Co-host Poland s preparations for the 2012 European championships are on track, the president of the continent s football governing body UEFA, Michel Platini, said Thursday.

Today, things are going well, Platini told reporters after meeting in Warsaw with Poland s sports minister and the national football federation and heaping praise on both.

A good job is being done, he added.

In 2007, UEFA sparked surprise by choosing Poland and its neighbour Ukraine to hold Euro 2012 ahead of much-fancied Italy.

Platini travelled to Poland after visiting Ukraine earlier this week. There, he had reaffirmed that the championships would go ahead as scheduled.

The good news we had was that things were on track and we were given more confidence from this visit,…

Anthony Martial is under contract with Manchester United until the end of the season, with the club having the option to extend it by further 12 months. However, according to David Ornstein of , the 20-time English champions have no intention of triggering the option. As a result, the French striker is likely to leave as a free agent in the summer, unless a suitable offer for his services arrives in January.

Martial joined United from Monaco back in 2015, at the age of 20, as a highly talented young attacker. However, injuries, form variations and relatively frequent managerial changes at Old Trafford did very little to help his development, and eight years later, he s found himself surplus to requirements under Erik ten Hag, having already spent six months last year on loan at…

The only Champions League group with qualifying places still to play for on Tuesday is Group D, with all four teams in with a reasonable chance of progression.

Marseille host leaders Tottenham while Sporting CP take on Eintracht Frankfurt, with each team knowing a win will see them through and defeat will mean third our fourth spot.

It has been a sensational start to the season for Napoli, and they can complete a perfect Champions League group stage on Tuesday.

Luciano Spalletti s men travel to Liverpool looking for a sixth win in six Group A games, and will top the group as long as they avoid defeat by four or more at Anfield.

As the Champions League group stage prepares to draw to a close, Stats Perform takes a look at the Opta numbers behind these and …

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In the Europa League quarterfinals, Roma are set to host AC Milan at Stadio Olimpico on Thursday evening, with a narrow lead from last week s first leg.

Despite Milan winning both Serie A encounters this season, Roma s 1-0 victory in the first leg has put them in a favorable position, bringing them a step closer to facing either West Ham or new German champions Bayer Leverkusen in the semifinals.

AS Roma

Roma s quest for European success has been evident in recent years, particularly with their appearance in two UEFA finals in consecutive seasons. Following their victory in the inaugural Europa Conference League in 2022 and a close defeat to Sevilla in the UEFA Europa League the following year, the Giallorossi demonstrated a no…

Craig Bellamy praised his players for overcoming some of the toughest conditions he has witnessed to earn him his first win as Wales head coach against Montenegro in the Nations League.

Kieffer Moore opened the scoring after just 36 seconds at the Stadion Kraj Bistrice, with Wales netting inside a minute for the first time since Robert Earnshaw in 2004.

But the Dragons doubled their advantage with two minutes and 27 seconds on the clock, this time Harry Wilson found the back of the net with a fine finish from distance.

It was the first time Wales had scored twice within the opening three minutes of a game since April 1961 against Northern Ireland to give Bellamy a dream start.

However, the conditions in Montenegro were far from ideal, with the rain-soak…

Belgium played at a major tournament without Thibaut Courtois for the first time since 2002 when they kicked off their Euro 2024 campaign against Slovakia.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Courtois was a big-name omission from Domenico Tedesco s squad.

Courtois endured an injury-hit campaign with Madrid, but returned to fitness in time to help Los Blancos win the Champions League final at Wembley on June 1.

However, that was not enough to see him make the Red Devils squad, and it meant that when Belgium got their Group E campaign under way in Frankfurt on Monday, they played without Courtois at a major tournament for the first time since 2002.

Courtois played in every game of Belgium s campaigns at the 2014, 2018 and 2022 World Cups, while also featuring in each of…

Karim Benzema has received a sensational recall to the France squad for Euro 2020, over five years since he last represented his country.

The Real Madrid striker scored twice in a 4-0 win over Armenia in October 2015, taking his tally to 27 international goals. 

Benzema then became embroiled in a blackmail scandal involving Les Bleus team-mate Mathieu Valbuena in the weeks after that game and has been subsequently overlooked by national team boss Didier Deschamps, despite his outstanding form at club level.

However, the 33-year-old who has scored 29 goals in all competitions for Madrid this season  is undoubtedly the eye-catching name in France s 26-man party for the upcoming tournament, adding further depth up front for the reigning world champions.

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Ange Postecoglou has promised “a team to get excited by” as he strives for success after being appointed as Tottenham head coach.

The Australian takes up the post having guided Celtic to the domestic treble north of the border, signing a four-year contract at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Postecoglou, 57, takes the reins after Antonio Conte’s dismissal in March and interim runs for both Cristian Stellini and Ryan Mason.

Spurs finished eighth at the end of a dismal season, their worst Premier League position since 2008, and Postecoglou is ready to get started on turning those fortunes around.

A message from our new Head Coach

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial)

“It’s great to finally get started as manager of this great foot…

While the New York Red Bulls have accomplished their mission of reaching the playoffs, head coach Sandro Schwarz has laid down the law to his players ahead of their trip to Toronto FC.

The Red Bulls suffered a humiliating 5-1 home defeat against cross-city rivals New York City last time out, going 2-0 down within just six minutes and 55 seconds of kick-off.

They did, however, clinch a playoff place due to other results going their way, boasting a seven-point cushion over eighth-placed Toronto, who only have two games remaining.

It was different emotions last weekend, Schwarz said. We were very disappointed about the game, and on the other side we were satisfied with qualifying for the playoffs.

When we see the big picture, this was good, but it s more a…

Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is fully aware of the Azzurri threat at Euro 2012, despite the lingering effects of the Scommessopoli scandal on his compatriots.

It would be a great mistake if you think Italy is this [finished], because we don t know how they have done in their training camp, Trapattoni told RTE.

Be sure when we meet Italy, they will be another team. We can see what the group did, but don t think this is the violin.

Last week, Lazio captain Stefano Mauri was arrested by Italian authorities following his link to an international match-fixing scandal.

In addition, Zenit St. Petersburg left-back Domenico Criscito was left out of Italy s Euro 2012 squad as a result of the Scommessopoli scandal investigation.

To m…