Soccer VDO

England manager Gareth Southgate believes Marcus Rashford has the big-game mentality which makes special from most of his national teammates. The Manchester United forward has been backed to shine in the upcoming friendlies against the Netherlands and Italy, where the Three Lions will be without the services of Harry Kane through an injury.

Speaking in a press conference, Southgate talked about the mentality of the United graduate, who played a significant role for England during the back-end of their World Cup qualifiers. The England boss was also in attendance to watch Rashford score a brace against Liverpool this month, and the 47-year-old feels the youngster is not fazed by the big occasions.

Manchester United legend Roy Keane was critical over the performance of Jack Wilshere following Arsenal's shock Europa League defeat to Ostersund in the round of 16 second-leg. The Gunners had secured a comfortable 3-0 lead from the first-leg, but they made hard meal of their home fixture, though they eventually qualified by a 4-2 aggregate score.

Speaking on ITV, Keane was not impressed with the lack of urgency in the Gunners' play versus Ostersund. The former United ace continued to dub Wilshere as the most 'overrated player on the planet' after he failed to lead by example being the skipper on the night.

Labour Party president Jeremy Corbyn does not believes England will offer a strong challenge for the 2018 World Cup despite deemed by many as one of the dark horses for the upcoming tournament in Russia. The Three Lions suffered a damaging exit in the group stages in Brazil four years ago, and they are hoping for a vast improvement with several younger stars having emerged from the Premier League.

In an interview with Copa90 Youtube channel, Corbyn was asked about his favourites for the upcoming World Cup, and though he initially went with England, he believes one of Brazil or Germany will end up winning the major showpiece tournament, he said: "I would love to say England but I doubt it. I think it is going to be Brazil or Germany."

Football has been generating a lot of revenue from different sources year on year, and it's got even bigger with the help of sports marketing agencies on the look-out for any means possible to milk a sponsorship deals. The Premier League has been a real money spinner, generating revenue from naming rights, advertising, shirt sponsorship, kits sponsorships, endorsement etc. Recently, even sleeve sponsorships were even introduced.

The biggest clubs across Europe keep negotiating for higher shirt sponsorship deals. Real Madrid are reportedly in negotiations with Fly Emirates for a better deal, commensurate or higher than that of FC Barcelona and possibly Manchester United.

Everton striker Wayne Rooney believes Arsenal should have taken the option of selling both Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil during the summer transfer window. The pair have refused to extend their contracts with the New Year coming up, and it looks likely that they will leave on free transfers at the end of the 2017/18 season.

Speaking to TalkSPORT, Rooney stressed that the duo are likely to leave the Emirates next summer, and this could potentially raise question marks over the Gunner's handling over the situation, he said: "With the two of them not signing contracts in the summer, I think that told you everything. The way it is, I don’t think they will be at Arsenal [next season]. I feel they should have taken the money and looked elsewhere because, although they are top players and it is difficult to let those players leave the football club, when the going gets tough – as it is at the minute for Arsenal – you want players who want to be there and you can put your trust in. If they are not going to be there at the end of the season, maybe there are a few question marks."

England head coach Gareth Southgate has revealed that Danny Drinkwater turned down a recall to the national squad as he is still short of full fitness. The Chelsea midfielder returned for first-team action midway through the previous month, but he has since managed just one start for the west London club.

Speaking to BBC Radio Five Live, Southgate insisted that he can't risk players for the upcoming friendlies versus Germany and Brazil unless they are fully fit. In the absence of Jordan Henderson, the manager had initially planned to recall Drinkwater to the squad, but his denial resulted in a maiden call-up for Burnley's Jack Cork.

England national team coach Gareth Southgate admits that the squad will have to maximise their capabilities if they are to compete with the likes of Spain at next year's World Cup finals in Russia.

The Three Lions qualified for the global tournament with relative ease, but the celebrations were notably subdued due to their boring and familiar type of football in the latter phase of the qualifier group.

Despite having loads of attacking talent, the Three Lions only secured hard-fought 1-0 wins over Slovenia and Lithuania in the final set of World Cup qualifiers with Harry Kane being the saviour in each occasion. Speaking to reporters, Southgate admits that England cannot transform into Spain in the space of eight months, but his side need to show desire to 'evolve as a team' in order to break their World Cup duck.

Harry Kane has hit back at England’s critics while calling for more patience from the country's faithful.

A section of the travelling fans did not like the outlook of the Three Lions' side after they were held up by Malta by a 0-0 scoreline at half-time.

However, Gareth Southgate's side turned things around in the second period to complete a 4-0 rout of Malta with three of those goals coming late in the game. The performance was not well received by the English fans on the ground as well as the television set, and Kane urged them to keep patience as the nation are still in a transition phase.

There are rising concerns over hacking so England players and the staff of the Football Association (FA) are not expected to use a public or hotel Wi-Fi at the 2018 World Cup, according to reports. The FA is gearing up to manage fears over possible hacking threats at the summer mundial in Russia next year.

Sensitive information like injury lists, squad selection plans, player data and tactical sights might be in danger if any hacking is done. There are fears over the reported activities of Fancy Bears hacking group.

Veteran in the England female national side Alex Scot has revealed that she could retire from the game after the Lionesses triumph at the Women’s European Championship.

The 32-year old could retire from international football after making her debut back in 2004.