Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe's rapid rise to global fame has earned the teenaged World Cup winner an appearance on the cover of Time magazine's international edition, to appear on Friday. Time said Mbappe was a global superstar who "is the future of soccer." Mbappe made headlines in September 2017 when he […]

Berlin (AFP) – Michael Ballack believes Germany coach Joachim Loew should have lost his job in the wake of their woeful World Cup performance in Russia. Ballack, 42, who captained 'die Mannschaft' between 2004-2010, is the first senior figure in German football to say Loew, who steered Germany to the 2014 World Cup title, should […]

London (AFP) – Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani says it is time to create a "Premier League 2" to boost TV revenue for struggling Championship clubs. The English Football League's current deal with Sky is worth almost £90 million ($119 million) a season but will rise to £120 million a season from 2019-2024. Championship clubs — […]

Milan (AFP) – AC Milan have beaten Liverpool and Paris Saint-Germain in the race to sign Brazilian midfielder Lucas Paqueta, according to press reports in Italy on Thursday. The Serie A giants have agreed a 35 million euro ($40.4 million) deal with Flamengo – the club Paqueta joined as a ten-year-old – in what would […]

Glasgow (AFP) – Does heading a football give you dementia? That's the question neuropathologist Willie Stewart is attempting to answer by comparing the health of thousands of former footballers with non-players. Football authorities have been accused of dragging their feet on the matter since former England player Jeff Astle died in 2002, with the coroner […]

Rijeka (Croatia) (AFP) – Just three months on from the bitter disappointment of losing a first World Cup semi-final for 28 years, England visit Croatia on Friday in the Nations League seeking not only revenge, but also a long-term solution to a familiar shortcoming. For all the progress made by the Three Lions in a […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – One year after a humbling failure to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, the United States are hoping a string of upcoming friendlies will show they're on the path to redemption. Wednesday marked the anniversary of the USA's shock loss to Trinidad & Tobago that ended their bid to reach this […]

Genoa (Italy) (AFP) – Ruslan Malinovskiy cancelled out Federico Bernardeschi's second half strike as Italy were held 1-1 by Ukraine in an international friendly in Genoa on Wednesday during which the victims of the bridge collapse in the city were remembered. Bernardeschi's low strike beat Ukraine goalkeeper Andriy Pyatov after 55 minutes, but seven minutes […]

Lusaka (AFP) – A howler by goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene condemned Zambia to an anxious finish before they beat Guinea-Bissau 2-1 Wednesday in a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier in Lusaka. Shock 2012 champions Zambia should have been more than two goals ahead before a capacity 60,000 crowd at the National Heroes Stadium when Mweene […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian police on Wednesday evening detained disgraced footballers Pavel Mamaev and Alexander Kokorin for 48 hours as suspects in a criminal probe following an unprovoked attack on two government officials. Premier League chiefs have requested a lifetime ban for Krasnodar midfielder Mamaev and Zenit Saint Petersburg forward Kokorin. They are also facing […]

Madrid (AFP) – Karim Benzema made clear on Wednesday that he wishes Noel Le Graet, the president of the French football association (FFF), would stop talking about him. "Monsieur Le Graet, I ask you to forget about me." the Real Madrid striker, who has not played for France since 2015, tweeted. Le Graet had said […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo insisted again Wednesday that he did not rape a woman he met in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009 and that their sexual encounter was "completely consensual", said his lawyer. "Ronaldo is forced to break his silence," said the Juventus and Portuguese star's lawyer Peter Christiansen in a statement released […]

Nairobi (AFP) – Kenya moved to the top of the Africa Cup of Nations Group F despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Ethiopia in Bahir Dir on Wednesday. With early pacesetters Ghana out of action after opponents Sierra Leone remained suspended by FIFA over government interference, it was left to both teams to […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian police on Wednesday evening detained disgraced footballer Pavel Mamaev for 48 hours as a suspect in a criminal probe following an unprovoked attack on two government officials, while fellow suspect Alexander Kokorin was being questioned. Premier League chiefs have requested a lifetime ban for Krasnodar midfielder Mamaev and Zenit Saint Petersburg […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russian police on Wednesday evening detained disgraced footballer Pavel Mamaev for 48 hours following an unprovoked attack on two government officials, while fellow suspect Alexander Kokorin was being questioned. Krasnodar midfielder Mamaev and Zenit Saint Petersburg forward Kokorin are facing possible five-year jail terms after video footage caught them attacking two Russian […]