England boss Gareth Southgate reflects on underwhelming Nations League campaign as Three Lions suffer relegation (Video)

A hat-trick from debutant Serge Gnabry helped Germany breeze past minnows San Marino 8-0 to extend their lead at the top of World Cup qualification Group C.

Gnabry s trio, a brace from Jonas Hector, Sami Khedira and Kevin Volland strikes and a late own goal sealed victory for the world champions in a game which often resembled a training exercise against a country ranked 199 places below them.

The win means Joachim Low s men remain top of Group C with a perfect record from their opening four games.

The absence of key players and weak opposition allowed Low to hand international debuts to Gnabry and 19-year-old Bayer Leverkusen right-back Benjamin Henrichs.

The 21-year-old Werder Bremen winger enjoyed a first appearance to remember and will cherish the h…

LA Galaxy great Robbie Keane is leaving the MLS club at the end of the year, following Steven Gerrard in departing.

Keane, 36, helped the Galaxy to three MLS Cup crowns, scoring 92 league goals – and more than 100 in total – during his six seasons.

The former Republic of Ireland international has no plans to retire just yet, as he bids farewell to the Galaxy.

I can confirm that after five fantastic years I will be leaving the LA Galaxy, Keane said.

It s been a privilege to have played my part in the history of such a great club and I leave with memories that will stay with me forever.

Winning three MLS Cups, scoring over 100 goals for the club and being named as 2014 MVP are all achievements that I will look back on with pride, it s been …

Big-spending French club Nice have struggled to start the new Ligue 1 season, with only eight points from eight games.

Ambitious Nice are sitting 13th in the table, leading to pressure on head coach Lucien Favre.

The Ligue 1 outfit finished fifth last term and have recently signed Aaron Ramsey, Ross Barkley, Alexis Beka Beka and Kasper Schmeichel.

TOP STORY – NICE KEEN ON PARKER WITH POCHETTINO NOT INTERESTED

Nice are interested in a surprise move for ex-Fulham and Bournemouth boss Scott Parker, claims Foot Mercato.

Favre is under pressure, with ex-Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino reportedly their first choice to replace him.

The Evening Standard claims Pochettino is not interested in the Nice role and instea…

Stoke boss Mark Hughes feels Ryan Shawcross has the ability to make a return to Roy Hodgson s England squad.

Shawcross, 25, was first called into the national squad by Fabio Capello in March 2010, but did not make his England debut until over a year later, under Roy Hodgson, in last November s 4-2 defeat to Sweden.

However, Hughes, who took over at the Britannia Stadium in May after Tony Pulis parted company with the club, believes the Stoke captain has the ability to establish himself in the national team.

John Terry and Rio Ferdinand, a long-term partnership in the heart of England s defence, have both retired from international football in the past 12 months, leaving a regular place at centre-back up for grabs.

First and foremost, and he will tell you the sam…

that Liverpool are set to make an improved offer for Southampton full-back Nathaniel Clyne.

The Merseyside club saw a £10m offer for the defender rejected by the Saints last month, and will now make a new bid as they look for a replacement for Glen Johnson, whose contract has not been renewed.

Clyne, who won his fifth senior England cap as Roy Hodgson’s side beat Slovenia 3-2 on Sunday evening, has been valued at around £20m despite having just one year remaining on his current deal.

Since arriving at St Mary’s Stadium from Crystal Palace in July 2012, the 24 year old has racked up over a hundred appearances for the south-coast club, scoring five goals.

Should he make the move, he would reunite with former Southampton trio Adam Lallana, Rickie…

Kaylen Hinds faces a fine from Wolfsburg for his ongoing absence from training, with a lost passport reportedly to blame.

Former Arsenal youngster and England youth international Hinds joined Wolfsburg last year and made his solitary appearance for the Bundesliga club on the opening day of the 2017-18 campaign, completing 90 minutes in a 3-0 home loss to Borussia Dortmund.

The 20-year-old forward was an unused substitute on four more occasions before joining Greuther Furth on loan in January, where fitness problems contributed to him failing to feature in 2.Bundesliga.

Hinds hopes of getting back on track have been hit by losing his passport on a visit back home to England, according to a report by Kicker, and Wolfsburg have taken a dim view of his no-show.

…

Verdict: Saido Mane to score anytime

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Now tipped by almost everyone to be Manchester City s leading contenders, Jurgen Klopp s Liverpool side will look to carry on their impressive start to the new campaign when they welcome an always resilient Brighton side to Anfield on Saturday afternoon.

Liverpool

Starting with Jurgen Klopp s Liverpool side, although they may have fell short against Real Madrid in the Champions League final back in June, The Reds don t appear to have missed a beat. After putting four past West Ham on the opening weekend, Liverpool are now coming off the back of a 2-0 win over Crystal Palace on Monday night. Now almost universally tipped as the defending champions major rival, Klopp s side also heavily inves…

Robert Lewandowski scored an injury-time penalty at the second time of asking as Barcelona secured a nail-biting late win over Celta Vigo to stay in touch with the LaLiga title race.

Lewandowski had already given his side the lead with an emphatic finish on the stroke of half-time but Iago Aspas put his struggling side on course for a draw with a deflected effort soon after the restart.

Lewandowski eventually won it from the spot in the seventh minute of added time, but only after the referee ordered a retake when his first attempt was saved by an encroaching Vicente Guaita. The result leaves them two points behind Girona in second and seven shy of rivals and leaders Real Madrid, having played one game more than both.

Lewy, for the win!

— FC Barcelona …

The little genius is bound to score soon

As I have not made any predictions in the World Cup so far, other than England to comfortably beat Germany, I thought I should take a look at the quarter-finals and see if I can do any better than I normally do in the Premier League.

The games are going to be fascinating and whilst there are favourites in each one, not one of them is in any way a foregone conclusion.

Uruguay v Ghana
Before the tournament I didn’t really expect Uruguay to get this far. After their first game, a dismal 0-0 draw with France, I certainly didn’t. Then they played Bafana Bafana in front of a partisan and incredibly noisy crowd and took them apart. They looked like quarter-finalists.

A win over a decent Mexico side followed and then v…

Urawa Reds striker Tadanari Lee wants the J.League to adopt a zero-tolerance attitude towards racism like the Premier League.

Lee was involved in the first ever J.League game to be played behind closed doors on Sunday as his Urawa side drew 1-1 at home to Shimizu S-Pulse at the Saitama Stadium 2002.

That came after Reds fans were punished for displaying a banner which had the words Japanese Only written on it during a clash against Sagan Tosu on March 8.

Born to Zainichi Korean parents but raised in Tokyo and a Japan international, Lee – who joined Urawa from Southampton in January – said the J.League had work to do on racism.

Of course there are times when I feel it, Lee was quoted as saying by The Japan Times.

One thing I can say is that s…