A "very optimistic" Roberto Carlos declared "it is time to win" as he backed Brazil to lift the World Cup in Qatar.

The Selecao breezed through South American World Cup qualifying, topping their group after going unbeaten before the rearranged clash with Argentina on September 22.

Argentina are another force to be reckoned in the battle for the famous Jules Rimet trophy, having gone undefeated in 33 games – the longest intact unbeaten run in international football.

Holders France are also among the contenders, while England, Spain and Germany will be expected to provide stern competition at world football's showpiece event.

Roberto Carlos was in the team that won Brazil's fifth and most recent World Cup in 2002, and he believes Tite's side will end a 20-year wait to be crowned champions in December.

 

"The most important thing is that Brazil have a great team," he told reporters. "It's time to win, because the last photo we have is ours [in 2002].

"I am very optimistic. It is not easy to win a World Cup. In recent times, the Brazilian team are as usual, since our time, they have played great games, but have never been so good.

"The Copa America is important but for the Brazilians, this World Cup is going to be very important and has a special flavour, the moment of the national team is very good.

"At least the European press put Brazil as one of the favourites. This is already an important factor.

"Luis Enrique commented on it the other day, if you ask any other national team coach, the Brazilian team is one of the four favourites for this World Cup. If they prepare well, Brazil will win again."

Brazil start their World Cup campaign against Serbia on November 24, with clashes against Switzerland and Cameroon to follow in Group G.

Eddie Jones has selected uncapped full-back Tommy Freeman to play for England against the Barbarians, while Danny Care was named on the bench for the first time since 2018.

Care was due to play for the Barbarians at Twickenham on Sunday, having not been selected for England since being hooked at half-time against Japan four years ago.

The veteran Harlequins scrum-half has 84 England caps and has stood out in the Premiership this season, and now gets the chance to impress ahead of the three-Test tour of Australia in July.

England's most capped player and regular scrum-half Ben Youngs is unavailable due to his commitments with Leicester Tigers in the Premiership final against Saracens on Saturday.

Care's Harlequins team-mate Jack Walker also makes his first England appearance, with Freeman and Gloucester centre Mark Atkinson the other uncapped players to start.

Winger Joe Cokanasiga returns after an almost year-long absence, while Jonny May is on the other wing after a knee injury kept him out of the Six Nations.

Jonny Hill is another who missed the Six Nations but was recalled to the side, which will be captained by back-rower Tom Curry.

England's Six Nations captain Courtney Lawes was named among the replacements, alongside the uncapped trio of Will Goodrick-Clarke, Patrick Schickerling and Orlando Bailey.

"This is a young team, they have prepared really well and worked hard over the past few camps to come together as a group," Jones said. 

"It is a great opportunity to play in this England XV side and show what they can do.

“We are looking forward to playing against an unusually French Barbarians side – which you normally only get when you play the French Barbarians.

"We'll use it as an opportunity to develop combinations and assess players for the Australia tour.

"We will put our best foot forward and it should make for a great game of rugby for all of the supporters at Twickenham."

England team: Tommy Freeman, Joe Cokanasiga, Joe Marchant, Mark Atkinson, Jonny May, Marcus Smith Harry Randall; Bevan Rodd, Will Collier, Charlie Ewels, Jonny Hill, Tom Curry, Sam Underhill, Alex Dombrandt.

Replacements: Jack Singleton, Will Goodrick-Clarke, Patrick Schickerling, Courtney Lawes, Jack Willis, Danny Care, Orlando Bailey, Jack Nowell.

Tottenham have completed the signing of Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Yves Bissouma for a reported fee of £25million.

The 25-year-old signed a four-year deal with Antonio Conte's side on Friday.

Conte reportedly demanded assurances from Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy that his side would spend to compete with the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea after qualifying for the Champions League.

The Italian has subsequently been granted his wishes, with the experienced Ivan Perisic and back-up goalkeeper Fraser Forster joining the London club before they landed Bissouma.

Real Madrid will see a "totally different" Eden Hazard next season, according to Belgium coach Roberto Martinez, who says the winger is "obsessed" with succeeding at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Having joined Madrid in a blockbuster £103.5m deal in 2019, Hazard has struggled in Spain, making just 48 appearances in LaLiga for the club - 20 of which have come from the bench.

Hazard has only recorded 10 league goal involvements in that time (four goals, six assists), and was a virtual spectator as Carlo Ancelotti's men won LaLiga and the Champions League last season, starting just seven league games.

