Veteran Manning Cup coach Jerome Waite is confident of turning the St Jago schoolboy football program around in short order, having recently taken the reigns, after parting ways with Charlie Smith a team that he has been associated with for several years.

Waite who has been associated with the school’s football program in some capacity since 1987 has been an unfamiliar sight on the bench of the Monk Street-based team this season.  After over 30-years at the Charlie Smith, however, he looks forward to a new challenge.  

“After changing so many lives you just have to know that it’s time to move on to another region and see how many lives you can change there,” Waite said of the move, which occurred two seasons ago.

During his time as part of the Charlie Smith coaching unit, Waite has managed to claim three Manning Cup titles and believes that some level of success could soon be replicated at St Jago.

“It can happen in three years (competitive team) once we spend a lot of time to get them it will happen.  You would classify this as a crash program because Covid messed up the whole season, but you have to give ISSA some credit.”

St Jago has never won the title but went to the final in 2003.

Charlie Smith defeated Calabar High 1-0 in game one of a group A doubleheader at Stadium East as ISSA Digicel Manning Cup action continued today.

Andre Gibbs got the goal for Charlie Smith in the fourth minute.

Charlie Smith now have three wins in five games and join group leaders, Kingston Technical, on nine points.

Jamaica College got their second win of the season in the second game of the doubleheader with a 6-0 thrashing of St. Georges College, who lost their second game in a row and are now in danger of missing out on qualification to the quarterfinals.

Captain, Duncan McKenzie, got a hat trick for JC with goals in the 11^th, 25^th, and 39^th minutes with the other goals coming from Marlon Pennicooke in the 15^th, Dwight Merrick in the 52^nd, and Tarick Ximines in the 63^rd minutes.

That win now moves JC to third in group A on seven points, one more point than St. Georges on fourth.

Kingston High and Bridgeport played out a 0-0 draw in the third group A game of the day at the Spanish Town Prison Oval.

In group C, Wolmer’s officially got their first points of the season with a 3-0 win over Clan Carthy at Jamaica College.

They originally won their first game against St. Mary’s College 13-0 but that result was deemed null and void after St. Mary’s College withdrew from the remainder of the competition.

They are now fourth in group C on 3 points with three matches left.

In daCosta Cup action, Garvey Maceo and Vere Technical officially booked their spots in the next round from zone F.

Garvey Maceo won five out of five for a perfect 15 points after beating Foga Road 3-1 at Foga Road in their 3:30 match.

Earlier, at Foga Road, Vere secured their spot in the next round with a 3-1 win over Kemps Hill.

Old Harbour beat Central High 3-1 in the other zone game at Garvey Maceo.

Garvey Maceo topped the zone with 15 points and will be joined in the next round by Vere who finished second with ten points.

In zone B, Mannings and Godfrey Stewart were both winners in a doubleheader at Llandilo.

Mannings got by Petersfield 2-0 in the 1:15 pm game, while Godfrey Stewart beat Green Island 3-0 in the 3:30 pm encounter.

Rusea’s beat Frome 1-0 at Wespow Park in the other zone game.

Mannings lead zone B with 10 points followed by Frome on nine with Petersfield third on seven.

Bellefield clipped Belair 1-0 at Manchester in zone D action.

A beatdown at Kirkvine saw Manchester High put 12 past Alston while conceding none in their 3:30 pm fixture.

Manchester now leads zone B with 10 points and are still yet to concede a goal in the group stage.

Christiana are second in the zone, also with 10 points while Bellefield are third with eight.

In the lone zone H match of the day, Brown’s Town beat St. Mary High 7-0.

Nani has confirmed he is leaving Orlando City after three years with the Florida side.

The former Manchester United forward joined Orlando in 2019, having left Serie A club Lazio.

Nani led the club to their first postseason appearances, while Orlando also reached the final of the MLS Is Back Tournament in 2020.

The 35-year-old scored 12 goals in his first season with the Lions, a further nine in 2020 and 10 this season as Orlando lost in the first round of the playoffs, going down 3-1 to Nashville SC.

