Dillian Whyte digs deep to survive a late onslaught and defeat Joseph Parker by unanimous decision

                                                                                      Dillian Whyte edging a decision over Joseph Parker and putting himself back on a course for a rematch Anthony Joshua.

That will ultimately be worth millions to the man from Brixton but right now he will simply count his lucky stars that he didn’t suffer a second career defeat.

For make no mistake, this was a hard night, and not just because he was smashed to the canvas in the final seconds of the fight by Parker.

Arsenal unveil 2018-19 third kit during pre-season tour of Singapore as they get set to wear turquoise for first time in Premier League

                                                                                               The 2018-19 kit will provide the squad with a lightweight 'second skin' feel, which will help with the players' movements.The new shirt features a 'W' engineered into the shirt, in tribute to the attacking part of former boss Herbert Chapman's WM formation, which was introduced in the 1930s. It is directly linked to the 'M' graphic on the away shirt.

Carl Ikeme says goodbye to his Wolves team-mates

                                                                                               Wolves goalkeeper Carl Ikeme has announced his retirement from football following a year-long battle with acute leukaemia.

He revealed the news to his team-mates on Tuesday morning before training.

The 32-year-old's decision comes following a discussion with medical experts after 18 years at the club.'When Carl came to tell us his news, yes there was sadness, but also great happiness to see him so healthy and hungry for the opportunities that lay ahead of him.

'Carl is strong, a fighter, something he has proven in his playing career and also during what has been a very challenging time for him, so I have no doubt he will be a success in whatever he does next.

'We wish Carl all the very best for the future, but remind him he will always remain a part of the Wolves family.'

Ikeme was diagnosed last July during pre-season when a blood test returned an abnormal result. 

The Nigeria shot-stopper revealed he was in remission last month. I would like to thank my family/friends to start with who have gone above and beyond for me.

'The support I have received from Wolves/Nigeria, the football world and from people from all over the world has been hard to put into words.

Real Madrid fans favour Harry Kane as a replacement for Cristiano Ronaldo

                                                                                                                     Tottenham striker Harry Kane was voted as R. Madrid fans' preferred choice to replace C Ronaldo who made a £100million transfer to juventus this summer.  

The poll which was run by marca, asked 200,000 Madrid fans which striker they want to come to the Bernabeu with nine choices listed. 

Kane came out on top with 26 percent of the vote, with Edinson Cavani and Inter Milan's Mauro Icardi both coming out next best with 14 percent. Ronaldo joined the Bernabeu in 2009 and went on to score a whopping 450 goals in 438 games for the club.

10 Incredible World Cup Facts You Never Knew

                                                                                                                          

10 Incredible World Cup Facts You Never Knew                             The World Cup, the world’s biggest football festival has kicked off with all the frenzy that goes with the football fiesta, with fans, friends and foes meet to do battle on the pitch for the coveted trophy which is up for grabs. To your amazement, there are 10 World Cup facts you never knew nor took notice of and here they are                                                

1 Brazil are the last team to have reached three consecutive finals where they emerged winners in USA 94, runners up in France 98 and winners in Japan South Korea 2002, they are also the only country to have won it three times out of four, 1958, 1962, 1970.

2 Three defending champions were beaten in the opening match of the World Cup, Argentina were beaten 1-0 by Cameroun in Italia 90, France were beaten 1-0 by first timers Senegal and Spain were beaten 5-1 by Holland whom they defeated four years earlier in South Africa 2010

3 Italy came third when they hosted the World Cup in 1990 with then West Germany becoming the tournament winners, sixteen years later Germany hosted the tournament where they came third and Italy emerged champions

4 Diego Maradona’s Hand of God remains the most controversial World Cup goal to be scored

5 Argentina and Germany have met three times at the finals, in 1986, 1990 and 2014. Argentina beat West Germany in Mexico 86 but West Germany avenged their defeat four years later at Italia 90. When both teams crossed paths in Brazil 2014, it was a playback of Italia 90 where Argentina lost by the same margin they did twenty-four years ago 1-0

6 The third place matches since 1982 has been won by European nations

7 Senegal is the only African country to have reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup in their first appearance.

8 Nigeria and her next door neighbours Ghana have reached the second round of the tournament on their debut in 1994 and 2006 respectively.

9 Cameroun, Senegal and Ghana are the only African countries to have advanced to the quarter-final stages of the Mundial, Cameroun and Senegal were eliminated by European powerhouses, England and Turkey while Ghana was eliminated by Uruguay.

10 Only four times has the Golden Boot Winner emerged champion, Vava and Garrincha of Brazil  in 1962, Mario Kempes of Argentina in 1978, Paolo Rossi in 1982 and Ronaldo of Brazil in 2002.

10 Incredible World Cup Facts You Never Knew

                                                                                                      

10 Incredible World Cup Facts You Never Knew                                                 1 Four of the last five Golden Glove winners ended up on the World Cup winning team, Fabian Barthez of France in France 98, Gianluigi Buffon with Italy in Germany 2006, Iker Casillas of Spain in South  Africa 2010 and Oliver Neuer of Germany in Brazil 2014. Oliver Kahn won the Golden Glove Award but Germany didn’t win the World Cup in 2002

2 Holland has appeared in three World Cup finals and losing all three in 1934, 1938 and 2010

3 Norman Whiteside, Pele, Ringobert Song and Michael Owen are the youngest players to have played in a World Cup.

4 Lothar Matthaeus has made the most appearances in a World Cup, twenty-five appearances, two more than Italian legend, Paolo Maldini and four more than Argentine legend Diego Maradona.

