The star English striker was singled out by the Spanish skipper in the lead-up to their Nations League duel

Real Madrid and Spain captain Sergio Ramos believes Tottenham star Harry Kane has the ability to flourish in LaLiga.

Two-time Premier League Golden Boot winner Kane has been linked with a move to European champions Madrid in recent years.

Kane has scored five league goals for Tottenham this season and Ramos singled out the England star ahead of Monday’s blockbuster Nations League clash in Seville.

Asked who from the England team had the technical quality to succeed in Spain, Ramos said: “They’re all really impressive.

“It’s true that what shines the most in the Premier League is the physical form but they have players with lots of quality.

“Harry Kane for example is a really physical striker but also really skilful, he surprises lot of defenders but he won’t surprise me.

“They have many other strikers that are really dangerous and unbalancing, I can assure you we have studied them really well so they won’t do their best.”

Kane, who won the World Cup’s Golden Boot, has gone six matches without an international goal following England’s dour scoreless draw against Croatia on Friday.

Following a feud between Jose Mourinho and Pogba, the France midfielder has been stripped of his captaincy

The top tier of Danish football will have its own virtual league counterpart as part of FIFA 19

EA Sports have continued the expansion of FIFA 19 esports across Europe’s top leagues with Denmark’s premier division, the Superliga, the latest to join.

The Superliga, the top tier of Danish football, will now have its own esports counterpart in the eSuperliga starting from early November – which will be part of a national FIFA 19 league where players represent the top football clubs of the country.

The clubs will compete for the ultimate $50,000 (£38k) prize pool and will be observed as an Official League Qualifier for the FIFA eWorld Cup, an annual competition held by FIFA and EA Sports which will award the winning team $250,000 (£189k).

The league is a joint venture between media company Discovery Networks Denmark and esports organisers DreamHack, with Discovery Networks broadcasting the games both online and on TV.

Every eSuperliga club will consist of a minimum of two FIFA players and a manager, with one player required to sign a professional contract with their team. Games will be played weekly with the superior of eight teams from the regular season qualifying for the playoffs.

A number of Danish clubs have already begun participating in esports ventures, with FC Copenhagen’s esports team, North, already making their first move into FIFA.

North have already signalled their intent with the monumental signing of August “Agge” Rosenmeier. The Danish player is a former FIFA Interactive World Cup champion and has previously represented Paris Saint-Germain and Hashtag United. The FIFA veteran proved his worth earlier this year at the eWorld Cup, making it to the PlayStation 4 quarter-finals before being eliminated by the eventual runner-up PSV’s Stefano Pina.

Accompanying all 14 Superliga teams in the league are also the three clubs who were relegated last season, FC Helsingor, Lyngby BK and Silkeborg IF, as relegation playoffs occurred at the same time that the league was presented to the clubs.

The eSuperliga is part of a huge revamp in FIFA tournaments in which players will be able to participate in more global tournaments than ever before. Every live event, including the new Danish league, will earn players championship points to increase their ranking on a global leaderboard in their hopes of qualifying for next year’s eWorld Cup.

An increasing number of football clubs are becoming more heavily invested in esports with gaming already extremely popular in Denmark.

Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed that the Denmark international is set to make his comeback against West Ham, unlike the England star

Christian Eriksen is set to make his Tottenham return against West Ham this weekend, manager Mauricio Pochettino has confirmed, but Dele Alli faces a race against time to be fit to play Manchester City on October 29.

Playmaker Eriksen has been sidelined with a stomach injury that Denmark manager Age Hareide claimed may be “chronic”, a statement quickly rebuffed by the player’s agent, Martin Schoots.

The 26-year-old nonetheless missed fixtures against Huddersfield Town and Cardiff City in the Premier League, Barcelona in the Champions League and Watford in the EFL Cup.

However, he is fit to play against the Hammers in this weekend’s London derby, as is fellow midfielder Mousa Dembele, who has been struggling with a thigh problem.

