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Spain head coach Luis de la Fuente will remain in charge of the national team through to 2028, the country's football federation (RFEF) announced on Monday.
De la Fuente's previous deal was to expire after the 2026 World Cup.
The new and improved contract will see the 63-year-old guide La Roja through the 2028 European Championship when Spain attempt to defend the title they won last year.
The former Alaves boss replaced Luis Enrique as coach in December 2022 following Spain's round-of-16 elimination from the World Cup.
He had previously coached Spain's under-21 side, and also led the Olympic team to a silver medal at the 2022 Olympic Games in Tokyo.
After succeeding Luis Enrique, De la Fuente steered the national team to the 2023 Nations League title.
He then held the reins as Spain won their fourth European Championship title at Euro 2024.
Spain are back in action in March when they take on the Netherlands in the quarterfinals of the Nations League.
Ange Postecoglou is expected to be given the chance to save his job amid mounting calls for Tottenham to sack the 59-year-old, sources have told ESPN.
Spurs were booed off after losing 2-1 at home to Leicester City on Sunday, a result which leaves them languishing in 15th place in the Premier League.
Tottenham have won just one of their past 11 league matches and during their latest defeat, many fans turned their anger on Daniel Levy with some holding up a banner which read "24 years, 16 managers, 1 trophy" in reference to his record as chairman.
However, Spurs are one game away from a Wembley showpiece final with their semifinal, second leg against Liverpool set to take place at Anfield on Feb. 6. Sources have told ESPN that Postecoglou is likely to be given the opportunity to win that tie, given they hold a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg, unless there is another dramatic downturn in the intervening two games.
Postecoglou's side host Swedish club IF Elfsborg in the Europa League on Thursday -- with Spurs in a good position to secure automatic qualification for the knockout stages -- before a tricky trip across London to Brentford on Sunday. Just three days after that Carabao Cup second leg match, Spurs face Aston Villa in the FA Cup fourth round.
There continues to be a recognition among the club's hierarchy that Postecoglou is hampered by an unusually bad injury situation with 10 first-team players unavailable against Leicester.
Richarlison was only able to play 54 minutes while Postecoglou suggested after the game that Pape Matar Sarr should not have played at all due to a lack of match fitness.
Postecoglou is hopeful that first-choice centre-backs Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven could return in time in the next week or so while the club are active in the January transfer market and aim to bring in at least one player before next Monday's deadline.
Following the loss to Leicester on Sunday, Postecoglou was asked if he would get another fortnight in his post to benefit from key players returning,
"Who knows? I reckon there is probably a fair chunk [of people] that will say 'no,'" he said.
"When you are the manager of a football club you can be very vulnerable and isolated. I don't feel that. I feel like this group of players, not for me, are giving everything for the club. I have a group of staff that is really committed. I focus on that."
It's now or never for Marcus Rashford at Man United
LONDON -- Marcus Rashford has one week to save his career, but it might be too late before he finally realises what is at stake.
The Manchester United forward either seals a move away from Old Trafford before Monday's transfer deadline, or he accepts Ruben Amorim's brutal assessment of his situation at the club and makes the changes, on and off the pitch, which are being demanded by his head coach. If he fails on both counts, then the 27-year-old will be heading for the wilderness with his once-promising career reduced to regret and what-might-have-been.
At 27, and with his form evaporating during the past 18 months -- a period that's also seen him miss out on Euro 2024 and fall out of the England picture -- Rashford is running out of time as a footballer, and Amorim is clearly in no mood to make concessions to accommodate United's highest-paid player.
When asked after United's narrow 1-0 win at Fulham on Sunday whether Rashford had a way back into the team because strikers Rasmus Højlund and Joshua Zirkzee are failing to deliver -- neither has scored on 2025, and have managed just one goal between them since the beginning of December -- Amorim had the opportunity to offer Rashford an olive branch and encouragement that the door was still open. Instead, Amorim slammed it shut with a withering assessment of the impression that Rashford has made since he arrived as coach two months ago.
"It's the same, it's always the same reason," Amorim said when asked why he continued to overlook Rashford. "The reason is the training, the way I see what footballers should do in training, in life, it's every day, every detail.
"So if things don't change, I will not change. It's the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player. And you can see it today on the bench: we miss a little bit of pace to go and change the game, move some pieces.
"But I prefer it like that. I will put [63-year-old goalkeeper coach Jorge] Vital on before I put a player on that don't give the maximum every day. So I will not change in that department."
Amorim's stance on Rashford has been resolute since he dropped the forward from his squad for the derby against Manchester City on Dec. 15. United won 2-1 without Rashford that day, and aside from being an unused substitute in a 2-0 home defeat against Newcastle last month, the forward has been absent from 10 of 11 matchday squads. He was not involved again at Fulham and it was the poor performance of Højlund in particular that exposed United's lack of cutting edge up front.
