Belarus 20:45 Luxembourg (EURO 2016 QUALFIERS)

Belarus will look to end a five-game wait for a competitive home win as they welcome a Luxembourg side who they were unable to beat in their opening Group C game.Luxembourg will look to end another long drought away from home in qualifying matches as they come up against Belarus in UEFA EURO 2016 Group C.
• The Luxembourgers are boosted by Saturday's 1-0 home success over now-bottom-ranked FYR Macedonia, whom they have leapfrogged to join Tuesday's visitors Belarus on four points in the section. Neither team can now qualify, however, despite the weekend victory being Luxembourg's first win of the campaign.

• Aleksandr Martynovich (Belarus) and Christopher Martins (Luxembourg) are both suspended after accumulating three bookings. The following players are a yellow card away from a ban: Timofei Kalachev, Igor Shitov (Belarus), Daniel Da Mota, Dwayn Holter, Ben Payal and Chris Philipps (Luxembourg).

Previous meetings
• Stanislav Dragun struck to cancel out Lars Gerson's opener as Belarus held Luxembourg to a 1-1 draw in the teams' first Group C encounter last September.

• Belarus's record in seven matches against Luxembourg is W3 D3 L1 (W2 D0 L1 in Belarus – W1 D3 L0 in Luxembourg). The sides have been drawn together in three successive UEFA European Championship qualifying competitions, also pooled together in the run-up to UEFA EURO 2008 and UEFA EURO 2012.

• On 13 October 2007, Alphonse Leweck's header secured a 1-0 triumph for Luxembourg in Belarus – their first competitive victory in 12 years.

Form guide
• Belarus are without a win in five competitive home games (D1 L4), including defeats in their last four – and their only three competitive games at the new Borisov Arena.

• Luxembourg have lost their last five competitive away matches. They have not won in 17 away qualifiers (D3 L14) since a shock 2-1 success against Switzerland in qualifying for the 2010 FIFA World Cup on 10 September 2008.

Trivia and links
• Luxembourg midfielder Payal turns 27 the day of the Belarus game. Team-mate Da Mota celebrates his 30th birthday three days later.

• Luxembourg's record in four UEFA age-group competition matches against Belarus is W0 D2 L2.

• In the only encounters between the nations' clubs in UEFA competition, Dinamo Minsk beat CS Hobscheid 6-0 at home in the first round of the 2001 UEFA Intertoto Cup, drawing the return fixture 1-1.

Chelsea willing for Ivanovic to run down contract

Chelsea are ready to cut loose Branislav Ivanovic.

The Sunday Mirror says the Serbian right-back is out of contract at the end of the season and is yet to be offered fresh terms.

The Sunday Mirror report that MLS sides LA Galaxy and New York City FC are both eager to bring him to the USA.

They also say that Cesar Azpilicueta then will switch from left-back to the right side and new signing Abdul Baba Rahman come in.

WILMOTS SLAMS HAZARD

The former Lille winger has been criticised for his performances by Jose Mourinho in the opening weeks of the season and was similarly singled out by his international manager

Eden Hazard's late winner in Belgium's 1-0 defeat of Cyprus was not enough to spare him the wrath of coach Marc Wilmots, who described the Chelsea man as his worst player on the night.

Hazard slammed home Dries Mertens' cross late on in a dour game in Nicosia to all but confirm Belgium's place at Euro 2016, but Wilmots was less than impressed with his side's laboured performance.

This follows hot on the heels of Jose Mourinho hitting out at the former Lille man for his performance level in the Blues opening Premier League games .

And Wilmots too singled Hazard out for criticism, telling reporters: "He was the worst tonight.

"I thought about substituting him, but in the last 10 minutes he always the ability to do that. At the World Cup, this was the case.

"I obviously expect more from him, but he will grow as the season progresses."

Wilmots praised Mertens and fellow substitute Divock Origi for turning the game in Belgium's favour, but was less than impressed with the overall display, which came three days after a 3-1 home win over Bosnia-Herzegovina.

He said: "The contribution of Origi and Mertens in the second half was important, because I wanted quick combinations. As a result, in the last half hour we were often dangerous.

"Collectively, this was one of our worst performances I do not know why.

"Maybe because we're still early in the season and we cannot yet play at a high enough pace. Guys like Marouane Fellaini have little rhythm in the legs."

He added: "We have to play two games in 72 hours, which is evident, especially in this heat.

"Moreover, everyone wants to win against us, and this also applies to Cyprus."

