Paris (AFP) – Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud will miss Tuesday's friendly against world champions Germany in Cologne due to injury, the French football federation said on Sunday. The 31-year-old suffered a right thigh strain during Friday's 2-0 victory over Wales at the Stade de France, where he scored his 29th international goal. France have several […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australia will have a recovery advantage over Honduras in this week's return World Cup qualifier after taking a chartered flight home, Socceroos defender Trent Sainsbury said on Sunday. The Australian contingent arrived home Sunday from Honduras, where they fought out a scoreless draw in San Pedro Sula on Friday, giving them an […]

Wellington (AFP) – New Zealand declared themselves "definitely confident" on Sunday of upsetting Peru in their World Cup qualifying showdown, heartened by a 0-0 draw in the first leg. As the country toasted keeping Peru scoreless in Wellington on Saturday, coach Anthony Hudson confirmed he expected the side to be at full strength for the […]

Málaga (Spain) (AFP) – Spain's stunning form under coach Julen Lopetegui continued as David Silva scored twice in a 5-0 friendly thrashing of Costa Rica in Malaga on Saturday. Andres Iniesta, Jordi Alba and Alvaro Morata also netted in a one-sided display from the 2010 world champions. The only negative for Spain was the sight of […]

Brussels (AFP) – Celebrations turned violent in central Brussels on Saturday, minutes after the qualification of the Moroccan national football team for the next World Cup in Russia, police told Belga news agency. Riot police were sent out to control a crowd of about 300 people, at one point firing water canon at revelers. At […]

Sarajevo (AFP) – Veteran striker Vedad Ibisevic, who scored the goal that took Bosnia to their first World Cup finals and then found the net again when they got there, quit the national team on Saturday. The 33-year-old Ibisevic decided to call time on his 10-year international career after Bosnia failed to reach the 2018 […]

Copenhagen (AFP) – The Republic of Ireland and Denmark played out a drab 0-0 draw in the first leg of their World Cup play-off in Copenhagen on Saturday. The closest either side came to a goal was when Pione Sisto fired wide in the first half for the hosts, while Yussuf Poulsen saw a 90th-minute […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – North African nations Morocco and Tunisia took contrasting routes Saturday as they qualified for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Morocco scored twice within five minutes through Nabil Dirar and Medhi Benatia during the opening half to triumph 2-0 in the Ivory Coast and win Group C. The "Atlas Lions" are going […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool duo Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah were among five nominees named for the BBC's African Footballer of the Year award on Saturday. Mane's fine form for Liverpool has carried over to the international stage as the winger helped Senegal qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 2002. Egypt […]

Moscow (AFP) – A late goal from Sergio Aguero unlocked a stubborn Russian defence on Saturday as Argentina won 1-0 in the ground that will stage the World Cup final next year. The goal by the Manchester City forward gave the South Americans a deserved win at Moscow's renovated 81,000-capacity Luzhniki stadium. "We came here […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's friendly against France on Tuesday offers Joachim Loew a chance of revenge, but the coach appears to be looking forward to the 2018 World Cup rather than back at Euro 2016. "There are certain players that I want to see tested against the best," Loew said ahead of the meeting in […]

Lausanne (AFP) – The former head of world football Sepp Blatter said Saturday that claims by US women's goalkeeper Hope Solo that he had grabbed her backside were "absurd". Solo told Portuguese newspaper Expresso that then-FIFA president Blatter had sexually harassed her at the 2013 Ballon d'Or ceremony. The 36-year-old Solo, her country's standout goalkeeper, […]

Wellington (AFP) – Peru failed to break down a resolute New Zealand defence in a 0-0 draw in Wellington on Saturday to leave their dream of ending a 36-year absence from the World Cup finals hanging by a thread. "Los Incas" failed to score a coveted away goal despite outplaying New Zealand in the opening […]

Seoul (AFP) – Colombian footballer Edwin Cardona has apologised after he was accused of making a racist gesture during a friendly international against South Korea. Cardona was caught on camera appearing to make a slant-eyes gesture during a minor scuffle between the two sides in the second half of Friday's match at Suwon World Cup […]

San Pedro Sula (Honduras) (AFP) – Australia coach Ange Postecoglou praised the way his side dealt with hostile conditions on Friday after the Socceroos held Honduras to a 0-0 draw in their World Cup playoff clash. Postecoglou said Australia would return to Sydney for Wednesday's second leg in good heart following a controlled display that […]