Paris (AFP) – Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes will miss Sunday's visit of Dijon in Ligue 1 with a one-match ban for scribbling out the name of arch rivals Saint-Etienne on his jersey. Teams in this year's French Cup are wearing special commemorative shirts to mark the 100th anniversary of the competition, with each featuring the […]

Brasília (AFP) – A construction firm has admitted that a "cartel" of firms fixed bidding for contracts to do work on stadiums for the 2014 football World Cup, Brazilian authorities said Monday. State antitrust authorities said the probe was linked to the notorious Petrobras corruption scandal that has snared numerous Brazilian politicians. "There is evidence […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's midfield general Bastian Schweinsteiger walks away from international football two years after his crowning moment at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Bloodied but unbowed, Schweinsteiger was magnificent at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium in the final, ensuring Germany controlled the midfield before Mario Goetze's extra-time winning goal against Argentina. After […]

Evian (France) (AFP) – Germany face hosts France in the Euro 2016 semi-finals on Thursday in the midst of an injury crisis, but buoyed by memories of their flooring of Brazil at the same stage of the 2014 World Cup. The Marseille clash will be another test of Germany's mettle after their historic quarter-final defeat […]

Lyon (AFP) – Italy's Antonio Conte says the 'open wound' of their 2014 World Cup failure should inspire the Azzurri to success at Euro 2016 after their impressive 2-0 win over Belgium. Goals in either half from Emanuele Giaccherini and Graziano Pelle saw Italy floor much-fancied Belgium at the Stade de Lyon on Monday. Italy […]

Since it appears that we are going to be stuck with Jurgen Klinsmann as the US Men’s National Team manager for the foreseeable future, it seems prudent to get to the bottom of what the boss really means when he unleashes his well-worn contradictions. If you’ve followed the USMNT since Klinsmann got the job in […]

The year 2014 included many major soccer stories, talking points and controversies. Here's a list of 10 of the biggest stories to come out of the beautiful game during the past 12 months. 1. Germany Wins Fourth World Cup The Germans triumph during this summer’s World Cup came down to defense.  The now four-time champions […]

You’re your country’s number one goalkeeper and it’s the 121st minute of a World Cup quarter-final. The match is scoreless and the prospect of a penalty shoot-out seems inevitable. You’re mentally preparing for what’s about to happen next when you glance at the fourth official on the sideline and see your number being held up. The […]

FIFA was back in the news this week, which almost always means a good hearty laugh followed by a sustained period of crying. This week, we found out that the report conducted by American investigator Michael Garcia into the awarding of the 2018 World Cup to Russia and the 2022 World Cup to Qatar was, […]

Arsenal playmaker Mesut Ozil believes that he has always been an easy target for criticism, since his early days in Germany. Speaking to the German news agency DPA, the World Cup winner stated that he has 'nothing to prove' in regards to his critics. Ozil faced some questions during his first season with Arsenal and has recently been […]