Previewing Inter Miami vs Toronto FC in MLS.

Chelsea taking steps towards potenial Stamford Bridge rebuild as land purchase deal awaits final approval.

Dillon Gabriel accounted for a school-record eight touchdowns to help No. 17 Oklahoma roll past West Virginia 59-20

Luka Modric won the Ballon d’Or on this day in 2018, marking the first time since 2007 the award did not go to either Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder broke the stranglehold placed on France Football’s prestigious award by Messi and Ronaldo in the previous decade at a ceremony in Paris. Argentina forward Messi and former Real team-mate Ronaldo and had each won the Ballon d’Or on five occasions since Brazilian Kaka did so in 2007. In his acceptance speech, Modric said: “It’s a unique feeling. I am happy, proud and honoured. I have sensational emotions at the moment that are really hard to describe in words. “First of all, I would like to thank my team-mates and coaches at Real Madrid and all the people who work for Real Madrid, all my coaches and team-mates with the national team, all those who voted for me and of course, my family, my wife and kids. “They are fulfilling me as a person and helping me in all aspects to be successful as a professional. “As a kid, we all have dreams. My dream was to play for a big club, to win important trophies. I dreamed about it, but the Ballon d’Or was more than a childhood dream for me and it’s a real honour and a privilege to hold this trophy.” Modric’s recognition was reward for a fine 12 months during which he helped his club lift the Champions League for the third successive season before playing a key role in Croatia’s surge to the 2018 World Cup final. He won the Golden Ball for his contribution in Russia and was named the Best FIFA Footballer of the Year, and was the first Croatian to claim the Ballon d’Or. Modric, now 38, is still playing for Real Madrid and helped his country to the World Cup semi-finals last year in Qatar. Read More Eddie Howe salutes performance as Newcastle end gruelling week with Man Utd win Ding Junhui beats Judd Trump to set up UK final showdown with Ronnie O’Sullivan Pep Guardiola knows Man City fans will be behind team if ‘bad moments’ arrive Win ‘blows belief into Everton’ after points deduction – Sean Dyche Dwight McNeil fires Everton to morale-boosting win at Nottingham Forest Paul Heckingbottom stands by his work as Sheffield United lose again

Manchester United are facing elimination from the Champions League in the group stage after squandering a two-goal lead to draw 3-3 with Galatasaray in Istanbul on Wednesday, while Arsenal and PSV...

Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Lionel Messi is back in contention for the prestigious award a year being omitted from the nomination list which this time doesn’t include longtime rival Cristiano Ronaldo

Wales midfielder Jordan James is targeting Euro 2024 qualification after enjoying the “best night of my life” against stellar Croatia trio Luka Modric, Mateo Kovacic and Marcelo Brozovic. Croatia have often carried the tag of having the best midfield in world football, but they had few answers in Cardiff last month as Wales beat them 2-1 to keep hopes of playing at Euro 2024 alive. James, the 19-year-old Birmingham midfielder, had a huge part to play in that victory alongside Ethan Ampadu, and Wales now meet Armenia and Turkey this week with automatic qualification in their own hands. “It was probably the best night of my life, as a collective and for me personally,” James said. “Seeing my family in the crowd and how proud they were, it was a massive win for the country. Hopefully we can do the same in the next two games. “I don’t think it gets much better than that, but we’ve still got a job to do. “On paper, that was the toughest game in the group, but we’re not going to take the next two games lightly. “We know what it means to the country to get to these big tournaments, so that’s our focus and hopefully we can do that. It was probably the best night of my life, as a collective and for me personally Jordan James “Coming into this camp now, we’ll look back on that Croatia game and take confidence into the next two.” Hereford-born James was capped by England at Under-20 level but qualifies for Wales through his father Tony, who played for his hometown club Newport. James only made his debut in March – coming on as a substitute in the 1-1 draw away to Croatia in Split – but has started the last two qualifiers, both of which Wales won. He has now won six caps – an incredible 164 fewer than Real Madrid star Modric – and quickly struck up an effective partnership with Leeds midfielder Ampadu. “It’s been great. As soon as I played with him the first time, we just clicked,” James said. “We just work off each other, I think you saw that against Croatia. When we didn’t have possession, we were solid, we did our job and that’s the main thing. “Ethan is a brilliant player and it’s very easy to play with him. I see him as a leader and I study how he plays because he’s somewhere I want to get to. I could see him being captain one day. “I’ve had massive trust from the gaffer (Rob Page) at such a young age. Playing for your country, there is a risk but he took it and I’m just trying to repay him for what he’s done for me.” Wales will secure a top-two place in Group D by taking maximum points from Armenia in Yerevan on Saturday and already-qualified Turkey at the Cardiff City Stadium three days later. Dropped points will leave Wales relying on favourable results elsewhere if they are to avoid the play-offs in March where the likes of Norway, Poland and Ukraine could be lurking. Armenia, ranked 95th in the world and 67 places below Wales, stunned Page’s side with a 4-2 Cardiff victory in June. James said: “There is a bit of revenge there because you don’t like losing. “We’re athletes, we want to compete, and we don’t like losing against any team. “It’s not nice and we want to get one back on them. But we know we’ve got a job to do. “We want to get it done and then focus on Turkey.” Read More Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa ‘knew time would come’ for England call-up Rohit Sharma urges India to retain same mindset for World Cup semi-final Sol Campbell ‘happy in different space’ as he turns back on football management LaLiga president says Jude Bellingham ‘like he’s from a different planet’ Rory McIlroy aware ‘loose lips sink ships’ as progress made towards golf future ‘Drained and stressed’ Ronnie O’Sullivan withdraws from Champion of Champions

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Former England international Jesse Lingard will leave Nottingham Forest at the end of his contract. Lingard raised eyebrows when he joined Forest last season following their promotion to the Premier League, turning down West Ham to sign a lucrative one-year deal. But his time at the City Ground did not work out and he made just 20 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals in the Carabao Cup. He featured just four times in 2023, but was a constant presence on the touchline as Forest beat the odds to retain their Premier League status. The 30-year-old will now look for a third club in three years, with reports linking him to a number of cash-rich leagues abroad. Andre Ayew, who signed a short-term contract in January, will also depart the City Ground this summer, along with Jack Colback, Cafu, Lyle Taylor and Jordan Smith. Right-back Serge Aurier, who was a key performer in Forest’s survival mission, has triggered the one-year option in his contract so will stay for the 2023/24 campaign. Loanees Dean Henderson, Keylor Navas and Renan Lodi come to the end of their deals, though Forest are understood to be interested in exploring permanent moves for Manchester United goalkeeper Henderson and Brazilian Lodi. Forest are not expected to have a repeat of last summer’s recruitment drive, which saw them sign 22 players by the end of the transfer window and go up to 30 by the end of January. But it is still likely to be busy as boss Steve Cooper targets a smaller number of quality additions and will be keen to move several players on as he trims a bloated squad. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Ranking the top five players from MLS' 2023 22 under 22 list.

The Texas Rangers squeaked out a 2-1 series opening win in Seattle on Monday against the Mariners, can they make it two straight?Texas has had to deal with injuries to start the year, but the team has still jumped out to a 21-13 start in 2023. The team will face division foe Mariners, who haven&...

The Vikings gave Adrian Peterson's old number out for the first time since he left the team in 2016 and fans are not happy about who got it.Adrian Peterson is the best running back in Vikings history. He's also far and away the best No. 28 to wear Minnesota purple.No member of the ...