Belgium now sit second in Group B, knowing victory over rock-bottom Andorra will send them to Franc

FORMER CHELSEA STRIKER REJOINS WERDER BREMEN

The former Chelsea striker has moved to the Bundesliga club for the third time in his career, and has been reunited with head coach Viktor Skrypnyk, a former team-mate of his
Claudio Pizarro has joined Werder Bremen for the third time in his career after agreeing a deal until the end of the season.
The veteran striker first represented the Bundesliga club between 1999 and 2001 before leaving for domestic rivals Bayern Munich.

Pizarro returned to the Weserstadion on an initial loan deal in August 2008 following an unhappy spell with Chelsea in the Premier League before signing permanently a year later.

The Peru international again left for Bayern ahead of the 2012-13 season, but his contract at the Allianz Arena was not renewed at the end of last term leaving him free to rejoin Bremen.

"I am pleased to be here again," he told the club's official website. "It is a very challenging task. I hope I can use my experience as much as possible for the team."

Pizarro won the DFB-Pokal with Bremen in 2009 and counts six Bundesliga titles, five Pokals and a Champions League medal among his achievements with Bayern.

The 36-year-old has been reunited with head coach Viktor Skrypnyk, who was a team-mate of Pizarro's during his first spell at Bremen.

MICHAEL CARRICK WITHDRAWS FROM ENGLAND SQUARD

England midfielder Michael Carrick has withdrawn from the national squad due to injury, the national team have announced.

Having been left on the bench for the 6-0 win over San Marino, the 34-year-old man was tipped to feature in the Three Lions' upcoming clash with Switzerland, but now returns to Old Trafford with Jonjo Shelvey likely to make the cut instead.


.@ManUtd midfielder @carras16 has withdrawn from the #3Lions squad due to injury and will return to his club. pic.twitter.com/iHdWQ9eXqE
— England (@england) September 7, 2015

Official: Kakuta joins Sevilla from Chelsea

The midfielder has sealed a permanent switch to the Europa League holders and admits his departure from Chelsea came about quickly

Gael Kakuta has completed his move to Sevilla after leaving Chelsea.
The midfielder spent last season on loan with Rayo Vallecano and enjoyed an impressive campaign under Paco Jemez.
With his prospects of first-team football bleak at Stamford Bridge, Kakuta has now sealed a switch to Europa League holders Sevilla, having successfully completed a medical.
"I'm here because of what I did at Rayo. I can bring quality to this team," the 23-year-old told the Liga club's official website.
"I really like the sporting project and the fact that Sevilla play good football. It's true I've been to a lot of clubs but I came here for some stability. My aim is to stay here."
Kakuta, who has also spent loan spells with Fulham, Bolton, Dijon and Vitesse, admits his transfer was sealed so quickly he did not have time to discuss matter with Jose Mourinho.
"I didn't have to talk with the coach," he said. "The exit was very quick."
Kakuta joined Chelsea from Lens but managed just 16 appearances for the club from 2009 onwards.
"We thank Gael for his service and wish him well for the future," a statement on Chelsea's official website read.

 

Di Maria: I'd swap all my club trophies for a title with Argentina 

Angel Di Maria claims he would swap all of his club trophies, including the Champions League win with Real Madrid, for a major title with Argentina.

The 27-year-old inspired Madrid to La Decima (their 10th European Cup crown) with a man of the match performance in the final against Atletico in Lisbon last May, but says winning a major title with his national side would mean much more.

"I honestly think I would swap all that I have won in my career to win something with the Argentine national team," he told the Copa America official site in an exclusive interview.

Di Maria won the Under-20 World Cup with the Albiceleste in 2007 and scored the winning goal to claim the gold medal for Argentina's Under-23 team at the Beijing Olympics the following year, but is without a title for the senior side.

"We were just a step away and we felt it was almost ours," he said in reference to last year's World Cup final defeat against Germany. "And I think there can be nothing more special than winning something with the shirt of your national team.

"There is no comparison. Everything you can win with your club is special, it's spectacular. Winning the Champions League was the best thing that has happened to me at a club, the best thing that happened to me in my life. But I don't think anything can compare to winning something with your country.

"Because it's your country, because you feel the shirt, you feel the support of a country behind you. We experienced that in Brazil. Every time we went out on to the pitch, we knew there were 40 million Argentines behind us, millions of Argentines in Brazil sleeping on streets, sleeping in camper vans. And you feel that.

"There were millions of Argentines who didn't have tickets, but they didn't care. They were there to support us and they left behind millions of things to come and see the Selección, come and watch us play and support us. So that's why there is no comparison."