Alli, though, needs more time to recover from a hamstring injury; the England international has missed three Premier League encounters already this season, and is doubtful for next week’s games against PSV Eindhoven and Manchester City.

“It was a good time for us because we are going to recover a few players like Christian and Mousa Dembele,” Pochettino told reporters.

“Still maybe 10 days more for Dele Alli and Danny Rose is the same, one week more. Jan Vertonghen is a little bit longer. But the most important thing is that we start to recover players. It will be a tough month of competition for us.

“There are a lot of games ahead and it’s so important to have nearly all the squad fit to compete and play and to give options to rotate and share the games because it will be tough, the months we have ahead.

“We have seven games in one month, in four weeks, and it’s so important to have all fit to compete and to give the level that we want.”

As well as Vertonghen, doubts also persist over the fitness of Victor Wanyama, with Spurs’ squad stretched after a summer of inactivity.

The club did not add a single player in the transfer window, but Pochettino insists that he is delighted with the make-up of his squad, after the club’s best ever start to a Premier League season.

“From day one I told you I am never going to judge the words of my boss (Daniel Levy). He is my boss, he is the owner of the club, I am not going to judge,” he added.

“It was difficult to achieve the players we needed. That was impossible.

“I was happy and am happy with the squad that I have, 25 players. We have no regrets, we are happy.

“When we started the season with three games that we won and we were top of the table people were talking in a different way, ‘Oh how clever are Tottenham because they keep all the squad from last season’.

“After we lost some games all the alarms started to make a big impact in the perception.

But I need to remind everyone that is our best start after eight games, it is the best start in the Premier League for Tottenham and the perception is that we lost to Inter and Barcelona in the Champions League but we have one more point than last season and I am not happy about that because we are fifth in the table and the ambition is to be on the top.”

The 1966 World Cup winner admits he would have welcomed the opportunity to play alongside a Spurs midfielder, and his club colleague Kieran Trippier

Harry Kane and Dele Alli boast a “telepathic” understanding which makes them comparable to Real Madrid legends Alfredo Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas, claims England icon Geoff Hurst.

The Tottenham duo have become key men for club and country over recent years, with both possessing important creative and goal-scoring qualities.

Spurs have benefited from those attributes to push themselves into Premier League title contention, while England have displayed encouraging signs of progress after reaching the semi-finals of World Cup 2018.

Kane and Alli are considered to be crucial to the Three Lions’ future development, with their understanding struck up at club level allowing them to flourish on an international stage.

“I’m a big fan of Dele Alli – he’s developed a great understanding with Harry Kane at Tottenham, and at the top-level football isn’t always about individuality,” 1966 hero Hurst told Grosvenorsport.com.

“Looking back, Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas had that for Real Madrid – it was almost telepathic. Dele has that with Harry, and I am sure he would have created a lot of chances for me.”

Alli is not the only current Spurs and England star that former West Ham striker Hurst would have relished playing alongside.

He is also a big fan of Tottenham defender Kieran Trippier, with his skill set earning him plenty of admirers over the summer as he impressed on Russian soil in a wing-back berth.

“Many may expect me to say Harry Kane, given that he is a striker who can score goals at the highest level, but I actually think his playing style is similar to mine and we may not have hit it off. Harry is used to playing as a lone striker, and I always played alongside a second striker,” added Hurst.

“Instead, I’ve gone for another two players that I feel would have benefited me a lot more in terms of creating chances and helping me to score goals. It may come as a surprise, but I would have Kieran Trippier and Dele Alli.

“Kieran Trippier has been brilliant for England since he has come into the set up. He had a fantastic World Cup tournament, scoring a great free-kick against Croatia in the semi-final and he delivered dangerous crosses throughout the campaign.

“His delivery is as good as any traditional winger I ever played with, and nobody would have enjoyed playing with him more than I would. He makes the art of crossing look so easy, and that’s a valuable skill to possess. I could see myself getting on the end of his excellent crosses – perhaps not now, but definitely in my prime!”

