Raphael Varane s hopes of playing at Euro 2016 are over after France coach Didier Deschamps opted to replace the injured defender with Adil Rami.

Sevilla centre-back Rami was called up on Monday as cover for Real Madrid man Varane, who suffered a thigh tear over the weekend.

However, Deschamps has now opted to cut his losses on Varane, who also looks certain to miss his club s Champions League final against Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

. forfait. dans la liste des 23 pour .

— Equipe de France (@equipedefrance)

Rami, who has not played for France since June 2013 and was not even included among France s eight standby players after Deschamps named his initial 23-man squad, is the beneficiary of Varane s misfortune.

The 30-year-old was …

Algeria coach Djamel Belmadi wants his side to learn lessons from their frustrating opening draw against Angola when they face Burkina Faso at the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday.

The 2019 champions allowed Angola to score a second-half equaliser during a 1-1 draw on Monday in a disappointing start to the tournament, which means they are now without a win in their last four AFCON fixtures – having not win since lifting the trophy with victory over Senegal.

“It was not the result we expected,” Belmadi said. “We were expecting to have three points. We tried our best and didn’t want to lose the game so we did what we can do to get a point which was necessary.

“We were supposed to do better in the second half, but we can also talk about the moments we d…

Market: Wales win

Odds: 

Knowing that three points will be enough to secure an automatic route to next year s European Championships, Wales will welcome Hungary to Cardiff on Tuesday night.

Starting with the hosts, putting in arguably their most eye-catching performance and landing a 2-0 win out in Azerbaijan over the weekend, Wales appear to have saved their best for the back end of qualifying. Also battling from behind to snatch a point off of World Cup finalists Croatia last month, Ryan Giggs men are unbeaten in their last five matches across all formats and the former Manchester United icon will know that victory on Tuesday will see them punch a ticket to EURO 2020. Holding the best defensive record in Group E and the mood in their camp continuing to soar, …

Samuel Edozie netted for the second time in a week as Southampton dispatched Blackburn 4-0 to extend their unbeaten run to 14 matches.

Winger Edozie poked in a corner before Stuart Armstrong’s third goal of the season, Sekou Mara’s tap-in and Carlos Alcaraz’s finish punished Rovers, who had Callum Brittain sent off after two yellow cards.

Alcaraz also missed a penalty for the hosts but they secured a fifth straight home win for the first time since 2014 and continued their best streak for 39 years.

Southampton boasted 73 per cent of possession in a first half in which Blackburn sat back and tried not to concede. But Saints had little to show for their domination until the 44th-minute goal.

Stuart Armstrong showed nifty footwork before whipping a sho…

With the Premier League once again stealing centre stage on Saturday afternoon, Manchester City and Arsenal will be looking to build on their respective bright starts.

With seven Premier League showdowns on the cards this weekend, we also have plenty of intriguing betting markets that are available.

So, for those of you looking to stick on a Saturday acca, we have found some of the most lucrative Premier League betting tips.

Saturday, August 23rd
BST 15:00 Manchester City vs Ipswich Town

While Manchester City might have relinquished their maiden Champions League crown last season, Pep Guardiola’s men shattered more domestic records. Becoming the first club in English history to successfully lift four consecutive Premier League titles, the former Bar…

Vincent Kompany challenges his players to ‘remain in the club’s history’ as they continue their fight for Premier League safety.

The Clarets are welcoming Newcastle United to Turf Moor on Saturday following an impressive run of form that has seen them lose just one of their last eight matches.

Burnley remain two points from safety with three games remaining, though that could change if Luton Town beat Everton on Friday.

Kompany was full of praise for the work his team has done to keep them within reach of the teams above them, highlighting the opportunity the next three games pose.

It’s so rare in life that you get opportunities to have a significant moment like this, but these guys will have the opportunity in the next three games, Kompany said.…

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp believes it is unlikely Virgil van Dijk or Joe Gomez will feature at Euro 2020 this year.

Netherlands star van Dijk has been sidelined since October after suffering a serious knee injury, while England defender Gomez has been out since November due to a knee injury.

The European Championship was pushed back to this year due to the coronavirus pandemic and is set to begin on June 11.

Klopp said he did not expect van Dijk or Gomez to be ready for the tournament after their serious injuries.

That s not my decision, but to be honest, the information I have in the moment [is] it will be unlikely, he said.

So, not that I don t let them go because I don t want to have to do that anyway, but it s because of the extent of t…

Erling Haaland led Manchester City to the Premier League title with a record 36 goals.

The Norwegian beat the record of 34, set in the league’s early 42-game seasons by Andy Cole and Alan Shearer, and smashed Mohamed Salah’s 38-game record of 32.

With up to three league games remaining for Haaland, the PA news agency looks at his record in his debut season in England.

Hot-shot Haaland

From the moment Haaland announced himself with a brace against West Ham on his Premier League debut, he has proved a relentless threat to opposing defences.

He scored a record nine in his first five games, with hat-tricks against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, and equalled Micky Quinn’s six-game record to reach double figures.

Further trebles against Ma…

Verdict: Argentina (-1.5) AH

Best odds:

Bookmaker: 

Following a perfect start to their Copa America bid, World Champion Argentina will face Ecuador in the quarter-finals. The match will be played at NRG Stadium in Houston, representing a great opportunity for La Albiceleste to move closer to their 16th title.

Argentina

Argentina started Copa America on the front foot by defeating Canada in their opening round following a second-half top performance. Although Messi Co needed time to adjust their target after missing many chances in the first half, Argentina s half-time team talk yielded results in the second part.

Although Julian Alvarez opened the score for Argentina following a brilliant pass from Liverpool ace Alexic Mac Allister, the Messi-…

Borussia Dortmund chief executive Hans-Joachim Watzke believes his club s stars should be used regularly at Euro 2012.

Dortmund broke the points record in the Bundesliga in the 2011-12 season en route to their second successive title, while they also won the DFB-Pokal final thanks to a 5-2 success against Bayern Munich.

Mats Hummels, Sven Bender, Marcel Schmelzer, Mario Goetze and Ilkay Guendogan have all been picked by manager Joachim Loew in Germany s provisional squad for Euro 2012 and Watzke wants his players to be recognised with regular selection during the tournament.

I think it is completely impossible that no Dortmund player should stand in the starting line-up at the European Championship. For me, this is not an issue, Watzke told Bild.

If yo…