Moscow (AFP) – England will bid to end their 28-year wait to reach a World Cup semi-final when they face Sweden on Saturday after Brazil were dumped out in the last eight by Belgium. Gareth Southgate's young side face the Scandinavians in Samara with a place in the last four against either Croatia or hosts […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Beckham have agreed on the terms of a friendly wager ahead of the England v Sweden World Cup quarter-final on Saturday. Ibrahimovic, Sweden's all-time top scorer with 62 goals, has been vocal in support of his homeland from his vantage point with his Major League Soccer club […]

Kazan (Russia) (AFP) – Belgium goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said that he did not mock England counterpart Jordan Pickford's height after their World Cup group-stage match last week. Courtois made a string of fine saves in Kazan on Friday as Belgium secured arguably the greatest result in their history with a 2-1 win over Brazil to […]

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) (AFP) – It was just 20 days before France's comprehensive quarter-final victory over Uruguay that Les Bleus took to the field to begin their 2018 World Cup campaign against Australia. Ninety largely forgettable minutes followed, unless you count the VAR incidents, and France scraped home 2-1 against a rank outsider. France's goals […]

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – Brazil coach Title left questions hanging over his future but refused to point the finger as the five-time champions crashed out of the World Cup after a 2-1 quarter-final defeat to Belgium. Four years after the drama of Neymar's injury and a humiliating 7-1 semi-final defeat to Germany on home […]

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – A tactical change proved decisive as Kevin De Bruyne hit the winner that sent five-time champions Brazil sensationally crashing out on Wednesday and kept underdogs Belgium's World Cup hopes alive. As Brazil become the last south American country to exit the tournament before the semi-finals, Roberto Martinez's Belgium ended a […]

Kazan (Russia) (AFP) – Four years after the psychodrama of Neymar's injury and a humiliating World Cup semi-final defeat as hosts, Brazil are forced to come to terms with the crushing disappointment of a failed mission in Russia. It was not meant to be like this, Tite's side dumped out of the tournament in the […]

Moscow (AFP) – Harry Kane is leading the race for the World Cup Golden Boot as he bids to become the first England player to win the prize since Gary Lineker 32 years ago. The clean-cut skipper is on the fast track to virtual sainthood in England, matching Lineker's tally of six goals from 1986 […]

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – Brazil coach Tite said defeat to Belgium was "very hard for us to swallow" after the Red Devils ended Brazil's hopes of a record sixth World Cup crown. Belgium poured forward in a superb first-half performance that produced a Fernandinho own goal before a superb Kevin De Bruyne strike had […]

New York (AFP) – New York Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch has departed the Major League Soccer club to pursue other opportunities, the team announced Friday, promoting assistant Chris Armas to head coach. The move came amid reports Marsch, an MLS midfielder for 14 seasons who twice played on the US national team, would take a […]

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) (AFP) – Neymar's Brazil crashed out of the World Cup on Friday, failing to erase the pain of their humiliation on home soil four years ago as Belgium beat them 2-1 to set up a semi-final against France. The five-time champions came to Russia desperate to make amends for their stunning 7-1 […]

Kazan Arena (Russia) (AFP) – A superb first half display by Belgium ended Brazil's hopes of a record sixth World Cup crown as a Fernandinho own goal and a superb Kevin De Bruyne strike proved enough to win 2-1 and seal a semi-final spot. Although Brazil roared back in the second half with a headed […]

Kazan (Russia) (AFP) – Belgium led World Cup favourites Brazil 2-0 at half-time in their quarter-final on Friday as the tournament in Russia braced for a major shock. Brazil looked sharp at the start of the match in Kazan but a Fernandinho own goal in the 16th minute followed by a superb Kevin De Bruyne […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany team boss Oliver Bierhoff implied Mesut Ozil should have been dropped from the World Cup squad over a pre-tournament scandal — then back-tracked in an embarrassing twist on Friday. Ozil, 29, is one of a group of senior players slammed for their woeful performances at the World Cup as Germany finished […]

Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) (AFP) – It was the defining image of France's sorry World Cup quarter-final defeat against Germany in 2014. A young Raphael Varane being held off and pushed along effortlessly by defender Mats Hummels as the German headed home the only goal of the match. If ever the "men against boys" sporting cliche […]