From Russia with Love: A long and winding road

A look at some of the more offbeat stories as the World Cup prepares for big kick-off

Who is the leading scorer within the England setup?

Arsenal striker is, at 27, a veteran of Gareth Southgate’s young World Cup squad

Joe Hart and Jack Wilshere left out of England World Cup squad

Fabian Delph set to be named in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man party on Wednesday

Visionary Pep Guardiola still has something new to say

Style and substance the mark of a coach who has guided Man City to the cusp of the title

Christian Eriksen’s huge influence on Denmark worrying for Ireland

Christian Eriksen’s emergence is all about a singular talent brilliantly guided

Root of José Mourinho’s negativity may be that of a frustrated player

Manager creates a team’s structure which leaves limelight firmly focused on himself

England’s 2018 World Cup base a far cry from past luxury

FA have opted to go for a no-frills hotel as opposed to the luxury usually selected

Jim McGuinness joins ‘Green Invasion’, but who are Beijing Guoan?

With a new coaching team in place, the next step for Beijing Guoan is some big signings

Jermain Defoe and Jamie Vardy give England Lithuania win

Gareth Southgate’s side unbeaten in qualifiers since 2009 after routine Wembley win

England’s problem is a lack of wit on the pitch

Sam Allardyce will be faced with the same stark reality as his various predecessors

Martin O’Neill’s words were humbling and showed a touch of class

Ireland manager showed in Lille that he doesn’t forget a face

‘I didn’t see it coming,’ says fragile Roy Hodgson

The task of finding a new England manager will be far from straightforward

Gareth Southgate to lead England to Russia. Really?

England Under-21 manager, Alan Shearer, David Moyes and Alan Pardew all candidates

Roy Hodgson resigns as England boss after Iceland embarrassment

Four-year tenure ends with one of the most infamous defeats in English football history

Euro 2016: Russia will struggle against top class opposition

Leonid Slutsky rescued their qualifying campaign but unlikely to see Russia advancing beyond second round

Danny Welbeck set to miss European Championships

England manager Roy Hodgson may look to Theo Walcott or Andros Townsend as cover

Harry Kane and Dele Alli lead inexperienced England in Germany test

Roy Hodgson believes young squad members could develop into top European players

Gianni Infantino’s 90-day reform plan if elected as Fifa president

His 10-point plan was carefully slanted to appeal to Africa and the Caribbean

England have crop of exciting players who can banish apathy around team

Roy Hodgson’s winning run hardly merits hype but something could be stirring

Real slip-up against Juventus may signal the end for Carlo Ancelotti

Battle-hardened Italian under increasing pressure from Madrid president Perez

Novak Djokovic named sportsman of year at Laureus Awards

Tennis star beats Ronaldo as Ethiopian athlete Genzebe Dibaba wins female award

Three years after playing for England Darren Bent joins Brighton

Brighton manager Sami Hyypia expects the striker to score plenty of goals

World Cup hosts Russia say they cannot afford Fabio Capello’s wages anymore

The Italian manager has not been paid since June although he’s contracted for almost four more years

Samba Soccer: Dutch space cadets and more terrible tattoos

‘I’m truthful, I don’t have time for hot air. He (Messi) looks a little weak. He doesn’t run like he used to’

Pragmatism and Dutch style may be enough

Solid Mexico side with strong team spirit likely to pose difficulties for Netherlands

Russian boss Fabio Capello plays laser card

Goalkeeper Igor Akinfeev was momentarily blinded by the pen device in the build-up to Algeria’s goal

Divock Origi seals it late on as Belgium’s bench strikes again

Russia left to rue missed chances in Group H clash

Fabio Capello needs to start justifying his large salary

If his England experience is anything to go by, the Russian public should shortly be falling out of love with their Italian boss

Scoreless draw and Dunphy’s maw, familiar fare for an Irish man

In his second piece from the couch, Ian Power gets innovative with tinnies and legumes

Vasili Berezutski keen to put record straight for Russia

The last time the Russians featured in a World Cup was back in 2002 as they prepare to face South Korea in Cuiaba

Russia leave injured captain Roman Shirokov at home

Midfielder unable to shake off injury ahead of 2-0 friendly win over Morocco

England’s lost decade

At Euro 2004, Wayne Rooney touched fleeting, sensational greatness. Since then, England fans have had little to celebrate

Russia - Team Profile

Their World Cup story hasn’t been a happy one since the break-up of the Soviet Union

Mourinho intent on keeping Mata at Chelsea

Mourinho will not allow any players a soft exit in a warning to potential suitors

Roy Hodgson looking to learn from past mistakes in planning for Rio

England will travel to the US for a pre-tournament training camp

Jack Wilshere defends stance on England eligibility

‘The question was 'should foreign players be allowed to play for England', and ... I don’t think they should’

Good luck, Martin, or whoever gets the Ireland gig: it ain’t gonna be Woodstock, baby!

Northern Ireland players dedicate Russia win to O’Neill

Underfire manager saw his side record first win of his 20-month tenure at Windsor Park

Northern Ireland boss Michael O’Neill faces late change of plan after Kyle Lafferty’s injury in Italy on Sunday

Manager has yet to experience a victory on the international stage and the arrival of a Russia side with four wins from five Group F outings is hardly the ideal opportunity to end that sequence

Laurent Blanc in line to take over at PSG

Former France manager to take job after Villas-Boas and Capello rejections

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