Gareth Southgate has revealed in-form Arsenal defender Ben White does not want to be selected by England at the moment.

The 26-year-old has starred for the Premier League leaders this season but has not featured for the national team since the 2022 World Cup.

White returned early from Qatar for what the Football Association called “personal reasons” and reports later emerged of an alleged bust-up with England assistant Steve Holland.

Southgate denied any such bust-up on Thursday, when he had hoped to include the defender in his squad for March’s Euro 2024 warm-up friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

The manager revealed White would otherwise have been in his 25-man squad, explaining: “Clearly on form I can’t sit here and say he doesn’t deser…

Cardiff have expressed their determination to “seek justice” and pursue their negligence claim against Nantes as the fifth anniversary of Emiliano Sala’s death approaches.

Sala died on January 21, 2019 when the light aircraft he was travelling in from France crashed into the English Channel, two days after Cardiff had announced the signing of the 28-year-old Argentinian forward from Nantes.

Cardiff were ordered by football’s global governing body FIFA to pay the £15million transfer fee after maintaining Nantes must be held accountable for the accident which led to Sala’s death, saying the flight was organised by the French club’s agent.

The Sky Bet Championship club have lodged a negligence claim in the French courts against Nantes.

“As we …

Stefano Pioli believes his longevity in the AC Milan top job speaks for itself amid ceaseless speculation the boss could soon be replaced at San Siro.

Milan, who won the Serie A title under Pioli in 2022, have won six of their last eight games in an unbeaten spell but nevertheless sit eight points behind league leaders and city rivals Inter Milan ahead of Sunday’s showdown with Napoli.

Pioli took charge of the Rossoneri in October 2019 and is poised to draw level with Milan great Arrigo Sacchi – a 1988 Scudetto winner and twice a European champion with the club – on 220 matches coached this weekend.

However, reports in Italy continue to suggest the likes of Julen Lopetegui and Antonio Conte are being lined up to replace him, a situation which the 58-year-ol…

Robert Lewandowski claims no one remembers Bayern Munich s 8-2 victory against his new side Barcelona in the 2020 Champions League quarter-final.

The Poland international played in that game for the German giants, and even scored Bayern s sixth goal before Philippe Coutinho, on loan from Barcelona at the time, added two more late on to rub salt in the wounds.

After embarrassing Barcelona, Bayern went on to become European champions for a sixth time, with a Kingsley Coman winner enough to overcome French side Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final.

The 8-2 thrashing meant Bayern became the first team ever to score five or more goals against Barcelona in a European Cup or Champions League match.

Heading into Dallas like

— FC Barcelona (@FCBarce…

Antonio Conte was disappointed but conceded Arsenal deserved to be leading the Premier League after a commanding 2-0 victory at Tottenham.

Arsenal moved eight points clear at the Premier League summit after their first win at their north London rivals since 2014, with Hugo Lloris inexplicable own goal and Martin Odegaard s strike the difference.

Spurs had their own chances against the league-leading Gunners, with Aaron Ramsdale making fine stops to deny Son Heung-min and Harry Kane amid his seven saves in the match.

Tottenham have conceded at least two goals in five consecutive home league games for the first time since August 1992, but Conte refused to criticise his players after another disappointing showing.

Full-time.

— Tottenham Hotspur (@…

He has done everything to get himself back into contention to face Aston Villa and admitted he would have made himself available even if he was not fit.

“If I’m not 100 per cent I would play anyway,” said the 31-year-old.

“If the boss don’t put me in the squad I will go (to his office)… no (joking).

“It’s a special day for me, my last game at home with the fans, with the club, my team-mates.

“I try to focus on the game because it is an important game for us and after the game I will cry 100 per cent. It will be emotional for me and for my family.”

Firmino is not the only one saying his goodbyes – midfielders James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Naby Keita have also come to the end of their contracts – but his absence w…

Germany or Turkey will host the 2024 European Championship after the two countries submitted declarations of interest to UEFA.

Ahead of a March 3 deadline, they were the only nations to formally announce an interest in holding the tournament.

The two countries federations must now produce a dossier on their bid by April 2018, with UEFA selecting a winner in September of the same year.

It s clear that there will be two strong bids for UEFA s showcase national team competition, and it will be a tough decision to make, said UEFA general secretary Theodore Theodoridis.

While West Germany hosted the 1988 Championships as well as the 1974 FIFA World Cup, with a reunited Germany holding the 2006 competition Turkey has failed in previous bids to host a major t…

Football goes through phases and cycles where certain trends dictate the sport, whether that s specific formations and systems, or particular player styles.

The World Cup quarter-final between France and England will highlight one such feature of the modern game: the evolution of the striker.

What makes this clash so intriguing in that respect is the presence of three forwards who each represent a different era, with Olivier Giroud, Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe likely to attract much of the pre-match focus.

And what s more, there s a strong possibility the game will be decided – or influenced at the very least – by this trio.

Giroud – The throwback

For years the narrative around Giroud has been the suggestion he s underrated . That discussi…

Real Madrid have paid tribute to former superstar Gareth Bale after the Wales international called an end to his playing career on Monday.

Bale joined Madrid from Tottenham in 2013 and spent nine years in Spain, albeit he headed back to Spurs on loan in 2020-21.

The 33-year-old won three LaLiga titles, a Copa dey Rey, five Champions League titles and three Club World Cups in his time at the Santiago Bernabeu.

He was not always universally popular with the fans despite scoring 106 goals in 258 games for the club, particularly after being pictured with a flag while on international duty that read: Wales, golf, Madrid. In that order.

However, having left the Spanish capital for Los Angeles FC in Major League Soccer in June, Los Blancos posted a statement on…

Kylian Mbappe scored twice, including a stunning strike from just outside the box, as France beat the Netherlands 2-0 in Amsterdam to secure Euro 2024 qualification.

After putting Les Bleus ahead with a seventh-minute finish, Mbappe added a breathtaking second eight minutes into the second half, exchanging passes with Adrien Rabiot and sending a curling shot over Bart Verbruggen and into the top corner.

Quilindschy Hartman reduced the deficit with seven minutes of normal time remaining.

…