Germany should really not be surprised by their earliest World Cup exit in 80 years. The four-time winners should have seen the red flags and heeded the warnings after failing to hit top form for almost a year prior to this tournament.

Germany 2 Sweden 1

Jerome Boateng has provided a boost to Germany's World Cup squad by stepping up his return to training following a hamstring injury.

That hurt more than I thought it would.

The exit door at Emirates Stadium had barely shut behind Arsene Wenger when a number of his backroom staff followed him out the door yesterday, as the club prepare for life beyond the Frenchman.

Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis presided over a packed press conference to discuss the end of Arsene Wenger’s 22-year managerial reign, making it feel more like a funeral, but without discussing what part he or the Arsenal board played in killing off the French coach.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is said to be on a list of candidates to replace Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.

The line-up for the 2018 World Cup in Russia is close to completion after Australia became the 31st nation to book their place at the finals.

Germany will be in Russia next summer to defend their World Cup crown having sealed their qualification by inflicting a first competitive home defeat on Northern Ireland in four years.

Northern Ireland’s elder statesmen are driven by a desire to feature at a World Cup finals before they call it a day, defender Chris Brunt has said.

Captain Manuel Neuer has been left out of the Germany squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Czech Republic and Norway.

Lars Stindl struck the only goal as Germany beat Chile 1-0 to win the Confederations Cup in St Petersburg last night.

Lars Stindl struck the only goal as Germany beat Chile 1-0 to win the Confederations Cup in St Petersburg.

Germany eased into the Confederations Cup final following a comfortable 4-1 victory over Mexico in Sochi.

PORTUGAL 0 - CHILE 0 (Chile win 3-0 on penalties AET): Manchester City goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was the hero of the hour as Chile reached the Confederations Cup final by beating Portugal on penalties last night.

Fifa’s Video Assistant Referee (VAR) claimed the spotlight for all the wrong reasons at the Confederations Cup in Russia yesterday when the on-field official’s decision resulted in the wrong man getting sent off before the players intervened in Germany’s 3-1 win over Cameroon last night.

Australia 2

Joachim Low's much-changed Germany opened their Confederations Cup campaign with a 3-2 victory over Australia in Sochi.

The odds are against Jim McGuinness making a go of it as a professional football manager but the Donegal man knows plenty about the mental side of sport and how it transfers across codes and other boundaries.

Germany coach Joachim Low felt the 7-0 thrashing of minnows San Marino was a good test for his young squad before they head off to the Confederations Cup in Russia.

As World Cup qualification reaches the business end we look at how things stand in every group. 

England midfielder Jake Livermore revealed how he reached out to Ireland’s Harry Arter when the Bournemouth midfielder’s daughter was stillborn in December 2015.

Fifa will allow the public to vote in a rebranded version of its player of the year of the award, world soccer’s governing body said yesterday.

Ireland boss Martin O’Neill has warned that the Euro 2016 feelgood factor can easily disintegrate unless his team negotiate a daunting start to their World Cup campaign.

This was the night when France began to heal before our very eyes, a night when La Marseillaise was sung louder than it has ever been sung, a night when Antoine Griezmann became a national hero — and when Les Bleus dramatically and deservedly reached the final of Euro 2016.

Bastian Schweinsteiger will lead Germany onto the field for tonight’s Euro 2016 semi-final against France after being passed fit to play.

Thomas Muller says Germany are not afraid of France ahead of tomorrow night’s Euro 2016 semi-final in Marseille.

Manager Joachim Low maintains Germany should have no ‘Italy complex’ as they prepare for Saturday’s Euro 2016 quarter-final in Bordeaux.

Northern Ireland 0 Germany 1: Defeat on the night for Northern Ireland but it was one that ended with history being written as Michael O’Neill’s side advanced to the knockout stages of Euro 2016 thanks to the heroics of Michael McGovern and a Turkish win in Lens.

Versailles looks the ideal base for team Ireland. The distance between the hotel and training ground is minimal and there will be no repeat of the suffocating proximity of Sopot four years ago, writes Brendan O’Brien

When Roy Hodgson was asked recently to contrast the centre-halves England have brought to France (John Stones, Gary Cahill, Chris Smalling) with the choice Sven-Goran Eriksson had at World Cup in 2006 (Sol Campbell, Rio Ferdinand, Jamie Carragher and John Terry), he couldn’t quite bring himself to dispute the gulf in quality.

An own goal from Adam Lang and a second-half effort from Thomas Muller saw a dominant Germany side defeat Hungary 2-0 at Schalke's Veltins-Arena home today.

None of Ireland’s group opponents at Euro 2016 won their respective friendlies last night. It was a particularly chastening night for Italy as the Azzurri lost 4-1 against world champions Germany in Munich.

England manager Roy Hodgson believes Dele Alli can become the new Bryan Robson and will give the Tottenham teenager another chance to shine when inexperienced England face world champions Germany.

There is never a good reason not to watch a football match, writes Liam Mackey