Trippier, Kane and Alli will be hoping to catch the eye again when England return to Nations League action on Friday against their World Cup conquerors Croatia.

The Belgium coach believes that there is little chance of the midfielder missing his club’s vital meeting with the Blues at the weekend

Belgium boss Roberto Martinez is confident that midfielder Marouane Fellaini will be available for Manchester United’s trip to face Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday.

Fellaini did not feature in Belgium’s international friendly against the Netherlands on Tuesday, a match that finished 1-1.

Martinez revealed that the former Everton midfielder was not “100 per cent” physically ready for that clash, sparking fears that he could miss out at the weekend, but the Spaniard is confident he will prove his fitness.

“He should be fine, it’s just he wasn’t 100 per cent,” he said.

“He’s got an important game at the weekend and this wasn’t the game to use players who weren’t 100 per cent.

“We expect he should be fine in the next couple of days.”

As Jose Mourinho attempts to rebuild United’s season following a slow start, Fellaini has been an important figure for him. Indeed, the Belgian has started the club’s last five Premier League matches, while he also netted a dramatic late equaliser against Derby in their third-round Carabao Cup clash, though the Red Devils ultimately lost that on penalties.

Mourinho’s side go into the weekend’s match against the Blues eighth in the Premier League standings, having suffered three defeats already this season, though their come-from-behind victory against Newcastle at Old Trafford a fortnight ago has temporarily eased the pressure upon the embattled Portuguese.

A loss against Maurizio Sarri’s unbeaten Chelsea, however, would leave United 10 points off the early-season pace and would renew scrutiny over Mourinho’s long-term future at the club.

Both teams will hope to bounce back after Les Bleus needed a late double to snatch a draw against Iceland and the visitors were drubbed by Netherlands

World Cup holders France host Germany in Paris in their third UEFA Nations League game.

Les Bleus hold a slender lead at the summit of Group A1 with four points following an opening 0-0 draw against Joachim Low’s side and a 2-1 victory over Netherlands.

Germany could still secure progress to next year’s finals though if they are able to pick up their first win of the competition following a 3-0 drubbing at the hands of the Dutch.

Didier Deschamps will be expected to keep faith with his 4-2-3-1 formation, with Kylian Mbappe likely to be handed a starting berth in place of the injured Florian Thauvin following his late heroics to snatch a point in Thursday’s 2-2 friendly draw against Iceland.

Game	France vs Germany
Date	Tuesday, October 16
Time	7:45pm BST / 2:45pm EST
Stream (US only)	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

---

---

In the United States (US), the game can be watched live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .

New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.

US TV channel	Online stream
ESPN+/Univision Deportes	fubo TV (7-day free trial)

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on TV on Sky Sports Mix and it can be streamed live online using Sky Go. The game can also be followed live on Goal here .

UK TV channel	Online stream
Sky Sports Mix	Sky Go

---

---

Position	France squad
Goalkeepers	Lloris, Mandanda, Areola
Defenders	Pavard, Kimpembe, Varane, Sakho, Digne, Sidibe, Lucas Hernandez, Zouma
Midfielders	Pogba, Kante, Matuidi, Nzonzi, Ndombele
Forwards	Griezmann, Lemar, Giroud, Mbappe, Dembele, Payet

France coach Didier Deschamps is missing Florian Thauvin after the winger picked up a foot injury and returned to his club Marseille.

Paris Saint-Germain star and World Cup Best Young Player winner Kylian Mbappe will replace him in attack, while N’Golo Kante has earned a recall in place of Steven Nzonzi.

