the standings and four points off the pace – looked set to bounce back in their final match of 2019 thanks to Mario Gotze s 17th-minute opener.

But Dortmund came unstuck again as Sargis Adamyan equalised in the 79th minute before Hoffenheim star Kramaric struck with three minutes of normal time remaining.

Final at Hoffenheim. <…

Spanish champions Barcelona are working on a deal for one of the most prized jewels of the Valencia youth academy – Fran Villalba – according to a local radio station .

Having strengthened their business connections with Los Che after summer deals for Andre Gomes and Paco Alcacer, the Catalan giants are currently attempting to lure the 18-year-old Spanish international Villalba to the Camp Nou.

Barcelona emissaries have been keeping a close eye on the player who had gone through Valencia’s youth ranks and whose future looks fairly uncertain at this point.

Barcelona official Robert Fernandez is personally leading the talks with the highly-rated teenager who is believed to be a perfect fit for Barcelona’s style of play.

Blaugrana technical director…

Madagascar claimed the upset of the Africa Cup of Nations so far with a stunning 2-0 win over Nigeria on Sunday.

The 108th-ranked team are competing in the tournament for the first time and were unfancied against the three-time AFCON champions.

But goals from Lalaina Nomenjanahary and Carolus Andriamahitsinoro settled the clash in Alexandria as Madagascar surprisingly finished on top of Group B.

Heading into the fixture on the back of a win against Burundi the nation s first of any kind since October 2018 Madagascar battled well and were a threat on the break against a Nigeria side who appeared to have the next stage of the competition on their mind.

Upsetting the odds

— CAF (@CAF_Online)

Nigeria advance in second place, and this was…

Competition: Europa League
Market: Aberdeen to win against Maribor
Odds:

Scottish Premiership side Aberdeen host Slovenian Prva Liga side NK Maribor at Pittodrie Stadium for the first leg of the third round of tonight’s Europa League qualifier.

The Dons are favourites to win the home leg this evening, and could put themselves in a great position ahead of the second leg to boost their hopes of progression to the playoffs.

Aberdeen reached this summer’s Europa League qualifiers after finishing second in the Scottish Premiership in 2015/16. They will fancy their chances against Maribor tonight with their home form being solid in the last year, losing just three of 19 games at Pittodrie.

Wins over Luxembourg side Fola Esch in the first round …