David Neres has been called up by Brazil for the first time, with the Ajax winger replacing Vinicius Jr.

Real Madrid teenager Vinicius was set to earn his debut senior cap but had to withdraw due to a calf injury.

Taking his place is Ajax star Neres, who was on the scoresheet as the Dutch side knocked Madrid out of the Champions League.

Neres, 22, has been directly involved in 40 Eredivisie goals in 60 league appearances since joining Ajax from Sao Paulo in 2017.

40 David Neres was directly involved in 40 Eredivisie goals in 60 league games for (20 goals, 20 assists). Seleção.

— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan)

Brazil face Panama in Porto on March 23 and take on Czech Republic in Prague three days later.

Tite s side are building to…

Mauricio Pochettino wants his next coaching job to be with a club capable of winning the Champions League after his experience of working with Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar at Paris Saint-Germain.

Pochettino departed PSG in July, having won the Ligue 1 title last season having failed to recover their title bid the previous year.

The former Tottenham boss paid the price for another lacklustre campaign in Europe, however, with his star-studded squad eliminated by Real Madrid across a dramatic last-16 encounter.

Pochettino has been out of work since despite offers, and he has now outlined exactly what he is looking for in a new project.

Talking about projects in football is very difficult, he reflected. There are [a] few lucky ones who can be invol…

Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez s agent has stated that the Germany international is ready to sign a contract extension with the club.

The 26-year-old attacker joined Bayern from Stuttgart in 2009 and has since developed into a key player for the Bundesliga giants.

Gomez has a contract with Bavarians until the end of the 2012-13, but the striker is keen to stay at the Allianz Arena beyond his current deal.

Mario is very happy in Munich. That is why we have never been involved with other clubs. There is therefore no objection to a contract extension we have no time constraints, player agent Uli Ferber told Sport Bild.

Gomez has already netted 22 goals in 25 Bundesliga appearances during the current campaign.

Meanwhile, Bayern are believed to be…

Chelsea say they apologise profusely to former player Gary Johnson after he claimed he was sexually abused by the club s then chief scout in the 1970s.

The Blues have also confirmed an external law firm has started an inquiry into their handling of the matter, and vowed to learn the lessons that come out of the current abuse scandal rocking British football.

Earlier this week, Johnson claimed he was paid £50,000 by Chelsea to prevent him disclosing historical allegations of child sexual abuse involving the club s former chief scout, Eddie Heath, who is now dead.

In a lengthy statement released on Saturday, Chelsea said that Johnson had  suffered unacceptably , while also admitting that a confidentiality clause that prevented him from going public was …

Market: Gremio draw no bet

Odds: 4/5 @

Two sides who find themselves battling it out at opposite ends of the Serie A standings, Gremio will travel to the Maracana on Sunday night when they meet Vasco.

Starting with the hosts, while Vasco might have shocked many as they punched their Serie A return this season, it is no secret that Ramon Diaz’s men are tipped as a leading relegation contender this time around. Last seen putting in another worrying display as they slumped to a routine 3-1 drumming at the hands of Corinthians, the Admirals sit rock-bottom of the top-flight standings and already seven points adrift of safety. Coming under a huge amount of scrutiny this season, the Rio de Janeiro-based outfit have now lost each of their last four domestic showdowns…

The Russian Football Union (RFU) will appoint Fabio Capello as their new head coach after negotiations between the two parties.

The RFU has been in the market for a new trainer since the departure of Dick Advocaat to PSV following a disappointing Euro 2012 campaign.

A shortlist including the likes of Pep Guardiola, Harry Redknapp, Marcelo Bielsa and Capello was released last week, and the RFU has now opted to give the job to the Italian coach.

We have decided to appoint Fabio Capello as the new coach of our national team, RFU deputy president Nikita Simonyan told ITAR-TASS news agency.

In the next couple of days Capello will sign the contract in Moscow.

The 66-year-old, who was in charge of England from 2008 until February this year, is report…

Andriy Shevchenko has retired from football and plans to pursue a career in politics.

The 35-year-old has opted to bring an end to his playing career following Euro 2012, with two goals against Sweden in a 2-1 win in the tournament the striker s final memorable moment.

The news was released by former club Dinamo Kiev, as the veteran bows out of the sport.

Perhaps, I will shock everyone: my future has nothing to do with football. It is related to politics, he told the Ukrainian club s official website.

Shevchenko will be remembered predominantly for his time at AC Milan, where he won a Scudetto, a Coppa Italia and a Champions League title in seven seasons including one loan spell where he netted 175 goals in 322 competitive games.

He had an ill-f…

Mamadou Sakho believes Liverpool have what it takes to enjoy a successful 2015-16 campaign and says they must have big ambitions.

The Anfield side have not won any silverware since beating Cardiff in the League Cup final in 2011-12, yet Sakho is optimistic about their chances this season.

Liverpool are a big club and we have to think about big ambitions, Sakho told the official Liverpool website.

I think we have a very good team, very good players, international players and we can have a very good season.

Sakho featured for the full 90 minutes in new manager Jurgen Klopp s official debut against Tottenham at the weekend and is pleased with the German s impact in his first two weeks at the club.

It’s very good. All of the team feel the same.…

Paco Alcacer ended his long wait for a LaLiga goal as Barcelona beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday.

The Spain international marked a rare start with his first top-flight goal in 11 appearances for the champions before Lionel Messi s free-kick and an Aleix Vidal strike settled matters against Ernesto Valverde s side.

Barca were fortunate to escape with a point from their last league outing against Real Betis and they were caused plenty of problems early on by a hard-working Athletic side, although Alcacer s well-taken finish in the 18th minute sapped some of their early confidence.

The visitors, who handed a start to Yeray Alvarez for the first time since his successful cancer surgery in December, missed a couple of good chances to get back into th…

Manchester City are interested in signing Lucas Digne from Premier League rivals Everton in the January transfer window, according to . It has been reported that City manager Pep Guardiola wants to sign a new left-back due to stunted progress of Benjamin Mendy.

Ajax star Nicolas Tagliafico is a potential transfer target for City, but manager Guardiola is also a fan of Digne, who has established himself as one of the best left-backs in England since his move to Everton from Barcelona. The 27-year-old France international is in his prime now and would make City better.

According to , Digne has provided four assists in eight Premier League matches for Everton so far this season. During the 2019-20 campaign, the France international left-back provided seven assists in 35 le…