Gernot Rohr has insisted Nigeria will not lose their crunch World Cup Group D clash with Iceland and is adamant his youthful squad will continue to improve.

Nigeria s hopes of reaching the last 16 hang in the balance following their 2-0 defeat to Croatia on Saturday, and defeat to Iceland would guarantee an early exit for the Super Eagles.

Rohr is sure his side will not slump to a second defeat, but knows Nigeria s inexperienced squad face a tough task to secure a place in the knockout stage.

For me it s no question to lose, I don’t think we ll lose, so I don’t ask this question myself, Rohr answered when questioned how a defeat could impact his future.

You can ask me again after the game, but I tell you we will not lose.

We are the you…

A star-studded panel of Europe-based legends will be urged to protect the game of football by giving expert insight into hot topics including VAR and handball at a UEFA summit on Monday.

Coaches including Jose Mourinho, Fabio Capello, Zinedine Zidane, Carlo Ancelotti, Gareth Southgate and Fabio Capello have joined the 24-man UEFA football board, along with superstar former players Paolo Maldini, Luis Figo, Gareth Bale, Rio Ferdinand, Michael Laudrup, Philipp Lahm and Robbie Keane.

There is one non-European on the board, with Inter s Argentine vice-president Javier Zanetti joining a throng that also includes former Germany team-mates Rudi Voller and Jurgen Klinsmann, plus Netherlands boss Ronald Koeman, Rafael Benitez, Patrick Vieira and Eric Abidal.

The noticeabl…

Riyad Mahrez s hat-trick against Sheffield United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley ensured Manchester City s quest for a treble continued with a 3-0 win.

A resilient Blades defence was undone shortly before the break, Mahrez dispatching from the penalty spot after Daniel Jebbison s rash challenge on Bernardo Silva.

United s hopes of a second-half comeback were wiped away by the Algerian, with just six minutes separating his second and third efforts.

Also through to the Champions League semi-finals and five points behind Arsenal, whom they face on Wednesday, with a game in hand in the Premier League title race, City remain firmly in the hunt on three fronts.

Super from the spot

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup)

The Blades had a gl…

The rumor has it that FC Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola wants Barça’s President Joan Laporta to buy Inter’s Zlatan Ibrahimović. According to Italy’s Gazzetta dello Sport, Inter will receive Barcelona’s Samuel Eto o, 28, and about 30 million euro in exchange for the 27-year-old forward from Sweden.

And Ibrahimović, who was recently awarded the prestigious title “Serie A Top Scorer 2009”, doesn’t seem to have anything against the Spanish team. In fact, in an interview with Sweden’s Sportbladet, Ibrahimović reveals he truly admires FC Barcelona. ”It feels like Barcelona is playing football like th…

Roberto Mancini wants to repeat the success he enjoyed as a manager with Inter Milan at Manchester City.

Mancini was installed in the Eastlands hotseat when the Premier League side sacked former manager Mark Hughes just hours after the club s 4-3 win at home to Sunderland on Saturday.

Speaking to City s website ahead of his first press conference as the club s manager here on Monday, the 45-year-old Mancini said he saw parallels between Inter and City.

I hope history repeats itself, he said.

I am proud to get the job because City is a good club with good players. Manchester is similar to Milan in its football passion, the Italian added.

In Milan there are two big teams there fighting for supremacy and silverware and here it is the same. I like…

Hadi Norouzi, the captain of Iranian football club Persepolis, has di
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ed of heart attack.

Norouzi passed away in his sleep on Thursday according to local media reports. He was 30 years old.

The Iran international forward scored 26 goals in 150 Pro League appearances for Tehran-based Persepolis over a seven-year period.

He also represented Naft Tehran on a season-long loan from November 2013, scoring three times in 12 games.

…

Frank de Boer believes the ongoing feud between captain Mauro Icardi and the Inter ultras is having a negative impact on the club.

Inter host Southampton in Europa League Group K on Thursday looking to end a run of three consecutive defeats in all competitions, the last of which – Sunday s 2-1 home loss to Cagliari – was played out amid a poisonous atmosphere at San Siro.

Argentinian striker Icardi infuriated Inter s Curva Nord ultras after claiming he made himself a hero among his team-mates by standing up to one of the group s leaders after a 3-1 defeat to Sassuolo in 2014-15.

Curva Nord declared Icardi to be finished as an Inter player and the 23-year-old was confronted by banners criticising him during the Cagliari match, where his missed penalty was chee…

Manchester United are interested in signing Ollie Watkins from Aston Villa in the summer transfer window, according to . The report has claimed that the Red Devils are looking to secure the services of the England international striker at the end of the season.

Watkins is having a wonderful season for Villa at the moment and has looked a revitalised figure under manager Unai Emery. The 27-year-old striker has made 32 starts and one substitute appearance in the Premier League for the Villans this season, scoring 14 goals and providing six assists in the process.

Villa are seventh in the Premier League table at the moment with 54 points from 34 matches. Meanwhile, United currently find themselves fourth in the standings with 63 points from 32 games.

…

Lyon have launched a stinging attack on West Ham after Said Benrahma’s transfer to the Ligue 1 club fell through on deadline day.

Algeria winger Benrahma underwent a medical in France on Thursday afternoon ahead of a proposed loan switch and permanent deal in the summer.

However, Lyon say West Ham failed to complete the transfer ahead of the 11pm deadline, accusing the Premier League club of a lack of respect and threatened to take further action.

A statement read: “Olympique Lyonnais deeply regrets the failure of the transfer of Saïd Benrahma, for reasons beyond its control, and questions the behaviour of West Ham which did not succeed in finalising the required administrative procedures despite all the agreements concluded.

Les raisons de l échec…

Massimiliano Allegri expects a patient display from Juventus in the Coppa Italia on Tuesday as they look to overturn a semi-final first-leg defeat to Fiorentina.

The Serie A leaders were beaten 2-1 by Vincenzo Montella s side last month, leaving Allegri s side needing victory by two clear goals to progress to the final.

However, Allegri does not want his side to go all-out and leave themselves at risk of a counter-attack, instead calling for a calm performance.

We have to go to Florence to try to overturn the negative result from the first leg, said Allegri. It won t be easy. At the moment, they re the favourites, as they have the [first leg] result in their favour.

They re going through a good spell, playing good football and getting excellent results,…