Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, at 18 the most expensive French player of all time, said Sunday he wanted to "mark the history" of the French capital with his new club. Mbappe, who hails from the northeastern Parisian surburb of Bondy, joined PSG from Monaco on a season-long loan last week in a […]

London (AFP) – Former Liverpool and Wales striker Ian Rush has said he never had any doubts that Anfield prodigy Ben Woodburn would resist the lure of playing for England. The 17-year-old came off the bench to score a superb winner for Wales in their 1-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Austria in Cardiff on […]

Milan (AFP) – Italy were outclassed by Spain in a demoralising 3-0 World Cup qualifying defeat in Madrid which leaves the four-time champions facing a precarious play-off in November to reach Russia. Giampiero Ventura's side were lambasted in the press Sunday for his tactics but also individual performances including midfielder Marco Verratti and veteran goalkeeper […]

Enfield (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson will captain England in their World Cup qualifier against Slovakia on Monday, manager Gareth Southgate confirmed on Sunday. Southgate has rotated the captain's armband since easing former skipper Wayne Rooney out of his squad and with Rooney having since retired from international football, England do not […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany coach Joachim Loew on Sunday dubbed as "shameful" Nazi-era chanting by a hardcore group of "so-called fans" during a World Cup qualifier. The chants of "Sieg Heil" (Hail Victory) came from a 200-strong group of travelling fans in Friday's 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in Prague. They also whistled during […]

Paris (AFP) – After spending 380 million euros ($450.66m) to secure the services of Neymar and Kylian Mbappe, Paris Saint-Germain's next task is to make sure they don't break UEFA's Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. European football's governing body opened an investigation into PSG's lavish spending on Friday, having previously sanctioned the club in 2014 […]

Paris (AFP) – Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, at 18 the most expensive French player of all time, said Sunday he wanted to "mark the history" of the French capital with his new club. Mbappe, who hails from the northeastern Parisian surburb of Bondy, joined PSG from Monaco on a season-long loan last week in a […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Teenager Ben Woodburn enjoyed a dream international debut as he fired Wales to a 1-0 victory over Austria in Cardiff on Saturday to bolster their chances of reaching next year's World Cup. The 17-year-old Liverpool striker drilled home the winner just four minutes after coming on as a second-half substitute […]

Zagreb (AFP) – Croatia's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Kosovo was abandoned midway through the first half in Zagreb on Saturday because of a waterlogged pitch. The game was level at 0-0 when the players went off and will be replayed on Sunday. "The #WCQ match between Croatia and Kosovo has been abandoned due to […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain took a giant step towards qualifying for next year's World Cup as Isco's double and Alvaro Morata's late strike swept aside Italy 3-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday. Isco was the star performer in a brilliant team display from the hosts as his early free-kick and long-range effort before half-time […]

Berlin (AFP) – Germany players have blasted a hardcore group of crowd members for shouting Nazi-era chants during a World Cup qualifier as the world champions hope to secure a finals berth on Monday. Germany have three qualifiers left but can wrap up their place at next year's tournament in Russia by beating Norway in […]

London (AFP) – Showbiz celebrities joined forces with top-name footballers on Saturday for a match in aid of those affected by the Grenfell fire disaster in west London. A sell-out crowd packed QPR's Loftus Road stadium, a mile from the tower, for the Game4Grenfell, with stars including Homeland actor Damian Lewis, Olympic running hero Mo […]

Barcelona (AFP) – A leading Barcelona board member claimed Liverpool set an asking price of 200 million euros ($238 million) for midfielder Philippe Coutinho as the Catalan giants criticised the rampant inflation in the football transfer market on Saturday. Albert Soler, Barca's director of institutional relations, said the club's under-fire board would not put the […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini could miss the Serie A title holders' Champions League opener against Barcelona because of a calf muscle injury, the Italian club said on Saturday. Centre-back Chiellini took a knock during training with Italy on Friday and was ruled out of World Cup qualifiers with Spain and Israel. The 33-year-old […]

Valletta (AFP) – Gareth Southgate tried to assuage fans' disappointment at England's lacklustre performance in a flattering 4-0 win over minnows Malta in their 2018 World Cup qualifier saying it was nothing new. The 46-year-old — who saw late goals by Ryan Bertrand, Danny Welbeck and a second for Harry Kane put a brighter hue […]