Captain Darijo Srna was understandably overjoyed after Croatia secured automatic qualification for Euro 2016 on Tuesday, labelling his team-mates as national heroes.
A 1-0 win for Croatia against Malta combined with Italy s 2-1 victory over Norway saw the Balkan nation through to next year s tournament in France as runners-up to the Italians in Group H.
Croatia were two points adrift
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of Norway in the race for second place prior to kick-off but results went the way of Srna and Co.
Speaking afterwards via UEFA.com, Srna beamed: Today Croatian players are heroes who are doing everything they can for their country. Tonight, it s time to celebrate.
We are proud that we will listen to the Croatian anthem in France at EURO 2016.
We have a n…
Robert Lewandowski has paid tribute to great champion Iga Swiatek following his compatriot s US Open triumph.
Swiatek became the first Polish singles champion at Flushing Meadows after defeating Ons Jabeur in straight sets on Saturday.
It was the world number one s second grand slam success of a brilliant season, having won a further six WTA titles including the French Open in June.
The 21-year-old became the first woman to triumph at Roland Garros and Flushing Meadows in the same campaign since Serena Williams in 2013.
Swiatek and Lewandowski are among the pre-eminent Polish sports stars of this generation and shared an embrace on Court Philippe Chatrier following the former s success in Paris.
Congratulations Iga! You’re a great champion and y…
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Inter Milan will be welcoming AS Roma to the Giuseppe Meazza stadium on Saturday afternoon in what is set to be the biggest clash in the eight round of the Serie A season. Both teams have great expectations from this campaign, and neither are exactly where they want to be at this stage.
Inter Milan
The Italian top flight has been very interesting this term, and while the neutral lovers of the game may relish it as such, it s not necessarily good news for the clubs usually considered as the top ones.
Be that as it may, the Nerazzurri are currently in seventh place with 12 points, two more than the Turin duo directly below, and five less than Napoli at the front of the pack. It ll be a long way back to the top, if it is to happ…
Arsenal went top of the Premier League with a 3-0 win at Bournemouth – and for the first time since 1972 they lead the way concurrently with Manchester United sitting bottom of the pile.
Gunners captain Martin Odegaard scored his first double in a top-flight league game since he was 15 years old and playing in his native Norway, while Arsenal s north London rivals stayed in close touch with the leaders after Harry Kane reached a Premier League goals record in a win over Wolves.
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard watched his side slide to a 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace – a sixth loss in seven games in London for Villa since the start of last season – while Fulham were 3-2 winners in their derby against Brentford. That was a first home victory for the Cottagers in a P…
Bayern Munich restored their nine-point lead at the Bundesliga summit thanks to Robert Lewandowski s penalty in a late 1-0 win over Bavarian neighbours Augsburg.
The hosts were beaten 1-0 by Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie in midweek and were frustrated for 82 minutes at Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Just when Bayern looked to be heading for a first league blank since January 2020, Lewandowski s header hit Reece Oxford s arm and the striker stepped up to convert from the spot.
Bayern have now won three league games in a row and retain a healthy lead over Borussia Dortmund, who beat Stuttgart 2-0 on Friday, ahead of the sides meeting in two weeks.
Augsburg had picked up more points than any side over the previous four g…
Oscar Pareja said allowing his Orlando City players to rest after their exit from the Leagues Cup was crucial ahead of resuming their MLS season against Sporting Kansas City this weekend.
The Lions were knocked out by Cruz Azul in the last 32 of the competition, losing in a penalty shootout at the Inter Co Stadium following a goalless draw in normal time.
They return to league action having gone into the break five games unbeaten, sitting seventh in the Eastern Conference table heading into the final fixtures of the campaign.
And Pareja is confident that their two-week break will have his side fit and firing for the business end of the season.
“We definitely have put in two weeks of hard work, but at the beginning of the first week we tried to rest a c…
Cristiano Ronaldo was included in Manchester United line-up for the Red Devils trip to top-four rivals Arsenal, while captain Harry Maguire was named among the substitutes.
Superstar forward Ronaldo, who is just one goal away from bringing up a career century of Premier League strikes after scoring 15 in the top flight this season, missed Tuesday s 4-0 defeat at Liverpool after announcing the loss of his son on Monday.
Ronaldo has scored six goals in his last seven appearances against Arsenal in all competitions, including twice in the reverse fixture in December, and a brace on his last visit to the Emirates in May 2009 in the Champions League semi-finals.
Explaining his decision to include Ronaldo, Ralf Rangnick told BT Sport: We spoke on the day when he retu…
Benfica eased through to the Champions League group stage with a 5-0 aggregate thrashing of Dynamo Kyiv on Tuesday, while Maccabi Haifa and Viktoria Plzen also qualified.
The three teams will now look ahead to the draw on Thursday when they will find out who they will be facing in the group stage.
Last season s quarter-finalists Benfica built on an impressive 2-0 first-leg victory against a rusty Kyiv side with first-half goals from Nicolas Otamendi, Rafa Silva and David Neres essentially killing the tie by half-time at Estadio da Luz.
Meanwhile, Haifa scored late on to earn a thrilling 5-4 aggregate comeback win over Red Star Belgrade in Serbia to reach their first Champions League group stage since the 2009-10 season.
A 90th-minute own goal from Red St…
Spain midfielder Pedri has surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo to set a new record for the most major tournament appearances by any European player aged 21 or under.
At the age of 21 years and 218 days, Pedri made his 13th European Championship or World Cup appearance during Spain s last-16 match against Georgia at Euro 2024 on Sunday.
It is also the fourth game the Barcelona midfielder has started in the Euros knockout stages while aged 21 or under, the most of any such player.
That ensured he beat Ronaldo s tally of 12 tournament outings for Portugal before turning 22, which came at Euro 2004 and the 2006 World Cup.
Pedri made his senior international debut as an 18-year-old in March 2021, going on to enjoy a breakout tournament at the delayed Euro 2020 as Spai…
The likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Kieran Trippier and Phil Foden can occupy several different positions on the pitch.
So too, can Lewis – the 18-year-old having already played in both full-back roles and in midfield for treble-winners Manchester City.
He has yet to make his senior England debut but was called up for the first time last week and will be targeting minutes in the final Euro 2024 qualifier away to North Macedonia on Monday.
“Obviously, in terms of a tournament, you can only select the amount you can select,” he said.
“It (versatility) can be a key factor in going or not going. But for me, I am not really focusing on that right now but I understand it is a key thing that could contribute to me being picked or not.
“Obvious…