London (AFP) – England midfielder Jack Wilshere is to end almost two decades at Arsenal and leave on a free transfer after being told by manager Unia Emery he would not be a first choice next season. The 26-year-old — scorer of 14 goals in his 197 appearances since making his debut for 'The Gunners' […]

Yekaterinburg (Russia) (AFP) – VAR and a trio of spectacular free kicks have led to a spike in the number of goals from set plays in Russia, with some already calling it "the World Cup of set pieces". With all the teams having played at least one game, roughly half of the goals at the […]

Moscow (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo trained his sights on Morocco on Wednesday after his stunning hat-trick in Portugal's World Cup opener, while 2010 winners Spain play Iran with the host nation buzzing from Russia's unexpected success. The big guns from Group B return to action after Russia all but guaranteed their place in the next […]

Sochi (Russia) (AFP) – Senegal proved to be Africa's saving grace at the World Cup on Tuesday. Take away their win over Poland and it is five defeats in five for the continent's representatives in Russia. After Nigeria and Algeria both reached the knockout phase four years ago, following Ghana's run to the quarter-finals in […]

Moscow (AFP) – Russia can afford to dream. The host nation defied critics and confounded expectations by easing past Egypt 3-1 on Tuesday, all but assuring their place in the last 16 of a World Cup for the first time since the Soviet era. The free-scoring Russians — who have now struck eight times in […]

Nizhniy Novgorod (Russia) (AFP) – Argentina are rallying around captain Lionel Messi as the South American giants prepare for their crucial Group D clash with Croatia here on Thursday. Messi made an unhappy start to the World Cup on Saturday, missing what would have been a winning penalty as Argentina were held to a 1-1 […]

Rostov-on-Don (Russia) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo will hone in on Morocco on Wednesday after his stunning hat-trick in Portugal's World Cup opener, while 2010 winners Spain play Iran in Group B. The five-time world player of the year bagged a sublime treble against Spain in the heat of Sochi on Friday in Russia 2018's stand-out […]

Mexico City (AFP) – After Mexico scored a goal to defeat defending champions Germany in their opening World Cup match on Sunday, a tweet suggesting that celebrating fans had triggered an "artificial earthquake" in Mexico City went viral. But according to experts, no such earthquake occurred. WHAT ARE WE ARE VERIFYING? "The earthquake detected in […]

Kazan (Russia) (AFP) – Captain Mile Jedinak says Australia cannot afford to focus solely on dangerman Christian Eriksen when they face Denmark looking for the win that could save their World Cup campaign. A gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat to France in their Group C opener has left the Socceroos targeting a win on Thursday as they […]

Yekaterinburg (Russia) (AFP) – With their title rivals failing to fire, France have vowed to ramp up the intensity and put their stamp on the World Cup with victory over Peru on Thursday. Didier Deschamps's team were far from fluid against Australia in their opening game in Russia, needing VAR (the Video Assistant Referee) and […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Three weeks and three days after Sergio Ramos twisted and slammed Egypt's best World Cup hope into the grass, Mohamed Salah returned. He won a penalty, and scored it, ripping the ball with his left foot into the top corner. But by then, Russia were already three up and this game […]

Moscow (AFP) – Prolific Poland striker Robert Lewandowski's World Cup campaign opened in frustrating fashion Tuesday as Senegal starved him of possession as they claimed a 2-1 win in Moscow. The 29-year-old arrived in Russia newly crowned as the Bundesliga's top scorer for the third time, and having netted a record 16 times for Poland […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Russia coach Stanislav Cherchesov hopes the best is yet to come for the World Cup hosts after they virtually sealed their place in the last 16 by easing past Egypt 3-1 despite Mohamed Salah's return on Tuesday. An own goal by Egypt captain Ahmed Fathi opened the floodgates on a sodden […]

Saint Petersburg (AFP) – Host nation Russia have one foot in the last 16 of the World Cup after a resounding 3-1 win over Egypt on Tuesday despite the return from injury of Mohamed Salah. After a tight first half in a rain-drenched Saint Petersburg, Egypt captain Ahmed Fathy scored an own goal before goals […]

Moscow (AFP) – Portugal defender Pepe said it was a "privilege" for the country to have a player like Cristiano Ronaldo after the Real Madrid star's dazzling display against Spain at the World Cup. Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, including an 88th-minute free-kick, as the European champions rescued a point late on in a pulsating 3-3 […]