Golden Soccer 360

Gareth Southgate says his England players are in control of their own destiny when they take on Colombia in the World Cup last 16. After reaching the knockout stages with a game to spare, England enter Tuesday's clash knowing victory over Colombia would set up a quarter-final meeting with Switzerland or Sweden. Southgate is confident last week's 1-0 defeat to Belgium has not thrown the team off track and believes his men are relishing the task in hand. "I think life is always about opportunity presenting itself and taking control of it, taking charge of it," Southgate said. "We said we didn't want this tournament to take hold of us and push us around. We wanted to attack it and make sure we were in charge of our destiny. "Of course, once you get to these games there are really fine margins, so there are games that you know as a team if you want to progress to have success, you have to win these matches. "All our preparations around th...

Neymar's antics are "a shame" for football, said Mexico coach Juan Carlos Osorio after their 2-0 defeat by Brazil on Monday. Neymar scored one goal and created another as his increasingly impressive Brazil side overpowered the Mexicans 2-0 in sweltering conditions. But Neymar's sparkling performance was overshadowed by another incident late in the second half as Mexico midfielder Miguel Layun appeared to step on his ankle. That caused Neymar to react angrily and roll around on the floor, but Layun did not receive a card. "I think it's a shame for football," he said, adding that Neymar's antics had wasted precious time. "We wasted a lot of time because of one single player. We lost our style in the second half, because of the referee. "This is a very bad example for the world and the world of football." Osorio was however proud of his side's display, but added that he hoped more Mexican players would move to the Europ...

Real Madrid have released a statement denying that they have made an offer for Paris Saint-Germain forward Neymar. Spanish state television channel TVE reported that Madrid had put forward a world-record bid for the Brazilian star. However, the club have now denied launching an offer, which would have beaten last summer's £200m deal to bring Neymar to the French capital from Barcelona. An official statement on their website read: "Given the information tonight by TVE concerning a supposed offer from Real Madrid to PSG and the player Neymar, Real Madrid can confirm the information is completely false and have not made any offer to PSG or the player. "Real Madrid is surprised that the Spanish television has broadcasted absolutely false information without anyone from the club being contacted to comment on the alleged information that could easily have been denied." The 26-year-old, who scored the first goal in Brazil's 2-0 win over Mexico in the last 1...

Joachim Low will remain in charge as Germany head coach despite their disastrous World Cup campaign, according to Sky in Germany. Low is understood to have given a verbal commitment to see out the new contract he signed before the World Cup, which extended his stay in the role until 2022. Germany failed to make it out of the group stage at this summer's World Cup in Russia, finishing bottom of Group F after a shock 2-0 defeat to South Korea consigned the reigning world champions to an early exit. In the post-match press conference, Low deflected talk about his future and said it was too soon to discuss whether he should be the man to lead Germany through Euro 2020 qualifying which starts in September. Low said: "Where do we go from here? We'll have to go from here. It would be premature for me to say anything at this point, but we will talk calmly about it." The president of the country's football association (DFB) Reinhard Grindel had insisted Low...

Calum Chambers has signed a new long-term contract at Arsenal, the club have announced. The 23-year-old made 24 appearances for the Gunners last season and has been handed a fresh deal ahead of the new campaign. Chambers will be hoping to impress new boss Unai Emery during pre-season as he fights for a regular starting place for Arsenal, who confirmed the signing of defender Sokratis Papastathopoulos from Borussia Dortmund on Monday. "I'm delighted Calum has extended his stay with us. He played an important role last season and will be part of my plans this season," Emery said. Chambers arrived at the Emirates from Southampton in 2014 and has made 83 appearances in all competitions. He spent the 2016-17 season on loan at Middlesbrough but could not help them avoid relegation back to the Sky Bet Championship. via Sky Sports

Joachim Low's position as Germany head coach is safe even if they suffer an early World Cup exit, says the president of the country's football association (DFB). Germany lost their opening World Cup match to Mexico and only beat Sweden in their second game thanks to a last-minute free-kick from Toni Kroos. They play their final group match against South Korea in Kazan on Wednesday, knowing they need to better Sweden's result against Mexico if they are to book a place in the last 16. Germany have only once failed to progress from the first round of the World Cup, and that occurred 80 years ago in the 1938 tournament in France. But even if the world champions exit at the group stage this year, Low - who signed a contract extension until 2022 last month - will keep his job. DFB President Reinhard Grindel said: "We decided in the DFB executive committee before the World Cup to offer a contract extension. "We believe there will be a transition that wil...

Jermain Defoe made his England debut alongside the golden generation but was still around to play his part in helping the team to this summer’s World Cup. In conversation with Adam Bate, he explains how Gareth Southgate changed the entire England culture… Such is the pride in England's positive start to this World Cup, it is inevitable that it will be compared with what came before. Those golden generations that promised so much only to disappoint have come in for criticism with Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard even leading the way. Why has it taken England so long to approach this challenge with such freedom? Few are better placed to appreciate the transformation than Jermain Defoe. He made his debut for England in 2004 - against Sweden in what turned out to be Gareth Southgate's final appearance for his country. His longevity is such that he was still around to score the opening goal for Southgate's England in a World Cup qualifier against Lithuania last year. Def...