Paul Put has warned his Guinea side against complacency ahead of their Africa Cup of Nations opener with Madagascar.

Guinea failed to qualify for the 2017 edition of the tournament but managed to reach the quarter-final stage in 2015.

Tournament debutants Madagascar are first up in Group B, which also includes Burundi and Nigeria.

And Put, who also confirmed Liverpool midfielder and Guinea captain Naby Keita should be fit to feature in Alexandria, is wary of Madagascar s threat.

The first match is always very important because it will give us confidence to head into the rest of the tournament, he told a news conference.

But, it is also dangerous because we are playing against a side that is regarded as an underdog and most of the time they are d…

Raphael Varane pledged Manchester United will improve on their disappointing season in a new era under Erik ten Hag.

Varane scored his first Red Devils goal in a 3-0 Premier League win over Brentford on Monday, but has endured a largely frustrating first season in England following his move from Real Madrid.

The 29-year-old has made 28 appearances in all competitions this season, 25 of them starts, but has been involved in just six clean sheets with United looking certain to miss out on Champions League qualification ahead of the imminent arrival of new boss Ten Hag

United have gone five years without winning a major trophy, but Varane, who featured as Madrid were humbled 4-1 by Ten Hag s Ajax team in the Champions League at the Bernabeu in March 2019, is expec…

Manchester United s record goalscorer Wayne Rooney hopes Marcus Rashford can rediscover his form and break his Red Devils record.

Rooney, who is attempting to guide Derby County to safety in the Championship against the odds, scored 253 times during a hugely successful 13-year spell at Old Trafford, putting him four goals clear of Bobby Charlton as the most prolific forward in the club s history.

Rashford, who has hit 93 goals since making his United debut in 2016, has struggled throughout an underwhelming campaign, scoring just four times in 19 Premier League appearances.

The 24-year-old s dip in form saw him left out of Gareth Southgate s England squad for this month s friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast, while speculation has mounted as to wheth…

Leicester City s fairytale Premier League title triumph was recognised in the voting for France Football s 2016 Ballon d Or, with Riyad Mahrez and Jamie Vardy both named in the top 10, as Cristiano Ronaldo won the award. 

Algeria forward Mahrez and England striker Vardy came seventh and eighth respectively in the final rankings for the prestigious individual accolade, ahead of stellar names such as Paul Pogba, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robert Lewandowski.

The Foxes pair found themselves behind Ronaldo s Real Madrid team-mate Gareth Bale, who came sixth after winning the Champions League and helping Wales to an unexpected semi-final appearance at their maiden European Championship.

Veterans Pepe and Gianluigi Buffon shared ninth thanks in no small part to some excel…

Paco Alcacer came off the bench to score a wonderful winner as Borussia Dortmund completed a stunning comeback to down Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich 3-2 in a brilliant Klassiker.

Marco Reus twice cancelled out Robert Lewandowski goals, but it was Alcacer who struck the decisive blow in the 73rd minute at Signal Iduna Park on Saturday.

Dortmund had a four-point cushion to the Bundesliga champions heading into the clash and their seven-point gap will now give them real hope of a title challenge, although they were spared a last-gasp Lewandowski leveller by a correct offside call.

Bayern coach Niko Kovac insisted pre-match he was not feeling the pressure, but questions may again be asked about his future at the club after their six-game unbeaten run in all competi…

Paulinho scored an unlikely hat-trick and Neymar starred as Brazil extended their winning run and lead atop the World Cup qualifying standings with a 4-1 victory over Uruguay.

In Thursday s top-of-the-table clash in Montevideo, Brazil came out on top in style thanks to a hat-trick from former Tottenham midfielder Paulinho and Neymar s delicious lob.

Edinson Cavani opened the scoring with a ninth-minute penalty his 40th international goal but Paulinho restored parity via a stunning long-range strike 10 minutes later before giving Brazil the lead seven minutes into the second half.

Neymar s touch of class 16 minutes from time made it 3-1 and Paulinho sealed the points in stoppage time with his third as Brazil snapped Uruguay s 14-match unbeaten record at home in …

Milan held off a late Salernitana fightback to make a winning start to 2023 as a 2-1 victory kept them in pursuit of Serie A leaders Napoli.

First-half goals from Rafael Leao and Sandro Tonali looked to have been more than enough for Stefano Pioli s side to begin the new year with a comfortable win.

But Federico Bonazzoli s late finish set up a nervy finale at Stadio Arechi, with the Rossoneri just about able to hold their nerve and secure the three points.

Having survived a relegation battle last season, Salernitana came close to a major scalp and Davide Nicola will take heart from their late rally against the Scudetto holders.

3 Sandro has provided three out of his five assists for AC Milan in Serie A for Rafael Leao goals. Feeling.

— OptaP…

Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez has joined Reading on loan until the end of the season.

The 26-year-old has made just one appearance for the Gunners in 2018-19, keeping a clean sheet in the 1-0 Europa League win over Qarabag at Emirates Stadium in December.

Martinez, who spent last term with Getafe in LaLiga, will now spend the rest of this season at Madejski Stadium.

I am delighted we have been able to attract a goalkeeper of Emi s undoubted ability to Reading, manager Jose Gomes told the club s website after Martinez completed his medical on Wednesday. 

He will provide excellent competition for the goalkeeper s position and adds quality to our group. I look forward to working with him on the training ground for the first time later today.

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There were no matches on Monday as Russia absorbed the end of the group stages at Confederations Cup 2017.

But some FIFA bigwigs faced the music in St Petersburg and Cristiano Ronaldo started giving awards away.

All this and more in our latest daily diary.

RONALDO SALUTES SILVA BY DONATING PRIZE

The man-of-the-match awards at the Confederations Cup have been fairly easy to predict, given that they are decided by a public vote on social media.

It should come as little surprise that the biggest names at the tournament have largely swept the board, with Ronaldo winning three out of three for Portugal.

However, the skipper showed some good grace by donating his most recent prize to team-mate Bernardo Silva, who injured his ankle in the act of…

Rob Page believes Wales are heading into their crunch Euro 2024 qualifier in Latvia with renewed confidence after holding South Korea to a Cardiff draw.

Wales have now won only once in 13 games, but Page accentuated the positives after a goalless stalemate against opponents who reached the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

“There’s lots of positives and we take that momentum and confidence into a tough game on Monday,” Page said after Wales had returned to action following damaging Euro 2024 qualifying defeats by Armenia and Turkey in June.

We move on to

— Wales

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