Budapest (AFP) – The Hungarian Football Federation on Friday defended "the vast majority" of the country's supporters after England players suffered racist abuse at a World Cup qualifier in Budapest. The body vowed to take action against fans who "entered the field, threw flares and cups" but insisted any "disruptors" were in the minority and, […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal have signed two-time World Cup winner Tobin Heath, the Women's Super League club announced on Friday. The US forward, 33, who was available on a free transfer after leaving Manchester United, has scored 35 goals in 177 international appearances. Arsenal head coach Jonas Eidevall told the club's website: "Tobin's record speaks […]

London (AFP) – FIFA vowed to take action after racist abuse was aimed at England players during their World Cup qualifier in Hungary as Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday labelled the incidents "completely unacceptable". Monkey chants were directed at Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham during Thursday's match at the Puskas Arena in Budapest, which […]

Paris (AFP) – Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has called for the World Cup to be held every two years in an interview with French sports daily L'Equipe published on Friday. The 71-year-old Frenchman, who is now director of development at FIFA, also called for a single annual period of international qualifiers in a global […]

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday condemned racist abuse aimed at England players during a World Cup qualifier in Budapest as "completely unacceptable", calling on FIFA to act. Raheem Sterling and Jude Bellingham were targeted with monkey chants during Thursday's match in the Puskas Arena, which England won 4-0. Manchester City […]

London (AFP) – British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday it was "completely unacceptable" that England footballers were racially abused by Hungary fans during a World Cup qualifier in Budapest. Johnson urged football's world governing body FIFA "to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated […]

San Salvador (AFP) – The United States kicked off their road to World Cup redemption with a 0-0 draw against El Salvador on Thursday as the final round of CONCACAF qualifiers for Qatar 2022 got under way. The US, aiming to bounce back from the shock of failing to qualify for the 2018 World Cup, […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Argentina maintained their unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, cruising to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Venezuela on Thursday night. But Brazil continued their perfect start to qualifying with a seventh win out of seven as Everton Ribeiro scored the only goal in a 1-0 away victory over Chile. In […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Argentina maintained their unbeaten start to their World Cup qualifying campaign, cruising to a 3-1 victory at 10-man Venezuela on Thursday night. In his first match for his country since moving to Paris Saint-Germain, Lionel Messi struggled to stamp his authority on the match in Caracas, but it mattered little. Lautaro Martinez […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Algeria trounced Djibouti 8-0 on Thursday to match the African World Cup winning margin record for a qualifier set by the Democratic Republic of Congo and equalled by Libya. The Congolese trounced Djibouti 9-1 in Kinshasa in 2002 qualifying and Libya overwhelmed Sao Tome e Principe 8-0 in Tripoli in an eliminator […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Islam Slimani scored four goals as Algeria equalled the widest winning margin for an African World Cup qualifier by crushing 10-man Djibouti 8-0 in a Group A rout on Thursday in Blida. The Lyon forward netted twice in each half and the other scorers for the Desert Foxes were Ramy Bensebaini, Baghdad […]

Doha (AFP) – Australia convincingly beat China 3-0 on Thursday as the final stage of Asian qualifying for the 2022 FIFA World Cup kicked off on Thursday. The Socceroos' emphatic win in Doha came hours after Oman had caused a major upset edging past Japan 1-0 in Suita while South Korea were held to a […]

Paris (AFP) – Sweden beat Spain 2-1 in Stockholm on Thursday to take control of their group in World Cup qualifying, while Italy were held by Bulgaria in their first match since winning Euro 2020. Elsewhere, Belgium thrashed Estonia, England thumped Hungary in a match marred by reported racist chanting and Germany claimed an underwhelming […]

Budapest (AFP) – Rampant England eased past Hungary in Budapest Thursday with a second-half four-goal barrage that propels Gareth Southgate's men toward qualification for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. After a first half bereft of shots on target, Raheem Sterling broke the deadlock with a clipped shot 10 minutes after the break before a […]

Stockholm (AFP) – Viktor Claesson secured Sweden a 2-1 victory over Spain in World Cup qualifying on Thursday for a third win in three games and top spot in Group B. Valencia midfielder Carlos Soler scored five minutes into his Spain debut, but Alexander Isak replied almost instantly for the hosts in Stockholm. Claesson grabbed […]