Sports

Olivier Giroud has half an eye on catching Thierry Henry at the top of France s all-time leading scorer list after grabbing two goals on his 100th international appearance. 

The Chelsea striker got his 41st and 42nd goals for Les Bleus in Wednesday s 7-1 thrashing of Ukraine in a friendly match at Stade de France. 

Giroud has surpassed Michel Platini on the list and is now behind only former Arsenal and Barcelona star Henry, who scored 51 in 123 games. 

Giroud s tally is all-the-more impressive given he has often been used by coach Didier Deschamps as a target man entrusted with bringing deeper forwards such as Antoine Griezmann and Kylian Mbappe into play.

Indeed, the 34-year-old played in all seven of France s games at the 2018 World Cup, including…

West Bromwich Albion are keen for Jonny Evans to sign a new contract with the club, according to the Mail Online.

The Midlands club rejected a £12m approach for the defender from Arsenal on transfer deadline day and now manager Alan Pardew wants to secure his services.

Premier League leaders Manchester City were previously looking to sign the former Manchester United man but instead opted to break their transfer record to bring in Aymeric Laporte from Athletic Bilbao.

Evans has so far declined to put pen to paper on a deal worth £100,000 per week at the Hawthorns with his current contract set to enter its final year in the summer.

Since signing from the Red Devils in the summer of 2015, the Northern Ireland international has racked up eighty-seven …

Sadio Mane remains a key influence on Senegal s World Cup campaign despite his absence, with Kalidou Koulibaly revealing the forward is in constant contact with the national team.

The Bayern Munich attacker was ruled out of Qatar 2022 after undergoing surgery for a leg injury sustained on November 8 in a Bundesliga game with Werder Bremen.

It has been a cruel blow for player and country, with Mane s penalty having been the victorious touch to take Senegal to Qatar 2022 in their qualifying play-off earlier this year against Egypt.

But despite his absence, Koulibaly says the forward is still a regular, virtual presence around the squad, helping to raise their game and keep them focused.

He s always texting with us, always calling, he stated. [He is] keepin…

Cristiano Ronaldo s return to Manchester United is bad news for out-of-favour midfielder Donny Van de Beek, according to his agent Guido Albers.

Van de Beek arrived from Eredivisie giants Ajax amid plenty of fanfare ahead of the 2020-21 season but the Netherlands international has continued to be overlooked by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

The 24-year-old has been an unused substitute in United s opening three Premier League games of the 2021-22 campaign, having made just four starts in the league last term.

Van de Beek, who had a deadline-day move to Everton blocked, could now see his prospects of game time further hampered following the Old Trafford comeback of superstar Ronaldo.

Cristiano arrived on Friday which we knew was bad news for us. Pog…

After a stoic display last week against Manchester City, West Ham will fancy their chances of a rare away win against Newcastle United.

The Hammers head to St James Park on Sunday on the back of an impressive home display that earned them a point against the reigning champions.

And the fact Newcastle enter the match after a tough fixture on Thursday against Club Brugge, where they drew 2-2, only enhances the visitors chances.

But as encouraging as the past week has been for West Ham, they have only won three of their past 41 Premier League games away from Upton Park and will start as clear underdogs.

Expect them to look to feed Andy Carroll in the air, which is where his strength lies and they can always change things up from the bench by bringing on Ca…

Celtic advanced to the knockout stages of the Champions League, while Lionel Messi was injured in Barcelona s 0-0 draw against Benfica.

A first-half strike from Gary Hooper and a second-half Kris Commons penalty secured Celtic s 2-1 win over Spartak Moscow after a tense night of football in Glasgow.

The opening stages of the game were tetchy and evenly contested, with neither side establishing much of a stronghold on the contest or creating many clear chances.

With Brazilian striker Emmanuel Emenke looking lively for the Russian side, it looked like Celtic would be set for a night of struggle, however not for the first time in this season s competition they showed their clinical side.

Greek striker Georgios Samaras picked up the ball on halfway and weave…

Barcelona goalkeeper Jose Pinto will extend his stay at Camp Nou in the coming weeks, the club have announced.

The 37-year-old, who joined the Catalans in 2008, has agreed to a new deal that ties him to the La Liga giants until 2014.

A statement on Barcelona s official website read: FC Barcelona have reached an agreement with goalkeeper Jose M
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anuel Pinto to extend his contract until June 30, 2014. The player s contract will be signed in the coming weeks.

Pinto has made 52 appearances for Barcelona since joining from Celta Vigo.

He has represented the side in both La Liga and the Champions League, but the majority of his performances have come in the Copa Del Rey, in which he has started 34 times.

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Fulham manager Martin Jol has declared that the club would be silly to sell Brede Hangeland in the January transfer window.

The 31-year-old, who has been a key figure for the Cottagers since joining from FC Copenhagen in 2008, has yet to agree a new deal despite his contract expiring at the end of the season.

Despite talks to tie the Norwegian down stalling, Jol believes Fulham should not consider cashing in this month.

For us he s a tower of strength, the Dutchman told the Fulham Chronicle.

It would be silly to sell him now.

The former Ajax boss also hinted at the west London club potentially securing some surprise signings in the coming days.

We would like to strengthen the squad because we lack a few players, he continued.