London (AFP) – Faithful lieutenant Rui Faria will be Jose Mourinho's assistant manager at Manchester United a role that club icon Ryan Giggs had hoped in vain to retain for the upcoming season. Faria, who has followed Mourinho from Barcelona when the 'special one' was the late Bobby Robson's interpreter in 1996 to all his […]

Marseille (AFP) – Liverpool's defensive midfielder Emre Can made his first start at Euro 2016 for injury-hit Germany in Thursday's semi-final against hosts France. France coach Didier Deschamps meanwhile kept faith with the same starting side which beat Iceland 5-2 in the quarter-finals, retaining Samuel Umtiti and Moussa Sissoko. Can wins only his seventh cap […]

London (AFP) – Three-time Champions League winning goalkeeper Victor Valdes will get another chance in the English Premier League after signing a two-year contract with new boys Middlesbrough on Thursday. The 34-year-old — who won European club football's most prestigious trophy with Barcelona — had a miserable time at Manchester United under then-manager Louis van […]

Marseille (AFP) – Samuel Umtiti and Moussa Sissoko retained their places in France's starting line-up as coach Didier Deschamps named an unchanged side for Thursday's Euro 2016 semi-final against Germany in Marseille. Germany captain Bastian Schweinsteiger and Emre Can were handed their first starts of the tournament in a midfield three alongside Toni Kroos.

Beijing (AFP) – Former Dutch international Clarence Seedorf has taken over as coach of low-ranked Chinese football team Shenzhen FC, the club said on Thursday. The squad, which is based in the southern province of Guangdong and plays in China's second league, said on its website that the former AC Milan coach would take over […]

Marseille (AFP) – Captain Bastian Schweinsteiger will make his first start of Euro 2016 as Germany take on France in a semi-final battle of European superpowers on Thursday. The two fancied teams will be playing for the right to play Portugal in Sunday's final at the Stade de France after Cristiano Ronaldo's men beat Wales 2-0. […]

Lyon (AFP) – Gareth Bale believes Wales made a nation proud in their unprecedented run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals and backed Chris Coleman's men to reach the World Cup in Russia in two years' time. Bale's Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo ended Welsh dreams of reaching Sunday's final as he powered home the opener […]

Paris (AFP) – Liverpool and France defender Mamadou Sakho goes before a UEFA disciplinary panel in Paris on Thursday and will learn his fate for a doping infringement within a few days, the European game's governing body told AFP. Sakho tested positive after a Europa League tie with Manchester United on March 17 after taking […]

Lyon (AFP) – As Gareth Bale and his Wales team-mates bade farewell to Euro 2016, a commonly expressed hope was that their achievements in France would represent a beginning and not an end. Having waited 58 years to play at a major tournament, Wales made up for lost time in style, topping their group above […]

Marseille (AFP) – Germany midfielder Toni Kroos said the pressure is also on hosts France when they meet in a mouthwatering Euro 2016 semi-final clash on Thursday that will set up a July 10 final with Portugal. Kroos was an integral part of the Germany team that ousted France from the quarter-finals of the 2014 […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Frank Lampard scored the only goal as New York City FC beat the New England Revolution 1-0 to record their fourth consecutive victory and take a four-point lead at the top of Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference. Lampard struck in the 58th minute on Wednesday, fortuitously diverting a firm cross from Tommy […]

Marseille (AFP) – Euro 2016's most miserly goalkeeper Manuel Neuer must keep out the tournament's top scorer Antoine Griezmann in a landmark semi-final clash between Germany and France on Thursday. The prize from the Marseille battle in front of 65,000 fans will be a final against Cristiano Ronaldo's Portugal in Paris on Sunday. But the […]

Lyon (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to fulfil a lifelong dream and lead Portugal to their first ever international tournament win by shocking hosts France or world champions Germany in Sunday's Euro 2016 final. Ronaldo equalled Michel Platini's record of nine goals in European Championship finals matches by powering home the opener as Portugal overcame […]

Lyon (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo became the "Dragon-slayer" as his record-equalling ninth European Championship goal helped power Portugal past Real Madrid teammate Gareth Bales' Wales and into the Euro 2016 final. Ronaldo brilliantly rose above the Wales' defence to score his country's first goal in the 2-0 win in front of 50,000 fans in the […]

Cardiff (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wales fans danced and partied with pride into the night despite a heartbreaking Euro 2016 semi-final defeat in the nation's biggest football match ever. Some 27,000 impassioned fans who watched the 2-0 loss to Portugal on giant screens in Cardiff's Millennium Stadium on Wednesday swallowed their devastation and streamed out […]