England s struggling bid to host the 2018 World Cup finals suffered another setback on Tuesday when English Premier League (EPL) chairman Dave Richards resigned from the board.

Richards, in a letter to David Triesman, the chairman of both the bid and England s governing Football Association, said he would continue to support the campaign but no longer wanted to be a board member.

His move came just 10 days after Triesman, already under fire for a dual role which his critics maintain does not leave him with enough time to devote to the bid, had tried to calm rising tensions by streamlining the board.

Richards said in a statement: My positions as Premier League chairman, FA board member and chairman of the FA s international committee provide me with ample opportu…

Manchester United’s 4-3 defeat to Chelsea on Thursday night extended a chaotic defensive season which has seen them give up the most shots in the Premier League since the turn of the year.

Here, the PA news agency looks at United’s record.

Shots fired

Having gone 3-2 up through Alejandro Garnacho in the 67th minute, United allowed Chelsea to have the final 10 shots of Thursday’s madcap game and paid the price as Cole Palmer scored in the 10th and 11th minutes of stoppage time to complete his hat-trick and win the game.

That took Chelsea’s total attempts for the match to 28 and meant Erik ten Hag’s side have faced 224 Premier League shots in 2024 – eight more than any other club.

Brentford (216), Sheffield United (206), West Ham (205) and Luto…

Harry Kane can lead Bayern Munich back to Champions League glory, according to his former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp.

Kane joined the Bavarian giants from Tottenham last week for an estimated €117million (£100m), leaving as Spurs record goalscorer and joining a Bayern side targeting their 12th consecutive Bundesliga title this season.

For all their domestic success, however, Bayern have suffered three consecutive quarter-final exits from the Champions League, last winning Europe s premier club competition in 2019-20.

But Redknapp, who handed Kane his Spurs debut in a Europa League qualifier against Hearts in 2011, believes the 30-year-old is the best striker in the world and can spearhead Bayern s return to Champions League glory.

He s just for …

After an eventful first 100 days in charge of Napoli, Antonio Conte says hard work is his first requirement ahead of the Partenopei s trip to Cagliari on Sunday.

Conte endured a difficult start to his Napoli career, overseeing a heavy 3-0 defeat to Verona on the opening matchday of the Serie A season.

However, victories over Bologna (3-0) and Parma (2-1) have Napoli looking up, and they could now win three straight league games under a single head coach for the first time since February 2023 – when they went on to win the Scudetto under Luciano Spalletti (eight in a row).

At the end of a tumultuous period that also saw Victor Osimhen leave for Galatasaray on loan and Romelu Lukaku join as his replacement, Conte feels the foundations have been laid for future su…

Defending champions Spain will face Italy in the Euro 2012 group stage while England will need to get past France and co-hosts Ukraine.

The 16 nations competing at next year s European Championships in Poland and Ukraine found out their group stage opponents for the tournament at the draw in Kiev on Friday.

Co-hosts Poland will be hopeful of qualifying for the quarter-finals after being drawn with Russia, Greece and the Czech Republic in Group A.

Beaten World Cup finalists the Netherlands were drawn in Group B alongside Germany, Portugal and Denmark.

Reigning World and European champions Spain face a tricky road into the last eight, drawn with Italy, Croatia and the Republic of Ireland in Group C.

In Group D, England will be hoping to reverse the…

Liverpool and Manchester City are among the clubs who are interested in signing Nicolo Barella from Inter Milan, according to . The report has claimed that Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid are also keen on Barella.

Barella is one of the best midfielders in the world and is a key player for Inter. The 27-year-old has done well for the Italian club in Serie A and the UEFA Champions League. Inter do not want to sell the Italy international and value him at €90 million, which could be an issue for the clubs who are keeping tabs on him.

The former Cagliari star has been on the books of Inter since 2020 on a permanent basis after a loan spell at the Nerazzurri in 2019-20. Barella has won Serie A twice, the Coppa Italian on two occasions, and reached the final of the UEFA Cha…

Lionel Scaloni lauded Lionel Messi s commitment to Argentina despite being forced to withdraw from their Copa America success against Colombia.

Messi was substituted for the first time at the tournament since 2007, also against Colombia, having been unable to shake off an ankle injury sustained in the first half.

The eight-time Ballon d Or winner was reduced to tears as he left the field of play in the 66th minute in what could potentially be his final appearance for La Albiceleste.

But that disappointment quickly turned to ecstasy as Lautaro Martinez s fifth tournament goal secured La Albiceleste a record 16th Copa crown.

Scaloni went on to detail Messi s desire to continue at the Hard Rock Stadium, saying that his Argentina teammates should take not…

The Netherlands edged a 3-2 thriller with Ukraine in the pick of the Euro 2020 matches to date, while England and Austria also got off the mark in their opening group games on Sunday.

Denzel Dumfries was the late hero for the Oranje with his first international goal to sink Ukraine, who had battled back from two goals down in Amsterdam to temporarily level things.

Austria also left it late to see off minnows North Macedonia 3-1 in Bucharest earlier in the day and England beat Croatia 1-0 at Wembley through a well-taken Raheem Sterling strike.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at some of the best facts from across Sunday s entertaining action at Euro 2020.

What a moment for Denzel Dumfries!

First international goal = opening game winner