Netherlands players shrugged off criticism about their style of play from supporters after seeing off the United States 3-1 to reach the World Cup quarter-finals.

The Oranje have attracted flak from fans and media due to the brand of football and system used by Louis van Gaal, with their classic Total Football approach and 4-3-3 formation discarded.

Van Gaal prefers to deploy a back three and puts an emphasis on making the Netherlands difficult to break down, aiming to hit teams on the counter-attack.

His system was reasonably effective against the USA at the Khalifa International Stadium on Saturday, with the Netherlands soaking up pressure and catching Gregg Berhalter s men on the break.

The Netherlands were 2-0 up at half-time, and although they came u…

Bayern Munich s unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season came to a shuddering halt at Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend, but they will be looking to get back on track when Ingolstadt visit the Allianz Arena.

Second-half goals from Oscar Wendt, Lars Stindl and Fabian Johnson sent Bayern 3-0 down at Borussia Park on Saturday, before Franck Ribery came off the bench to score a late consolation.

Ribery s return salvaged a positive for coach Pep Guardiola, with the French winger having not featured since March thanks to a persistent ankle injury.

Ribery came through that cameo appearance unscathed and managed 45 minutes in Wednesday s 2-0 win at Dinamo Zagreb in the Champions League as he nears match fitness.

That win in Croatia which wrapped up a group ca…

Former England international goalkeeper Richard Wright has signed a new one year deal with Manchester City, .

The 35 year old joined City twelve months ago as a free agent, to provide back up for Joe Hart and Costel Pantilimon, though he did not make a single first team appearance.

His last competitive game came in a Championship match for Ipswich Town just over eighteen months ago, during his second spell with the Tractor Boys – the club where he began his career.

In 2001, Wright moved from Ipswich to Arsenal, where he won the Premier League in his one and only season before being transferred to Everton.

Spells at West Ham United and Southampton followed before his return to Portman Road in 2008.

He played twice for Sheffield United du…

Torino forward Fabio Quagliarella claims he was forced to leave Napoli due to anonymous letters sent to the club accusing him of cocaine use, paedophilia and links to the Camorra mafia.

The 32-year-old Italy international was sold to Juventus by his hometown club in 2010 and unveiled shocking details he believes prompted the move while testifying at the trial of Raffaele Piccolo, a police officer accused of stalking celebrities including Quagliarella.

After taking the stand, Quagliarella told Sport Mediaset: [Napoli president] Aurelio De Laurentiis sold me because he had received anonymous letters and phone messages accusing me of taking cocaine during house parties with Camorra Mafia members.

I was forced to leave my hometown and Napoli sold me to Juventus. I h…

Alexis Sanchez s departure from Barcelona does not mean he is a bad player, Dani Alves has stressed.

The Arsenal forward spent three seasons at Camp Nou between 2011 and 2014, scoring 38 goals in 88 La Liga games for the club before moving to England.

Alves feels the Chile international has proven he is a beast of a player but insisted that alone is no guarantee for success at Camp Nou.

The two players will do battle when Barcelona host Arsenal in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

Alexis didn t fail at Barcelona but it s hard to play here because you have to understand the playing idea, the defender, 32, told the Daily Mail of his former team-mate.

He s a great player and I always knew that he would be a success …

Real Madrid have announced Spain s Julen Lopetegui will succeed Zinedine Zidane as head coach after the World Cup.

Zidane surprisingly stepped down after presiding over a third successive Champions League triumph, citing his doubts about the team being able to continue such a remarkable run as the main reason for leaving.

Mauricio Pochettino of Tottenham quickly emerged as a favourite, though his recent contract renewal seemed to make such a move improbable.

Speculation soon went quiet about Madrid s search as attentions were turned towards the World Cup, but they have made something of a surprise announcement on Tuesday in confirming the appointment of Lopetegui upon the completion of Spain s campaign in Russia.

Official Announcement: Julen Lopetegui wil…

Portland Timbers have announced the signing of Congolese defender Larrys Mabiala from Kayserispor.

The MLS side were desperately short of quality options in the heart of defence and they have secured the 29-year-old’s signature using Targeted Allocation Money.

Pending the receipt of International Transfer Certificate, Mabiala will join his new club when the transfer window reopens in July.

This should prove a very good signing for Portland Timbers, considering that their new acquisition appears to be in the prime of his career.

Following spells with PSG and Nice, Mabiala moved to Turkey in January 2012, going on to make 162 Super Lig appearances, scoring 7 goals, during stints with Karabukspor and Kayserispor.

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Nemanja Matic said he has no problem with manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as the Manchester United midfielder struggles for game time at Old Trafford.

Matic has found himself out of United s starting XI this season, with the 31-year-old making his first appearance off the bench last week.

An unused substitute in the opening three Premier League matches, Serbia international Matic played the final 22 minutes in United s 1-1 draw at Southampton.

With Solskjaer preferring a central midfield duo of Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay, Matic s future has been thrown into doubt.

Speaking ahead of Serbia s Euro 2020 qualifier against Portugal on Saturday, Matic – who arrived from Chelsea in 2017 – told reporters: In the first two or three games he determined the tea…

Argentina s squad is the worst in history, according to 1978 World Cup winner Ossie Ardiles.

The defeated 2014 finalists opened their campaign with a draw against debutants Iceland that saw Lionel Messi miss a penalty before Thursday s 3-0 defeat to Croatia left Argentina at risk of a first group stage exit in 16 years.

Ardiles, in a lengthy social media rant, did not hold back in his criticism of the Argentine Football Association (AFA) and coach Jorge Sampaoli.

From world champion to being the worst national team in Argentine history. Where to start? From the top,  the former midfielder wrote on Twitter.

AFA from botch to botch, three coaches in a year and a president elected in the spur of the moment.

Players. Many, too many of them whos…

Real Madrid moved top of LaLiga for the first time since November as goals from Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos sealed a 2-1 win over Barcelona in El Clasico. 

Fresh from their Champions League quarter-final first-leg triumph over Liverpool, Zinedine Zidane s side started in blistering fashion on Saturday and were two up inside the opening 30 minutes thanks to a sublime Benzema flick and deflected Kroos free-kick. 

Oscar Mingueza set up a dramatic final half-hour with his second goal of the season and Casemiro was sent off in the 90th minute, but Madrid held on at a sodden Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium to seal a third consecutive win against Barca in all competitions for the first time since 1978.

The result means Los Blancos leapfrog Ronald Koeman s side and neighb…