Vaduz (AFP) – San Marino are the perennial whipping boys of international football but on Tuesday they were able to celebrate claiming their first point in six years thanks to a 0-0 draw in Liechtenstein in the UEFA Nations League. Goalkeeper Simone Benedettini was the hero for San Marino as he kept their first clean […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – African champions Algeria stretched an unbeaten run to 20 matches by drawing 2-2 with Mexico in the Netherlands on Tuesday despite playing 35 minutes with 10 men. Adlene Guedioura was sent off after being yellow carded a second time 55 minutes into a friendly international in the Dutch capital, The Hague. Algeria […]

Milan (AFP) – Coronavirus confusion overshadowed Italy's Nations League game against the Netherlands in Bergamo on Wednesday, with forward Stephan El Shaarawy testing positive and then negative before a tribute to the Italian city hard hit by the pandemic. El Shaarawy tested "slightly positive" for COVID-19 on his arrival in the northern city of Monday, […]

Kiev (AFP) – Substitute Viktor Tsygankov's strike gave Ukraine a surprise 1-0 win over goal-shy Spain in their Nations League clash in Kiev on Tuesday. The 22-year-old Dynamo Kiev player had not long been thrown into the fray by coach Andriy Shevchenko when he latched onto Andriy Yarmolenko's superb through ball and fired past an […]

Cologne (Germany) (AFP) – Joachim Loew's 14-year reign as Germany head coach is under pressure after his side's run of poor results continued Tuesday as they had to come from two goals down to limp to a 3-3 draw against Switzerland in the Nations League. Germany have drawn four of their last five games — […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Portugal and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo was said to be "fine and sunbathing" on Tuesday after testing positive for coronavirus which has ruled him out of a midweek Nations League fixture with his country. Ronaldo "is asymptomatic" and "will not play against Sweden" in Wednesday's Nations League match, the Portuguese federation said […]

Berlin (AFP) – Minnows FC Dueren say their aim for Thursday's re-arranged German Cup, first-round clash at Bayern Munich is simply to do better than Barcelona and Schalke by not conceding eight goals or more against the European champions. With the majority of the Bayern squad returning from international duty, head coach Hansi Flick is […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate has defended the continuation of international football amid the coronavirus pandemic, despite a host of positive tests during the current international break. Cristiano Ronaldo became the most high-profile footballer yet to contract Covid-19 as the Portuguese football federation announced its superstar captain had tested positive on Tuesday. Scotland […]

Berlin (AFP) – UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin says he is optimistic that the Euro 2020 finals, postponed until 2021, can be played with fans in stadiums across Europe next June, but admits several scenarios are being explored due to the coronavirus pandemic. "For the moment, we are planning the Euro exactly as we want it […]

Lisbon (AFP) – Portugal and Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo has tested positive for coronavirus, the Portuguese football federation announced on Tuesday. Ronaldo "is asymptomatic" and "will not play against Sweden" in Wednesday's Nations League match, the federation said on its website. Ronaldo, 35, who has won the Ballon d'Or five times, played in Portugal's goalless […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita is among more than a dozen African stars who have tested positive for coronavirus as teams play friendly internationals across Europe to prepare for Cup of Nations qualifying. A spokesman for the national football federation confirmed to AFP that Keita had contracted the virus and was self isolating. […]

London (AFP) – Former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has warned that "smaller clubs will die" without urgent action to safeguard the future of the lower leagues as proposals for a major reform of English football have caused division and rancour. The controversial "Project Big Picture" plan put forward by Liverpool and Manchester United has been […]

Seoul (AFP) – South Korean football fans will be allowed back into top-flight K-League matches from Friday at 25 percent of stadium capacity following an easing of coronavirus restrictions, the Korean Football Association announced. Baseball, the country's most popular spectator sport, will see fans return for the first time in almost two months at five […]

Shanghai (AFP) – Chinese Super League teams are returning to two secure "bubbles" designed to keep out the coronavirus, with the second half of the disrupted season starting on Friday. The first part of the campaign saw the players confined to one hotel in Suzhou and one in Dalian for 10 weeks, allowed out only […]

Medja (Serbia) (AFP) – Serbia's Dragisa Kosnic lives and breathes football and despite being nearly 67 years old has no plans to hang up his boots just yet. He plays week in, week out in Serbia's official football league, which requires rigorous medical tests to check his fitness before each season. He says that he […]