5 The match between Portugal and Netherlands was the worst in times of discipline as it saw sixteen yellow cards, four  red cards with even those on reserve bench spoiling for a piece of the action. Luis Felipe Scolari kept his men under control but it wasn’t the same with Marco Van Basten who had lost control over his men.

5 Inspirational Lessons From France's World Cup Victory

                     

5 Inspirational Lessons From France's World Cup Victory

The Blues of France came out tops on Sunday after defeating favourites Croatia 4-2 to lift the coveted trophy for the second time in two decades yet there are five inspirational lessons the French team taught us, lessons we should learn from.

1 Persistence: The French team have been one of the most persistent teams, coming year after year to win the coveted trophy they won in 1998 when they were the hosts. It was no easy ride to victory as they were humiliated in 2002 not going beyond the group stage, lost narrowly to Italy in 2006 in the final in penalty shootout, fell out in the quarterf-finals in 2014 yet emerged champions in 2018 proving that saying that persistence is stubborness with purpose

2 Unity: The Blues on and off the pitch were a united unit not caring who was black or white neither did they crumble when they fell behind to Argentina. Unity was the name of their game, from their first match to the finals they remained as the band of brothers.

3 Consistence: The French team maintained their consistency from the last World Cup even when they lost narrowly at home to Portugal. The coach Didier Deschamps maintained his squad that eventually became champions.

4 Competence: The French national team was headed by an ex-international player in person of Didier Deschamps who two decades ago captained his generation to a victory in 1998. If you must hire a hand for a job, hire the best hand

5 Setbacks: It was no easy run for the French national team who were humbled out of the tournament in 2002, lost narrowly in 2006, were shown the way out in 2014, lost at home in the Euros to a wobbly Portuguese team yet emerged winners in 2018. They looked beyond their setbacks in made a major comeback in 2018.

If they can do it anybody else can succeed, to your success.

THE WORLD CUP WINNING CAPTAIN WHO BECAME THE WORLD CUP WINNING COACH

THE WORLD CUP WINNING CAPTAIN WHO BECAME THE WORLD CUP WINNING COACH

It was all smiles for coach Didier Deschamps who on Sunday the 15th of July 2018 made a feat in which few coaches in the world have attained, he won the World Cup as a coach precisely two decades ago when he won it as the captain of The Blues as the French football team are called. Funny enough his former team mate, Thierry Henry a twenty year old was also at the World Cup not as a member of the winning squad but an assistant coach of Belgium who claimed the bronze. It was no easy ride for coach Deschamps who was eliminated in 2014 in Brazil, lost narrowly to Portugal at Euro 2016 where Portugal became champions of Europe before he led the new generation of French players to another title twenty years after they won their first. It took a World Cup winning captain to bring home the trophy as he did two decades ago. Didier Deschamps, the World Cup winning captain who became the World Cup winning coach

Lionel Messi is off on holiday with wife Antonella Roccuzzo after World Cup

                                                                                                                  The 31-year-old is now enjoying some downtime in Formentera, the smallest Balearic Island which is reachable by boat from Ibiza, with friends and his wife Antonella Roccuzzo,They were pictured out on a yacht in the sunshine on Wednesday with the Barcelona star enjoying a spot of swimming.

When Spanish football resumes next month, Messi will be the unrivalled star of La Liga following Cristiano Ronaldo's £100m move to Juventus.

Ronaldo's former Manchester United team-mate Wayne Rooney, now playing in the United States with DC United, said earlier this week that he thinks Messi is better than Ronaldo.

'They're both probably the best two players to ever play the game, I just think Messi is, in my eyes, the greatest ever,' Rooney said to online podcast Barstool sports.

The Spanish season, and Barcelona's La Liga title defence, begins in a month on August 18 with fixtures still to be released.   

Jose Mourinho will let Anthony Martial leave this summer as long as Man United can find right price and club

                                                                                           Mourinho warned Martial that he cannot dictate his own terms after the 22-year-old winger failed to impress in a goalless draw with San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday.

But it’s understood that the United manager has no wish to keep an unhappy player and will urge the Old Trafford board to sell Martial so he can sign a replacement before the transfer deadline on August 9.United would demand around £80million for Martial who cost £36m, rising to a possible £58m, when he arrived from Monaco three years ago.

Mesut Ozil is the second highest paid player in the country who splits opinion like no other.

                                                                                             Ozil's stance divided opinion, whether it was perceived as a dignified and belated act of defiance in the face of unacceptable bigotry or an act of self-pity by an under-performing player.Ozil is a third-generation immigrant born in Gelsenkirchen, the son of a Ruhr Valley coalminer who resisted the advances of Turkey as a teenager and pledged his footballing life to the country of his birth, winning 92 caps and the World Cup.

He is also a practising Muslim who spends much of his free time in Istanbul, the city which is home to his girlfriend Amine Gulse — a model and actress who was born in Sweden of Turkish descent and is a former Miss Turkey.

Chelsea reject latest Barcelona bid of £65m for Willian... but Blues WILL accept if they up offer to £70m

                                                                                            Chelsea have rejected a £65million offer for Willian from Barcelona but may agree to sell at £70m.

The Spanish champions made their third bid, which includes add-ons, over the weekend and the midfielder is understood to be keen to go. 

However, Maurizio Sarri would like Willian to stay and that is reflected in Chelsea's asking price for the 29-year-old. Chelsea's hierarchy are holding meetings over the next 24 hours as they look to add new signings. Barca are also looking at Bordeaux star Malcom, but face fierce competition from Roma, which could affect any potential move for Willian.