Clinton N’Jie will miss out on next month’s Confederations Cup in Russia after Cameroon coach Hugo Broos dropped the Tottenham winger from a 30-man preliminary squad for the eight-nation tournament.
N’Jie, on loan at Olympique Marseille this season, has struggled for game-time at club level and also lost his place in the national side during Cameroon’s run to the African Nations Cup title in Gabon .
Andre Onana, who will play for Ajax Amsterdam in Wednesday’s Europa League final against Manchester United, has been named, despite being one of nine players who refused to go to Gabon in a clash of club-versus-country loyalty.
Icardi, Lanzini named by Argentina
Inter striker Mauro Icardi and West Ham United midfielder Manuel Lanzini stood out in an Argentina squad named on Friday for friendlies against Brazil and Singapore on tour next month.
Inter captain Icardi has been banging on the Argentina door since earning a first cap as a substitute in a World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in 2013, while the uncapped Lanzini has had a fine season in the Premier League.
Both have caught the eye of Jorge Sampaoli, the Sevilla coach set to take the vacant Argentina job after the Spanish Liga season ends this weekend and likely to dramatically change the team’s tactics.
Adams vows to bounce back
Tony Adams has vowed to recover from a “nightmare” spell as head coach of Granada and help the relegated LaLiga club bounce back next season.
Former Arsenal captain Adams was appointed to his interim role on April 10 and the team lost seven consecutive matches under his charge, finishing bottom of the Spanish top flight with just 20 points.
“It’s a nightmare, thank you for putting words in my mouth,” Adams said. “I think I’m going to get another heart attack!”
“Working with this group of players isn’t easy,” he said. “But I’m thankful that I’ve had the experience.
“Hopefully all the negativity stops now and we can put that to bed, close the door on that chapter, that disaster... and learn from it.”
Conte lauds departing Terry
Antonio Conte lauded John Terry for putting Chelsea ahead of himself as the captain prepares for his final appearance at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea head coach Conte refused to be drawn on whether Terry would play from the start for the Premier League champions in today’s clash with relegated Sunderland.
“When you are at the end of your career, it’s not easy to put yourself to one side and to think first about your team. He did this,” Conte said.
“For this reason, he’s a great man before a great player.
“I saw every day a captain, a captain on and off the pitch. His thought was always first for the team, and then for him.”
Big Sam couldn’t watch England
Sam Allardyce has admitted he could not bear to watch England after losing his job as the national manager.
The Crystal Palace boss lasted just 67 days and one match in the job before leaving the role by mutual consent following a covert national newspaper sting.
He said in an interview published in the Times and the Daily Mail: “I couldn’t watch. I tried to. I maybe lasted 15, 20 minutes. But I couldn’t continue. I had to turn it off and watch something else.
“It was Wembley and I hadn’t even had the opportunity to get a game under my belt there. That would have been a big moment for me. It was a gut-wrencher, that.”
Amiens, Strasbourg promoted
Strasbourg and Amiens were promoted to Ligue 1 on Friday following an incredibly tight race in the French second division.
Six clubs entered the final day of the Ligue 2 season with a chance at winning the title, but Strasbourg came out on top with a 2-0 with over Bourg en Bresse Peronnas, edging Amiens and Troyes by a single point.
The promotion is Strasbourg’s fourth in six years after they were sent to the fifth tier following bankruptcy issues in 2011. They last played in the top flight in 2008.
Amiens also went up as runners-up after Emmanuel Bourgaud scored in the 96th minute at 10-man Reims to secure a 2-1 win.