Berlin (AFP) – Manuel Neuer's World Cup hopes received a boost on Friday when Bayern Munich announced he is in their squad for the German Cup final after eight months on the sidelines. The 32-year-old Germany captain and goalkeeper has not played since fracturing his foot last September, but has made the squad for Saturday's […]

Milan (AFP) – Italy great Gianluigi Buffon will take his final bow in goal for Juventus on Saturday at the end of a 17-year stint with the Serie A champions. The 40-year-old's 640th Serie A game will be against Verona in the Allianz Stadium before he steps aside to consider the next move in his […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger admits he is still in shock after the curtain finally came down on his 22-year-reign as Arsenal manager and told The Guardian he will decide by the start of the World Cup as to do next. The 68-year-old Frenchman — whose trophy-laden reign at the Gunners came to an end […]

Tokyo (AFP) – New Japan coach Akira Nishino flagged his World Cup intentions on Friday by turning to his big hitters for the home friendly with Ghana on May 30. Talismanic Japan forward Keisuke Honda and playmaker Shinji Kagawa — both thought to have been at loggerheads with sacked coach Vahid Halilhodzic — were included […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkish football fans are bracing themselves for a thrilling finale to the Super Lig season on Saturday with three Istanbul teams still in contention. Leaders Galatasaray need just a point to snare the title, but second-placed Fenerbahce and third-placed Basaksehir both have a chance of grabbing first place in the 34th and […]

Madrid (AFP) – La Liga's winners and losers are settled and the European qualification spots decided but for a collection of star players the final weekend of the season will be anything but a dead rubber. Here, we look at five talking points ahead of the last weekend in La Liga: Spots up for grabs […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate wants his players to enjoy their time off before and during the World Cup in Russia despite the potential for criticism of his management. Southgate named a youthful 23-man squad on Wednesday and his given those not involved in the FA Cup or Champions League finals a week […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina striker Sergio Aguero said on Thursday that he feels "like new" and is ready to play his "best World Cup" in Russia despite struggling in recent months with a knee injury. The 29-year-old hasn't played for Manchester City since their Champions League quarter-final defeat by Liverpool on April 10, and […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Forwards Eder and Nani were surprise absentees from Portugal's World Cup squad with national team coach Fernando Santos opting instead for the youth of Andre Silva and Goncalo Guedes to play alongside superstar Cristiano Ronaldo. Also missing from the 23-man squad was Andre Gomes who, like Eder and Nani, played at the […]

Berlin (AFP) – Divock Origi scored and set up a goal to help Wolfsburg seal a 3-1 win over battling minnows Holstein Kiel in the Bundesliga relegation play-off, first-leg on Thursday. The Belgium striker, whose loan deal from Liverpool expires after the two-legged play-off, tapped in an early opener at the Volkswagen Arena, then set […]

Paris (AFP) – Marseille star Dimitri Payet was left out of France's World Cup squad announced by coach Didier Deschamps on Thursday, completing a miserable 24 hours for the playmaker. The former West Ham United player was forced off with a hamstring injury in the first half of Marseille's Europa League final defeat against Atletico […]

Berlin (AFP) – Jupp Heynckes brings the curtain down on his fourth spell as Bayern Munich coach on Saturday, warning the German giants not to call on him again when he's 80. Heynckes takes charge of Bayern for the final time in the German Cup final against Eintracht Frankfurt whose current boss Niko Kovac will […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Pep Guardiola signed a new deal to remain as Man City coach until 2021 on Thursday after a record-breaking season which saw the club run away with the Premier League title. Guardiola masterminded an historic campaign as City became the first side in English football history to achieve 100 points in a […]

Rabat (AFP) – Fiery Juventus defender Medhi Benatia took centre stage Thursday as Morocco coach Herve Renard named his 23-man squad for the World Cup. Benatia, fresh from helping Juventus to the Italian league-cup double, is one of 19 players in the squad who ply their trade in Europe. He seems set to be not […]

Paris (AFP) – Seven fans suspected of racially abusing France players Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele during a friendly in Saint Petersburg "should be punished", Russia's World Cup chief Alexey Sorokin said on Thursday. World football governing body FIFA fined the Russian football federation 30,000 Swiss francs (25,000 euros) after Manchester United midfielder Pogba and Barcelona […]