All coaches need to find a way to win, and most are pragmatic enough to select players they have issues with in order to get the results they need to keep the fans and owners happy. But Amorim won't pick Rashford, despite the limitations of his forwards. Aside from winger Amad Diallo, no forward has scored for United since early December.
It generally doesn't matter who scores as long as a team wins or, at the very least, avoids defeat. But the problem right now for Amorim and United is that the players who are supposed to find the back of the net are showing no signs of doing so.
Højlund, a 64m signing from Atalanta 18 months ago, took his goalless streak to 11 games during a woeful 57 minutes at Craven Cottage in which he had no shots at goal and no touches in the Fulham penalty area. His replacement from the substitutes' bench, Zirkzee, walked off the pitch after a 33-minute outing having also failed to shoot at goal. The 36m signing from Bologna has now managed one goal in 14 games, although he did help link play better than Højlund did during his time on the pitch.
Højlund is clearly low on confidence and, at just 21 years old, he needs help from more experienced teammates, but when you play as a No. 9 for Manchester United, the expectations are incredibly high and the Denmark international is not meeting them. Neither is Zirkzee.
United do not have the finances to sign a proven upgrade this month, so there will no Viktor Gyökeres or Victor Osimhen arriving at Old Trafford before Monday's transfer deadline, as much as Amorim's team need a player of that calibre to bolster the squad.
With three years to run on his 325,000-a-week contract at Old Trafford, Rashford is hardly a bargain opportunity for rival clubs and with three weeks of the window gone, he is still at United having so far failed to secure a move away from the club, despite interest from AC Milan and Borussia Dortmund. Sources have told ESPN that Rashford is hopeful that Barcelona will be able to step up their interest in a loan deal by offloading players to free up room on their wage bill, but there are no guarantees, and he's just as likely to still be at Old Trafford next Tuesday as he is to be somewhere else.
Rashford hasn't kicked a ball for United since the Europa League victory away to Viktoria Plzen on Dec. 12, but the onus is now firmly on him to change that. Amorim has made it clear what needs to happen; the clock is ticking.
Rashford can either leave, or do what his coach wants. The alternative doesn't bear thinking about for a player who was once United and England's golden boy.
Virat Kohli to train with Delhi squad from Tuesday
Over the last couple of days, photos and videos have emerged on social media of Kohli working with former India and RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar at a training facility in Mumbai.
The final round of Ranji Trophy group games will end four days before India's first ODI against England in Nagpur on February 6. Kohli is part of the ODI squad for the three-match bilateral series in the lead up to the Champions Trophy from February 19.
Rahul named in Karnataka squad
Rahul's return means Karnataka will be at full strength with Devdutt Padikkal and Prasidh Krishna, who were both part of the Test squad in Australia, also part of the squad.
This will be Rahul's first first-class appearance for Karnataka in nearly five years, since the the 2019-20 semi-final against Bengal at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
Jadeja to play for Saurashtra
Brathwaite: West Indies had to be 'brave' on pitch where 'you are going to get out'
"Both Test matches the pitch was tough to bat on and we knew that so as I said I just wanted us to be brave, to do whatever plans we have, to go there and execute them as good as possible, because regardless of what there will be a ball with your with your name on it on this pitch," Brathwaite told reporters after the second Test in Multan on Monday.
"I mean it was a difficult pitch to bat on so it was good to see the confidence we went about doing it and you know as I said very proud of this team.
"It was just for the batsmen to be brave you know. I mean as batsmen, as I said everyone's going to have their plans. Be brave in whatever you want to do as batsmen," Brathwaite said about West Indies' strategy. "Bowling wise bring forward the batsmen as much as possible and there will be 20 balls that you will get 20 wickets because as I said the pitch is a difficult pitch so there's no second guessing.
Brathwaite maintained that the pitch was "very, very difficult" but had no complaints about PCB preparing spinning tracks.
"I would say Pakistan could prepare the pitch how they want. What I'll say is batsman will not be averaging high on these pitches. You would average 15-20 and obviously the spinners will do well. and as I said it's a difficult Test pitch to score runs. You're going to get out regardless, it's just a matter of when. So you know as batters we had to come up with a plan of how we want to score and put runs on the board."
"Jomel was outstanding. To see how he went about his bowling and the pressure he built from from ball one, I mean it was amazing," Brathwaite said.
Warrican also put in a crucial contribution with the bat, finishing unbeaten on 36 in the first innings, with his 68-run stand for the last wicket with Gudakesh Motie key in reviving West Indies from being 38 for 7 after they won the toss and chose to bat.
