With the elimination of Spain at the 2009 Confederations Cup, Brazil are the new favorites to take home the trophy. To do so, Dunga s men do have to find their way past hosts South Africa in Thursday s semi final.

The Brazilians struggled in their opening match against Egypt but everything has been smooth sailing since, with 3-0 wins over the United States and Italy. The Seleçao were second-favorite to win this tournament but the gap with Spain steadily decreased as the Confederations Cup advanced.

South Africa deserved their spot in the semi finals but weren t anywhere near as convincing as Brazil. The hosts first drew with Iraq, beat New Zealand to then lose to Spain. The four points collected in these three games were enough to advance.

Brazil are with…

Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell said Friday that the Scottish Premier League giants were financially healthy and could afford further signings this summer.

Financial data released on Friday has shown that the bank debt for the Parkhead club was reduced to 1.51 million pounds (2.4 million dollars), from 3.52 million pounds (5.9 million dollars) in 2009.

Although profit was two million pounds, down from 4.44 million pounds last year, Lawwell said that money is available for coach Tony Mowbray to further strengthen his squad in a bid to wrest the title back from rivals Rangers.

Celtic have recruited Landry N Guemo, Marc-Antoine Fortune, Danny Fox and Josh Thompson, while goalkeeper Lukasz Zaluska arrived from Dundee United in the summer.

Our figures a…

Manchester United striker James Wilson has had his season-long loan deal at Championship club Derby County cut short by a serious knee injury.

Wilson who spent last term on loan at Brighton was brought to Derby by former manager Nigel Pearson in the last transfer window, but failed to find the net in four appearances.

And the 20-year-old has now had to return to United for assessment after picking up the significant injury during training on Monday.

Wilson has scored three goals in 15 league appearances for United, having made his first-team debut in 2014.

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Cristiano Ronaldo is accustomed to setting standards of excellence rather than meeting them, having torn up club records and won an array of team and individual honours during nine years at Real Madrid.

With his power showing few signs of waning at the age of 33, the Portuguese star arrives at Juventus carrying expectations no other forward of his age would shoulder, in an arena where greatness is par for the course.

Across 121 years of history, some of world football s finest players have passed through Turin and worn the black and white shirt with such poise and grace that even the five-time Ballon d Or winner may find himself daunted by the prospect of attempting to emulate the club s most revered names.

Giampiero Boniperti

A Juventus great on and off…

Bayern Munich have agreed a short-term loan deal to bring Granada forward Bryan Zaragoza to the Bundesliga ahead of schedule.

The German champions announced in December the 22-year-old would be joining them on a five-year contract from the summer of 2024.

Injuries to key players, however, have prompted Bayern to move into the transfer market and they have secured the services of Zaragoza early on loan until the end of the season.

Bryan Zaragoza has moved from Granada CF to FC Bayern with immediate effect – initially on loan until the end of the season

— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN)

Zaragoza will join up with Thomas Tuchel’s squad immediately.

Bayern sporting director Christoph Freund told the club’s website: “In football you…

Cash-strapped Portsmouth have confirmed they have asked the English Premier League (EPL) for permission to sell players outside the transfer window.

But if their plan is to become a reality they will need permission from both the English Football Association and world football governing body FIFA.

A Portsmouth spokesman said Thursday: I can confirm we have put in a request to the Premier League to sell players outside the transfer window. It is something we are exploring.

Among the players the south coast club may be tempted to sell are Algeria s Nadi Belhadj and midfielder Kevin Prince-Boateng.

However, whether Belhadj, a first team regular at Fratton Park, would want to move somewhere where he might struggle to break into the team at this stage of the…

Wayne Rooney believes Manchester City paid the price for having too many midfielders unwilling to track back and defend in Sunday s Manchester derby.

Manchester United won their first derby since 2012 after running out convincing 4-2 victors at Old Trafford.

Yaya Toure was heavily criticised post-game, while fellow City midfielders Fernandinho, James Milner, David Silva and Jesus Nevas failed to contain their United counterparts in the centre of the park.

And Rooney said manager Louis van Gaal and United s coaching staff identified City s weakness in midfield.

We know some City players are not the best at tracking back and defending and tracking runners and we felt we could make them pay for that and we did, Rooney said.

We have got players who …

Returning striker Obafemi Martins has challenged Nigeria to prove their quality against Swaziland this week as they begin their World Cup qualification campaign in Lobamba.

The Seattle Sounders man is set to make his first appearance for the Super Eagles since March 2013 on Friday after being recalled to the national side following a 15-goal season in Major League Soccer.

Alongside 31-year-old Martins, Manchester City s 19-year-old forward Kelechi Iheanacho could debut for Sunday Oliseh s men this week as they begin their bid to reach a third consecutive World Cup finals.

Swaziland booked their place in the second qualification round with an 8-1 aggregate win over Dijibouti but Martins was bullish in his assessment of Friday s clash, which will be played on the a…

Dejan Lovren believes Liverpool can still get better as he talked up the balance of the Premier League leaders squad.

Jurgen Klopp s men were 25 points clear at the top when the Premier League season was suspended last month due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Coming off last season s Champions League success, Liverpool are on t
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rack to add another trophy to their collection.

Lovren, 30, still believes Klopp s side can improve, praising the make-up of the squad.

It s important to have a mix between really young players, the middle [age] players and the experienced players. I think we have it, this is the great balance, the Croatian defender told the club s website.

We are used to playing big finals and the big games and we know how to ma…

The international break might bring respite from the packed club calendar, but with Qatar 2022 now just 20 months away, top players have little chance for rest.

Still, the start of the European World Cup qualifiers brings an opportunity for the new names on the international scene to impress, particularly with more established stars unlikely to be involved in every minute of matches over these two weeks.

Several of the continent s top teams have offered first-time call-ups to those enjoying fine form and, while some were anticipated, others have left even the players themselves surprised.

We have picked through a selection of the new faces to look out for, with a sprinkling of Opta data to highlight why they deserve a chance to impress for their country.

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