He explained it was not his decision to leave, but rather Orlando choosing not to extend his contract.

In a statement posted to his official social media channels, Nani said: "All good things must come to an end. After three amazing seasons, full of great moments, new friendships and sporting success, I am leaving Orlando City.

"Orlando is a city I can call home, with great people and fantastic supporters, but my contract has ended and there was a decision by the club not to extend it.

"It was an honour captaining the club for its first ever playoff appearances and reaching the final of the MLS Is Back Tournament.

"I shall never forget how the fans and community supported me and my family ever since the moment we arrived in Florida. You will have in me a friend and a fan for the future. I wish you all the best."

Angel Di Maria is open to playing in midfield for Paris Saint-Germain as he looks to secure more game time, and believes it could be his best position.

Di Maria has been a star for PSG since joining the Ligue 1 giants from Manchester United in 2015.

The attacker has made 274 appearances for PSG across all competitions, scoring 89 goals and providing a further 107 assists.

Since he joined PSG, no player has played more games than the Argentine, who has also crafted 669 chances, way ahead of Neymar, who ranks second in the squad with 350. Indeed, Di Maria is 41 assists ahead of Kylian Mbappe (66), and only three players have scored more goals in the same timeframe.

Di Maria only signed a new contract in March, he has not been able to nail down a regular starting berth so far this term.

Mauricio Pochettino has a wealth of options at his disposal, and can hardly be blamed for starting Neymar, Mbappe and Lionel Messi, who arrived from Barcelona in August, in a sensational attacking trident.

While the trio have not yet clicked to their full potential, Di Maria has often been the man left out. The 33-year-old has made just 10 appearances this season, scoring twice and setting up a further three goals.

Having started seven games, Di Maria creates 2.42 chances per 90 minutes on average, showing his playmaking abilities are still as good as ever.

In fact, despite his lack of minutes, Di Maria has only created fewer chances than Neymar (28) and Mbappe (33) in 2021-22.

With Messi, Mbappe and Neymar needing to be accommodated up front, Pochettino has often gone with a more workman-like midfield three.

However, Di Maria, who was excellent in a deeper role in his final season at Real Madrid in 2013-14, is hoping he gets the chance to show his quality in midfield.

"I think I've already shown that I can play in that position. In fact, it was my best year at Real Madrid, in 2014," Di Maria told RMC Sport.

"The manager knows I can play there, but then it's down to decisions. He's there to decide and we're there to do as best as we can on the pitch, no matter where, in midfield, up front, or elsewhere.

"Those are questions for him, the only thing I've done since I arrived at PSG has been to give it my all when on the pitch.

"It's true that I like to play with the ball at my feet. In 2014 I played in midfield and I felt very good, really happy. With quality players at PSG like Marco [Verratti], Leandro [Paredes] or Gana [Idrissa Gueye] it could work, but those are the manager's decisions."

Last season, Di Maria scored two goals, created 14 chances and provided three assists in Ligue 1 from attacking carries, suggesting he may be suited to playing deeper to drive with the ball and supply the attack. 

Although frustrated by a lack of regular action, Di Maria understands the reasons.

"When you have those three up front, it makes sense that the first option is to play them, they are the best on the pitch," he added.

"With what they've won, and who they are, it gives all three of them a different status. Or at least to two of them, because Messi is different to the others. He's the best player in the world and he always has to be on the pitch.

"But I'm always trying to give it 100 per cent to get into the starting XI. I know that it's not easy for me given the players in my position. That's why I'm doing as much as I can to maybe find a different option."

Erling Haaland has been passed fit to make his Borussia Dortmund return in the Bundesliga encounter at Wolfsburg on Saturday.

The prolific striker has been out of action since a 4-0 Champions League thrashing at Ajax last month due to a hip flexor injury.

Dortmund on Friday confirmed Haaland is in the squad for the trip to Wolfsburg, but will be on the bench and the club revealed he would be ready for a "brief shift."

England midfielder Jude Bellingham misses out after taking a knock to the knee.

