Brussels (AFP) – Former Netherlands goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar was reappointed as Ajax chief executive until 2023, the club announced on Friday. The 49-year-old has been in charge at the Johan Cruyff Arena since 2016, helping the club win last season's Dutch league title and reach the Champions League semi-finals. Ajax said they will […]

London (AFP) – BT Sport has retained exclusive UK broadcast rights to UEFA's European club competitions after agreeing a reported 1.2 billion ($1.5 billion) deal on Friday. The deal, which is said to have cost £400 million per year and commences in 2021, gives BT the rights to all 420 games from the Champions League, […]

London (AFP) – Ben Chilwell has told Joe Gomez he has the backing of England's squad after the Liverpool defender was booed against Montenegro following his row with Raheem Sterling. Sterling was left out of the Euro 2020 qualifier by England boss Gareth Southgate after the Manchester City star grabbed Gomez in an altercation at […]

London (AFP) – Tammy Abraham has set his sights on firing England to Euro 2020 glory after the Chelsea striker scored his first senior international goal in the demolition of Montenegro. Abraham came off the bench to wrap up England's 7-0 victory at Wembley on Thursday as Gareth Southgate's side booked their place at Euro […]

Shanghai (AFP) – China are searching for a third coach this year after the football association accepted Marcello Lippi's resignation following the damaging loss to Syria in World Cup qualifying. A clearly infuriated Lippi, the 71-year-old Italian World Cup winner, made a brief but angry appearance in front of the media after the 2-1 defeat […]

Düsseldorf (Germany) (AFP) – Joshua Kimmich says Germany hope to seduce home fans with "sexy football" to brush Belarus aside on Saturday, in an attempt to boost both flagging attendance figures and their bid to qualify for the Euro 2020 finals. Fan interest has never been so low since Joachim Loew took charge of Germany […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Kenya held Mohamed Salah-less Egypt 1-1 and defending champions Algeria buried Zambia under a five-goal avalanche on Thursday as 2021 Africa Cup of Nations matchday one qualifying continued. Debutant Mohammed Kudus clinched victory for Ghana over South Africa while Mali and Guinea ended 2-2 after four goals in 19 minutes. In other […]

Paris (AFP) – The Euro 2020 line-up began to take shape on Thursday after big-hitters France and England qualified for next year's finals alongside Turkey and the Czech Republic. World champions France reached the tournament without having to kick a ball thanks to Turkey sealing their own qualification after a goalless draw with Iceland in […]

London (AFP) – England manager Gareth Southgate revelled in his side's ruthlessness as a 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro sealed qualification for Euro 2020 in style in the Three Lions' 1,000th match. Even without Raheem Sterling, who was dropped by Southgate earlier in the week after a physical altercation with teammate Joe Gomez, England displayed the […]

Miami (AFP) – United States coach Gregg Berhalter believes increased intensity can help his struggling team bounce back against Canada in their crucial CONCACAF Nations League clash in Florida on Friday. Berhalter's side take on the Canadians at Orlando's Exploria Stadium needing a victory to give them any chance of being able to progress into […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Owusu Kwabena came off the bench to score twice in a 2-0 win over Mali on Thursday that took Ghana closer to a first appearance at the Olympic Games football tournament since 2004. The victory, coupled with Cameroon losing 2-1 to hosts Egypt at another Cairo stadium, gave Ghana second place in […]

London (AFP) – Harry Kane's first half hat-trick secured England's qualification for Euro 2020 in style with a 7-0 thrashing of Montenegro in their 1,000th match. Even without Raheem Sterling, who was dropped by Gareth Southgate earlier in the week after a physical altercation with teammate Joe Gomez, England displayed the firepower that will make […]

Paris (AFP) – Olivier Giroud converted a late penalty as France staggered to a 2-1 win against a Moldova side ranked 175th in the world on Thursday hours after securing a place at Euro 2020. World champions France, who lost the Euro 2016 final as hosts to Portugal, were guaranteed a ticket to next year's […]

Faro (Portugal) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo scored his ninth international hat-trick as Portugal moved to the brink of qualifying for Euro 2020 with a 6-0 thrashing of Lithuania in Faro on Thursday. The reigning European champions were made to wait for qualification however as Serbia battled to a 3-2 win over Luxembourg in the other […]

Istanbul (AFP) – Turkey booked their place at Euro 2020 on Thursday after a goalless qualifying draw with Iceland which also sent world champions France to next year's finals. With two teams qualifying from Group H, leaders Turkey are four points ahead of third-placed Iceland with one match remaining after the stalemate in Istanbul, with […]