Harry Kane saluted Jordan Henderson s leadership qualities following his goal in England s 3-0 victory over Senegal.
The Three Lions vice-captain opened the scoring with a neat first-time finish from Jude Bellingham s square pass while Kane doubled the lead, before Bukayo Saka s second-half strike secured the Three Lions World Cup quarter-final place in Qatar.
Aged 32 years and 170 days, Henderson became England s second-oldest scorer at the finals, after Tom Finney against USSR in 1958 (36 years, 64 days).
Gareth Southgate s side have looked a more cohesive unit since the Liverpool skipper was introduced into the starting line-up for their final Group B match against Wales, and Kane highlighted his impact on the team.
Jude Bellingham
— Jordan H…
Udinese midfielder Alexander Merkel would welcome the opportunity to sign for Bundesliga club Hoffenheim.
The 21-year-old only joined the Serie A side in January after signing a five-year deal from fellow Italian side Genoa.
But he has found his opportunities limited and made just five appearances for Udinese since his move, with Merkel admitting a switch to Hoffenheim is one that appeals to him.
Hoffenheim has a great, young team that plays attractive football, Merkel told Bild.
I would listen to everything. Because the situation at Udinese is unsatisfactory for me. In the plans of coach I play no role.
Should the youngster join Hoffenheim it would mark a return to Germany for Kazakhstan-born Merkel after he started his career in Stuttgart s youth team be…
Jermaine Pennant has signed a new deal at Stoke City which will keep him at the Britannia Stadium for another season, the club have confirmed.
The winger had been expected to move on this summer after his contract expired, though he has been kept by new manager Mark Hughes.
The Welshman has admitted to being impressed by the 30 year old, who signed for the Potters from Spanish side Real Zaragoza back in 2010, have initially joined on loan.
He spent a proportion of last season on loan at Wolverhampton Wanderers, though was unable to help them avoid relegation to League One.
Pennant began his career at Notts County, but joined Arsenal before making a first team appearance for £2million, a then record for a trainee.
Loan moves to Watford, L…
Goalkeeper Keylor Navas has warned that a failure to fight for maximum points in the Clasico would be unworthy of Real Madrid.
Zinedine Zidane s side head into Saturday s game at Camp Nou with a 10-point deficit to opponents and La Liga leaders Barcelona, making victory vital to keep their slim title hopes alive.
We can t give up, that s not worthy of Madrid, Navas said in a video posted on his official website.
It s a very important game for us and we re going to give everything. We ll try to do our best and hopefully we will win.
In spite of the difficult circumstances, we have to give everything for the shirt. It s a game that the whole world watches and, irrespective of the three points, it s important to win it.
Madrid have not beaten Bar…
Borussia Monchengladbach have confirmed Havard Nordtveit will not continue with the club next season as he looks to make a move to the Premier League.
Nordtveit, 25, spent three years at Arsenal between 2007 and 2010 but failed to make a senior appearance at the Emirates.
The Norway international then signed on with Bundesliga outfit Monchengladbach, where he has gone on to make almost 180 appearances in all competitions across six seasons.
However, with the defensive midfielder s contract expiring at the end of the season, Nordtveit is intent to make a return to England.
Havard Nordtveit has opted not to extend his contract and will move to England in the summer.
— Borussia (@borussia_en)
West Ham are reportedly the front…
Real Madrid attacker Gareth Bale admits he may celebrate a winning goal against former club Tottenham in the Champions League.
The European champions were drawn alongside Spurs, Borussia Dortmund and APOEL in Group H, but will have to wait until next month for their meeting with the Premier League side.
Bale left Tottenham for Madrid in 2013 and the Wales international has won three Champions League crowns during his time in Spain.
The 28-year-old said he may struggle to control himself if he nets a late winner when he faces his former club.
I scored against Spurs in a pre-season game a couple of years ago and I didn t really celebrate then, Bale told the Daily Mail.
I suppose it depends on how you feel on the day. If it s a 91st-minute winner, …
Peter Stoger is eyeing a final-day upset against Borussia Dortmund as Cologne seek to clinch a first top-half Bundesliga finish since the 1991-92 campaign.
Dortmund s title bid was finally ended last weekend as Thomas Tuchel s men were beaten 1-0 at lowly Eintracht Frankfurt, while Bayern Munich were crowned champions again following a 2-1 win at Ingolstadt.
That result did Cologne a favour as it helped them move two points clear of Ingolstadt in ninth and coach Stoger now wants to finish the season in style on Saturday against a Dortmund side who may have an eye on the DFB-Pokal final, where they face Bayern.
The match against Dortmund is the ideal way to close the season, he said.
There are not too many games on the road that are as interesting and at…
Aston Villa defender Ritchie De Laet joined A-League club Melbourne City on a season-long loan.
The two-time Belgium international, 29, reunites with City coach Warren Joyce, who worked with De Laet at Royal Antwerp and while in charge of Manchester United s reserves.
De Laet, who was part of Leicester City s Premier League-winning squad in the first half of 2015-16, has struggled for game time since joining Villa two years ago.
Ritchie has a lot of experience at a very high level and his quality and versatility provides us with a number of options, Joyce said of De Laet, who joins City as a marquee player.
I know Ritchie well having coached him before during my time in England and Belgium. He can play as a defender or across the midfield with quality o…
La Liga powerhouse Atletico Madrid has been credited with an interest in in-form Lazio star Luis Alberto according to reports in Italy.
The 25-year-old attacking midfielder has been one of the key members of highly exciting Lazio squad.
Luis Alberto’s impressive performances helped Aquile with the Italian Super Cup and lose only one match this season, whereas his fantastic exploits also gained plenty of attention from Europe’s biggest clubs.
Luis Alberto managed three goals and six assists in 14 appearances across all competitions for Lazio which was more than enough to turn Atletico Madrid’s head.
The Spanish midfielder is contracted to Lazio until the summer of 2021.
He joined the Serie A outfit from Liverpool in 2016 for paltry €4 mill…
Gonzalo Higuain will leave Juventus and join a club outside Serie A, his brother and agent has confirmed.
Juve boss Andrea Pirlo confirmed last month that the striker will be allowed to leave as he will not be part of the first-team picture in 2020-21.
Higuain, who joined from Napoli in 2016 in a €90million deal, has won three Serie A titles and two Coppe Italia with the Bianconeri but spent most of 2018-19 out on loan with Milan and Chelsea.
His brother, Nicolas, says they have agreed to part ways with Juve a year before his contract expires and have already received approaches from clubs in Europe, China and the United States although none of those are of particular interest.
Gonzalo still has one year on his contract, but the club and Pirlo have uni…