Dortmund boss Marco Rose said: "Mo Dahoud feels good and is ready, the same applies to Emre Can. Youssoufa Moukoko is doing better, and he trained.

""Marius Wolf is here and Erling Haaland will be on the bus. Jude Bellingham is out, and with Rapha Guerreiro we have to wait a bit more."

Haaland has scored 13 goals in 10 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund this season.

Second-placed Dortmund are a point behind Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga table and Rose will be expecting a positive response to a 3-1 defeat to Sporting Lisbon that ended their participation in the Champions League this season.

Roberto Mancini admitted Italy would rather not have to do battle with Portugal for a place in the 2022 World Cup if they get past North Macedonia.

The European champions were on Friday drawn to face North Macedonia in a semi-final next March after missing out on automatic qualification for the tournament in Qatar.

Italy will come up against either Portugal or Turkey in a decisive showdown if they avoid a semi-final upset.

Euro 2016 champions Portugal were consigned to a play-off spot in dramatic fashion as Aleksandar Mitrovic's last-gasp strike saw Serbia through as Group A winners.

Italy boss Mancini is confident his side will qualify, but gave an honest reaction to the prospect of trying to deny Cristiano Ronaldo what could be his last trip to a World Cup.

He said: "We are always confident and positive. Macedonia had a good qualifying group, we will have to play a great match. Then we will see what happens in the final.

Asked about the prospect of coming up against Portugal, he said: "We would have liked to avoid them, in the same way Portugal would have gladly avoided Italy."

The draw also threw up the possibility of Wales going up against Scotland for a place in the finals, should they overcome Austria and Ukraine.

Russia will host Poland, with the winners playing either Sweden or the Czech Republic. 

The final play-off draw for the 2022 World Cup has taken place, with four teams to compete for two places in Qatar.

On Friday, following the draw for the European play-offs – in which Italy and Portugal were drawn in the same path – FIFA also completed the draw for the inter-confederation games.

These matches will take place in Qatar in June 2022.

One team from each of the federations of Asia (AFC), South America (CONMEBOL), the Caribbean, North and Central America (CONCACAF) and Oceania (OFC) will compete in the single-leg fixtures to settle the final two places in the 32-team tournament.

The AFC side, which will be the winner of the fourth-round play-off in the Asian zone, were drawn against the CONMEBOL team, which will be the fifth-ranked side in the South American qualifying standings - that spot is currently occupied by Peru, with four matchdays remaining.

In the other match, the winner of the OFC qualifiers will take on the fourth-placed team from the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers. 

African nations threw their support behind FIFA's proposal for a biennial World Cup as Gianni Infantino claimed elite-level opponents of the plan are objecting out of fear.

FIFA president Infantino made a personal appearance at African federation CAF's extraordinary general assembly in Cairo on Friday, along with Arsene Wenger.

Former Arsenal boss Wenger is the head of global development at FIFA, with the world governing body employing the Frenchman as a figurehead for the World Cup overhaul.

It is far from a fait accompli that FIFA will get its way – UEFA and CONMEBOL are firmly against the switch – but CAF members overwhelmingly backed the plan, having been told by Infantino that it provided a route towards more opportunities on the world stage.

"Obviously as well, it's natural and understandable, those who are against it are those at the top," Infantino told CAF members.

"It happens in every sector of life when there are reforms and changes; those who are at the top, they don't want anything to change because they are at the top, and they are afraid maybe that if something changes, their leadership position is at risk.

"We understand that, and we compliment and applaud them for having been so successful in reaching the top. This is fantastic, and they are an example for everyone.

"But at the same time, we cannot close the door, we need to keep the door open, we need to give hope, and we need to give opportunities to the entire world.

"We need to give more opportunities to all the teams to play with each other - will it be with the World Cup or will it be in another way? We have to study of course all of this.

"We continue to consult, we continue to speak, we thank you for your views and your input."

Infantino has been telling African nations of the prospect for development long before FIFA put forward its World Cup proposal, and it is clear he has strong support on the continent.

