Paul Gallacher revealed how Zander Clark and Craig Gordon are pushing each other to new heights as he backed the two Hearts goalkeepers to go to Euro 2024 with Scotland.
Clark and Gordon are both currently with Steve Clarke’s squad preparing for friendlies against Netherlands and Northern Ireland, alongside fellow goalkeepers Angus Gunn of Norwich and Motherwell’s Liam Kelly.
The Scotland boss has said that – barring injury – three of those four will go to the Euros, and Hearts goalkeeping coach Gallacher would be “immensely proud” if he is waving both of his main men off to Germany this summer.
“They’ve both worked ever so hard to get to where they are, both for different reasons,” the former Scotland goalkeeper told the PA news agency.
Germany could become the first team to qualify for the Euro 2012 finals if they beat neighbours Austria on Friday.
Joachim Loew s side are unbeaten so far in group A, with seven wins from as many matches, and would seal their spot in next year s competition with victory in Gelsenkirchen.
Mario Gomez will be missing for the tie though, after the striker injured his thigh scoring a hat-trick for Bayern Munich in their 3-0 win over Kaiserslautern on Saturday.
Barring a shock, Germany should have little trouble in booking their place for the tournament in Poland and Ukraine.
The three-time European champions are 10 points clear of second-placed Belgium, and only Turkey, who have a game in hand over the top two sides, could overtake them in the standings.
Best odds: 5/6
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The top two sides in Group F will face off on Friday as Ivory Coast host Gabon at the Amadou Gon Coulibaly Stadium in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Both teams enter the match with victories in their opening two qualifiers and aim to continue their winning streak.
Ivory Coast
After successfully hosting and winning the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year, Ivory Coast aim to continue their strong form in the World Cup qualifiers.
The Elephants lead the CAF World Cup qualifying series in scoring after two rounds, largely thanks to their 9-0 victory over Seychelles in the first round. They followed this with a 2-0 win over Gambia, securing six points and a healthy goal difference at the top of Group F.
Since the…
Three Lions striker Wayne Rooney is keeping his fingers crossed that UEFA will reduce his three match ban for the 2012 European Championships.
Rooney hopes that Europe s governing football body will cut his suspension to two games, but admits that his actions were stupid .
All England supporters can do now is hope Rooney learns from yet another emotionally driven mistake.
The English FA will make a decision on whether to appeal the ban later today. I would say that there is a 99.9% chance that the FA will submit an appeal.
Now, what does Rooney think of the three match ban?
I am disappointed with it, Rooney said.
I ve got no excuse but I still feel the punishment is a bit harsh. All the details we have been waiting for ca…
The countdown to the 21st World Cup can now well and truly begin following Friday s group-stage draw in Moscow.
All 32 teams learned their fate for next year s finals in Russia, and one from those nations will enter football history on July 15 when the final will be contested at the Luzhniki Stadium.
Before we get that far, though, the pool stages must be contested and – with the help of Opta data – we have analysed groups A-D.
Group A: Russia, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uruguay
Russia could hardly have asked for a better group as they aim to avoid being just the second host nation to exit at the group stage (South Africa being the other). However, as an independent nation, Russia – currently the lowest-ranked team of the 32 – have never reac…
Toni Kroos calmed Germany s nerves ahead of Friday s historic Euro 2024 thrashing of Scotland by giving an inspirational team talk, Julian Nagelsmann has revealed.
Germany recorded the largest ever win in the opening game of a European Championship at the Allianz Arena, putting 10-man Scotland to the sword as Florian Wirtz, Jamal Musiala, Kai Havertz, Niclas Fullkrug and Emre Can scored.
Kroos has come out of international retirement to represent Germany at their home tournament ahead of calling time on his glittering career, and he produced a metronomic midfield performance.
The 34-year-old completed 99 per cent of his passes against Scotland (101/102), the highest completion rate on record (since 1980) of any player to attempt 100 or more passes in a Euros matc…
Steve Cherundolo stated his pride in Los Angeles FC s defence and hopes they can put in another big performance against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday.
LAFC have won their last three games in all competitions, starting with their US Open Cup win over Sporting KC before getting back on track in MLS.
They are second in the Western Conference with three games left, with their 1-0 win over St. Louis City, in which they did not concede a single shot on target, closing the gap to LA Galaxy.
Cherundolo lauded his defenders for that performance and is pleased to see their training sessions paying off.
It s great to see we re growing and learning in certain situations and putting all the pieces together, Cherundolo said.
The defensive side of the game …
Lionel Messi was fearful ahead of his return to action for Argentina at the Copa America.
Messi sat out Argentina s win over Peru in the group stage, but despite Lionel Scaloni saying the eight-time Ballon d Or winner was a doubt to feature against Ecuador in the quarters, he started on Thursday.
The 37-year-old had just 32 touches in a 1-1 draw, marking his fewest touches in a competitive match for his country in which he has played 90 minutes since 2011.
Messi subsequently missed his penalty in the shootout, but goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez spared his blushes in a 4-2 victory for the defending Copa America champions.
When asked how he had been feeling ahead of the tie, Messi told reporters (via The Athletic): The truth is bad.
With a lot of unc…
Germany head coach Joachim Low is embracing the captivating history between his side and England ahead of their blockbuster Euro 2020 last-16 showdown at Wembley on Tuesday.
Low s Die Mannschaft have won the past four encounters against England in knockout matches at major tournaments, although the Three Lions beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.
This will be the 13th meeting between England and Germany at Wembley. England won four of the first five such games (L1), including the 1966 World Cup final, but are winless in their previous seven against Germany at the national stadium (D2 L5).
Low was in charge when German defeated England 4-1 at the 2010 World Cup in the round of 16, while current England manager Gareth Southgate missed a penalty as the Thr…
Kaoru Mitoma scored a last-gasp double to confirm Japan s place at the Qatar 2022 World Cup at the expense of their hosts Australia with a 2-0 win in Sydney on Friday.
The Union SG winger came off the bench to snatch two late goals and break Socceroos hearts with a second-half cameo that proved priceless for the visitors.
Introduced in the 84th minute for Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino, Mitoma notched his first effort five minutes later after tucking a cut-back beyond Mathew Ryan at close-range.
He then doubled his tally in injury-time to seal victory, coasting into the box on a glorious solo run before forcing a fumble from Ryan to finish.
Victory means the Samurai Blue move six points clear of Australia, to confirm both themselves and Saudi Arabia…