Luke Shaw challenged Marcus Rashford to match his unplayable display against Wales throughout the rest of England s World Cup campaign.

Rashford scored England s opener and their final goal in a 3-0 win over their British rivals at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Tuesday.

The victory sent England into the last 16 as Group B winners, and they will now face Senegal for a place in the quarter-finals.

Rashford, one of four new faces introduced by Gareth Southgate for the game, curled in a wonderful free-kick to break the deadlock early in the second half, before he doubled his tally with a low shot after a mazy run, with Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward allowing the ball through his legs.

After becoming the first Manchester United player to score three goals at a World C…

Diego Simeone is hoping to emerge as a better coach following Atletico Madrid s poor run of form as he prepares to celebrate a decade in charge.

Atleti went down 2-1 to Sevilla on Saturday and have lost three LaLiga games under Simeone for the first time ahead of Wednesday s trip to Granada.

That match comes a day before the Argentinian officially marks 10 years since replacing Gregorio Manzano at Atleti.

While Simeone has enjoyed a hugely successful period as head coach, the 51-year-old has spent most of this season fending off criticism.

But speaking ahead of his side s final outing of 2021, Simeone vowed to stick by his principles in order to turn things around.

Criticism is understandable and normal, he said at Tuesday s news conference pr…

Schalke have confirmed holding midfielder Christoph Moritz will leave the club for Mainz at the end of the season.

The 23-year-old had an expiring contract with Schalke, and has now opted for a move elsewhere rather than ink a new deal.

Moritz, who has been capped by Germany at Under-21 level, has signed a contract until the end of the 2016/17 season with his new club.

The midfielder came through the ranks of the Alemannia Aachen youth academy, and joined Schalke in 2009.

He has since made 52 Bundesliga appearances for the Champions League hopefuls, but has failed to become a first team regular.

Moritz is currently recovering from torn knee ligaments.

…

Wesley Sneijder says his goal in the 3-1 win over Kayserispor sent a message to Real Madrid ahead of the Champions League quarter-final.

The Galatasaray midfielder played for Madrid between 2007 and 2009 and timed his strike to perfection, with Jose Mourinho, who coached the Netherlands international during his time with Inter, watching on from the stands.

Scoring that goal sent the message that they should be careful, the 28-year-old told reporters.

I ve not seen him (Mourinho) in a long time. It was very good to see my old teacher for the first time since the Champions League final against Bayern.

Mourinho s former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba also featured for Gala, while ex-Madrid midfielder Hamit Altintop came off injured and is a doubt for the C…

Colombia star James Rodriguez hopes he can lead his team into at least the World Cup semi-finals in Russia.

The South Americans are coming off their best result at the showpiece tournament, having reached the quarter-finals in Brazil in 2014.

James, 26, believes the nation can produce even better later this year after being drawn with Poland, Senegal and Japan in Group H.

I want to have a good World Cup and help my team-mates get to the semi-finals or the final – why not? he told bundesliga.com.

James has enjoyed a fine first season at Bayern Munich after joining the Bundesliga giants on loan from Real Madrid.

Asked about Colombia potentially meeting defending champions Germany in the World Cup final, James was open to such a clash.

Ye…

West Ham have been treading water for a couple of years in the Premier League. This season saw the Irons in a relegation battle for much of the campaign.

In the end, boss David Moyes guided the side from East London to safety. However, the former Everton boss was only on a short-term deal with the Hammers. The club decided not to renew Moyes contract and looked elsewhere for a new boss.

In truth, their choice of Chilean boss Manuel Pellegrini could prove to be an inspired one by the club hierarchy, who really need to get the fans back on side following problems on and off the pitch in recent years.

A succesful boss

In terms of experience and quality, I highly doubt that West Ham could have attracted a better or more experienced boss to the club. Pellegrini is t…

Tim Cahill announced his retirement from international football after an Australia career that will see him go down as arguably the greatest ever Socceroo.

Cahill, 38, retired after scoring a record 50 goals in 107 appearances for Australia.

We take a look at his international career with the help of Opta data.

3  Cahill scored at three World Cups. Only Miroslav Klose, Cristiano Ronaldo, Uwe Seeler and Pele have scored at more (4).

5 He netted five times against Japan, the most he struck against any nation.

38 Cahill has scored five (38 per cent) of the Socceroos 13 World Cup goals.

38% Tim Cahill has scored 38% (5/13) of all goals at the (Jedinak 3, Holman 2, Moore 1, Kewell 1, Aloisi 1). Beacon.

— OptaJason (@Opt…

Ryan Giggs absence from the Wales dugout will continue at the start of their 2022 World Cup qualification campaign following his November arrest for an alleged assault.

Giggs, who denies any wrongdoing, stepped aside temporarily for Wales previous fixtures in late 2020 but the legal matter is yet to be resolved, with his bail extended in February to May 1.

The Football Association of Wales (FAW) confirmed on Wednesday that it and Giggs mutually agreed he should stay away for their three matches later this month.

As he did for the November internationals, Giggs assistant Robert Page will take charge of fixtures with Belgium, Mexico and Czech Republic.

Therefore, Giggs will miss the start of Wales qualification campaign for the 2022 World Cup, with the Belg…

Raheem Sterling will miss Manchester City s clash with West Ham on Sunday after it was confirmed the England forward has suffered a hamstring injury.

The blow to Sterling came about late in City s defeat to Tottenham last weekend, and the reigning Premier League champions have stated only that he will be absent for this weekend.

It remains to be seen whether Sterling recovers in time for the match against Leicester on February 22, or the Champions League last-16 first-leg tussle with Real Madrid four days later.

A statement on City s official website said: Raheem Sterling will miss the visit of West Ham after scans revealed he has suffered damage to his left hamstring.

The forward limped out of our game at Tottenham on Sunday with six minutes remaining a…

Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny is targeting his best victory yet as he prepares for a must-win Euro 2024 qualifier against the Netherlands.

The game in Dublin appears to be a make-or break affair for Ireland, who have collected just three points from their first four Group B fixtures and will effectively be out of the race for qualification if they lose to the Dutch.

Memories of a famous Irish victory over the Netherlands in a World Cup qualifier in 2001 have inevitably come to the fore in recent days, but Kenny is reluctant to compare his team to the one in which Shay Given, Roy Keane, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane played.

Straight to work for our two new call-ups this afternoon

— Ireland Football (@IrelandFootball)

Kenny said: “We�…