Liverpool s two Club World Cup matches have been moved from Al Rayyan to Doha after FIFA was forced to switch the venue for the final.
The new Education City Stadium was scheduled to host the European champions in a semi-final on December 18, in addition to the final and third-place play-off on December 21.
But the official opening of the 40,000-seat venue has been delayed until 2020 after FIFA failed to complete the relevant test events on time.
The matches have been moved to the Khalifa International Stadium, which will now host five games in total.
Construction at Education City Stadium is complete and the venue is now operational, read a FIFA statement.
However, the necessary certification process took longer than expected and therefore the…
Atletico Madrid received a timely fitness boost as Tiago was given the green light to return to action after more than five months on the sidelines with a fractured tibia.
The Portugal midfielder underwent surgery in November after sustaining the injury in a 1-0 win over Espanyol.
However, Tiago has made promising progress in his recovery and is available for head coach Diego Simeone ahead of a crucial run-in.
An Atletico statement read: The Portuguese midfielder Tiago Mendes has been medically discharged after more than five months away from the playing fields.
Our number five suffered a displaced fracture in his right tibia on November 28 during the league encounter between our team and Espanyol at the Vicente Calderon.
After a lot of hard w…
Marseille caretaker coach Franck Passi expects Michy Batshuayi to leave the Ligue 1 side at the end of the season amid interest from Arsenal, Liverpool, Tottenham and West Ham.
The Belgium international joined OM from Standard Liege in August 2014 and has since become the club s undisputed number nine.
Batshuayi sits fourth in the Ligue 1 goalscoring charts heading into the final matchday with 17 goals in 36 appearances and his good performances have not gone unnoticed.
Several Premier League sides are keeping a close eye on the 22-year-old s situation and Marseille seem ready to cash in on their star attacker.
The entire world knows Batshuayi will leave Marseille, Passi said at a news conference.
That s part of Marseille s current predicament. …
Northern Ireland had a stoppage-time equaliser ruled out by VAR as a battling display went unrewarded in a 1-0 Euro 2024 qualifying loss to Denmark.
Jonas Wind’s goal early in the second half made the difference in Copenhagen as debutant Callum Marshall saw a dream goal ruled out for offside after a review which took almost five minutes.
The West Ham youngster flicked the ball in after Jonny Evans headed on a free-kick, but there was despair when referee Daniel Stefanski eventually signalled for offside after his colleague Tomasz Kwiatkowski took an age to review the footage.
Michael O’Neill’s men defended doggedly away to the top seeds in Group H, but a mistake just two minutes after the break proved decisive as Denmark bounced back from March’s shock de…
Prediction: Austria to win 1-0
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Austria and Sweden will lock horns with each other in UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group F this week. The match between Ralf Rangnick’s side and Janne Andersson’s team will be held at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Tuesday.
Austria
Austria are a modest team in European football and are not expected to do much of note. However, they have some wonderful players, such as David Alaba of Real Madrid, and the fans will hope to at least see the team quality for the European Championship finals in Germany in 2024.
And things are going extremely well for Austria. Ralf Rangnick’s side are at the top of UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group F at the m…
Gianluigi Buffon s less-than impressive showing in Juventus Champions League draw with Tottenham on Tuesday is evidence the Italy legend should retire, according to Mario Basler.
After Juve raced into a 2-0 lead inside 10 minutes in Turin, Buffon made a point-blank save to deny Harry Kane.
However, he could do nothing to stop Spurs fightback as first Kane and then Christian Eriksen beat the 40-year-old to earn a 2-2 draw for the visitors.
An onrushing Buffon was beaten by Kane for Tottenham s first goal after 35 minutes, and he was caught by surprise as Eriksen fired home a late free-kick.
Buffon has previously said the 2017-18 season would be his last, but his future has been subject to huge speculation, with many calling for him to carry on.
Ju…
Louis van Gaal says speculation he is set to take over at Chelsea is fake news .
After Van Gaal was spotted in London he took in Sunday s EFL Cup final at Wembley it was reported the former Manchester United manager is being lined up by the Stamford Bridge club as a replacement for under pressure Antonio Conte.
Arsenal have also been credited with an interest in Van Gaal, who has been out of work since leaving United after winning the FA Cup in May 2016.
But Van Gaal, who lists Barcelona and Bayern Munich among his previous employers, suggested the reports are false.
They saw me at the airport I suppose and that’s how the fake news was born, Van Gaal told Dutch outlet Ziggo.
I m used to people who want to take a picture with me and you …
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has resigned following the host nation s FIFA World Cup failure.
Scolari, whose contract was coming to an end, stepped down after Brazil were thrashed 7-1 by Germany in the semi-finals and suffered a 3-0 loss to Netherlands in the third-place play-off in front of their home fans.
Brazil were considered pre-tournament favourites to claim a sixth world crown but came up short, denying Scolari the opportunity to add to the title he won in 2002.
And it was announced on Monday that the 65-year-old had called time on his tenure.
“Coach Luiz Felipe Scolari and his fellow coaching staff surrendered their positions to the board of the Brazilian Football Confederation, a statement said.
The resignation was accepted by pre…
Reading and QPR s relegation from the Premier League has been confirmed by the sides 0-0 draw on Sunday.
Both teams required a win at the Madejski Stadium to prolong their stay in the English top flight and consign their opponents to the Championship.
However, a stalemate has sealed the pair s fate, ensuring that they will play in the second tier when the 2013-14 campaign kicks off.
QPR and Reading have earned just 25 points from their 35 fixtures thus far, and will battle to avoid finishing rock bottom over the remaining three games.
Reading s relegation comes just one season after they were promoted to the Premier League as champions under the stewardship of Brian McDermott.
The Englishman was replaced by Nigel Adkins in March, despite having just earned the Manager of…
Best Odds: 3/2
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Desperate to try and find some stability as we inch closer to the Christmas break, Lazio will welcome Napoli to the Stadio Olimpico on Sunday night.
Lazio
Starting with the hosts, while Lazio might have really impressed many across Serie A as they managed to secure a Champions League return last season, the Eagles have struggled to match that level this time around. Last seen earlier in the week when having to settle for a 1-1 draw away at top-flight returners Benevento, I Biancocelesti find themselves sat way down in ninth and are a side who are desperately seeking a bounce. Although Head Coach Simone Inzaghi might have seen his squad manage to secure their spot in the knockout stage of this year s Champions League, the Light Blues ha…