Olivier Giroud etched his name into the France history books as he became Les Bleus all-time top scorer after netting against Poland at the World Cup.
The Milan striker equalled Thierry Henry s 51-goal record with a brace in a 4-1 win over Australia in his nation s World Cup opener, leaving him one shy of the outright benchmark.
That made Giroud, aged 36 years and 53 days, the second-oldest player to score a double at the World Cup, after Roger Milla, who did so in 1990 for Cameroon aged 38.
Giroud claimed the record outright with the opening goal in the round-of-16 clash against Poland, latching onto Kylian Mbappe s pass to fire Les Bleus ahead.
The former Chelsea and Arsenal striker would likely have not started for Didier Deschamps side if it had not b…
Barcelona defender Jean-Clair Todibo has joined Nice on an initial loan deal until the end of the season.
The Ligue 1 club have the option to buy the 21-year-old for €8.5million when the loan concludes, in an agreement that could be worth an additional €7m to Barca in variables.
Todibo joined Barcelona from Toulouse two years ago when he was regarded as one of the brightest young talents in European football.
His two LaLiga games in the Blaugrana s ultimately successful 2018-19 title defence yielded neither a win nor a goal, with a 0-0 draw at Huesca on debut followed by a 2-0 loss at Celta Vigo.
This is Todibo s third consecutive January move after he joined Schalke on loan last year, going on to make eight Bundesliga appearances before a €25m pu…
Rasmus Hojlund is fit to make his debut this weekend and Erik ten Hag says Sergio Reguilon could feature at Arsenal having trained with Manchester United ahead of his loan move.
Denmark international Hojlund joined United at the start of August for a fee rising up to £74million from Atalanta, but the 20-year-old has yet to feature, due to a back complaint.
But Ten Hag says the striker is fit to feature at Arsenal, when new goalkeeper Altay Bayindir and left-back Reguilon will also be available for selection.
Will Rasmus Hojlund be available for Sunday? ||
— Manchester United (@ManUtd)
United have agreed a loan deal with Tottenham for the left-back, and the Dutchman revealed he had trained with his new team-mates ahead of the announcement of…
Ange Postecoglou believes Brennan Johnson can take a step up after completing a £45million move to Tottenham before Friday’s transfer deadline.
Spurs have reinvested some of the money received from Bayern Munich for Harry Kane on the 22-year-old Wales international, who scored eight goals and provided three assists to help Nottingham Forest avoid relegation last season.
Johnson was not registered in time to feature in Saturday’s 5-2 thrashing of Burnley at Turf Moor, but his arrival should add another dimension to a Tottenham side who were inspired by Son Heung-min’s hat-trick and could have scored even more in an exciting attacking display.
The journey has just begun
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)
“He’s just another exciting …
Crystal Palace have announced the signing of attacking midfielder Stephen Dobbie from rivals Brighton for an undisclosed fee.
Dobbie, 30, has signed a two-year deal at Selhurst Park after impressing during a four-month loan stay at Palace last season, in which he made 15 appearances and scored three goals as they won the Championship play-off final.
The Scot not only won promotion last season, but also helped Swansea into the Premier League in the 2010-11 campaign.
He is looking forward to the chance to work with Palace manager Ian Holloway again, who took charge of him at Blackpool.
I m delighted. Obviously I ve worked with the gaffer a number of times and there was no problem with that, Dobbie told Palace Player.
A lot of people don t see the side to the …
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique feels Cristiano Ronaldo s rivalry with Lionel Messi has improved the Real Madrid man as a player.
Ronaldo and Messi are widely regarded as the two best players in world football and are set to renew acquaintances when Barcelona host Real in the first Clasico of the season on Saturday.
Barca striker Messi has beaten Ronaldo to the last four Ballon d Or titles and the duo appear poised to be in the running for this year s prize, with the shortlist set be announced next Tuesday.
Pique who is a doubt for the Clasico with a hamstring injury played with Ronaldo at Manchester United before moving to Barca in 2008, and he believes that the on-going competition with Messi has brought the best out of the Portugal international.
In addition …
Mauricio Pochettino is hoping the motivation of trying to win a London derby will help keep Tottenham s Premier League title challenge alive at Chelsea on Monday.
Tottenham slipped seven points adrift of table-topping Leicester City with a 1-1 draw at home to West Brom last time out.
Subsequently, Spurs cannot afford to lose against their London rivals at Stamford Bridge, though the title could already be out of their hands by that point if Leicester win at Old Trafford on Sunday.
But Pochettino is preparing his team for a crunch fixture regardless of the result a day prior.
Against Chelsea it s a derby and we need to still fight for the title, the Argentine told Spurs TV.
Chelsea this season were not consistent like the season before. They re i…
Everton are considering a loan move for Manchester City midfielder Gareth Barry,.
The England international has been told he can leave last season Premier League runners up following the arrival of £30m signing Fernandinho, while Yaya Toure is also ahead of Barry in the pecking order.
The 32 year old has been a first regular for City since moving from Aston Villa in 2009, racking up 185 appearances in all competitions, and he knows he must continue to play if he is to be considered for the England squad in the countdown to next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
He has one year remaining on his £90,000-a-week contract at the Etihad Stadium, and Everton would need to come to an agreement over the player’s wages.
The Toffee’s began their Premier Lea…
Ciro Immobile struck twice and Paulo Dybala missed a penalty for the second Serie A game in succession as Lazio won 2-1 to hand Juventus a first home league defeat in 42 games.
Dybala s spot-kick woe came deep in stoppage time after referee Paolo Silvio Mazzoleni had used the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system to rightly award Juve the chance to claim a point following a reckless challenge from Patric on Federico Bernardeschi.
But Lazio goalkeeper Thomas Strakosha dived low to his right to push Dybala s effort away before the final whistle went to condemn the Bianconeri to a first home defeat in Serie A since August 2015.
Juve s dominance at the Allianz Stadium has been one of the cornerstones of their six successive Serie A titles, but a growing sense that …
Nicolas Gaitan has confirmed he is on the brink of leaving Benfica after helping the club to win a domestic double.
Benfica were crowned Portuguese champions last week and added the Taca da Liga to their trophy cabinet on Friday with a 6-2 victory over Maritimo in the final.
Gaitan, 28, scored his side s fourth goal before waving goodbye to supporters as he was substituted in the closing stages of the final in Coimbra, before he was seen in tears on the bench.
The attacking midfielder s contract runs until 2019 and contains a release clause worth €45 million, but Champions League finalists Atletico Madrid are reportedly close to sealing a €25m deal to sign him, while Manchester United are regularly cited as admirers.
I don t want to say where, but …