Reykjavik (AFP) – With a large part of its population in France for the Euro 2016, Iceland has pretty much come to a standstill except for its tourism sector, which is booming. Ahead of Iceland's historic quarter-final match on Sunday against host France, estimates vary on how many Icelanders have travelled to France, ranging from […]

Paris (AFP) – Poland and Portugal's football authorities became the latest to come under scrutiny from UEFA as European football's governing body opened disciplinary proceedings against both federations on Friday. Portugal progressed to the semi-finals of Euro 2016 with a 5-3 penalty shootout win in Marseille after the teams were tied at 1-1 after extra-time. […]

Lille (France) (AFP) – Swarms of Belgian fans made the short trip across the border into France on Friday ahead of their side's Euro 2016 quarter-final against Gareth Bale's Wales in Lille. Barely 12,000 Belgian fans and a similar number of Wales supporters have tickets for the game at the 50,000-capacity Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Swedish superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic completed his transfer to English Premier League giants Manchester United on Friday on a free transfer. The 34-year-old — who left French champions Paris Saint Germain at the end of last season having scored 156 goals in 180 appearances — is reunited with Jose Mourinho, […]

Clairefontaine-en-Yvelines (France) (AFP) – France risk being "punished" if they keep relying on last-gasp goals to win games at Euro 2016, defender Bacary Sagna warned Friday. The Manchester City star said that Iceland — France's quarter-final opponents on Sunday — are the Leicester City of the European Championship and France's status as a favourite could […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United legend Ryan Giggs will leave Old Trafford after rejecting Jose Mourinho's offer of a reduced backroom role, according to British media reports on Friday. Giggs is the most decorated player in United's illustrious history and he amassed a record 963 appearances and 35 major trophies before going on to serve […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Brazilian striker Neymar has signed a five-year contract extension that includes a buy out-clause of up to 250 million euros ($277.5 dollars), the Spanish club said Friday. The deal will keep the 24-year-old international, widely regarded as one of the finest talents in world football, at Barcelona until June 30, 2021, the […]

Now that we've been able to collect all of the TV ratings data for Copa America Centenario, we can now reveal the most-watched Copa America Centenario games that were televised on FOX Sports. Not surprisingly, the USA-Argentina semi-final was the most-watched game. Also, other than the Copa America Centenario final, the US Men's National Team […]

Montpellier (France) (AFP) – Italy's Mattia De Sciglio remembers watching Italy suffer joy and heartbreak at major finals, but he is hoping to play a role when the Azzurri bid to book their Euro 2016 semi-final spot against Germany on Saturday. AC Milan midfielder De Sciglio was only a teenager when he watched Italy upset […]

Reykjavik (AFP) – Kolbeinn Sigthorsson, whose goal sent England packing from Euro 2016, is a star example of Iceland's incubator clubs cultivating talent with top-notch coaching and indoor pitches. When the striker joined Vikingur Reykjavik at the age of six, the club saw immediately that he had something special. "He was strong, and fast. He'd […]

Paris (AFP) – France international midfielder Hatem Ben Arfa has signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain, the French champions announced Friday. "PSG have signed Hatem Ben Arfa to a two-year deal through June 2018," the club said on its Twitter account. The former Lyon, Marseille and Newcastle winger — who joined from Ligue 1 […]

Buoyed by the successful run that the United States made to the semi-finals of the competition, FOX Sports' coverage of Copa America Centenario averaged 997,300 viewers per game. The most-watched game of Copa America Centenario for FOX Sports was the 3.29 million people who tuned in to see the United States play Argentina on Tuesday, […]

Paris (AFP) – Marseille's French international goalkeeper Steve Mandanda has signed a three-year deal with Crystal Palace, both clubs announced on Friday. France's number two keeper arrives in England after nine years in southern France where he won the Ligue 1 title in 2010 and three League Cup titles. Mandanda, who remains with the national […]

Annecy (France) (AFP) – Iceland defender Birkir Mar Saevarsson says the Euro 2016 minnows cannot afford to lose concentration for a second against hosts France in Sunday's quarter-final as they seek another huge upset. Iceland shocked the football world by dumping England out of the European Championship finals with a shock 2-1 win in the […]

Wales are not a one-man team. Chris Coleman and his players have proven that beyond any doubt both on the road to the European Championships and at the finals themselves. In qualifying they defended tremendously, conjured chances at key moments and cultivated a team spirit that exudes from the camp. In France itself, there have […]