Wenger gave a presentation in which he expressed his belief that biennial World Cups for men's and women's football and also spoke of the prospect of more chances to compete for African nations.

"I only defend the project because it is to make football better and more competitive," Wenger said.

A resolution was announced during the general assembly, in which it was stated: "CAF welcomes the FIFA congress decision to conduct the feasibility study on having men's and women's World Cup every two years.

"If the FIFA study concludes that it is feasible, CAF will fully support hosting the men's and women's World Cup every two years."

CAF president Patrice Motsepe conducted a show of hands and, with no objections to the resolution, declared it a unanimous vote in favour of backing FIFA.

Italy or Portugal will miss out on the 2022 World Cup in Qatar after the two most recent European champions were drawn in the same play-off path.

Roberto Mancini led Italy to a Euro 2020 triumph earlier this year, yet the Azzurri failed to qualify automatically for next year's World Cup, with Switzerland progressing instead.

Portugal, Euro 2016 winners, also fell short, finishing three points behind Serbia in Group A.

And now one of the heavyweights will fail to appear in Qatar, with both teams drawn together in Path C of the play-offs, which will take place in March.

Italy were drawn in a semi-final against minnows North Macedonia, who are aiming to make their first appearance at a World Cup, while Portugal will face Turkey.

Should they progress, Portugal will have home advantage in the Path C final to determine which team progresses to Qatar. While Cristiano Ronaldo could well be fighting to play in his final World Cup, the Azzurri will be aiming to avoid missing out on the tournament for a second successive time.

Path A threw up the possibility of Wales going up against Scotland for a place in the finals, should they overcome Austria and Ukraine, who went unbeaten in a qualifying group that also included reigning world champions France, respectively.

In Path B, Russia will host Poland and Sweden will play the Czech Republic. 

The winner of Russia v Poland will host the Path B final.

Play-offs draw in full

Path A

SF1 – Scotland v Ukraine

SF2 – Wales v Austria

F1 – Winner SF2 v Winner SF1

Path B

SF3 – Russia v Poland

SF4 – Sweden v Czech Republic

F2 – Winner SF3 v Winner SF4

Path C

SF5 – Italy v North Macedonia

SF6 – Portugal v Turkey

F3 – Winner SF6 v Winner SF5

Julian Nagelsmann would like Ralf Rangnick to be handed a long-term role at Manchester United amid widespread reports the experienced coach is to become the club's interim manager.

Rangnick, 63, only took over as Lokomotiv Moscow's head of sports and development earlier this year following an eight-season spell across various roles at RB Leipzig.

But the former Stuttgart and Schalke coach, who is credited for influencing some of football's brightest minds, appears set to join United as interim manager following Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's departure.

Nagelsmann and Rangnick's careers crossed paths at Leipzig between 2019 and 2021, with the latter acting as head of sport and development for RedBullGMBH following his director of football role at both Red Bull Salzburg and the Bundesliga side.

Now Bayern Munich head coach Nagelsmann, whose high-pressing philosophy largely resembles Rangnick's preferred approach, believes his compatriot will be a hit at United.

Asked about his mentor's potential appointment at Old Trafford, Nagelsmann said: "I think it's cool. I also wrote to him. I think I wrote 'cool'.

"I'm happy for him. He's an excellent trainer."

While the 34-year-old was pleased with the Red Devils' reported move, he explained he would like to see Rangnick offered a longer deal as United are set to search for a permanent solution at the end of the season.

"I would like him to be a coach longer than until the summer," he continued. "From Man United's point of view, congratulations."

Reports have suggested United will look to appoint Rangnick on a consultancy basis after his time as interim boss is up.

Mauricio Pochettino has been touted as United's preferred option to take over next year, though Paris Saint-Germain have insisted the Argentine is staying put.

United face Chelsea on Sunday, with Rangnick's appointment expected to have gone through by that stage. However, Michael Carrick is set to be in charge for the trip to Stamford Bridge.

Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala will be back in the Bayern Munich squad to face Arminia Bielefeld on Saturday but Marcel Sabitzer is facing a spell on the sidelines.

