The Kiev Olympic Stadium in Ukraine was reopened to the public on Saturday with an explosive show in front of a capacity crowd.

The 70,000 all-seater venue was officially presented by Ukraine president Viktor Yanukovich in a politically-charged unveiling, where he showed a display of triumph and pride, following a dogged preparation for Euro 2012, along with allegations of corruption.

With this stadium, Ukraine will organise a worthy Euro 2012, Yankuovich told an unhappy crowd, who jeered the president.

However, the bad feeling was quickly flushed out of the atmosphere, as pop star Shakira took to the field for a 40-minute set, including a performance of the 2010 World Cup official song Waka Waka , along with a display of fireworks, art and a speech from Ukrai…

Following the final World Cup qualification play-offs, we now know precisely which 32 team will be heading to Russia for the greatest sporting festival on Earth next year.

But, there is still plenty to be decided before the action gets under way on June 14, with everyone still in the dark as to which teams are playing each other and when.

Thankfully, we do not have to wait much longer for light to be shed on those finer details, with the World Cup draw – undoubtedly set to be a glitzy and glamourous event – on the horizon.

Below we give you the lowdown on the draw…

When and where is the draw?

Football dignitaries and international media will converge on the State Kremlin Palace in Moscow on Friday December 1 for the eagerly antici…

Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente believes his side s blockbuster last-eight clash with Germany would be a worthy final at Euro 2024.

The two sides described as giant powers of European football by La Roja s boss go head to head in an eagerly anticipated encounter at Stuttgart Arena on Friday.

Spain, who topped Group B with maximum points, are the only nation at the tournament to have won all four matches thus far, while Germany collected seven points in Group A before overcoming Denmark 2-0 in the last 16.

Both teams are seeking a record-breaking fourth European Championship triumph, and whoever prevails here will be widely expected to go on and lift the Henri Delaunay cup on July 14.

And De la Fuente is relishing what will be a repeat of the 2008 fina…

Belgium started their preparations for Euro 2020 with a disappointing 1-1 friendly draw with Greece at the King Baudouin Stadium on Thursday. 

The Red Devils were without influential midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who sustained fractures to his nose and eye socket in Manchester City s Champions League defeat to Chelsea at the weekend, and they sorely missed his creativity against John van t Schip s side, who are ranked 50 places beneath them in the world rankings.

Thorgan Hazard had put Roberto Martinez s side ahead midway through the first half after a slick move and he missed a glaring opportunity to add another before the interval. 

He was punished for that miss in the 66th minute when Georgios Tzavellas stroked home to seal a draw for the visitors.

…

Mauricio Pochettino believes Raheem Sterling can prove Gareth Southgate was wrong to leave him out of another England squad after the Chelsea forward inspired his side to a 4-1 come-from-behind win at Burnley.

Days after Southgate left him out of the squad for next week’s internationals, Sterling took his frustrations out on his old Manchester City team-mate Vincent Kompany and Burnley, having a hand in all four Chelsea goals, scoring one.

Sterling has not played for England since last year’s World Cup, and although fitness accounted for his absence in March and he asked not to play in June while he focused on getting fully back up to speed, Southgate has now chosen to leave him out of the last two squads.

But at Turf Moor he showed what England are missing a…

Thomas Muller hopes Germany s semi-final disappointment at Euro 2016 can help to inspire them to greater heights.

Joachim Low s world champions appeared well-placed to add the European crown to an impressive body of work over recent years, but bowed out as Antoine Griezmann scored a goal in each half to seal a 2-0 win for hosts France in Marseille.

France lost 1-0 to Portugal after extra time in the final, while Bayern Munich forward Muller – who failed to find the net during the tournament – wants Germany to build on lessons learned for their 2018 World Cup defence in Russia.

Everyone saw the Euros, we were close but in the semi-final it just didn t work out, he said.

But you need to take the positives with you to the future, get new motivation fr…

This Friday, CONMEBOL’s biggest international tournament will begin on Brazilian soil when the match between Brazil and Bolivia kicks off the 2019 Copa America. Chile will try to defend their back-to-back titles won in 2015 and 2016, but a plethora of teams will aim to stop La Roja’s out-of-nowhere winning run earlier this decade.

This time, we’ll take a deeper look at Group B. It features Argentina, Colombia, Paraguay and Qatar.

Argentina

La Albiceleste are one of toughest teams to analyse ahead of the 2019 Copa America. On one hand, they boast an impressive amount of quality on the attacking thanks to Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Paulo Dybala and Lautaro Martinez. But what happens with the other areas of the pitch? Runners-up in the past two editions of the tou…

A Cristiano Ronaldo-inspired Portugal beat the Netherlands 2-1 in Kharkiv, a result which sends the Dutch out of Euro 2012.

Rafael van der Vaart broke the deadlock early on with a sumptous curling strike from distance. However, Portugal improved after, and despite squandering a barrage of opportunities, Cristiano Ronaldo would equalise in the 28th minute after a fine assist from Joao Pereira.

With chances at both ends in a competitive second half, the Dutch would come unstuck at the speed of the Portuguese breaks, with Ronaldo sealing his double 16 minutes from time to send their opponents crashing to a humiliating exit.

After a sustained opening period from the Dutch, who needed to win by two goals to stand any chance of progressing, they were wasteful early as…

Concussion substitutions in football are to be trialled in January 2021.

Football s lawmaking body IFAB announced on Wednesday the planned trials were approved after less than a year of detailed consultation with relevant stakeholders, medical concussion experts, team doctors, player representatives, coaches, competition organisers, refereeing and Laws of the Game experts .

Under the proposed protocols, players with an actual or suspected concussion will be permanently removed from the match to protect their welfare , with the team allowed to bring on a replacement.

IFAB hopes the approach will reduce the risk of players sustaining multiple head injuries in a single match but also ensure teams are not put at a disadvantage should a player be told to leave the pi…

France coach Didier Deschamps wants his side to build on their 1-1 draw with world champions Spain when they meet Italy away on Wednesday.

The French are level with Spain in their World Cup qualifying Group I after clawing their way back in Madrid courtesy of Olivier Giroud s stoppage-time strike.

Now, Deschamps side play Italy in a friendly in Parma in what will be their last fixture this season.

It s our last match before next year. Even if this is the same season. The next calendar year, Deschamps said.

So, yes, there were a lot of good things with this second half and this result in Spain.

Having continuity, it s not going to be the same context, the same team.

There are no qualification points to take, but the commitment of the…