Abuja (AFP) – Nigeria coach Gernot Rohr claims Mikel Obi is being “punished” by Premier League club Chelsea for playing at the Rio Olympics. Mikel, 29, missed most of Chelsea pre-season as he helped his country win a bronze medal at the football event of the Summer Olympic Games. He has yet to play for […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Neymar scored his 50th international goal as Brazil thrashed Argentina 3-0 to tighten their grip on South America's 2018 World Cup qualification campaign and leave their arch-rivals struggling to reach the finals. Barcelona superstar Neymar outshone club-mate Lionel Messi in Belo Horizonte — the venue where Brazil were humiliated 7-1 by Germany […]

Montevideo (AFP) – Brazil thrashed arch-rivals Argentina to tighten their grip on South America's 2018 World Cup qualification campaign as Uruguay maintained their push towards the finals with a hard-fought defeat of Ecuador. Barcelona superstar Neymar outshone club-mate Lionel Messi with his 50th international goal for Brazil in Belo Horizonte as the five-time World Cup […]

Belo Horizonte (Brazil) (AFP) – Neymar scored his 50th international goal as Brazil thrashed arch-rivals Argentina 3-0 in their 2018 World Cup qualifying duel here Thursday. Barcelona superstar Neymar took his tally to 50 goals in 74 games as Brazil recorded their fifth consecutive victory under new coach Tite to remain on top of South […]

Paris (AFP) – From poppies and black armbands in a moving remembrance of millions of war dead to brutally graphic nightmares caused by terrorist carnage, Friday's World Cup qualifiers will be sobering as well as raucous. At Wembley in London, football's oldest rivalry will be renewed when England and Scotland face off in the latest […]

Barranquilla (Colombia) (AFP) – Claudio Bravo was the hero as Chile ground out a hard-fought 0-0 draw in their 2018 World Cup qualifier with Colombia here Thursday before departing with a leg injury. Manchester City goalkeeper and Chile captain Bravo pulled off two superb first half saves as the Copa America champions dug in for […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England must learn to be more streetwise but ward against arrogance, interim manager Gareth Southgate said ahead of Friday's World Cup qualifier against old enemies Scotland at Wembley. Southgate said the difference between arrogance and confidence had come up during a squad meeting before the game, which is the third […]

Rome (AFP) – Italy midfielder Marco Verratti categorically dismissed the possibility of him leaving Paris Saint-Germain on Thursday and insisted that no player was worth 100 million euros ($108.9 million). The 24-year-old has regularly been the subject of media reports linking him with a move away from Paris, with Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Juventus all […]

Doha (AFP) – Qatar beat fellow future World Cup hosts Russia in Doha on Thursday, in a friendly game which featured four penalties. A smart 72nd minute header from Karim Boudiaf was enough to secure a morale-boosting 2-1 victory for Qatar ahead of next week's crucial World Cup qualifier in China. They also owed their […]

New York (AFP) – A former president of Venezuela's football federation pleaded guilty Thursday over the massive FIFA corruption scandal, eight months after posting a $7 million bond and professing his innocence. Rafael Esquivel, 70, also a former vice president of the South American Football Confederation, pled guilty to seven counts of racketeering, wire fraud […]

Paris (AFP) – There will be a poignant mood at the Stade de France on Friday as France host Sweden in a World Cup qualifier a year on from the Paris terror attacks. It was on Friday, November 13 last year that France were playing Germany at the same stadium in a friendly when three […]

Arsenal Twitter nearly went into meltdown mode on Tuesday when reports surfaced that Alexis Sanchez suffered a torn calf muscle in training with the Chile national team. An injury of that magnitude would surely keep the superstar forward out of commission for a few months; however, the Chilean FA quickly released a statement claiming that […]

The final round of World Cup qualifying is set to begin with a bang with USA against Mexico, one of the biggest rivalries in this hemisphere. Every game between these two nations is gripping and intense. But with a good start to the final qualifying round at stake, this should be even better than previous […]

Milan (AFP) – New Inter Milan coach Stefano Pioli said he will be "expecting a lot" from Italy winger Antonio Candreva despite a rift between the pair when they were at rival Serie A club Lazio. Pioli was unveiled as the successor to sacked Dutchman Frank De Boer on Thursday. His appointment comes less than […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England captain Wayne Rooney will return to the starting line-up for his country's 2018 World Cup qualifier against Scotland on Friday, interim manager Gareth Southgate announced on Thursday. Rooney, 31, started on the bench in England's last game, a 0-0 draw away to Slovenia, after losing his place in Manchester […]