Former Sunderland and Manchester City manager Peter Reid is set to be unveiled as the new coach of Thailand at the end of the month.

Mick McCarthy piled praise on his Republic of Ireland team after they reached the World Cup finals despite a 1-0 defeat by Iran in Tehran.

Wales manager Mark Hughes rued the amazing Ryan Giggs miss which virtually cost his nation their World Cup dream after the 2-1 defeat by Poland in Cardiff.

Andy Cole has vowed to win back his a place in Manchester United’s starting line-up - by scoring for England against Holland tonight.

Polish manager Waldemar Fornalik is hoping that the sizeable away support in the Aviva Stadium tonight will help his side overcome Giovanni Trapattoni’s Irish side.

ENGLAND’S RFU were last night offered some respite from the chaos that has engulfed Twickenham by posting a record financial performance of £8.7m (€10m) profit.

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has declined an invitation to give evidence about World Cup bidding allegations to a Parliamentary committee.

IRELAND captain William Porterfield believes his side’s displays at the World Cup have proved they can overcome restricted qualification rules at future tournaments.

OFF-TRADE sales of Magners are up by 15% in the year to date, according to latest industry figures.

THEO WALCOTT insists he won’t listen to his critics and has blamed his poor form this season on a horrendous run of injuries.

MANAGER Noel King has hailed the national U17 women’s team as the best in Ireland in any code after they secured a 1-0 victory over Canada in the FIFA World Cup on Thursday night.

THE strength in depth of Ireland cricket will be tested over the coming weeks after the announcement yesterday that stalwart all-rounder Andre Botha may have to undergo a second operation on his right ankle.

FORMER Argentina boss Diego Maradona has targeted a return to management with Aston Villa.

THE French Football Federation (FFF) has called five players to appear before its disciplinary committee to discuss the behaviour of the national team during the World Cup.

THE Football Association of Ireland would be €2 million better off a year by the building of a National Stadium.

SWITZERLAND, who face France in a potentially decisive 2006 World Cup qualifier in October, have shrugged off the return of Zinedine Zidane to the French side.

MARCO TARDELLI will swap the Irish dugout for the red and black of Longford Town when he plays in this evening’s Sean Prunty Testimonial game at Flancare Park.