Paris (AFP) – French champions Monaco will make the tricky trip to Lyon on Friday without red-hot striker Radamel Falcao, as they look to keep up the pressure on Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain. Leonardo Jardim's side dropped two points with a 1-1 home draw against Montpellier before the international break to slip three points […]

Gelsenkirchen (Germany) (AFP) – Schalke 04 are a sleeping giant in the German league, yet their youth academy is one of Germany's most successful, producing World Cup winners, Bundesliga stars and Premier League exports. Germany has just qualified for Russia 2018, where they will defend the World Cup title they won in Brazil when four […]

Paris (AFP) – Arturo Vidal produced a 180-degree turn on Wednesday insisting he was a "warrior" who would "never abandon" Chile, just hours after seemingly announcing his retirement. "Every time I'm called, I'll be available to the national team," the 30-year-old said on Twitter. On Tuesday night, back-to-back Copa America winners Chile were knocked out […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has been interviewed for the vacant manager's job at English third-tier club Oldham Athletic, British media reported on Wednesday. The 42-year-old is a life-long Oldham supporter, but has never held a full-time coaching job. The northwest club declined to comment on the reports they had spoken to […]

Milan (AFP) – Udinese's Danish international defender Jens Stryger Larsen has returned injured from World Cup duty, the Serie A club said on Wednesday. The 26-year-old limped off just before half-time with a hamstring injury in Tuesday's shock 1-0 World Cup qualifying defeat at home to Montenegro. "The player has already begun physiotherapy and his […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas suffered a groin injury while on international duty with Costa Rica, the La Liga club announced on Wednesday. The European champions confirmed that Navas had a "swollen adductor muscle in his right groin" in a statement on their website, but did not say how long the 30-year-old […]

Madrid (AFP) – Sevilla's Argentine international centre-back Nico Pareja will go under the knife on Thursday to fix a groin injury, his La Liga team said on Wednesday. Pareja, the Sevilla captain, faces "several weeks" on the sidelines following his operation in Barcelona, Sevilla said. The 33-year-old first felt the injury in February but went […]

Panama City (AFP) – Panama president Juan Carlos Varela declared a national holiday in celebration at the central American country's first ever qualification for the World Cup. "It's a historic day for the country. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be a national holiday for public and private sector workers," Varela said on Twitter on Wednesday. Panama came […]

Lausanne (AFP) – FIFA's former secretary general Jerome Valcke was at the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne on Wednesday to appeal his 10-year ban from football. Valcke was given an initial 12-year ban, reduced by two years on appeal, by FIFA's ethics committee over a ticket scam at the 2014 World Cup in […]

London (AFP) – Danny Rose and Erik Lamela are back in training with the Tottenham Hotspur first-team squad after long injury lay-offs, the Premier League club said Wednesday. England full-back Rose has been sidelined since late January with a knee injury and Argentine midfielder Lamela has not played for nearly 12 months due to hip […]

Paris (AFP) – Four Euro 2020 places will be on offer during UEFA's new Nations League tournament, which starts next year, after European football's governing body announced the schedule on Wednesday. The four-division format means that one of Europe's 16 lowest-ranked teams is guaranteed to qualify for the Euros. UEFA first approved the tournament in […]

Nyon (Switzerland) (AFP) – Former world player of the year Luis Figo has joined UEFA as a football advisor, European football's governing body said on Wednesday. The 44-year-old former Portugal star will work with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin and UEFA's Football Divison "across a variety of matters including technical aspects of the game, laws of […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona are planning a fresh assault on Liverpool's Philippe Coutinho in the January transfer window, the Catalan club's CEO Oscar Grau promised on Wednesday. Barca were thwarted in their attempt to prise Coutinho away from Anfield during the summer with Liverpool placing a reported 200 million euros ($238 million) asking price on […]

Islamabad (AFP) – FIFA announced on Wednesday it has suspended the Pakistan Football Federation (PFF) for "third-party interference", in a rare move by the sport's governing body to issue a blanket ban targeting a country. The suspension centres on an internal feud at the PFF. This led a court to appoint an administrator to run […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar reacted angrily Wednesday after its Gulf rival the United Arab Emirates questioned whether it should be allowed to host the 2022 football World Cup without a change of policy. A UAE minister had said on Tuesday that Doha's hosting of the tournament should include a commitment to fighting extremism, comments that […]