Football news live: Italy out of World Cup, plus Nigeria vs Ghana qualifier build-up

Raine has shortlisted bids from Todd Boehly, David Blitzer and Josh Harris, the Ricketts family and Boston Celtics owner Stephen Pagliuca as the four candidates to take over Chelsea.

The Athletic reported on Thursday night that Nick Candy and Woody Johnson were out of the race to buy Chelsea.

And now it is understood that the Raine Group has shortlisted the final four bids.

Click here to read the full story.

(Photo: Brian Babineau/NBAE via Getty Images)

Manchester United fans can stay up to date with the club’s managerial search by listening to the latest episode of Talk of the Devils.

Click here if you want to be kept updated on tonight’s big 2022 World Cup qualifying games in Africa.

Rivals Ghana and Nigeria meet at 7:30pm while there is a repeat of the Africa Cup of Nations final at the same time.

Both games are likely to be thrilling so follow the updates right here on The Athletic.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Guendouzi and Saliba are two hugely promising young players, both part of Didier Deschamps’ most recent France squad.

Both players are technically on loan from Arsenal, although there is a tacit acknowledgement on both sides of the channel that Guendouzi will remain in Provence and not return to north London.

The midfielder’s loan arrangement came with an obligatory purchase clause in the region of €11 million (£9.2 million), provided certain on-field criteria were met. That deal will be formally completed in the summer.

Guendouzi, then, appears to belong to Arsenal’s past.

Many Arsenal fans hope that Saliba could yet belong to their future.

So what is the situation? James McNicholas reports.

Liverpool could earn more than £8.5 million from non-fungible token (NFT) sales after becoming the latest sports team to venture into the complex world of digital assets.

In an announcement on Thursday that quickly attracted scorn on social media, the club said the “LFC Heroes Club” will give fans the opportunity to purchase animated, cartoon-style digital artwork of 23 players and manager Jurgen Klopp.

So why are some fans unhappy? Caoimhe O’Neill and Joey D’Urso explain.

Real Madrid forward Eden Hazard is a doubt to face Chelsea as he is planning to have surgery on his leg.

He will have a plate removed in his right leg, which was implanted after the 31-year-old broke his ankle in March 2020.

Madrid travel to reigning champions Chelsea in the Champions League quarter-finals on April 6.

A club statement read: “In the coming days, our player, Eden Hazard, will undergo surgery to remove the osteosynthesis plate in his right fibula.”

Full story here.

(Photo: David S. Bustamante/Soccrates/Getty Images)

The England team are training hard at St Georges Park ahead of their friendly against Switzerland on Saturday.

The weather would have me smiling from ear to ear too!

West Ham United have made donations to nine animal welfare charities after fining Kurt Zouma £250,000 after the defender was filmed kicking and slapping his pet cat last month.

A video obtained by The Sun last month showed Zouma, 27, dropping the cat from chest-height, and kicking it as it lands. He then chased it around the living room, at one point throwing a pair of shoes at the cat, before slapping it in the face.

Zouma faces an RSPCA prosecution alongside his brother Yoan, who filmed the video, under the Animal Welfare Act.

To read the full story, click here.

The FA will lift English football’s 3pm blackout to allow Manchester City and Liverpool’s FA Cup semi-final to be shown on television in the United Kingdom at 3.30pm, The Athletic understands.

The game was set for 3.30pm by the FA. Due to the Easter weekend schedule and FA Cup postponements, only three Premier League games, and no Championship, League One or League Two matches, will kick-off at 3pm.

This means they have lifted the blackout.

For the full story, click here.

Italian Football Federation president Gabriele Gravina has thrown his support behind Roberto Mancini to continue as manager despite missing out on a place at the World Cup following their shock defeat to North Macedonia.

The 1-0 defeat on Thursday night knocked Italy out of the European play-offs. This is the first time Italy have failed to qualify for successive tournaments — two humiliations bookending their Euro 2020 win.

“I hope Mancini continues with us,” said Gravina. “He has a commitment with us for this project, I hope he can shake off this elimination just like all the Italians and that he remains at the helm to continue our work together.”

To read more, click here.

Iain Macintosh streamed his FA Cup final on a variety of social media platforms on Tuesday.

If you were unfortunate and missed it, don’t worry, Iain has provided the full update on the match.

The FA also confirmed the details of the semi-finals for the Vitality Women’s FA Cup:

• Saturday 16 April: West Ham United v Manchester City at 12.15pm
• Sunday 17 April: Arsenal v Chelsea at 12.30pm

For Manchester City fans, the FA are also providing a number of free return bus services due to limited trains.

The Emirates FA Cup semi-finals have been confirmed.

• Saturday 16 April: Manchester City v Liverpool at 3.30pm
• Sunday 17 April: Chelsea v Crystal Palace at 4.30pm

Due to planned engineering works on train lines — limiting travel for both Liverpool and Manchester City fans — the FA will charter 100 buses from Anfield and the Etihad Stadium to ensure 5000 fans from both teams will be able to travel to Wembley free of charge.