Salto (Uruguay) (AFP) – Lucas Motta flicks the ball to a teammate and shouts for a return pass, "One-two! One-two!" — like every kid in the town of Salto, his dream is to follow in the footsteps its most famous sons. Edinson Cavani and Luis Suarez were born in this northern Uruguayan river town just […]

Paris (AFP) – Russia are bidding to avoid the ignominy of becoming only the second World Cup hosts to fail to reach the knockout stage and have been given a good draw in a wide-open Group A. Stanislav Cherchesov's team will open the tournament against Saudi Arabia in Moscow on June 14, although will have […]

Tanta (Egypt) (AFP) – Deep in Egypt's Nile Delta region, the children of Nagrig village have a clear goal in life: they want to become football stars like Mohamed Salah, England's top scorer and Africa's top player. Salah, who hails from their village, has been a Premier League sensation since joining Liverpool — setting a […]

Daegu (South Korea) (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min scored a screamer as South Korea beat Honduras 2-0 in their opening World Cup warm-up match on Monday. Son thumped a thunderous shot off his left foot to put South Korea ahead in the 60th minute, before Moon Seon-min capped his international debut with their […]

Stockholm (AFP) – Danish striker Nicklas Bendtner has been warned he will not be going to the World Cup in Russia if he fails to recover in time from a thigh injury suffered while playing for Rosenborg in the Norwegian league. Bendtner limped off with a thigh injury on Sunday and on Monday was warned […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A club Roma on Monday confirmed the signing of Croatian midfielder Ante Coric from Dinamo Zagreb on a five-year deal. The 21-year-old becomes the Italian club's first summer signing after joining from the Croatian champions for six million euros ($6.9 million) after passing his medical. "I believe that, with his signing, […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina captain Lionel Messi has urged his compatriots to be realistic in their World Cup expectations, warning that other teams heading to Russia are better. In an interview with Argentine Canal 13, Messi also discussed why he did not take the chance to play for Spain and said that Barcelona will […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar's beIN Media Group on Monday urged football's governing body FIFA to take legal action against what it called pirate broadcasters in Saudi Arabia ahead of the World Cup. "We have requested FIFA to take direct legal action against Arabsat and the indications we have show that they are behind that," general […]

Milan (AFP) – Roma legend Francesco Totti revealed on Monday he is writing his autobiography as he marked the anniversary of the day he played his final match for the Italian club. "I'm writing the story of my life, both football and extra-curricular," the 41-year-old said in an internet video post. "For me it's a […]

Milan (AFP) – Lazio's Dutch international defender Stefan de Vrij confirmed on Monday he has signed a five-year contract to play for Serie A rivals Inter Milan from next season. "I can't wait to start, I've signed a five-year contract. I think I can develop even further at Inter," de Vrij told journalists at the […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain defender Dani Carvajal is still in contention to play at the World Cup, despite injuring his hamstring playing for Real Madrid against Liverpool on Saturday. A tearful Carvajal had to be substituted during the Champions League final in Kiev, prompting fears the right-back would miss this summer's tournament, which starts in […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool goalkeeper Loris Karius is strong enough to deal with his Champions League final nightmare, according to team-mate Simon Mignolet. Karius was responsible for two of Real's goals in their 3-1 victory over Liverpool in Kiev on Saturday. The 24-year-old German threw the ball into Real forward Karim Benzema and it bounced […]

Kiev (AFP) – Istanbul’s Champions League final in 2020 will not be dogged by the logistical nightmare that confronted supporters trying to get to Kiev for UEFA’s showpiece event this weekend, insists Servet Yardimci, vice-president of the Turkish Football Federation. However, Yardimci, who also sits on UEFA's Executive Committee, said that lessons have been learned […]

Madrid (AFP) – As Cristiano Ronaldo milked every last drop of his moment on the microphone at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday night, it was hard to imagine this was a player about to leave Real Madrid. Real's players were introduced one-by-one onto the podium and when Ronaldo's moment came, a gap left after "Cristiano" […]

Cairo (AFP) – Diehard fans of Egyptian football club Zamalek said they were permanently disbanding their White Knights supporters group nearly three years after it was banned by the courts. Cairo-based Zamalek is one of the most popular and successful clubs in Egypt and is a major force in African football. The decision to disband […]