Bayern have been hard hit by coronavirus, but Julian Nagelsmann revealed Gnabry, Musiala and Michael Cuisance will come out of quarantine on Friday.

The trio have been cleared to return after testing negative, but will not be considered to start.

Niklas Sule and Josip Stanisic have stepped up their recovery from COVID-19 in training this week, but neither will start the Bundesliga encounter this weekend.

Joshua Kimmich and Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting remain in isolation after they contracted the virus.

Kimmich has come in for criticism for not taking the vaccine, but Nagelsmann has sympathy for the Germany midfielder.

Nagelsmann said in a press conference on Friday: "I have a lot of contact with him. He is extremely ambitious. It is a burden for him that he cannot play."

The Bayern boss revealed Sabitzer will be out for "a few weeks" due to a calf injury, while Tanguy Nianzou misses Bielefeld's visit to the Allianz Arena due to a torn ligament in his shoulder.

Leaders Bayern suffered a shock 2-1 defeat to Augsburg last Friday before beating Dinamo Kiev by the same scoreline in the Champions League.

Bielefeld are second-bottom of the table with only one win this season, but Nagelsmann says they must not be taken lightly. 

"Bielefeld have shown a clear improvement to last year. Masaya Okugawa is playing very well, has a lot of confidence on the ball and is versatile. They have a strong shape and always look to play deep.

"I know their coach [Frank Kramer]. Arminia have grown in terms of their physicality and the way in which they play. There are some parallels that can be drawn with Augsburg. It's a very important game for us."

Mauricio Pochettino has not asked to leave Paris Saint-Germain and no talks have been held with Zinedine Zidane, the club's sporting director, Leonardo, has said.

Speculation has persisted that Pochettino is one of Manchester United's top targets to succeed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as manager.

The Red Devils have reportedly identified the Argentine as a leading candidate, most likely for the end of the season, with Ralf Rangnick poised to take over on an interim basis for the rest of 2021-22.

The former Spurs boss, who is keen to return to the Premier League according to some reports, refused to quash the rumours following his side's 2-1 Champions League defeat to Manchester City on Wednesday.

It has also been claimed that PSG have spoken several times with former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane over the prospect of taking charge should Pochettino ask to leave.

However, Leonardo insists there has been no contact from any club about Pochettino, who is under contract until the end of next season.

"I think it's important to clarify the situation given the amount of false information circulating. Mauricio Pochettino is under contract with the club until 2023," he told AFP.

"We do not want Pochettino to leave. He never asked to leave and no club contacted us in relation to him."

Leonardo also denied claims that PSG officials met with Zidane at Paris' prestigious Royal Monceau hotel to discuss the prospect of taking charge.

"We have a lot of respect for Zinedine Zidane, for what he did as a player and coach, but I can tell you very clearly that there is no contact and that no meeting with him has taken place," he said.

"It's ridiculous to imagine that a meeting with Zinedine Zidane could have taken place in a big hotel in Paris in front of the eyes of everyone."

PSG, who lead Ligue 1 by 11 points after 14 rounds, are next in action at Saint-Etienne on Sunday.

Xavi wants Ousmane Dembele to stay at Barcelona amid rumours of interest from Newcastle United.

The Premier League side, bankrolled after their takeover by a Saudi Arabia-led consortium, are expected to spend heavily during the January transfer window.

Barca winger Dembele is said to be a target, with a report in Sport on Friday suggesting the player's agent, Moussa Sissoko, is prepared to listen to offers as he is not happy with the Catalans' new contract offer.

The France international, a €105million signing from Borussia Dortmund in 2017, has made only two Champions League appearances this season due to injury problems but is in the squad for Saturday's LaLiga game at Villarreal.

Dembele's time in Spain has been blighted by fitness problems, but he remains a dangerous player when available. Since his arrival, Dembele has managed 30 goals and 20 assists in 120 games, a total bettered by only four players, while his average of 1.9 chances created per 90 minutes is second only to Lionel Messi in that time among players to make more than 14 appearances.

