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Vicente del Bosque has paid tribute to one of his predecessors as Spain coach, Ladislao Kubala, whose record of 68 matches in charge of the Iberian nation he will equal in Wednesday's friendly against Uruguay.

A rigorous integrity system, clear audit trails and information sharing with sports federations mean European betting firms are less at risk than Asian counterparts from gamblers hoping to profit from match-fixing, three British-based firms said on Tuesday.

The conflict at home has made Mali's players more determined than ever to do well in the Africa Cup of Nations, Stephen Keshi, coach of their semi-final opponents Nigeria, said on Tuesday.

Ronaldinho has been told by coach Luiz Felipe Scolari that he must justify his surprise inclusion for Brazil after a one-year absence.

Reports linking Hungarian side Debrecen with match-fixing are merely raking over old ground, the club said in a statement on Tuesday.

Assertions by authorities that tackling match-fixing in football will be a long and complex process have been rejected by a leading expert on corruption in the game, who says the arrest of one person will make a difference.

Portugal captain Cristiano Ronaldo is confident he will take part in Wednesday's friendly against Ecuador despite feeling a certain "overload".

Germany's top two Bundesliga divisions are seemingly not affected by a global match-fixing scandal that has involved hundreds of games across several continents, the German Football League (DFL) president said on Tuesday.

United States coach Jurgen Klinsmann has freshened up his central defensive options by calling up Matt Besler and Omar Gonzalez for Wednesday's World Cup qualifier against Honduras.

UEFA will vet sponsorship deals struck by clubs such as Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City to ensure they are not flouting new rules designed to force clubs to clean up their finances, European football's governing body said on Monday.

Bayern Munich striker Mario Gomez has been give little playing time since the Bundesliga restart in January but the Germany international is confident his time will come.

The controversial "triple punishment", where a player gives away a penalty, is sent off and automatically suspended, has been left off the agenda for the next meeting of football's rule-making body.

Germany will be without Borussia Dortmund trio Marcel Schmelzer, Marco Reus and Mario Gotze when they take on France in a friendly in Paris on Wednesday looking to end a 26-year wait for a victory over Les Bleus.

European investigators have uncovered evidence that hundreds of football matches at club and national level were fixed around the globe in a scam run from Singapore, police said on Monday.

Barcelona were dealt a blow on Monday when tests showed Xavi had damaged a hamstring and would be out for around two weeks, although he should be back for the Champions League last 16 first leg at AC Milan on February 20.

Brazil striker Alexandre Pato took just three minutes to score his first goal for his new club Corinthians in a 5-0 rout of Oeste in the Paulista championship on Sunday.

Captain Didier Drogba said the chances of he and a golden generation of Ivory Coast players ever lifting the Africa Cup of Nations had gone for good after a 2-1 quarter-final defeat by Nigeria on Sunday.

Olympique Marseille failed to take advantage of Olympique Lyon's defeat at Ajaccio when they slumped to a shock 1-0 home loss to Nancy after finishing with 10 men following Joey Barton's first Ligue 1 sending-off on Sunday.

Maverick striker Mario Balotelli flew straight into another storm as he made his AC Milan debut on Sunday, even if it was not directly of his making.

Burkina Faso reached the semi-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations for the first since 1998 when Jonathan Pitroipa produced the one moment of true class to head home an extra-time winner in a 1-0 victory over fellow outsiders Togo on Sunday.

Lionel Messi scored in his 12th consecutive La Liga game to help leaders Barcelona earn a 1-1 draw at Valencia, allowing second-placed Atletico Madrid to close to within nine points after a 1-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday.

Champions Borussia Dortmund squandered a two-goal lead but recovered to edge past Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 on Sunday and reclaim second spot in the Bundesliga.

Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini picked on a linesman and even scorer Sergio Aguero after Sunday's 2-2 draw with Liverpool as he begins to clutch at straws in the pursuit of Premier League leaders Manchester United.

Manchester City's Sergio Aguero scored from a near-impossible angle to salvage a 2-2 home draw with Liverpool, but a memorable Steven Gerrard goal still helped boost Premier League leaders Manchester United on Sunday.

Mario Balotelli celebrated his AC Milan debut by scoring twice in a 2-1 win over Udinese on Sunday - but the match ended in uproar over the penalty which led to his winning goal three minutes into stoppage time.