London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate felt Ruben Loftus-Cheek had shown the level required for international football after he produced a promising debut performance in a 0-0 draw with Germany. Faced with a raft of injuries, Southgate gave debuts to five players in Friday's friendly at Wembley, with Jordan Pickford, Joe Gomez, Jack Cork […]

Lille (France) (AFP) – Japan coach Vahid Halilhodzic rued his team's "naivety" after losing to Brazil but insisted there were plenty of positives to draw upon ahead of next year's World Cup. First-half goals from Neymar, Marcelo and Gabriel Jesus condemned Japan to a 3-1 defeat — their 10th in 12 meetings with Brazil — […]

San Pedro Sula (Honduras) (AFP) – Australia edged closer to a place in the 2018 World Cup finals on Friday after grinding out a hard-fought 0-0 draw with Honduras in their Asia-CONCACAF playoff. Socceroos striker Tomi Juric missed golden chances in each half as the Australians dominated a physical Honduras side without managing to find […]

Stockholm (AFP) – Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura insisted Saturday that the four-time champions will still make the 2018 World Cup finals despite a 1-0 loss to Sweden in the first leg of their play-off. Substitute Jakob Johansson grabbed the only goal of a scrappy game in the 61st minute with a low strike that […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar starred as Brazil ramped up their World Cup preparations with a 3-1 win over Japan on Friday, while France saw off Wales 2-0 in Paris and a new-look England held Germany 0-0 at Wembley. Elsewhere, Manchester United striker Romelu Lukaku became his country's equal all-time record goalscorer as Belgium played out […]

Lisbon (AFP) – US women's football star Hope Solo accused Sepp Blatter of sexual assault on Friday, claiming the disgraced former FIFA president groped her backside at the 2013 Ballon d'Or ceremony. The 36-year-old Solo, her country's standout goalkeeper, claimed the 81-year-old Blatter pounced as she was about to present an award to her teammate […]

Solna (Sweden) (AFP) – Sweden claimed a precious 1-0 first-leg victory over Italy in their World Cup play-off at Stockholm on Friday, leaving the four-time champions in danger of missing the tournament for the first time in 60 years. Substitute Jakob Johansson grabbed the only goal of a scrappy game in the 61st minute with […]

Constantine (Algeria) (AFP) – Yacine Brahimi won and converted a harshly-awarded late penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw for Algeria against already-qualified Nigeria Friday in a World Cup Africa zone Group B dead-rubber. The Gabonese referee ruled that Abdullahi Shehu fouled Brahimi as he moved into the box in Constantine, but big-screen replays suggested otherwise. […]

London (AFP) – England debutants Jordan Pickford and Ruben Loftus-Cheek caught the eye as Gareth Southgate's injured-ravaged side played out a 0-0 draw with world champions Germany in Friday's Wembley friendly. Everton goalkeeper Pickford, 23, made a number of smart saves, while 21-year-old Chelsea midfielder Loftus-Cheek, who is on loan at Crystal Palace, produced an […]

London (AFP) – England kicked off their build-up for next year's World Cup with a 0-0 draw against Germany on Friday. Here AFP Sport looks at five things we learned from the Wembley friendly: Southgate's kids are alright With England boss Gareth Southgate giving debuts to Ruben Loftus-Cheek, 21, Tammy Abraham, 20, and Jordan Pickford, […]

Moscow (AFP) – Argentina coach Jorge Sampaoli called on his side to show they can cope without Lionel Messi, ahead of the friendly with 2018 World Cup hosts Russia in Moscow on Saturday. Five-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi scored a hat-trick as Argentina clinched a place for next year's finals with a 3-1 win at […]

Polokwane (South Africa) (AFP) – English Premier League pair Diafra Sakho and Sadio Mane played key roles as Senegal defeated South Africa 2-0 in Polokwane Friday to qualify for the 2018 World Cup. West Ham striker Sakho opened the scoring off a pass from Liverpool attacker Mane and both were involved in the move that […]

Belfast (AFP) – Corry Evans has apologised for his wife's foul-mouthed tweet towards the referee who awarded a penalty against him in Northern Ireland's World Cup play-off defeat by Switzerland in Belfast on Thursday. The key moment came with just over 30 minutes to go when Xherdan Shaqiri's volley from range was blocked by Evans […]

Marseille (AFP) – Patrice Evra parted ways with Marseille on Friday after his infamous karate kick on one of his own fans, just moments after being banned from European tournaments until June 30, 2018. Marseille said they and the 36-year-old defender had both agreed the former Manchester United and French international would leave by "mutual […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's injury-prone star Gareth Bale suffered a new leg injury on Friday, adding to the frustrations of the Welsh winger who has already been sidelined with a calf strain for five weeks. "Gareth Bale, who felt some discomfort in his left leg at the end of training, today underwent various tests […]