Germany breaking news

England 3-0 TurkeyThe Arsenal winger Rachel Yankey celebrated her 100th cap with a goal to set England on their way to a comfortable victory that ensured they would top their World Cup qualifying group and earn one of the top seedings for the play‑offs that decide which European teams will go through to next year's finals in Germany.Yankey was captain for the night in front of an enthusiastic Bescot Stadium crowd of 5,457, more than 1,400 above the average Football League One attendance of the host club Walsall last season. She had a suitably inspired evening and her runs and crosses triggered constant danger in a Turkish defence that was often packed but always penetrable.Poor deliveries into the penalty area by the 30-year-old winger's team helped keep the score down, though there were also a number of excellent saves by the goalkeeper Duygu Yilmaz and weak finishing by an England team minus its most prolific striker, Kelly Smith. Smith was rested for a match where victory[...]

Serbian striker Djordje Rakic (24) is close to terminating his contract with Red Bull Salzburg and join Munich 1860 on a free transfer.

FC Cologne have acquired the services of Brazilian defender Andrezinho (28), whose contract with Portuguese club Vitoria Guimaraes recently expired.

Real Madrid are close to sealing a deal to bring Germany international Sami Khedira to the Spanish capital, according to the Stuttgart midfielder's agent.. .

The Germany international is looking forward to returning after a long injury lay-off.

Germany scored another five goals to defeat Koreat Republic and book their place in Sunday's final. Maren Meinert's team have now racked up 18 goals in five tournament games.

Former Werder Bremen playmaker Diego has ruled out a return to Germany this summer, following rumours of a move from Juventus to Bayern Munich.. .

It is arguably the biggest transfer that has not happened besides Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.The move I speak of is Landon Donovan to Europe.Having been the best player in MLS the past several seasons, and after some incredible performances recently with the United States national team, Donovan has attracted clubs from all over the world.In 2009, it was Bayern Munich, where he spent 10 weeks on loan, but failed to break into Germany's greatest squad.This year changed everything. Donovan had always been doubted when it came to playing outside of MLS, having had miserable spells at Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. This year, he gained the attention of David Moyes and Everton of the English Premier League.Ten appearances produced two goals, three assists, and wins over Manchester United and Premier League winners Chelsea, as well as a draw with Arsenal. He also played very well in a loss in the Merseyside Derby against Liverpool.Not many players can say they were able to lead their[...]

Click here to have the Fiver sent to your inbox every weekday at 5pm(ish), or if your usual copy has stopped arrivingWHY DIDN'T SOMEBODY THINK OF DOING THIS IN ENGLAND, EH? WHY?Picture the scene. Three days after arriving home from their disastrous World Cup campaign, Fabio Capello, $tevie Mbe, Wayne Rooney and co are lined up on stage at the Royal Albert Hall, while 400 people slowly file into the room. Nick Clegg's among them, as is Jeremy Hunt MP, Paula Radcliffe, Andrew Strauss, David Haye, Bob Nudd, Damon Hill, anyone who was involved in that Carling advert and the entire sports department of Loughborough University.Guy Mowbray and Mark Lawrenson kick things off by pointing out every mistake each player made during the tournament. Then they throw things open to the floor. Jayne Torvill stands up to harangue England's Brave John Terry over his defending for Germany's opener. Steve Davis takes Subbuteo's Shaun Wright-Phillips to task over his distribution.[...]

Werder Bremen are waiting for Manchester United to table an offer for Mesut Ozil. Kicker says United boss Sir Alex Ferguson has the cash available to make one major signing this summer - and the player he wants is Ozil. Ferguson is confident he can land the Germany World Cup star for £12 million with the midfielder now inside the final year of his contract. Despite talk of interest from Real Madrid and Barcelona, Werder insist no concrete offers have yet arrived for their star man.   Need your Manchester United news fix? Click here for all United news and transfer rumours.

Chelsea are keen to close a £17 million agreement for Benfica midfielder Ramires. The Daily Star says Chelsea want to wrap up the £17m signing of ­Benfica star Ramires in time for their pre-season tour of Germany. Carlo Ancelotti’s squad fly out on Saturday and the Blues boss wants the Brazil midfielder on the trip. But the Portuguese club are playing hardball and Chelsea may be forced to wait until next week to complete the transfer.   Need your Chelsea news fix? Click here for all Chelsea news and transfer rumours.

A few things today:First, the major transfer rumor du jour is that Arsenal are linked with Stuttgart and Germany center back Serdar Tasci. The 23 year-old Tasci stands 6'1 and is generally regarded as a very good defender with a well-rounded skill set. He represents Germany internationally, and was on the 3rd place 2010 World Cup squad, although he did .. .

Sachsen Leipzig 0 Middlesbrough 2 A MIDDLESBROUGH side that included two trialists kicked-off their mini pre-season tour of Germany with a comfortable 2-0 victory over Sachsen Leipzig.. .

• Discuss the day's big issues and send us your favourite links• Hughes accepts offer from Fulham to be next manager• Hodgson 'far from confident' ahead of Liverpool debut• GB's Lewis-Francis elated after 100m silver• Follow Guardian Sport's latest updates on Twitter1.44pm: Latest scores from the Irish Open in Killarney: Australia's Richard Green is the clubhouse leader on six under after shooting a 65. Also finished their opening rounds, Northern Ireland's Darren Clarke, Scotland's Paul Lawrie and Germany's Marcel Sim are one stroke behing him on five under. Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy is next on four under alongside Italy's Francesco Molinari and Sweden's Johan Edfors. Click on the link to see the full leaderboard. [BG] 12.50pm: Can you believe that the first football match ever to be screened on Sky Digital's Primetime channel is going to be tonight's match between Rabotnicki and Liverpool[...]

• World Cup finalists not due back until August 5• Arsenal eye Werder Bremen's Per MertesackerArsène Wenger has suggested that Cesc Fábregas and Robin van Persie will struggle to be fit for Arsenal's opening game of the Premier League season, against Liverpool at Anfield two weeks on Sunday. The manager has also effectively confirmed that he is in negotiations with Werder Bremen over the transfer of the Germany centre-half Per Mertesacker.Fábregas and Van Persie played in the World Cup final on 11 July, for Spain and Holland respectively, and Wenger has granted them extended summer leave in light of their exertions. They are not due to report back to the training ground until next Thursday, meaning they will miss this weekend's Emirates Cup, when Arsenal play Milan and Celtic, and, almost certainly, the club's final pre-season fixture, at Legia Warsaw on Saturday week."Fábregas and Van Persie are due to come back on 5 August and from then on we will[...]