Saitama (Japan) (AFP) – Leicester City striker Shinji Okazaki celebrated his 50th international goal Tuesday as Japan brushed aside Thailand 4-0 to edge closer to a sixth successive World Cup. Shinji Kagawa gave the hosts the lead in their Asian Group B qualifier with a sharp finish after eight minutes, before Okazaki thundered home a […]

Athens (AFP) – Europe's top clubs have dropped a proposal for a Super League made up of the continent's strongest teams amid opposition by UEFA, their association said Tuesday. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), said the teams had approved a Champions League reform format after talks in Athens with UEFA director […]

Tehran (AFP) – Mehdi Taremi's second-half strike condemned China to a 1-0 defeat to Iran on Tuesday in a major blow to their hopes of qualifying for next year's World Cup. Marcello Lippi's team raised Chinese hopes by upsetting South Korea last week, but they were unable to overturn Iran's flawless home record in Group […]

Seoul (AFP) – Hong Jeong-Ho's early goal gave South Korea a 1-0 win over war-torn Syria on Tuesday to put their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track. China-based Hong struck in the fourth minute but it was an unconvincing margin of victory for the Koreans, who were upset 1-0 by China last week. Uli […]

Saitama (Japan) (AFP) – Leicester City's Shinji Okazaki celebrated his 50th international goal Tuesday as Japan brushed aside Thailand 4-0 to edge closer to a sixth successive World Cup. Shinji Kagawa gave the hosts the lead in their Asian Group B qualifier with a sharp finish after eight minutes, before Okazaki thundered home a diving […]

Sydney (AFP) – Australia boosted their World Cup qualifying hopes on Tuesday with a tense, 2-0 win over UAE, whose under-pressure coach Mahdi Ali announced his resignation after the match. Goals from Jackson Irvine and Mathew Leckie handed Australia a crucial victory which kept them in touch with the top two spots in Group B […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate has taken issue with Crystal Palace chairman Steve Parish's views on the international tug-of-war involving Ivory Coast winger Wilfried Zaha. Zaha was capped twice by England, in 2012 and 2013, but switched allegiances to Ivory Coast, the country of his birth, late last year and has since made […]

Bogota (AFP) – Controversy engulfed Real Madrid star James Rodriguez in his native Colombia on Monday after he was photographed making an obscene gesture to journalists covering a Colombian national team training session. Rodriguez gave the middle finger to journalists gathered outside the team's practice on Friday in Bogota ahead of their World Cup qualifier […]

London (AFP) – Fuelled by the pain of past rejections and revitalised after turning vegan, Jermain Defoe insists he can defy father time by firing England to the World Cup. Less than a year ago, Defoe feared his England career was over after Roy Hodgson ignored the striker's fine form with Sunderland and left him […]

Paris (AFP) – Numerous pitch invasions forced Monday's friendly between Ivory Coast and Senegal in Paris to be abandoned before full-time. The sides were level at 1-1 when French referee Tony Chapron called off the match in the 88th minute as fans from both sides flooded onto the pitch. Liverpool forward Sadio Mane had given […]

Saint-Denis (France) (AFP) – Spain are rediscovering their old dominance, captain Sergio Ramos said on Monday ahead of a friendly against France on Tuesday. Spain reigned supreme from 2008 to 2012, winning three straight major international tournaments — two European Championships and the 2010 World Cup — before falling on harder times recently. They failed […]

London (AFP) – Manchester City have been fined £35,000 ($44,000, 40,000 euros) by the Football Association for a failure to control their players against Liverpool earlier this month. City pleaded guilty to a misconduct charge last week after several players were seen protesting against the award of a penalty to Liverpool in a Premier League […]

Dublin (AFP) – Republic of Ireland manager Martin O'Neill hopes injured captain Seamus Coleman will be able to follow the example of former Celtic star Henrik Larsson in recovering fully from a broken leg. Coleman, 28, was still in a Dublin hospital on Monday, two days after he had surgery on the tibia and fibula […]

Paris (AFP) – Real Madrid's Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo was the best paid footballer in 2016-17, with 87.5 million euros ($95.3m) in earnings, ahead of his Argentinian rival at Barcelona, Lionel Messi (76.5m), according to figures to appear in Tuesday's edition of France Football. Messi's Brazilian teammate Neymar is third with 55.5 million euros ahead […]

New Delhi (AFP) – The Under-17 World Cup will kick off in New Delhi, marking India's first-ever FIFA tournament, world football's governing body said Monday despite initial concern over air quality in the world's most polluted capital. After a week-long inspection, authorities selected six cities across the country including Mumbai and New Delhi for the […]