France XI: Lloris; Pavard, Varane, Kimpembe, Lucas Hernandez; Pogba, Kante; Mbappe, Griezmann, Matuidi; Giroud

Position	Germany squad
Goalkeepers	Neuer, Leno, ter Stegen
Defenders	Kehrer, Hector, Ginter, Hummels, Schulz, Sule, Tah
Midfielders	Gnabry, Draxler, Kroos, Brandt, Can, Kimmich, Sane, Rudy
Forwards	Werner, Muller, Uth

Germany boss Joachim Low is unable to call on Jerome Boateng after the Bayern Munich man pulled out with a calf injury sustained in defeat to Netherlands.

Club team-mate Niklas Sule starts in his absence, with Leroy Sane starting despite missing chances after coming off the bench in Amsterdam.

Germany XI: Neuer; Kehrer, Sule, Hummels; Schulz, Kimmich, Kroos, Ginter; Sane, Gnabry, Werner

---

---

France are favourites to win the match according to bet365 , who price them at 8/11. Germany are considered a 4/1 bet to win away from home and a draw is available at 31/10.

Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.

---

---

Les Bleus managed to frustrate their hosts when the pair played out a 0-0 draw in Munich during September’s maiden round of Nations League fixtures.

Alphonse Areola made his international debut in goal for the visitors and turned in an excellent display to deny Marco Reus, Mats Hummels, Thomas Muller and Matthias Ginter in the second half.

Antoine Griezmann’s 25-yard effort was arguably the closest a lacklustre France side came to breaking the deadlock and the World Cup winners were perhaps lucky to come away with a point.

Victory over Netherlands means that a win in Paris, however, will give Didier Deschamps’s side a four-point cushion at the top of Group A1, allowing them to put one foot into next year’s finals.

Low, however, will be determined to foil their ambitions and put his own country back on track as they chase both an inaugural Nations League victory and their first win away from home outside of the World Cup since a 3-1 defeat of Northern Ireland last October.

With France likely to field several members of the side who beat Croatia in Moscow to clinch football’s greatest prize in July, Germany will be hoping that the likes of Emre Can and Leroy Sane can help restore their fortunes.

Both will square off without talismanic characters, however, after Florian Thauvin and Jerome Boateng were both forced to pull out of the clash through a foot and calf injury, respectively.

table.tableizer-table { font-size: 14px; border: 1px solid #CCC; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; } .tableizer-table td { padding: 4px; margin: 3px; border: 1px solid #CCC; } .tableizer-table th { background-color: #00a9ce; color: #FFF; font-weight: bold; }

Though opportunities have been scarce for the Brazil international since a summer move from Monaco, he is convinced his time will come at Anfield

Liverpool midfielder Fabinho is remaining calm despite a lack of playing time since a big-money transfer from Monaco this summer. 

The Brazil international moved from France to England in May in a deal worth €45 million (£39m/$52m) plus bonuses of up to another €5m (£4m/$6m).

Despite Liverpool’s big investment in the 24-year-old, he has been brought along slowly, making just one start and a total of three appearances in all competitions this season. 

Though Fabinho has admitted he’d like to be playing more, he insists he is not concerned over his future with the club as he remains patient. 

“Of course I want to be playing,” Fabinho told Goal. “However, I know I am on a new team in a new league, and it has its period of adaptation.

“I already know the way our coach likes to play, I’m happy here in Liverpool. I hope that I will gradually gain a few minutes on the field.

“The adaptation on the pitch is good, and I’m working and calm, waiting for my moment to arrive.”

Fabinho says his mentality has been helped by Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp and his coaching staff, who have kept him calm while gradually easing him into the Reds set-up.

“From the start he gave me a lot of peace,” Fabinho said of the German boss. “He said he knows my quality, the preparation was good.

“We did not have much time in the games, but we’re working hard during the week. It’s not a problem.

“Not only coach Klopp, but the whole coaching staff has helped me in the adaptation, not only on the field, but also off the field.”

Prior to joining the Reds, Fabinho quizzed Roberto Firmino on life in Liverpool, and the attacker helped convince his compatriot to make the move.

“Before signing with Liverpool, I talked to Roberto Firmino about what the club is like and what the city is like,” Fabinho said. 

