Lazio are hopeful they can convince Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to renew with the Serie A outfit, says president Claudio Lotito.

The Biancocelesti chief also weighed in on the fallout of Andrea Agnelli's resignation at Juventus, stating the club are "not evil".

Milinkovic-Savic, who joined Lazio from Genk in 2015, has been one of their most crucial performers over the years, and was named as their player of the season for both of the last two campaigns

Speaking at the Colalucci Awards, Lotito reinforced a hope to keep the Serbia international - currently under contract through 2024 - within Rome, highlighting him as a cornerstone of their squad under Maurizio Sarri.

"From a technical point of view, Lazio have an interest in renewing him because he is a great player, a player on whom the club is betting," he stated.

Lotito meanwhile spoke on the subject of Juventus and Agnelli, with the former Bianconceri president's resignation - alongside that of his entire board - amid investigations into financial matters the top story in Italian football.

Rather than criticise them however, the 65-year-old suggested the club had been made a scapegoat of matters off the field.

"Today everyone speaks badly of Juve, but they have contributed to the livelihood of Italian football," he added.

"To say that Juve are the evil of Italian football is unfair. Today everyone goes out of their way to create dissent against Juventus."

RB Leipzig have handed defender Mohamed Simakan a contract extension that runs to 2027 in a bid to ward off reported interest from several of Europe's biggest clubs.

Simakan joined Leipzig from Strasbourg ahead of the 2021-22 season, playing a key role as the club won the DFB-Pokal for the first time in May.

The likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Tottenham were credited with an interest in Simakan in the last transfer window, after the 22-year-old made 28 Bundesliga appearances last term.

But Simakan started 19 of Leipzig's 24 games before the World Cup break this campaign and he believes the club represents the ideal place for him to continue developing.

"It was a big step for me when I arrived at the club a year and a half ago," he told the club's website. "I felt happy here from day one and I was welcomed with open arms. 

"That is really important for me as it allows me to perform on the pitch and to develop in the best possible way. 

"The club and the city have quickly become my second home and I’m quite simply delighted to be here. 

"We have already achieved a lot in 2022 and I'm looking forward to everything that is still to come."

Leipzig have recovered from a poor start to the season since Marco Rose replaced Domenico Tedesco as head coach in September. They trail Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich by six points after 15 games.

Gavi will be the youngest player since Pele to start in a World Cup knockout game when he takes to the field for Spain against Morocco.

Luis Enrique's team go head to head with Morocco at Education City in a last-16 tie on Tuesday.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi started all three of Spain's Group E matches and that trend continued as he was named in Luis Enrique's starting XI.

At the age of 18 years and 123 days, he will be the youngest player to feature from the start of a World Cup knockout match since Brazil great Pele (aged 17 years and 249 days) in the 1958 final.

Pele scored twice in that match as Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 to win the first of five world titles.

Eddie Jones leaves behind a legacy of "misguided rhetoric and unfulfilled promises" following his dismissal as England coach, says Clive Woodward.

The Australian was sacked nine months out from the Rugby World Cup after overseeing the nation's worst calendar-year record for over a decade, winning just five out of 12 Test matches.

With Jones having led England to the final of the last tournament in Japan in 2019, the Rugby Football Union's (RFU) decision represents a major gamble so close to next year's competition in France.

But Woodward, a frequent critic of Jones over a difficult year, feels he has paid the price for his distractions since defeat to South Africa in Yokohama. 

"He's a much better coach than he has shown over the past three years," he wrote in the Daily Mail. "He is a shadow of the Jones I competed with and whose first years with England were so successful and rightfully applauded.

"He became completely focused on the 2023 World Cup and that was a costly error. He lost focus of simply winning the next game and allowed himself to get distracted

"What will [his] legacy be? The semi-final victory over New Zealand was his best performance, but unfortunately, he will be remembered for the misguided rhetoric and unfulfilled promises.

"I don't think history will remember this period of English rugby too kindly."

Leicester coach Steve Borthwick, who steered his side to the Premiership Rugby title last term, has been tipped as a likely successor to Jones in charge of England.

But Woodward says that, if selected, the RFU must allow him to put his own stamp on the team, including bringing his Tigers assistant Kevin Sinfield, the former rugby league playmaker, into the fold.

"If it is Steve Borthwick who comes in, then we've all got to get behind him and I wish him all the best," he added. "He must be given the full support and resources to ensure there are no excuses.

