Watzke wants more respect from Bayern

England goalkeeper Joe Hart is looking for a positive start to Euro 2012 against France on Monday.

The Three Lions come into the tournament with low expectations, with a late change of manager and several key injuries hurting their chances.

And they face many observers outside bet for the tournament in Laurent Blanc s side, but Hart believes Les Bleus can be beaten.

(The game is) really important. We need to play well, we re up against a very strong French side who have got some really talented players, but I think they could say the same thing about us, Hart told Absolute Radio.

We both need to start well and hopefully we ll play the better on the night.”

The 25-year-old also insisted he does not think about his last international tournament,…

Gerard Deulofeu will join Premier League side Watford on loan from Barcelona for the rest of the season, the LaLiga leaders have confirmed.

Spain winger Deulofeu re-joined Barca from Everton during the close-season when his boyhood club exercised a buyback option after the 23-year-old s impressive loan stint at AC Milan.

However, he has been restricted to five LaLiga starts, scoring in October s win over Malaga, and Philippe Coutinho s arrival from Liverpool this month was set to leave Deulofeu further down the pecking order in Ernesto Valverde s squad.

Watford will pay Deulofeu s salary in full during his time at Vicarage Road, with a potential additional payment of €1million to be made to Barcelona if certain stipulations are met.

Catalan newspaper S…

Luciano Spalletti questioned the character of Inter s players after they were held to a fifth successive draw in Serie A.

The Nerazzurri are now eight games without a league win following Saturday s 1-1 result against a Crotone team managed by Inter legend Walter Zenga.

Eder headed the home side in front after 23 minutes at San Siro but Crotone hit back after the break, Andrea Barberis capitalising on a lucky break to poke home an equaliser.

Spalletti acknowledged Inter are not hitting the same heights they were at the start of the season, but challenged his squad to work their way out of their current malaise as they bid for a top-four finish and Champions League qualification.

8 Inter Milan have equalled their longest winless streak in their Serie …

A superb performance from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang saw Borussia Dortmund win 3-0 at Freiburg to move off the foot of the Bundesliga table.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored two goals and set up another as Borussia Dortmund earned a vital 3-0 win over fellow strugglers Freiburg at the Mage Solar Stadion on Saturday to move off the foot of the Bundesliga table.

A dominant start from Dortmund was rewarded on nine minutes, Marco Reus tapping into an empty net after Aubameyang had rounded the goalkeeper, before the Gabon international slotted home himself just after half-time.

The ever-threatening Aubameyang popped up again 18 minutes from time to finish off a superb team move on a comfortable afternoon for the visitors.

Victory eases the pressure on coach�…

League leaders the Pohang Steelers will be aiming to extend their buffer atop the K.League table when they host Seoul on Wednesday.

Pohang had to settle for a point against fellow title rivals Jeju United on Saturday after playing out a goalless draw away from home.

But Pohang were not the only team that drew over the weekend, with four of the six fixtures ending all square.

With second-placed Jeonbuk Motors also winning accounting for lowly Busan I Park 2-0 Pohang s lead at the summit was reduced to two points after 13 rounds.

But Hwang Sun-Hong s men will have the chance to maintain their advantage and extend it against 2012 K.League champions Seoul at the Steelyard Stadium a preview of the pair s upcoming AFC Champions League quarter-final tie in Augus…

Prediction: Slovenia to win 2-1

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Slovenia and Northern Ireland will lock horns with each other in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group H this week. The match between Matjaž Kek’s side and Michael O’Neill’s team will be held at the Stožice Stadium in Ljubljana and is scheduled to kick off at 7:45pm UK time on Thursday.

Slovenia

Slovenia are one of the teams in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group H who are aiming to finish in the top two. With Finland, Kazakhstan, Denmark, Northern Ireland and San Marino the other teams in the group, Slovenia will fancy their chances of ending up at least runners-up in Group H.

Matjaž Kek’s side are doing well too. Slovenia are fourth in the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying Group H at the…

France midfielder Adrien Rabiot would not suggest whether he plans to remain at Juventus despite his contract only running until the end of the season.

The Bianconeri are still fighting in the Europa League and Coppa Italia, after a 15-point deduction derailed their league campaign.

Rabiot insisted he is focused on the remainder of Juve s season rather than being drawn on his personal position in a Tuttosport interview.

He said: My future? For the moment there is no news, but we will definitely talk soon, because in about two months the season will be over and we will try to discuss [it], but I m calm.

There is the possibility of leaving but also the possibility of signing a new contract with Juve.

I feel good in Turin, I do a good job at the cl…

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has insisted Theo Walcott still has a role to play up front, despite reverting to a wide position last season.

The England international had hoped for an opportunity to impress his club boss as a forward at the beginning of last term, but soon lost his place to Olivier Giroud.

However, Wenger has praised Walcott s qualities as a central attacker and suggested his days as a winger could be over.

I believe [Walcott] has all the ingredients to be a great striker, he told the media.

He has the quality of his runs, he s a very intelligent player, he s a good finisher. He s not a great defender so to use his runs in the final third for us could be very efficient.

On the flank today so much defensive work is asked of the …

Argentina defender Javier Mascherano has been left impressed by Venezuela s improvement under new coach Rafael Dudamel ahead of their quarter-final meeting at the Copa America Centenario. 

A 3-0 win over Bolivia on Tuesday confirmed Argentina as Group D winners, meaning they will face Group C runners-up Venezuela in the last eight of the tournament on Saturday. 

But Venezuela have been no easybeats at the special-edition centenary tournament, defeating 15-time champions Uruguay and Jamaica on their way to the quarters, while also playing out an admirable 1-1 draw with Mexico. 

Their improvement has been substantial under Dudamel, who took over in April after Venezuela lost five of their opening six 2018 World Cup qualifiers to be rooted to the bottom of the…

Italy will face San Marino for only the second time in their history on Sunday, as they warm up ahead of World Cup qualification resuming.

Cesare Prandelli has named a strong squad for the fixture, with his side preparing to face the Czech Republic before heading out to Brazil to participate in the Confederations Cup.
However, Giacomo Bonaventura of Atalanta and Cagliari pair Michael Agazzi and Marco Sau have also been included, and could make their international debuts in Bologna.
Italy will be keen to put an end to their recent poor run in friendly games, having not won outside of a competitive environment since November 2011.
But they will fancy their chances against FIFA s lowest-ranked team, with San Marino s record of one win in 117 matches placing them 207th in the world …