Marcello Lippi said he hopes China can become the surprise of this tournament as he prepared to take his last stand as head coach of the nation at the 2019 Asian Cup.
China face Kyrgyzstan in their opening match on Monday and Lippi, who will turn 71 in April, is set to leave his post after the tournament concludes.
Guiding Team Dragon in the United Arab Emirates could well be Lippi s final act as a football coach should he choose to bring down the curtain on a glittering career that has seen him win the World Cup with Italy in 2006 as well as dozens of club titles and individual honours.
China will also go up against South Korea and the Philippines in Group C and Lippi billed his side as underdogs.
We know that in a competition like this there are favour…
Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has confirmed the club are in talks over a deal for Michy Batshuayi.
The striker s future is in doubt as Valencia have signalled their intention to cut short his loan move from Chelsea.
Batshuayi thrived on loan at Borussia Dortmund during the second half of last season, scoring seven goals in 10 Bundesliga appearances, but has struggled in LaLiga this term.
A single goal in 15 league appearances for Valencia has led to the club trying to find a solution for the striker, with Monaco a potential destination.
We have an agreement with the player and with Valencia, but not with Chelsea, Vasilyev told a news conference on Wednesday.
They want a transfer. Everything could go very quickly in football so we ll see. …
Coventry stunned Premier League Wolves with two goals in injury time to seal an amazing 3-2 win and book a first FA Cup semi-final appearance since 1987.
The Sky Blues went on to win the competition that year in one of the most famous finals ever and they kept their hopes of another unlikely triumph this season alive after a remarkable climax at Molineux.
It looked like they would be leaving with broken hearts after two goals in the final 10 minutes from Rayan Ait-Nouri and Hugo Bueno overturned Ellis Simms’ opener and seemed to set a Wembley date for Wolves.
But the Championship side were not done and in nine minutes of time added on they turned the quarter-final tie around again, with Simms grabbing a second and then Haji Wright earning himself folklore by gr…
Market: Over 1.5 goals
Odds: 4/11 @
In what is a real showdown at the foot of the Premier Division table on Friday night, Sligo Rovers will travel to UC Dublin for what could be a lively affair.
Starting with the hosts, while UC Dublin might have just about clung to their Premier Division status last season, it is no secret that the Students are free-falling their way out of Ireland’s top-flight in 2023. Only continuing on what has been a nightmare campaign and coming under real criticism, Andrew Myler’s men have remarkably claimed just six points from any of their 20 Premier Division appearances this season. Heading into the June international break with another nightmare performance as they suffered a routine 4-0 drumming away at Shamrock Rovers, the Blues…
Manchester United and Barcelona will be in search of their fourth European Championship when they meet in the UEFA Champions League final.
Saturday s final at Wembley will mark the second time in three years the sides have met in the final of Europe s most prestigious club competition, after the Catalan giants prevailed 2-0 in Rome in 2009.
Pep Guardiola s team, champions in Spain for the third straight time, lost only twice in their successful La Liga campaign.
United, who won the European crown in 2007-08 with a penalty shoot-out victory over Chelsea, are also coming off a successful domestic campaign that saw them claim a record 19th Premiership in England.
Some claim it was an unconvincing title win, yet Sir Alex Ferguson had his team playing consist…
What the papers say
Gareth Southgate is the top choice of Manchester United co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe to replace Erik ten Hag as manager in the summer, reports the Star.
According to The Times, Nottingham Forest may be forced to sell star players by the end of June to avoid losing more points for breaching financial rules.
Tottenham, Chelsea, and West Ham are all keen on England striker Ivan Toney, reports The Sun.
Social media round-up
It’s all done between Liverpool and Richard Hughes since 15 days ago.
Announcement, imminent.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano)
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