"He must be allowed to bring in his own team, and if I was him, I would bring Kevin Sinfield over from Leicester. The players will have a second chance and there is enough talent out there to go and win next year’s World Cup."

Takehiro Tomiyasu described his own performance as a "disaster" as Japan were knocked out of the World Cup by Croatia on Monday.

Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma and Maya Yoshida all missed their spot-kicks in a shoot-out following a 1-1 draw at Al Janoub Stadium, with Croatia advancing to a quarter-final against Brazil.

It meant Japan have been eliminated from all four of their round-of-16 appearances at the World Cup, while they have lost both of their penalty shoot-outs in the competition (also versus Paraguay in 2010).

Tomiyasu registered the worst pass completion rate of any outfield player to play the full 120 minutes (67.7 per cent), while he lost possession a game-high 27 times.

The Arsenal defender, who also failed to make a single tackle or interception, was disappointed with his display and said Japan need to be "much, much better" in future.

"Of course, we are so disappointed with the result," he said.

"My performance was a disaster so I am sorry for the team. I just need to be much, much better to help the team.

"It was not enough and also for the team, we did not deserve to win. We were so close to achieving our aim. They were better than us.

"I can't be proud. I am not satisfied about what happened. This is football and we need to be much, much better to win against a stronger team."

Tomiyasu will return to club duty with Arsenal now and will hope to feature in the Premier League leaders' first match after the World Cup against West Ham on December 26. 

South Africa winger Sbu Nkosi says he has been "curled up in a ball" amid his disappearance, after the World Cup winner was found "safe and sound".

The Bulls, Nkosi's domestic team, confirmed the 26-year-old had been found after discovering his whereabouts on Monday, with the club having had no contact with the player since mid-November.

Nkosi, a member of the Springboks team that claimed victory at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, was not revealed to be missing publicly until his team confirmed they had filed a report over the weekend.

But now he has revealed he has been staying with family, disclosing he has taken time away to deal with mental health struggles.

"I'm a lot better," he told News24. "There's obviously a lot to speak about that I can't say out loud, but my condition is improving.

"It's just been a whole lot of mental pressure. It's been building up for a couple of years now. 

"There's too much to go into: the expectations, the fact that by choosing to take care of myself right now, there are people I'm letting down, and that also hurts me.

"There's a lot, but I'm at a point where I need to prioritise the person before the rugby player right now. I just needed time. I've basically been curled up in a ball with my dad, and he's been managing my mental state daily."

Bulls CEO Edgar Rathbone revealed he met with Nkosi on Monday, and said the club would provide their full support to the winger over the coming period.

"We were thrilled to find Sbu and incredibly relieved to see that he was alive," he said in a statement. "Equally, we were saddened to see him in the state that he was in.

"I am however confident that we are in a good position to provide Sbu with the support he needs and that we should acknowledge his incredible courage to even say to us, that he is not okay.

"We are lucky today but tomorrow, our intervention may be too late and that is not something we want to see become a reality."

England have sacked head coach Eddie Jones following a review of recent performances, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) has announced.

Jones had been in charge since becoming England's first foreign coach in November 2015 and was due to end his long reign after the Rugby World Cup next year.

However, on the back of a disappointing Autumn Nations Series, the RFU has decided to make a change just nine months before the tournament gets under way in France.

"I am pleased with much that we have achieved as an England team and I look forward to watching the team's performance in the future," said Jones in a statement.

"Many of the players and I will no doubt keep in touch and I wish them all well in their future careers."

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said after last month's 27-13 loss to South Africa at Twickenham that results "are not where we expect them to be".

England have endured their worst calendar year since 2008 in terms of results, having won just five of their 12 Tests.

The Red Rose were booed off the field after losing to the Springboks at Twickenham, but Australian Jones remained bullish at the time and said he "does not care what other people think".

Despite a 2022 to forget, Jones bows out with a record of 59 wins from his 81 Tests at the helm, with a win rate of 73 per cent – the best of any head coach in England's history.

Next on that list is Jack Rowell (72 per cent), followed by Geoff Cooke and Clive Woodward (both 71 per cent), the latter having regularly called for Jones to be dismissed.

Jones led England to their first Grand Slam in 13 years in 2016, then won the tournament again in 2017 and 2020, while also reaching the 2019 Rugby World Cup final - which was won by South Africa.

He won his first 17 games with England, which was part of an 18-game win streak overall, the joint longest of any Tier 1 nation.

