Germany have won the 2009 UEFA Under-21 Championships. England were defeated 4-0 at Malmo s New Stadium in Sweden.

The Germans took the lead after 23 minutes, as preparing work from Mesut Özil enabled Gonzalo Castro to clip over keeper Loach for 1-0.

Three minutes after the break, Özil got one himself with a free kick that was slightly misjudged by Loach.

The English were truly broken when Sandro Wagner netted for 3-0 in minute 79, just to add another five minutes later.

Germany and England had held each other to a 1-1 draw in their group match last week. At that point, the Germans had already drawn with Spain and beaten Finland. In the semi finals, Germany beat Italy 1-0 to advance to the final.

While highly successful at t…

Defending champions Egypt and Nigeria clash in the Africa Cup of Nations Group C curtain raiser under the scorching afternoon sun at the brand-new Ombaka Stadium here on Tuesday.

Both teams are expected to progress to the knockout of stage of the continental showpiece at the expense of Mozambique and Benin in the sleepy town of Benguela, about 600 kilometres (370 miles) from the capital Luanda known for its bananas and great beaches.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria are using Angola 2010 as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup, while six-times African champions Egypt again failed to qualify for the global finals after they were upset by fierce regional rivals Algeria in a play-off.

Egypt have not beaten Nigeria since 1977 and the last time both sides clashed at this c…

Barca keen on Coutinho

Champions League holders Barcelona are considering a winter move for Liverpool hotshot Philippe Coutinho, .

It is no secret the Catalans are in the market for an attacking midfielder and have so far been linked with the likes of Sofiane Feghouli, Nolito and Andriy Yarmolenko, among other players.

However, the latest reports seem to suggest that Liverpool s Philippe Coutinho is high on their wish list.

Barcelona officials enquired about the possibility of recruiting the Brazilian during talks for Adama Traore and they now look set to rekindle their interest.

Philippe Coutinho, 23, has developed into one of leading Premier League footballers and it is believed he would be available for €30 million.

The attacking mi…

When talking about some of the top under-23 attacking players in Europe, pundits and fans alike tend to mention the same names over and over again. We have heard about Ousmane Dembele, Jadon Sancho, Kingsley Coman, Anthony Martial, and so many others. However, there is one name that was one of the hottest commodities in the transfer market roughly 12 months ago, and now appears to have become an afterthought. We are talking about Girondins star forward Malcom.

The 21-year-old Brazilian winger who can play all over the attacking third but is far more effective on the wing was linked with a move to Arsenal during the January transfer window, as The Gunners saw him as the ideal long-term replacement for Alexis Sanchez when the Chile international left to join Manchester United. He…

Juventus head coach Massimiliano Allegri is positive about his team s prospects, despite a difficult start to the season.

Juve have won just two of their eight games in all competitions so far (D4, L2), and were beaten 2-1 at home by Benfica on Wednesday in the Champions League.

That marked the first time the Bianconeri have lost their first two games in the group stage, having lost by the same score at Paris Saint-Germain a week prior.

Speaking at a press conference ahead of their Serie A clash at Monza, Allegri said he believes his side are playing well, and just need to pay more attention to details .

We must not only look at the results, he said.  I believe the team is growing. We also had a good reaction physically with Benfica, but we need to …

Reigning European kings Barcelona travel to Stuttgart on Tuesday for a Champions League last-16 first leg clash that a few months ago looked as if it would be a formality for the Spanish giants.

But with the German side on rampant form of late, winning six of their last seven matches including a 5-1 drubbing of Cologne away on Saturday, the Catalans might find themselves with anything but a walk in the park.

We want to create an upset, said Brazilian-born striker Cacau, who scored four of Stuttgart s goals on Saturday.

Barca s captain Carles Puyol is aware that they will have to be careful.

We know that it will not be easy and if we are not fully concentrated then things will go badly. At this stage mistakes can be very expensive, he said.

But…

Bayern Munich must bounce back against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga if they are to make the most of another dominant season, according to sporting director Matthias Sammer.

The German champions produced a rare off-key performance at Porto in the UEFA Champions League succumbing to a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their quarter-final in Portugal.

As a result, Bayern s hopes of securing a treble have been hit, although victory at the Rhein-Neckar Arena would send Pep Guardiola s men 13 points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga ahead of Wolfsburg s clash with Schalke on Sunday.

Errors like ours are punished at this level. It’s frustrating, Sammer told Bayern s official website.

We have to shake ourselves awake. If you want to become a great team, …

Borussia Dortmund head to Hoffenheim in a buoyant mood after edging rivals Bayern Munich to reach the DFB-Pokal final on Tuesday.

Dortmund made a miserable start to the season and sat bottom of the table on more than one occasion, but the cup may provide light at the end of the tunnel, if they can beat Wolfsburg in the May 30 final.

It could also provide outgoing coach Jurgen Klopp with the perfect swansong to his excellent stint in charge at the German giants, which has brought about two Bundesliga titles and a run to the UEFA Champions League final in 2013.

Bayern missed all four penalties in a shootout to end Tuesday s semi-final, leaving Dortmund elated, but CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke has urged the team to move on quickly ahead of a crucial Bundesliga clash on…

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas backs the idea to restart the season in September and switch to a calendar-year format.

Major sport across the globe has been suspended since March due to the coronavirus pandemic, though the Bundesliga hopes to resume on May 9 and Ligue 1 is targeting a return on June 17.

Aulas is not worried about any potential further delays, as long as the 2019-20 campaign is played to completion.

He thinks playing the remaining games from September and beginning the new season at the start of 2021 is a sensible idea, given that the 2022 World Cup is scheduled to take place across November and December of that year.

I have fears we will not be able to resume the season, Aulas told L Equipe.

And that is why we should perhaps …

Manchester United attacker Daniel James revealed his anger when a move from Swansea City to Leeds United fell through in crazy fashion last year.

James, 22, was on the verge of joining Leeds in January 2019, just months before his switch to Old Trafford.

The 10-time Wales international said he had agreed to head to Leeds before the move fell through as the window closed.

I got to Elland Road about 6pm, did all the pictures with my shirt, all the interviews, because they wanted it to go out in the morning, and then it was strange, James told former Swansea team-mate Kenji Gorre on the Living The Dream podcast.

It got to about 9pm and I d signed all the papers and then it was from club-to-club. I had people texting me saying, What s happening? and I liter…