Washington (AFP) – Giovani dos Santos returned to international action with a goal for Mexico in their 2-1 friendly victory over New Zealand in Nashville, Tennessee, on Saturday. Los Angeles Galaxy striker dos Santos, in uniform for Mexico for the first time since July of last year, converted a penalty to open the scoring in […]

London (AFP) – England's interim manager Gareth Southgate expressed bewilderment after captain Wayne Rooney was booed by his own supporters during his side's 2-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Malta. Rooney, his country's record goal-scorer and most-capped outfield player, played in a midfield holding role at Wembley on Saturday and produced a low-key display as […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – A three-goal blitz enabled Ivory Coast to whip Mali 3-1 Saturday in World Cup qualifying while Burkina Faso snatched a dramatic 1-1 draw with South Africa after wasting two penalties. Democratic Republic of Congo thrashed Libya 4-0, Senegal overcame Cape Verde 2-0 and Gabon and Morocco drew 0-0 in other matchday […]

Paris (AFP) – England ground out a low-key 2-0 victory over Malta in Saturday's 2018 World Cup qualifier in interim manager Gareth Southgate's first game in charge, while defending champions Germany strolled past the Czech Republic 3-0. Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli scored first-half goals in front of a crowd of 82,000 at Wembley to […]

Hamburg (AFP) – Thomas Mueller netted twice as Germany eased to an impressive 3-0 home win over the Czech Republic to keep them top of their World Cup qualifying group on Saturday. It leaves Germany with a perfect six points ahead of Tuesday's next qualifier, home to Northern Ireland, who beat San Marino 4-0. After […]

London (AFP) – Gareth Southgate's reign as England interim manager started with a 2-0 victory over Malta at Wembley. Here AFP Sport looks at five things we learnt from Saturday's World Cup qualifier: Southgate faces challenges When Daniel Sturridge put England ahead midway through the first half, Gareth Southgate punched the air as if celebrating […]

London (AFP) – First-half goals by Daniel Sturridge and Dele Alli earned England a laboured 2-0 win over minnows Malta on Saturday in interim manager Gareth Southgate's first game in charge. Southgate has stepped into the breach following the departure of Sam Allardyce, who was brought down by a newspaper sting, and saw his side […]

London (AFP) – Derby manager Nigel Pearson left the struggling Championship club by "mutual consent" on Saturday, less than two weeks after he was suspended following reports of a row with the owner. Former Charlton and Huddersfield boss Chris Powell, who played for Derby in the 1990s, is the early favourite to replace Pearson after […]

The Hague (AFP) – Dutch captain Wesley Sneijder will miss the mouthwatering visit of France in Monday's World Cup qualifier after the midfielder aggravated a hamstring injury in the victory over Belarus. Feyenoord's Tonny Vilhena 21, will replace the 32-year-old Sneijder, the Dutch football federation (KNVB) said on Saturday, a day after the Netherlands saw […]

Berlin (AFP) – A potential transfer for Manchester United-reject Bastian Schweinsteiger to Red Bull New York has been ruled out by the club's head of global soccer, according to a report on Saturday. "Bastian Schweinsteiger is a great player with a great career. But there have been no conversations, he isn't and will not be […]

Beijing (AFP) – The chief of China's football association has told the country's players not to lose their confidence, after the team's embarrassing loss to war-torn Syria jeopardised hopes of qualifying for the 2018 World Cup. The national side's 0-1 defeat Thursday before a home crowd of 40,000 in the northern Chinese city of Xi'an […]

Havana (AFP) – The United States warmed up for their looming World Cup qualifying clash with Mexico with a 2-0 friendly victory over Cuba, only the third time in history the two nations have met on Cuban soil. Chris Wondolowski in the 62nd minute and Julian Green in the 71st scored for the United States on […]

London (AFP) – While historic Upton Park is being reduced to rubble by demolition workers, just across east London the price of progress seems painfully high to the West Ham fans engaged in a struggle for their club's soul. Just five months ago West Ham waved farewell to Upton Park, their home for 112 years, […]

London (AFP) – England interim manager Gareth Southgate is among hundreds of rich clients caught up in a multi-million-pound tax avoidance dispute with British authorities, a newspaper reported Friday, on the eve of his first match in charge. Southgate invested in two partnerships set up by a film investment fund, Ingenious, which is accused by […]

Aveiro (Portugal) (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo marked his international return with four goals in a 6-0 mauling of hapless Andorra on Friday and then demanded eight more wins to guarantee Portugal a place in the 2018 World Cup. The Real Madrid superstar took his Portugal career tally to 65 goals in 134 games but his […]