Madrid (AFP) – Fernando Torres, the former Atletico Madrid, Liverpool and Chelsea forward who won the World Cup with Spain, announced Friday he was retiring. "I have something very important to announce. After 18 exciting years, the time has come to put an end to my football career," Torres, 35, said on Twitter. Torres currently […]

Porto Alegre (Brazil) (AFP) – Two goals from Koji Miyoshi helped Japan secure a hard-earned point in a 2-2 draw with Uruguay at the Copa America on Thursday. Miyoshi twice fired Japan into the lead only for Uruguay to level through a controversial penalty from Luis Suarez and a second-half header from Jose Gimenez. The draw […]

Cairo (AFP) – All eyes will be on Mohamed Salah on Friday as the Egypt star looks to help the Africa Cup of Nations hosts launch their bid for a record-extending eighth title in style against Zimbabwe in the opening match of a tournament expanded to 24 teams for the first time. After avenging last […]

Nairobi (AFP) – Victor Wanyama, who played until his bare feet bled on the streets of Nairobi as a child, will on Sunday make his Africa Cup of Nations bow, a few weeks after helping Tottenham to the Champions League final. Wanyama is the figurehead of a Kenyan team that has its work cut out to […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Herve Renard, the only coach to win the Africa Cup of Nations with two countries, hopes to complete a hat-trick at the 2019 finals by guiding Morocco to glory. This will be his second attempt to bring the trophy back to Morocco after a quarter-final exit from the 2017 tournament in Gabon. […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr is banking on Arsenal forward Alex Iwobi for goals when they face debutants Burundi on Saturday in the Africa Cup of Nations Group B opener in Egypt. "Although only 23, Alex is an experienced international and I want to see him scoring more regularly for the national […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Lionel Messi was looking at a glass half full after his penalty kept alive Argentina's hopes of reaching the Copa America knock-out stages following a 1-1 draw with Paraguay. Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi's 57th-minute penalty cancelled out a first-half opener from Paraguay's Richard Sanchez on Wednesday night. But Argentina […]

Le Havre (France) (AFP) – The United States made it a perfect three wins out of three at the Women's World Cup on Thursday by beating Sweden 2-0 to top Group F, as Chile missed a late penalty to lose out on the knockout stages at the death. The Americans will continue their bid to […]

Le Havre (France) (AFP) – The United States made it a perfect three wins out of three at the Women's World Cup on Thursday by beating Sweden 2-0 to top Group F, as Chile missed a late penalty to lose out on the knockout stages at the death. The Americans will continue their bid to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid great Raul was confirmed on Thursday as coach of the club's reserve team, Castilla, for next season. Former striker Raul, who scored 323 goals for Madrid and is one of their most successful ever players, has been promoted after gaining experience with the club's academy and under-18 sides. A club […]

Cairo (AFP) – FIFA secretary general Fatma Samoura has been appointed general delegate for Africa for six months starting August 1 as part of ongoing reforms within African football's governing body. The Confederation of African Football (CAF) and its president Ahmad Ahmad have been in the spotlight after recent governance issues, while he was questioned […]

Paris (AFP) – Ajara Nchout's brilliant goal at the death gave Cameroon a dramatic 2-1 win over New Zealand on Thursday and took the Indomitable Lionesses through to the women's World Cup knockout stage. Just 10 seconds of the allotted five minutes of added time remained in Montpellier when Nchout curled a shot into the […]

Paris (AFP) – While FIFA rejoice at global television viewing figures for the women's World Cup, there have been too many empty seats inside stadiums and on the field VAR is stealing headlines. The latest came in the wake of the retaken penalty for Argentina that knocked out Scotland on Wednesday. That followed similar controversy […]

Cairo (AFP) – Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will carry the hopes of the Africa Cup of Nations hosts on his slender shoulders just weeks after winning the European crown with his club. Egyptians say that all 97 million of their compatriots will be rooting for Salah when the Pharaohs kick off the tournament […]

Nairobi (AFP) – Tanzanian authorities launched a fundraising campaign on Thursday aimed at raising nearly half a million dollars to "motivate" the national team who are about to play their first Africa Cup of Nations match in nearly 40 years. By the afternoon, a third of the amount had been raised, said the country's vice-president […]