France will be without N Golo Kante for their World Cup qualifier against Bosnia-Herzegovina on Wednesday, Didier Deschamps has confirmed.
The Chelsea midfielder aggravated an ankle injury during the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the weekend.
Sitting top of Group D with seven points from three games, Les Bleus resume their World Cup qualifying campaign with a trio of fixtures in early September.
However, the reigning world champions will be unable to call upon Kante for the first of those, which takes place in Strasbourg.
Addressing the media on Tuesday, head coach Deschamps said: Kante will be too soon for tomorrow.
There are too many risks; he will not be used tomorrow.
Meanwhile, Hugo Lloris believes Kylian Mbappe will not be bothered …
Leo Duarte has joined Istanbul Basaksehir on an initial 18-month loan deal from Milan.
The Super Lig side have the option to buy the 24-year-old permanently at the end of his loan deal on June 30, 2022.
Centre-back Duarte joined Milan in August 2019 in a reported €11million deal from Flamengo.
He made six appearances for the club last season – all in Serie A – and has appeared only three times this term across the Italian top flight and the Europa League.
A Milan statement read: The club would like to thank Leo for his professionalism and wishes him the best for his personal and professional future.
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Following their failure to sign Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga, who has joined Real Madrid on loan, Bayern Munich are reportedly interested in signing Stefan Ortega on loan or permanently, from Manchester City.
However, City boss Pep Guardiola is adamant his No. 2 shot-stopper will not be leaving the Etihad this summer.
“It would be a problem. We want him, I’m sorry but we want him.”
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City do NOT want to sell or loan Stefan Ortega to Bayern Munich.
— Football Daily (@footballdaily)
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Stefano Pioli was pleased with Milan s character as they salvaged a 1-1 draw at Udinese but warned they must raise their game after slipping up in the Serie A title race.
Four days after they were knocked out of the Champions League by Liverpool, the Rossoneri were facing a shock defeat at the Dacia Arena before Zlatan Ibrahimovic volleyed a stoppage-time equaliser.
Ibrahimovic s goal was his 300th combined in Europe s top-five leagues, a landmark only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have also reached this century.
Beto had capitalised on Tiemoue Bakayoko s mistake to give Udinese a deserved lead 17 minutes into their first game under interim head coach Gabriele Cioffi following Luca Gotti s sacking this week.
Isaac Success was sent off for c…
Vicente del Bosque says it is becoming increasingly difficult for Spain to keep up their impressive performances.
The Spaniards have dominated international football in recent years with consecutive European Championship victories, while also winning the World Cup in between, and Del Bosque has stressed they must keep the belief in themselves to prolong their successful streak.
Of course, it’s getting harder all the time. All our opponents know us very well and already know exactly how we play, Del Bosque told FIFA.com.
The most important thing is that we believe in what we’re doing, and that the players are patient enough to break down any defensive system. We can’t go thinking we need to win every game in the first 10 minutes.
The veteran coac…
Gus Poyet has been impressed by the quality on display at this year s Women s World Cup and believes the tournament will inspire the next generation of women s football stars.
The expanded 32-team tournament in Australia and New Zealand has caught the imaginations of many, while a first-time winner is guaranteed ahead of Sunday s final between Spain and England.
Both host nations have posted record attendances for women s games, with Australia playing in front of three 75,784-strong crowds at Sydney s Stadium Australia and 43,217 watching Spain s semi-final victory over Sweden in Auckland.
The global competition has also been characterised by headline-making upsets, with Germany and Brazil suffering surprise group-stage exits as Morocco and Jamaica advanced at th…
Mathieu Valbuena has called on his Lyon team-mates to move on quickly from their disappointing draw with Lille and focus on a Champions League victory against Gent.
An inspired Vincent Enyeama helped Lille to a 0-0 draw against Hubert Fournier s side, keeping Lyon five points behind leaders Paris Saint-Germain after five Ligue 1 games.
Lyon are making their first Champions League group-stage appearance since the 2011-12 campaign at Gent on Wednesday and Valbuena wants a positive start against the Belgian champions.
We re disappointed. We weren t rewarded for our efforts, we lacked cutting edge up front. It s a shame, he said to the club s official website.
We need to turn to Wednesday s match now. We don t have time to think too hard; we need to get off…
England international forward Theo Walcott has finally put pen to paper on a new three-and-a-half year, £100,000-a-week contract with Arsenal, ending speculation about his immediate future at the club, .
Walcott, 23, has been in fine form for the Gunners this season, with 14 goals a career best and nine assists to his name in all competitions.
The 23-year-old winger has made 244 senior appearances, scoring 56 goals, since joining the Gunners from Southampton in 2006.
Walcott s contract was due to expire at the end of the season, with a bevy of English Premier League clubs reportedly keen on signing him via free transfer in the summer.
According to reports, Chelsea and Manchester United were the favourites to land the Gunners ace, who was also…
Paris Saint-Germain have issued a strong denial following reports the Ligue 1 leaders could be sanctioned over UEFA s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations.
UK newspaper the Financial Times reported that PSG secured sponsorship deals valued at more than the fair market rate in sponsorship deals.
The contracts were reported to be worth in the region of €200million, helping to cover the shortfall left by Neymar s world-record move from Barcelona in August.
PSG have also agreed to pay €155m to complete a permanent deal for Kylian Mbappe, who is on loan at the club from Ligue 1 rivals Monaco.
UEFA are investigating PSG s finances but the club denied the Financial Times report was accurate.
Paris Saint-Germain can only regret the fact that a few d…
Mohamed Salah has been a revelation in a Liverpool shirt this season and he will hope to continue a stunning debut campaign against some familiar faces in the shape of Roma in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Egypt winger swapped Rome for Merseyside in a deal that could rise to €50million in the close season and, after never really being given a chance to display his talent at Chelsea, has shone during his second stint in the Premier League.
Salah s form saw him named PFA Players Player of the Year on Sunday, and Roma will be all too aware of his genius when they visit Anfield for the first leg of their semi-final tie.
But just how good has Salah been? With the help of Opta, we have crunched the numbers behind his spells at Roma and Liverpool.