London (AFP) – England were left fearing disciplinary action against Dele Alli after the midfielder was caught on camera making an obscene gesture during his side's World Cup qualifier against Slovakia. The Tottenham Hotspur player raised his middle finger during the 77th minute of Monday's game at Wembley, which England won 2-1, and there were […]

London (AFP) – England's Dele Alli said he was having "a joke" with team-mate Kyle Walker after he was caught on camera raising his middle finger during Monday's 2-1 win over Slovakia. "Just to clarify, the gesture tonight was a joke between me and my good friend Kyle Walker!" Alli wrote on Twitter after the […]

Paris (AFP) – Germany fired six past Norway while England fought back after an early scare to beat Slovakia in European World Cup qualifying on Monday. Timo Werner scored a double in Germany's 6-0 rout of the Norwegians in Stuttgart to leave Joachim Loew's world champions with a perfect eight out of eight record atop […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate sought to defuse an incident involving Dele Alli after the midfielder was caught on camera raising his middle finger during Monday's 2-1 win over Slovakia. Television footage of the World Cup qualifier at Wembley showed Tottenham Hotspur player Alli make the gesture in the 77th minute of the […]

London (AFP) – Exactly one year ago, England kicked off their 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign with a fortuitous 1-0 win over Slovakia in what was Sam Allardyce's only match as manager before being axed. With Gareth Southgate now in charge of England, the Three Lions faced Slovakia again, winning 2-1 at Wembley on Monday. […]

Stuttgart (Germany) (AFP) – Timo Werner netted twice on Monday as Germany routed Norway 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier, but Joachim Loew's team must wait until next month to confirm their Russia 2018 place. The world champions have won all eight of their qualifiers so far to top Group C. However Northern Ireland's 2-0 […]

London (AFP) – Marcus Rashford atoned for a costly error to bring England a 2-1 home win over Slovakia on Monday that left them within touching distance of next year's World Cup. The 19-year-old was at fault as Stanislav Lobotka stunned a two-thirds full Wembley to give Slovakia a third-minute lead, but set up the […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Nigeria survived a late Cameroon onslaught to draw 1-1 in Yaounde Monday and move closer to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Moses Simon put Nigeria ahead on 30 minutes and substitute Vincent Aboubakar equalised from a 75th-minute penalty at Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo to spark a rally by the […]

Moscow (AFP) – Monaco vice-president Vadim Vasilyev has questioned Kylain Mbappe's loan to Paris Saint-Germain in a move he calls "the most successful in world football". The 18-year-old striker moved to PSG last Thursday in a season-long loan deal with a 180 million euro buy-out clause attached, making him the second most expensive player of […]

Doha (AFP) – China's coach Marcello Lippi insisted Monday his team could reach next year's World Cup finals despite only having a "very small" chance of qualifying. He was speaking 24 hours ahead of the match which will determine China's fate, away to Qatar, China need to win in Doha and hope that results go their way […]

Paris (AFP) – Rising star Kylian Mbappe tried to explain his big-money move to Paris Saint-Germain from Monaco on Monday after receiving fierce criticism from hardcore Monaco fans. The 18-year-old joined PSG on a season-long loan with an option to buy that would make him the second most expensive player of all-time for a fee […]

Paris (AFP) – Clubs in the top two divisions in France spent a record 697 million euros ($830mn) in the close season, the French league (LFP) announced on Monday. The total expenditure was more than four times the amount spent by French professional teams 12 months ago, led by Neymar's world-record breaking move from Barcelona […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany's Bibiana Steinhaus is set to make Bundesliga history on Sunday by becoming the first woman to referee in one of Europe's top leagues, according to reports. Top German daily newspapers Bild and Die Welt claim the 38-year-old Steinhaus will officiate when Hertha Berlin host Werder Bremen in Germany's top flight in […]

Tehran (AFP) – For a brief moment, Iran's female football fans thought they were finally allowed to attend a match, but their hopes were dashed on Monday when authorities said their tickets were sold by mistake. Women have been barred from attending football matches, and some other sporting events such as wrestling, since the 1979 […]

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israel will face Italy on Tuesday in a World Cup qualifier without their captain Eran Zahavi, who has decided to end his international career after being angered by booing from the home crowd. Zahavi was left fuming on Saturday by fans in Haifa who started booing when Macedonia scored the only goal […]