Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has hinted that he may be making a sensational summer swoop for Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney, who is said to be unsettled at the Old Trafford and had also handed a transfer request.
The founder of the supporters club of the Belgian national team died of a heart attack after the country's crushing 4-0 victory over Hungary at Euro 2016 on Sunday, the national football association said on its website. Erik Reynaerts, 50, had been in Toulouse where Belgium was playing Hungary in the last 16 and suffered a cardiac arrest after the match, the football association said. He died on Monday.
Ahead of the all-important clash, Rediff.com looks at five memorable derbies between the fierce rivals.
English Premier League champions Manchester United have retained their title as the world's most valuable sports team, according to Forbes magazine's (www.forbes.com) annual top 50 list.
Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal has expressed his desire to bring back their former star Cristiano Ronaldo to the club, saying that he is 'hopeful' for the latter's return.
'If someone's reading this and has cancer, or has a loved one who has cancer, I'd tell them: No matter how bad it is, there's hope,' says Writer Katherine Russell Rich.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney has reportedly told a Red Devils' fan at Dubai's Burj Al Arab hotel that he was never going to leave the club.
Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney is set to begin talks on a new five-year, 36.4 million pound deal with the Red Devils before the start of the season. According to reports, Rooney, who is currently on a holiday in Barbados, and United chief executive David Gill will hold a meeting to negotiate the mega contract after July 28.
Cristiano Ronaldo has been voted player of the year by his fellow-professionals at FIFPro. The international players' union, which has 57,500 members, announced on Monday that the Manchester United winger, who scored 42 goals last season when the Red Devils won both the Champions League and Premier League, topped their poll.
Belgium sacked national coach Marc Wilmots on Friday after their highly fancied team of talents failed to advance beyond the quarter-finals at Euro 2016 this month, Belgian FA president Francois De Keersmaecker said.
A jinx seems to have descended upon the Cooperage in Mumbai with a drought of goals continuing to plague the spectators like an incurable epidemic. The 16th round encounter between Mahindra United and Mohammedan Sporting on Saturday was the fourth consecutive I-League match at the venue where the scorer was not disturbed at all.
Mohun Bagan and Mahindra United played out a goalless draw in their concluding 18th round I-League clash.
Subhasish Roy Choudhury's game ending heroics helped Mahindra United escape to a nerve tingling 2-1 victory against a rampaging East Bengal in the 18th round I-League match at the Cooperage in Mumbai on Friday.
For Yuvraj Singh, it is his favourite club Manchester United that has forced him to switch loyalties from his perennial favourite Brazil to supporting France in the ongoing FIFA World Cup.
Mahindra United beat Goan club Dempo SC 3-1 in the 12th round of the I-League.
Belgium have retained injured Vincent Kompany in their final World Cup squad but put fellow defender Laurent Ciman on standby in case the Manchester City skipper is not fit for their opening match in Russia.
The Goa pro league champions handed the defending champions their first defeat in the league.
Defender N P Pradeep's goal from a corner gave Mahindra United full points from their NFL match.
A determined Mahindra United wore down their traditional rivals Air-India in a 17th round I-League 'local derby' to win by a solitary goal scored late in the day.
Ruud van Nistelrooy struck twice in six minutes to salvage a 2-2 draw for Manchester United against Olympique Lyon.
Former France star Thierry Henry was named assistant coach of Belgium on Friday.
Liverpool head to United with widest gulf in years
A club of Manchester United's stature should be vying for silverware on all fronts, midfielder Ander Herrera said, adding that a win in the FA Cup final against Crystal Palace on Saturday would raise spirits after a poor season. Louis van Gaal's men, who finished fifth in the Premier League this campaign, failed to qualify for the Champions League for a second time in three seasons and hope to win their first trophy since taking home the Community Shield in 2013. "We have to be realistic. United should be fighting for every title. We didn't do that with the Champions League," Herrera told British media. "We didn't do that with the Premier League. So we have two options. Firstly, feel sorry for ourselves. Or, secondly, get this trophy for the fans, for our club and for ourselves."
Robin van Persie may have handed in a transfer request at Manchester United, according to ex-Liverpool player and pundit Mark Lawrenson.
Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal left the squad's hotel on Sunday saying "it's over" amid reports he was about to be replaced by Jose Mourinho. Dutch boss Van Gaal was greeted by waiting Red Devils fans following United's FA Cup final win over Crystal Palace at Wembley on Saturday. When asked by a Sky Sports reporter if he had time to talk, Van Gaal replied: "It's over." Whether that meant he had been sacked by United was not immediately clear. But the 64-year-old former Netherlands manager's brief remark will fuel speculation he is on his way out of Old Trafford. No sooner had United lifted the FA Cup then reports in the British media emerged that former Chelsea boss Mourinho would be replacing one-time mentor Van Gaal.
Belgium coach Roberto Martinez declared himself delighted with a 3-0 win over World Cup debutants Panama but there were plenty of issues that will encourage England after their own winning start in Group G.
Rugby: Blues players sent home due to COVID-19 lockdown, still hoping to play last game.
United finished second last term, their best placing since the 2013 title win in Alex Ferguson's last season in charge, but the Red Devils were a massive 19 points behind champions Manchester City and never truly in contention.
Belgians tasted bitterness in their beer on Tuesday after their dreams of a first World Cup final were ended by the narrowest of margins by their bigger French neighbours.
"It is different to play midfield and striker but I enjoy all the positions I can play," the former Everton midfielder added.
The Chelsea playmaker gave Lukaku a piece of his mind in Sochi on Monday after Belgium had huffed and puffed but failed to blow Panama's modest defensive fortress down before the interval.
A look at the last 16 team as Euro 2020 enters the knockout phase.
It took a great escape in injury time to get there after being two goals down to Japan, but Belgium can now view their quarter-final against Brazil free of the weight of expectation.
United sacked manager Jose Mourinho on Tuesday after the sixth-placed side made their worst start to a season for 28 years.
Belgium go into Monday's World Cup last 16 match against Japan full of confidence but wary that relying on individual talent against similarly well-organised but less fancied teams has cost them dear in the past.
Alex Ferguson has urged Manchester United supporters to get behind under-fire manager Louis van Gaal despite the side struggling to avoid a third hugely disappointing campaign since the all-conquering Scot retired.
IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho said on Monday he would step up Manchester United's pursuit of Gareth Bale if the Real Madrid winger was left out of the starting line-up in Tuesday's European Super Cup between the Red Devils and the Champions League holders.
There's always been a degree of friendly tension between the two, with France regarding Belgium, and its French-speaking Wallonia region, as something of a poor cousin, while the Belgians often dismiss France as patronising and faux-superior.
Belgium passed a test of character with a display of true grit that bodes well for a World Cup quarter-final against Brazil, coach Roberto Martinez said after they came from 2-0 behind to beat Japan 3-2 in injury time.
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