Spain defender Hector Bellerin struggled to accept being out of international football for such a long time.

The Arsenal right-back was called up to Spain s squad for the first time in four years after Sevilla s Jesus Navas was ruled out through injury.

He won the last of his three caps for La Roja in a friendly against Georgia in July 2016 and, although he made Spain s squad for Euro 2016, he did not feature at the tournament.

Bellerin, however, was given a recall by coach Luis Enrique for his side s friendly with the Netherlands plus the Nations League fixtures against Switzerland and Germany.

The 25-year-old has been one of Arsenal s most consistent performers this season and played every minute of their eight Premier League games.

He has made…

Giorgio Chiellini has returned to the Italy squad for the first time this year for this month s UEFA Nations League matches against Poland and Portugal.

The Juventus defender has not been called up by his country since the World Cup play-off defeat to Sweden in November of last year.

Monaco striker Pietro Pellegri has earned a spot in the senior squad for the first time alongside five other uncapped players.

Cagliari s Alessio Cragno and Nicolo Barella, SPAL defender Manuel Lazzari, Fiorentina s Cristiano Biraghi and Roma midfielder Nicolo Zaniolo have also been included in Roberto Mancini s 31-man group.

Mario Balotelli is among the strikers selected, meaning he could make his first appearance in a competitive international since the 2014 World Cup final…

Manchester United were credited with strong interest in PSV Eindhoven forward Cody Gakpo for a long time, but in the end, they lost the race for his services to arch-rivals Liverpool.

Nonetheless, United boss Erik ten Hag believes the squad already at his disposal is fully capable of competing against any rival.

I m convinced of the squad we have.

Erik ten Hag responds to the news that Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Manchester United target Cody Gakpo

— Football Daily (@footballdaily)

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Gareth Southgate s refusal to bow to public pressure and pick an attacking England team has earned the respect of former manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

Southgate has guided the Three Lions to the last eight at Euro 2020, reaching this stage with their first knockout tournament win over Germany since 1966.

But the manager s team selection has been the source of scrutiny.

Not since the 2018 World Cup semi-final against Croatia has Southgate named an unchanged side, a run of 34 consecutive matches seeing at least one alteration.

Despite this tinkering, the England boss has consistently named starting line-ups that have underwhelmed supporters.

Jack Grealish has started just seven of those 34 matches – and only one at the Euros – while Jadon Sancho,…

Leeds United remain top of the Championship after a 1-1 draw with West Brom at The Hawthorns on Wednesday.

Semi Ajayi put the Baggies ahead in only the second minute but was unfortunate in deflecting Patrick Bamford s header into his own net to bring Leeds level.

The result means Marcelo Bielsa s side stay above West Brom on goal difference after 26 matches.

The earlier fixtures were largely a feast of goals as 2020 started in enthralling fashion, with Stoke City winning 5-2 at Huddersfield Town and QPR thrashing Cardiff City 6-1.

Brentford were big winners away to Bristol City, Nottingham Forest edged out Blackburn Rovers in a five-goal thriller and Wigan Athletic held on to win 3-2 at Birmingham City.

Fulham s promotion bid suffered another set…

After once more impressing for Arsenal at Manchester City, Santi Cazorla has been labelled as the ideal role model by Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has heralded Santi Cazorla as the perfect role model for young players aspiring to impress at the top level.

Spain international Cazorla was in impressive form as Arsenal triumphed 2-0 at Premier League champions Manchester City on Sunday, scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot.

Wenger believes the attacking midfielder is reaping the rewards for his versatility and feels the young players in his squad can learn from the way he plays the game.

Cazorla has started playing centrally he played wide a lot and now he s at a level of his career where he can have more influence centrally, Wenge…

With Tottenham emerging victorious in the 2008 League Cup final, Chelsea will have an extra incentive to win the clash at Wembley and secure the first major title of the season. Meanwhile, Spurs will be hoping to repeat the heroics from seven years ago and put an end to the lengthy trophy drought.

While the Premiership title remains the main objective for Chelsea this season, the Blues have got an excellent opportunity to also lift the Capital One Cup trophy and no doubt they will be fully focused on task at hand. Jose Mourinho s side have shown incredible consistency this term, suffering just several slip-ups since the campaign started and they are rightly considered odds on favourites to triumph at Wembley. The team did struggle to play to their potential in their last two fi…

Julian Nagelsmann is not worried by Borussia Monchengladbach s declaration that Yann Sommer is not for sale.

Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich have a goalkeeping conundrum to solve ahead of the season s resumption later this month, after Manuel Neuer suffered a broken leg during a skiing accident.

Sommer, who is out of contract in June, has been touted as a candidate to be drafted in to fill Neuer s void, though Gladbach s sporting director Roland Virkus made it clear that the club were not willing to negotiate a sale.

Nagelsmann is not concerned, however, as he feels the comments are part and parcel of the mid-season window.

I didn t faint at the headline, he said in a press conference when asked about Virkus comments.

If he had said the door wa…

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique lauded extraterrestrial Lionel Messi after ending his time in charge of the LaLiga giants with a Copa del Rey success.

Messi opened the scoring in Barca s 3-1 win over Alaves in Saturday s final to finish the season with 54 goals in all competitions.

Theo Hernandez cancelled out that goal, but Neymar and Paco Alcacer struck late in the half as Barca claimed the Copa for the third straight year.

Luis Enrique was full of praise for Messi afterwards, saying the Argentina star was from another planet.

Messi is an extraterrestrial in every sense and I m very fortunate that I was able to enjoy the best, or one of the best, versions of him, he said.

Without a doubt he s the number one and to be that you have to control ever…

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Looking to wrap up their ticket to EURO 24 this weekend, a high-flying Turkey will welcome Latvia to Adana on Sunday night.

Turkey

Starting with the hosts, marking their return to EURO 24 qualifying duties with a famous performance on foreign in midweek, Turkey will certainly find the mood in their camp at a red-hot high. Eventually landing a stunning 1-0 victory away at World Cup semi-finalists Croatia, the Crescent Stars now sit on the verge of punching their return to the major tournament stage. Only continuing to gain a string of public praise and certainly riding a major wave of momentum, Vincenzo Montella’s side will be more than aware that they have been handed a golden chance here. Mustering 10 points from just their last fou…