Malta coach Pietro Ghedin is excited ahead of his side s clash with Italy in Euro 2016 qualifying next week.

Malta s campaign to reach the 24-team tournament in France started with a 2-0 loss against Croatia last month.

And it does not get any easier for the 155th-ranked nation, with fixtures against Norway and Italy to come in the next week.

Both matches are at home, though, and for Ghedin – a member of Italy s coaching staff from 1996 to 2005 – the visit of Antonio Conte s side will be a special occasion.

They are two difficult matches, Ghedin told UEFA s official website.

The first will be more physical, while the second will be more tactical, and I am sure Italy will be very strong.

Italy have great personality. I always have gr…

Cruzeiro s Lucas Silva would welcome the opportunity to join Real Madrid, amid reported interest from the Spanish giants.

Real were linked with the 21-year-old midfielder in the Spanish press this week as an ideal replacement for Sami Khedira, who is a reported target for Arsenal and Chelsea.

Silva broke into the first team and made his Cruzeiro debut in 2012, with the Brazil Under-20 international a prominent member of the Serie A-winning side of 2013.

While the central midfielder made no secret of his desire to play for Real, he said he remains focused on his current club.

Of course I d like to play for Real Madrid, it would be an honour, he told Marca.

But, for that to happen, an agreement between the clubs would need to be put in place firs…

Reigning champions Bordeaux raced two points clear in the French league on Sunday after a 4-0 thrashing of Nice which made it three wins out of three for Laurent Blanc s men.

With Lyon, seven-time champions between 2002 and 2008, and Paris St Germain having both won on their travels Saturday, the pressure was on Bordeaux to show their class and they did so with a handsome win as goals from Ferreira Jussie, Alou Diarra and a double from Yoann Gourcuff swept Nice aside.

Jussie s opener on the stroke of half-time set the tone just when it seemed that the Girondins might make heavy weather of the task.

The decision of Gourcuff last season to make his way in France after a spell with AC Milan was a boon for Blanc, who has also in the past week managed to persuade ano…

Javier Mascherano says the Barcelona squad are unsure over the future of Claudio Bravo amid rumours of a move to Manchester City.

Pep Guardiola is thought to be interested in bringing a new goalkeeper to the Etihad Stadium, having left regular number one Joe Hart out of the Premier League opener against Sunderland on Saturday.

Speculation has grown that City are close to agreeing a deal to sign the Chile international, who joined from Real Sociedad in 2014 for a fee reported to be in the region of £17.5million.

Mascherano is unsure of Bravo s plans, but says he would accept his decision to leave if he considered City s offer to be an improvement.

We don t know anything. I honestly don t know how much is true or how much is a lie, he said ahead of the…

Tite believes Neymar has what it takes to continue as Brazil s captain but has supported the Barcelona forward s decision to hand back the armband.

Neymar announced his intention to step down as skipper after guiding the country to Olympic gold in Rio on Saturday.

The former Santos star had replaced Thiago Silva as the national team s permanent on-field leader in September 2014.

Tite, who on Monday named his first squad since succeeding Dunga as head coach, feels the 24-year-old is equipped to continue in the position but is also prepared to look at alternative figureheads. 

The 55-year-old told a news conference: He said, I don t want to be the captain and I said to him, Enjoy it with your family, go and celebrate this victory because that is something …

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West Ham United and West Bromwich Albion will face each other in the Premier League this week. The match between the Hammers and the Baggies is slated to kick off at 6pm UK time on Tuesday.

West Ham United

West Ham are doing well in the Premier League at the moment and are aiming for a top-half finish this season. David Moyes’s side are ninth in the league table with 29 points from 18 matches, just five points behind leaders and defending champions Liverpool, who are currently fourth and occupy the final Champions League place.

The Hammers will head into the match against West Brom on the back of a 1-0 victory over Burnley at the London Stadium in the Premier League. It was West Ha…

Karim Benzema limped off the field with half an hour played of Real Madrid s opening Champions League group game against Celtic after sustaining a knee injury.

The 34-year-old, who was considered a doubt ahead of the Group F match at Celtic Park, appeared to pull up after playing a pass and was seen in visible pain.

Benzema attempted to shake off the injury but remained on the field for just a few more minutes before being replaced by Eden Hazard, with the game still goalless at that point.

France international Benzema led the Champions League scoring charts with 15 goals last season and had four goals in five games in all competitions this term prior to Tuesday.

Madrid have a busy run of fixtures ahead, with LaLiga games against Real Mallorca and Atleti…

Atletico Madrid may still be in the money-spinning Champions League, but on the domestic front they are in crisis without a win in 2009 giving them an uphill task to match last season?s top four finish.

Mexican Javier Aguirre paid the price for the club s downturn when he was sacked as coach on Monday and former Atletico goalkeeper Abel Resino has been appointed on a six-month contract and takes charge for Sunday?s match at Recreativo Huelva.

The 49-year-old Resino, who arrives from second division side Castellon, is seen by many as a stop-gap, but if he can push Atletico into the Champions League places he could make the job his.

We have a great squad and the logical thing is for us to be in the top four, said Resino.

We have a lot of quality but need…

England s preparations for their friendly clash with Brazil suffered another setback on Thursday when Frank Lampard flew home after suffering a thigh strain in the squad s first training session in Qatar.

The loss of the Chelsea midfielder further depletes a squad already missing more than half of the line-up that head coach Fabio Capello would ideally have liked to name to face the five-times world champions.

Lampard suffered the injury to his left thigh while training in temperatures above 30 degrees on Thursday morning. After a lengthy assessment by England s medical staff, it was decided he would fly back to London.

Capello decided against flying out a replacement in time for Saturday s match in Doha s Khalifa International Stadium, which Wayne Rooney believ…