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After ending their penalty shoot-out jinx on Sunday, Spain moved one step closer to glory, but ahead of the game the omens didn t look good. 

Three times on June 22 Spain have exited major tournaments at the quarter-final stage on penalties, but that hoodoo was smashed in Vienna as Cesc Fabregas confident spot-kick was enough to see off the Azzurri 4-2. 

Another June 22 shoot-out defeat would have had Luis Aragones tearing out the little hair he has left, but now the wily old Spain coach can look forward to plotting the downfall of Russia. 

The writing looked like it was on the wall for Spain when Italy stifled the Spanish for 120 minutes and forced the spot-kick drama, but the World Cup defeat by Belgium in 1986, the Wembley defeat to E…

Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri concedes he must do something to help kick-start Riyad Mahrez s season as player and club continue to struggle in their Premier League title defence.

PFA Player of the Year as Leicester stunned the world by winning the Premier League last term, Mahrez has struggled to replicate that form, with the defending champions languishing in 14th position.

Mahrez scored a first-half penalty on Saturday but it was another frustrating outing as Leicester crashed to their sixth defeat of the season, beaten 2-1 at Watford.

And Ranieri is weighing up whether to drop the Algeria international on the shortlist for this year s Ballon d Or in a bid to help him rediscover his form.

Of course we have to do something, have to study somet…

Alex Iwobi will fight on at Arsenal even if Arsene Wenger does not continue as manager, former Nigeria star Jay-Jay Okocha has predicted.

The 21-year-old made his first-team debut in October 2015 and quickly established himself as an important part of the Gunners plans.

However, the Nigeria international forward has not made an appearance in the Premier League since the 2-2 draw with Manchester City on April 2, prompting speculation that his long-term future could be away from Emirates Stadium.

Wenger himself has yet to confirm if he will sign a new contract to stay on beyond this season, but Okocha, who is Iwobi s uncle, does not believe the fates of the two men are linked.

It s not easy to break into an Arsenal team from youth, the former Paris Saint-G…

Xherdan Shaqiri believes Liverpool have the potential to get even better after enjoying an unbelievable year in 2019 that included Champions League glory in Madrid.

The Reds were crowned kings of Europe for a sixth time thanks to a 2-0 victory over domestic rivals Tottenham, their success in the Spanish capital helping ease the pain of narrowly missing out on the Premier League title to Manchester City.

It was a second Champions League success for Shaqiri, who had previously lifted the trophy during his time with Bayern Munich, helping make amends following Liverpool s defeat to Real Madrid in the 2018 showpiece.

In an interview with the club s official website, the Switzerland international reflected on the achievements of Jurgen Klopp s squad in the prev…

Stephen Keshi has signed a new two-year contract to again serve as head coach of Nigeria.

Keshi put pen to paper on a deal that will see him take charge of the national team until the end of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations.

This is the time for us to come together to fight for this nation,  Keshi said.  I am begging you all to please put the past behind and let s start afresh.

The 53-year-old s association has been a controversial one. He was appointed in 2011 and led Nigeria to AFCON glory in 2013 before resigning and quickly reversing that decision.

Keshi s contract then expired after a 2014 World Cup campaign marred by a row over bonus payments but one in which Nigeria reached the last 16.

But Keshi continued in his role on a match-by-ma…

West Ham will face Gent in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals as they bid to reach a European semi-final for the second straight year.

The Hammers made it to the Europa League final four last season, suffering a heartbreaking 3-1 aggregate defeat to eventual champions Eintracht Frankfurt.

But they thumped Cypriot side AEK Larnaca 4-0 at home on Thursday to seal a 6-0 aggregate win, before being matched with Belgian club Gent in Friday s quarter-final draw.

If they can get past Gent, David Moyes men will face either AZ or Anderlecht to reach the final on June 7 after those two were pitted against each other in the last eight.

The quarter-finals are set

Lech vs Fiorentina
Gent vs West Ham
Anderlecht vs AZ Alkmaar
Basel vs Nice

*R…

Best odds: 19/20

Bookmaker:

Both Lazio and AC Milan will be eager to get back on track when they clash at Stadio Olimpico in Saturday night s Serie A showdown after suffering unexpected defeats last weekend. Lazio fell short against Udinese, while AC Milan were shocked by newly promoted Parma.

With the international break looming, both teams will be desperate to secure a positive result and avoid further setbacks in their bid to stay competitive in the race for the top spots in the league.

Lazio

Marco Baroni s early tenure at Lazio began on a promising note with an opening-day win against Venezia, but hopes of building momentum were dashed by a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Udinese. Conceding a goal within the first five minutes and another shortly after …

The WNBA playoff schedule is set, and the Indiana Fever’s path is laid out. On Sunday, Cailtin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aliyah Boston and co. will face the Connecticut Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, in Game 1 of the postseason on ABC at 3 p.m. ET.After a stellar rookie campaign that saw Clark break several records and help the Fever make the playoffs for the first time since 2016, the question on a lot of folks’ minds now is this: How far can Clark and Indiana go in the postseason?If the second half of the regular season is any indication, the second round seems like a real possibility. And once the Fever get there, it’s all about matchups in an anything-can-happen postseason tournament.Consider that the Fever went 9-5 after the Olympic break, a stretch that included a five-game win…

data-mm-id=”_wx42uyp7c”>Jalen Ramsey forced his way out of Jacksonville and promised to play nice in La La Land. But like the good actor he is, it was all a farce and he's back to his old ways again– which is ultimately going to cost him at the contract negotiating table. Ramsey got into a verbal confrontation with Ravens cornerback Marcus Peters on the field following the Rams beatdown loss against Baltimore on Monday night and then had to be restrained from going after Peters in the tunnel following the on-field skirmish. After the game, Rams CB Jalen Ramsey was being restrained by Rams personnel in the tunnel while shouting at Ravens players and staff going into their locker room. @NBCLA pic.twitter.com/UD7j9R1ycF— Kenny Holmes (@KHOLMESlive) November 26, 2019This follows a…