Wigan chairman Dave Whelan has confirmed unsettled winger Charles N Zogbia will not join the team on their pre-season trip to Austria.
Frenchman N Zogbia is reportedly agitating for a move away from the DW Stadium and his exclusion from the training camp appears to be a further indication of his likely departure.
The 25-year-old, who joined Wigan from Newcastle United in 2009, was close to joining Birmingham City last season, but failed to agree personal terms with the club.
The team have gone to Austria today but Zoggy (N Zogbia) hasn t gone, Whelan told Sky Sports News.
He is a great lad to have around the club. If we do lose him, and we may well do because he has expressed a desire to move on, we will miss him enormously.
But he is a great…
Despite securing qualification to Euro 2012 in style, Joachim Loew wants more from Germany ahead of Tuesday s friendly against Poland.
Germany thrashed Austria 6-2 at the Veltins Arena on Friday, with Mesut Oezil s hat-trick and goals from Lukas Podolski, Andre Schurrle and Mario Gotze booking a place in next year s European Championship finals in Poland and the Ukraine.
Since losing to Spain in the final of Euro 2008, Loew has moulded a youthful Germany side into one of the most attractive and attacking teams in international football.
They are already being talked about as the most likely challengers to Spain s dominance at the tournament next June and July.
But Loew has been quick to point out that his team must overcome sterner challenges than the li…
Stoke City added to Mauricio Pochettino s Premier League woes with a 2-1 victory over Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.
Goals from Bojan Krkic and Jonathan Walters subjected Tottenham to a fourth home defeat of the top-flight season, and Stoke s first league win over them since 2011.
Bojan s mazy dribble led to his first goal of the campaign in the opening six minutes, while Walters added a second just after the half hour with a close-range volley.
Pochettino s attempts to revive Tottenham after the break took time to have any effect, but eventually the hosts got back into the match as Nacer Chadli volleyed home from an improbable angle in the 78th minute.
Tottenham continued to push for an equaliser, but they were hampered by Kyle Naugton s late…
Stand-in captain Moussa Sissoko led by example for Newcastle United on Saturday, scoring 12 minutes from time to see off QPR in a 1-0 win.
The France international skippering the side in place of injured Fabricio Coloccini played a clever one-two with Sammy Ameobi before steering a 78th-minute strike home as Newcastle recorded a fifth straight Premier League victory for the first time since April 2012.
QPR had seemed on their way to a first away point of the season, as Harry Redknapp s side stood firm for much of the game under plenty of Newcastle pressure.
As Alan Pardew saw his side toil against a resolute backline, he also watched on as Ryan Taylor who made his first top-flight start in 32 months limp off with what seemed like another knee problem in the first…
Iran set a new record in World Cup qualifying on Thursday by keeping a 12th successive clean sheet.
Carlos Queiroz s side, who booked their place at Russia 2018 by defeating Uzbekistan last June, held South Korea to a 0-0 draw in Seoul to extend their impressive run despite being reduced to 10 men after Saeid Ezatolahi s red card in the 52nd minute.
Iran s imposing streak began with a 6-0 victory over Guam in the second round of World Cup qualifying in November 2015 and encompasses 1,108 minutes over 18 hours of football.
Across their entire campaign, Iran have conceded just three goals in 17 matches. Their final fixture is a home encounter with Syria on Tuesday.
NEW RECORDS
games without conceding in a row
That s 1108 minutes without conceding
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Gareth Bale says he played a part in getting Liverpool sensation Ben Woodburn to choose Wales over England.
Woodburn came off the substitutes bench to score a brilliant strike on his debut as Wales won 1-0 against Austria on Saturday.
And ahead of Tuesday s World Cup qualifying match in Moldova, Real Madrid star Bale revealed he had played a part in ensuring the 17-year-old attacker committed to Wales instead of England, for whom he is also eligible.
I remember meeting him in one game, I think it was against Holland [in November 2015], Bale told reporters.
He was injured and he was sat in the box next to me as he s with my agency Stellar.
I had a little chat with him then, getting [him] on board because obviously we knew he was a great play…
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is unsure if star duo Antonio Brown and Rob Gronkowski will return for Sunday s NFL showdown with the Washington Football Team.
Brown has missed Tampa Bay s last two games due to an ankle injury, while Gronkowski is battling to overcome back spasms that flared up in the loss to the New Orleans Saints on October 31.
Super Bowl champions the Buccaneers are coming off the bye and practiced on Monday, though neither Brown nor Gronkowski were involved.
I think you still have to worry a little bit about Gronk and I don t know if AB is going to be back, Arians told reporters.
And Carlton [Davis III] will stay on IR [injured reserve]. We ll see if those other two guys are game-ready.
It s one thing to practi…
Pep Guardiola feels Manchester City playmaker Bernardo Silva is one of the best three players in the Premier League and Portugal s star performer.
Former Monaco favourite Silva joined City in May 2017 and has taken his game to new heights this season, staring in both central midfield and wide attacking roles.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not featured for his country since the 2018 World Cup but remains in prolific form for Juventus, meaning Guardiola s observation that Silva is now his country s main man might raise some eyebrows.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of Wednesday s Champions League last-16 meeting with Schalke, Guardiola was asked whether the 24-year-old would be the next big star of Portuguese football.
He is the biggest star already, he replie…
Gareth Southgate is hopeful Jordan Henderson and Jack Grealish won t miss too much football after the duo withdrew from the England squad ahead of Monday s World Cup qualifier against San Marino.
The Three Lions manager confirmed that both players suffered minor injuries in Friday s 5-0 win over Albania.
Grealish did manage to train the following day, but he has now returned to Manchester City for further assessment, while Henderson has headed back to Liverpool.
England only need to avoid defeat against the lowest-ranked team in the world to qualify for Qatar 2022.
Speaking at a media conference on Sunday, Southgate said: With Henderson it was within the [Albania] game. With Jack, we think a little bit perhaps within the game, but he trained yeste…
Netherlands head coach Louis van Gaal insisted his brain still works following a bike accident left him temporarily in a wheelchair.
Van Gaal suffered a hip injury after falling off his bicycle on Sunday and oversaw Monday s training session from a golf buggy ahead of the Netherlands crucial World Cup qualifier against Norway.
The Netherlands require at least a draw from their Group G decider on Tuesday to clinch a berth at Qatar 2022.
Van Gaal, who will be able to coach his nation when the Netherlands and Norway clash in Rotterdam, was keen to stress his brain remains intact following the incident.
Putting in the work for !
— OnsOranje (@OnsOranje)
Physically, I m bad. But my brain still works, former Manchester United, Bayern Munic…