Brazil defender David Luiz is available for Wednesday s last-four clash against Uruguay after recovering from a bruised leg.
Midfielder Paulinho is set to return to the starting XI after missing the 4-2 win over Italy with an ankle injury, but Bernard (foot) is a doubt.
Hulk is expected to start ahead of Lucas Moura in attack, despite failing to impress in the group stage.
Uruguay captain Diego Lugano returns after serving a one-match ban for accumulating two yellow cards, but fellow defender Andres Scotti is ruled out after getting sent off in the 8-0 win over Tahiti.
Coach Oscar Tabarez is likely to persist with the attacking trio of Luis Suarez, Diego Forlan and Edinson Cavani despite Abel Hernandez s four-goal haul against the Pacific islanders.
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Arsenal have confirmed that captain Thomas Vermaelen will not join them on their pre-season tour of Asia.
The Belgium international is struggling with a back injury and will remain in London to recover with the help of the club s medical department.
The defender has been a regular fixture for Arsenal since signing from Ajax in 2009, and played in 29 matches in all competitions last season. However, reports suggest his chronic back problem could cause him to miss the start of the 2013-14 Premier League campaign as well as the trip to Asia.
Tweeting about the injury, Vermaelen pledged to get back to full fitness as quickly as possible.
Unfortunately, due to a back injury I can’t join my team mates on the Asia Tour the next few weeks. I will be staying in London…
Thiago Motta has signed a new one-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain, the Ligue 1 club have announced.
The 34-year-old has agreed to a deal that will keep him at Parc des Princes for the 2017-18 season.
Motta had been linked with a return to Serie A once his contract expired, with former club Genoa reportedly keen to offer him a deal.
However, the former Barcelona man says he is thrilled to continue his adventure with PSG.
Le est heureux d’annoncer la prolongation du contrat de Thiago Motta jusqu’au 30 juin 2018.
— PSG Officiel (@PSG_inside)
It s a great pleasure to extend my contract with Paris Saint-Germain, he said. I have a special history with this club, who have put a lot of confidence in me over the last five years.
Bayern Munich took another step towards retaining their Bundesliga title thanks to a hard fought 3-1 victory away to Stuttgart on Saturday.
A Georg Niedermeier own goal on the half-hour mark and David Alaba s smartly taken first league goal of the season shortly after the interval looked to have given Bayern a comfortable win, before a remarkable piece of improvisation from Daniel Didavi threatened to make a game of it for Stuttgart.
A Douglas Costa strike sealed the victory late on, and moved Bayern eight points clear of second-placed Borussia Dortmund, who play Schalke on Sunday.
Bayern were gifted the lead when Stuttgart captain Niedermeier deflected a low Franck Ribery cross from the left into his own net. Niedermeier was at full stretch in a vain attempt…
Jupp Heynckes is back in football after agreeing to take over Bayern Munich for a fourth time until the end of the season on Friday.
The experienced German has been out of the game since leaving Bayern in 2013 following a hugely successful campaign which saw the club win the Bundesliga, Champions League and DFB-Pokal.
Heynckes succeeds Carlo Ancelotti after he was sacked in the wake of a 3-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain, with widespread reports claiming the Italian lost the support of several key players.
Here, we assess the 72-year-old s previous experiences in Opta numbers.
Welcome back , Jupp Heynckes! / Willkommen zurück, Jupp Heynckes!
— Franck Ribéry (@FranckRibery)
1011 – Heynckes boasts a huge amount of…
Competition: Premier League
Market: Benteke to join West Ham
Odds:
Liverpool striker Christian Benteke has been linked with a move away from Anfield after a disappointing debut season in Merseyside. The Belgian international has been short of goals and game time since manager Jurgen Klopp took after last season, and is expected to leave the club this summer as a result.
Benteke scored nine Premier League games in 29 appearances for Liverpool this season, but ended the campaign as a regular substitute after falling behind the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Divock Origi in the striker pecking order. He’s reportedly attracting the interest of West Ham United, who are looking for a target man to compete with Andy Carroll for a starting place in 2016/17.
Lionel Messi equalled a long-standing Diego Maradona record but is still yet to score a goal in the World Cup knockout stages.
The Argentina captain recorded two assists as Jorge Sampaoli s side exited Russia 2018 with a 4-3 loss to France, for whom teenager Kylian Mbappe struck a brilliant brace in the second half.
Setting up two goals for Argentina, the second a delightful cross Sergio Aguero headed home to spark hope of a late fightback, Messi matched the two assists recorded by Maradona against South Korea at the 1986 tournament.
However, having failed to find the net, Messi has now played an astonishing 756 minutes in the World Cup without finding the net in a knockout tie.
0 Lionel Messi is still yet to win a major senior title with Argentina s…
Arjen Robben was pleasantly surprised at the return of Jupp Heynckes to Bayern Munich and has called on the team to improve in the weeks ahead.
Bayern sacked Carlo Ancelotti last month after a poor start to the season, the 3-0 Champions League loss to Paris Saint-Germain proving too much for the club s board to stomach.
The Bundesliga title-holders have lured Heynckes out of retirement to lead the rescue mission.
And Robben, who won the Champions League under the 72-year-old in 2012-13, was delighted to learn he will be working under a familiar face.
It was strange because I was gone in Holland and of course the Dutch media was full of speculation too but nobody ever mentioned the name Heynckes, he said of the change in personnel made during the intern…
Jack Wilshere scored his first Arsenal goal since May 2015 as Arsene Wenger s men cruised to a 6-0 win over BATE in their final Europa League group game.
An Arsenal line-up featuring a number of fringe players made light work of their Belarusian opponents, taking the lead after 11 minutes when Mathieu Debuchy ended a three-year goal drought with an accurate finish.
Theo Walcott, who dynamism and pace caused BATE problems all evening, scored Arsenal s second from close range before Wilshere buried their third from the edge of the penalty area before half-time.
Walcott forced an own-goal by Denis Polyakov shortly after half-time and Olivier Giroud added a fifth from the penalty spot before Wilshere teed up Mohamed Elneny for the sixth as Arsenal swaggered to a vict…
that Kasper Schmeichel has signed a new five year deal with Leicester City.
The shot-stopper, who helped the Foxes secure the Premier League title last season had been linked with a move away from the King Power Stadium, with Everton eyeing a move to secure his services.
However, he has committed himself to the East Midlands’ outfit and will be with them as they begin the defence of their crown next weekend.
Schmeichel began his career with Manchester City but made just ten appearances for them before being sold to Notts County while prior to his switch to Meadow Lane he had loan spells with Darlington, Bury, Falkirk, Cardiff City and Coventry City.
He moved to Leeds United in 2010 before being sold to Leicester a year later and he has so far rack…