But the 31-year-old impressed for Belgium during the recent international break, and was adamant he will get back to the player he was after assisting Kevin De Bruyne's goal in a recent 6-1 win over Poland. 

Martinez agrees that prediction, and believes the winger's goal of winning the World Cup in Qatar this year will provide an additional motivation when he returns to Madrid.

"Eden Hazard is in the best period of his career," Martinez told radio programme El Larguero.

"I was surprised by the state of mind and physical condition he was in in June," he said. "Real Madrid fans are going to see a totally different Hazard.

"He is obsessed with succeeding at Real Madrid. He has not thought about changing his objective. He wants to win the World Cup."

Meanwhile, Martinez's own future as Belgium boss has been questioned in recent months, with the former Everton man failing to lead the Red Devils' so-called "golden generation" of stars to tournament glory since taking charge in 2016.

The 48-year-old recently said he will not discuss any prospective new contract with Belgium until after the World Cup, but has now refused to close the door to coaching the Spanish national team in the future.

"I'm always open to any project with real belief behind it," he said.

Belgium and Spain could potentially face off in the round of 16 in Qatar, with Martinez's men facing Canada, Morocco and Croatia in Group F and Luis Enrique's team drawn alongside Germany, Japan and Costa Rica in Group E.

Paris Saint-Germain will be expected to make a winning start to their Ligue 1 title defence, while each of the newly promoted teams will receive a tough examination of their credentials on the opening weekend.

It may not be clear who will be managing PSG when the new season starts, but PSG know the identity of their opponents, with the champions set to travel to face Clermont Foot on the weekend of August 6 and 7.

That same weekend will see Auxerre, the 1995-96 champions back in the top flight after 10 seasons in the second tier, visit the team PSG deposed, Lille.

Toulouse are back after two seasons away and will open their campaign at home against Nice, who finished fifth last season.

Fellow new boys Ajaccio, playing at this level for the first time since 2013-14, will be on the road against seven-time champions Lyon.

Marseille will have ambitions of narrowing the 15-point gap to arch rivals PSG from last season and begin that quest at home to Reims. Another of PSG's potential challengers, Monaco, visit Strasbourg.

The first Classique between PSG and Marseille will take place at the Parc des Princes on October 16, the return fixture at the Stade Velodrome scheduled for February 26.

Lille host PSG on the third weekend of the season before Monaco take the trip to the capital a week later.

Marseille face Lyon and Monaco in their only two fixtures in November before the World Cup. The second Choc des Olympiques of the season between Lyon and Marseille will be held at the Groupama Stadium on April 23.

PSG's final game before the World Cup seems them welcome Auxerre.

Having opened their campaign at Clermont, a home clash for PSG against the same opposition will round off a season which most anticipate will be a procession to an outright record 11th league title for Lionel Messi, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Co.

England posted the highest score in ODI and List A history after Jos Buttler smashed the second-fastest 50-over international century against Netherlands.

An England side missing numerous Test stars, such as Joe Root, Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow, were quickly in the ascendancy when opener Phil Salt scored his first ODI hundred from 82 balls as the tourists posted 498-4.

Salt fell soon after for 122, with Dawid Malan carrying on the pressure as he reached his maiden 50-over international ton from 90 deliveries.

That made Malan just the second England player to score a century in all three formats, alongside Buttler, who joined the Yorkshire batter at the crease and started in destructive fashion.

Buttler was dropped on 37 by Musa Ahmed at long-on off the bowling of captain Pieter Seelaar before continuing his onslaught to reach three figures in just 47 balls.

All three of the fastest 50-over hundreds for England have come from Buttler after he achieved the feat in 46 balls against Pakistan in 2015 and 50 deliveries against the same opposition four years later.

Malan was then dismissed by Seelar for 125 and captain Eoin Morgan followed to the next ball but that only brought in Liam Livingstone, who crashed plundered 32 from a single Philippe Boissevain over.

Livingstone, dropped on 46 by Boissevain, subsequently brought up England's fastest ODI fifty off just 17 balls before the tourists recorded the highest score in 50-over internationals.

Morgan's side surpassed their own previous international record 481 set at Trent Bridge against Australia in 2018, as well as the List A benchmark set when Surrey scored 496 in 2007 against Gloucestershire.

