Coaching

AMSTERDAM — The Netherlands will be testing their goalkeepers in a special penalty shootout training session this week with an eye on the World Cup later this year, coach Louis van Gaal said on Monday.

He has called up four goalkeepers for this week's Nations League clashes against Poland and Belgium as the Dutch look to finish top of their group and advance to the finals next June.

But Van Gaal said a priority will be putting together the final touches for the World Cup in Qatar in November, where the Dutch play in Group A against the hosts, Ecuador and Senegal.

Juventus’ already dreadful September has somehow managed to get even worse. A miserable run of form saw the club winless with two draws and two losses and thousands of fans calling for “Allegri Out” on social media going into Sunday’s match against newly promoted AC Monza. What followed was a performance that would earn almost any top club’s manager the sack, as Monza handily beat Juventus 1-0 and thoroughly deserved to do so.

MUNICH - Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández laughed off the notion that playing at Bayern Munich is like visiting the "house of horrors" ahead of Tuesday's mouthwatering Champions League Group C clash.

They met in last season's group stage, with the Germans twice winning 3-0, although Barça are now a very different side and spearheaded by striker Robert Lewandowski, who moved to the Nou Camp from the Bavarians in the close season.

HONG KONG - Iran hopes history will repeat itself at this November's World Cup in Qatar, 24 years after overcoming a fractious build-up to score a memorable triumph over the United States — the country's decades-long geopolitical rival — in France.

As the teams prepare to clash again, and their governments wrangle over reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear pact, the Iranian side's preparations have been thrown into turmoil by a divided squad and maneuvering over its leadership.

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was named UEFA Player of the Year and Carlo Ancelotti took the coaching honors after they led the club to a record-extending 14th Champions League title last season.

Benzema was in red-hot form, scoring 15 times in the competition and lifting the trophy for a fifth time in his career after the Spanish side beat Liverpool in the final.

Ancelotti became the first coach to win Europe's most prestigious club trophy four times. He first won the title with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007 before claiming it with Real in 2014.

Leeds United are flying high after a fine start to the Premier League season but manager Jesse Marsch has told his squad to keep their feet on the ground and maintain their momentum if they are to stay in the top four.

Leeds convincingly beat Chelsea 3-0 last weekend to move up to third — two points behind leaders Arsenal — a position they will have to get used to after narrowly escaping relegation last season following Marsch's arrival in March.

They also beat Yorkshire neighbors Barnsley 3-1 on Wednesday to move into the third round of the League Cup.

No country has been distancing itself from middle school putdowns as effectively as Turkey this summer.

Back in June, the United Nations agreed to officially change the country's name from Turkey to its Turkish name of Türkiye. While obviously not a big deal inside the country, NPR's Peter Kenyon reported that the move was a rebrand "to dissociate the country's name from the bird that traditionally appears on American dining tables at Thanksgiving and from the slang definition of a turkey as something that doesn't work or is foolish."

Juventus is the Manchester United of Italian soccer; rich in history but utterly clueless when success is not on its side. After a dominant 3-0 win over Sassuolo in Match Week 1, Juventus traveled to Sampdoria on Monday and slumped back to the dreadful, sleep-inducing tactical performance fans have come to expect from Massimiliano Allegri’s side. As a result, many have taken to Twitter using #AllegriOut to voice their frustration.

Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel and his Tottenham Hotspur counterpart Antonio Conte have been charged by the Football Association (FA) following their confrontation after Sunday's heated Premier League draw at Stamford Bridge.

The United States has never had a strong foothold in European soccer, much less the English Premier League. However, this year has seen a bit of shift — a revolution if you will — with Americans playing in England's first division at a tremendous rate. No team has made more waves than Leeds United.