Under-21: Play-offs draw (October 12 and 16) – Spain vs Denmark; Italy vs Sweden; Czech Rep. vs Russia; Slovakia vs Holland; Germany vs Switzerland; England vs Serbia; France vs Norway. The finals will be played in Israel next June.

Schelotto: Ezequiel Schelotto, the 23-year-old Atalanta winger, was released from a Bergamo hospital yesterday after a car accident the previous night at a motorway junction. Schelotto suffered minor injuries after losing control of his BMW and hit a guard-rail at high speed. Schelotto was already set to miss the match against Milan last night due to an injury in his knee.

Hughes: Aaron Hughes has signed a one-year contract extension with Fulham. The N.Ireland defender will remain at Craven Cottage until 2014. The 32-year-old joined Fulham from Aston Villa in 2007, having come through the ranks at Newcastle.

United deal: Manchester United have announced a new three-year partnership with leading Japanese engineering firm Yanmar. The deal will allow United to utilise Yanmar’s expertise in their key markets worldwide. Yanmar are one of the world’s largest engine firms and also have a strong record in supporting young talent in Asia.

Zenit: Hulk and Axel Witsel failed to shine on their debut as Russian champions Zenit SP fell 2-0 at home for the first time to Terek Grozny. Hulk arrived from Porto and Witsel from Benfica for a total of €100 million. But it was Ailton Almeida and Igor Lebedenko who starred on the St Petersburg pitch as their late goals put Terek top of the league.

Eto’o: New Cameroon coach Jean-Paul Akono’s first order of business will be to seek a return to the team of disaffected captain Samuel Eto’o. Akono said Eto’o was needed if Cameroon were to fight back from a two-goal deficit and avoid embarrassing elimination from the next Africa Cup finals at the hands of the tiny Cape Verde Islands.

Gerets: Morocco coach Eric Gerets was sacked yesterday after a series of poor results. Recruited in 2010 to lead the Atlas Lions to the 2014 World Cup, Gerets has been under pressure since the 2-0 defeat to Mozambique in a qualifier for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations.

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