Rafael Nadal has confirmed he is planning to play at Wimbledon after proving his fitness during a week of training on grass in Mallorca.

The 22-time grand slam winner made his announcement in a news conference on Friday.

Nadal, 36, has won the Australian Open and French Open titles already this year and is halfway towards a possible sweep of the grand slams, a feat that was last achieved in men's singles by Australian Rod Laver in 1969.

Spaniard Nadal triumphed at Roland Garros despite needing pain-killing injections before every match, as he continues to battle a foot problem that has plagued him for much of his career.

Nadal said in Paris that he intended to undergo radiofrequency injections in a bid to ensure he could compete at the All England Club, and he has undergone two courses of such treatment.

Wimbledon starts on June 27, and it is a tournament that Nadal won in 2008 and 2010, although he has not played there since 2019, when he reached the semi-finals.

Speaking in Mallorca on Friday, Nadal said: "I have managed to reduce the pain. I am happy to have been a week without going lame.

"They have been somewhat different pains. We have to wait to see how it evolves in the next few weeks. My intention is to play Wimbledon.

"Two radiofrequency sessions have been done and the evolution has been satisfactory. I don't know what might happen in five days. For now, the treatment has allowed me to train and that has made me make the decision to fly to London."

Nadal has labelled the idea of a calendar grand slam sweep as "crazy", although Novak Djokovic came tantalisingly close last year, winning the Australian and French Opens and Wimbledon before losing to Daniil Medvedev in the US Open final.

He is optimistic the London courts could prove helpful to his prospects, if he can carry over his clay form to the grass.

"I don't think the grass hurts my foot more than other surfaces. From my point of view, the grass is softer than other surfaces," Nadal said.

"The only thing I can say is the week I have been practising here after my treatment has been positive, I have experienced some improvements, different feelings, in my foot and I take that as a positive thing.

"My goal or my intention is to travel to London next Monday, play two matches there before the tournament starts and follow my normal schedule to prepare the best possible way for Wimbledon.

"Today that's all I can say. What can happen in a couple of days, if the situation changes or becomes more negative, then that will be the moment to explain another thing. Today I am positive.

"I am excited to travel to Wimbledon to try to play Wimbledon after three years."

Paris Saint-Germain eased to a record-equalling 10th Ligue 1 title in the 2021-22 campaign, with Lille and Monaco the likely contenders to challenge the French giants in the following campaign.

Mauricio Pochettino's future remains uncertain at PSG despite securing the French top-flight title with four games to spare last season, with Nice's Christophe Galtier linked with the potential vacancy.

PSG have to wait until the ninth matchday to face Nice on October 2, but visit Lyon the game before on September 18 and face early clashes with Lille and Monaco on matchday four and five respectively.

The Ligue 1 champions host Marseille in the season's first Le Classique meeting on October 16, while PSG will have to negotiate a tricky period in February.

PSG visit Monaco on February 12 and Marseille two weeks later, either side of a home clash with Lille, who were the last side to deny Les Parisiens the championship in the 2020-21 term.

Away trips to AJ Auxerre and Strasbourg then precede a final matchday home clash with Clermont as PSG search for their ninth Ligue 1 crown in the last 11 seasons.

PSG's Ligue 1 fixtures in full:

07/08/2022 - Clermont (a)
14/08/2022 - Montpellier (h)
21/08/2022 - Lille (a)
28/08/2022 - Monaco (h)
31/08/2022 - Toulouse (a)
04/09/2022 - Nantes (a)
11/09/2022 - Brest (h)
18/09/2022 - Lyon (a)
02/10/2022 - Nice (h)
09/10/2022 - Reims (a)
16/10/2022 - Marseille (h)
23/10/2022 - AC Ajaccio (a)
30/10/2022 - Troyes (h)
06/11/2022 - Lorient (a)
13/11/2022 - AJ Auxerre (h)
28/12/2022 - Strasbourg (h)
01/01/2023 - Lens (a)
11/01/2023 - Angers (h)
15/01/2023 - Rennes (a)
29/01/2023 - Reims (h)
01/02/2023 - Montpellier (a)
05/02/2023 - Toulouse (h)
12/02/2023 - Monaco (a)
19/02/2023 - Lille (h)
26/02/2023 - Marseille (a)
05/03/2023 - Nantes (h)
12/03/2023 - Brest (a)
19/03/2023 - Rennes (h)
02/04/2023 - Lyon (h)
09/04/2023 - Nice (a)
16/04/2023 - Lens (h)
23/04/2023 - Angers (a)
30/04/2023 - Lorient (h)
07/05/2023 - Troyes (a)
14/05/2023 - AC Ajaccio (h)
21/05/2023 - AJ Auxerre (a)
27/05/2023 - Strasbourg (a)
03/06/2023 - Clermont (h)

LaLiga has called for Kylian Mbappe's contract at Paris Saint-Germain to be ripped up, demanding French government officials act and league chiefs take a closer look at the capital club's spending.

