Los Angeles (AFP) – Two years after their traumatic World Cup semi-final exit, Brazil are haunted by the past as they head into the Copa America Centenario aiming for their first title in nearly a decade. In previous eras, Brazil would arrive at the Copa America brimming with confidence, with the only debate revolving around […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid's Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas has been hit by a recurrence of an achilles injury, the club said, raising fears he could miss the Copa America Centenario. Real said Navas, 29, was suffering from the problem in his left foot, without indicating how long he would take to recover. The […]

Los Angeles (AFP) – Lionel Messi must shrug off the gruelling demands of a globe-trotting schedule if he is to fulfill his dream of leading Argentina to a first major tournament victory in 23 years at the Copa America Centenario. The Barcelona superstar heads into the tournament having barely had a moment's rest for four […]

Augsburg (Germany) (AFP) – German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman on Monday condemned the claim by a right-wing politician that most Germans would not want footballer Jerome Boateng, whose father is Ghanaian, as their neighbour. "This sentence, which has come out, is vile and sad," Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told a press briefing in Berlin. "Jerome […]

Nantes (France) (AFP) – West Ham's Dimitri Payet scored a last-gasp wonder free-kick to help Euro 2016 hosts France snatch a dramatic 3-2 victory over Cameroon on Monday. The attacking midfielder stepped up on the stroke of regulation time to curl a magnificent free-kick past Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa. France opened the scoring through Paris […]

London (AFP) – Jose Mourinho made peace with Bobby Charlton as Manchester United's new manager met the Old Trafford icon at the club's Carrington training ground on Monday. Charlton has previously been a harsh critic of Mourinho and was understood to have objected to his potential appointment when United were looking for a successor to […]

Malmö (Sweden) (AFP) – Sweden were sorely missing star striker and captain Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Monday as they lacked fire in a lacklustre 0-0 draw in a pre-Euro 2016 friendly against Slovenia in Malmo. Many of the 17,000 crowd had come to see local star Ibrahimovic in action, but instead saw a pedestrian display against […]

London (AFP) – Robbie Keane faces a nervous wait to see if he will make the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2017 squad after being ruled out of their final warm-up game through injury. Republic captain Keane damaged a calf muscle on Saturday and could only watch his team-mates from the sidelines as they trained on […]

Warsaw (AFP) – Poland coach Adam Nawalka on Monday unveiled his 23-man squad for Euro 2016 led by Robert Lewandowski, the top scorer with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. Nawalka rewarded players who proved themselves during qualifying where Poland scored 33 goals, finishing just behind Germany, who they beat for the first time 2-0 in Warsaw. […]

Brussels (AFP) – Belgium's Euro 2016 hopes were hit Monday with news that defenders Nicolas Lombaerts and Dedryck Boyata had been ruled out through injury, coach Marc Wilmots said Monday. Wilmots called up uncapped Genk defender Christian Kabasel for a backline already starved of the presence of Vincent Kompany and Bjorn Engels. "Even with all […]

Paris (AFP) – French police detained Paris Saint-Germain star Serge Aurier on Monday after he hit an officer outside a nightclub, police sources said. Police said the player could spend the night in custody, with the possibility of extending his detention to 48 hours on Tuesday. The 23-year-old Ivory Coast international, who has regularly been […]

Paris (AFP) – Looming air and train strikes are threatening to bring chaos to France less than two weeks before Euro 2016 kicks off, with unions standing firm Monday in demanding that controversial labour reforms are scrapped. As the head of France's bosses' federation accused unions of behaving like "terrorists", the fresh industrial unrest was […]

Lausanne (AFP) – There was no place for experienced defender Philippe Senderos in the 23-man Swiss squad coach Vladimir Petkovic named Monday for the European championships that begin on June 10. Senderos, 31, is no longer a shoe-in as a starter for Switzerland, now plying his trade for Grasshopper Zurich after many seasons spent with […]

Mexico City (AFP) – Mexican football player Alan Pulido was rescued after he fought one of his kidnappers and took away his phone to call police hours after his abduction, authorities said Monday. Pulido, 25, cut his right wrist when he punched a glass pane on a door as he tried to flee before police […]

Berlin (AFP) – The German FA (DFB) on Monday fined VfL Wolfsburg a club record 90,000 euros ($100,210; £68,494) after a flare fired by one of their fans hit the Hanover bench during a Bundesliga match in March. The firework was one of several fired by visiting Wolfsburg fans from the away section at Hanover's […]