Madrid (AFP) – Luis Enrique will return as coach of Spain and replace Robert Moreno ahead of Euro 2020, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed on Tuesday. Moreno took charge in June after Luis Enrique had resigned to take care of his daughter Xana, who died in August of bone cancer. "Today we can confirm […]

Berlin (AFP) – Pep Guardiola's agent has ruled out a return to Bayern Munich at least until the Spaniard's contract expires at Manchester City in 2021, according to reports. The German champions are currently looking for a new head coach following the sacking of Niko Kovac after a 5-1 thrashing at Eintracht Frankfurt at the start […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain are set for another change of coach ahead of Euro 2020 after Robert Moreno's position was thrown into doubt on Monday, despite his team closing their qualifying campaign with a 5-0 thrashing of Romania. Moreno chose to skip all his press duties following the victory at the Wanda Metropolitano, after reports […]

Paris (AFP) – Denmark and Switzerland secured spots at Euro 2020 at the expense of the Republic of Ireland on Monday as Roberto Mancini's Italy completed a perfect qualifying campaign by scoring nine. Ireland needed to beat Denmark in Dublin to clinch qualification for next year's 24-team European Championship finals, but Matt Doherty's late header […]

Palermo (Italy) (AFP) – Ciro Immobile and Nicolo Zaniolo scored a brace each as Italy wrapped up their perfect Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with a crushing 9-1 win over Armenia in Palermo on Monday. Already-qualified Italy registered an 11th straight win under coach Roberto Mancini, as the four-time world champions showed they were back on […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Youcef Belaili scored direct from a corner to give defending champions Algeria a 1-0 away win over Botswana Monday during matchday two of 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying. The Saudi Arabia-based winger took advantage of a strong wind in Gaborone to curve the ball over goalkeeper Kabelo Dambe into the far […]

Tel Aviv (AFP) – Lionel Messi scored a late penalty as Argentina drew 2-2 with Uruguay in a friendly held in Israel Monday, with the Jewish state considering the match a victory. The game pitted Messi against his Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez, and it looked as though the Uruguayan had gotten the better of him […]

Dublin (AFP) – The Republic of Ireland missed out on automatic qualification for Euro 2020 as a 1-1 draw with Denmark in Dublin on Monday secured the visitors' place at next summer's showpiece. Switzerland also booked their place at Euro 2020 with a 6-1 win over Gibraltar to claim top spot in Group A. Ireland […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spain finished their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign with a bang as they thrashed Romania 5-0 on Monday to secure a top seeding in the draw for the finals later this month. With automatic qualification sealed and first place guaranteed after their 7-0 demolition of Malta on Saturday, Spain indulged in another goal-fest […]

Montreal (AFP) – Newly-appointed Montreal Impact boss Thierry Henry vowed to learn from the mistakes of his disastrous reign at Monaco on Monday but called for patience as he attempts to revive the fortunes of the struggling Major League Soccer outfit. Speaking at his first press conference since his appointment by Montreal last week, the […]

Doha (AFP) – Football fans prone to seasickness may need to consider alternatives, but supporters with sealegs will be able to stay on one of two giant cruiseliners during the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Organisers said Monday they had agreed with Swiss-based MSC Cruises for two of its 16 ships with a combined total of […]

Sao Paulo (AFP) – The revered Brazil striker Pele scored his 1,000th goal on November 19, 1969 at Rio de Janeiro's Maracana stadium in a match between his beloved Santos and local outfit Vasco de Gama, whose vast ranks of fans gave the iconic No. 10 a standing ovation. That goal half a century ago […]

Brussels (AFP) – Belgium captain Eden Hazard on Monday said the 2018 World Cup bronze medallists are "stronger" than they were a year ago and have developed a "winning mentality". Roberto Martinez's side host Cyprus in their final Euro 2020 qualifier on Tuesday, having already booked their place at next year's finals and secured top […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's James Rodriguez has sprained a ligament in his left knee, the club announced on Monday. James suffered the injury during a training session for Colombia after just recovering from another problem that had not been clarified by Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. He has not played for Madrid since coming off […]

Madrid (AFP) – Top-flight female footballers in Spain have agreed to suspend a playing strike after securing an agreement to reopen negotiations over pay, it was announced on Monday. All eight Primera Division matches on Saturday and Sunday had to be postponed as players chose to boycott fixtures following more than a year of unsuccessful […]