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Modric equals Suker with Croatian Footballer of the Year award
Real Madrid star Luka Modric has been named Croatian Footballer of the Year for a record-equalling 6th time, pulling level with the great Davor Suker.
Modric will lead his nation at this year's World Cup, having skippered their play-off victory over Greece and scored the opening goal in their 4-1 first leg win.
The playmaker remains a mainstay of Real Madrid's team, helping them to a La Liga and Champions League double in 2017.
Modric was also named Player of the Tournament as Zinedine Zidane's side won the Club World Cup in December.
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Salah wins African Footballer of the Year
Mohamed Salah has been named African Footballer of the Year for 2017 at the CAF Awards.
Egypt winger Salah beat Liverpool team-mate Sadio Mane and Borussia Dortmund striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to the prize at a CAF gala in Accra and succeeds Leicester City and Algeria star Riyad Mahrez as the continent's leading player.
Mane finished as runner-up, with Aubameyang in third.
Salah enjoyed a stunning 12 months at club an international level, with his form earning a £36,9 million move to Liverpool from AS Roma, having finished the 2016-2017 campaign with 15 goals in 31 Serie A games.
The 25-year-old has since become more prolific in his second stab at the Premier League, with a stunning 17 goals in 21 top flight appearances under Jurgen Klopp for the ex-Chelsea man and 6 more in the Champions League.
Having helped Egypt to the Final of the African Cup of Nations, where they were beaten 2-1 by Cameroon, his brace against Congo - including a dramatic last-gasp penalty - secured a first World Cup finals berth for the Pharaohs since 1990.
Egypt coach Hector Cuper collected Coach of the Year and his side won National Team of the Year.
Mane will also feature at Russia 2018 for Senegal and has 8 goals for Liverpool despite a stop-start season. He netted 13 last time around and has often combined thrillingly with Salah.
Aubameyang was unable to inspire AFCON glory for Gabon on home soil, but has remained prolific for Dortmund, finishing 2016-2017 as the top scorer in the Bundesliga with 31.
Despite Dortmund's mixed form during the current campaign, he has 21 goals in 23 games across all competitions.
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Chile confirm Rueda as new coach
Chile confirmed the appointment of former Colombia coach Reinaldo Rueda as their new coach until the end of the 2022 World Cup.
Rueda takes charge of Chile after the departure of Juan Antonio Pizzi, who left after failing to lead the nation to Russia 2018.
The 60-year-old's appointment was confirmed on Monday with his deal running until the end of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and immediately renewable if Chile reach the showpiece event.
Rueda was in charge of Colombia (2004-2006) and Honduras (2007-2010), including helping the latter qualify for the World Cup in South Africa.
He was most recently at the helm of Flamengo.
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Wales confirm Giggs appointment
Ryan Giggs has been appointed as the new Wales manager, the Football Association of Wales has confirmed on social media.
The former Manchester United winger made 64 appearances for the country between 1991 and 2007, but never managed to reach a major international tournament.
Giggs succeeds Chris Coleman, who resigned in November and subsequently took over at Sunderland, having guided Wales to the last 4 of EURO 2016 - their first major finals appearance since 1958.
Coleman's last competitive game ended in a 1-0 home defeat to the Republic of Ireland, which saw Wales fail to secure a play-off place in qualifying for the World Cup in Russia later this year.
Having taken interim charge of United at the end of 2013-2014 following David Moyes' sacking, Giggs remained at Old Trafford as assistant to Louis van Gaal but departed when Jose Mourinho arrived ahead of the 2016-2017 campaign.
He has previously been linked with a number of managerial vacancies, including Swansea City, but on Monday the FAW confirmed him as their choice ahead of reported fellow interviewees Osian Roberts, Craig Bellamy and Mark Bowen.
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Sneijder retires from Netherlands duty
Wesley Sneijder has retired from Netherlands duty, the Royal Dutch Football Association (KNVB) has announced.
The 33-year-old agreed to walk away from international football following a meeting with head coach Ronald Koeman.
Sneijder, who joined Al Gharafa in January, admits the move to Qatar was always likely to bring his international career to an end.
"When I left for Qatar, I knew of course that this could have an impact on my career as an international", he said.
Sneijder made his senior Netherlands debut in a friendly against Portugal in April 2003.
The midfielder went on to make a record 133 appearances, breaking the previous highest tally of 130 set by retired goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar.
He won the Silver Ball and Bronze Boot for his performances in the 2010 World Cup, when he inspired Netherlands to the Final, where they lost 1-0 to Spain.
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Brilliant Bale basks in Wales record
Gareth Bale believes becoming Wales's all-time leading scorer represents one of his finest career achievements.
Bale's hat-trick in Thursday's 6-0 dismantling of the host nation in the China Cup gave Ryan Giggs a perfect start to life as Wales manager.