France striker Mbappe signed a new three-year deal with PSG in May, turning down Real Madrid who had been courting him for the past year.

The terms of the contract have not been officially disclosed, but Mbappe is widely reported to have received a staggering signing-on fee as well as extraordinary wages. Figures of €100million for signing and €50m per season have been suggested.

Lawyer Juan Branco, representing LaLiga, told a news conference in France on Friday that Spanish league chiefs are ready to go to court to challenge PSG's finances.

Ligue 1 champions PSG have strenuously denied being in breach of financial fair play regulations, but the Spanish authorities have expressed doubts about the legitimacy of their vast recent outlay on players. PSG have been owned by the Doha-based Qatar Sports Investments since 2011.

LaLiga wants the Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP) and the DNCG, the body that oversees football club finances in France, to examine in detail whether the Mbappe deal should have been given the green light.

"We are going to request the repeal of the approval of Mbappe's contract from the minister of sports, because that is the supervisory authority of sports administration," Branco said.

"Subsequently, we will appeal to the LFP so that it acts via its legal commission the DNCG in order to operate a monitoring report on the accounts of PSG. This is a legal step which will allow us to establish whether Mbappe's contract is within the economic parameters which are imposed by the regulations of the DNCG and UEFA financial fair play."

PSG signed Lionel Messi last August after Barcelona ran out of money to hand their captain a new contract, and also acquired former Real Madrid skipper Sergio Ramos at the end of his Santiago Bernabeu stay.

Real Madrid were optimistic about landing Mbappe, but hopes in Spain that he would move to LaLiga were dashed.

Branco said LaLiga was prepared to take action via the administrative court of Paris to seek the quashing of Mbappe's contract.

The lawyer added: "We are going to proceed in the form of a graduated response. We are going to see little by little what is the capacity of the French professional footballing bodies and also regulatory and administrative authorities to react to our appeals and our requests.

"As time goes by, we will increase the pressure."

LaLiga has also complained to UEFA, European football's governing body, about PSG, as well as Manchester City.

Javier Tebas, the Spanish league's president, this week claimed the agreement between PSG and Mbappe was "an insult to football".

Branco said LaLiga would "go upmarket... harden our game" if necessary, saying it considers the French capital giants to be spending on a "fraudulent" scale.

That accusation has been consistently denied by PSG.

Lionel Messi is "on Olympus" as one of the greatest players in history, and former Paris Saint-Germain sporting director Leonardo cannot believe he brought the star to Ligue 1.

Leonardo departed at the end of the 2021-22 campaign, with former Monaco and Lille transfer guru Luis Campos joining the Ligue 1 champions as a football advisor.

Coach Mauricio Pochettino is also widely expected to be heading for the exit door after failing to deliver in the Champions League, which is the crown jewel in the eyes of PSG owners Qatar Sports Investments (QSI).

However, Pochettino and Leonardo did manage to bring Argentina great Messi to Paris at the start of the season, ending a 17-year spell with Barcelona.

Messi ranked only behind Kylian Mbappe (45) for goal involvements for PSG in Ligue 1, with the former's 20 one more than Neymar, who was the final part of an incredible frontline trio.

Only Mbappe (70) created more chances than Messi (63) as well, but the Blaugrana legend's first year in the French capital was largely viewed as somewhat underwhelming, with just six top-flight goals scored.

Nevertheless, Leonardo reflected gleefully on securing the services of the 34-year-old along with his own achievements with PSG.

"We had thought about it a lot, yes. We had talked about it, but Messi had never thought too much about leaving Barcelona," he told L'Equipe.

"It was the last moments before his arrival that were decisive. Afterwards, everything becomes a bit more normal but, you made Messi's only transfer in his career!

"Chronologically, there is Pele, Maradona, Messi. He is on Olympus.

