Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wayne Rooney is no longer guaranteed a place in every England squad, manager Gareth Southgate declared on Thursday, as he painted a stark picture of the team's true global standing. Rooney, 31, was left out of the 26-man squad announced by Southgate for next week's friendly against Germany in Dortmund […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Juan Mata scored the only goal as Manchester United recorded an underwhelming 1-0 victory over FC Rostov on Thursday to reach the Europa League quarter-finals. Mata struck 20 minutes from the end of a subdued game, completing a 2-1 aggregate win that sent United into the last eight of Europe's […]

Karachi (AFP) – Brazil's Ronaldinho, England's David James and Dutch star George Boateng will be among seven top former players to feature in exhibition games in Pakistan in July, organizers said Thursday. The games are part of plans to build on the "comfort zone" from the successful staging of the Pakistan Super League cricket final […]

London (AFP) – Leicester manager Craig Shakespeare has rubbished Samir Nasri's claim that Jamie Vardy cheated to get him sent off during the English champions' dramatic Champions League win over Sevilla. Referee Daniele Orsato gave Nasri a second yellow card after he and England striker Vardy butted heads on Tuesday, and Leicester went on to […]

London (AFP) – Aitor Karanka was sacked as Middlesbrough manager on Thursday as the Premier League strugglers made a last-ditch bid to avoid relegation. Karanka paid the price for Middlesbrough's slump into the relegation zone after a miserable run of 10 league games without a win. "Both parties have agreed that it is in the […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola faces the biggest crisis of his managerial career after spluttering Manchester City hit a new low in their dismal Champions League exit against Monaco. City's woeful defending cost them dearly as Monaco recovered from a 5-3 first leg deficit with a 3-1 win on Wednesday that took them through to […]

London (AFP) – Romelu Lukaku claims his desire to play in the Champions League and Everton's failure to attract top-class players has convinced him not to sign a new contract with the Premier League club. Lukaku, who is the joint top-scorer in the Premier League with 19 goals, has told Everton he will not sign […]

Dallas (AFP) – Kellyn Acosta scored off a second half free kick as FC Dallas rallied for a 2-1 win over Mexican side Pachuca in the first-leg semi-finals of the CONCACAF Champions League. The 21-year-old homegrown Dallas product, who was also called up to the US national team on Wednesday, curled a shot into the […]

Monaco (AFP) – Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola vowed his team will not abandon their attacking DNA despite crashing out of the Champions League on Wednesday. City led Monaco 5-3 after the first leg of their last-16 tie but the French Ligue 1 side hit back to win 3-1 in the return match to reach […]

Monaco (AFP) – Tiemoue Bakayoko's superb header fired Monaco into the Champions League quarter-finals as Wednesday's 3-1 victory condemned Pep Guardiola's Manchester City to a painful exit on away goals. Trailing 5-3 from the first leg in England, teenage starlet Kylian Mbappe put Monaco ahead on the night after just eight minutes at the Stade […]

Madrid (AFP) – Atletico Madrid booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals for a fourth consecutive season but had goalkeeper Jan Oblak to thank for avoiding defeat in a 0-0 draw with Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday. Oblak produced a remarkable triple save midway through the second half as Atletico held on to their 4-2 […]

Madrid (AFP) – Last year's runners-up Atletico Madrid eased into the quarter-finals of the Champions League after snuffing out Bayer Leverkusen with a 0-0 draw at the Vicente Calderon on Wednesday. Leading 4-2 from the first leg in Germany, Atletico join their city rivals and holders Real Madrid and the miracle men from Barcelona in […]

Accra (AFP) – Former Tottenham and West Ham manager Harry Redknapp and ex-Italian striker Fabrizio Ravanelli have applied for the vacant coaching job with Ghana, a source at the African giants said Wednesday. Redknapp, 70, whose most recent managerial post was with Jordan, is one of five candidates looking to succeed Avram Grant, who stepped […]

Chicago (AFP) – US coach Bruce Arena called upon forward Clint Dempsey and goalkeeper Tim Howard, both veterans coming off serious injuries, for World Cup qualifying duty Wednesday ahead of crucial matches. Seattle Sounders' Dempsey had been sidelined due to an irregular heartbeat and rejoins the US squad for the first time since Copa America […]

Madrid (AFP) – Fernando Torres was made to wait for his return to action by Diego Simeone as the former Spanish international was named among Atletico Madrid's substitutes for Wednesday's Champions League last 16, second leg against Bayer Leverkusen. Torres returns to the Atletico squad for the first time since being knocked unconscious in a […]