International friendly: Roy Hodgson backs England to prove they can match Germany. England were outplayed by Chile in a 2-0 friendly defeat on Friday and Hodgson is seeking a positive response against Joachim Low’s side. Low will be without a number of key players, including goalkeeper Manuel Neuer, captain Philipp Lahm and Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil. – Full Story via Sky Sports
Voting For Ballon d’Or Extended And Re-Submissions Allowed After Ronaldo Magic.
FIFA have confirmed they have extended the voting period for the Ballon d’Or until November 29 due to a low response. The original deadline passed on Friday. – Full Story via ESPN
Arsenal have been put on red alert after QPR admitted goalkeeper Julio Cesar can go for free in the January transfer window. Gunners boss Arsene Wenger is known to be a long-term admirer of Cesar, who is Brazil’s number one glovesman. Wenger made an approach to sign him in the summer, but the deal collapsed with the player costing around £2million – on top of his huge wages. –Full Story via Metro
Lazio midfielder Ogenyi Onazi has confirmed his interest in joining Liverpool during the January transfer window. Onazi, who is enjoying another strong season in Italian football, has been increasingly linked with a move away from Lazio in the new year. And amid growing links with Liverpool, the 20-year-old says he would be interested in moving to Merseyside if an offer arrived. – Full Story via Metro
Chelsea and Liverpool’s hopes of signing Real Madrid’s Xabi Alonso have taken a severe blow with the Spanish giants now ready to meet their playmaker’s contract demands. The 31-year-old has been linked with a return to Anfield and a move to Stamford Bridge in recent months with his current deal at Madrid expiring next summer. – Full Story via Metro
David Beckham has enlisted the help of basketball superstar LeBron James as he presses ahead with his plans to launch his new Major League Soccer franchise in Miami. Beckham was given the option of setting up his own MLS team for a cut-price £15.5million as part of his package with the LA Galaxy and opted for Miami as the base. Goldenballs still faces many hurdles before his dream is realised – not least approval from MLS executives. – Full Story via Metro
Liverpool owner John W Henry gave Luis Suarez the use of his private jet in order to keep him fighting fit whilst on international duty. Suarez is used to long-haul flights back from South America whilst representing Uruguay, but because of the difference in time-zones, he often comes back late. However, Liverpool hope they’ll be able to boost his recuperation time and get him back to Merseyside ahead of matches by loaning him a jet. – Full Story via Metro
Theo Walcott is set for a surprise return to the Arsenal side ahead of their clash with Southampton at the weekend. The England winger, who has been struggling with an abdominal injury in recent weeks, was tipped to be out until December. But despite Arsene Wenger previously admitting that the problem was ‘a complete mystery’, he has now returned to full training and is in line to play against former club Southampton. – Full Story via Metro
Roberto Soldado has admitted he’s not been hitting top form for Tottenham this season, but is confident he’s on the path to putting that right. The 28-year-old striker arrived at Spurs in a £28million deal this summer, but has only found the net four times in 11 Premier League games – scoring three from the penalty spot. However, Andre Villas-Boas has persisted in using Soldado as his lone striker, despite the good Europa League form of Jermain Defoe, and the Spaniard is keen to repay the manager for his faith. – Full Story via Metro
The publishers of Sir Alex Ferguson’s autobiography have acknowledged there are factual errors in the book following a complaint from a reader. As many as 45 factual errors” have been identified in the work, which was released last month by Hodder and Stoughton and has become the fastest-selling non-fiction book on record. – Full Story via Kickoff
Gilbrator amazingly earn draw against Slovakia in their first match. It may have been a busy night of international football across the planet on Tuesday, with that titanic battle between Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic taking centre stage in Europe. Not to mention those old rivals England and Germany playing at Wembley. –Full Story via Metro
Eden Hazard believes Chelsea and Belgium team-mate Kevin De Bruyne should leave the club if he wants to play regularly and enjoy a successful World Cup. The Belgium international feels his compatriot might be better off quitting Stamford Bridge in search of regular football, particularly with a World Cup on the horizon. – Full Story via Goal
Manuel Pellegrini doesn’t regard Liverpool or Tottenham as genuine Premier League title rivals to his Manchester City team. City are currently languishing down in eighth place, having lost four times away from the Etihad Stadium already, but remain many people’s favourites for the championship. – Full Story via Metro
Borussia Dortmund have been forced to make an emergency signing, to augment their injury ravaged defence. The player the Bundesliga giants have signed until the end of the season is former German international defender, Manuel Friedrich. 34-year-old Freidrich played for Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp at Mainz. He also played for Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen, and had been training with Dortmund for the past few days as a free agent, having been released by Leverkusen at the end of last season. – Full Story via Soccer Laduma
Nicklas Bendtner has revealed he wants a move to Real Madrid or Barcelona when he leaves Arsenal. Bendtner attempted to leave the Emirates Stadium in the summer having fallen out of favour with Arsene Wenger, but is now training with the first team again as back-up for Olivier Giroud. – Full Story via Goal
Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi is determined to “come back even stronger” from his latest injury setback. The Ballon d’Or holder, who was awarded a record third Golden Shoe on Wednesday for scoring the most league goals in Europe last term, is nursing a hamstring complaint, which is expected to keep him out until early next year. It is the fourth time he has been sidelined in 2013. – Full Story via Kickoff
Spain and Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes has been ruled out for six weeks after rupturing a calf muscle against South Africa. The 32-year-old, who underwent tests on Wednesday, did the damage when making a clearance during La Roja’s shock 1-0 loss to Bafana Bafana in a friendly in Johannesburg the day before. Valdes was a half-time replacement for Iker Casillas but was forced off the field late on, with Pepe Reina taking his place at Soccer City. – Full Story via Kickoff
Spanish hitman Fernando Llorente says he would have opted to play for Brazil were he in Diego Costa’s position. Costa, who sports dual nationality, recently chose to represent La Roja over Brazil, the country of his birth. And while Llorente understands why the Atletico Madrid hitman would want to turn out for the world and European champions, he says he would have gone the other way. – Full Story via Goal
Former Orlando Pirates boss Ruud Krol has announced he will step down as Tunisia coach following the country’s 4-1 loss to Cameroon in a World Cup qualifying play-off on Sunday. The result saw the Indomitable Lions advance to next year’s finals in Brazil at the Carthage Eagles’ expense. The Dutch playing legend will now solely focus on coaching Tunisian club CS Sfaxien. – Full Story via Kickoff
Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari feels Neymar is on the same level as Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Neymar has scored 27 goals in 44 games for the Selecao, while he has netted four times in 11 outings for Barcelona since his summer switch from Santos. Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho recently criticised Neymar for his role in Scott Brown’s dismissal in a Champions League game with Celtic, with Scolari coming to the 21-year-old’s defence. – Full Story via Kickoff
Samuel Eto’o claims his Cameroon teammates made a point of not passing him the ball during the first leg World Cup qualifying play-off encounter against Tunisia last month. The match finished 0-0, and the Chelsea striker says it because of a conspiracy against him. – Full Story via Kickoff
West Ham and Leyton Orient criticised over Olympic Stadium dispute. Lord Harris, the chair of the House of Lords Committee into the Olympic and Paralympic legacy, has criticised West Ham and Leyton Orient following their dispute over the future of the Olympic Stadium. – Full Story via Sky Sports
World Cup: FIFA responds to Amnesty claims of workers rights abuses. FIFA has responded to claims made by human rights charity Amnesty International of an “abuse of migrant workers” in Qatar by insisting they are committed to social justice for those involved in World Cup projects. –Full Story via Sky Sports
Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari not ruling out Premier League return. Scolari, who became the first Brazilian coach in the Premier League, lasted just seven months in charge at Stamford Bridge after arriving in West London in 2008. The 65-year-old admits he was upset at how things worked out for him at Chelsea, but conceded he would consider returning to manage in England. – Full Story via Sky Sports
Jack Wilshere insists England will learn from the defeat to Chile. Jack Wilshere feels England can learn from opponents such as Chile, after their defeat to the South Americans on Friday. Chile played nice football, but likewise were not afraid to be overly aggressive when required. And Wilshere feels the match was a valuable experience for England. – Full Story via Sky Sports
Chelsea keeper Thibaut Courtois labelled ‘best in world’ by Belgium team-mate. Thibaut Courtois refused to be drawn on his future with Chelsea but Belgium team-mate Toby Alderweireld believes he could leave Stamford Bridge. The 21-year-old understudy to Petr Cech has been ever present for his country in the World Cup qualifying campaign and has helped Atletico Madrid, where he is on a season-long loan, to second place in La Liga. – Full Story via Sky Sports
International friendly: Jerome Boateng up for England clash at Wembley. Bayern Munich defender Jerome Boateng insists that no game with England is ever a ‘friendly’ ahead of Tuesday’s clash. The former Manchester City stopper is set to feature for Joachim Low’s side at Wembley. – Full story via Sky Sports
International friendly: Per Mertesacker says England is home from home now. Arsenal centre-back Per Mertesacker has told Sky Sports that Tuesday’s Wembley date with England will be like playing at a home away from home. Joachim Low’s squad got together at The Hive, home of Barnet, on Sunday and they appeared relaxed starting their preparations for a second game in four days, having drawn 1-1 with Italy on Friday. – Full Story via Sky Sports
Samir Nasri claims his career at Manchester City has been boosted by new boss Manuel Pellegrini. The 26-year-old has been in impressive form for City since the start of the season after enduring a miserable campaign last time around. Nasri was given a three-match ban by the French Football Federation for misconduct at Euro 2012 and he then had a quarrel with former City boss Roberto Mancini. – Full Story via Sky Sports
Amnesty International calls on FIFA to take stance against “abuse of migrant workers” in Qatar. Amnesty International claims in a 166-page report that workers arriving in Qatar to work on construction projects related to the 2022 World Cup are subjected to “non-payment of wages, harsh and dangerous working conditions, and shocking standards of accommodation”. – Full Story via Sky Sports