London (AFP) – Tottenham coach Jose Mourinho said on Wednesday Belgium defender Toby Alderweireld will be sidelined for between two and four weeks. Alderweireld sustained an adductor injury in Saturday's win against Manchester City. The centre-back is out of Thursday's Europa League tie against Bulgarian side Ludogorets and could miss several crucial Premier League matches […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Few players mastered the spectacular quite like Diego Maradona. From stunning free-kicks to winding dribbles, the Argentine, who has died at the age of 60, scored some of the most famous — and thrilling — goals in football history. Here AFP Sport picks five of the best from arguably the greatest […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Diego Maradona scored more than 300 goals, many touched with genius, but the two most famous came within four minutes of each other on June 22, 1986 in Mexico: one was voted Goal of the Century, the other is even more famous. Maradona and Argentina arrived at that World Cup with […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Diego Maradona was football's archetypal troubled genius, a world-beating player whose life and career scaled the most dazzling heights but also plumbed the darkest depths. Maradona, who died Wednesday at the age of 60, became a global icon after leading Argentina to the 1986 World Cup but he was not a […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa has suffered a blood clot in his right leg, the club confirmed on Wednesday. Costa will miss Atletico's Champions League game at home to Lokomotiv Moscow on Wednesday and is expected to be out for at least a month. That would mean the 32-year-old also sitting out […]

London (AFP) – Neil Lennon defended his record in his second spell as Celtic coach on Wednesday after an influential fans' group joined the calls for him to quit. The Scottish champions' hopes of achieving a record 10th consecutive league title are fading as they trail Glasgow rivals Rangers by 11 points, although Celtic have […]

Doha (AFP) – Andres Iniesta scored his first goal in the Asian Champions League as Vissel Kobe powered their way to the last-16 with a dominant 3-1 win over Fabio Cannavaro’s Guangzhou Evergrande in their Group G clash on Wednesday. The Spain and Barcelona legend fired a right-footed shot from the centre of the box […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund say the form of Erling Braut Haaland is pure gold with the Norwegian striker netting a record 16 goals in his first 12 Champions League games, bettering even superstars like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. "For us, he is worth his weight in gold because he can carry the team […]

Stockholm (AFP) – AC Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic said on Wednesday that he missed playing for Sweden and hinted that he may be open to a return to the national side for next year's Euros. The 39-year-old, who retired from international football after the World Cup in 2016, opened the door for a return after […]

Paris (AFP) – European player of the year Robert Lewandowski is one of 10 players on the shortlist for the Best FIFA Men's Player award unveiled Wednesday, alongside the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Besides Polish striker Lewandowski, one other winner of the Champions League with Bayern Munich made the list, Spanish […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Defending champion Seattle Sounders continued their impressive march through another postseason on Tuesday, while Nashville SC and the New England Revolution scored upsets in a pair of Eastern Conference playoff clashes. Raul Ruidiaz delivered a goal and two assists as the Sounders advanced with a 3-1 victory against the shorthanded Los […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – The all-Egyptian CAF Champions League final between Al Ahly and Zamalek Friday is the ultimate club match in Africa, pitting the greatest rivals in the continent against each other for the most valued trophy. World Soccer magazine has ranked clashes between the Cairo clubs among the 10 fiercest in the world and, […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Gavin Hunt-coached Kaizer Chiefs of South Africa will be under enormous pressure to succeed when the 2021 CAF Champions League kicks off this week with 22 preliminary-round first legs. It will be the sixth appearance in the elite competition by a club that have never delivered results to match boasts by officials […]

Paris (AFP) – In an unusually crammed and crowded season, the Europa League, which resumes on Thursday with 26 group games, presents clubs fighting for domestic glory with a tricky balancing act. The English, Italian and Spanish league leaders, Tottenham, Real Sociedad and AC Milan, as well as Bundesliga high-flyers Bayer Leverkusen, have all slipped […]

Turin (Italy) (AFP) – Alvaro Morata said he "got lucky" after he grabbed a late winner, with Cristiano Ronaldo also scoring, as Juventus qualified for the Champions League last 16 with a 2-1 victory over Ferencvaros on Tuesday. Myrto Uzuni had given the Hungarians a shock 19th-minute lead in the Group G clash in Turin. […]