Didier Deschamps will hold talks with French Football Federation (FFF) president Noel Le Graet next week to discuss France s Euro 2020 disappointment.

Pre-tournament favourites France topped a tough group containing Portugal, Germany and Hungary, only to be eliminated at the last-16 stage on penalties by Switzerland.

It marked the first time since the 2010 World Cup that Les Blues had failed to reach at least the quarter-finals of a major competition.

France s premature exit led to questions about Deschamps future, with Zinedine Zidane being heavily linked with the job since leaving his position as Real Madrid boss in May.

Deschamps is under contract until after the 2022 World Cup and has been in charge of his country since 2012, lifting the World Cup in …

Signed four years ago towards the end of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure, the Argentina international worked with current Villa boss Unai Emery at Villarreal last season, but could get the chance to haunt his old manager this weekend.

“I looked at Gio really well before I got here, both here at Tottenham and his spells at other clubs,” Postecoglou said.

“You can see he has certain qualities. He’s had a disruptive season for us. He’s had a few injuries, he hasn’t really had a clean run at it.

“He’s one of a number of players that has happened to, but you can see technically, he’s a very creative player, he works hard for the team.

“He’ll get an opportunity over the next few weeks to hopefully come in and make an impact.”

Whil…

Thomas Tuchel said the sacrifice of leaving his family to take on the challenge of managing Chelsea has been worth it every single day after making history by guiding them to the Champions League final.

The Blues progressed to the final for the third time in their history as a 2-0 win over Real Madrid clinched a 3-1 aggregate victory and a place in the Istanbul showpiece against Premier League rivals Manchester City on May 29.

In doing so, Tuchel became the first manager in the history of the Champions League and European Cup to reach the final in consecutive seasons with different teams. Tuchel led Paris Saint-Germain to the final last year, only to lose 1-0 to Bayern Munich.

Chelsea will also contest the FA Cup final against Leicester City on May 15 and hold…

Allegations of serious offences against match officials in grassroots football increased slightly last season compared to 2021-22, new Football Association data shows.

In total there were 1,451 allegations of serious offences against a match official last season, an increase of one per cent on the prior campaign where 1,430 offences were recorded.

Seventy-two allegations of an actual or attempted assault were made in 2022-23, according to data contained in the FA’s Annual Grassroots Disciplinary Review which is being published later on Tuesday.

Of those, 53 led to charges being brought and 42 were proven, with 11 not proven on the balance of probabilities due to insufficient evidence.

To assist in improving conviction rates even further, the FA has now …

Brighton can become pioneers in women’s football now that the team has received the go-ahead for a purpose-built stadium, according to the councillor who helped approve the plans.

Brighton and Hove City Council gave the green light in October for the club to proceed with locating a site within the city for what is hoped will be an approximately 10,000-capacity ground for the Women’s Super League side.

The proposed new ground will be the first of its kind in the UK to have been designed and built specifically for use by a women’s team, with all 12 of the current WSL clubs playing in stadiums either previously or currently shared with men’s sides.

Currently the team plays home matches more than 30 miles away from the city at Crawley’s Broadfield Stadium.<…

Rangers scored twice in the final seven minutes to salvage a 4-3 victory in Thursday s thrilling Europa League last-32 tie with Royal Antwerp. 

The Gers, who progressed through the group stage as one of six unbeaten sides, survived a scare at Bosuilstadion in the first leg to take a big advantage into the return fixture in Glasgow. 

Felipe Avenatti s header and a contentious Lior Refaelov penalty late in the first half followed on from Joe Aribo s opener for the visitors, before Borna Barisic levelled up from the spot just before the hour. 

Antwerp regained their lead through Martin Hongla s strike to put Rangers, who lost influential captain James Tavernier and attacker Kemar Roofe to first-half injuries, on the brink of a first defeat in 13 …

Lionel Messi will win the Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain before retiring at Barcelona, according to former team-mate Juan Roman Riquelme.

Messi joined the Ligue 1 giants on a two-year deal last month following the conclusion of his contract with Barca, making his debut as a substitute in their 2-0 victory over Reims.

While PSG have dominated French football over the past decade – winning seven Ligue 1 titles, as well as the Coupe de France and Coupe de la Ligue on six occasions apiece in that time – the Champions League crown has continued to elude them.

Riquelme, who played alongside Messi for club and country, believes his ex-team-mate will provide the missing piece of the jigsaw in PSG s quest for continental glory.

But at the same time,…

Joao Moutinho fired Portugal to a 1-0 win over Denmark in Braga to help his side seal qualification for Euro 2016.

The hosts knew that a draw would be enough to book their ticket for next year s showpiece in France, but they did not take any chances and bagged the full three points instead.

Morten Olsen s men looked dangerous in the opening 45 minutes, with Nicklas Bendtner and Martin Braithwaite in particular causing the Portugal defence problems, but their finishing let them down.

Portugal were unlucky when Nani hit the crossbar with a fine header in the closing stages of the first half.

Bendtner also hit the woodwork after the interval, but it was all Portugal from there on.

Kasper Schmeichel pulled off a number of fine saves though, before Mou…

Thomas Muller struck twice as Germany moved within touching distance of Euro 2016 qualification with a 3-2 win against Scotland at Hampden Park.

A breathless first half in Glasgow saw Muller score twice, either side of a Mats Hummels own-goal, only for James McArthur to send the sides in at the break level with a crisp half-volley.

Muller was again decisive as his cut-back found Ilkay Gundogan, who swept home a winner for Joachim Low s men nine minutes into the second period.

The triumph means Germany remain top of Group D, while Scotland s hopes of qualifying for a first major tournament since 1998 hang by a thread.

Republic of Ireland moved four points clear of Gordon Strachan s men as they overcame Georgia 1-0 in Dublin, courtesy of Jonathan Walters se…

Stand-in Belgium captain Eden Hazard was delighted to see his side seal qualification for Euro 2016 with a 4-1 win over Andorra on Saturday.

The Chelsea winger wore the captain s armband in the absence of the injured Vincent Kompany and saw his side move top of Group B with a comprehensive away victory, with the only negative being a goal conceded from the penalty spot early in the second half.

Radja Nainggolan, Kevin De Bruyne and debutant Laurent Depoitre were the Belgium scorers along with Hazard, who had two opportunities from the penalty spot and scored one, but had his second effort saved.

After reaching the World Cup quarter-finals in 2014, Belgium have now reached the Euros for the first time in since they co-hosted the event in 2000 and Hazard was deligh…