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�…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer does not know whether Mason Greenwood fancies the hard knocks of being a career centre-forward.

Greenwood is in line to make his 100th Manchester United appearance when Solskjaer s side look to complete the job in their Europa League semi-final against Roma, taking a hefty 6-2 lead to the Stadio Olimpico.

The 19-year-old forward came off the bench to complete the rout at Old Trafford last week before being denied the chance to continue that form when fan protests saw last weekend s scheduled meeting with Liverpool postponed.

Greenwood has played most of his football over the past two seasons as a right-winger, but Solskjaer cautioned a keen eye for goal is not the only attribute needed when it comes to being a specialist striker.

The…

Pep Guardiola said in our job, you have to win when he was asked about Xavi s dismissal by Barcelona.

Barca confirmed on Friday that Xavi had been dismissed, and would not take charge of the club next season.

Xavi s final game in charge of the Blaugrana is set to come on Sunday, when Barca face Sevilla.

Barca s decision comes just 30 days after Xavi announced he had decided to stay on, having initially expressed his intention to leave back in January.

Xavi was a key player for Guardiola during his successful stint as Barcelona coach, and the Manchester City boss was asked about his old club s decision.

What can I say? It s always not good news because something didn t work, one club sacking the manager. [The] reasons [for] what happened, I don t …

Chelsea are interested in signing Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus in the January transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Serbia international strike could leave Italian giants Juventus in the January transfer window, and that Chelsea are among a number of clubs who have made contact with the 22-year-old’s agent.

Vlahovic joined Juventus from Serie A rivals Fiorentina in January 2022. The striker has scored six goals and provided one assist in 10 Serie A games so far this season. The Serbian has scored one goal and given one assist in five UEFA Champions League games so far this campaign.

Chelsea are eighth in the Premier League table at the moment with 21 points from 14 matches, as many as eight points behind London rivals and fourth-placed Totten…

Dani Alves has vowed to live for the moment amid reports linking the Barcelona defender with Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

The marauding Brazil right-back has just over a year remaining on his contract at Camp Nou and the Catalan giants are said to be prepared to allow him to leave at the end of the season rather than lose him for nothing 12 months later.

Big-spending City have first-hand experience of Alves ability after he scored in both legs of their UEFA Champions League round of 16 tie earlier this month and Manuel Pellegrini is reportedly eager to lure him to the Etihad Stadium.

PSG have also been listed as potential suitors for the 30-year-old, who joined the Spanish champions from Sevilla in 2008, but the Barca full-back was coy when asked about a po…

Luis de la Fuente tried to convince Sergio Busquets to postpone his international retirement, but the new Spain head coach will respect the veteran s call.

The 34-year-old called time on his career with La Roja following their World Cup exit to Morocco in the last 16, departing with 143 caps and two goals to his name.

Busquets announcement came following the news De la Fuente would succeed Luis Enrique in charge of the national set-up, after their under-performance at Qatar 2022.

The new head coach has now revealed he sought to convince the Barcelona stalwart to reverse his decision, and acknowledged he will miss his experience as he takes charge.

It s a shame that, at international level, he wants to close the book, but I can only respect him, he said.<…

Kylian Mbappe grabbed yet another Champions League goal as Paris St Germain saw off a stubborn Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in their Group F opener.

The France forward took his tally to 41 goals in just 62 appearances among Europe’s elite with a controversial penalty early in the second half.

Achraf Hakimi added the second as PSG bounced back from Friday’s surprise domestic defeat at home to Nice.

The French champions now sit top of their group after AC Milan drew 0-0 with Newcastle in the earlier match.

The hosts created their first chance after only three minutes when Mbappe won a free-kick on the left wing.

Ousmane Dembele’s cross fell to Lucas Hernandez inside the six-yard box but he could only prod the loose ball wide.

But Dortmund sta…

Liverpool beat Leicester City at Anfield on Thursday by 2-0, getting some sweet revenge for the narrow defeat they suffered at the hands of the Foxes at the King Power Stadium in late December. Both goals were the work of Diogo Jota, who took his chance from a rebound after Kasper Schmeichel saved Virgil van Dijk s header in the 34th minute, before latching onto a brilliant assist from Joel Matip to fire past Schmeichel again in the 87th.

That man Jota again

The impact the signing of Diogo Jota in 2020 has had for Liverpool has been spoken about quite a lot, and yet, match after match, the Portuguese forward always makes sure there s more to be said on the subject.

On this particular occasion, he didn t get off to a great start, with both Luis Diaz and Roberto Firmino …

Gary Neville claims the Football Association (FA) and Premier League have a huge problem  after former top-flight official Mark Halsey suggested he had been told to lie about his in-game decision making.

Halsey, who retired from refereeing at the end of the 2012-13 season, was responding to a question on Twitter regarding the FA s charge on Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero for an elbow on West Ham s Winston Reid.

City appealed against Aguero s three-match ban but the FA rejected their application, with Halsey suggesting referee Andre Marriner may have been asked to lie about his view of the clash between Aguero and Reid.

I have been in that situation when I have seen an incident and been told to say I haven t seen it, Halsey posted.

Paul I have b…

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone faces a selection dilemma over whether to include Diego Costa for Sunday s La Liga clash with Osasuna.

Costa has been instrumental in Atletico s excellent campaign so far, scoring 27 goals in all competitions and helping Simeone s men keep pace with Barcelona and Real Madrid in an enthralling title race.

Atletico are level with Barca and Real on 60 points ahead of the trip to Osasuna, who are winless in their last eight games against the capital club.

Costa heads into the match in good form, having found the net in Saturday s 3-0 success over Real Valladolid and the 1-0 UEFA Champions League win at Milan on Wednesday in the first leg of their last-16 tie.

With 21 top-flight goals to his name in 2013-14, the 25-year-old is just …