Bogota (AFP) – FIFA president Gianni Infantino said Monday he would like to expand the number of teams in the World Cup to 48 by adding a one-match playoff at the tournament's start. Under the new format, the 16 countries that finish highest in qualifying rounds for the 2026 World Cup would automatically make the […]

London (AFP) – West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan insists the crowd problems that marred Saturday's Premier League clash with Middlesbrough at his club's new London Stadium have been sensationalised. Rival supporters were seen confronting each other inside the stadium, while footage of violence appeared on social media in the latest incident of crowd trouble […]

Here are the ten things we learned from Week 30 of the 2016 MLS season. 1. What Has Gotten Into DC United? DC United has quietly been piling up points since August, but thanks to their come-from-behind 2-1 win on Saturday in Toronto, everyone is about to start paying attention to one of the league’s […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Crystal Palace winger Andros Townsend has replaced Raheem Sterling in the England squad after the in-form Manchester City forward withdrew due to injury, the Football Association announced on Monday. Townsend, 25, was last called up for England's pre-Euro 2016 friendlies against Turkey and Australia. He has won 11 caps and […]

Doha (AFP) – Michael Laudrup revealed he had turned down job offers from China and the United States as he was officially unveiled as the new coach of Qatar Stars League champions Al Rayyan on Monday. Laudrup also said he had no desire to return to La Liga — where he has managed Getafe and […]

London (AFP) – Swansea have sacked manager Francesco Guidolin and hired former United States coach Bob Bradley as his replacement, the struggling Premier League club announced on Monday. Guidolin was dismissed after Saturday's 2-1 defeat against Liverpool left Swansea just above the relegation zone with only one win from their seven league matches this season. […]

Burton-on-Trent (United Kingdom) (AFP) – England's caretaker manager Gareth Southgate expressed a desire to move on from a "very difficult" week in his introductory press conference on Monday. Southgate, formerly England Under-21s coach, has been placed in charge on a temporary basis after Sam Allardyce left his post as manager last week following just 67 […]

London (AFP) – Roberto Di Matteo was sacked by Aston Villa on Monday after just 12 matches in charge of the troubled Championship club. Di Matteo was hired by Villa's new Chinese owner Tony Xia in June and the former Chelsea boss was expected to lead his side into the Premier League. Villa are playing […]

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Jose Mourinho insisted Manchester United had played their best football of the season and could have put seven goals past lowly Stoke City after their 1-1 draw. Substitute Anthony Martial's first goal of the season was cancelled out eight minutes from time by Joe Allen following a rare error by […]

Burnley (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Arsene Wenger admitted Arsenal were lucky to come away with a narrow 1-0 victory over Burnley after a disputed injury-time winner took them within two points of the Premier League summit. Burnley were left frustrated after defender Laurent Koscielny scored from a corner deep into stoppage time, as the ball […]

Barcelona (AFP) – Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen insisted he won't change his flamboyant style despite a huge error costing the Spanish champions a 4-3 defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday. Three Celta goals in 11 first-half minutes from Pione Sisto, Iago Aspas and a Jeremy Mathieu own goal had Barca on the ropes before […]

London (AFP) – Pep Guardiola advised Manchester City's supporters it will take up to three years for his methods to fully bear fruit after his side lost 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur. City had avoided defeat in the first 11 games of Guardiola's tenure as manager, but they were given a rude awakening at White Hart […]

Leicester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Claudio Ranieri has promised to rethink the way he juggles the demands of competing in the Premier League and Champions League after Leicester were held to a lethargic 0-0 draw by Southampton. Ranieri's side have been unable to reproduce the relentless work-rate that carried them to their fairytale title triumph […]

Milan (AFP) – Serie A strugglers Udinese announced the sacking of coach Giuseppe Iachini following a 3-0 home defeat to Lazio on Sunday. "Udinese Calcio announces that Giuseppe Iachini has been relieved of his duties as first-team coach," said a brief statement by the club on its official Twitter account. Jeers and whistles rained down […]

Miami (AFP) – Dominic Oduro scored early in the second half to lift Montreal to a 1-0 victory at Orlando that boosted the Impact's Major League Soccer playoff hopes while extinguishing Orlando City's. Despite out-shooting the Impact 24-4, Orlando City saw their winless streak extended to five games and were eliminated from MLS Cup playoff […]