"With the bat you can't count him out, I think he did a fantastic job with the bat as well. But bowling wise I know he's worked hard over the years. He's been in and out of the team but it's good to see him get the chance and he grabbed it. very very proud of him uh he was outstanding."
"It's a very important win for us it just shows that we can get it done in any conditions once we believe and always have a plan," he said. "It's right up there with some amazing Test wins because coming here, playing here in Pakistan, it's never easy to win a test match you know so coming up with a win is fantastic."
Masood wants turning pitches in Pakistan domestic cricket to give batters 'exposure'
"Domestic cricket will be played like this," he said. "We've already talked about this. The more we'll play the better we'll get at it. We've shown encouraging signs. After the four matches, we've won three in these conditions. We dominated the first hour of the first day which could have swung the match in our favour. It's just about winning those key moments and ensuring we're consistent with these conditions domestically and internationally."
"It's a game of all stakeholders. We should appreciate the players for throwing themselves in the den without being exposed to these conditions. We know we haven't played domestic cricket in these conditions. In some ways, it's a kind of bravery to expose ourselves to these conditions. We practiced, but this is new for us. But we need to replicate this in domestic cricket, give our batters exposure so we play in these conditions and get runs in them. In the fourth innings, anything over 150 is a competitive score, where spinners will always have the edge."
An unavoidable outcome of such surfaces is the outsized role the toss plays. All four times, the side winning the toss has batted first, walking away with victory three times. While Pakistan were able to flip that script against England in the series-decider, West Indies' win once more demonstrated the way these pitches can slant a game in favour of the side bowling last.
However, it didn't appear that way when Pakistan bowled in the first hour, having reduced West Indies to 54 for 8, and letting that situation slip through their fingers frustrated Masood most of all. "We didn't get the result we wanted. The positive thing was when you field first and you know the fourth innings will be difficult. So you try to restrict the opposition in the first innings. We bowled brilliantly for the first eight wickets. But we've talked about the first innings batting and bowling combining to do well, so you have the advantage in the third and fourth innings. If you look at our batting and bowling, and the mistakes we made collectively, that was a crucial time because their last two wickets cost us dear.
"Then, with the bat, we went from 119 for 4 to 154 all out. When these collapses happen and the other side puts on partnerships, they can set you back. If we'd got them out early and got a 100-run lead, the Test match would be completely different. With Test matches on these pitches, you can't wait to make a move, because things are decided on day one, and that is where you can win or lose matches."
This is the end of a cycle, an unhappy one for Pakistan, and for its leader. Pakistan have lost nine of their last 12 matches, all five away from home and four of seven at home. Despite starting off with a crushing away win in Sri Lanka, they have finished bottom of the WTC table, and do not play another Test for nearly nine months.
Masood acknowledged Pakistan had fallen short of expectations, but did not believe the side required a complete overhaul, pointing out fine margins made the difference in this Test, and could be worked on.
"The tail not getting wickets is an area of concern, and we need to finish off sides quicker," Masood said, echoing his frustrations in South Africa, where the last two wickets adding too many runs cost them dear in the first Test at Centurion. "Against Australia, who have the best tail in the world, we got them out cheaply, but not here, or against Bangladesh or South Africa.
"Batters have been proactive, but we need more contributions. You may not get hundreds here but 30s and 40s contribute to the winning conditions. Kraigg Brathwaite was an ideal example. He took the game on. One batter will need to step up in these conditions especially when the ball is new.
"It's not about holding someone responsible. This isn't an accountability bureau. This is a team effort. Our mistake as a team was the first two innings. That was what set us back, and gave the opposition a degree of freedom. If we had a 100-run lead, I do not think they'd have been able to play in the way they did. We need to understand the direction of matches will be decided very quickly, as early as day one."
Danyal Rasool is ESPNcricinfo's Pakistan correspondent. @Danny61000
'It's super special, it's a childhood dream' - Owen on Hurricanes' 'surreal' night
"So surreal," Owen told Fox Cricket. "To be here and hear them chanting my name, it hasn't quite sunk in, but it's amazing and I'm so grateful for it.
"All I wanted to do was lift that trophy. I was actually disappointed to get out, I wanted to be able to hit the winning runs and get us home a little bit easier, so I didn't have to sit there a bit nervous, but it's super special, it's a childhood dream and I'm so grateful."
Owen's transformation from a middle-order batter with a middling record to a T20 opener who will now likely attract attention from around the world has been remarkable and the story of the BBL season.
"I think feeling backed by [coach] Jeff [Vaughan] and Nath [Ellis], and the whole team really, that's quite powerful," he said. "I was just super clear when I went out there, I knew what I wanted to do and needed to do, and I was lucky enough it paid off."
Team-mates were quick to laud a display which has propelled Owen from a fringe state cricketer into the global limelight.
