Sydney (AFP) – Australia's domestic A-League kicks off Friday with dominant Sydney FC defending their title and Western Sydney Wanderers in turmoil, as a host of foreign imports look to make their mark. Graham Arnold's Sydney FC enjoyed a record-breaking season last year, finishing with 66 points from 20 wins and just one defeat in […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay will form a joint bid to host the centenary World Cup in 2030, the presidents of the three countries confirmed on Wednesday. Paraguayan President Horacio Cartes said in August that his country would join the shared bid by neighbours Argentina and Uruguay, which hosted and won the […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino asked Argentina to "do more" for football aside from producing star players like Lionel Messi on Wednesday, as the country announced a joint bid for the 2030 World Cup with Paraguay and Uruguay. "The Argentine Football Association can do a lot for football and not just with […]

Belfast (AFP) – Joachim Loew said Wednesday he hopes Germany — on the brink of qualifying for next year's World Cup in Russia — can restore national pride in Northern Ireland after an "alarming" series of results for the nation's club sides in Europe. Germany, on 24 points, have won all eight of their qualifiers […]

Paris (AFP) – France saw Layvin Kurzawa pull out of the squad for their final 2018 World Cup qualifiers on Wednesday with a knee injury suffered in training, joining fellow defenders Benjamin Mendy and Laurent Koscielny on the sidelines. The Paris Saint-Germain left-back has sprained knee ligaments, leaving France with defensive troubles for their matches […]

Miami (AFP) – United States women's soccer star Alex Morgan apologised on Wednesday following a drunken party with friends which ended with her being ejected from Disney World last weekend. Morgan, one of the golden girls of the all-conquering US women's team, was kicked out of Walt Disney World's Epcot theme park in Florida on […]

London (AFP) – Leicester City's appeal to register Adrien Silva was rejected by FIFA on Wednesday despite support from the English Football Association after the paperwork was submitted 14 seconds late on deadline day. The club and the FA had asked FIFA to ratify the midfielder's transfer after the late delivery of the paperwork for […]

London (AFP) – Cesc Fabregas has admitted he threw the pizza that struck then Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson in the infamous "Battle of the Buffet" 13 years ago. Arsenal, for many years locked in a titanic duel for Premier League supremacy with Manchester United, saw their 49-game unbeaten run come to an end at […]

Abuja (AFP) – Nigeria host Zambia in their penultimate 2018 World Cup qualifier on Saturday knowing that victory would secure a sixth finals appearance since first qualifying in 1994. The 2-1 win in the reverse fixture in Ndola 12 months ago helped get the country behind a team who had failed to feature at back-to-back […]

Paris (AFP) – Having already lost Benjamin Mendy and Laurent Koscielny France saw another defender pull out of their crucial World Cup qualifiers after PSG's in-form Layvin Kurzawa cut his knee in training. The left back would likely have started for France as they take on Bulgaria on Saturday and Belarus three days later knowing […]

Malacca (Malaysia) (AFP) – Veteran forward Tim Cahill on Wednesday said Australia were relishing the "cut-throat" challenge of beating Syria over two legs as they look to reach next year's World Cup via the nerve-jangling play-offs. Australia's record goal-scorer said the pre-match favourites would look to dictate play on Thursday in steamy Malacca, Malaysia, venue […]

Madrid (AFP) – Under-fire Gerard Pique on Wednesday expressed his pride at playing for Spain, insisting he would continue with the Spanish national team despite his outspoken defence of the independence referendum in Catalonia. "It is not incongruous," said Pique of his intention to carry on despite his views on the wealthy northeastern Spanish region's […]

London (AFP) – The first active footballer to come out as gay will be an "icon" who could reap huge financial rewards but the British game remains a hostile environment for homosexual players. That's the view of gay British comedian Matt Lucas — best known for the series "Little Britain" — who spoke to AFP in […]

Malacca (Malaysia) (AFP) – A qualifying campaign that has defied civil war and internal splits has brought Syria within sight of a miraculous World Cup berth — if they can overcome Asian champions Australia. Syria were given little chance of making an impact in Asia's qualifiers but after reaching the regional play-offs, they stand four […]

London (AFP) – England will look to red-hot Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane to fire them to the World Cup finals when they tackle Slovenia in their penultimate qualifying match on Thursday. After a barren August, 24-year-old Kane hit brilliant form in September, scoring 13 goals in eight matches for club and country. Victory over […]