With the 2018 World Cup in Russia kicking off in less than a month, SoccerNews.com is commencing its own series of group predictions where you will be able to find previews of all the teams taking part in this summer’s showpiece tournament, latest team news and best betting odds and suggestions.

Following on from our first three previews, we ve arrived at Group D. There s an argument to be made that this is the real Group of Death throughout the entire tournament, which is hardly something that people would ve been expecting to say if this group was drawn out back in 2014.

Argentina would usually be pinpointed as the clear favourites to reach the knockout stages, but given how they fared in qualifying, that may not wind up being the case. On the other hand, you ve got…

Didier Deschamps said France will take it day by day when it comes to Kylian Mbappe s recovery, but confirmed the forward will require surgery.

Mbappe broke his nose late on during France s win over Austria at Euro 2024 on Monday.

The 25-year-old, who will join Real Madrid officially in July, is reportedly out of Friday s match against the Netherlands, and France have not placed a timescale on his return, which may mean he misses the rest of the group stage altogether.

In an interview published to France s official Twitter account on Tuesday, Deschamps said: There will still be exams tomorrow to make sure we see how things evolve.

The medical staff did what was necessary to reduce it as much as possible. Even if it will not be immediately, he will have t…

Lazio striker Miroslav Klose says he is planning to call time on his career after the 2014 World Cup.

The Germany international moved to Lazio in the close season to embark on his first experience abroad after stints at Bundesliga clubs Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich.

Klose has been in fine form since his move to the Italian capital, with his decisive strike in Lazio s 2-1 victory against local rivals Roma on Sunday taking his tally to six goals.

The 33-year-old confessed he is looking to see out his career with Lazio, setting the World Cup in Brazil as the last competition in which he will feature.

If all goes as planned, I will play until 2014 with Lazio, Klose told Kicker. Before retiring from football, I will play at the World Cup.

Those …

Many believe that Spanish La Liga is the strongest football league in Europe and with sides like Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Sevilla vying for the coveted trophy every year. It’s not difficult to understand why the Spanish domestic league and all the transfer dealings surrounding the top clubs generate plenty of interest around the world.

Just like all other top leagues, Spanish La Liga only allows clubs to sign new players during summer and winter transfer windows, open between 1 July & 31 August and 1 January and 31 January respectively. Having said that, free transfers can be completed outside said dates. All the deals need to go through the FIFA Transfer Matching System before they are confirmed as details entered by the selling and buying club need to …

Marco Reus will leave Borussia Dortmund when his contract expires at the end of the season, the club have announced.

Reus, a Dortmund native, first joined the club in 1995 and spent 10 years in their youth ranks before joining Rot Weiss Ahlen, who he left for Borussia Monchengladbach in 2009.

After three impressive seasons with Gladbach, Reus returned to Dortmund in a €17million deal in 2012 and has made 424 appearances for the club across all competitions.

That puts him fourth in BVB s all-time charts behind Michael Zorc (561), Mats Hummels (504) and Roman Weidenfeller (445), while his 168 goals in black and yellow have only been bettered by Alfred Preissler, who scored 177 in two spells between 1945 and 1959, before the Bundesliga was founded.

Reus, …

It s been all change in Serie A ahead of the 2019-20 season, with five of last season s top six changing their head coach.

As such, an action-packed close season in the transfer market followed.

Champions Juventus have done big business, but could any of the chasing pack including Antonio Conte s Inter catch them after a busy window?

Although Italian clubs can buy until September 2, we take a look at five of the best signings in Serie A before the action gets underway.

5. Aaron Ramsey (Juventus)

Juventus are the masters of the free transfer and nothing changed this year, with two huge midfield signings arriving without a fee. Adrien Rabiot is a massive talent who will improve Maurizio Sarri s options, but Ramsey may well prove the re…

Mohamed Salah s match-winning brace in Liverpool s 2-1 win over Leicester City took him on to 23 goals in all competitions this season – more than eight sides have managed overall in the Premier League.

New record signing Virgil van Dijk looked on from the stands as Jamie Vardy capitalised on an early lapse to give Leicester a third-minute lead at Anfield but Salah proved decisive with a pair of expert finishes after half-time extending Liverpool s unbeaten league run to 12 matches.

Salah now has 17 in the top-flight alone and six in the Champions League, which is more than bottom two West Brom (18) and Swansea City (19), when their goals in the ELF Cup are taken into account.

Crystal Palace (22), Newcastle United (21), Southampton (20), Brighton and Hove Albio…

Fabio Capello will bring the curtain down on a painful year for England by offering hope of a brighter future in Wednesday s friendly against France at Wembley.

Capello ends 2010 with his previously unblemished reputation significantly tarnished by England s abject failure at the World Cup.

The Italian appeared completely devoid of ideas as England crashed out with just one win from their four matches in South Africa, but he held onto his post despite an angry reaction from the English public and has been attempting to win back support with a cautious overhaul of his squad.

His cause was hardly helped however by a dour 0-0 draw at home to Montenegro in October that hampered England s bid to qualify for Euro 2012.

It is that result which has prompted Cape…

Liverpool signed Spain midfielder Thiago Alcantara from European champions Bayern Munich on this day in 2020.

The Spain international was in the last year of his deal with the Bundesliga club and arrived at Anfield for an initial fee of £20million.

Thiago’s signing had been anticipated by supporters for some time and he went straight into the squad to face Chelsea, playing 45 minutes in a 2-0 win.

Thiago told the club’s website: “I think it’s an amazing feeling.

“I was waiting for this moment for a long time and I am very, very happy to be here.

“When the years are passing, you are trying to win as much as you can – and when you win, you want to win more.

Liverpool.What a nice day! Thank you for your lovely welcome