Berlin (AFP) – Joachim Loew is being urged to keep giving youth a chance in Germany's last internationals of 2018, against Russia and the Netherlands, as his team battle Nations League relegation. "You always need a good mix, but the younger players have shown they have the potential," admitted Loew, referring to last month's 2-1 […]

Paris (AFP) – UEFA said Wednesday that further examination of French giants Paris Saint-Germain's alleged flaunting of Financial Fair Play rules would have to await a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. In the latest revelation from Football Leaks, French sports daily L'Equipe said UEFA was considering ordering PSG to amend its accounts […]

Paris (AFP) – France midfielder N'Golo Kante refused to have part of his Chelsea salary paid under advantageous tax terms in Jersey or to receive offshore payments for his image rights, according to a Football Leaks investigation published on Wednesday. The report by French investigative site Mediapart says that six weeks before Kante left Leicester […]

London (AFP) – Fulham appointed Italian veteran Claudio Ranieri as manager on Wednesday after sacking Slavisa Jokanovic in a bid to beat the drop from England's Premier League. Jokanovic led Fulham back into England's top flight in May 2018 but the 50-year-old Serbian has struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League. After 12 […]

Dhaka (AFP) – Zimbabwe's seamers struck early in Bangladesh's second innings but couldn't stop the hosts' lead soaring to 296 runs in the second Test in Dhaka on Wednesday. Bangladesh, who opted against enforcing the follow-on despite their 218-run first innings lead, reached 78 for four at lunch on the fourth day. Debutant Mohammad Mithun […]

Paris (AFP) – World Cup winners France, Eden Hazard's Belgium and a fast-improving Netherlands under Ronald Koeman could all book places in the finals of the Nations League in matches between Thursday and Tuesday. The competition, UEFA's bid to move away from meaningless friendly matches, has divided opinion in its inaugural season. The strongest sides […]

Zagreb (AFP) – Having finally shaken off their World Cup hangover, finalists Croatia are aiming for their first Nations League victory when they face Spain on Thursday, the side who inflicted a 6-0 drubbing in September. Coach Zlatko Dalic has named a 25-man squad, including three new faces, to face Spain at Zagreb's Maksimir stadium […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wayne Rooney will make his final farewell as England's greatest ever goalscorer in a friendly against the United States on Thursday, but is excited at what a young squad can achieve under "fearless" coach Gareth Southgate in the years to come. Rooney, 33, made the last of his 119 international […]

New York (AFP) – Swedish icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first goal for the Los Angeles Galaxy, a 77th-minute equalizer from 40 yards last March, was named Major League Soccer's Goal of the Year on Tuesday. In fan voting from among 16 finalists, the spectacular scoring prize went to the 37-year-old striker whose European stops included Manchester […]

Rome (AFP) – Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini criticised Gonzalo Higuain on Tuesday for the AC Milan forward's meltdown after he was sent off for verbally abusing a referee. In Sunday's 2-2 draw with his parent club Juventus the on-loan Argentinian responded aggressively to being shown a yellow card for a dangerous tackle on […]

London (AFP) – The Premier League have appointed television executive Susanna Dinnage to take over from Richard Scudamore as its new chief executive on Tuesday. Currently global president of Discovery's Animal Planet brand, Dinnage will start her role in the new year once Scudamore steps down after 19 years in charge. Dinnage's task will be […]

New York (AFP) – Former Barcelona and Argentina manager Gerardo "Tata" Martino was named Major League Soccer's Coach of the Year on Tuesday after guiding second-year Atlanta United to the Eastern Conference finals. The 55-year-old Argentine mentor directed United to the best road record in the league at 10-5 with two drawn but finished second […]

Madrid (AFP) – New Celta Vigo manager Miguel Cardoso made one of the worst mistakes possible as he was unveiled as the club's new coach on Tuesday. As Cardoso was introduced as Antonio Mohamed's replacement the Portugese boss said "A big thank you to the president, a big thank you to the sport management staff […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England's record goalscorer Wayne Rooney believes farewells for high-profile former players will become the norm as he prepares to bring down the curtain on his international career against the United States on Thursday. Rooney, 33, won the last of 119 caps in 2016 and retired from international football last year […]

Paris (AFP) – Three acquaintances of Real Madrid star Karim Benzema were in French police custody Tuesday over suspected extorsion, sources close to the case confirmed to AFP. The arrests follow a complaint by a former friend of Benzema, named as Leo D., who alleges he was the victim of an attempted kidnapping by the […]