Paris (AFP) – Germany suffered a stunning 2-1 home loss to North Macedonia in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday, while defending champions France edged Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-0 and England beat a Poland side missing the injured Robert Lewandowski. Napoli midfielder Eljif Elmas secured a famous victory for North Macedonia in Duisburg, scoring five minutes […]

London (AFP) – Harry Maguire thundered home a late winner as England beat Poland 2-1 on Wednesday to seize control of their World Cup qualifying group with three wins from three. Captain Harry Kane gave Gareth Southgate's men a first-half lead from the penalty spot but they faded at an empty Wembley and were punished […]

Paris (AFP) – Qualifying for the 2022 World Cup got underway in Europe over the last week, with plenty of shock results, lop-sided victories and controversies. Here, AFP Sport takes a look at five talking points from the opening three rounds of qualifiers: New low for Germany — Four-time world champions Germany slumped to a […]

Vilnius (AFP) – Stefano Sensi struck after the break with captain Ciro Immobile adding a second from the penalty spot late to maintain Italy's perfect start to their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 Group C win in Lithuania on Wednesday. The four-time world champions missed out on the World Cup finals in 2018. […]

Sarajevo (AFP) – Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal of the game in the second half as reigning world champions France ground out a 1-0 victory over Bosnia and Herzegovina in World Cup qualifying on Wednesday. Griezmann headed in Adrien Rabiot's cross on the hour in Sarajevo to give the holders their second away win […]

Seville (Spain) (AFP) – Spain defeated Kosovo 3-1 on Wednesday in a World Cup qualifier overshadowed by a pre-match diplomatic dispute. Goals from Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres and second-half substitute Gerard Moreno put Spain on top of Group B in the race to qualify for the 2022 finals in Qatar. The political controversy stemmed from […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane became England's all-time leading penalty scorer on Wednesday as Gareth Southgate's side beat Poland 2-1 to make it three wins out of three and seize control of their World Cup qualifying group. The England captain's 10th international goal from a spot-kick was cancelled out in the second half by Jakub […]

Berlin (AFP) – Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said Wednesday "it was not a good thing" that the 2022 World Cup is taking place in Qatar as the German national team again protested conditions in the Gulf state for the third straight qualification match. "I think the awarding of the World Cup to […]

Budapest (AFP) – Chelsea cruised into the semi-finals of the women's Champions League on Wednesday after brushing aside Wolfsburg 3-0 to make the last four 5-1 on aggregate, while Barcelona got past Manchester City 4-2 thanks to a three-goal first-leg lead. Pernille Harder gave Chelsea the lead against her former team in Budapest — where […]

Berlin (AFP) – Real Madrid and Germany midfielder Toni Kroos has sharply criticised 2022 World Cup host nation Qatar in the wake of several European teams protesting about conditions in the Emirate state. "I think the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar was not a good thing for several reasons," said Kroos in his […]

Budapest (AFP) – Chelsea cruised into the semi-finals of the women's Champions League on Wednesday after brushing aside Wolfsburg 3-0 to make the last four 5-1 on aggregate. Pernille Harder gave Chelsea the lead against her former team in Budapest — where both legs were played — with a 27th-minute penalty and four minutes later […]

Lausanne (AFP) – Five substitutes will be allowed at this summer's Euro 2020, UEFA announced on Wednesday, as football continues to grapple with the coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, European football's governing body said the decision to allow five subs at the delayed tournament had been taken as "the rule is already in place for […]

Lausanne (AFP) – UEFA announced on Wednesday it had ended its 30-percent spectator limit in stadiums, potentially allowing host nations to choose their own restrictions at this summer's continent-wide European Championship. The measure had been in place since last year in reaction to the coronavirus pandemic but travelling supporters are still barred from attending. "Such […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – After 539 days, 150 matches and 331 goals, the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying has been completed, bar one match. Sierra Leone and Benin did not play in Freetown on Tuesday because the visitors challenged Covid-19 test results that would have ruled out five of their squad. The fixture has been […]

London (AFP) – Joe Montemurro who guided Arsenal to the 2019 Women's Super League title is to step down at the end of the season the Australian coach said on Wednesday. The 51-year-old has been in charge since 2017 and described the spell as "the highlight of my coaching career." Arsenal said Montemurro was leaving […]