"So when I take stock of my last three years, I see a Champions League final, a semi-final, the 10th league title, seven national trophies and I signed Messi.

"There are two very significant moments for me, even if I don't like to pick out the best. The first is the signing, on the same day, of [Marco] Verratti and [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic [in 2012].

"It was no coincidence that a youngster from the Italian second division and a world football star arrived at the same time. The second is Messi. These are two huge dates."

 

Mbappe rejected the advances of Real Madrid to extend his stay with PSG, signing a lucrative three-year agreement.

Reports indicated the World Cup winner was offered assurances relating to matters on and off the pitch.

While Leonardo has departed and Pochettino appears set to follow, the former suggests he did not know whether the Mbappe agreement held such clauses.

"It was the end of the season and maybe it was the time to decide things for the future," he added. "I wasn't told that, but I don't want to get into that kind of thing.

"The fact that they've managed to hold on to that player, a Frenchman and a Parisian, is important for PSG and for Ligue 1.

"Certain things which are said internally should stay that way. It's what I've experienced with the club. When the club wants to get rid of you, there's no nice way to say it's over."

Porto have confirmed they have reached an agreement with Arsenal over the sale of Fabio Vieira.

Vieira arrived in London for a medical on Friday and Porto have subsequently announced a transfer deal has been agreed with the Gunners.

The Portuguese Primeira Liga side confirmed in a brief statement that the transfer had been agreed, with Arsenal paying £30million (€35m) up front with £4.2m (€5m) in add-ons.

Arsenal appeared to be interested in Youri Tielemans and Porto star Vitinha before his team-mate Vieira emerged as a top midfield target for manager Mikel Arteta.

Porto added that while a deal was in place, the move is subject to Vieira agreeing personal terms with the Premier League side.

"It is further informed that the final agreement is still being finalised and is awaiting its completion in the coming days," the statement added.

The 22-year-old enjoyed a productive 2021-22 Primeira Liga season, scoring six times and leading his side with 14 assists.

Bayern Munich will look for a record-extending 11th Bundesliga title in the 2022-23 campaign, with Borussia Dortmund or RB Leipzig the likely challengers to stop them.

Julian Nagelsmann's side sealed the 2021-22 championship with three games left to play after a 3-1 victory over fierce rivals Dortmund in late April.

The Bundesliga champions have to wait until matchday nine for the first Der Klassiker league meeting, with that clash to be played at Dortmund's Signal Iduna Park between October 7 and October 10.

Nagelsmann's side will then hope to have gained an advantage in the league before they head for their first league game against Leipzig, away in January after the World Cup has taken place.

Bayern beat Dortmund three times across the German top flight and DFL-Supercup last season, and the return meeting will take place at Allianz Arena between March 31 and April 3.

The Bavaria giants will again hope to wrap up the title with games to spare, with a potentially tricky task at home to Leipzig their penultimate game before concluding their campaign away to Cologne.

Bayern's 2022-23 Bundesliga fixtures in full:
 

05/08/2022 - Eintracht Frankfurt (a)
12/08/2022 - Wolfsburg (h)
19/08/2022 - Bochum (a)
26/08/2022 - Borussia Monchengladbach (h)
02/09/2022 - Union Berlin (a)
09/09/2022 - Stuttgart (h)
16/09/2022 - Augsburg (a)
30/09/2022 - Bayer Leverkusen (h)
07/10/2022 - Borussia Dortmund (a)
14/10/2022 - Freiburg (h)
21/10/2022- Hoffenheim (a)
28/10/2022 - Mainz (h)
04/11/2022 - Hertha (a)
08/11/2022 - Werder Bremen (h)
11/11/2022 - Schalke (a)
20/01/2023 - RB Leipzig (a)
24/01/2023 - Cologne (h)
27/01/2023 - Eintracht Frankfurt (h)
03/02/2023 - Wolfsburg (a)
10/02/2023 - Bochum (h)
17/02/2023 - Borussia Monchengladbach (a)
24/02/2023 - Union Berlin (h)
03/03/2023 - Stuttgart (a)
10/03/2023 - Augsburg (h)
17/03/2023 - Bayer Leverkusen (a)
31/03/2023 - Borussia Dortmund (h)
08/04/2023 - Freiburg (a)
14/04/2023 - Hoffenheim (h)
21/04/2023 - Mainz (a)
28/04/2023 - Hertha (h)
05/05/2023 - Werder Bremen (a)
12/05/2023 - Schalke (h)
19/05/2023 - RB Leipzig (h)
27/05/2023 - Cologne (a)

Bayern Munich face a tricky early test when they begin their Bundesliga title defence at Eintracht Frankfurt in the season's opening game on August 5.

