England s Glen Johnson has warned his team-mates not to underestimate the skill of Ukraine striker Andriy Shevchenko despite his ageing legs.
Johnson was still at Stamford Bridge himself when the Ukrainian legend arrived from AC Milan for just over 30 million pounds in May 2006.
However, the move did not go to plan as he only hit the back of the net nine times in 48 Premier League matches over three seasons (and 22 times in 77 appearances for the Blues in all competitions).
But now it is a different story altogether. After being loaned back to Milan for the 2008/09 season, he left Stamford Bridge and rejoined Dynamo Kiev in 2009. The 35-year-old has rediscovered his form and defied his critics to score both goals in his country s Euro 2012 win over Sweden.
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England Under-21s boss Aidy Boothroyd has claimed he has an utterly impossible job , with his team on the verge of an exit from Euro 2021.
Boothroyd s youngsters have lost their first two group matches in the rearranged tournament, to Switzerland and Portugal respectively.
The defeats have left England needing to beat Croatia by at least two goals on Wednesday, while hoping that Portugal overcome Switzerland, to reach the quarter-finals, which take place later this year.
Jadon Sancho, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mason Mount, Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden are among the star names Boothroyd could have had at his disposal for the competition, though all of them are now seen as senior players, with only Liverpool full-back Alexander-Arnold not selected in Gareth South…
Gareth Southgate says facing “revitalised” Italy will be a great test of where England are at as they attempt to seal European Championship qualification with two matches to spare.
The Euro 2020 runners-up can wrap up their place at next summer’s finals in Germany in Tuesday evening’s mouthwatering Group C clash against the Azzurri at a sold-out Wembley.
It will be the nations’ fourth meeting since Italy beat England on spot-kicks in the Euros final just over two years ago but their first reunion under the arch, with their previous meetings coming in Wolverhampton, Milan and Naples.
The Azzurri return to Wembley a far different side from when they became continental champions there, with Luciano Spalletti in charge of a new-look team that host Malta on …
Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham is defying expectations and can bring joy and visibility to LaLiga, according to former Spain midfielder Marcos Senna.
The England midfielder has enjoyed a blistering start to life in Madrid since joining from Borussia Dortmund in a deal worth an initial €103million, which could rise to €133.9m.
Bellingham is the top scorer in LaLiga with five goals, while his stoppage-time winner against Getafe last time out made him only the third Madrid player – after Pepillo and Cristiano Ronaldo – to net on each of his first four competitive appearances for the club.
The 20-year-old s exploits have caught the eye of ex-Villarreal captain Senna, who was part of the Spain squad that won the 2008 European Championships.
Speaking …
We ve wondered throughout the build-up whether Spain are realistic contenders to win Euro 2020. After Monday s goalless draw with Sweden, it feels like we re no closer to an answer.
La Roja began their quest for a record fourth European Championship title in the hot evening air of Seville s La Cartuja stadium, the sparse crowd in fine voice, the players looking sharp, their early passing as crisp as Luis Enrique s brilliant white shirt.
Yet so soporific was the heat, humidity and patient midfield build-up that, come the 90th minute, you d have forgiven every fan in the stands for nodding off.
That s not to say this was a poor performance from Spain. Rather, it was what we have come to expect over the past 15 years: authority in possession bordering on totalitar…
Whether you’re rolling over your winnings from Sunday or trying to claw your way out of a weekend of red, Monday Night Football betting is the Grand Finale to the Week 6 schedule.
And with that in mind, we go beyond the spread and total for Monday’s matchup and give our best NFL prop bets for this primetime battle between the Indianapolis Colts and Baltimore Ravens.
Here are my favorite free prop picks and predictions for Monday Night Football.
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Halloween is hiding just around the corner, but Week 7 of the season looks like Christmas morning for those who love betting on NFL underdogs: Just look at all those points!
The Week 7 odds board is bursting with big spreads — +17.5, +15, and +12.5 — with the average handicap just under a touchdown. But all big spreads are big for a reason: bad teams.
And boy howdy do we have some bad ones this year.
I’ve always had trouble trusting big dogs, knowing that you were asking a terrible team to be just a little less terrible in order to cover the spread. I’d rather put my faith in a competent contender, knowing that there’s a capacity for improvement rather than just not sucking as much.
So, I dodge the big do…