Leicester Tigers head coach Steve Borthwick, one of Jones' former assistants, is considered the favourite to land the job, while Richard Cockerill will run the men's performance team on an interim basis.

Inter head coach Simone Inzaghi attributed Andre Onana's suspension by Cameroon at the World Cup to a "misunderstanding".

The 26-year-old Nerazzurri goalkeeper was dropped for his country's second group game against Serbia, subsequently leaving Qatar before their final game against Brazil.

Onana issued a statement in the wake of his shock demotion, which Cameroon team officials put down to undisclosed "disciplinary reasons".

Reports suggested Onana's omission came after a disagreement with boss Rigobert Song over his playing style in the 1-0 loss against Switzerland, when he had the most touches outside the box by a goalkeeper ever recorded in a World Cup match (26).

Inzaghi has spoken to Onana since his departure and does not believe he has been affected by the situation.

"I've spoken to all the guys involved in the World Cup," he said. "We have four who made it to the quarter-finals.

"Romelu Lukaku and Onana are out; they will arrive between Friday and Saturday and join the group. Physically they are all fine, we are expecting them.

"There was a misunderstanding that he [Onana] paid for, but I spoke to him and he is calm.

"I can talk about what happened at Inter. He's a positive guy; when he had to be on the bench he stayed there, when he had to play he played.

"On Friday he'll be in Appiano and will start working with us."

Inzaghi also had his say on Lukaku, who endured a torrid time as Belgium crashed out in the group stage with a 0-0 draw against Croatia in their final game.

The Inter striker was brought on at half-time by Red Devils boss Roberto Martinez, but conspired to miss a host of wonderful chances to win the game for his side.

"Clearly he was disappointed," Inzaghi added. "It's a World Cup and he cares so much about his national team.

"He played 45 minutes and he had three chances. If you are getting the chances, a striker has to stay calm."

Inter return to Serie A action on January 4 against Napoli, but have friendlies against Salzburg, Real Betis, Reggina and Sassuolo before then.

Aaron Judge remains the New York Yankees' top priority in free agency, says general manager Brian Cashman, as they look to tie down the 2022 American League MVP.

The four-time All-Star has spent his entire MLB career at Yankee Stadium, but failed to agree a new long-term deal ahead of last season, instead penning just a short-term contract.

With the 30-year-old out of contract, his options are open after a season that saw him shatter the single-season American League home run record with 62.

Cashman says owner Hal Steinbrenner has met with Judge over his future, and hopes they will be able to convince the outfielder to re-sign with them sooner rather than later.

"We'd love to have our player back," he said. "We would love to continue to call him our player every step of the way as he follows what looks like a career path that will lead him to [Hall of Fame home] Cooperstown.

"I appreciate being in a position to have a conversation with a player of Judge's magnitude The ownership here has allowed us to stay in the game on a big-ticket item.

"That's great. I'm sure there's a lot of teams that would love to have access to a player of his calibre but can't participate because the asks are going to be so immense."

Cashman acknowledged there are risks to waiting on Judge's call, both for whoever may otherwise sign him and how it will shape the Yankees going forward.

But he believes the wait will be worth it if they can bring him back into the fold, adding: "It's not like we've missed time in my opinion.

"I understand the longer things go, the more at risk you are. It's easier if we are driving, but we're not driving it."

England's focus cannot be on Kylian Mbappe alone when they face France in the World Cup quarter-finals, says Luke Shaw.

Gareth Southgate's side will face Les Bleus on Saturday after both reached the last-eight in comfortable fashion, with the Three Lions running out 3-0 victors over Senegal.

Didier Deschamps' defending champions meanwhile overcame Poland 3-1, with Mbappe celebrating a double and Olivier Giroud breaking the nation's all-time goalscorer record.

Shaw warned the quality of talent across the board is something England must address rather than keep their focus firmly on stopping Paris Saint-Germain superstar Mbappe, who has five goals at Qatar 2022 already to his name.

"Obviously after his performance [against Poland], there's going to be even more chat about him," he said. "But we know he's a world-class player.

"I think it would be very naive of us to focus purely on him. They're reigning world champions for a reason and we need to focus on them as a whole team.

"They have brilliant players over the whole pitch, so we're not going to fully focus on him, but it's an amazing tie to be involved in and that's why we're here."

England posted their third clean sheet of the tournament in four matches against Senegal, as Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka fired the Three Lions to victory.

Shaw feels it marked another forward step for the team but stressed they will need to be fully switched on to deal with their toughest opponent yet.

