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• Mbappe must improve to 'follow Ronaldo's path' at Madrid, says France World Cup winner Candela

  Kylian Mbappe can "follow Cristiano Ronaldo's path at Real Madrid" if he works harder, according to former France defender and World Cup winner Vincent Candela.

  The former Paris Saint-Germain forward has endured a tricky start to life with Los Blancos since making the switch as a free agent.

  Despite scoring eight goals in 16 appearances across all competitions, Mbappe is yet to truly catch fire at Santiago Bernabeu, where his displays have been subjected to widespread criticism.

  The France forward has underperformed his season's expected goals (xG) total by 2.04, while he was left out of Les Bleus' squad for their recent Nations League matches after failing to find the net in his last four appearances.

  Mbappe is averaging a goal every 166 minutes in all competitions this term, compared to one every 88 minutes in his final campaign with PSG, and was flagged offside eight times during the humiliating 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in October.

  Candela, who was part of France's squad that won the 1998 World Cup, says Mbappe must up his game in the Spanish capital.

  However, the 51-year-old is confident his compatriot will do that and, if he does, can potentially emulate a Madrid icon, who became the club's leading scorer and won four Champions League titles during his glittering spell.

  "He has to work harder in Spain. He can still grow and become a stronger player," Candela said in an interview with RB Sports, via Diario Sport.

  "At Real Madrid, Mbappe is a player among others, while at PSG, he was an icon.

  "I hope Mbappe can follow Cristiano Ronaldo's path at Real Madrid, but it's too early to compare them. First, he has to win the Champions League, as the Portuguese has done several times."

• Michael Johnson optimistic about bright future for field events amid rise of track-centric meets

  Legendary sprinter Michael Johnson, the founder of the upcoming Grand Slam Track (GST) series, is confident that field events will not be sidelined despite the emergence of track-only competitions like GST and September's all-woman Athlos NY meet. Instead, Johnson envisions a future where field events flourish in their own right, buoyed by specialized leagues and platforms.

  Grand Slam Track recently announced its inaugural season for 2025, with meets scheduled in Kingston, Miami, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles. As excitement builds for the all-track format, concerns have surfaced about the potential marginalization of field events like the shot put, discus, javelin, and triple jump. However, responding to a query from Sportsmax.TV, Johnson dismissed these fears, offering a compelling case for optimism.

  “I think you will see quite the opposite,” Johnson said. “Ryan Crouser, the Olympic champion and world record holder in the shot put, is going to start his vision for a throws league that is specifically for the throws where the fans who actually appreciate those events and understand the great athleticism that is required for those events can actually be closer to the action. And so those events don’t fall secondary to what’s happening on the track, and I have offered my support to Ryan for that.”

  

  Johnson, a four-time Olympic gold medalist and former 200m and 400m world record holder, pointed to Crouser’s initiative as an example of how specialized leagues can elevate field events.

  “So I don’t think you will see those events continue to go away. I think it’s the exact opposite,” Johnson continued. “I think that there has been inspiration around how you now create leagues for those events as well, where you can make those events more prominent.”

  Field events have experienced a resurgence in recent years, with Caribbean athletes making significant strides on the global stage. Trinidad and Tobago’s Keshorn Walcott and Grenada’s Anderson Peters have won Olympic and World Championship medals in the javelin. Jamaica's Roje Stona set an Olympic record to win gold in the discus, with compatriot Rajindra Campbell claiming shot put bronze. Dominica’s Thea LaFond made history by winning her country’s first Olympic medal, a gold in the triple jump, ahead of Jamaica’s Shanieka Ricketts, a two-time World Championship silver medalist.

  Johnson believes specialized leagues and tailored events are key to ensuring that these athletes and their disciplines receive the recognition they deserve.

  “Right now, they’re getting lost in a huge stadium where fans far away can’t actually see and appreciate the athleticism,” Johnson explained. “So I think that this [Grand Slam Track] paves the way for a brighter future for the field events.”

  Grand Slam Track’s inaugural season promises to bring a fresh, dynamic format to track events, while Johnson’s endorsement of field-event-specific leagues highlights his broader vision for athletics as a sport. With initiatives like Crouser’s throws league on the horizon, Johnson’s optimism reflects a shift toward creating dedicated platforms for all disciplines to shine.

   The 2025 GST series, set to kick off with a meet in Kingston from April 4-, marks an exciting evolution for the sport. As Johnson’s vision takes shape, the future appears brighter not just for track athletes but for the field-event stars whose talents deserve a stage of their own.

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

• Italy 'on the right track' despite France defeat – Spalletti

  Luciano Spalletti believes Italy are "on the right track" despite the Azzurri ending their Nations League campaign with a 3-1 defeat to France on Sunday.

  Adrien Rabiot scored twice and Guglielmo Vicario put through his own net as Les Bleus triumphed at San Siro, with all three goals coming from Lucas Digne set-pieces.

  Italy had already confirmed a top-two finish by beating Belgium 1-0 three days earlier, however, so they will join France in the quarter-finals next March.

  Despite the result, there were plenty of positives for Spalletti to take from Italy's performance, as his team enjoyed more possession (53.8%), shots (10 to six), expected goals (0.59 xG to 0.39) and touches in the opposition box (20 to eight) than their opponents.

  "I believe that we are on the right track, I saw many things we sought in the correct way, but we were influenced by the emotion of the match, we forced the match," he said.

  "In the second half the game was managed well, we often had the ball but we have to be cleaner with our ball management.

  "The analysis is certainly positive, it is clear that there is something to review. When we return, the group will do this."

   

  Italy were undone by some excellent dead-ball taking from Aston Villa full-back Digne, though, and Spalletti knows they must be more competitive on a physical level in the future.

  "The boys wanted to go and challenge the opponent, there you spend energy. The third set-piece created problems for us, then we tried to react to score again, but they are physical," he said. 

  "Now we will review the situations well, they are one of the strongest teams there is from a physical point of view."