Oyem (Gabon) (AFP) – Title-holders the Ivory Coast were dumped out of the Africa Cup of Nations Tuesday after a superb Rachid Alioui goal gave Herve Renard-coached Morocco a 1-0 win in Gabon. Clinching a quarter-finals place was particularly sweet for Frenchman Renard, the coach of the Ivorians when they won the biennial tournament two […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Junior Kabananga set DR Congo on their way to a comfortable 3-1 win against Togo in Port-Gentil on Tuesday to clinch an Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals spot. Kabananga's opener came just before the half-hour mark and Neeskens Kebano ran through to increase the lead in the 54th minute. Kodjo Fo-Doh […]

London (AFP) – Alex Ferguson believes Wayne Rooney's Manchester United goal-scoring record is one for the ages and unlikely ever to be broken. The 31-year-old England forward scored his 250th goal for United when his superb free-kick late on rescued a 1-1 draw away to Stoke in the Premier League on Saturday. In the process […]

London (AFP) – Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been interviewed by police over an allegation he racially abused a staff member at London's Heathrow Airport on Monday. The 24-year-old Switzerland international was not arrested but voluntarily attended a nearby police station after the incident was reported by a third party. According to British media reports […]

Madrid (AFP) – Spanish defender Luis Hernandez has left Premier League champions Leicester City to return to his homeland with Malaga on a three-and-a-half-year deal, both clubs confirmed on Tuesday. "Leicester City Football Club can confirm that defender Luis Hernandez has signed for Spanish La Liga side Malaga in a permanent deal for an undisclosed […]

Here is how to watch soccer over-the-air if you use some kind of streaming service. If you're a subscriber to Sling TV, DIRECTV NOW or the soon-to-be relaunched fuboTV, there are great benefits. However, one of the biggest complaints is that you're not able to watch some Premier League games. Specifically, you lose games on […]

London (AFP) – Manchester United are to create 300 new positions for disabled supporters at Old Trafford as part of a plan that will see the ground's capacity shaved from 75,635 to about 73,000. The increase in the number of places for disabled fans will involve United moving 2,600 season-ticket holders from their current positions […]

London (AFP) – Former Manchester United striker Michael Owen believes Marcus Rashford can be the club's first-choice centre-forward for "years to come", but told AFP he will have to be patient. Rashford, 19, exploded onto the scene with United last season, scoring eight goals in his first 18 appearances and breaking into England's Euro 2016 […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona sporting director Robert Fernandez insists he is sure Lionel Messi will sign a new deal with the Catalan giants despite continued speculation over the five-time World Player of the Year's future. Messi has just 18 months left on his current contract and would have no shortage of lucrative offers should he […]

Identity is a throwaway term in modern football parlance. But it’s important. It can be a crutch for managers who are toiling in the nascent stages of their spell with a new club. If supporters can see a methodology forming, poor results are more tolerable. For Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp in their respective positions […]

Madrid (AFP) – Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane hopes Cristiano Ronaldo will shrug off a foot problem in time to lead the European champions' bid to overcome a Copa del Rey deficit at Celta Vigo on Wednesday. Zidane's squad, down 2-1 from the quarter-final first leg at home, has been hit by a series of […]

London (AFP) – Hull City midfielder Ryan Mason is making "excellent progress" after fracturing his skull but will remain under close observation in hospital, the Premier League club said on Tuesday. The 25-year-old suffered serious injury when he accidentally clashed heads with Chelsea's Gary Cahill in the 14th minute of the 2-0 loss at the […]

London (AFP) – Yaya Toure says he wants to remain at Manchester City and is not interested in moving to China, amid reports of a big-money offer from the Chinese Super League. Reports last week said Toure, 33, had rejected an approach from a Chinese club that would have seen him paid around £430,000 ($536,000, […]

Algiers (AFP) – Algeria's Belgian coach Georges Leekens quit Tuesday after the side crashed out of the Africa Cup of Nations. Algeria were one of the pre-tournament favourites for the competition in Gabon but failed to win a game in their opening group. "For the good of all I decided to quit even though I […]

Port-Gentil (Gabon) (AFP) – Ahmed Elmohamady knows what it takes to win the Africa Cup of Nations and the Hull City man is quietly confident that Egypt can go all the way again on their long-awaited return to the tournament. Elmohamady is only 29 but the flying wing-back is a comparative veteran in a young […]