Doha (AFP) – Qatar's top World Cup organiser has hit back at Louis van Gaal for criticising the decision to hold the event in the Gulf state, saying the Netherlands coach has failed to understand the Arab world's passion for football. Van Gaal said this week that it was "ridiculous" for the World Cup to […]

Tokyo (AFP) – Two-goal hero Kaoru Mitoma could be Japan's secret weapon at the World Cup and will also hope to eventually make his mark in the Premier League with a Brighton side crying out for firepower. The tricky 24-year-old winger sent Japan to the Qatar showpiece with a late brace in a 2-0 win […]

Sydney (AFP) – Coach Graham Arnold has urged a demoralised Australia to be positive as he came under mounting pressure Friday after their failure to automatically qualify for a fifth successive World Cup. The Socceroos needed to beat Japan in Sydney on Thursday and then win against Saudi Arabia next week to seal their place […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Giorgian de Arrascaeta sent Uruguay to the World Cup with the only goal of the game against Peru on Thursday, a result that also booked Ecuador's ticket to Qatar, with a helping hand from Brazil. Ecuador slumped to a 3-1 defeat in Paraguay but still qualified for a World Cup for the […]

Palermo (Italy) (AFP) – Roberto Mancini was reeling from the most painful defeat of his managerial career after Thursday's stunning, last-gasp 1-0 loss to North Macedonia meant they missed out on their second World Cup in a row. Mancini had become a national hero after leading the Azzurri back from the horrors of failing to […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wales boss Robert Page hailed Gareth Bale's first goal as the best free-kick he has ever seen as a double from the Real Madrid man beat Austria 2-1 to carry his country into a World Cup playoff final. Page's men will face Scotland or Ukraine in June for the chance […]

Paris (AFP) – Reigning European champions Italy will miss a second straight World Cup after losing to a dramatic stoppage-time goal against North Macedonia on Thursday, but Portugal, Wales and Sweden all made it through to qualifying play-off deciders. Four-time World Cup winners Italy were stunned in Palermo as Aleksandar Trajkovski — who used to […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Gareth Bale said he will run into the ground for Wales as he dismissed criticism from Spain of his club form as a "waste of my time." Bale was at his brilliant best by scoring twice to take Wales into a World Cup playoff final with a 2-1 win over […]

Palermo (Italy) (AFP) – Italy will miss their second World Cup in a row after slumping to a shock 1-0 play-off semi-final defeat to North Macedonia on Thursday. Aleksandar Trajkovski's low drive in the second minute of stoppage time stunned the European champions in Palermo and set-up a qualifying final with Portugal in Porto on Tuesday […]

Porto (Portugal) (AFP) – Portugal are through to a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off final next week after beating Turkey 3-1 in Porto on Thursday, but only after Burak Yilmaz missed a crucial late penalty for the visitors. The home side were cruising at the Estadio do Dragao thanks to first-half goals by Brazilian-born midfielder […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – A brilliant double from Gareth Bale took Wales to the brink of a first World Cup since 1958 thanks to a 2-1 win over Austria in Cardiff on Thursday. Robert Page's men will face Scotland or Ukraine for a place in Qatar later this year after Bale rolled back the […]

London (AFP) – Bukayo Saka will miss England's friendlies against Switzerland and Ivory Coast after the Arsenal forward tested positive for the coronavirus. Saka was forced to pull out on Thursday following his Covid test as the number of withdrawals from Gareth Southgate's squad continues to rise. The 20-year-old trained with England on Tuesday but […]

Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) (AFP) – Saudi Arabia were held to a 1-1 draw by China on Thursday as they celebrated reaching the World Cup finals for the sixth time. Herve Renard's side went into the Asian third round qualifying game in Sharjah knowing that their ticket was booked when Japan beat Australia 2-0 earlier […]

London (AFP) – The Saudi Media Group bid to buy Chelsea has failed to make the final shortlist, according to British media reports on Thursday. The Saudi consortium were one of a host of bidders attempting to buy the troubled Premier League club from Russia owner Roman Abramovich. The Raine Group, handling the sale after […]

Marbella (Spain) (AFP) – Christian Eriksen said Thursday he was "very pleased" to join up with the Denmark team, just nine months after suffering a cardiac arrest. Eriksen has linked up once again with the national side ahead of friendlies against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on Saturday and Serbia in Copenhagen on Tuesday. "I'm very […]