Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane dropped a bombshell Thursday, quitting the Spanish giants just days after winning the Champions League for a record third year in a row. The 45-year-old former international decided to leave at the top saying it was time for a change for himself and the club and admitting […]

London (AFP) – With drums thundering and flags swirling, fans at the 2018 CONIFA World Football Cup revelled in the rare chance to see their often-disputed homelands take their place on the international stage. The tournament, being contested in London by 16 sovereign nations, partially-recognised states, minorites and peoples outside the auspices of football's official […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan coach Akira Nishino is set to come under the sort of intense scrutiny normally reserved for teams with genuine hopes of lifting the World Cup in Russia. The 63-year-old finds himself on thin ice after taking over as Japan coach two months before the tournament following the controversial sacking of Franco-Bosnian […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Japan's Maya Yoshida has the unenviable task of marshalling a defence to keep out three of the deadliest strikers in football at the World Cup. With Sadio Mane, James Rodriguez and Robert Lewandowski bearing down on the Japanese goal, it could well be a case of damage limitation for the Blue Samurai […]

Bogota (AFP) – James Rodriguez believes he has recaptured the sort of form that made him one of the stars of the 2014 World Cup as he targets a semi-final place with Colombia in this year's tournament. The skilful attacking midfielder lit up the finals in Brazil four years ago, finishing the tournament as winner of the […]

Bogota (AFP) – After safely steering his coaching career through the often hazardous world of South American football, it should come as no surprise to learn that Jose Pekerman's long road to the World Cup once included a stint as a taxi-driver. The 68-year-old Colombia coach arrives in Russia as the second longest-serving coach of […]

Warsaw (AFP) – Robert Lewandowski aims to brush aside speculation about his Bayern Munich future by focusing on making up for his Euro 2016 disappointment with Poland at the World Cup in Russia. The 29-year-old is coming off an impressive season which saw him finish as the Bundesliga's top scorer for 2017/18 with 29 goals. […]

Dakar (AFP) – When pre-tournament no-hopers Senegal shredded the form book by reaching the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals in South Korea, 10-year-old Sadio Mane looked on in amazement. His childhood idol was El Hadji Diouf, the peroxide blond attacker who was causing havoc among defences at the global showpiece, starting with reigning champions France. Senegal […]

Dakar (AFP) – Aliou Cisse will join the select band of those who played for and coached their country at the World Cup when Senegal tackle Poland in the Group H opener in Moscow. Brazilian Mario Zagallo and German Franz Beckenbauer stand out among those who have achieved the feat as they won the […]

Paris (AFP) – Tunisia will be hoping that Sunderland winger Wahbi Khazri can provide some punch in attack at the World Cup, after reviving his career this season on loan at Rennes. The 27-year-old scored 11 goals this term back in France, after an ill-fated move from Bordeaux to northeast England in January 2016. While […]

Panama City (AFP) – Hernan Dario Gomez will join an elite band of coaches when he leads Panama into their debut World Cup campaign, one of only four men to have taken at least three different national teams to the finals. The 62-year-old heads to Russia in the latest chapter of a colourful international career that has included […]

Panama City (AFP) – If Harry Kane wants to break his tournament goalscoring duck at the World Cup, the chances are he will need to find a way past the physically imposing figure of Roman Torres. The Panama defender is one of the key members in the Central Americans' squad, a rugged centre-half who etched his […]

Brussels (AFP) – Even today the marks on a board across a gap in the hedge in a small Belgian town are evidence of the youthful Eden Hazard's eager first steps as a footballer. Hazard and his three younger brothers grew up in a home separated from Braine-le-Comte's Stade Sans Fond – or "bottomless stadium" […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate has defied his reputation as England's "Mr Nice Guy" by launching a World Cup youth revolution in a bold bid to banish decades of failure. Derided as a likeable yes-man lacking the ruthless streak to shake up an underachieving England squad, Southgate has proved to be a smiling assassin with […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane dropped a bombshell Thursday, quitting the Spanish giants just days after winning the Champions League for a record third year in a row. The 45-year-old former international decided to leave at the top saying it was time for a change for himself and the club and admitting […]