Whether the champions still have Robert Lewandowski in their ranks come that date remains to be seen, as the prolific Polish striker pushes for a move away, and there could be turbulent times for the Bavarian giants before the game comes around.

Frankfurt won the Europa League in the 2021-22 season, while Bayern have landed 10 consecutive Bundesliga titles, making it a tasty appetiser for the new campaign.

It will be the first time in the history of the Bundesliga that the reigning champions will have come up against the UEFA Cup or Europa League holders on matchday one, Opta said.

Frankfurt finished a modest 11th in last season's German top flight, with their form in Europe offering a striking contrast to their domestic fortunes.

They will hope that home advantage proves significant, and history tells us that Bundesliga champions can struggle early on. Teams beginning the defence of their Bundesliga title have started with an away fixture in 21 league seasons and have lost 10 of them (W6 D5).

While Julian Nagelsmann's Bayern and Oliver Glasner's Frankfurt get the season under way with their Friday night game, the standout fixture on the opening weekend is set to take place at Signal Iduna Park as Borussia Dortmund host Bayer Leverkusen.

That is a clash of the teams that finished second and third respectively last season. Dortmund will be starting life without Erling Haaland, the prolific striker who has elected to move on to Manchester City, with Karim Adeyemi signed from Salzburg as his replacement.

Strong starters in recent seasons, Dortmund have won each of their last seven Bundesliga openers.

RB Leipzig head to Stuttgart on the first weekend of the campaign, while promoted Schalke and Werder Bremen both face away trips as they tackle Cologne and Wolfsburg respectively.

Bayern face further August fixtures against Wolfsburg, Bochum and Borussia Monchengladbach, with the first Klassiker of the season against Dortmund scheduled for the long weekend of October 7-10. Dortmund will have home advantage for that one, with Bayern then hosting BVB over the weekend of March 31 to April 3.

Inter cannot rely on building an attack with Romelu Lukaku, Paulo Dybala and Lautaro Martinez as that would expose Simone Inzaghi's side in defence.

That is the message from Milan legend Arrigo Sacchi, who compared the strategy to the plans of Real Madrid in the early 2000s when they assembled a team of attacking superstars.

The Los Blancos star-studded line-up included the likes of David Beckham, Ronaldo Nazario, Raul, Luis Figo and Zinedine Zidane, but they went six straight seasons without winning a Champions League knockout tie between 2004 and 2010.

Inter are looking to knock fierce rivals Milan off the Serie A summit, with Inzaghi attempting to bring Lukaku back on loan from Chelsea, while Dybala seems set to join the Nerazzurri on a free transfer.

Lukaku fired Inter to Scudetto glory in 2020-21 and across his two-year spell, no Nerazzurri player scored more goals (64), provided more assists (17) or created as many chances (133) in all competitions.

Martinez was comfortably Inter's top Serie A scorer in the 2021-22 campaign, with his 21 goals eight ahead of nearest challenger Edin Dzeko, while Dybala scored the most league goals for Juventus (10).

Combining the trio may lead to additional firepower for Inzaghi, but Sacchi insists Inter must focus on balance as opposed to attacking riches.

"You don't make teams with statues," he told Gazzetta dello Sport. "I was at Real Madrid as director of football [in 2004-05] and they asked me to coach. Do you know what the attack was?

"Beckham, Raul, Ronaldo, Zidane, Figo. On the bench, we had [Fernando] Morientes and [Michael] Owen. It wasn't a team, it was a film but it lacked the plot.

"So I thanked the president but said no. To protect the defence we would have needed two defensive players with bullet-proof vests. Teams always need balance."

Sacchi also believes Lukaku, Martinez and Dybala would be unwilling to do the defensive work to help those behind them.

"You need a full team who are always active – in attack and in defence. You need to move, take part in the action, play together," he added.

"Then you can consider winning the ball back quickly when the opposition has it. If you give up three players to the opposition, it means there are only eight in defence rather than 11.

"The willingness and physical characteristics of the player are fundamental. I don't believe, but I could be wrong, that Lukaku, Martinez and Dybala have these qualities."

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