Johannesburg (AFP) – Wydad Casablanca moved closer to a third CAF Champions League final appearance in five seasons by forcing a 1-1 quarter-final first leg draw with Mouloudia Alger in Algiers on Friday. Midfielder Yahya Jabrane converted a 66th-minute penalty for the Moroccan club behind closed doors at the 80,000-capacity July 5 Stadium because of […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Brazil coach Tite recalled 38-year-old veteran Dani Alves on Friday for their World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador and Paraguay on June 4 and 8. It will be the first international appearance since October 2019 for the Sao Paulo wide player, who was named player of the tournament when Brazil won […]

London (AFP) – Rangers defender Connor Goldson has spoken of his pride as he stands one game away from completing every minute of the season for the Scottish champions four years after undergoing heart surgery. The 28-year-old centreback has played in all of Rangers' 55 games so far this season as Steven Gerrard's men bid […]

London (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel said he would lead an "angry" Chelsea into Saturday's FA Cup final after defeat by Arsenal dented their Premier League top-four hopes. The Blues boss admitted preparations for the match against Leicester at Wembley would be made easier by his team's frustrations following Wednesday's 1-0 defeat. "We all feel that […]

London (AFP) – Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp says he will speak to Sadio Mane after the Senegal forward snubbed him following Thursday's 4-2 win at Manchester United. Klopp left Mane on the bench for the first 74 minutes of the crucial Premier League clash, deciding to start Diogo Jota instead. Following Mane's brief substitute appearance, […]

Paris (AFP) – Neymar will not play for Paris Saint-Germain in next week's French Cup final against Monaco after a booking in Wednesday's semi-final saw the Brazilian incur a suspension. The world's most expensive player was shown a yellow card not long after coming on as a late substitute in the last-four tie in Montpellier, […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte has been approved to play for Spain instead of France at Euro 2020, FIFA told AFP on Friday. The news comes after the 26-year-old defender who spent eight years at Athletic Bilbao was granted Spanish nationality earlier this week. Born in Agen in France he was called […]

Milan (AFP) – Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo warned his side were "alive and kicking" as they take on Inter Milan for Champions League survival on Saturday. Antonio Conte's Inter have already wrapped up the Serie A title but the battle behind for a top four finish that would secure elite European football next season is […]

London (AFP) – Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson says he is "grateful for the three years extra" he has had after suffering a brain haemorrhage in 2018, revealing he had been "terrified" of losing his memory. The 79-year-old Scot was speaking to the BBC ahead of the release of "Sir Alex Ferguson: Never Give […]

London (AFP) – Thomas Tuchel plans to ruin Leicester's bid to make history, as the Chelsea manager eyes the first trophy of his reign in Saturday's FA Cup final at Wembley. Tuchel has enjoyed a superb run since replacing the sacked Frank Lampard in January. The German has led Chelsea to the FA Cup and […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Spanish football legend Andres Iniesta said Friday he wants to "achieve big goals" with Japan's Vissel Kobe after signing a two-year contract extension. The former Barcelona maestro, who has battled back to action after a serious thigh injury, inked the two-year deal on Tuesday, his 37th birthday. "What drives me is that […]

Madrid (AFP) – "If we didn't suffer, we wouldn't be us," Atletico Madrid captain Koke said on Wednesday night but after 36 games and nine months, a 10-point advantage spurned and a two-point advantage left, the trophy was finally in sight. With just two games left to play, a win on Sunday at home to […]

London (AFP) – Chelsea striker Beth England believes beating Barcelona to win the women's Champions League on Sunday could "open the door" for English clubs to regularly conquer Europe. Only one English side, Arsenal in 2007, have ever been crowned European champions of the women's game, but the grip once enjoyed by French and German […]

Berlin (AFP) – There are question marks over Robert Lewandowski's fitness as newly-crowned Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich head to Freiburg on Saturday, when he could equal or beat Gerd Mueller's 49-year-old record of 40 goals in a Bundesliga season. Lewandowski only trained for 40 minutes on Thursday. Bayern insisted he trained "a little shorter than […]

London (AFP) – Mentoring, a changing of mindsets and ditching "lazy stereotypes" will ensure more English-born professional footballers of South Asian descent make it to the top of the game. That's the view of Riz Rehman, player inclusion executive for the Professional Footballers' Association, who is tasked with tapping into under-used reserves of talent. While […]