"I said the Scorchers innings was the coming-of-age innings; I think today he went up another level," Ellis told Fox Cricket. "I was bowling to a 15, 16-year-old Mitch Owen in the indoor nets here at Tassie when I first moved down, and to be a part of his journey, and also to captain him and win a title with him, is something that I'll never forget, hopefully he'll never forget. I'm just super proud and excited for not only tonight, but what's to come for him."
Ellis was also key to Hurricanes' victory as he halted a strong Thunder start of 97 without loss with the wickets of David Warner and Matthew Gilkes in consecutive deliveries during the 11th over and also claimed top-scorer Jason Sangha. He was reluctant to take much credit himself, but at the presentation said that Tasmanian cricket had changed his life.
Asked to expand on his comment by Fox Cricket host Mark Howard, Ellis said, "I came down here as a budding grade cricketer, sort of not knowing what way was up and never living at a home, and eight years later, I played for my country and now won a BBL title, so it goes without saying, it's changed my life. I'm just really honoured that I get the opportunity to bring this title to the state of Tasmania for the first time.
"It felt like the right moment for me to come on there," he added of the 11th over. "Thankfully, it potentially changed the momentum, they were getting away from us there. But I can't speak highly enough about bowling attack this year. We've bowled in all scenarios, in all conditions, we've been under the pump in different situations, and I feel like we've never missed the mark. So as a captain, really lucky to have the squad we have, but as a cricket fan, as I've said many times, I'm in awe of our squad."
For Wade, who was born in Tasmania and is now purely a T20 player, it was a significant moment late in his career having come to Hurricanes for the 2017-18 season.
"It's quite emotional, it was really, really cool," he said. "I would have liked to get the winning runs actually, Reggie [McDermott] ran off on me there. I was nervous today. It's as nervous I've been for a long time for a game of cricket, even playing for Australia, so I really wanted this one, especially for the people [in Tasmania]cricket's taken a huge step this year down here. We've got big crowds and just rapt for the BBL to be back to where it was it seems like 10 years ago."
Andrew McGlashan is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
Tickets for Champions Trophy final to go on sale only four days before match
Tickets for the 2025 Champions Trophy final, scheduled on March 9, will be available only four days prior to the match. Announcing the sale of tickets on Monday for the eight-team tournament, which begins from February 19, the ICC said tickets for the final will be available after the first semi-final, which is scheduled on March 4.
The ICC on Monday said the tickets for the Pakistan leg of the Champions Trophy, comprising 10 matches including the second semi-final (scheduled in Karachi), would be put on sale from Tuesday (2 pm Pakistan time/1.30 pm IST). As for the tickets for the Dubai leg, the ICC said, "information would be made available in the coming days" without specifying any date.
Tickets for matches in Pakistan are priced from 1000 Pakistan rupees for the general category, while the premium category starts from 1500 rupees. Sumair Ahmad Syed, the tournament director, said the tickets have been made "affordable" to ensure "fans from all walks of life can be part of this historic spectacle, making it a celebration for all generations of cricket lovers."
India and Pakistan are both in Group A, along with Bangladesh and New Zealand. The highly anticipated India-Pakistan group game is scheduled to take place in Dubai on February 23.
Ex-soccer star arrested in drug trafficking probe
Former Belgium national team player Radja Nainggolan has been arrested in connection with an investigation into cocaine trafficking from South America to Europe, a source told Reuters on Monday.
The cocaine was allegedly trafficked through the Port of Antwerp, the Brussels Public Prosecutor's Office said in an official statement, adding that 30 house searches had been carried out on Monday as part of the probe. As per Belgian practice, the statement did not name Nainggolan, giving only his initials and profession.
The arrest was earlier reported by local media.
Nainggolan's management team did not immediately reply to Reuters' request for comment.
Nainggolan's club Lokeren-Temse said in a statement that the player was absent from training on Monday morning. The club added it respected the presumption of innocence and declined to comment further.
Last year, former Netherlands international Quincy Promes was sentenced to six years in prison in absentia by a Dutch court for his involvement in smuggling of 1,360 kg of cocaine through the Belgian port to the Netherlands in two shipments in 2020.
Car runs into crowd, injures 3 after Eagles' win
PHILADELPHIA -- A car hit and injured three pedestrians in a crowd of people leaving the Philadelphia Eagles' playoff game on Sunday night, police said.
A driver is in custody, and the collision did not immediately appear to be intentional, the Philadelphia Police Department said in a social media post.
The victims did not suffer any life-threatening injuries, according to news reports citing the Philadelphia Police.
The car struck the large crowd near the historic Center City area around 9:30 p.m. after the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field, according to news reports.
The Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders 55-23, and they will face the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans on Feb. 9.
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