“He spoke well of the club and the city, and other people who have already visited the city. The information only gave me more motivation to come to Liverpool.”

The Brazilian says his adaptation to life in England has also been helped by his two international team-mates on the club’s roster, Alisson and Firmino. 

“It’s good to have someone who speaks your language in everyday life, especially for me, who does not speak English so well,” Fabinho said.

“It is good to have someone who can help with day-to-day life, for me and for my family. This is very important. We are always together, talking or making dinner in someone’s home.”

Fabinho is currently away on international duty with Brazil ahead of Tuesday’s meeting with South American rivals Argentina, and will be hoping to impress ahead of Liverpool’s next Premier League outing against Huddersfield Town on October 20.

The ex-Blancos boss believes the Argentina international would be the perfect solution to the goalscoring problems being endured by the Spanish giants

Real Madrid should be looking to sign Inter striker Mauro Icardi “immediately”, claims former Blancos boss Fabio Capello.

The Liga giants have found goals hard to come by this season, with a four-game winless run seeing them fail to trouble the scorers.

It is now being suggested that a new frontman could be sought during the January transfer window, with proven cover still required for the departed Cristiano Ronaldo.

Capello believes that search should lead Real to Italy, with Icardi – who finished as the joint-top scorer in Serie A last season – the perfect choice for a misfiring Madrid side.

“I am a fan of his,” Capello told Radio Rai.

“He is a specialist in the penalty area, as was Cristiano Ronaldo, and if you put three balls in the area he hits all three.

“If I were Real Madrid, I would sign him immediately.”

Icardi, who Inter are hoping to tie to fresh terms in the near future, has managed 112 goals in 190 appearances for Inter.

The Argentina international will be hoping to add to that tally when he returns to domestic action in a derby date with AC Milan on Sunday.

That contest will see a potential Madrid striker of the future pitched into direct competition with a proven striker of their past.

Icardi’s countryman, Gonzalo Higuain, is currently starring for the Rossoneri after completing a summer loan switch from Juventus.

Capello worked with him at Real in 2007 and is a big fan of the qualities that the 30-year-old offers.

“He had the great quality of always finding the goal,” added the ex-Juve and England coach.

“That means he had coordination, mentality and technical abilities.

“Now he’s improved even more because he participates in the action, and playing in Europe has helped him.

“He’s a very interesting person on a human level and he’s always been a good guy.”

The midfielder believes the France and Paris Saint-Germain attacker will win the Ballon d’Or one day

France and Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe has everything to eventually win the Ballon d’Or, according to Blaise Matuidi.

Mbappe, 19, is among the nominees for this year’s award, although the attacker is not considered as one of the favourites.

However, Matuidi believes the teenager – who helped PSG win a treble last season and was named the best young player as France claimed the World Cup – will win the coveted individual prize one day.

“He’s among the nominees so he can win. He’s shown that he is a great player despite his young age,” he told a news conference.

“What he shows on the pitch is very impressive. We also see it in training. We are very happy to work with him.

“I’m not going to give favourites because I don’t want to have enemies in the group. May the best man win.

“But Mbappe has everything to win the Ballon d’Or this year or in the future.”

Raphael Varane, also a key part of France’s World Cup-winning squad, enjoyed a fine year which included helping Real Madrid secure another Champions League title.

Matuidi, whose team are preparing to face Germany in the Nations League on Tuesday, lauded the 25-year-old centre-back as one of the world’s best defenders.

“Raphael had a great season. He won the Champions League. He is a world champion. That’s good for him,” he said.

“He is one of the [Ballon d’Or] nominees. If he’s nominated, it’s because he deserves it. Currently, he is one of the best defenders in the world or perhaps the best if we look at his performances in the few seasons. But there are other great defenders.

“Anyway, he’s had a great career, even if it’s far from the end. He’s still young. He has already won a lot, but he still has time to win even more – especially with the national team.”