Brussels (AFP) – Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne was left out of Belgium's squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers due to a groin injury, coach Roberto Martinez announced on Friday. De Bruyne, 28, missed City's midweek Champions League win over Dinamo Zagreb after suffering the injury in the Premier League victory over Everton […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is confident his players are still on his side despite a poor run of form that culminated in their 7-2 humbling by Bayern Munich in midweek. Spurs, who travel to Brighton on Saturday, have now won just three of their opening 10 games and have lost 13 of their […]

Paris (AFP) – Kylian Mbappe has suffered a setback in his recovery from a thigh injury and will miss Paris Saint-Germain's top-of-the-table clash with Angers in Ligue 1 on Saturday. The 20-year-old returned after a month-long absence with substitute appearances against Bordeaux last weekend and at Galatasaray in the Champions League in midweek. "Kylian will […]

Las Rozas de Madrid (Spain) (AFP) – Spain coach Robert Moreno said that Barcelona starlet Ansu Fati was in contention for an international call-up before suffering a knee injury, after naming his squad for their upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers on Friday. The 16-year-old Fati, born in Guinea-Bissau, was granted Spanish citizenship last month after scoring […]

London (AFP) – Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino said he was confident his team were still playing for him despite a poor run of form that culminated in their 7-2 humbling by Bayern Munich in midweek. Spurs have now won just three of their opening 10 games and have lost 13 of their past 28 matches stretching […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid denied on Friday goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was suffering from anxiety which forced him to be replaced during the midweek draw to Club Brugge, as had been reported by Spanish media. Newspaper OK Diario alleged Courtois, 27, was substituted at half-time of Tuesday's 2-2 Champions League draw due to anxiety. Real […]

Berlin (AFP) – Head coach Joachim Loew made it clear Friday that captain Manuel Neuer will remain Germany's first-choice goalkeeper, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen as understudy, through to next June's Euro 2020 finals. Debate has raged in Germany over whether Ter Stegen, 27, should usurp Bayern Munich veteran Neuer, 33, in the number one shirt. […]

London (AFP) – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer faces a tough job to turn around Manchester United's fortunes, Newcastle boss and former United captain Steve Bruce said ahead of their clash on Sunday. United are languishing 10th in the Premier League table after their worst start to a top-flight season in 30 years and have not won […]

Las Rozas de Madrid (Spain) (AFP) – Spain coach Robert Moreno on Friday handed international call-ups to the uncapped trio of Pau Torres, Gerard Moreno and Sergio Reguilon for his side's upcoming Euro 2020 qualifiers against Norway and Sweden. Former Real Madrid and Napoli defender Raul Albiol was also selected for the first time since […]

Abuja (AFP) – Former Nigeria captain Nwankwo Kanu has told the Super Eagles to shrug off the disappointment of seeing Chelsea stars Tammy Abraham and Fikayo Tomori called up by England. Gareth Southgate rewarded the pair for their fine start to the season by naming them in his squad for Euro 2020 qualifiers against the […]

London (AFP) – Unai Emery said Mesut Ozil did not deserve his place even in a squad packed with youngsters after Arsenal beat Standard Liege in the Europa League. Ozil, the highest-paid player in the history of the club, was once again left out of the matchday squad as Gabriel Martinelli hit a brace in […]

Washington (AFP) – Megan Rapinoe returned to US team duty for the first time since the World Cup on Friday and was instrumental in both goals of a 2-0 friendly win over South Korea that put coach Jill Ellis in the record books. Ellis's 106th victory as coach saw her surpass Tony DiCicco for most […]

Berlin (AFP) – Borussia Dortmund have been urged to rediscover their killer instinct, and silence lingering doubts about a lack of ruthlessness, in order to stay in the Bundesliga title race this weekend. Back-to-back draws against mid-table teams Eintracht Frankfurt and Werder Bremen — having been ahead on both occasions — left Dortmund eighth in […]

Milan (AFP) – Antonio Conte warned Inter Milan were angry at their defeat to Barcelona and ready to fight to maintain their Serie A supremacy against his former club Juventus in this weekend's top-of-the-table clash at the San Siro. Inter, riding high with a perfect run of six wins, play at home to the defending […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid have hardly got going and Granada have just arrived but La Liga's chaotic opening few weeks means they face each other in an unlikely battle of first against second on Saturday. By the end of the eighth round in Spain, seven teams could potentially go into the international break at […]