Sports

Vahid Halilhodzic feels he has been left out in the rain watching Morocco progress to the quarter-finals of the World Cup.

Halilhodzic secured Morocco s qualification for the finals in Qatar with a 5-2 aggregate win over DR Congo in the third round of CAF qualifying in March.

However, Halilhodzic was sacked in August, marking his third dismissal from a national team post before a World Cup having led a team to qualification.

The Bosnian suffered the same fate with Ivory Coast in 2010 and Japan in 2018, though he did lead Algeria to the last 16 in 2014.

Morocco have enjoyed a stunning World Cup without him, reaching the last eight for the first time by beating Spain on penalties on Tuesday.

Asked about the Morocco team by So Foot, Halilhodzic said:…

Emma Hayes said she sees so much of herself in legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson.

Hayes, who left her role at Chelsea at the end of last season, took charge of the United States women s national team in May, with her first test being the Paris Olympics.

She guided the USWNT to their fifth gold medal in the French capital, defeating Brazil 1-0 in the final thanks to Mallory Swanson s 57th minute goal.

After the triumph, Hayes revealed that Ferguson was the first person to congratulate her on the win, going on to say she sees similarities between herself and the Scot.

“I see so much of myself in him. His was the first text I received when we won gold, Hayes said in an interview with The Telegraph.

Hayes spent the early part o…

Newcastle United are interested in signing Jonathan David in the summer transfer window, according to . David is out of contract at Lille at the end of the season, and Premier League club Newcastle are keen on securing the services of the 24-year-old Canada international forward on a free transfer.

David has been on the books of Lille since 2020 and has established himself as one of the better forwards in Ligue 1. The Canada international has scored one goal in three appearances in Ligue 1 so far this season. David scored 19 goals and provided four assists in 30 Ligue 1 starts last season and scored 24 goals and gave four assists in 36 league starts in 2022-23.

Lille finished fourth in the Ligue 1 table last season and are sixth in the league standings at the moment wit…

Gary Lineker admits he is concerned for Tottenham this season regardless of whether or not Harry Kane makes the “fantastic” move to Bayern Munich.

Kane – Tottenham and England’s all-time record goalscorer – has been heavily linked with a move to the Bundesliga champions this summer and Bayern have already had two bids knocked back in their efforts to land the striker.

Reports on Friday claimed the Bavarians had made a third – and final – bid for the striker of more than 100 million euros (£86million), also setting Spurs a midnight deadline to accept or reject the offer.

The 30-year-old is out of contract at the end of the upcoming campaign and is reportedly keen on a move to Germany.

Spurs finished eighth last season – their lowest placin…

Alex Morgan is a global superstar and it would be very silly if she was left out of the United States Women s World Cup squad, according to former team-mate Carly Telford.

The Stars and Stripes head to Australia and New Zealand in July aiming to land a third successive world title, having triumphed in 2015 and 2019, with 33-year-old Morgan hoping to feature at her fourth finals.

The San Diego Wave forward, who was also part of the side that were beaten by Japan in the 2011 final, will be desperate to be included in Vlatko Andonovski s squad, and add to her impressive tally of 121 goals in 206 caps.

Former England goalkeeper Telford, who was part of the Lionesses squads that reached consecutive semi-finals in 2015 and 2019, knows Morgan well, having played alongsi…

Sonia Bompastor has said she is looking forward to building on the foundations laid by Emma Hayes at Chelsea to continue her legacy.

Bompastor, who was announced as Chelsea Women s new head coach in May, arrives from Lyon after three years with the French side.

During her time with Les Fenottes, she won seven titles, including the Women s Champions League in the 2021-22 season.

Bompastor won 100 of her 118 games in charge (D10 L8), with her side scoring 381 goals in that time while averaging a win percentage of 84.75%.

The 44-year-old replaces Hayes who spent 12 years in charge at Stamford Bridge, winning 16 titles and triumphing in 261 of her 367 games at the helm (D42 L64).

Hayes is on the cusp of another major honour in her first tournamen…

Duncan Ferguson never stopped to consider the significance of his return to Scottish football when he seized the chance to take over as Inverness manager.

The former Dundee United and Rangers striker is back in his homeland 29 years after leaving Ibrox for Everton.

The 51-year-old had a swift return to Glasgow in 1995, a year after his move to Merseyside, when he spent 44 days in Barlinnie Prison following a failed appeal against his conviction for assault against John McStay during a game against Raith Rovers at Ibrox.

He never played in Scotland again as he ended his international career in 1997 amid lingering resentment over the Scottish Football Association’s attempts to impose a 12-match suspension – both before his initial court case and after his jail …

Bayern Munich are reportedly interested in signing Jonathan Tah from Bayer Leverkusen this summer, but according to Leverkusen sporting director Simon Rolfes, the newly crowned Bundesliga champions are keen to keep hold of the 28-year-old defender.

At the moment, Tah is under contract with Leverkusen until the summer of 2025, and Bayern apparently wish to take advantage of the situation to strengthen the defensive section of their squad as they aim to reclaim the title from his current club in 2024/25. But Bild has quoted Rolfes in saying, We want to keep Jonathan Tah and extend him beyond 2025. We’ll talk about that after the end of the season, Tah thinks the same way too.

Tah has been at Leverkusen since 2015 and has made a total of 346 appearances for the club, sc…

Sunny Singh Gill will become the first British South Asian to referee a Premier League match this weekend.

Singh Gill has been appointed to take charge of Crystal Palace against Luton on Saturday, Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced.

He took charge of his first Sunday League match aged only 17, and in April 2021 both he and his brother Bhupinder became the first pair of British South Asians to officiate in the same Championship match.

His father, Jarnail Singh, was the first EFL referee to wear a turban when he took charge of Bristol Rovers v Bury in August 2004. Singh senior went on to referee almost 200 EFL matches up to 2010.

In an interview published on the Premier League’s website last month, Sunny Singh Gill said: “Yo…

While Iceland and Italy made the headlines on the pitch, there was the usual light-hearted stories to be seen off it.

Here s our off-beat look at what might not make the headlines

WILL GRIGG S ON FIRE, AND HE S BACK IN BELFAST

Few footballers have cast a spell over a tournament quite like Will Grigg.

His name has been belted out at virtually every game at Euro 2016 and thousands have danced to the now famous Will Grigg s on fire song that has become the unofficial soundtrack of the tournament.

Northern Ireland s adventure in France ended on Saturday with the 1-0 defeat to Wales but there was still one last chance for Grigg to take centre stage when the team returned to heroes welcomes in Belfast.

Not bad for a man who didn t …