It also meant the 28-year-old Real Madrid star surpassed Ian Rush's previous best mark of 28 goals for his country as he secured the match ball.
"It's amazing", Bale told BBC One Wales, before explaining it was a particularly significant day for him to reach the landmark.
"On my daughter's birthday too, so happy birthday to her - it's disappointing I can't be there with her", he said.
"It is great individually to get the record but the team is always the most important thing."
Asked how breaking Rush's record ranked in a career where his honours include La Liga, the Copa del Rey and 3 Champions Leagues, Bale replied: "It's right up there, a major honour and a massive achievement".
"I never dreamed of it as a boy, being a record-breaker for Wales, and it's one of the best things I've achieved in my career."
Wales will face the winner of the other semi-final between Czech Republic and Uruguay in Monday's Final.
Koeman names Van Dijk new Holland captain
Virgil van Dijk is the new Holland national team captain, coach Ronald Koeman has confirmed.
The Liverpool centre-back became the most expensive defender in history when he joined from Koeman's former club Southampton for £75 million in January.
And the 26-year-old has now been announced as the successor to Bayern Munchen winger Arjen Robben, who retired from international football after Holland failed to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
Georginio Wijnaldum, Kevin Strootman and Daley Blind have been appointed by Koeman as deputies to Van Dijk.
Last edited by beavis; 22-03-2018 at 20:41.
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Harush - Bitton, Taha, Tibi, Tawatha - Kayal, Natcho (C), Micha, Melikson - Ben Chaim, Hemed
Niţă - Benzar, Săpunaru (C), Grigore, Bancu - Pintilii, Marin - Deac, Budescu, Grozav - Keşeru
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World Cup referees selected
The United States will have World Cup representation in the form of 2 referees but no British officials will be present at Russia 2018.
FIFA confirmed its list of 36 referees and 63 assistants for the tournament on Thursday, with the officials spanning 46 different countries.
However, none come from the Premier League, despite English football's top flight drawing upon a group of full-time professional referees.
The USA's bid for qualification ended in humiliation but Mark Geiger and Jair Marrufo will be men in the middle in Russia.
Nicola Rizzoli, the referee from the 2014 Final, is now retired but Gianluca Rocchi will be present in his place as Italy's representative.
Antonio Miguel Mateu Lahoz, a referee to have earned the distinction of winning praise from Jose Mourinho, is the Spanish referee named.
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Dost announces international retirement
Sporting Lisbon forward Bas Dost has announced his retirement from international football after earning 18 caps for Holland.
Dost struggled to replicate his stunning club form - netting 59 goals in 2 Primeira Liga seasons - on the international stage, scoring just once for his country.
His Holland career has been restricted to a fringe role, and with little sign of improvement following the arrival of Ronald Koeman, Dost has opted to call time on international football.
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Alves ruled out of World Cup
Brazil have been dealt a further injury blow ahead of the World Cup following news that defender Daniel Alves will miss the tournament in Russia.
The Paris Saint-Germain full-back limped out of Tuesday's Coupe de France Final with a knee injury.
Original assessments suggested that though the injury would end Alves' domestic season he would be ready for the World Cup.
And the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) confirmed on Friday that following further tests by the Brazil national team's doctor, Rodrigo Lasmar, it has been determined the former FC Barcelona star will not recover in time to represent the Selecao this summer.
Alves has been a key figure for Brazil for over a decade and was set to start for Tite's side as they looked to secure a 6th world title.
He becomes the second Brazil defender to suffer an serious injury in the build-up to the tournament, with Filipe Luis suffering a broken leg while playing for Atletico Madrid back in March.
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Lopetegui extends contract
The Spanish soccer federation has extended the contract of national team coach Julen Lopetegui until 2020.
The announcement was made on Tuesday, less than a week before Spain begins their preparations for next month's World Cup in Russia.
The 51-year-old took over as coach after Spain were knocked out of EURO 2016 by Italy in the round of 16.
He led Spain on an 18-match unbeaten run as they comfortably qualified for the World Cup ahead of Italy in Group G, with 9 wins and a draw from their 10 games.
Lopetegui was picked as Vicente Del Bosque's replacement mostly because of his success with Spain's youth squads. He won European championships with the U19 and U21 teams in the early 2010s.
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O'Shea to end international career
Republic of Ireland defender John O'Shea will retire from international football at the end of the season.
The Sunderland player says the friendly against the United States on 2 June in Dublin will be his final appearance.
He has won 117 senior caps since his debut against Croatia in 2001.
"It has been an amazing journey but I feel now is the right time to step aside for the next generation to enjoy the experiences I am so humbled to have been part of", said O'Shea.
The County Waterford native is the Republic's third most-capped player, behind Robbie Keane and Shay Given, and is one of only 6 men to win 100 caps for his country.
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