Beijing (AFP) – Former World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi has been named to lead China's national side following the resignation of Gao Hongbo, the Chinese Football Association announced Saturday. The appointment comes after World Cup qualifying losses by the men's team to Syria and Uzbekistan left the Asian giant with virtually no chance of qualifying […]

Beijing (AFP) – Former World Cup-winning coach Marcello Lippi has been named to lead China's national side following the resignation of Gao Hongbo, the Chinese Football Association announced Saturday. The appointment comes after World Cup qualifying losses by the men's team to Syria and Uzbekistan left the Asian giant with virtually no chance of qualifying […]

Johannesburg (AFP) – Zamalek of Egypt can draw comfort from the past as they seek to overturn a 3-0 deficit on Sunday in the second leg of the CAF Champions League final against Mamelodi Sundowns. Canon Yaounde (Cameroon), Mouloudia Alger (Algeria) and Asante Kotoko (Ghana) faced similar dire circumstances to the Cairo club in previous […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says he would rather quit than change his footballing philosophy. City have gone four matches in all competitions without a win and head into Sunday's Premier League clash home to Southampton on the back of a 4-0 thrashing at Barcelona in the Champions League. It […]

London (AFP) – Arsene Wenger believes Arsenal are finally equipped to last the pace in the Premier League title race. Wenger's side have struggled to match the financial muscle and strength in depth of the likes of Chelsea and Manchester City in recent years. But the Gunners appear in much better shape to slug it […]

London (AFP) – Less than 12 months since his second spell as Chelsea manager ended amid on-pitch turmoil and bitter off-pitch recrimination, Jose Mourinho returns to Stamford Bridge with Manchester United on Sunday. With three Premier League titles, three League Cups and one FA Cup won across his two stints in west London, Mourinho is […]

New York (AFP) – Didier Drogba has been fined an undisclosed amount by Major League Soccer chiefs after his refusal to play for the Montreal Impact last weekend, the league said Friday. Former Chelsea and Ivory Coast star Drogba stunned the Impact by demanding to be left out of the squad for their game against […]

Sunday's Scottish League Cup semi-final between Rangers and Celtic will be shown live on FOX Soccer 2GO, the legal streaming service in the U.S. The match, which will be beamed live from Hampden Park in Glasgow, is scheduled to kick off at 9:15am ET (6:15am PT). The broadcast begins at 9:05am ET. For a limited […]

Monaco (AFP) – Radamel Falcao scored on his return from a month out to help Monaco dismantle Montpellier 6-2 to move within a point of Ligue 1 leaders Nice on Friday. Rampant Monaco leap-frog champions Paris Saint-Germain into second with PSG and Nice both in action on Sunday. Despite the lop-sided scoreline they did not […]

Buenos Aires (AFP) – Lionel Messi was named in Argentina's squad for their heavyweight World Cup clash against bitter rivals Brazil on Friday having missed the last three fixtures through injury. Messi had been sidelined from international duty with a thigh injury but buoyed by a midweek hat-trick for Barcelona in the Champions League against […]

Marseille (AFP) – Marseille coach Rudi Garcia set the struggling French giants the goal of qualifying for Europe next season, a day after he was appointed the Ligue 1 club's new boss. The former Lille and Roma manager has penned a three-year contract at the Stade Velodrome, where his task is to resurrect a side […]

Monday's match between Liverpool and Manchester United broke the record for the most streamed Premier League game ever on NBC Sports. The broadcast, a 0-0 draw between the two rivals, ranks as NBC Sports Group’s most-streamed match ever. The match, played on Monday from 3-5pm ET, delivered 10.3 million minutes, up 23% from the previous […]

Rio de Janeiro (AFP) – Chelsea star Oscar misses out but Brazil include the Real Madrid pair of Marcelo and Casemiro for the crunch clash next month with old rivals Argentina in World Cup qualifying. Coach Tite on Friday named a strong 24-man squad for the games at home to Argentina on November 10 and […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola on Friday rejected speculation star Argentinian striker Sergio Aguero and injury-plagued club captain Vincent Kompany are not part of his long-term plans. Neither player started in City’s 4-0 defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday which has cast an element of doubt over […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Brazilian superstar Neymar has signed a new five-year contract that will keep him at Barcelona until 2021, the Spanish champions said on Friday. The deal, which had been agreed in June, includes a buy-out clause of up to 250 million euros as Barca seek to ward off interest from potential suitors.