Any sliver of a doubt over whether Cristiano Ronaldo would lead Portugal into the Euro 2016 was erased on Tuesday when he was named in their 23-man squad for the finals.
Winger Marco Reus was left out of World Cup winners Germany's final Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday over injury concerns, coach Joachim Loew said.
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Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.
Valencia's drive to rejoin the title race gathered momentum when they swept aside Real Mallorca 3-1 in the Primera Liga on Tuesday.
India men's hockey team chief coach Roelant Oltmans feels the one week break starting before the Champions Trophy will help the players rejuvenate themselves ahead of the Rio Olympics, the countdown for which has already begun. The 29-member men's hockey squad will be on a week's break before they rejoin on May 29 and Oltmans said the idea, behind the move was to ensure the players are feeling fresh and hungry ahead of next month's FIH Champions Trophy in London. "Starting June 5, the team will be away for almost a month playing two different tournaments in two different countries. Everything we do in this period will be demanding not just physically but also mentally," Oltmans said.
Portugal coach Fernando Santos left Bernardo Silva, one of the country's brightest young players, out of his final 23-man Euro 2016 squad on Tuesday but included 18-year-old Renato Sanches.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
A goal from captain Raul allowed Real Madrid to snatch a 1-0 win against Valencia in the Primera Liga.
Real Madrid can pip Barcelona to the La Liga title on Saturday even though their destiny is out of their hands, coach Zinedine Zidane said on the eve of the season finale.
Karim Benzema is returning to full fitness at just the right time for Real Madrid, who will play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. Coach Zinedine Zidane was relieved to see the Frenchman come back from a hamstring problem and score in Sunday's 3-2 triumph over Valencia, a result that kept Real just a point behind Barcelona with one game to go in the race for the league title. "He's not been at 100 percent for a while. We've seen that it wasn't easy for him physically," Zidane told Real's website. "(Against Valencia) he coped with it well and without any problems. We've got two games left. He's getting better every day and he's not feeling any discomfort from his last injury."
Cristiano Ronaldo achieved another milestone in his Real Madrid career when he scored his 200th goal at the Bernabeu on Sunday but he looks like failing in his bid to become La Liga's top scorer for the third season in a row.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says he is unsure of his future at the club despite leading them to the Champions League final.
When Barcelona host local rivals Espanyol on Saturday hoping to edge closer to the La Liga title, many may be haunted by Raul Tamudo's 89th minute equaliser which wrecked their title bid in 2006/07.
Levante were relegated from La Liga after a six-season stay in the Spanish top flight as two late goals condemned them to a 3-1 defeat at Malaga on Monday.
Leicester City must wait at least one more day for their first-ever Premier League title after drawing 1-1 with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez has come to the rescue of under-fire teammate Neymar and added it was important to get back to winning ways against Deportivo after Barca suffered three consecutive league defeats for the first time since 2003, allowing Atletico Madrid to draw level on points with them and Real Madrid to move one behind.
Champions Barcelona came through a gruelling La Liga test at a rainswept San Mames on Sunday, beating Athletic Bilbao 1-0 thanks to Ivan Rakitic's first-half header.
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A late goal by Toni Kroos sealed victory as Real Madrid defeated an impressive Celta Vigo side 2-1 to win their first home La Liga game of the campaign on Saturday.
Barcelona forward Neymar finds himself at the centre of unwanted media attention in Spain as his struggling team's promising season threatens to unravel after a run of defeats. The Brazilian has not scored in his last five games and is being portrayed as one of the reasons for Barca's woes after three straight La Liga losses has seen them caught by Atletico Madrid, who have also knocked them out of the Champions League. Barcelona-based newspaper La Vanguardia this week focused on the 24-year-old's conduct off the pitch, particularly his "trips away, parties at unadvisable times and commercial commitments". He visited Brazil in March for his sister's birthday party. TV programme 'El Dia Despues (The Day After) on Tuesday showed Neymar arguing with Jordi Ala during Sunday's home defeat by Valencia after the defender chose not to pass to him. Camera footage showed Neymar appearing to swear at his team mate. Barcelona play Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday looking to get their title bid back on track with the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo focusing on Neymar, pictured between Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, below the headline 'This cannot go on'.
Luis Figo and Carlos Puyol find it inexplicable, while Raul thinks it's a testament to the quality of Spanish football but all three La Liga legends are sure that Barcelona's astonishing slump would not last too long.
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'We still depend on ourselves. Our margin for error has run out and we are aware of the challenge.'
Real Madrid moved to within a point of La Liga leaders Barcelona after Karim Benzema, Isco, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored in a 5-1 thrashing at struggling Getafe on Saturday.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique fears his side's shock elimination from the Champions League could disturb their bid to retain the La Liga title as they host Valencia on Sunday looking for a first win in four league games.
'It's evident that we are in a hole, we aren't at our best at the moment nor our most effective.'
A win away from rewriting history after a long gap of 15 years, Indian colts would look to showcase their best and leave nothing to chance when they take on Belgium in the summit showdown of the men's Junior Hockey World Cup in Lucknow on Saturday. The wintry Sunday could turn out to be the biggest day for these Under-21 Indian hockey players as they chase a dream of winning the mega event for the second time. India had earlier won the trophy way back in 2001 in Hobart, Australia. This is India's third entry into the final of the Junior World Cup after having finished runners-up in 1997. Assured of the silver medal, the Indians would now eye nothing less than the yellow metal.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos again came to his side's rescue as they snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday to keep Zinedine Zidane's side six points clear at the top of La Liga and set a club record 35 games unbeaten.
Chelsea captain John Terry is showing all the qualities of a future manager, the club's interim boss Guus Hiddink said on Friday. Terry, 35, is keen to continue his playing career at Stamford Bridge but has not yet been offered a new contract for next season. Hiddink said decision was not down to him, but in the longer term he could see the former England central defender as a manager. "In some players you see while they are playing there might be managers inside them already," the Dutchman told a news conference. "You see that most of the time in midfield positions or centre-backs. These guys are already leaders. "In my career I've had some examples like (Southampton's) Ronald Koeman in my first spell at Eindhoven, who you could see was tactically very strong and a leader. "And (Watford's) Quique Sanchez Flores at Valencia too." Terry would need "extra courses" and would be well advised to start as an assistant, Hiddink added.
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India survived a final-quarter onslaught from Argentina for a nail-biting 2-1 win that enhanced their quarterfinal chances at the men's hockey competition of the Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday. The second win in the Pool stage has virtually secured India a quarterfinal berth as they rose to the second position with six points.
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The Liverpool striker agreed personal terms and a three-year contract with Spanish club Valencia.
A stoppage-time goal helped Ecuador rescue a 2-2 draw at home to Paraguay in World Cup qualifying on Thursday, preserving their record as South America's only unbeaten side and keeping them top of the 10-team standings in the race to Russia.
Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri ruled himself out of the running for the job of Italy head coach on Thursday and said he hoped to stay at the Premier League leaders for years to come.
Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur kept up the distant chase of Premier League leaders Chelsea with a hard-earned 2-1 victory over Southampton to cut the gap to 10 points on Sunday.
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