Head coach Xavi has made it clear that Dembele is firmly in his plans.

"I had an individual chat with him," Xavi said on Friday. "I made it clear to him how important he was for not only me this season, but for the future.

"It depends on him. Hopefully, he can renew because he's a player capable of making a difference in the next few years."

Xavi added on rumours suggesting Barca could also cash in on some midfield players: "We need them. They're players who are playing and none of them is for sale at all."

Barca beat Espanyol 1-0 in Xavi's first match in charge before a goalless draw with Benfica in the Champions League this week.

Their first away game under the former midfielder pits them against a side who have failed to win any of their previous 24 league matches with the Blaugrana.

Xavi has been impressed with his players' application but admits taking their chances is a concern, Barca having posted figures of 1.56 and 1.39 expected goals against Espanyol and Benfica without scoring from open play.

"I'm really happy with the team's reaction. We win a lot of duels, we're pressing well. I think in attack we have to be more daring," he said.

"We have players who are very young on the inside and have to dare more. I went through it at that age. There's a goal – I can see it in training.

"In general I'm quite satisfied with what I see on the pitch. We want to subdue the opposition and I think we're succeeding, but we have to score to win games."

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli has signed a new contract with the Serie A club until 2023.

Pioli put pen to paper on a two-year deal to replace the sacked Marco Giampaolo at San Siro in October 2019.

The former Fiorentina boss led Milan to second in Serie A behind city rivals Inter last season, sealing Champions League qualification for the first time in seven years.

Pioli on Friday signed a contract to keep him at the club until the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

The 56-year-old told Milan TV: "I hope to be able to experience many emotions on this bench, we are ambitious and we want to continue like this."

Milan are second in Serie A, level on points with leaders Napoli, after amassing 32 points from their opening 12 games for their first time in the three points for a win era.

They were beaten 4-3 by Fiorentina in the thriller last weekend, but responded by keeping their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League round of 16 alive with a 1-0 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.

Milan director and club legend Paolo Maldini said of Pioli's new contract: "There is a thrill of continuing a path that is bringing us great results.

"We don't want a team to win for just one year, but for a long time. We want to bring Milan back to being competitive."

He added: "We do not renew only with the coach Pioli, but also with the person. There is great harmony between us, there may be problems, but we will know how to overcome them."

Massimiliano Allegri called for calm and patience after Juventus' mixed start to the Serie A campaign ahead of their clash with Atalanta.

The Bianconeri, who were thrashed 4-0 by Chelsea in midweek Champions League action, sit eighth in the league, 11 points adrift of early leaders Napoli and Milan.

Juve have also lost two of their first six home Serie A games for the first time since 1980-81.

However, over the last nine Italian top-flight matches, only the top two Milan (22) and Napoli (20) have picked up more points than Juve (19).

Despite that upturn in form, Allegri insisted the Bianconeri faithful must stay patient while his team continue to develop in his second tenure.

"The president asked me to return to work with the club to help Juventus return to being sustainable, obtaining results," Allegri told reporters on Friday. 

"We will put all our effort into making this happen, the team needs to work and it takes patience.

"We need to keep calm and continue working, the team is excellent. We have scored fewer goals than we would have liked and the numbers show it. 

"Football has evolved, but there is no escape from the goal difference: this is how championships are won.

"We have an important month to gain a few points. Tomorrow is not decisive, I think the most important matches will be the last six of the first round."

Allegri also took time to apologise to the fans following Wednesday's demolition by Chelsea, which was Juve's record Champions League defeat and second-worst in the European Cup/Champions League overall. 

"In London we lost a game and we're sorry, because we are Juventus and losing like this is not good," he added after Juve lost by four goals for the first time in 17 years in any competition.

"The match up to the 55th minute was balanced and we had a good first half, then after the second goal we lost our way, and this must not happen. 

"But we won the match we needed to win, the one in Turin against the European champions.

"Atalanta are also doing well in the Champions League where we hope all the Italians will qualify. Playing against them is always complicated, they are a physical team and we have to be attentive."