"I think we're really happy with the victory, another clean sheet obviously," he added. "We were more clinical in front of goal. We defended well as well, not too many chances for them.

"In the first half, a couple of sloppy passes put [us] under pressure, but apart from that, overall I think it's a solid performance. It needs to give us confidence and the belief.

"We have to be at 100 per cent to win this game, and we know that. I think we need to step up another level because France are a very good team."

The Green Bay Packers still want Aaron Rodgers to play on next season, says general manager Brian Gutekunst, despite the quarterback's cryptic words over the weekend.

The former Super Bowl champion is in the middle of a three-year contract that runs through the 2024 season, having spent his entire professional career in Wisconsin.

But following Sunday's 28-19 win over the Chicago Bears, Rodgers cast doubt over the subject of his future, stating: "There has got to be mutual desire on both sides."

Amid their bye week, Gutekunst said no discussions have taken place over the 39-year-old's next steps, but stressed they still want the veteran to remain on their books.

"That's an offseason-type kind of decision, but surely, yeah," he stated. "We want all our guys back. We made a big commitment to [Rodgers] this offseason, so that was obviously something that was really important to us.

"But like we've talked about in the past, this is something we'll sit down with him after the season, and it will be something we do together and move forward that way.

"We don't talk about those things during the season very often. We just talk more about our team when we speak. Certainly, that'll be something we get to.

"We went through something in the offseason where it was a very big commitment on our part. It wasn't certainly for one year. B we really haven't had any conversations about that stuff during the season."

Rodgers' comments come amid a difficult season for the Packers, who have posted a 5-8 record and are on the cusp of elimination from playoff contention.

Their next game comes against the Los Angeles Rams in just under a fortnight, with the team facing a fight to recover their campaign.

Kawhi Leonard was delighted to be the hero of a grandstand finish as he marked his return from injury with the winning shot in the Los Angeles Clippers' 119-117 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.

Having sat out the last six games with a sprained right ankle, the two-time NBA champion returned to the court alongside fellow All-Star Paul George, with both playing a crucial part at the Spectrum Center.

It was George who led the way with a team-high 19 points, but Leonard seized the last-gasp heroics after sinking an 18-foot jumper with 1.4 seconds on the clock to claim the win.

The small forward, who missed the entirety of last season with a torn ACL, delighted in his moment of triumph on the floor afterwards, stressing his passion for the sport has not diminished during his time on the sidelines.

"It felt good to be back," he stated. "I love this game of basketball. I don't think anybody loves playing more than me.

"Maybe [people love] watching [more]. But I love this game, and it gives me joy when I am able to play.

"That ending is great, [in] that I was able to make that shot. We're [leading by] nine, eight points pretty much the whole game. I would rather close it out than have to [grind it] out like that."

George was full of praise for his team-mate too, focusing on his return rather than his own after he set up Leonard for the game-winning shot.

"Any time you see Kawhi going to the spot, that's where he is comfortable," he added. "That's where we are comfortable. I wanted to get it to him right there, and he took it home with his shot."

With both players having seldom lined up together this year, head coach Ty Lue is hopeful their return can help drive the Clippers higher this season, with the team sixth in the Western Conference.

"Those guys on the floor, it's going to cause teams to double-team," he stated. "[It will make] teams do some things they're not used to doing, and we're going to get open shots. [We] just continue building off this."

James Harden said he was "all over the place" on his return from injury but vowed to improve once he finds his rhythm for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 2018 MVP winner was back in the starting line-up having missed 14 straight games after suffering a tendon strain in his right foot on November 2, with Philly going 4-5 in his absence.

However, his comeback failed to yield an upturn as the 76ers went down 132-123 to Harden's former team the Houston Rockets following double overtime.

Harden contributed 21 points but was just 4-of-19 from the field, missing all eight attempts inside the three-point arc. He also chalked up four rebounds and seven assists.

Philly coach Doc Rivers said Harden would be on a minutes restriction, but he still racked up 39. However, the 33-year-old said it was difficult to find fluidity.

"I didn't play well, but I've got to be better and I will," Harden said.

"I was all over the place. I'm not used to it, but I'm not making any excuses. I have to do better." 

Harden added that he had to fight his cause to play as much as he did in overtime.

"I had to fight to stay on the court just because there was a certain plan in place before the game started,'' Harden said.

"But once you go out there as a competitor you want to try to win."

The 76ers are on a three-match losing streak and sit seventh in the Eastern Conference with a 12-12 record. They next face the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.