London (AFP) – Neymar will make his first appearance for over three months on Sunday as Brazil boss Tite confirmed the Paris Saint-Germain striker will play in the second half of his country's friendly against Croatia. Neymar suffered a fractured foot while playing for PSG against Marseille in Ligue 1 on February 25. The 26-year-old […]

London (AFP) – England kicked off their World Cup preparations with a 2-1 friendly win over Nigeria, but Raheem Sterling ended a troubled week on a low note as the Manchester City star was booked for diving. Gareth Southgate's side swept into a two-goal lead as Gary Cahill and captain Harry Kane netted in a […]

Klagenfurt (Austria) (AFP) – After eight-months sidelined by a fractured foot, Manuel Neuer will pull on the Germany No.1 shirt on Saturday when they take on Austria in a rain-hit World Cup warm-up match. Heavy rain in Klagenfurt meant kick-off had to be pushed back by 30 minutes from 1800 (1600 GMT). Two weeks before […]

Paris (AFP) – Tunisia coach Nabil Maaloul stripped six players from his provisional group to reveal a whittled down 23-man World Cup squad on Saturday. The Carthage Eagles squad will head to the World Cup without striker Ahmed Akaichi or goalkeeper Moez Ben Cherifia. "Good luck to my friends in the World Cup in Russia... […]

Paris (AFP) – Over 7.6 million viewers tuned in to French television's TF1 to see France thump Italy 3-1 in Nice in their second World Cup warm up game, according to figures released on Saturday. The Friday evening prime time slot featuring a sumptuous goal from Barcelona star Ousmane Dembele only just edged out Monday's […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Morocco's bid for the 2026 World Cup was cleared to advance to a runoff vote against a bid from North America on Friday despite a FIFA evaluation report which classified the African bid's stadia, accommodation and transport as "high risk." A long-awaited report from FIFA inspectors left the US-Canada-Mexico bid as the […]

Liverpool (AFP) – Brazil will keep a close eye on the fitness of star striker Neymar when the World Cup contenders face Croatia in a friendly at Anfield on Sunday. Neymar, who scored four goals in the 2014 World Cup, has not played any form of football since February after breaking his foot. The 26-year-old […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid defender Sergio Ramos released Friday an anthem for Spain's 2018 World Cup campaign which he co-wrote with Spanish flamenco fusion singer Demarco Flamenco. The 32-year-old Spain captain uploaded on his Instagram page a short video teaser of the song, which he is seen performing with Flamenco, a former gas canister […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Morocco's bid to host the 2026 World Cup has been cleared by FIFA to proceed to a runoff vote against a bid from North America. "The Moroccan bid has been accepted," Moncef Belkhayat, a former sports minister who sits on the committee, said after the bid came through FIFA's evaluation process. "The […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate has revealed Raheem Sterling has apologised to his England team-mates after reporting late for their World Cup training camp. Sterling had been due to arrive at St George's Park last Tuesday, a day later than the bulk of the squad due to a personal commitment which delayed his post-season holiday […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Morocco's bid to host the 2026 World Cup has been passed by FIFA and will be allowed to proceed to a runoff vote against a bid from North America, a bid official told AFP Friday. "The Moroccan bid has been accepted," Moncef Belkhayat, a former sports minister who sits on the committee, […]

Nice (France) (AFP) – Ousmane Dembele scored a terrific goal in an impressive display for France as the World Cup contenders defeated Italy 3-1 in a friendly in Nice on Friday. Barcelona centre-back Samuel Umtiti grabbed the opening goal after eight minutes at the Allianz Riviera, converting a rebound from close range after Kylian Mbappe's […]

Rabat (AFP) – Morocco's bid to host the 2026 World Cup has been passed by FIFA and will be allowed to proceed to a vote runoff against the North American bid on June 13, a bid official told AFP Friday. "The Moroccan bid has been accepted," Moncef Belkhayat, a former sports minister who sits on […]

Madrid (AFP) – Before Real Madrid's 13th European Cup could be displayed at the Santiago Bernabeu on Friday, the club's trophy cabinet needed to be enlarged, Spanish media reported. The 13 trophies are lined up in one of the rooms in the bowels of the stadium that together make up the third most visited museum […]

Warsaw (AFP) – Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski says he is prepared to do the "donkey work" for Poland as team captain at the World Cup, as he plots a strategy to put his country on top of Group H. "I know that sometimes I'll have to do the donkey work for the good of […]