Europa League draw: Barcelona draw Manchester United, Juventus meet Nantes

Nemanja Matic and goalscoring hero Aleksandar Prijovic revelled in Serbia s successful World Cup qualifying campaign after the Balkan nation booked their spot at Russia 2018 with a 1-0 win over Georgia.

Belgrade was in party mode on Monday as substitute Prijovic s 74th-minute goal sealed victory for the hosts, ensuring they made it back to the biggest stage in international football after missing out in 2010.

Manchester United star Matic had earlier seen his volley cleared off the line before Prijovic calmed any remaining nerves, with Ireland s win in Wales meaning a draw would ultimately have been enough for Slavoljub Muslin s men.

We had a lot of pressure before this game, said Matic. We wanted to play patiently, we knew that we would have a chance.

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The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has issued a strong rebuttal to claims in an Argentinian newspaper that Republic of Ireland players were paid $10,000 each to not injure Lionel Messi during a 2010 friendly against Argentina.

A story in La Nacion claimed that former head of the Argentina Football Association Julio Grondona who died in July 2014 suggested making payments to the Irish players as they could not afford to stump up the Barcelona superstar s insurance should he have picked up an injury.

It is also alleged that Argentina suggested playing the match to FIFA as a way of alleviating Ireland s grievances over losing a World Cup play-off to France, in which Thierry Henry famously handballed in the build-up to William Gallas winner.

Messi played 58 …

Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro insists they will not surrender La Liga just yet as they prepare to host Sevilla on Sunday.

Zinedine Zidane s side battled to a 2-1 victory away to Las Palmas last week – with Casemiro heading in a late winner – but they remain 12 points behind leaders Barcelona with nine games to play.

Madrid were criticised for a lacklustre display in Gran Canaria, but the Brazilian insists maximum points are all that matter as they aim to keep their slim title hopes alive.

We know we didn t do well, but I ll take the points, Casemiro said. There are days when we re not able to do that.

We re criticised when we play badly because we re the best team in the world.

Of course La Liga isn t over. We ll fight to the end, eve…

The final member of Brazil s last World Cup-winning squad hung up his boots on Sunday.

Former Sao Paulo, AC Milan, Real Madrid and Orlando City playmaker Kaka enjoyed a decorated career, winning Serie A, LaLiga and the Champions League.

Kaka also won the World Cup, the 35-year-old a member of the Brazil squad who reigned supreme at the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan.

After dazzling in his homeland in 2001, Kaka earned a ticket to the World Cup the following year with Luiz Felipe Scolari and the Selecao – the attacking midfielder going on to win 92 caps and score 29 international goals.

He only made one appearance off the bench at the 2002 showpiece, however, the superstar trio of Ronaldo, Ronaldinho and Rivaldo sidelining Kaka as Brazil celeb…

Manchester United midfielder Casemiro has been ruled out for a “several weeks” with a hamstring injury.

After missing three matches, the 31-year-old captained Erik ten Hag’s side on his return against Newcastle in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

Casemiro was replaced at half-time of the 3-0 defeat and United have now confirmed he will miss a key run of fixtures.

has been ruled out for several weeks.

— Manchester United (@ManUtd)

The club said in a statement: “Casemiro will be out for several weeks due to a hamstring injury suffered during our Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United on Wednesday.

“The Brazilian midfielder was withdrawn at half-time due to the issue, and subsequent assessment has revealed a strain that will keep …

Phil Neville admitted his England players have destroyed him at the Women s World Cup as he opened up about his new-found sensitivity and the importance of creating a positive environment for the Lionesses to thrive in.

The former Manchester United and Everton midfielder said England s journey to the semi-finals, where they lost 2-1 to the United States, had left him more prone to teary moments and with a tendency to smile and relax, while describing his squad as an unbelievable set of girls .

England lost 2-1 to Sweden in Saturday s third-place play-off – a game Neville wrote off as a nonsense but he spoke about his pride in his players and his determination to reflect deeply on their performance.

They destroyed me, Neville told 90min.com.

They turn…

Uruguay have nailed the third place in this year s edition of the Copa America, beating Canada on penalties after a lively affair in the consolation prize showdown.

Uruguay were ahead less than eight minutes in through Rodrigo Bentacur. Ismael Kone equalized in the 22nd and Jonathan David turned the game around with around 10 minutes left to go, but a late goal from Luis Suarez took the match into a penalty shootout, where misses from Canada s Kone and Alphonso Davies helped Marcelo Bielsa s team land the bronze.

The teams

Unlike in the semifinal loss to Argentina, Canada manager Jesse Marsch went with a 4-2-3-1 setup for this historic clash. With Dayne St. Clair in goal, the back-four line comprised of Alistair Johnson, Luc de Fougerolles, Moise Bombito and Richie Lar…

Best Odds: 5/2

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Hoping to make an immediate return to winning ways on Friday night, Genoa will welcome Verona to the Stadio Luigi Ferraris.

Genoa

Starting with the hosts, missing out on what they had billed as a potential opportunity last weekend as they eventually slumped to a 2-1 loss at the hands of Cagliari, Genoa are seeking an immediate response here. Currently holding a three-point buffer over the drop zone heading into Friday’s showdown, Alberto Gilardino’s side should be smelling a golden chance here. Simply looking to avoid getting dragged into a relegation scrap after making their Serie A return this season, the Griffins will be excited by the prospect of making a return to home soil. Last seen at the Stadio Luigi Ferraris extending on …

With matchday six just around the corner, fresh off the first midweek Premier League fixtures of the season, now is when things can start to get tricky.

Some regular starters will likely be rested, and some new faces could emerge and force their way into the calculations going forward.

In a sink-or-swim week, it will be important to focus on players considered too important to their respective side to leave out – but who are those players?

Using Opta data, Stats Perform is here to help, with four suggestions of players that are in form that is impossible to ignore.

David Raya (Brentford v Leeds United)

Brentford s David Raya produced one of the more unlikely goalkeeping performances of the season in his side s 4-0 win over Manchester United –…

Louis Saha believes fellow Frenchman Anthony Martial has all the characteristics required to go on and emulate Cristiano Ronaldo s achievements at Manchester United.

Martial arrived at Old Trafford from Monaco for a reported fee of £36million in 2015 and, despite such a hefty price tag for a teenager, has settled in well to life in the Premier League.

The France international has scored 10 goals in his debut campaign in England, even though he has often been stationed out wide by manager Louis van Gaal.

Saha sees signs that Martial can have a similar impact to his former team-mate Ronaldo, who was signed at the age of 18 by former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson.

I hope Martial can emulate what Ronaldo did at United, Saha told the Internat…