MLS: Toronto clinch play-off spot, LAFC too good for Sounders

Defender Andrea Barzagli says Juventus are desperate to avenge last season s UEFA Champions League disappointment.

Juve have swept all before them in Serie A in recent years, winning three straight titles under former coach Antonio Conte.

They have not been able to replicate that success in Europe s premier club competition, though, following up a quarter-final exit in the 2012-13 season by failing to make it out of the group stage last term.

Juve were drawn alongside Atletico Madrid, Malmo and Olympiacos in their Champions League group this season and they are favoured to reach the last 16.

But Barzagli – who acknowledged just how much of a priority success in Europe is – will not be taking Juventus Group A opponents lightly.

What we hope fo…

Former Croatian captain Niko Kovac is retiring from football, his Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg announced on its website Friday.

The 37-year-old midfielder, who already announced his international retirement in January after winning 83 caps and scoring 15 goals between 1996 and 2008, will hang up his shirt at the end of the current Austrian league season, the club said.

Kovac will play his last game in a friendly match against his former team Bayern Munich on July 10 in Salzburg.

The Croatian captained his national side from 2004 onwards, participating in the European Championship in Portugal in 2004 and in Austria and Switzerland in 2008, as well as the World Cup in Germany in 2006.

He joined Salzburg in 2006, winning two Austrian league titles with t…

Lille coach Rudi Garcia says he believes his younger players can perform against BATE Borisov in the UEFA Champions League.

Despite sitting firmly at the bottom of Group F without a point to their name, French outfit Lille are still looking to mount a challenge for the Europa League spot and will be looking to the less-experienced members of the squad to get a result.

I trust the young players, Garcia told the UEFA website.

They are very enthusiastic and can get the result we expect from them.

Some players stayed back in France because of injuries and the others, like Mathieu Debuchy, need a rest after a busy period.

The main thing is to give it our best. BATE are a strong team, as they showed when they scored three goals before half-time in…

Market: Montpellier win

Odds: 11/10 @

Looking to extend on their stellar purple patch this weekend, Montpellier will welcome Toulouse to the Stade de la Mosson on Sunday afternoon.

Starting with the hosts, marking their return from the international break last weekend with an eye-catching 1-1 draw away at Marseille, Montpellier are enjoying what has become a stellar purple patch. Heading into the fortnight interval with a 2-1 victory at home against Clermont, Michel Der Zakarian s side have gained plenty of praise from across Ligue 1 this season. With their sights now firmly set on claiming a top-half finish in 2023, La Paillade are unbeaten in each of their last seven straight appearances. With their extended flurry highlighted by a 5-0 romp against Angers on M…

Market: Dundee FC win

Odds: 8/15 @

Hoping to widen their advantage at the top of the Championship table on Tuesday night, Dundee will welcome Raith to Dens Park.

Starting with the hosts, while Dundee might have been disappointed after only playing out a 0-0 stalemate away at Arbroath over the weekend, Gary Bowyer’s men are still tipped as a leading promotion contender this season. Still holding onto their spot at the top of the Championship table, the Blues have their sights set on securing an immediate top-flight return in 2023. Marking their return from the international break with a remarkable display on home soil as they breezed their way to a 7-0 romp against Hamilton, the former Salford boss should be smelling the chance for his side to make another stat…

Luca Zidane has completed a loan switch from Real Madrid to Racing Santander for the duration of the 2019-20 campaign.

The 21-year-old featured once for Madrid at first-team level last season after being handed a surprise start by his father Zinedine Zidane for the 3-2 win over Huesca in March.

He is far down the goalkeeping pecking order at the Santiago Bernabeu, with Thibaut Courtois, Keylor Navas and Andriy Lunin back from his loan spell with Leganes all in front of him.

Following Zidane s loan exit to Segunda Division side Racing, it has been reported Navas could follow him out the door in a potential move to Paris Saint-Germain.

Official Announcement: Luca Zidane.

— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)

That would leave highly-rated U…

Ivan Martin’s stoppage-time strike saw Girona beat Atletico Madrid 4-3 in a thriller at the Estadi Municipal de Montilivi to keep pace with Real Madrid at the top of the LaLiga table.

Martin sent the ball into the top corner in the first minute of added time to restore Girona’s advantage after Atletico had fought back from 3-1 down to draw level at 3-3, with Alvaro Morata scoring a hat-trick.

After Morata had cancelled out Valery’s early opener for the hosts, an eventful first half continued with further Girona efforts from Savio and Daley Blind.

GIRONA WIN IT IN ADDED TIME!

Iván Martín scores against Atleti late on to secure a dramatic 4-3 victory

— Viaplay Sports UK (@ViaplaySportsUK)

Morata reduced the deficit with his seco…

Dutch coach Leo Beenhakker was on Thursday sacked as Poland coach after their failure to reach the 2010 World Cup finals, national football federation chief Grzegorz Lato said.

The 67-year-old former Dutch national coach was axed after the side crashed 3-0 away to Slovenia on Wednesday.

The Slovenia game, which came after a sloppy 1-1 draw at home on Saturday to Northern Ireland, left Poland second-from-bottom of Group Three and mathematically unable to catch up in their two remaining games against leaders Slovakia and the Czech Republic.

That was Leo Beenhakker s last game as Poland manager, Lato told Polish television.

We have several candidates. It s too early to talk about names. But it will certainly be a Pole.

Beenhakker became the first…

Schalke will look to bounce back from their UEFA Champions League humiliation when they host Mainz on Saturday.

Roberto Di Matteo s side were thrashed 5-0 in front of their home fans by Chelsea on Tuesday a stark reminder of just how much work the Italian has to do at the Veltins Arena.

Schalke dropped to third in Group G as a result and now need to win in Maribor and hope Sporting Lisbon lose at Chelsea on matchday six to progress.

The big home defeat went against the trend of Di Matteo s short time in charge of Schalke that being wins at home and losses on the road.

Di Matteo had led Schalke to three straight home wins before the Chelsea loss, but is yet to pick up a point on his travels.

So the coach who led Chelsea to Champions League glory …

Swansea City have re-signed German goalkeeper Gerhard Tremmel, .

The 36 year old left the South Wales club when his previous contract with them expired back in May, but has now penned a new two year deal and will provide competition to first choice shot-stopper Lukasz Fabianski and Kristoffer Nordfeldt, who arrived in the summer.

Tremmel has made fifty-two appearances for the Swans in all competitions, a tally that includes the 5-0 League Cup final victory over Bradford City at Wembley in February 2013.

Prior to his initial switch to the Premier League outfit, he had season in Austria with Red Bull Salzburg having spent the rest of his career so far in his native Germany.

Swansea began the new season with a credible draw against Chelsea at Stamford B…