Kieffer Moore headed home to earn Wales a 1-1 draw with Switzerland in their opening Group A match at the Baku Olympic Stadium.
The Cardiff City striker was recalled to Wales starting line-up for Saturday s clash and justified interim boss Rob Page s selection call by earning his side a crucial point.
Switzerland had won their previous six games and were on course for another victory when Breel Embolo guided in Xherdan Shaqiri s corner early in the second half.
However, Vladimir Petkovic s side could not hold on and were further frustrated late on when substitute Mario Gavranovic had a goal ruled out for offside.
The draw leaves Italy top of Group A following their 3-0 win over Turkey in Rome on Friday.
Four of Kieffer Moore s six goals for Wales…
With the asking price for Memphis Depay reportedly set, Barcelona also apparently want Thiago Alcantara back.
Ronald Koeman is preparing a rebuild at Camp Nou after a tumultuous 2019-20 season in which Barca finished trophy-less.
The former Netherlands coach wants Depay, while an ex-Barcelona midfielder may also make a return.
TOP STORY – LYON WANT €30M FOR DEPAY
Lyon want €30million from Barcelona for Depay, according to Mundo Deportivo.
After the Netherlands Nations League loss to Italy, Depay said he was aware of interest in him, but remained unsure about his future.
Meanwhile, the cover of Mundo Deportivo also says Barcelona want to negotiate with Manchester City for defender Eric Garcia.
La portada del 8 de …
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola has dismissed the importance of taking a four-point lead over Real Madrid in the La Liga title race.
Real dropped two points with a 1-1 draw at bottom side Almeria on Sunday and Barca took full advantage of their slip up, dispatching Malaga 4-1 at the Camp Nou.
But Guardiola, well aware that a similar stumble could come at any time for Barca, does not intend to let his players lower their intensity.
They (Real) dropped points today, but that could happen to us too, Guardiola said.
We could drop points at any ground; it could happen against Racing (Santander) next week or against Hercules.
There is a long, long way to go and four points is nothing because Madrid are a very strong team.
We still have to …
According to some reports this morning Arsenal are trying to convince former-keeper Jens Lehmann to return to the club on a short-term basis.
The 41 year-old retired last summer after a stint in the Bundesliga with Stuttgart.
Unbelievable
When I read this I couldn’t believe my eyes. The former-Germany keeper was past his best when he left Arsenal in 2008 so to bring him back in his forties is just ridiculous.
He is definitely set to spend the next six weeks with the Gunners working towards some of his coaching badges though.
I am in London and so far have heard nothing of such plans, but you never know, the veteran keeper told Bild am Sonntag. However Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is keen to utilise the keeper while he is available.
Clow…
Niko Kovac said he wants a 90-minute performance from Croatia after they edged past Malta 2-0 in their opening Euro 2016 qualifier.
Croatia were made to work against minnows Malta, despite having a numerical advantage after Steve Borg was sent off in the 31st minute of their Group H encounter in Zagreb on Tuesday.
The hosts failed to make any inroads during the first half and it was not until the 46th minute that the deadlock was broken by birthday boy Luka Modric.
Andrej Kramaric earning just his second cap sealed the points nine minutes from time in the Croatian capital.
While Kovac was satisfied with the win, the 42-year-old said he is hoping to see his side reduce their errors.
We met our target. We have three important points to start off qu…
Nottingham Forest have appointed former England boss Steve McClaren as their new manager, just a day after sacking Billy Davies.
McClaren returns to coach in his native England for the first time since leaving the England post in December 2007, having since managed Dutch club FC Twente and Bundesliga outfit Wolfsburg.
The 50-year-old former Manchester United assistant tasted success at Twente by leading them to the Eredivisie title in 2009/10, but lasted just 21 games at Wolfsburg before he was sacked in February.
McClaren had been linked with the vacant Aston Villa post until owner Randy Lerner decided against his appointment, having been warned about a supporter backlash.
Forest who made the semi-finals of the Championship playoffs and fell to eventual…
Italian giants Inter are ready to return for Lazio star performer Antonio Candreva in the summer transfer market.
Roberto Mancini was eager to bring in the 29-year-old during winter, but Nerazzurri were put off by the €28 million asking price from Lazio chief Claudio Lotito and Inter are now ready to pursue an extravagant deal in order to land Lazio winger at the end of the season.
Rome-based club are not too keen to lose their key man, but Antonio Candreva reportedly feels ready for the next chapter in his career and will sit down to discuss his future with Lazio executives in the summer.
Candreva’s current deal runs out until 2019 and his transfer is likely to command another hefty fee, which Inter are willing to overcome with a swap deal that would includ…
Athletic Bilbao forward Iker Muniain insists he has never been bothered by comparisons to Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Muniain, a one-time Spain international, was once labelled the next Messi as he came through the ranks at boyhood club Bilbao.
The 23-year-old said the comparisons to the Argentina international never fazed him, labelling them exaggerated.
It was excessive. People are swayed by euphoria, Muniain told Radio Nervion.
It has never affected me. I ve always known who I am.
Muniain had a delayed start to the season after suffering a knee injury in April last year.
But, back playing for a side sitting seventh in La Liga, Muniain is eyeing a return for Spain, having not added to his debut cap earned in 2012.
The nation…
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The FA Cup quarter finals are set to take place this weekend, and in case you hadn t already guessed as much, that s a pretty big deal. The winners of these four games will be moving on to the FA Cup semi finals, which means they ll be booking their ticket to Wembley. Two such teams who will be aiming for glory are Watford and Crystal Palace, as the two teams prepare to square off in their quarter final. The two are pretty similar in terms of the stature of their clubs, but they ve definitely had very different seasons so far.
Watford
It s an exciting time to be a fan of Watford Football Club, and that may well be an understatement. They ve had a fantastic season and are currently sitting comfortably in t…
Scotland s Euro 2020 qualifying campaign got off to a dismal start as Kazakhstan romped to a 3-0 victory in Astana on Thursday.
Alex McLeish s side won their Nations League group in November, sealing a qualification play-off place for next year s finals in the process, and they may well need that fallback option on this evidence.
Kazakhstan, 77 places below their opponents in the FIFA rankings, roared out of the blocks and were two up inside 10 minutes at Astana Arena through Yuriy Pertsukh and Yan Vorogovskiy s first international goals.
And those lessons were not heeded as Baktiyor Zainutdinov s headed third effectively put the contest to bed shortly after half-time.
1975 Today against Kazakhstan is the first time Scotland have conceded twice in the ope…