Gaizka Mendieta approves of Julen Lopetegui s decision to leave Alvaro Morata out of Spain s World Cup squad, believing it is more important to have options in other positions.

Lopetegui has included only two traditional centre forwards, Diego Costa and Rodrigo, in his 23-man group for the tournament, with Chelsea s Morata omitted after a mixed first season in the Premier League.

And while Spain now have few alternatives in attack, Mendieta trusts that this decision has been made to include players in other positions who are some of the best in the world .

Speaking courtesy of Nissan, official Champions League partner, the former Valencia man said: If you look at the positions, I think we have some of the best players in the world.

So I am not worried ab…

Pep Guardiola has admitted Manchester City may need to seek a replacement for Kalvin Phillips in January if the England midfielder moves on.

Phillips, 28, is expected to leave the Etihad next month in search of regular first-team football, having been unable to force his way into Guardiola’s side in the 18 months since his £42million switch from Leeds.

And while Guardiola insisted he was not thinking about the January market, that might change if he was left short of numbers in midfield, where City have struggled any time their regular enforcer Rodri has been missing through injury or suspension.

“Right now I don’t have anything in my mind,” Guardiola said. “It depends if they leave or don’t leave. Some players stay, some players leave. It depends on…

According to a recent report from AS, Martin Odegaard could be recalled early from his loan spell with Real Sociedad by parent club Real Madrid. The youngster was sent on loan to Sociedad during the recent summer transfer window with the original plan being that he would remain there for two years before heading back to Real in 2021. Now, however, he’s set to be recalled by Madrid in June 2020 – one whole year early. 

Whether or not they’re able to do that comes down to the terms within the contract, but at the end of the day, this doesn’t feel like all too much of a shock to the system. Madrid have always done their own thing and they’ve always made it clear that they are the alpha males in any potential transfer dealings they may have. 

Sociedad have enjoy…

Robert Moreno has been appointed as Spain s permanent head coach after Luis Enrique stepped down from the role.

The 41-year-old has already overseen three Euro 2020 qualifiers – all of which were wins – while Luis Enrique was absent due to a family emergency and has now been handed the reins on a full-time basis.

During Wednesday s news conference, Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) president Luis Rubiales confirmed Moreno will be in charge until the end of Euro 2020.

But who is Moreno and how did someone with such little pedigree as a head coach come to arrive in Spanish football s most senior role?

EARLY CAREER

Rather than the traditional route of going from the pitch to the dugout, Moreno, born in Barcelona in 1977, started…

Michael Carrick will call time on his professional career at the end of this season, the Manchester United and England midfielder has confirmed.

The 36-year-old club captain has featured sparingly for United this season, having been sidelined earlier in the campaign due to a heart scare.

He returned to action last month but, speaking at a news conference ahead of Tuesday s Champions League last-16 match against Sevilla, Carrick confirmed the current campaign will be his last.

There comes a time when, as much as you don t like, your body tells you it s time to stop playing football, he said.

That s pretty much where I m at, which is fine.

In January, United boss Jose Mourinho said he expected Carrick to retire at the end of 2017-18 and join the …

Barcelona reached the Supercopa de Espana final after beating Real Sociedad 3-2 on penalties following a 1-1 draw in Cordoba.

With Lionel Messi sitting out the tie with a slight injury, it was Frenkie de Jong who continued his strong recent form with the opening goal in the first half.

De Jong conceded the penalty that allowed Mikel Oyarzabal to equalise, though, and it was Sociedad who threatened most as the game entered extra time, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen in strong form and substitute Adnan Januzaj hitting the post with a free-kick.

Ter Stegen proved pivotal in the shoot-out, making two saves, before Riqui Puig buried his spot-kick to send Barca through.

The Germany international made a fine one-on-one save to deny Alexander Isak as La Real looked by…

Thibaut Courtois says Belgium s players are hungry to get their hands on a first-ever World Cup in Qatar next year.

Belgium, ranked number one in the world, finished third at the 2018 tournament, beating England in a play-off after they had lost to eventual winners France at the semi-final stage.

Roberto Martinez s side started their qualification campaign for next year s competition with a 3-1 win over Wales, though they were held to a 1-1 draw by the Czech Republic on Saturday.

Courtois is no stranger to silverware, having won both the Premier League and LaLiga twice, as well as the Europa League back in 2012.

The Real Madrid goalkeeper desperately wants to add the World Cup to that haul and he is in no doubt his team-mates share his desire.

I…

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Knowing that they need to pick up maximum points on Monday evening, West Brom will host rivals Wolves from behind closed doors at The Hawthorns.

West Brom

Starting with the hosts, while West Brom might have been moments away from another crucial victory last weekend, it was late heartbreak on the road for Sam Allardyce s side. Watching Midlands rivals Aston Villa snatch a last-gasp point thanks to a costly mistake at the back, The Baggies find themselves on the verge of being hit with an immediate Championship return. Although the one-time England boss might have seen his side enjoy a recent boost since returning from the international break, they do open Monday s meeting sat nine points adrift of safety. With it appearing that their t…

Roberto Martinez confirmed he has taken charge of Belgium for the final time following their World Cup exit, but he does not believe this is the end for the country s golden generation .

Belgium finished third in Group F after toiling to a 0-0 draw with second-placed Croatia at Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on Thursday, ensuring they failed to qualify from a World Cup group for the first time since 1998.

Martinez – who led Belgium to their best World Cup finish when they claimed bronze in Russia four years ago – was under contract until the end of the tournament, and has revealed he planned to walk away however the Red Devils fared.

That was my last game for the national team and it was emotional. I can t carry on, sorry, a visibly moved Martinez said at his post-ma…

Juventus hopes of a top-four Serie A finish suffered a huge double blow as the Bianconeri were thrashed 4-1 at Empoli on the same day they received a 10-point deduction.

Moments before kick-off, Juve expressed great bitterness at the Italian Football Federation s decision to issue a new penalty over alleged transfer irregularities, putting them seventh in the table.

Massimiliano Allegri s side showed no signs of being fired up by that ruling, as Francesco Caputo s penalty and Sebastiano Luperto s powerful effort quickly put Empoli in control.

Caputo doubled up with a delicate finish after half-time and though Federico Chiesa pulled one back, Roberto Piccoli s stoppage-time strike compounded the visitors misery and left them five points outside the top four with…